Back when Kratia was close to figuring out a way to use the Limited order Bone Core, it vibrated, foretelling the return of the three Iron Golems. She assumed that Lee Shin-Woo and Jin would’ve come back with them, but that wasn’t the case.

[Steelworker ordered us to return first and protect Kratia Melloi.]

[Following the core’s order, our top priority is to protect Kratia Melloi henceforth.]

"Shin-Woo's not back, and it's just you guys...?"

Kratia would like a more detailed explanation, but the Golems weren’t going to say anything more as long as they got their orders. One thing was for certain though: Lee Shin-Woo had sent the Golems to protect her out of concern. There must be an imminent danger coming to the city.

That’s all I need to know.

She concentrated her magic on the Orb of Eternal Ice, the growing artifact she had gotten from the goddess. Spending one more second on preparation would allow her to kill 100 more enemy soldiers.

When she was almost done, she sensed the huge force of undead on the move. Not only was their number great, she could also tell that each and every one of the undead was an elite.

"How did Shin-Woo know about this...? No, I shouldn't be surprised at this point."

Kratia thought of that cunning skeleton and shook her head.

What he had shown her thus far was certainly remarkable, but she was well aware that there was a lot more he hadn’t let her see. What impressed her most was his imagination and mental fortitude, which allowed him to endlessly expand the ways in which he wielded magic.

He would’ve become a legend were he a mage. What a shame.

Kratia clicked her tongue and meticulously examined the undead force. It mostly consisted of level 3 undead, which she didn't need to worry about, but she had to be a bit on guard against the level 4 Skeleton Knights and Skeleton Mages. Obviously more so when it came to the level 5 Elder Knights.

"Protect the front gates. Keeping that safe is the same as keeping me safe."

[Judged as a rational command. Following order.]

[Following the core's command.]

Kratia knew things would be bad for her if the undead broke through the front gates and entered the city, so she hurriedly gave the Iron Golems the command.

Lee Shin-Woo had already liberated them from all their limitations; the Golems would be able to last several minutes even if the Elder Knights attacked all at once.

"Mm."

Once the Golems were dispatched, Kratia climbed on top of the city walls. Her expression stiffened when she noticed the level 6 elite. Its skin was extremely pale, like an emissary of death, but its body was filled with mana!

It was neither a zombie nor a skeleton; she might have even thought it was alive without the artificial sunlight since it had retained a somewhat human form. The power she sensed from the undead was formidable.

A ghoul... That's a ghoul. Plus, it's eaten several corpses and regained its reasoning. Judging from the mana pattern... Could it be a Ghoul Wizard!?

The Ghoul Wizard was staying furthest in the back, guarded by level 5 Elder Knights. That couldn’t be a coincidence. At that moment, Kratia realized how dangerous this undead corps was. They not only had a solid system of command, but also a clear goal; it wasn't an army that had turned undead, but rather an army composed of undead!

The undead that inhabited this city, Kehebe, had retained a military structure following their lingering instincts from when they were alive, while this group of undead was an entirely different story. Their difference was that of a sleepwalking patient and a normal person!

If that's the case, I have to take out the leader first. Things will be bad If he gets closer to the walls. But those knights are guarding him like an impenetrable wall...

There was no way for her to retreat; the outcome of the battle would be determined by a single spell between mages. If she couldn't kill the Ghoul Wizard with her spell, she would lose.

Kratia had discovered the enemy first and gathered her magic, which seemed to give her the upper hand. However, with the knights guarding it, the Ghoul Wizard was already prepared for an ambush. No matter how she went about attacking it, she would have to deal with the knights.

Would she have to take out both the knights and the wizard in a single blow? She might be able to do it if she was given the time to develop her Catalyst Magic further, but she had just created the spell. Improving it wasn’t possible right now.

If Shin-Woo were level 6, he would've been able to do it.

Kratia had always believed she would never lose to anyone in terms of talent, but the thought came to her so naturally, it was like she had always known that to be a fact. She almost laughed at herself for thinking that way.

However, she wouldn’t be able to move forward if she didn’t accept the truth. Rather than dwelling on her feelings of inferiority, her desire to improve herself dominated her mind. When a mage believed something to be possible, even the impossible could be brought into reality.

Shin-Woo must be coming this way if he’s sent the Golems ahead. In that case, I just need to hold them off until he comes. I’ll be able to keep them from getting too close to the city walls with Catalyst Magic.

She didn't even consider running away. Kratia was a hero through and through, and she diligently performed her duty as one; moreover, she wasn't the type to get scared when she didn't know how a battle would turn out.

[Crush the Golems!]

[The Golems protecting the living are our enemies!]

[Executing the trespassers!]

The undead vanguards clashed with the Golems. Of course, level 3 undead couldn't beat the Golems and ended up helplessly crushed, but the problem was there were thousands of them attacking!

"Hmph, guess I have no other choice."

Kratia gritted her teeth and stepped up with Eternal Ice hovering before her, manipulating the mana in the area with her own. She would stop the undead even if she had to freeze the entire wall! As she bravely resolved herself, though, she saw something.

"Golems...?"

Hundreds of level 4 Golems were charging with considerable speed. Were they invading? No. Their target was clear. They had locked on to the level 4 and level 5 knights and started to attack them! There were way too many of them, and they made more than a dent on the enemies’ formation!

That means...

Kratia hurriedly shifted her gaze. She had been studying Lee Shin-Woo magic for the past ten days, so she could pick him out from far away no matter how faint his presence was. He was...not fighting together with the Golems, but charging straight at the leader!

He really is bold. Well, bold to the point of being completely organless.[1] Lee Shin-Woo would probably hit her if she told him that. She quickly modified her spell to accommodate his action.

Now that she knew their plans were aligned, there was no reason for her to hesitate. With both of them attacking the leader, at least one of them would succeed!

[Arcane Ice Spear!]

Her miraculous artifact absorbed the mana in the world and gradually chilled the area; through her deep understanding of magic, she was able to agglomerate mana and change its property with frightening efficiency. Finally, using the artifact and her mana as catalyst, she converted the mana in the environment and concentrated it, creating a giant ice spear beyond a level 6's power.

"Hoo... Hah!"

After taking a short deep breath, she poured all of her mana into the ice spear and shot it straight at the wizard, which homed in on the wizard’s magic and sped up like crazy!

[The living being's attack is coming. Move it!]

[As you command!]

[We're protecting the Third Corps Commander! Get in position!]

[Don't look down on our defense zone!]

The Elder Knights in Kehebe had looked as though they had been exiled to somewhere remote, while these Elder Knights stepped forward to protect their commander like true Empire’s knights.

They would eliminate anything that entered their defense zone; if one knight couldn't cover an area by itself, another knight would help, creating a tight perimeter around the Corps Commander. Their well-practiced teamwork was the reason the Empire's knights were powerful.

A defense zone... I knew about it since I've absorbed some of their memories. So this is how you do it.

Even Lee Shin-Woo, who was running straight at the Corps Commander, was impressed. There’s something I can add to make the defense even more perfect, he thought despite the situation. It’s worth a try at the very least. But that’s for another day.

Finally, the Arcane Ice Spear struck their defense zone. The knights at the forefront died without even a chance to retaliate, and they were annihilated so thoroughly that there were no remains left behind. However, the knights behind them managed to shave off parts of the spear, and the third row of Elder Knights were able to cut off even bigger chunks, which slowed down the Arcane Ice Spear.

[Knights who pledged their loyalty to the Empire. We will attain victory through your sacrifice! Show that impudent living being how frightening and powerful black magic is!]

Watching the knights sacrifice themselves, the Ghoul Wizard began casting a spell. It traced the ice spear back to Kratia and started a spell to intercept her.

However, right before he completed the spell, right when the knights were busy with the ice spear, Lee Shin-Woo threw his lance at the Ghoul Wizard’s unprotected back with great force!

"I see your backkkkkkkkkkk!"

Every condition for a successful ambush had been fulfilled. First off, the Ghoul Wizard was targeting the living Kratia rather than Lee Shin-Woo. Secondly, his subordinates were too busy dealing with the Iron and Bronze Golems as well as the Arcane Ice Spear to keep an eye on their surroundings. And the Ghoul Wizard itself was preoccupied with casting a spell to intercept Kratia.

Furthermore, with the support of Assimilation, Shadow Sprint allowed Lee Shin-Woo to stealth so perfectly that even he lost sight of where he was. However…

[So there is an undead who isn’t loyal to the Empire!]

Despite everything, the Ghoul Wizard had diverted all its magic to block Lee Shin-Woo’s attack in the split second that Lee Shin-Woo threw his lance.

To be more exact, the Ghoul Wizard possessed an ability that automatically diverted its mana to defense when it was hit. The spell seemed to consume at least 30% of its mana, but it still had an awful lot at its disposal!

[Critical Hit!]

Dozens of layers of mana shields sprang into existence in the extremely small gap between the Ghoul Wizard's head and the lance, offsetting both the force put into the lance and Bursting Thunder’s lightning.

At the collision, at least half of the shields instantly shattered, and the remaining layers broke one by one. However, Lee Shin-Woo realized immediately that his ambush had failed. There wasn’t enough force left in the lance to pierce through the wizard's head and kill it.

Damn it...!

As expected of a level 6 enemy! Lee Shin-Woo gritted his teeth and got ready to follow through; while he prepared for another attack, the Ghoul Wizard pushed aside the lance and yelled as loud as he could.

[Protect me from that coward who ambushed me from the rear...!]

"How about this!?"

[Kuheok!?]

However, the knights didn't make it back to their commander in time. Although the lance had seemingly lost all its power, it somehow regained momentum and shot forward like a cannonball, penetrating and sweeping the Ghoul Wizard up!

Obviously, it was Rule of Bone’s doing; Lee Shin-Woo was controlling the bone lance.

[You bastardddddddddddd!]

The Ghoul Wizard had invested all its mana into the shields, so it couldn't resist properly and ended up hurled into the air. In an instant, the lance had thrown the ghoul hundreds of meters away! It looked like fireworks shooting into the sky.

"Man, that ghoul sure is flying."

[Rescue the Corps Commander!]

The knights who had survived the Arcane Ice Spear didn't even consider attacking Lee Shin-Woo, who had ambushed them, but instead jumped high into the air to save their commander. Although they couldn’t use magic, being level 5 meant they could jump at least hundreds of meters high without any problem!

A few of the knights managed to touch the Corps Commander with their hands. Lee Shin-Woo seized the opportunity and detonated the lance with all the mana he had left!

[Critical Hit!]

The explosion was truly magnificent. Enveloped with his dark red mana, the lance shattered into hundreds of thousands of pieces!

Since the lance had already pierced halfway through it, the ghoul couldn't block the explosion at all and ended up breaking into bits and pieces. The nearby Elder Knights were also heavily injured and fell helplessly to the ground.

Lee Shin-Woo looked up at the brilliant, blinding explosion. With great enthusiasm, he said, "Man, you really got to look at fireworks from below."

"It doesn't matter whether you look at it from below or from the side. That thing ain't fireworks."

Jin rained on his parade like the downer he was. He had been too focused on charging in with Lee Shin-Woo to enjoy the show.

They'd managed to kill the Corps Commander. All Lee Shin-Woo had to do now was to somehow get through the outrageous number of undead with no mana and get away.

1. T/N: She actually uses the common Korean idiom of one's liver being outside their belly, which means they're bold/reckless. The next sentence literally talks about how all of one's inner organs would have to be out of their body to be like Lee Shin-Woo, but I already translated the idiom to English.