Amber Sword

"Them?"

Princess Griffine and Count Otin both saw the metallic beetle beside Brand—though they didn’t know it was called a Nightmare Furnace Creature. This entity had never appeared in Vaun’s history; even the knowledgeable Brand, who was familiar with monsters, couldn’t identify it at first, let alone these native locals.

"Yes," Brand casually said, "This thing is called a Death Beetle, although it’s a Constructed Creature. But it can cast simple necromancy, invented by an extremely skilled Rune Master."

Princess Griffine and Count Otin glanced at the fearsome Nightmare Furnace Constructs and noted that their grotesque shape indeed resembled a necromantic aesthetic, and they did appear as Constructed Creatures, prompting them to nod in agreement.

After all, people are inclined to believe what aligns with their Common Sense.

"Brand... you are such a liar..." Only Otarais couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. She then skeptically asked, "Have you ever lied to me about anything?"

"Absolutely not!" Brand shook his head immediately: "As you can see, Lord Otarais, this is just out of necessity."

The Elf Sister nodded, reluctantly accepting this explanation.

Meanwhile, as Brand was explaining, the Northern Alliance encountered terrible misfortune. The Guardians of Defeat summoned by Brand were a different matter—their Level was directly related to the number of Black Land Cards the Travel Mage possessed (X5), and he held the Ruogen Swamp, Water of the Netherworld, and Death Forest as these three Black Land Cards. Therefore, the Guardians of Defeat he summoned were naturally Level 15, roughly equivalent to Black Iron Lower strength, and under the Golden Radiance Battle Banner, they became Level 25 Black Iron Peak Defeat Knights.

A single Guardian of Defeat card covered an area of a few thousand feet, summoning about fifteen hundred Black Derivatives, meaning Brand instantly held a Black Iron Peak army of fifteen hundred troops.

Additionally, the positive effect brought by the phrase ’Madara Undead Army’ instantly changed the battlefield’s situation. The Northern Alliance couldn’t advance even a step.

However, what surprised Brand the most was that initially, he worried about whether the combat efficiency of human soldiers fighting alongside the Undead Army would diminish, but to his surprise, this issue didn’t arise. Even the Noble Private Soldiers easily accepted their ’new comrades,’ which seemed almost surreal. Upon reflection, Brand realized—he possessed a Talent granted by the Trade Wind Ring, which ensured Morale wouldn’t decrease when various races combined their forces. This Talent, having had no significant effect previously, was nearly forgotten.

But the impact turned out to be substantial.

From here, things simplified.

On the battlefield, the Guardians of Defeat were sacrificed sequentially entering the Ekronia Adversity Furnace. Double-digit energy quickly entered Brand’s reserves. Simultaneously, eleven Templars in mid-air regrouped to encircle Medisha. At this point, Brand looked up and raised the Longsword in his hand.

The Earth Sword pointed towards one of the Templars in mid-air, a circle of black aura converging on it, and the penultimate card was immediately revealed: Lightning Storm.

Lightning Storm (Adversity Heaven VI), 4 energy; Spell—real-time; Effect: Rotate all Nightmare Furnace Constructs on the field, targeting each Nightmare Furnace Construct to deal 5 True Damage to the designated target. Enter the graveyard after use. ’Volleys!—Commander of the Ekronia Legion, Talin’

Everyone heard a ’zzzt’ sound of piercing noise as the thirty-two Nightmare Furnace Constructs around Brand simultaneously emitted black lightning striking the Templar in mid-air. The black lightning gathered in mid-air, forming a massive, sharp claw. The Templar reacted swiftly, instinctively weaving a golden barrier using Law Threads before him.

But unfortunately, the description of ’Lightning Storm designated target causing each Nightmare Furnace Construct 5 True Damage’ immediately took precedence over the highest level. Everyone witnessed how the black lightning seemed to bypass the golden threads before the Templar, directly striking his chest.

It was as if he hadn’t defended at all.

"This is impossible!"

That single thought echoed in the Templar’s mind, but simultaneously, excruciating pain had already torn through his body. Earlier, he was severely wounded from the Burning Prison Giant Spirit’s explosion, and this 160 damage acted like the final straw breaking the camel’s back, pulling him down from mid-air.