Global Lords: The Undead's Mobile Fortress

Within the tunnels.

The Demonized Creatures, now keenly aware of the damage the Skeleton Short Bowmen could inflict, dispatched their meat shields—Demonized Minotaurs, Demonized Hill Giant Demons, and Giant Monsters summoned by Shamans. From the rear, they ordered their archers and mages to focus their attacks on the Skeleton Short Bowmen, hoping to annihilate those pesky skeletons in one fell swoop before slowly dealing with the swarming Undead.

It was a sound plan, but they hadn't counted on the Undead being prepared. The Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors were lying in wait. The moment the Demonized Creature meat shields advanced, they were confronted by a line of armor-clad Undead wielding massive hammers, which they brought crashing down without hesitation.

Unlike the Undead, the Demonized Creatures felt pain. Faced with these elite troops, the disorganized meat shields were immediately beaten back, completely failing to tank the damage. Then again, they did function as meat shields in one sense—they had successfully drawn aggro.

Not only did the Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors focus on them, but even the Skeleton Short Bowmen locked onto them as well. After all, they were blocking the line of sight and were just so big. If they couldn't shoot the other Demonized Creatures, they might as well shoot the meat shields. Finding a clear shot is hard for an ADC.

The meat shields the Demonized Creatures had been counting on had become nothing more than giant targets. Rapid-Fire Arrows rained down as if they cost nothing. A single arrow might only do limited damage to a meat shield, but what about dozens, or even hundreds?

And then there were the heavy hammers!

As casualties among the meat shields continued to mount, the Demonized Creatures in the rear didn't dare linger. They turned and fled. They were willing to fight, even willing to get hot-headed, but they hadn't even reached the thick of battle. With their wits still about them, why would they possibly stay and wait to die?

'Run! Let's just get out of here for now!'

The Demonized Creatures poured out of the three tunnels and regrouped, their eyes filled with a mixture of terror and fury as they stared back at the passages.

CLACK... CLACK... CLACK...

A cacophony of scraping sounds arose as the Skeleton Undead surged from the tunnels like a tide. They arrayed themselves in a dense formation before the entrances. Amidst the throng of Undead, several larger figures stood out conspicuously: Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Ox Demons, Skeleton Hill Giant Demons, Skeleton Ogres, and more.

The Demonized Creatures glanced around and were shocked to realize that their numbers had dwindled significantly. The battle had just begun, yet their force of over 15,000 had already shrunk to fewer than 10,000. Over 5,000 of their comrades had left their lives behind in those tunnels.

Previously, the Undead had been weak but numerous, allowing the Demonized Creatures to fight with abandon. Now, however, formidable units had appeared in the Undead ranks, putting the Demonized Creatures on high alert.

In the heat of battle, spurred on by Demonic Qi, they would lose all reason. But outside of combat, they were capable of thought, of weighing risks and rewards.

Most of the Demonized Creatures who had come to fight the Undead were of commoner origin. They weren't specially trained Warriors, nor were they part of the City Guard, let alone the Underground Army. They lacked that kind of resolute will. Seeing the heavy losses their comrades had suffered, many were already having second thoughts.

Some of the Demonized Creatures, those who had gotten lucky and absorbed a good amount of Soul Fire, were already thinking things over. 'I got what I came for,' they reasoned. 'No need to press my luck. The smart move is to get out of here now. It's not worth dying for this.'

They had come to Komeilan City to fight the Undead, but not to die for the city or to do it a favor. They came for the spoils. After all, they had paid fees and resources for the privilege of hunting Undead. There was no sense in investing all their assets just to throw their lives away as well.

The Undead were oblivious to the thoughts of the Demonized Creatures. All they knew was the order from their City Lord: kill the Demonized Creatures and bring back their corpses.

A High Level Skeleton Undead stared from afar at the Demonized Creatures arrayed before it. It raised its Bone Saber, pointed it toward them, and issued the command to attack.

The order passed down through the ranks. Upon receiving the command, the Skeleton Undead immediately charged, brandishing their weapons as they rushed toward the Demonized Creatures.

"Run!"

"Fall back! Fall back!"

The moment the Undead charged, certain Demonized Creatures like the Jackal Wolfmen and Giant Demons began to clamor. Ignoring their companions completely, they turned and fled toward Komeilan City. They were done fighting; it was time to quit while they were ahead.

They had done their part, absorbed plenty of Soul Fire—it was time to take a breather.

The flight of a few instantly triggered a full-blown rout. A huge number of Demonized Creatures turned tail and ran, abandoning those at the front who hadn't reacted in time, leaving them to the Undead to buy themselves more time.

The Demonized Creatures had no concept of camaraderie. In matters of life and death, their motto was absolutely "better you than me." Fleeing first was the only principle they respected.

The Low Level Skeleton Undead, possessing little intelligence, didn't bother chasing the fleeing Demonized Creatures. Seeing enemies directly in front of them, they simply swarmed forward and surrounded those who had been left behind.

Skeleton Desert Wolves, Skeleton Giant Tusked Boars, and Skeleton Short Bowmen, interspersed among the ranks of Skeleton Undead, launched their own attacks against the enemies in the plaza.

Instantly, the air filled with curses, battle cries, and agonized screams. The slaughter began anew, only this time, the Demonized Creatures were completely overwhelmed.

Thousands of routed Demonized Creatures fled to the Komeilan City Gate. Before they could even call for it to be opened, the gate was already swinging wide. White Hair Pulan had been monitoring the battle. Seeing the Demonized Creatures retreat from the tunnels, followed by a sea of Undead pouring out, he already had a rough idea of what had transpired.