A distance of 900 kilometers was not all that difficult to travel through for David. It would normally take only a few hours. But all that changed as he brought 200 Classers along.

Maybe it wasn’t necessary to bring this many Classers to Liear. They were likely to hold him back too.

However, the Classers had to learn how to lead their own rescue missions when he was busy doing other things. Furthermore, David couldn’t split up and guide several groups of survivors to his means of transport.

When Electra created more than 2,000 bonds of Conflict, it left the Sacred Beast battered and worn down. It was hard to tell what exactly had happened, but the Mythical Electra’s Echo was left with only 189 pure Blood droplets. And David made use of that.

He’d used the remaining space of [Bloodlife Echo] to create five massive centipedes made of 100 Blood droplets each. The blood wasn’t as pure as it could’ve been, since he had rushed the process, using two Power Fragments and a myriad of monster corpses to jumpstart its creation, but it worked out.

The massive centipedes were wider than a bus and twice the length. They weren’t as fast as a Silver-ranked Classer with a heavy body build, but they were the perfect Echos to carry the old and injured survivors back to Orhain. Plus, they were stronger than most Classers, could use pure Blood in combat, replenish energy with [Aether Breath], and had the ability to heal the wounded in their range.

Traveling through uneven land on the massive centipedes wouldn’t take long either. Even with a few hostile encounters, they should arrive at Liear within 24 hours. Under normal circumstances, that is.

“How is everyone?” David asked lightly, voice amplified with pure Blood, as he walked through the air, checking on the Classers traveling by foot beside a few tamed monsters and the massive centipede Echos.

No one bothered to answer him, but their glares and fraying tempers told him all he needed to know.

“I’m happy everyone is doing fine. That is very nice, and it is exactly what you need right now. There’s an incoming,” he added joyously, and he watched the Classers tense in glee.

At this point, they knew what it meant when he told them about incoming enemies: either their quantity was terrifying, or they were frustratingly powerful. There was hardly any other reason for David to do the Scouts’ job.

A dozen Classers riding on Steelshroud Eagles and Nightshadow Panthers spread out. The Panthers disappeared from his view for a moment as they melded with the surroundings, while the Steelshroud Eagles shot past him to reach higher altitudes. Using communication crystals, the Classers forwarded short messages, informing the rest of the group of the threat ahead.

“More than 300 gorilla-sized baboons are coming from the northern forest.”

“[Inspect] worked. Low threat determined.”

“Warning! Undead plagues are pursuing the baboons. It is unknown why the undead crossed the Land of the Dead.”

The last bit didn’t surprise David at all. He had expected that much since the centipedes attracted them. Of course, creations made purely of energy and lifeforce would attract the walking dead. It was all they ‘lived’ for. The stronger the life source, the more attractive they were to the undead. Thus, walking around with a bunch of monsters, 200 Classers, and five walking sources of compressed lifeforce and energy was perfect for the dead.

Should I use Bloodlust to dispel the baboons? David considered for a moment, only to discard the thought. For one, they were not in a time crunch. Second, the Classers needed more experience on a larger battlefield. Third, he wanted to see how the Classers would handle the baboons and the undead in quick succession. Would they be exhausted by the time the undead joined the battle, or would they deal with the baboons more efficiently?

David watched in silence as Lilia and the young man with the Commander Class issued several commands through the communication crystal. Frey and another Berserker, alongside an elderly man with the Death Mage Class, moved to the front of the group. The elderly Mage began to cast, using chants to fortify and augment the spell structure, and waited patiently even as the first massive baboon emerged from the nearby forest.

The baboons roared and yelped, bulging eyes locking onto the Classers. Several slowed in hesitation, but their brethren behind shoved them forward. A mighty roar rang through the surroundings, sending shivers through the rows of Classers, yet the Death Mage and the Berserkers remained unmoving.

Three Beastmasters who’d joined the rescue mission rushed to Lilia and the Commander, probably to inform them of the baboons’ distress and despair, but the intel didn’t change anything. No changes were required since they’d already decided against combat.

Sure, it was smart to avoid fights whenever possible, ensuring the Classers were unscathed and full of energy when fights that couldn’t be avoided arose. Nonetheless, David was a little disappointed. He’d been hoping to see a messy battle. A battle filled with despair and sacrifice.

Later then.

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He sighed deeply as the Gargantuan Berserker and her fellow Classers unleashed their killing intent, alongside [Aura of Carnage], [Warborn Pressure], and [Tyrant’s Breath].

There was no visual effect from the Skills, but David sensed the changes within Frey and the Berserker. Their presence shifted from a calm lake to a storm of death and destruction in an instant. Frey took a step forward, and it felt like the world around her began to change. Even the blades of grass near her seemed to make space as she followed up with a second stride.

The Berserker followed behind, but his strides weren’t as imposing. [Aura of Carnage] was unlike [Warborn Pressure] or [Tyrant’s Breath]. Furthermore, Frey was stronger and deadlier than him. Despite that, he was essential to their plan as the Death Mage’s spell structure unfolded.

[Dread Surge] erupted outward and shrouded Frey and the Berserker. But instead of seeping into the Berserkers, [Dread Surge] amplified their abilities.

The baboon leading his pack suddenly slowed. It screeched something to the others, who also slowed. However, they didn’t come to a screeching halt, nor did their path change. David caught a glimmer of intelligence—both desperate and sinister—in the leader’s eyes. It glanced back and shouted more orders, sounding less despairing than a moment ago.

Are they immune to abilities that affect the mind? That’s interesting,

David thought, smiling at the prospect of a bloody battlefield.

But while the baboons charged forward, ignoring the Berserkers and Death Mage’s hard work, they didn’t attack the Classers right away. They slowed deliberately when the distance between them shrank to less than fifty meters. The baboons spread out, thin veils of armor forming on their fur as their bodies began to glow.

Frey and the others redoubled their efforts to force the baboons into retreat, but the monsters wouldn’t listen. They slowed and snarled at the Classers, all while the undead closed in. The baboons in the back screeched, and the leader, as if on command, roared aloud—and charged forward.

There was no killing intent, and seemingly no threat, as the baboon leader charged ahead, and the reason unfolded slowly. The baboons split into two groups as the Commander ordered the release of the first volley of arrows and magical projectiles. They veered to the sides and made a wide detour around the Classers and their forces, never slowing. Several arrows struck their armor, some even pierced it, yet not even the wounded monsters slowed. They continued on their path around the Classers and didn’t so much as hesitate once they were past them.

The baboon leader didn’t bother glancing at the Classers, but he slowed as he ordered his pack to regroup. Three baboons fell to the incoming projectiles, yet it didn’t look like the leader minded the deaths. And David understood why. Even though the leader was supposed to protect his pack, he was willing to sacrifice the weakest for the safety of the rest.

That was exactly what the baboon leader had done. Three died to ensure the survival of more than three hundred baboons. Even if the loss of three was severe, it was better than getting killed by the undead plague—or facing the Classers head-on.

“What a devious little fella,” David chuckled.

He didn’t think it was necessary to sacrifice three baboons, and he was certain they wouldn’t have died if they’d split into two streams farther from the Classers. But glancing at the pursuers showed why the baboon leader didn’t want to take any risks.

Several nightmarish horses and creatures that reminded him of centaurs barged through the undergrowth, their bones shining beneath rotting skin and flesh. The undead were fast, spread out in a line more than ten wide. They galloped forward without pause, not even slowing as they trampled the three dead baboons. Their hooves crushed spines and skulls with brutal force, yet they continued on, seeking the nearest source of potent life.

The outermost undead centaur nearly caught up with the slowest baboon, but it shifted to the unmoving mass of life to its right when the baboon kept running.

Of course, the Classers didn’t allow the undead forces to charge unchallenged. Frey and the Berserker were already engaged with one of the nightmarish, skeletal horses. Their massive war axes plunged and cleaved through bone, killing the undead monster with a swift, heavy series of blows.

You guys are wasting too much stamina.

David took mental notes but didn’t interfere. The Classers were doing a good job. Whenever David watched them fight, they improved, and it was only a matter of time and effort before they would become highly efficient combatants. Their teamwork wasn’t bad either, though it still needed refinement. The next few days would hopefully deliver the kind of tempering they needed.

The Steelshroud Eagles dived toward the ground and released feathers made of steel, while their riders relayed information and dropped small objects that exploded on impact. The steel feathers pierced deep into the rotten flesh and tore through the undead, doing little damage. On the other hand, the explosives ripped through their enemies—tearing through skin, flesh, and bone.

The creation of aether bombs shouldn’t have come as a surprise to David. Then again, he’d expected the Junkyard Artificers to recreate guns that could be efficiently used against monsters before reinventing bombs. Guns that used aether and more advanced ammunition hadn’t been developed yet, but some Mages cast [Mana Bullet] on their guns to create a bullet of condensed mana in the guns’ barrels. Interestingly enough, it worked, though it required a high level of [Mana Manipulation], immense focus, and only worked if [Mana Bullet] was below Tier-1 X.

And that was exactly why Iron-ranked Mages used it. Not only could they train [Mana Manipulation] by bringing guns to the battlefield, but [Mana Bullet] was also stronger.

David agreed that it made sense, but it was odd to see the resurgence of guns and bombs. The aether bombs were quite efficient. Sure, they were still in the process of being modified and improved using the limited resources in the Junkyard Artificers’ possession, but they functioned nonetheless.

His eyes drifted to the life signals of the Nightshade Panthers as they emerged from the shadows. Their claws, coated in darkness, carved through the air, leaving afterimages even as they tore deep into an undead centaur’s rotten flesh. The Assassins on their backs unsheathed their daggers and attacked at the same time, piercing hide, flesh, and marking the targets’ bones, spreading necrotic poison and infusing potent venom into their Energy Pathways.

As it turned out (surprise, surprise), necrotic poison did not work against the living dead. But while the poison failed to do any damage, the venom permeating the Energy Pathways worked wonders. The victims moved slower, and their attacks hit weaker than before.