As Gu Xi was restoring his mana, the troops under his command had already gathered.
Shaya, concerned about the affairs of Victoria City, had already returned there via the Furnace Stone.
However, Luna was still present, and she could manage all the undead efficiently, soon gathering them all together.
After prior reinforcements and battling against the Death Incarnation, the number of skeleton soldiers in the three combat squads had changed somewhat.
[Combat Squad 1 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Attack +5, Defense +1, Experience 77/200): Captain (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Boss, Members (23/43) Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (23)]
[Combat Squad 2 (Level 2, Unnamed, Traits: Attack +4, Life +4, Experience 42/500): Captain (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Boss, Members (31/38) Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (31)]
[Combat Squad 3 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Defense +6, Experience 184/200): Captain (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Boss, Members (24/49) Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (24)]
Altogether, there were 78 skeleton soldiers. Adding the newly transformed 50 skeleton shooters, the total number of the skeleton troops reached 128.
This finally supplemented the forces to a certain level; otherwise, having less than a hundred skeleton soldiers would be too shameful for an Undead Mage.
Additionally, of the twenty zombies, six had perished, leaving only fourteen, while all the ghosts were still intact and were already waiting at the city gate.
Regarding the most crucial force for this battle, the Bone Dragon turned Death Incarnation, it was continuously flying in the sky.
As Gu Xi approached, Luna, who was organizing the troops, swiftly flew over.
"Master, the troops are ready. Oh, right, Master, I temporarily selected a skeleton soldier to bear the flag for you. Do you think that would be okay?"
Luna pointed toward the skeleton soldier in the troop, where a noticeably taller skeleton soldier stood, all his weapons stripped away, holding nothing but wearing armor.
Gu Xi’s current Chief Battle Banner was just a single white flag, without even a sturdy banner pole, only a simple wooden one, lacking any personal emblem.
Gu Xi had a long way to go before getting a battle banner of his own.
Actually, if Gu Xi didn’t obtain the Chief Battle Banner this time, it would be at least until Level 5 before he could have a banner of his own.
For now, just having a skeleton soldier to help hold the flag was enough. He couldn’t ask for anything more.
After giving the Chief Battle Banner to the skeleton soldier, Gu Xi took out the map for a glance and pointed his hand toward the Pier District.
"Deploy! Target the Boundary Tower."
As Gu Xi led the troops out of his city district, a dinged sound echoed in his ear.
[Ding! You are entering the Pier District, your actions will provoke a reaction from the Pier District guards, please retreat immediately!]
[Warning! You are entering the Pier District, your actions will initiate a war, please retreat immediately!]
[...]
Gu Xi paid no heed to such warnings; he intended to attack the Pier District, making the enemies inside come out prematurely.
Sure enough, after being warned thrice, the system ceased to give new prompts.
However, Gu Xi had already heard the bugle from the Boundary Tower.
Simultaneously, batch after batch of black deceitful shadows emerged from the Boundary Tower, forming battle arrays on the tower-front grounds.
Gu Xi found the actions of these black deceitful shadows somewhat perplexing.
He thought he needed to besiege the city, yet before his troops were in place, the enemies came out themselves.
"What’s going on here?"
"Master, do you think it’s because there isn’t enough room to deploy so many troops inside the tower?"
Gu Xi contemplated several reasons but couldn’t explain why the deceitful shadows would choose to engage outside, until Luna’s remark stirred him to realization.
There indeed could be such a possibility.
Before them was merely a Boundary Tower, not a city wall or castle suitable for a large-scale military assembly; the six-story tower didn’t have space for the black deceitful shadows to spread out in combat.
With Gu Xi bringing his troops over, these black deceitful shadows had no choice but to engage.
"Seems like I thought too much. Prepare for battle, Death Incarnation, rise into the air first.
Luna, the ghosts are under your command; the enemy has two BOSSes, one of the defense type, take the ghosts and deal with it. As for the other magic system one, I’ll have the Death Incarnation handle it once it appears."
Gu Xi swiftly issued orders, waving his hand as the skeleton soldiers moved forward.
Under Gu Xi’s arrangement, Combat Squad 3’s skeleton soldiers were placed at the forefront, followed by the long spear skeleton soldiers from Combat Squad 2.
The double-handed sword-wielding skeleton soldiers were dispersed on both flanks to prevent enemy side attacks.
The newly transformed skeleton shooters kept at the rear, calculating their attack range from there.
The effective range of the skeleton shooters was 100 meters; beyond that, the arrows could reach but their power diminished with distance.
Without a Gold Bow, a piece of battle equipment, there’s no solving the issue.
Even the most adept Elf shooters had an effective range of merely 350 meters, with power weakening beyond that.
Gu Xi was aware of these facts and knew where his strengths lay.
Skeleton soldiers didn’t fear death; with a limited range, the skeleton shooters simply needed to move closer.
Therefore, the skeleton shooters’ position remained just behind Combat Squad 2, less than thirty meters from the battle front.
At this range, the skeleton shooters had superior attack power and accuracy compared to long-range attacks.
Here, they could achieve rapid concentrated fire and sniping effects.
One might say this position was the optimal combat spot for the skeleton shooters.
After forming a battle array, Gu Xi was shielded by a group of zombies, while Luna with the ghosts had already flown ahead, pressing toward the deceitful shadow troops from the front.
By then, the deceitful shadow troops began their offensive, their units quickly forming four phalanxes, each comprising forty soldiers.
From the phalanx setup, it was clear they consisted of ten Level 3 deceitful shadows combined with thirty Level 2 deceitful shadows.
Leading each phalanx was a deceptively solid deceitful shadow, striding forward confidently.
With just over half of the deceitful shadow forces deployed, Gu Xi was somewhat taken aback.
He wondered if these deceitful shadows underestimated him.
Only numbering 120, with merely a fraction at Level 3, it seemed a senseless sacrifice. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novᴇlfire.net
Just as Gu Xi pondered, an anomaly occurred at the Boundary Tower.