With a sound like tearing silk, black death took flight from the tip of the Grand Duke’s bow. A single strike erased hundreds of undead from existence and carved a new scar into the mountain beyond. In the distance, one of the Abyss’s great nests crumbled into ruin.

It was overwhelming might.

Each time she drew her bow, countless dead were reduced to dust and scattered on the wind. She was single-handedly annihilating an entire army.

[Come, Haite.]

At her beckoning, Haite, the manager of the 2nd Legion, appeared. The headless knight lifted her onto his horse, then transformed his own body, melding with the Bow of Gale.

The transformed bow groaned as its string was drawn taut to its absolute limit, and the wail of tormented spirits echoed across the battlefield. She aimed an arrow at the sky and let it fly. It punched a perfect, donut-shaped hole through the gray, blizzard-filled clouds.

The sky above churned with a bruised, black light, and then it began to rain—a downpour of jet-black arrows, all screaming toward the earth.

The black rain fell, a storm of shrieking projectiles that tore through the enemy ranks, delivering judgment upon the damned.

Holes riddled the bodies of the undead as they crumbled like sandcastles.

"Amazing!" a soldier cried out.

"As expected!" another roared.

"We have the Grand Duke!"

"WHOOHOO!!"

The Northern Army’s morale, which had plummeted with the appearance of the undead Kingdom Army, soared in an instant thanks to the Grand Duke’s devastating display. She galloped across the battlefield, unleashing a relentless barrage of arrows.

’She’s incredible,’ Simon thought, watching with his mouth agape.

"What are you all doing!" Great General Ganiro bellowed. "How long will you let the Grand Duke fight alone? Follow her!"

"Oooooooh!"

The banners of the Northern Army whipped in the wind as the warriors, each letting out a fierce battle cry, began to charge.

"For the liberation of the North!"

"You sons of bitches!"

"Kill them all!"

The Northern Army, charging with murderous intent, began to butcher the undead Kingdom Army. They had seized the momentum completely.

"Grand Duke," Great General Ganiro said, rushing to her side. "You’ve done more than enough. Please, let us handle it from here. You must conserve your strength for the final battle with the Northern God."

[Understood.]

Only then did the Grand Duke dismount. Her bow, saddle, and armor morphed, returning to the form of Heit.

[Do not stop the assault.]

"Yes! Leave the rest to me!" Ganiro declared.

The Northern Army took the front lines while the 2nd and 7th Legions pressed in from the flanks, cornering the Kingdom Army. Having expended a burst of energy to break the enemy, the Grand Duke turned her attention to command.

[Lower the left flank’s banner and prepare for an attack from the side. Archer unit, retreat ten paces. The flagbearers of the third squad are too far ahead. Match your pace.]

While commanding the Northern Army, she was also meticulously controlling the 2nd Legion through telepathy. They moved in perfect sync, tearing down the enemy lines.

Simon knew he couldn’t fall behind.

’Erzebet, fall back and lure the enemy into your webs! Prince, use your crown to stop the zombies at the eleven o’clock position!’

[Yes, Legion Commander!]

[Got it!]

Thanks to the efforts of the Grand Duke and Simon, the barrier created by the Northern God’s new "Three Brothers" was slowly being dismantled.

However...

A high-pitched whine filled the air as the sky turned a bloody red. A crimson aura bled across the bodies of the undead, making them even stronger.

[Hahahaha!]

Simon whipped his head around. Chronos, tattered from the Grand Duke’s arrows, had reappeared, his laughter echoing across the field. His upper body was that of a zombie, but below the chest, his form was hastily assembled from bones, like a grotesque skeleton.

[You can never defeat the great Northern God!]

One after another, red moons rose in the sky. As Chronos unleashed his power, the undead began to surge with strength. Creatures that a single warrior could once easily defeat suddenly became so powerful that even three or four soldiers couldn’t bring one down.

"The zombies are as big as monsters!"

"What is that thing?"

It was Chronos’s wide-range curse, strengthening his own undead while simultaneously weakening the Northern Army.

[This is my true worth, now that I have become the First Brother,] Chronos boasted as countless moons filled the sky. [I shall command the continent’s strongest army, one that will never know defeat!]

An arrow flew from the Grand Duke’s bow in an instant. Every time she shattered a red moon, the enhancement curse on the undead vanished with it.

[You interfere with me to the very end, Grand Duke!] Chronos snarled, conjuring more moons.

[Hmph. Let’s see who wins,] the Grand Duke replied with a smirk, drawing her bow once more.

The battle between the two powerhouses—one creating moons, the other shooting them down—unfolded with blistering intensity.

[What are you doing, Second Brother!] Chronos let out a monstrous roar. [Bring me that woman’s head at once!]

From the front ranks of the Northern Army, warriors were suddenly sent flying as if blasted by a geyser.

"Huh?"

"Something’s coming!"

The ground shook with the thunder of hooves as a man with an arm protruding from his throat swung a massive sword. A wave of slashing energy shot out like thorns, impaling the warriors and killing them instantly.

[Kill me... Kill me... Kill me...!]

It was the undead Commander Romario. More arms sprouted from all over his body, each one twisted and contorted, flailing in agony as if to mirror his tormented soul.

[Kill me...!]

He gripped his sword with both hands and swung it downward. A mountain of jet-black thorns erupted from the ground, turning the warriors’ bodies into bloody honeycombs.

"Ugh!"

"Cough!"

The soldiers collapsed, vomiting blood.

Romario charged forward on his horse, an unstoppable force. The spears and arrows of the warriors were useless, caught and blocked by the hands that grew all over his body.

"Dammit, he’s ridiculously strong!"

"To think the Kingdom Army’s commander became one of the Three Brothers!"

Romario picked up speed, his target clear: the Grand Duke’s banner. The Grand Duke herself. Seeing him approach, she ceased her assault on Chronos and aimed her bow at the new threat.

[Kill meeeeeee!]

Just as Romario was about to reach her, a man leaped in like a thunderbolt, his sword swinging in a powerful arc. The blow was so immense that Romario’s massive body was thrown back along with his horse.

"Your opponent is me, Romario!" Ganiro’s eyes blazed with fury.

[Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!] Romario’s telepathic screams raged wildly.

"What is this pathetic state you’re in, Romario? How disgraceful!"

The two warriors clashed, their swords exchanging fierce, desperate blows.

---

Beads of sweat formed on Simon’s forehead as he commanded his troops. ’There are far more enemies than I thought!’

The undead Kingdom Army wasn’t the only threat. The Northern God was continuously sending reinforcements, an endless stream of undead descending from the mountain range—giant Yeti zombies and skeletons among them. Influenced by Chronos’s red moons, they had become far more ferocious and faster.

The Grand Duke’s arrows relentlessly pierced Chronos’s moons and hunted down the named undead, but the enemy forces were endless. Her Jet-Black was not infinite. On top of that, she was firing her bow while simultaneously controlling the entire 2nd Legion.

’My legion has more leeway, so we need to be more proactive,’ Simon resolved, swinging his arm. ’Akemus! Block the enemies coming down from the northern mountain range!’

[Yes, Young Master!]

’Pier, circle around and take care of the rear!’

[Khahaha! Understood, boy!]

Simon was narrowing the encirclement of the Kingdom Army while fending off the undead flocking from all directions. The Northern God, seeming to understand the gravity of this battle, was sending even more troops from its main base, the Abyss. This was a crucial turning point. Chronos, the First Brother, was a more troublesome enemy than he had ever imagined, and he could not be allowed to escape. He had to be stopped here and now.

[Legion Commander! Undead are swarming from the right!] Erzebet’s voice rang in his mind.

’I’ll go myself!’

The Grand Duke had instructed him to conserve his strength, so he had been focusing on command without donning his armor. But he desperately felt he had to do something. Simon charged forward and activated a magic circle.

’Simon Polentia Original – Royal Guard’

Turquoise Jet-Black soared into the air, imbuing the skeletons Simon pulled from his subspace. Their swords shimmered with a fluorescent light, and their turquoise capes fluttered behind them.

’Let’s go!’

Pressing the crown firmly onto his head, Simon personally led his Royal Guard, cutting down the swarming undead. Chronos’s curse seemed to be in constant flux, as the effects on the undead kept varying. Sometimes their bones and flesh would harden, and other times their speed would increase dramatically. Of course, as soon as an effect appeared, the Grand Duke would shoot down a moon with an arrow, neutralizing it.

[You just don’t give up, do you, Grand Duke!] Chronos’s voice echoed from afar. [Our youngest, the Third Brother! Only you remain! Are you finally ready?]

Simon froze. Come to think of it, the ’Third Brother’ had yet to appear.

’Think. If the First is Chronos and the Second is Romario, then who is the Third?’

Simon bit his lip and scanned his surroundings, searching for a figure from the Kingdom Army who could be the final brother. His eyes landed on a familiar face.

’I knew it!’

Count Voldmont. Now a zombie, he was shambling forward with a dazed look, muttering, "Uhhhh."

Simon bit his lip hard and charged. ’Follow me!’

There was a high probability that Count Voldmont was the Third. He didn’t know what abilities he possessed, but he had to eliminate him now, before they could be unleashed.

Simon leaped forward, his Royal Guard at his heels. With every flash of the turquoise sword, zombies’ heads flew.

’Kieeeh!’

’Kiii!’

As if trying to protect their master, zombies rushed forward to block Simon’s path, but it was no use. The fluorescent blade drew countless lines in the air, and the zombies tumbled, reduced to pieces of meat. Simon slipped through an opening and leaped. In mid-air, he spun the Royal Guard’s sword in his hand and brought it down.

He lopped off the head. The zombified Voldmont’s head flew high into the sky.

’Farewell, Count Voldmont.’

Simon offered a silent prayer and straightened up.

The head of the zombified Count Voldmont rolled across the ground with a dull thud. And then a thought struck him.

’That was... too easy.’

Voldmont had been nothing more than a run-of-the-mill zombie. He wasn’t the Third.

[Ahaha.]

Just then, Simon felt a hand on his shoulder. He hadn’t sensed a presence at all. A chill shot down his spine as he turned around.

[It’s been a while, Simon.]

The undead was a familiar face. Long hair, pale skin, and scratches marring her features. A tall, female zombie. She offered a loose, haunting smile.

Simon swung his sword, but she leaped back nimbly, dodging the attack. His arm trembled.

"Why... are you here?" Simon shouted, his voice cracking. "Grayson!"

The milkmaid, Grayson, just smiled.

[Hehe.]

She spread her arms wide. From behind her, countless undead birds began to take flight.

[I’m sorry,] she said. [It seems I’m the ’Third Brother’.]

Simon felt as if he’d been hit in the back of the head with a hammer, and for a moment, he was completely stunned. He barely managed to pull himself together.

’Stay calm.’ He took slow, deep breaths, forcing his composure back. ’Grayson was in the Kingdom Army, too.’

What had happened couldn’t be undone. The only thing that mattered was how he dealt with it now.

’Pier.’

[What is it, boy?]

Simon raised his sword, his focus sharpening.

’Is there any way to bring the Three Brothers into the legion as our undead?’