Lane enters the scene.

Within Karen's territory.

The battle against the goblins had lasted half a day; it had begun around noon, and now the sun was already setting. At last, the tide of the battlefield was gradually turning in the direction that Ironwood had longed to see.

Both of Karen’s ranged legions—the goblin skeleton mages and the skeletal archers—had already lost their ability to strike from a distance. After all, whether it was casting spells or firing the Bone Arrows, both required energy. With these two ranged units rendered powerless, the two hundred melee undead faced mounting pressure, and the goblins began to gain the upper hand.

But Ironwood’s advantage did not end there; his true edge lay in the reinforcements he was expecting from the rear. In truth, only a fifth of these ten thousand goblins belonged to the Ironwood Mine Tribe. Ironwood felt no remorse in sending them to clash with Karen, for they were not his kin—should they perish, it was of no consequence to him. He saw it as only natural to lay the foundation of his own victory with the lives of others.

By this stage in the fighting, as long as his reinforcements arrived, victory would be his. Yet what he did not know was that he would never see those reinforcements; for the goblins he had dispatched to summon aid from the Ironwood Mine Tribe had been intercepted and eliminated by the Ghostshade’s men before they ever reached their destination.

Meanwhile, Ryan, leading two thousand troops, had stormed into the Goblin Forest. His army, brimming with murderous intent, was united by a single purpose: to annihilate the Ironwood Mine Tribe and Karen together.

As Ryan’s army approached Karen’s territory, the Bloodclaw Eagle circling above was the first to spot them. With a piercing cry, it announced the news. Alice, who had stayed at Karen’s side, automatically translated the Bloodclaw Eagle’s message for him.

“From the direction of Dorei Village: about two thousand strong, one hundred at the second tier, and roughly one thousand nine hundred at the first.”

Hearing these numbers, Karen’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“So Cliff was right after all! With such a force coming this way, they truly mean to wipe me out along with the rest.”

Yet, despite these words, Karen’s face showed little sign of surprise. He even pretended to be unaware, continuing his desperate struggle against the goblins.

Though Karen feigned ignorance, the Ghostshade’s people had fixed their gaze on the Bloodclaw Eagle the moment it cried out. “That bird is suspicious—it’s likely one of that necromancer’s undead,” Dima said with a frown. He then turned to Shadow, “Can you shoot it down?”

“It’s too high. I can’t guarantee it,” Shadow replied.

“Let me try,” said Ghost. As Shadow shook his head, Ghost stepped forward, grabbed a one-handed sword from a fellow member, and hurled it with all his might. The sword flew like a bolt of lightning, striking the Bloodclaw Eagle before it could react and slicing away most of its body.

But the Bloodclaw Eagle was undead—despite losing most of its form, it did not perish. The remaining half plummeted, then darted straight into Karen’s territory. Even so, the Ghostshade’s people now understood that the eagle was indeed Karen’s undead, and their brows furrowed in concern.

“So it really is that necromancer’s creature. Does that mean its recent cry—?”

“It seems we’ve been exposed,” Dima muttered, his brow creasing once more.

Shadow, however, appeared unconcerned. “So what if we’re exposed? At this point, what can that necromancer do? Once Ryan’s army arrives, we’ll sweep them aside with ease.”

“It’s not just the necromancer knowing our presence that concerns me. The real trouble will be if he joins forces with the goblins. Then it might not be so easy to wipe them out.”

“Join forces? After fighting each other to this extent? How could they possibly form an alliance now?”

Shadow hadn’t finished speaking when, on the battlefield, Karen—who had been hiding at the rearmost ranks—now advanced to the very front, riding a bone wolf and guarded by eight third-tier undead, after the Bloodclaw Eagle had been brought down.

As soon as Karen appeared, he seemed to shout something toward the opposite side. Because of the distance, the Ghostshade’s people could not hear his words, but it was clear that soon after Karen’s emergence, Ironwood also stepped out from the goblin ranks.

No one knew what passed between Karen and Ironwood, but astonishingly, both sides tacitly agreed to halt the fighting.

“How can this be?” Shadow stared in disbelief.

Assassination and scouting were his specialties, but this turn of events left him baffled. Dima, however, had a fair idea of what was happening.

“It’s clear: the necromancer revealed information about Ryan. The goblins may or may not believe it, but they’ve stopped fighting—partly to verify Karen’s intelligence, but mostly because they’re waiting for their own reinforcements.” Dima’s brow furrowed even deeper as he watched the now-silent battlefield.

“Reinforcements? They’ll never arrive—not before the battle is over, at least,” Shadow said with a cold laugh.

“But he doesn’t know that, so he’s still waiting. Now things are complicated for us. The goblins, despite heavy losses, have two or three thousand combatants remaining, and the undead have barely suffered any casualties. Our next move…”

“No need to worry!” Ghost clapped Dima on the shoulder with a hearty smile. “The victors of this battle will be us. Even if they join forces now, it’s meaningless. We will be the last ones standing—because our champion is here!”

Almost as Ghost finished speaking, the army from Moon-Worship City finally marched onto the battlefield.

Logically, since the Moon-Worship City army had advanced from Dorei Village, they should have encountered Karen’s forces first. In reality, however, things were different. In the prior fighting, Karen had clustered his undead legions together while the goblins besieged them, so it was the goblins who now surrounded Karen’s undead army.

Thus, when Ryan’s army arrived, it was Ironwood’s goblin forces—not Karen—who faced them first.

When Ironwood saw Ryan’s troops truly storm onto the field, his already green face nearly turned purple with rage.

At this point, Ryan had no concern for the goblins’ feelings. As soon as his army arrived, he raised his greatsword and issued a command brimming with murderous resolve: “Kill them all—leave not a single goblin or undead alive!”