Chapter 33: Kid Arrives

Hu Yu did not take the bait, but simply picked up the remote control from the coffee table and skillfully turned on the television.

"So this is what it is. Why didn't I sense any magical fluctuations?" the Demon Emperor asked, curious—or perhaps just trying to ease the awkwardness.

On the screen, the march of the skeleton army was being broadcast in real-time.

"This..." The Demon Emperor was stunned again. He watched the undead army creeping across the screen, unable to finish his sentence.

"This isn't mirror magic. It's just a mirror without magic," Hu Yu explained.

In the Demon Emperor's mind, mirrors were devices used by powerful mages to record and play back images. He had never seen anything like this—a direct broadcast with absolutely no magical fluctuations. Hu Yu had told him about the function of televisions earlier, but he hadn't fully believed it. Now, he had no choice but to believe.

The two began to study the television, but after examining it for a long time, they couldn't make heads or tails of it and eventually gave up.

"Yu'er, let's add this television to our trade items. I want seventy-two of them first. And get me a larger one separately."

"Uncle, are you planning to send one to every tribe?" Hu Yu wore an expression that said, 'You're rich, so you're the boss.'

"Not send—sell! Once we go back, we’ll promote them first. We buy low and sell high!"

"Uncle is brilliant! No wonder you're so wealthy," Hu Yu said with admiration.

Meanwhile, just as Shen Yi finished his call with the Demon Emperor, Wang Sheng called, sounding as frantic as if his pants were on fire.

"Listen, brother, what time do you think it is? Can you handle things on your end? How am I supposed to get this shipment over? The undead army is almost at Youge City; the roads are completely blocked!"

He called him "brother" with such familiarity. Shen Yi knew Wang Sheng had a warm heart. Wang Sheng had been preparing the ore mentioned earlier, but with the great war imminent, he couldn't deliver the supplies, which made him incredibly anxious.

"The situation doesn't look very optimistic! Vice Dean, I've already sent people to collect the supplies. They should be there soon!"

Just as Shen Yi finished speaking, Wang Sheng looked out from Holy Heart City and saw six black dots flying in from the sky in the distance.

"I imagine there’s no room for them to land in Holy Heart City. I'll have to trouble Vice Dean Wang to send them outside the city walls. Once this crisis passes, I’ll pay you your reward!"

Hearing Shen Yi’s voice, Wang Sheng walked out of his office and looked toward Youge City. He could see the black dots in the sky with his naked eye—the flying puppets were already arriving.

He quickly said, "No need," and hung up the phone. A magical broadcast echoed throughout the campus: "Everyone, get over here! Move the ore to the city outskirts. If anyone slacks off, I’ll fail you in this course!"

Wang Sheng was truly anxious; he felt that the Commander might not hold out. He sensed that the Commander desperately needed the ore—usually, people prioritize food and fodder, but for him, it was ore first.

In an instant, all the students and teachers were mobilized. Time was tight; there was no time to hire workers. Who had ever seen mages pulling carts? Today, they saw exactly that. The citizens of Holy Heart City were baffled. What was going on? Did Holy Heart Academy start a physical education class?

"Look at them, they look so frail; they definitely need the exercise," some citizens thought.

"Young Master, why are you pulling a cart? Who is bullying you?" A servant who had been out purchasing daily supplies for his master saw his young master and a group of gorgeously dressed noble youths sweating profusely while pulling carts. Some were pushing from behind, some pulling from the front—it was quite a scene.

"Cut the crap and come help!" Seeing his young master lose his temper, the servant quickly joined the cart-pulling brigade.

Similar scenes were unfolding in every street and alley of Holy Heart City. Some people paid onlookers to help; servants swarmed in. Almost everyone who could be seen joined the "Ore Rally." As more people joined, even magical beasts were recruited into the pulling force. Many hands make light work!

Over twenty tons of ore were moved to the city outskirts in a very short time. The students and teachers of the magic academy lay sprawled on the ground, exhausted, having never been so tired in their lives. In contrast, the commoners, servants, mercenaries, and merchants who had helped only seemed to have broken a slight sweat.

Grand Dean Dian Lu had been observing the "Ore Rally" from the city walls. Seeing his students and teachers sprawled everywhere, he felt both pained and angry. *You are the pride of heaven, how could you be like this? You’ve been outdone by ordinary people!*

The old man looked at the transport planes parked outside the city with their cargo doors open. He had seen these used for transport before; they were very convenient. Looking up, he saw four Phantom fighters circling as a guard. He sighed to himself, "The Commander is getting stronger and stronger. I wonder if he can withstand the pressure this time. If he isn't wiped out, humanity will see the rise of a third major force!"

If that happened, anyone who wanted to move against him would have to think twice.

Dian Lu looked back at the students and teachers, who were too tired to move even after loading the ore. He wondered if he should hire some martial arts masters to start a physical education class.

As the transport fleet flew away, the undead army was almost at the city gates. The dense sea of skeletons halted to conduct a pre-battle mobilization. In reality, the undead had no tactics—it was just sheer numbers; they would simply bury you under their weight.

But the commander this time didn't think so. A five-meter-tall giant skeleton stood on the back of a bone dragon, clad in golden battle armor, looking majestic. His name was Kidd, one of the three great knights under the Skeleton King. With a peak Level 5 combat power, he felt fearless. After all, with the endless undead army, he believed he could walk sideways through the Boundless Forest.

Kidd glanced at Youge City in the distance with utter contempt. He prepared to give a pre-battle speech like a human, as he felt it made him look quite imposing.

His peak martial power allowed his booming voice to carry far, echoing over the undead army. "Today is the undead's carnival! Today is the day the Boundless Forest is ruled by fear! Undead, tell me, who creates their fear?"

Then came the reply...

"We do! We, the undead! Long live Kidd! Kill them all!" Shouts, shrieks, and ghostly wails erupted, shaking the heavens.

Kidd felt something was wrong, but seeing these undead brats were so cooperative, he didn't think too much of it. He just felt this inspiring moment was a bit noisy.

*How could it be noisy? That's impossible. Am I just not in the zone yet?* Kidd reasoned with himself.

Kidd looked at the vampire strategist, Lauk, hovering nearby, asking with his eyes if it was time to start.

Lauk frowned, his bloodless face twisting. "Lord Kidd, my thought is that it is still early. It would be safer to attack after dark."

"I know, but I had a sudden craving to speak, and the atmosphere was already built up. What am I supposed to do?" Kidd spread his hands, looking at the howling, excited army around him, then back at the strategist. The meaning was clear: if they didn't attack now, wouldn't it be embarrassing?

"We cannot act on impulse. His Majesty did not send you here to play. For humans, the night is our advantage!"

"Then you go tell them. I'm a bit sleepy, I'm going to take a nap on the dragon's back!" With that, Kidd found a comfortable position on the bone dragon and lay down.

*Damn it, you're the commander, not me! Skeletons don't even sleep. Who are you trying to fool?* Lauk really wanted to crack open Kidd's big skull to see what was inside.

Lauk looked at the furious, agitated undead army. How was he supposed to resolve this? He complained inwardly, "Is this even a job for a living soul?"

*Go ahead and howl, go ahead and make a fuss. I'm not going to manage it. Let's see when you're done.*

Compared to the undead army howling in the distance outside Youge City, the city itself was exceptionally quiet. Only the televisions in every household were on, and the live broadcast continued. Even the enemy commander's mobilization speech was shown in full, with a close-up of Kidd and Lauk.

Everyone felt the great battle was imminent and prepared to fight at any moment. Watching the overwhelming undead army on TV and the solitary Youge City in the distance, the atmosphere was stifling, pressing down on everyone until they could barely breathe.

But after a while, everyone noticed something off. They saw those undead just standing there shouting, but not attacking. What was the problem?

It wasn't just the residents of Youge City who were confused; Hu Yu and the Demon Emperor, who were watching the battle, were also baffled.

"What's with the undead? Do they have to howl endlessly before fighting? What does that mean?"

"Are they planning to shout for three days and three nights?"

"It's been an hour! They don't attack, they just howl. Well, don't try to guess the mind of the undead!"

"Could the undead be oxygen-deprived?"

Everyone was making snide remarks in their hearts. Regardless of what the observers thought, the undead were feeling helpless too.

*We want to stop, but what's going on? Should we fight or not? We're tired!*

*I'm closest to the commander, I've been shouting the hardest, and I feel like I'm running out of oxygen!*

The undead didn't dare to stop, and they didn't dare to ask. It was so hard!

Just when both sides were feeling awkward, six black dots appeared in the sky in the distance.