Chapter 53: Undead Invasion

The three of them moved through the shadows, silent as specters, until they reached a towering, ornate gate. The hall they stood in looked like the grand foyer of a long-abandoned mansion, swallowed by time and rot.

Two undead sentries stood before the door, completely still. Their rusted armor might’ve seen centuries of decay, but the weapons in their hands were no less deadly.

Luke and Allison locked eyes. No words needed.

They leapt in sync, landing with surgical precision right in front of the guards. They struck before the undead could even react.

Allison’s katana slid cleanly through one guard’s neck, the blade whispering through bone and sinew. Luke’s kukri plunged into the other’s throat, sinking in with a wet crunch.

Both bodies began to fall, but they caught them before they could hit the floor.

No sound. No alarm.

Allison glanced at the towering doors. “So… what do you think is behind this one?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Luke replied.

He stepped forward and pressed a hand against the wood, leaning in to peek through a narrow crack—but before he could make out anything, the doors shuddered.

With a low groan of metal and stone, the massive slabs began to creak open on their own.

Beyond them, a vast chamber stretched out, dimly lit by sparse torches flickering along the curved stone walls. Dozens of side tunnels fed into the space, and at the far end, a long vertical iron ladder was bolted tightly to the wall, climbing toward a hatch high up in the ceiling. The entire structure rose into shadow. Whatever was up there, it was far beyond the torchlight.

But there was a problem. The place was filled with undead soldiers. Dozens of them. And now, every one of their rotting eyes had turned toward the intruders.

Luke clicked his tongue. “So much for a quiet approach.”

Wherever they looked, there were more undead in armor—lined up like some kind of gathering hall for the dead.

Allison tightened her grip on her katana. “We’re heading for the stairs.”

Charlie, always fearless, raised her sword. Her empty eye sockets burned with spectral light, gaze locked on the exit.

Blades were drawn. The enemies began to move. Luke’s identifier flared with so many notifications that he simply stopped using the skill altogether.

“We’ll have to cut our way through!” he shouted, raising his kukris. Charlie was already focusing.

He moved first, vanishing in a flash of dark energy as Basic Dark Dash kicked in. A sharp gust of wind ripped through the air in his wake as he disappeared into motion.

A storm of blades came crashing down on him. Undead knights swung heavy swords in brutal arcs, but Luke slipped through the attacks, dodging each strike with razor-sharp precision. His kukris flashed, slicing through exposed gaps in the armor. One by one, he found the openings, driving his blades in with ruthless accuracy.

Limbs dropped. Corpses crumpled backward. He stabbed through the slits in their visors, forcing the kukris deep.

[You have slain a Dead Watchman – Lvl 10]

[You have slain a Dead Watchman – Lvl 10]

[You have slain a Dead Watchman – Lvl 10]

He carved a path through the undead, every movement clean, precise, efficient.

Charlie burst forward a moment later, Basic Spectral Charge igniting as she plowed into the enemy line, a ghostly blur leaving bodies flying in her wake. She landed at the heart of the swarm, raised her sword, and brought it down in one powerful arc, severing a soldier’s neck with a clean, surgical cut.

One of the knights went flying, launched by the force of her strike. Charlie slammed a fist into another’s helmet, sending it crashing to the ground. Another enemy lunged at her from behind. She twisted, blade already rising. Their weapons clashed in a shower of sparks, blocked just in time.

Then came a whisper of air. Allison landed beside her from above, her blade spinning in a lethal spiral. Before her feet even touched the ground, two undead were already headless.

The three fought like a single unit—coordinated, relentless. But the horde didn’t stop.

Luke’s eyes stayed locked on the distant ladder. He kept trying to force a path forward, but it was like the undead knights knew exactly what they were after. More and more of them moved to block the way.

“They’re surrounding us on purpose!” Allison shouted, watching the knights fan out to form a tightening circle.

One of Luke’s kukris flew back to his hand, summoned by the magnetic return.

Charlie raised her sword, glanced at Luke, and he caught the look: ‘I have an idea’.

The feeling passed between them clearly, even without words.

She stashed her sword in her inventory and activated her Iron Fists. With a surge of energy, she activated Spectral Charge and launched herself forward, slamming into the knights and scattering them like bowling pins.

Luke and Allison moved right behind her, sprinting through the path she’d opened.

She wasn’t killing them outright, but the sheer force of the charge was enough to break through the enemy lines.

As soon as the charge ended, Princess Charlie began channeling another.

She finished—then surged forward again, punching open the way.

“Charlie, there!” Allison pointed.

Without hesitation, she repeated the move, slamming into another cluster of knights as the skill reactivated.

“We’re doing it!” Allison shouted.

Luke hurled his kukris again and again, using the magnetic return to throw off the balance of knights who were starting to rise. But then—

A roar tore through the chamber like thunder. From the depths of one of the shadowed tunnels, something massive surged forward—a knight, far larger than the rest. Bronze-plated armor gleamed in the torchlight. A massive warhammer gripped in one hand.

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[Dead Watchman Commander – Lvl 15]

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Luke muttered as the notification appeared. The enemy wasn’t just powerful in level—Luke knew that with armor like that, it was going to be even worse in practice.

The towering knight crashed through its own allies, scattering them like ragdolls as it barreled toward the group, swinging the warhammer in wide, unstoppable arcs.

BAM!

The weapon slammed into Charlie’s chest, launching her through the air. She smashed into a stone pillar with bone-rattling force.

“Go!” Luke shouted to Allison. “Get to the stairs!”

She didn’t hesitate. She understood immediately.

Luke would hold the monster off with Charlie—and at the last second, he’d escape using Basic Dark Dash, then reabsorb her soul.

Allison sprinted for the ladder, launching herself upward with a double jump. She grabbed the iron rungs higher up, scaling faster with each movement. But just as she reached out for the next grip, a sharp gust sliced past her.

A spear tore through the air, missing her head by inches. She twisted midair, eyes snapping to the source. The bronze knight had thrown it after one of the undead soldiers handed him the weapon. He wasn’t going to let anyone escape.

Luke and Charlie bolted toward the knight, closing the distance with everything they had. Every second mattered. They only needed to buy her enough time.

Then the warhammer came down like a falling star. Luke ducked just in time. Charlie raised her sword to block, but the impact struck with explosive force. The floor shattered beneath them. The concussive blast sent both flying.

A shockwave. A special skill. That monster wasn’t ordinary.

It charged Charlie again.

She raised her sword—

Too late.

CRACK!

The strike shattered her arm, sending her sword flying and bones cracking against the stone floor. Charlie staggered back.

Luke tried to reach her, but more undead surged between them, cutting off his path. A blade slashed across him.

But Charlie didn’t stop. She pushed forward. Her fist slammed into the bronze knight’s face. The impact echoed down the corridor as his helmet cracked. He staggered.

She didn’t wait. Charlie lunged, dismissing the sword into her inventory mid-motion and raising her one good fist, ready for another round.

Luke cut down the last soldier in his way and leapt to her side.

Together, they struck. Brutal. Coordinated. Relentless.

Luke’s kukris tore through the gaps in the bronze plating, slicing into the undead flesh beneath. Charlie pounded the knight with her fist, each blow landing like a cannon blast.

The knight tried to fight back, but he was being overwhelmed.

Luke drove a kukri into the side of its neck. The creature swung at him in retaliation, but he dodged, and in that instant, Charlie leapt onto its back.

Spectral Charge activated mid-air, slamming into the monster and forcing it down to one knee. She didn’t miss a beat. Activating Iron Fist, she brought her one remaining fist crashing down onto its helmet, blasting it apart.

Luke didn’t hesitate. His kukri flashed and drove straight into the monster’s skull.

[You have slain a Dead Watchman Commander – Lvl 15]

*Your class [Demonic Assassin] has reached Level 10! (Class Bonus Points Acquired)*

[You have unlocked a new Class Skill]