Scions of the Undead

Living Legend

In the early morning, as the mist had yet to fully dissipate, the sun revealed a faint halo of light.

The bone eagle landed on Elder Los's shoulder, its blood-red, featherless wings slowly folding. It had completed its mission, leading this covert search party to the desolate yet blood-soaked tribe.

As the youngest decision-making elder in the core of the Senate, Los Lister was over thirty years old but still possessed the beauty of a maiden. She was a true deity, hailing from the Enchantment family, and held an exceptionally revered position in the Senate, second only to Chief Elder Hawkins. She was undoubtedly one of the divine republic's decision-makers.

As one of the most powerful individuals in the divine republic, Elder Los did not need to personally track down that devilish man. Yet, she came. For an entire year, she had not returned to Bruda City, tirelessly traversing treacherous mountains and rivers. Within the Senate, many praised her: Elder Los was undoubtedly the most steadfast guardian of the divine republic, with an unwavering commitment to eradicating heresy.

Elder Los's delicate face bore traces of hardship, evidence that the years of pursuit had been a torment both mentally and physically.

"He was indeed here. The wounds on these corpses are as if cut by invisible threads, neat and smooth. Most of the deceased show expressions of fear but not pain. Only the Shadowless Sword could achieve this," Elder Los said softly. The unique deep, hoarse, and magnetic voice of the Lister family added a peculiar charm to her words.

The elite knights from the Temple Knights dared not speak, standing silently behind Elder Los, listening intently. They alone knew how terrifying this seemingly delicate woman was. Beneath her wide robe lay a body possessing power more fearsome than any beast. They believed such power should not belong to any being in this world. And this power, long suppressed by Elder Los, was finally about to be unleashed after more than two years of relentless pursuit. For the man had finally appeared.

Elder Los's wide robe trembled and then slowly calmed, as if it had taken centuries. She had sacrificed too much for this man. She had risked her life entering the deathlands of the deities to obtain unimaginable power. Yet, no one would know how much she had lost for such power, more than any woman could bear.

Emerging from the deathlands, Los finally understood that the deities were indeed, as humans said, descendants of the undead from hell. Surviving the deathlands was both her fortune and misfortune. For when Los stood between light and darkness, she finally grasped the inherent sorrow of the deities.

All was for the man named "Yue Wuying." Thinking of him, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Los's lips.

That man was renowned throughout the deities at eighteen, not for his martial prowess, nor for being the blind deity's eldest son, but for his astonishing talent. His foresight and wisdom far exceeded his age, earning him the title of the deities' star of hope. Even in the imperial capital of the Bright Empire, he had countless admirers. Young Los Lister was one of them.

However, at eighteen, everything changed. He faced his first setback when his childhood sweetheart married a genius from the Icebound family, who was also his close friend.

At the grand wedding of the Icebound family, Yue Wuying left in anger. That night, Los, along with many others, witnessed the rift between the two most outstanding geniuses of the deities, all over a woman, a trivial woman. This incident became a laughingstock. Yet, who could have foreseen the profound impact this small event would have on the deities? Los even thought: If that had never happened, perhaps the deities would not have declined so.

When Yue Wuying left the deities heartbroken, young Los cried all night for him. She even considered following him. But her steps were too slow, and he moved too fast and too far. So, that man would never know there was once a girl deeply in love with him, a love more intense than anyone else's.

The deities' genius vanished, and the world gained a top assassin, Lone Moon Shadowless, who painted the annals of history in blood. This legendary assassin would kill any king or noble for a penny if he wished, but no amount of gold could sway him if he didn't. He plunged the world into chaos. The Bright Empire and the Orc Kingdom tried to capture him, and even the deities secretly hunted him, but he always escaped. After losing countless lives and resources, the three nations gave up the chase.

Fortunately for the nations, the top assassin Yue Wuying disappeared for several years. He only reappeared during the Divine Punishment War, a secret known only to the highest echelons of the Senate, where Elder Los was among the informed.

The Divine Punishment War was a catastrophe for the deities, comparable to their loss of dominion over the continent a millennium ago, when they retreated to the ice plains.

On the eve of the Divine Punishment War, Yue Wuying's former friend, the Icebound family genius, had risen to the position of Consul of the Divine Republic. Yet, he was unsatisfied, believing only an empire could restore the deities' former glory. He secretly allied with the Twilight family and, during the grand Bruda Festival, revealed his rebellious fangs. The Icebound family's Storm Legion, along with the Twilight family's Vampire Legion, suddenly appeared outside Bruda City, intending to dissolve the Senate and establish the Divine Empire. If successful, the young master of the Icebound family would become the first emperor of the Divine Empire.

However, the plan leaked, and war erupted. The year-long Bruda City defense brought unprecedented disaster to the Divine Republic. The already sparse deities suffered heavy losses in the three-year unending war. Just as despair loomed, a dramatic turn occurred: the Twilight family suddenly announced their withdrawal from the war. This near-betrayal led to the Icebound family's crushing defeat, forcing them to retreat to their northern icebound territory.

Initially, the Senate debated whether to invade the Icebound territory and wage a final extermination war. Ultimately, Chief Elder Hawkins convinced everyone. Hawkins's reasoning was simple: a thief's son is always a thief. A millennium ago, when the deities ruled the continent, the Icebound family was the royal family. This deep-rooted imperial ideology led to their betrayal today, nearly driving the deities to extinction. Such an event must never happen again; thus, the Icebound family must be eradicated to preserve the Divine Republic, the deities, the Senate, and the tribes' fundamental interests.

Thus, the extermination war began.

First, Hawkins, leveraging the victory's momentum, executed or exiled all senators sympathetic to the Icebound family for treason, eliminating any possibility of a trial for the Icebound family. From that moment, the only way to end the war was the complete annihilation of the Icebound family.

In the Icebound territory, the Divine Republic's major legions gathered, including the Twilight family's Vampire Legion seeking redemption, the Berserker family's Iron Blood Legion, the Enchantment family's Mist Legion, the united legions of other deities, the Temple Knights, one of the continent's three major legions, and the southern tribes' united legions, totaling 300,000 troops.

The Senate did not underestimate their opponent. Although the Storm Legion had at most 50,000 soldiers, their fearless figures from the Bruda City defense were still vivid in memory. No one believed this war could be won in one fell swoop. However, the difficulties exceeded all expectations. What was supposed to be a three-month war lasted three years, causing irreparable damage to the economy and population. Fortunately, after three arduous years, only the Icebound City remained.

When the allied forces, representing the Senate's supreme authority, reached Icebound City, they were stunned. At the city gate stood Yue Wuying, holding a small child. General Baruch, the allied commander, laughed, "Is he mad, thinking he can stop our 150,000 troops alone?"

However, the remaining 150,000 allied soldiers soon witnessed a horrifying scene. Their laughing commander suddenly lost his head, his headless body sitting on his horse, right hand holding a sword like a statue. Then, blood spurted from his neck like blooming flowers. This eerie sight shook the soldiers' morale.

The Storm Legion, fewer than 8,000, appeared next, charging at the allied forces with a death wish. Veterans recalled, "They were demons, not thinking of survival. Without weapons, they bit with their teeth; without teeth, they used their heads; without heads, their corpses clung to you." This lone city resisted 150,000 troops for half a year.

Sympathetic deities recalled, "For those last Storm Legion warriors, it was a journey of heroic death, showing us the meaning of loyalty and courage." When the allied forces cleaned the battlefield, they found no intact Storm Legion corpses. This once strongest deity legion ended in disgrace as traitors.

The remaining stragglers posed no threat. Some fled to the northern deathlands, while others, after surrendering, were secretly executed by Elder Hawkins's order.

Yue Wuying was the only escapee, along with the child. He evaded countless pursuits, disappearing without a trace. In the three-year hunt, the number of allied casualties remained a Senate secret. But all admitted that without the child, they wouldn't have glimpsed Yue Wuying's shadow.

Eventually, due to the southern human emperor's opportunistic invasion, the Senate halted the pursuit to focus on the invaders. To unite the deities, the Senate announced that the last rebel, Yue Wuying, and the Icebound remnants were killed. Thus ended the Divine Punishment War, and the Icebound family became a historical memory.

The remaining senators were staunch supporters of the Divine Republic, keeping the secret. Only they knew that a covert Temple Knights unit continued the hunt, led by the Divine Republic's "Flower of Glory," Los Lister.

Now, this search party had finally caught the trail again, and a larger hunt was imminent.

Elder Los frowned slightly. Among the dead were nineteen knights. Judging by their crude equipment and attire, they belonged to the southern tribes' united legions. She couldn't understand how these cowards encountered Yue Wuying and provoked him. Were they also tracking Yue Wuying and the Icebound remnants? If so, the secret would inevitably leak, a slap in the Senate's face.

"Elder, there's a survivor," a Temple Knight reported.

It was indeed a survivor, but even the usually composed Elder Los changed her expression. It was a little girl, using her small hands to dig the cold earth. Her hands were nearly crippled, nails all gone. Yet, her expression remained focused, repeating the same action. Elder Los saw that the girl had lost consciousness, her tears frozen on her cheeks, acting on instinct. It was unimaginable what willpower drove this girl to persist, burying her slain kin to give them a final resting place. Even among the deities, few had such will, let alone a barbarian girl from the southern tribes.

At that moment, Elder Los saw a reflection of herself in the girl.

"Take her. Let her live. Burn the rest."

With the raging fire and billowing smoke, the bone eagle soared again, and the covert search party rode off like a whirlwind.

Shortly after their departure, a scar-faced man with a bandaged head emerged from the bushes, running towards the distant mountain path.