When the red giant skeleton landed, the wooden platform instantly shattered, sending debris flying in all directions. Brand raised a hand to shield his face as he looked forward, just in time to see a massive skeleton, nearly three times the height of a person, clad in blood-red armor, rise up amidst the swirling dust. It wore a giant crusader helmet with a fiery nine-headed snake pattern on it, and Brand gasped in shock.
This was Madara's General's Guard, the Crusader Executioner.
Brand felt a shiver run down his spine, like he had been drenched with ice-cold water from head to toe. His heart turned cold, and any previous thoughts of muddling the situation evaporated—he couldn't afford any distractions now.
He almost couldn't speak—after a cough, he didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately shouted to the people behind him, "Retreat, retreat, leave here, follow me—!" His voice was rarely so severe; even when facing the undead army on that day, he had not been this tense.
If possible, he almost wanted to curse. What the hell were the Brags' guards doing, letting this thing in? Why didn't they just open the city gates and surrender outright?
Perhaps Batom and Antitina were confused, but Brand knew exactly what the Crusader Executioner was. In this place, it might as well be considered the Death God. This was not an ordinary undead creature; it wasn't even the kind of undead summoned by an Undead Wizard. It was a nest creature, one of Madara's few upper-level ground, corporeal undead. The only other corporeal undead of its level were the flesh puppet and the black knight.
It was a high-level undead.
Silver Middle strength.
Brand saw that the Crusader Executioner seemed momentarily disoriented from the impact of its fall and didn't think twice, immediately pulling the others to the left. There was a small door leading backstage under that platform, which had been their target from the beginning.
Batom and Char reacted quickly as well; the seasoned mercenary immediately sensed the despairingly murderous aura emanating from the Crusader Executioner. Only a war-hardened veteran like him could detect this feeling. The giant skeleton, clad in fiery red armor and wielding a massive axe, was definitely not to be trifled with.
The group swiftly passed under the platform, but the bad news was that the undead finally stood up, and it seemed that the only enemies nearby were their group.
Brand pushed Antitina and Romantic through the door, followed by Char and Batom. He glanced back and saw the monster's hollow eye sockets with two red Soul Fires locked onto them. It raised its axe and shakily stood up from the platform, emitting a cacophony of creaking sounds.
"Brand?" Romantic asked, a little confused.
"Don't speak, just listen to me," Brand said as he quickly closed the door—fortunately, it was a heavy iron door, presumably designed for defensive purposes, giving them enough time.
"Is that thing really powerful? What should we do?" Batom asked.
Brand calmed himself and answered, "Let me think, I might have a plan." As he spoke, he released wind spirit spiders, letting them crawl through the room's gaps. He instantly had a rough plan but hesitated, wondering if it was too dangerous.
His greatest hope was that the monster would go after someone else, given the hall was still full of people. It wasn't worth chasing their small group.
But before he could finish his thought, the iron door shook violently. The immense force resonated through the door, sending him sprawling forward. The others were horrified; Batom and Char rushed to hold the door. Brand clambered up from the ground and returned to his position. At that moment, he abandoned any hope and decided firmly:
"There's only one way. You guys run first, split up. I'll hold this creature back."
"Brand!" For the first time, Romantic saw the young man showing an uncertain expression, and her thrill of adventure was instantly washed away—similar to the worry she showed at the old manor in Buqi. The young merchant lady wanted to stay and face the formidable enemy together with Brand, but this time he insisted she go ahead.