717 Sending Aid from Miles Away Part 1 (1/2)

Saleen had heard before that pure-bred grade-three warhorses could travel more than sixty miles per hour, but only for two to three hours. After that, it would have to rest completely and not move for the next eighteen days. At a comfortable pace, the pure-bred horse could travel at forty miles per hour. That was equivalent to the speed at which normal knights would charge.

The winged skeleton put in great effort to create the skeletal warhorse and clearly knew more about horses than Saleen. This type of warhorse could catch up with flying mages and could travel at a consistent pace for an entire day.

There was no way the knights would be able to control the warhorses traveling at a speed of eighty miles an hour. If not for the winged skeleton, practically every knight would have been thrown off and crushed.

The winged skeleton demonstrated the immense power of his advanced abilities. Saleen's bond did not restrict his development and the grade-8 death mage was already on the same level as a grand mage. Of course, this was related to how powerful Saleen's mental strength was. Both he and Nailisi were bonded to Saleen with their souls. As long as Saleen's mental strength could advance to the standard of a grade-9 sorcerer, the winged skeleton would be able to advance to grade-9 as well.

Even so, the winged skeleton would have put in effort as well. As his master, Saleen would not be able to extend any other kind of aid to him.

Saleen was in good health and the two mages were more powerful than him. Both Isabella and Eleanor were proficient in both magic and combat so they were able to travel for ten hours straight before finally stopping for a rest.

Any other mage would already have been paralyzed. Even if they boosted themselves with spells continuously, they would never have been able to travel on their horses for ten hours straight.

The two-hundred warriors that had followed Saleen were the most tired of all. During the break in the day, the mages boosted everyone with spells. By the time night came, everyone was already asleep except for the winged skeleton and the demons.

The winged skeleton was wearing the armor that Saleen had refined for him. The front of the helmet was a crystal mask. Soul flames danced slowly behind the mask and displayed a strange and magical silver color in the night.

Cuisi took a look at the winged skeleton and recalled Nailisi's warning so he made sure to stay out of the way of the spirit of the dead. He ordered the other three demons to stand guard outside Saleen's tentage. The spirits of the dead under the winged skeleton would be responsible for the security of the entire campsite.

The winged skeleton stood at the entrance of the campsite, armed with a weapon that was more than four yards long.

The tip of this weapon was a circular-shaped axe blade that was more than a yard long in diameter. The gigantic axe opened up on both sides and was blood-red in color. There was a magic array on both sides of the axe and there were colorful magic nuclei like six strange looking eyes mounted on it.

The winged skeleton found this weapon from the ocean and by his estimation, the weapon should at least be twenty-thousand years old. While a weapon with a long history might not necessarily mean that it was a good weapon, the fact remained that it withstood pressure and decomposition under water for twenty-thousand years without any signs of damage. This was definitely an equipment of high quality.

The handle of the giant axe was oval in shape and was filled with magic patterns. These magic patterns were not refined only on its surface, it was refined completely into the interior of the axe. They would not disappear no matter how much one polished it.

The aura of the spirit of the dead emanated through the winged skeleton's gloves and entered the giant axe. The colorful magic nuclei lit up and the blood-red magic patterns flowed on the black giant axe.

There were six jade skeletons that stood behind the winged skeleton and each of them were also armed with a similar giant axe. Those were weapons that Saleen refined by trying to copy the winged skeleton's original weapon.

The winged skeleton and his men were extremely powerful and no one dared to handle such a giant axe. Even silver grand swordmasters would have to think twice about it.

Seven skeletons stood at the entrance of the campsite and the nocturnal magic beasts all stayed far away. Six streams of gray-colored aura flowed from winged skeleton's giant axe and were absorbed by the axes of the jade skeletons behind him.

These seven skeletons functioned as one. Saleen dared to bring only two-hundred men to Daliang City partly because he was confident in his own abilities, but also because the winged skeleton was already a grade-8 spirit of the dead and was already more powerful than the Three Kings. Judikaka's soul flame was given to the winged skull and once Saleen advanced, the winged skeleton would immediately advance to grade-9 as well.

The winged skeleton looked up at the moon. The silver-colored moonlight passed through the crystal mask and entered his eyes before being absorbed by his soul flames. The soul flames grew stronger after absorbing the moonlight.

The night passed peacefully and the campsite was not disturbed. Saleen led the troops to continue on their way. It was already the middle of September. He had to reach Daliang City by the end of October and would have to take into account the route conditions and whether they would encounter any attacks by the enemy.

They did not encounter any trouble from Metatrin to the new city that Aini was overseeing. Saleen turned towards the south when they reached the border of Laiyin and headed towards Daliang City by traveling along the border of Luolan.

These two-hundred men who were clad in full armor were conspicuous. They were only less noticeable because they did not travel on routes commonly used by wagons. They would not stop along the way for supplies and would travel around towns and sprinted across plains.

No one would have been able to catch up with the skeletal warhorses even if they wanted to. These two-hundred skeletal warhorses covered seven-hundred miles every day even as they carried Saleen and his two-hundred soldiers and mages.

Regardless of the local noble families that harbored evil intentions, Holy Rock City armies, or even some bandit companies; everyone had miscalculated and were all left behind by Saleen's strange way of moving his troops.