CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER 295 - EVERYONE KNOWS HOW IT WOULD END.

The courtyard fell into a surreal silence, broken only by the squeaks echoing like war drums.

Zephyr’s smirk had long gone, replaced by a look that said, ’I still don’t understand what’s going on, but it’s not good.’

The elders and his siblings behind him had stiffened, while Raven merely slid his hands out of his pockets, whistling again—this time sharp and clear.

The next second, from the front ranks of the furry army, one squirrel stepped forward.

He was slightly bigger than the rest, his fur streaked with silver, his tail banded like a banner. Around his tiny neck hung a necklace of acorn caps, each one scarred like medals of war.

Above all, he had a scar running down his left eye.

He was Chatterfang, Nibbles’s brother, and now the commander and the general of the squirrel armed forces.

The squirrels behind him immediately straightened, tails rigid like spears. Even the undead seemed to hesitate at the weight of the little creature’s presence.

Raven crouched down slightly, his crimson eyes locking on the squirrel general. "Chatterfang, old friend. Glad you made it in time."

The squirrel squeaked, rapid and clipped, his tail flicking in salute.

"Yeah, no. I still can’t understand you, my friend," Raven replied with a smile, unable to understand a thing. "But I’m sure you can understand me."

Chatterfang would nod solemnly and wait for Raven’s words.

"Then listen carefully," Raen began, glancing at the army and then at Chatterfang. "Don’t kill any of those pale-skinned bastards today."

The squirrel army hissed in outrage—squeaks sharp and angry—as tiny sparks of elemental energy flashed like fireflies.

They wanted blood.

The squirrel army was now at a point where they didn’t fight wars without blood.

But Raven wasn’t shaken.

"I mean it," he said firmly, his tone cutting across the courtyard. "No matter what you do, killing isn’t an option."

The squirrel army wanted to protest more, but one squeak from Chatterfang silenced them as the commander turned toward Raven, nodding, as if telling him to continue.

Because, unlike other squirrels, most of whom were oblivious about Raven’s identity, powers, and what he had done for them, he knew it all.

Raven used to be their god.

Then one day, when he saw the squirrels struggling to survive, he had sacrificed so much of his godly powers that it had left him weak, all for what?

Chatterfang’s tiny fists clenched on his sides.

’It was for us,’ the squirrel thought inwardly.

The powers they had were all once Raven’s until he decided to give them all to them.

So, now, or anytime in the future, even if Raven asked them to die, they should do it without questioning anything.

Raven, who stared at the squirrel’s serious expressions, didn’t know the kind of misconception going on, so he merely continued.

"If you kill them. They get back up. Stronger than before. So, do anything—break bones, melt flesh, burn limbs—I don’t care how messy it looks. But they must not move from their spots."

Chatterfang blinked once, then gave a solemn nod.

"Good. Let’s show them what an army looks like."

The squirrels moved as one. A tide of fur and elemental fury rushed the undead, striking faster than eyes could follow.

One squirrel launched a bolt of lightning into a knight’s plated chest, making him convulse like a broken puppet.

Another hovered midair, psychic force slamming three undead into the wall at once, stone cracking beneath the impact.

A particularly bulky one swung its tail like a hammer, shattering kneecaps with the wet crunch of bone.

The undead staggered, fell, healed, and rose again—only to be hit harder, faster, and more relentlessly.

"Relentless... they’ll never stop," Clara whispered, her tone both impressed and unnerved.

Siris’s laugh cut through the chaos. "Look at them go! Little monsters after my own heart!"

She twirled her dagger strings, launching herself into the fray with glee. "Let’s join them!"

Her daggers sang through the air, cryovoid energy chilling every slash. She leapt onto an undead’s back, strings anchoring her as she stabbed its neck over and over, giggling like a madwoman.

Clara sighed and followed more gracefully. Her sound magic hummed through the air, disorienting the enemy.

Dozens of undead froze mid-motion, their eyes glazed as her illusions twisted reality into nightmares. The squirrels tore into them with delight.

Lia pressed her palms together, green light spilling between her fingers. "Bind them, hold them still!"

Roots burst from the cracked stone, coiling around undead arms and legs. The panther bounded in beside her, growling happily as it pounced from enemy to enemy, tail wagging like this was all just a game.

Jessy exhaled sharply, her hands lifting.

Metal shards flew up from the ground, reshaping into chains that coiled around torsos. "If I’m fighting beside squirrels, then I’m at least doing it with style."

Rufus slammed down, his suit lighting up with radiant circuits. "Nano-core online. Don’t worry, guys, I’m the tank!"

He charged headfirst, shoulder-bashing an undead into the wall. His voice carried with almost childlike glee: "I’M A WRECKING BALL!"

Jake, silent as always, melted into his shadow. His scythe slid across the ground with a shriek before appearing at an undead’s ankles.

Dark hands pulled the creature down, pinning it as squirrels swarmed over its body, stabbing eyes with tiny but merciless claws.

"BRO, LOOK AT THIS!" Alex bellowed. His arms were lit with molten veins, lava dripping onto the floor. Blargh bubbled out across his chest like armor.

Together, they grabbed two undead by the head and smashed them together in a fiery explosion.

"Double kill, baby!" Blargh laughed. "Somebody clip that!"

Cluckles stood serenely atop a broken pillar, scarf fluttering in the undead-stinking wind. "Cluckles has seen many wars... but none fought by hands so small, yet so mighty. May the acorns guide your fury."

Omni’s voice echoed from Raven’s side, smug and amused. "Bro, you’re literally out here with a squirrel army. This is gangster-level trolling. If intimidation were currency, you just bought the whole damn bank."

Valeria, on the other hand, stood frozen, trembling at the sight.

She glanced at her siblings, including Zephyr, all of them standing on the other side with their weapons drawn, but none dared step in yet. S

he clutched her chest, breath shallow, eyes wide on Raven as if seeing him for the first time.

"This... What the hell is happening?" She whispered. "He flipped the table with one move. Like, shouldn’t bringing squirrels into a fight be illegal?"

"Not for him," Clara spoke as she stepped closer to the only sibling of Raven who wasn’t an enemy. "He does things like this a lot."

Valeria looked at Clara for a second longer before she turned to look at Raven, who was now walking toward Zephyr, ignoring all the chaos around him.

He didn’t even bother looking at the undead who were jumping at him from every side, as they were all taken care of by either the squirrels or his group.

He was walking through them while the squirrels made way for him.

It was as if seeing a god walking through demons, and the demons couldn’t even touch him, as all who tried faced divine wrath.

His godly looks didn’t help.

Though the fact that the godly wrath was in the form of squirrels did seem somewhat strange.

But again, who cares?

She didn’t, as she was happy seeing Raven win.

Zephyr, on the other hand, had gone silent.

His eyes darted from the endless tide of squirrels to the way Raven’s group wove into their chaos seamlessly.

Every undead that moved was pinned. Every counter was smothered. His trap had been turned inside out.

As for Raven?

He hadn’t even drawn his sword yet.

He walked through the storm as if it were his backyard. He didn’t even bother lifting his fingers as he walked toward him, grinning, his crimson eyes glowing.

In Zephyr’s eyes, he was like a king commanding his army.

Like a lord of squirrels.

When Zephyr finally spoke, his voice was low, forced through clenched teeth.

"...You’ve turned vermin into soldiers."

Raven tilted his head, his grin sharpening. "No. They’ve always been soldiers. You just never looked close enough."

As soon as he said that, the squirrels, as if on cue, squeaked in perfect unison—

A chorus of war, absurd yet haunting, shook the courtyard walls.

The main fight hadn’t even begun yet, but everyone knew how it was going to end.