Chapter 381

Whoooosh.

I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it.

Centered on me—or rather, flowing from the Skeleton Warlord inside the subspace known as my Inventory—a sticky energy spread in every direction.

The change was immediate.

—Kirik?

—Gwoo?

The ferocious monsters abruptly stopped moving.

Orcs, Trolls, goblins, Lycanthropes, every kind of monster I had only ever seen in monster encyclopedias, and even fallen Hunters.

They had only one thing in common: they had already died once and been resurrected as undead.

Gulp.

I swallowed dryly and muttered, “It works.”

—Wow. It really works.

“……?”

—……?

Wait. What did he just say?

My brain froze for a moment. Then I whispered, “What kind of dog-bone bullshit is that? Didn’t you try it because you knew it would work?”

The Skeleton Warlord answered hesitantly.

—The truth is… even this commander did not expect it to work so easily.

“You said your control was much stronger.”

—Ah, that? I just said it in the heat of the moment.

“What?”

—My pride would not allow me to sit around doing nothing…

“…….”

Isn’t this guy completely insane?

I was dumbfounded, but regardless, the result was undeniable.

The undead monsters within a radius of several dozen meters¹ had all stopped moving at once, bringing the fierce battle raging around us to a temporary lull.

“T-The monsters have stopped moving!”

“What in the world is going on?”

“Don’t let your guard down! Some of them are still moving!”

Just as someone shouted, it was still too early to relax.

Only some of the nearby undead monsters had come under the Skeleton Warlord’s control. Those farther away, along with the ordinary monsters that were not undead, were unaffected.

—Gwoooooar!

—Chiiik!

“Haaah!”

Clang! Stab!

The uncontrolled monsters were briefly bewildered by the sudden change in their own kind, but they soon began rampaging again, and the battle resumed.

The two sides were hopelessly mismatched in numbers.

But from this moment onward, that was about to change.

I called out in a deliberately hushed voice.

“Go, Warlordmon!”

Warlordmon—no, the Skeleton Warlord—shouted back in outrage.

—Wicked human! Do not call this commander that!

“How about Warlordmon Who’s Desperate to Be Erased?”

—……Damn it.

Despite being a skeleton that couldn’t even breathe, he let out a deep sigh before chanting a spell.

—Fight, Skeleton Skeleton.

That bastard had definitely started enjoying the whole Skeleton Skeleton thing. It was hardly an impressive incantation, but its effect was undeniable.

—Gwoo?

At the Skeleton Warlord’s command, ferocity filled the eyes of the undead monsters that had been standing blankly. Then, in the next moment—

Crunch!

An undead ogre’s iron club crushed a Troll’s skull.

That was only the beginning.

The undead monsters who had gained a new master charged at their own kind.

—Gwoooooar!

—Ch-Chirik?

Crack! Slice! Stab-stab-stab!

An unexpected ambush from behind.

One flank of the monster army surrounding the Chinese Hunters collapsed helplessly.

—Chiiiiiik!

“W-What the hell!”

“Why are those monsters suddenly…?”

The monsters betrayed by their own kind were not the only ones thrown into confusion.

The Chinese Hunters were just as bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

I shouted to the young Hunter who had been racing across the front lines, swinging his spear.

“Xiao Shen!”

“M-Mr. Jin?”

His eyes widened as he looked at me.

“H-How do you know my name?”

I had just used Qi Sense to check his Level window, but that wasn’t important right now.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you switching to an all-out offensive?”

“But what is going on here…?”

“Are you really curious about that right now? Do you want to grab an undead monster and make it explain why it’s helping us using the five Ws and one H?”

“N-No, sir!”

“Then what should you be doing?”

Xiao Shen snapped to his senses and thrust his spear into the air.

“Attack formation! Everyone in the Public Security Armed Forces Department, from this moment on, attack everything except the undead monsters!”

“Yes, sir!”

Now that was an excellent decision.

Along with their unified shout, the momentum of the roughly five hundred Hunters who had been driven into a corner changed.

“Kill them!”

“Avenge our fallen comrades!”

Shish-shish-shishik! Slice!

—Awooooo!

A Lycanthrope charged at a Hunter who had just beheaded an Orc.

Its jaws opened, yellow fangs poised to tear out the Hunter’s throat, but a massive fist slammed into its mouth.

Crunch!

—Gwoooooar!

The ogre that had crushed the Lycanthrope’s skull let out a savage roar.

High above the ogre, a Griffon plunged into a steep dive, its razor-sharp claws flashing.

—Kiiiieeeek!

Just as the A-rank monster’s mana-infused claws were about to rake across the ogre’s eyes—

“Ice Ball!”

“Lightning Bolt!”

The ranged Hunters waiting nearby unleashed their magic. The electrocuted Griffon convulsed in midair.

At that moment, a figure stepped off a Troll’s shoulder, launched himself into the air, and swung his weapon at the Griffon.

“Custom-made by J Company, widely considered one of Germany’s finest weapon manufacturers—!”

Slice!

A single clean, effortless strike split the Griffon’s head in two.

Team Leader Choi landed gracefully and gazed at the transparent blade, not a single drop of blood staining it, with a satisfied smile.

“A longsword I won at auction for 5.2 billion won.² It certainly earns its price.”

“…….”

It looks stupid, but it’s cool.

It’s cool, but it looks stupid.

After watching the whole thing, the Skeleton Warlord asked dubiously,

—Wicked human, did you say that man was your superior?

“No, well… Technically, as far as our Guild positions go, he is, but…”

—He seemed reasonably clever for a human, yet I have never encountered anyone so strange. He truly is a fitting superior for you.

“Raise your hand if you’re a Skeleton Warlord who wants to be erased for running his mouth.”

After a brief silence, the Skeleton Warlord answered by chanting another spell.

—Grow, Skeleton Skeleton!

They say even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after three years. Now he could do it without being told.

Crack. Crack-crack-crack.

The Griffon killed by Team Leader Choi, along with the monsters brought down by the combined attacks of the Hunters and undead, gained new life and rose from their dead bodies.

There were two hundred of them.

The range also seemed wider than during the first attempt. Even distant undead monsters came under the Skeleton Warlord’s control and began attacking their former allies.

“Wow. You were capable of this?”

—Wow. Was this commander capable of this?

“…….”

—……Actually, this commander was not capable of quite this much. But for some reason, an enormous amount of mana is surging through me now that I am here!

“Sure. Great.”

I gave up trying to understand this bizarre named monster.

As long as the result was good, that was all that mattered. Trying to figure it out right now would only give me a headache.

—Give me more. More legions!

I couldn’t see him because he was inside my Inventory, but I was certain his fleshless skull was trembling with excitement.

I sighed and tightened my grip on my spear.

“I was already planning to.”

—Do you have a way?

“I do.”

The method for increasing the number of undead was simple.

“Kill them all.”

—Kahaha! You truly are a wicked and ignorant human!

The bastard was getting cheeky, but this time, I had to agree with at least part of what he said.

With the Skeleton Warlord’s mad laughter echoing through my mind, I stepped forward.

Flamefire Path.

Whoooosh!

A path of flame opened with every step.

Black robes. Staffs hung with dangling skulls.

Their eye sockets were empty, and patches of unrotted flesh still clung to their bodies.

The three beings, each looking as though it had stepped straight out of a nightmare, sent their thoughts to one another.

—There is a problem.

—The undead monsters are slipping out of our control. They are helping the humans and attacking the legion.

—Why?

They were not asking how their control had been broken. The three beings already knew the answer to that question.

—A higher undead. One more powerful than us.

All monsters had a hierarchy, but the undead were ruled by strength more absolutely than any other kind.

If their control had been stolen, it could only be the work of a higher existence.

—But…

—How is that possible?

None of the three beings could answer.

How could an existence more powerful than them be here, seizing control of the undead and helping the humans?

—Could it be that person?

—Absurd. Have you forgotten the command that person gave us when sending us here?

—Kill the humans. Create more undead and a greater legion, then kill more. More humans.

Recalling their command, the three beings fell into confusion.

If that person—the Arch Lich—was not responsible, then who could possibly possess greater control than they did?

—Was there a necromancer among the humans?

—I sensed nothing.

—Humans reject and despise death. That cannot be. Even if one were among them, they would be nothing compared to us.

Unmistakable hostility permeated their thoughts because they, too, had once been necromancers who suffered humanity’s rejection and contempt.

But that had happened in the distant past, in another dimension.

Drifting across the boundless ocean of death, they had met a boatman named the Arch Lich. After gaining new power, they were finally on the verge of becoming the Liches they had longed to be.

But…

—What a shame.

—If only our transformation had been completed. If only there had been more death in this land.

—Then we would not have lost control, either.

The three beings could not hide their regret.

They had been great necromancers while alive, but they had yet to complete their transformation into Liches.

They had been reborn in the bodies of dead mages, but one week was far too short to absorb enough death energy to become full-fledged Liches.

—That is why that person sent all three of us.

—If this mission fails, that person will be disappointed.

—That person might even take back the power they gave us.

That was what the three beings feared most.

If they wanted to earn the Arch Lich’s favor, they had to overcome this crisis somehow.

Even if it meant expending a tremendous amount of power.

—There is no other choice.

—Are you suggesting we combine our strength?

—Yes. If the three of us combine our strength, even an unidentified higher undead will no longer be able to steal control from us.

—Hmm. Fine.

—Do you agree?

—I agree.

The three beings, who had been competing for the Arch Lich’s favor, finally reached an agreement.

Without hesitation, they began chanting necromantic spells.

—Valencia. Madrid.

—Bayern. Munich.

—Stoke. City.

The energy of death flowing from the three beings spread through the air.

The green grass turned black, and the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army within range clutched their throats and collapsed.

“Ghk!”

“Guhhh!”

Whoooosh.

As the humans breathed their last, death energy flowed from their bodies and seeped into every part of the monsters.

—Kyaaaaaaah!

—Gwoooooar!

The air trembled with the powerful mana carried in their savage cries. Their strength was beyond comparison with that of ordinary monsters.

Only after sensing their strengthened control and the greater power of the monsters under their command did the three beings stop chanting.

—Kikikikik.

—Success.

—We consumed an enormous amount of power… but this is more than enough.

Just as the three beings smiled in satisfaction at their newly empowered legion—

Boom!

Far away, a monster’s limbs flew through the air amid a thunderous explosion.

The three beings watched the flames rise and exchanged thoughts.

—There appears to be a flame mage. Not bad.

—He is still only human. Deploy the Skeleton Mages in force.

—Good idea.

A short while later, flames erupted again, and the three beings looked at one another.

—What was that just now?

—Our control was severed. It was not stolen.

—He erased them? Impressive.

—But is he truly a mage? His movements seem far too fast…

—Let us deploy the ogre unit.

—I’ll see your ogres and raise you Dullahans.

—Dullahans, too? Then who will protect us?

—He is right. Dullahans would be excessive. The strengthened ogres will be enough.

—That is true.

Three minutes later, a grim atmosphere hung over the three beings’ skulls.

—It was severed.

—Again?

—I told you we should send the Dullahans.

—What is that thing? It does not seem to be a mage.

—J-Just send the Dullahans first!

—Th-Then we shall do so.

The three beings watched as the more than twenty Dullahans assigned as their escort force rushed away. Then they quietly began searching for another point of agreement.

—Hmm. It is unlikely that such a thing will happen, but just in case…

—I had a similar thought.

—Should we create a Death Knight?

—We have already consumed too much power. A Death Knight, too? We do not have suitable materials, and it would take a long time.

—Given the urgency, we can simply choose the most useful one available. If the three of us combine our strength, it will be possible.

—Th-Then should we try?

But the three beings’ plan to create a Death Knight was shattered less than ten minutes later.

Whoosh! Boom!

Even with bodies reduced to little more than bone, they could feel the searing heat.

“Fucking bastards. There’s a shitload of them.”

Crunch!

The three beings watched a figure tear through the monster army with a spear engulfed in hellfire and hurriedly began chanting spells.

Their once slow, dragging voices became as fast as rap.

—Omnehasoyu!

—Yenwigajike!

But before they could complete their spells, the young human—impossible to identify as either a flame mage or a warrior—had already arrived right in front of them.

“Oh, nice to meet you.”

—O-Omnehasoyu!

—Y-Yes, Yenwigajike!

The young man, Jin Taekyung, cocked his head.

“Hello. Entertainment Weekly? Are you idiots?”³