Chapter 382

Strike the head, and the body falls.

Once I captured the three who appeared to be the leaders, the undead under their control stopped moving like wind-up dolls. Deprived of its commanders, the monster army scattered. Some were killed, while others fled.

“Arch Lich?”

At my question, the three kneeling figures nodded.

I wasn’t sure whether things that were already dead and reduced to bones could still be called “guys,” but whatever.

I stroked each of the three skulls in turn and continued.

“When someone talks to you, you’re supposed to answer. Are you putting on airs just because you’re dead?”

They answered before I had even finished speaking.

—Yes. Yes. It is an Arch Lich.

—What you heard was correct, honored human.

—Indeed.

“Hmm. An Arch Lich. That’s a monster I’ve never heard of before… But which one of you answered informally at the end?”

—That one!

—How dare he speak so casually to the great human!

Whip! Whip!

Two bony fingers pointed at the third.

His companions’ lightning-fast betrayal left the accused skull trembling.

—No! This is a despicable false accusation!

“…Doesn’t sound like a false accusation to me.”

If he was going to lie, he could at least change the way he talked.

After glancing around, I pulled that out of my Inventory.

“Bones. Snack time.”

It was a skull with a strange black sheen, flames flickering in its empty eye sockets.

—…Bones? If you insist on giving me a nickname, call me Warlordmon like before.

“Why? You’re a skeleton, so Bones. It fits perfectly.”

—How dare you insult this commander!

“Fine. Forget it, then.”

Just as I was about to put it back in my Inventory, the Skeleton Warlord shouted indignantly.

—Thank you for the meal!

“What an honest little guy.”

Honest children deserved rewards. Liars deserved punishment.

“All right. Have a taste.”

—Thank you, slightly less wicked human. But how much may I eat…?

“Just a little, like before.”

—Hmm. I would like more, but very well.

Even snacks were too much if you gave them out too often. After expressing its slight disappointment, the Skeleton Warlord opened its jaws wide toward the trembling figure.

—Come here.

—E-Eek! No!

—Yes!

The change began with the Skeleton Warlord’s decisive shout.

Whoooosh!

That was still amazing, even after seeing it once before.

Black mist poured from the kneeling figure’s body and streamed into the Skeleton Warlord as though being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.

—Gaaaaah!

And that wasn’t the only change.

As more of the black mist—the substance the Skeleton Warlord called death energy—flowed out, the figure’s complexion grew steadily paler.

Or rather, its bones did.

Meanwhile, the Skeleton Warlord’s black sheen grew deeper and richer.

—S-Stop!

—Heh heh heh. What delicious death energy.

—Nooo!

—This commander shall take it all. Deeeath energy!

Crack!

—Hrk!

“Cut the ‘deeeath energy’ crap. Where did you even learn something like that?”

—…Are you really in a position to say that?

“Anyway, stop eating.”

—Why?!

“You’ll get fat.”

The Skeleton Warlord was momentarily lost for words. I tucked it inside my clothes and looked at its victim.

When I had first seen the creature, its bones had been dark and grimy. Now, half of its skeleton had turned white. Perhaps because so much of its death energy had been drained, the green flames in its eye sockets flickered unsteadily.

—Hrk… H-Hrk…

At the sight of their weakened companion, sucked dry to the bone, the other two anxiously clacked their teeth.

—Ask anything of us, great ruler of flame.

—Please, I beg of you. Accept the loyalty of this insignificant being, Orpheus von Maximus Valencia Bayern.

“…You’re undead, not a bidet.”

They must have been desperate not to lose their power. Not that I minded them being so cooperative.

“All right. If there’s anything you haven’t told me yet, scrape the bottom of the barrel and spill every last bit of it. If you feed me so much as one lie…”

—We will tell you everything!

—Please, I beg of you! Grant this false and insignificant being permission to speak the truth!

—I-I’ll talk.

Apparently unwilling to become bone broth, all three skeletons threw themselves enthusiastically into the interrogation.

They told me everything that had happened, from the Arch Lich’s first appearance a week ago to the events of today. Once they had finished, I frowned for effect.

“You’re sure?”

—Yes, great human!

—I swear upon the River of Death!

—N-Not a single word was false.

As all three skulls nodded furiously, the Skeleton Warlord cut in.

—They speak the truth.

“Did they pay you off? How can you guarantee that?”

—They swore upon the River of Death. For beings such as us, that is an absolute vow. It can never be broken.

“Hmm.”

The guy was usually as frivolous as dust in the wind. Hearing it speak with such gravity made me think it probably wasn’t lying.

Besides, the three of them had no reason to scheme in a situation like this.

“All right. I believe you.”

—Thank you! Thank you so much!

—Hrk, hrk! I shall serve you with all my heart, my king!

—I-I mean, I too shall swear loyalty to you, honored human. I swear upon the River of Death that I will never again commit such an act—

Crunch!

The last skeleton faltered before it could finish.

His trembling green eye light shifted back and forth between the fist embedded in his chest and me.

—W-Why?

“What do you mean, why?”

—I-I, loyalty, swear, River of Death…

“Too late.”

A voice so cold it hardly sounded like mine slipped between my lips.

“It’s too late to undo what you’ve done.”

Countless people had died here today.

Even regular troops armed with firearms and Hunters had been unable to stop them, so there was no telling how many civilians the monster army had killed over the past week.

“I don’t need your loyalty. Especially not from bastards like you.”

The moment I released the Scorching Yang Qi I had drawn up from my dantian—

Whoosh!

Extreme Yang energy erupted from the fist lodged between its shattered ribs. Blue-white Force radiating unimaginable heat coiled around its entire body.

Rooooar!

I watched the green flames in its eye sockets flicker like candles in the wind, then go out.

I also saw the other two figures spring to their feet and begin chanting spells.

—Jazuchawa Umbado…!

—Vargan Mahra…!

Whoooom.

A wind of magical power swirled around them. Just as their sinister spell was about to be completed, I casually said,

“Devour them. Both of them.”

As though it had been waiting for those very words, the Skeleton Warlord sprang from between the folds of my clothes and opened its jaws wide.

—Gladly.

—Varsaba… Eek!

—N-No!

The monsters screamed in a final, desperate bid to live—or rather, to continue existing as undead.

Their wishes meant nothing. The Skeleton Warlord’s pull was stronger and faster than ever.

Whoooosh! Gulp!

The Skeleton Warlord swallowed an enormous quantity of death energy in a single bite, and its skull shuddered.

A moment later, the two skeletons, completely drained of energy, collapsed into piles of bone.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

—You have successfully completed the unexpected Quest, Unexpected Attack!

—You have caused the monster army to collapse! This is truly an outstanding achievement!

—As a Quest Reward, you have acquired the Title Undead Hunter!

—You have acquired a considerable amount of EXP and Fame!

—Level Up!

Only once?

In the past, I would have leveled up several times without difficulty. But now that I had reached Level 120, it seemed the amount of EXP I needed had increased.

Not that I did it for the EXP.

I had merely done what needed to be done, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

After all, the stronger I became, the more useful I would be in the battles ahead.

The same goes for that guy.

I looked at the Skeleton Warlord while thinking to myself.

Thanks to the enormous amount of death energy it had absorbed, the power emanating from it was on a completely different level from when we had first met.

—Hmm. Hoooo…

Black mist billowed through the holes in its skull where its nose, ears, and eyes should have been.

Its violet eye flames burned like torches, and its smooth surface gleamed with a deep black luster. A moment later, its crazed laughter thundered through my head.

—Kaha! Kahahahaha!

“Turn down the volume. You’re loud.”

—Wicked human. This time, this commander offers you his profound gratitude.

“You should. Who do you think fed you?”

—Fed me?! Are you implying that this body is some sort of pet?!

“Close enough. Isn’t it?”

—Don’t be absurd!

“Oh? Bones, come here.”

I held out my hand. The skull immediately sprang into the air and landed in my palm.

As a reward, I gently scratched it between the eyes.

“Good boy, Bones. Aren’t you adorable?”

—…!

The skull trembled.

—H-How could this happen?! How could this commander be treated like this by a mere human?!

“You say no with your mouth, but your body is honest.”

—I am the master of the Black Forest and the commander of the great undead army. Do not humiliate this body!

“A commander who’s nothing but a head?”

—What?! This paltry body can be restored whenever I wish, so long as I expend enough death energy!

“Really? Then why haven’t you restored it yet?”

—…Because even if I did, some lunatic human would just smash it again.

“Oh, correct.”

The toothless Skeleton Warlord ground its jawbones together, its eye flames narrowing.

—Why, wicked human?

“Why what?”

—There must be some ulterior motive behind feeding me—no, behind granting me such immense power. You clearly have some dark scheme in mind. Tell me the truth!

I thought for a moment before answering.

“Hmm. Because you’re a fucking scrub.”

—What?

“You can’t beat me anyway. If I’m going to keep a scrub around, it might as well be a stronger, more useful one. That’ll make you easier to put to work. Don’t you agree?”

—…!

“All right. Get back inside. People are coming.”

I put the Skeleton Warlord, frozen in shock, back into my Inventory and stood.

The airport duty-free corridor would normally have been crowded with employees and passengers. Now it was empty and dark, and three people were walking toward me.

Two of them were familiar.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung.”

“Mr. Jin.”

They were Team Leader Choi, who looked relatively unscathed, and Xiao Shen, an A-rank Hunter from China’s Public Security Armed Forces Department.

A fair amount of time had passed since the battle ended, but Xiao Shen was still covered in blood and dust, his face haggard with exhaustion.

“There you are.”

I exchanged a look of greeting with Team Leader Choi before making an excuse.

“Yes. I had something to take care of.”

“Please speak casually with me. Fuc—no, Mr. Jin, you are the hero who saved me, my comrades, and even the people of Zhonghua¹.”

“…”

Was that my imagination, or had he almost called me Lord Fuck just now?

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Xiao Shen continued in an extremely respectful tone.

“Fortunately, with the help of the two gentlemen from the Peace Guild, we were able to defeat the monsters. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again.”

“Oh, sure. It was nothing. I only did what anyone should have.”

I waved my hands modestly and stole a glance at Team Leader Choi.

I had been worried the Integrated Language Pack might malfunction and make him notice something strange. But since I was currently speaking with Xiao Shen, it seemed Team Leader Choi was hearing my words in Chinese as well.

“But who is the gentleman beside you…?”

He was the only unfamiliar face among the three.

The gray-haired, middle-aged man who had been silently listening to our conversation extended his hand.

“I am Wei Fenghu, Minister of National Defense under the Central Military Commission. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jin.”

“Minister of National Defense…”

“My rank is general.”

“Ah.”

I understood that he was a big deal, but I had no idea what that rank actually meant.

Perhaps he had read my thoughts, because Team Leader Choi whispered from beside me in a voice barely louder than an ant.

“Four-star. Four-star.”

“Ah. Ahhh! You’re a general! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

I had been a four-star once, too. That game I played as a kid had been a lot of fun. The sequel had bombed spectacularly, though.

Wei Fenghu clasped my hand, a faint smile touching his lips.

“You are full of youthful vigor. I have many things I would like to ask you, but shall we talk while we walk?”

“Sure.”

I started after Wei Fenghu, then paused.

“Where are we going?”

“To the operations headquarters. I have a jet waiting.”

“What? Headquarters? A jet?”

“That is correct. Everyone is waiting for you there, Mr. Jin.”

Everyone? Who?