Chapter 342
Chapter 342
Chapter 342
Zeke arrived at the ancient ruins containing the Holy King's relic, riding Bucephalus and beating the Imperial Army there.
While unsure of the relic's exact location, finding it wasn't difficult with his absolute compass. Unlike the Fairy Lake incident, the compass pointed directly to the relic's location this time.
Back then, he had needed the help of the Mountain Lord, and the compass had guided him through fate and connections to ensure there was no misunderstanding or distrust. But since he could reach the Holy King’s ruins on his own, the compass had led him straight to his destination.
Seeing how quickly he found the relic, Zeke understood better how to utilize the absolute compass.
The ancient ruins where the Holy King's relic was located were known as the first settlement when Geo Lubern established his kingdom, before the Holy Empire era.
Zeke gazed at the ancient ruins where only traces remained of the collapsed buildings.
From the remaining foundation size, he could tell it was once a large city comparable to Mycenae.
A city of that scale was now completely destroyed, leaving only foundations with no trace of its former existence.
After surveying everything, Zeke led Bucephalus inside the ruins toward where the compass pointed.
'It should be somewhere around here.'
Zeke found the path to the relic using the minimap and compass.
Just then, the phoenix dozing on his shoulder suddenly opened its eyes and flew into the sky.
KURURURURU!
Zeke called out to the phoenix flying away.
"Raven!"
After much difficulty naming it due to its pickiness, he finally gave it a name with Arina's help.
The phoenix had liked the name 'Raven' which meant 'Divine soul'.
Ignoring Zeke's call, Raven circled around an area while crying out.
KURURURURU!
When Zeke went to where Raven pointed, there were piles of collapsed building debris.
Surprisingly, the absolute compass indicated this was the entrance.
He immediately cleared away the debris and examined inside. A hidden underground stairway was revealed.
'This is the entrance.'
Raven perched proudly on Zeke's head after discovering the relic's entrance.
"Well done, Raven."
Zeke took out jerky from his chest and tossed it up.
Raven skillfully caught and ate the jerky while perched on his head.
It was hard to find any divine beast dignity in Raven as it happily munched on jerky atop Zeke's head.
Zeke smirked at this, then cleared the debris and descended the underground stairs.
Though pitch black, he could clearly see the dark underground space with his dragon eyes.
'This looks similar to the path leading to the underground catacombs hidden beneath the Papal Palace.'
The Papal Palace in the Holy State of Vadoka was also said to be converted from the Grand Cathedral building that existed since the Lubern Dynasty era.
So it made sense for the structure to be similar, given this was the ancient site of the Lubern Dynasty.
After descending the underground stairs, an old underground space turned dungeon appeared.
Before properly entering the catacombs, Zeke summoned Richmond.
"You called, master?"
Richmond appeared with a tired expression.
"Were you up all night researching again?"
Richmond shook his head at those words.
"Don't even mention it. You know that incense burner I told you about?"
"You mean the ancient artifact discovered in the Natural Undead Dungeon?"
"Yes, when I tried examining it closely, it became quite troublesome."
"What happened?"
"Whether it had an ancient curse or not, when I touched it, spirits kept popping out from inside making a mess of not just the dungeon but my research lab too. At least Durahan could subdue the spirits so we managed to handle it somehow, but it was quite chaotic."
Zeke clicked his tongue at those words.
"What a waste of the genius necromancer Victor Nirvana's reputation."
"UGH, it's embarrassing when you bring up my name from 500 years ago. Besides, necromancy isn't my specialty so it couldn't be helped."
Even among necromancers, their fields were quite specialized, making it difficult to handle areas outside their expertise.
Originally, liches could instinctively handle the undead, but since Richmond only became half-lich using bloodruby, necromancy was difficult for him.
"Stop complaining and get ready. We're starting the relic exploration."
Richmond nodded at Zeke's words.
"Understood. But which relic site is this?"
"This is the relic site of the first Holy King, Geo Lubern."
Richmond startled at those words.
"T-The Holy King Geo Lubern?"
Zeke asked with a puzzled expression at Richmond's reaction.
"Why are you so surprised?"
"W-Well, Geo Lubern was famous as a Lich Slayer knight. As a lich, it's natural to be scared!"
Come to think of it, Geo Lubern's epic had many tales of capturing liches and evil wizards.
'Perhaps it's because light power was effective against dark wizards and magical beasts.'
Zeke thought of Agamemnon's Mask, one of his holy relics.
'If Geo Lubern owned this mask, he must have been able to use purification power.'
If he was a healer class like Zeke, he could have drawn out the mask's power.
Moreover, though not well known, he inherited the blood of Terakan Draker, the protagonist of the Dragon Slayer legend.
While he couldn't use aura, he likely had talent with swordsmanship.
'If we find the Holy King's remains, we might find related records.'
Zeke had the trembling Richmond scout ahead in the dungeon.
Richmond reluctantly summoned undead to explore the dungeon-turned catacomb.
Meanwhile, Zeke summoned ghost warriors around the ruins to watch for the Imperial Army's approach.
He maintained thorough vigilance since there might be other entrances besides this one.
While the undead scouted, Zeke set up camping equipment and prepared food in a corner of the underground space.
Leading a large army, the Imperial Army would likely move slowly, and exploring the relic site would take time even with the system. So Zeke believed in resting properly when possible.
While Zeke rested, Richmond curiously watched Raven dozing on Zeke's head.
"This is my first time seeing a divine beast, it's fascinating."
Watching Richmond eye Raven curiously, Zeke said.
"Despite appearances, it has a nasty temper, so be careful."
Richmond approached to examine the dozing Raven more closely.
Just then, Raven's eyes snapped open.
KURURURURU!!
Raven flew up and started pecking Richmond frantically.
"AAGH! M-Master! Please stop it!"
Zeke clicked his tongue watching Richmond being attacked by Raven.
"I told you it has a bad temper."
Richmond finally escaped after being pecked for a while.
His robe was full of holes from the hard beak, looking like a rag, and his face and body were covered in wounds.
He whimpered with a tearful expression.
"SOB, this is lich discrimination."
"You disturbed its sleep. Stop complaining and eat this."
Zeke laid out hot soup, bread, fresh vegetables, and preserved food.
Richmond ate bread while carefully watching Raven.
Fortunately, Raven was busy eating jerky and ignored Richmond's gaze.
Richmond spoke while watching Raven.
"I heard the Eastern Empire considers phoenixes more sacred than dragons. If you took Raven to the Eastern Empire, the Sultan might treat you as an honored guest."
"Are there phoenixes in the Eastern Empire?"
"I heard there used to be, but I'm not sure about now. The Eastern Continent had more fantasy species than the Central Continent, so maybe there were more divine beasts than dragons back then?"
True to his interest in monsters and various creatures, Richmond seemed to know something about Eastern Continent fantasy species.
Zeke became curious about the Eastern Continent from Richmond's words.
"I'd like to visit the Eastern Continent someday if I get the chance."
Richmond excitedly replied.
"Oh! Master, please take me with you. I've always wanted to see the mysterious creatures of the Eastern Continent!"
While portals enabled travel within the Central Continent despite distances, there were no portals connecting the Central and Eastern Continents, requiring ship travel across the Central Sea.
Direct crossing of the Central Sea was difficult due to distance, but following the sea route through the Dorta Republic to the Murk Empire was possible.
However, traveling to the Eastern Continent required considering many factors.
'Perhaps I could ask Lord Hades to create an inter-continental portal later.'
Most portals were typically modified versions discovered in ancient ruins.
Long-distance portals connecting continents hadn't been discovered yet, but Hades, with his knowledge of both magical operations and ancient wisdom, might be capable of creating inter-continental portals.
While resting and eating, a ghost soldier sent a signal.
Zeke observed through the ghost soldier's vision.
'This is?'
He recognized a familiar flag.
A scorpion emblem.
It was the Scorpion Knights, one of the Empire's 13 legions.
Through the ghost warrior’s view, Zeke counted about two thousand cavalry following the knights.
'They arrived faster than expected - must be the advance guard. The main force would take longer.'
But watching the Imperial army's procession, Zeke sensed something odd.
'Why does the legion's atmosphere feel off? They're not undead.'
Both the Scorpion Knights and the following warriors lacked the vitality typical of living beings.
Even Richmond's skeleton army seemed more lively.
Zeke suspected the Emperor had done something to the army.
He stood up and said,
"The Imperial army led by the Emperor will arrive soon."
Richmond startled,
"The Emperor's Imperial army? Isn't that dangerous?"
Zeke shook his head, "The Emperor leaving the Empire with only this many troops is a perfect opportunity. The main force hasn't joined yet, so they're moving with minimal forces."
Though he told Decker he'd only scout, Zeke wanted to eliminate the Emperor.
Black Knights were often called one-man armies.
They had strategic value equivalent to an entire legion.
However, this didn't mean one Black Knight could actually face an entire legion.
But Zeke wasn't an ordinary Black Knight.
'With geographical advantage and my system powers, I could defeat the Imperial army before the main force arrives. Time to explore the relic site is tight, but doable.'
He planned how to defeat the Imperial army and ultimately kill the Emperor.
'If the Emperor moves as I expect, victory is possible.'
Even if the plan failed, he was confident he could extract himself.
He looked up at Richmond,
"Richmond, how many undead can you currently summon?"
Startled by the sudden question, Richmond counted on his fingers.
"Ah, I can summon up to five hundred units."
Zeke nodded,
"That's enough."
He stood up.
"Prepare yourself, Richmond. It's war."