Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: The Undying Count
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To cut to the chase, Count Siden hadn't died.
Leyzon was watching him through a transparent glass window from another room as proof.
A magic mirror where this side could see, but the other couldn't.
Beyond that glass, Count Siden was curled up like a newborn babe.
His eyes were completely unfocused, as if he'd lost his mind entirely.
The Steel Wolf Guild headquarters was a building remodeled by Pauli.
A structure where traps could be triggered no matter where one entered.
It was essentially a fortress.
The moment he'd set foot in a place like that, it was over.
"I wondered if he knew what he was walking into."
Leyzon eyed Count Siden with clear displeasure.
No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't acting.
'He must've only known I was here.'
Leyzon slowly stroked his chin.
The Abyss was in Sahā Village.
This info wasn't hard to come by if you did even a little digging.
Not with necromancers flocking here lately.
That many people moving around was bound to stir up rumors.
'But the timing bothers me.'
The Eastern Noble Faction had spread word of the Abyss on purpose.
Even so, the response was too quick.
It felt like they'd been investigating the Abyss from the start.
'Someone must've fed them the info right away.'
Leyzon tapped his crossed arms slowly.
"Pauli, bring him here."
"Got it."
Pauli moved the building at Leyzon's word.
Moments later, Count Siden came rolling in like a ball.
A pitiful sight that no one would believe came from a noble.
Leyzon approached him.
"If you're thinking of ambushing me, forget it."
He warned him in advance.
Count Siden's body twitched.
He'd barely regained his senses after tumbling in here.
Just as Leyzon said, he'd been considering a surprise attack.
But ambushes only work if the target doesn't notice.
It was pointless now that he'd been caught.
Count Siden's eyelids fluttered as he opened his eyes.
They met Leyzon's, and his body jerked again.
"...A vicious face, fitting for the Abyss."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Another mask compliment today.
He'd have to pass it on to the Gray Mage Tower master next time.
"So, you must want to talk. What do you say?"
Count Siden had come seeking the Abyss.
This was as good as Leyzon admitting he was the Abyss himself.
Count Siden's eyes were tense.
He'd thrown out that fearless line earlier to steady himself.
This scene terrified him.
Leyzon was surrounded entirely by undead.
A crowned ant, the Vampire Queen, a cursed doll, even a serpent dragon.
He'd heard the Abyss's undead were dangerous.
But these were beyond dangerous—they were on another level.
Count Siden swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his brow.
"...Have I become undead?"
He tossed out the question to confirm what Pauli had told him earlier.
Leyzon grinned.
"What do you think?"
I don't know.
But Count Siden knew Leyzon wouldn't have brought him here for nothing.
He stood, straightening his posture.
Then he exhaled deeply and spoke formally.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Seyo Siden. It's an honor to meet the pinnacle of necromancers."
"The honor's mine, meeting a count."
Count Siden showed courtesy, so Leyzon matched it.
"But I doubt we met like this just for formalities.
You snuck in hoping to find some leverage, right?"
Yet a threatening remark slipped out regardless.
The undead behind Leyzon all fixed sharp gazes on him.
Count Siden shrank back with a cough.
"My apologies for that. But we couldn't approach the Abyss openly. The imperial family still bans necromancers, doesn't it? Especially since you're allied with the Eastern Noble Faction—makes it even harder to request a chat."
Count Siden tried to spin it.
Leyzon let out a short laugh at his feeble effort.
"So, what does the Northern Noble Faction offer me?"
His tone shifted in an instant.
That terrified Count Siden even more.
It meant Leyzon could flip attitudes on a dime if he wanted.
"Anything you desire."
"Then how about the emperor's throne?"
Count Siden froze.
He stared at Leyzon, eyes demanding if he was serious.
But Leyzon just kept smiling.
Count Siden caught on late.
"...You never intended to side with the Northern Noble Faction from the start."
The answer was set the moment he made an impossible demand.
"What did the Eastern Noble Faction give you? All they can offer is wealth. And even that's worthless if we Northern nobles win. You know that."
Frustration boiled over as he spoke.
He couldn't fathom why someone like the Abyss would ally with the Easterners.
Other nobles might dismiss him as 'just a necromancer.'
But Count Siden had wandered as a freelance knight, risking his life.
He knew power's true value.
"You just said it yourself."
"What?"
"All they can give is wealth. Which means they need me more than anyone."
Count Siden's eyes widened slowly.
He grasped what Leyzon meant.
"...You're even greedier than I thought."
The Eastern Noble Faction had no choice but to offer Leyzon more authority.
They desperately needed his power.
So they promised him a grand future.
Grander than anything the North could match.
Leyzon had invested in that future.
"What if they fail? It all means nothing."
If the East lost, it was all for naught.
"Doesn't matter if they win."
But Leyzon brimmed with unshakable confidence.
This wasn't a joke.
Once he set his mind, he made success inevitable.
"The imperial necromancer failed, but I can do it."
The black curtain of the world, the great evil.
Rumors swirled that the Abyss pulled the empire's strings.
Even Count Siden couldn't rashly deny his words.
And he caught the implication.
The imperial necromancer who'd vanished lately.
Leyzon declared it was his doing.
Every noble knew the fear of that imperial necromancer.
This was a being above even him.
"...That's underestimating the imperial family."
The imperial family held unimaginable power.
The Northern Noble Faction was the strongest among factions.
They could act boldly now for one reason.
The Emperor's faction and Crown Prince's were divided.
With the two greatest beasts baring teeth at each other.
The Northern nobles were like hyenas.
Hyenas devouring a wounded giant.
That was the North.
But if the Abyss joined the East, it changed everything.
Even hyenas would fight over scraps.
And the great beasts wouldn't ignore two such hyenas.
The imperial family would move directly.
Count Siden asked if he could handle that.
"Sorry to say this."
Leyzon decided to spell out reality for him.
"The imperial family's been my enemy from the start."
What did it matter if they turned hostile now? They'd been foes anyway.
It changed nothing for Leyzon.
"Now go back north. Sending more intruders won't end differently. Don't waste your time."
He'd said his piece.
And leaked plenty for the North to chew on.
No more business with Count Siden.
"Pauli."
The floor beneath Count Siden crumbled.
"W-wait! We need to talk more!"
He begged for more talk, but mercy was nowhere.
He was ejected outside in seconds.
Count Siden tumbled across the ground before stopping.
Sahā Village's walls rose with the morning sun.
He realized he was outside them.
His face paled in shock.
Thrown beyond the walls in an instant.
Meaning all of Sahā Village was the Abyss's domain.
He controlled it freely.
Sahā Village was becoming a key imperial hub.
His influence grew accordingly.
"...This is bad."
As the Abyss's power swelled, so did the Eastern Noble Faction he backed.
The situation was graver than thought.
He turned and bolted.
Somehow spared.
He had to report everything to Duke Kaiden.
Count Siden fled Sahā Village.
Leyzon watched his retreating back from within.
"He really never figured it out, huh."
Syria asked in wonder, and Leyzon nodded.
"That's why we practiced."
Count Siden hadn't noticed, but Leyzon had cast partial undeath on him.
Just like he'd done to himself once.
Count Siden was oblivious.
He'd think he was fully alive.
"Count Siden will work hard from now on."
And unwittingly relay all info here.
Someone in the North definitely leaked Abyss intel.
'Only one guy could've known the mausoleum bastard was truly dead.'
The one who knew and leaked it.
The Puppet Troupe Leader.
He'd fed the North.
If they sold info, Leyzon would flood it too—make it worthless.
Like it or not, he'd step on their tail.
Leyzon grinned with malice.
"Hanok."
Hanok popped up at his call.
"Y-yeah!"
"Prepare for ascension."
"Woo-hoo!"
Things here were done.
Now, verify the hero-grade ascension ritual.
"First, contact the Bloodless Sovereign."
Something was needed before the hero-grade ascension.