Chapter 257
Chapter 257
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 257
Chapter Title: Hukmak (2)
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Suddenly, skeletons poured out from the bushes.
-Kieeeek!
-Kyaaaak!
The skeletons that emerged let out cheers as they charged forward.
The battlefield froze for a moment at their eerie cries. Humans and dwarves alike stared at the skeletons in shock.
"Skeletons? Who the hell summoned them?"
Bollas, one of the Weapon Master's disciples, shouted in bewilderment.
"Wait, why are they coming at us?"
Dozens of skeletons rushed toward the human lines. Watching the scene, Bollas's expression turned icy.
"Whatever they are, they don't look friendly. You three! Go smash those bastards!"
Three knights who had been fighting dwarves turned around and blocked the skeletons' path.
"We don't know who summoned them, but... attacking us with mere skeletons?"
Bollas scoffed in disbelief.
It was a natural reaction. His subordinates were mostly mid-class experts.
They weren't the kind of opponents that could be beaten by skeletons wielding rusty swords.
Considering the gap between them, he didn't even need to send three. One would have sufficed.
But skeletons had the property of regenerating even after being destroyed. He sent three to finish them quickly.
His subordinates swung their swords at the skeletons. The skeletons raised their weapons to block the attacks.
"Cute trick."
Black aura coated his subordinates' weapons. No way those rusty old things could block aura.
Not just the weapons—the skeletons themselves would be sliced clean through.
That was what Bollas thought.
Suddenly, crimson-black aura surged from the skeletons' weapons.
The two auras clashed. The subordinates' strikes were halted by the skeletons.
"...What?"
Bollas's eyes widened at the absurd sight.
"Skeletons with aura?"
But the real shock was yet to come.
Every skeleton's weapon was now enveloped in aura. Dozens of weapons glowed crimson-black all at once.
Bollas's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"Th-this... This is impossible...!"
The aura the skeletons emitted was incredibly dense.
Only knights at mid-class or higher could produce aura like that.
"...All those are mid-class?"
The aura-clad weapons rained down, turning the three subordinates into minced meat in the blink of an eye.
-Kieeeek!
-Kraaaak!
Having tasted blood, the skeletons didn't stop. They began pouncing on the other nearby subordinates.
"Wh-what the hell are these things!"
"Skeletons with aura? This can't be real..."
The subordinates attacked the skeletons in panic. But the skeletons deftly blocked and counterattacked.
Limbs were severed, blood sprayed everywhere.
The tide of battle turned in an instant. The skeletons relentlessly pressed the humans.
But the humans didn't go down easily.
Suddenly, a massive aura slash swept through the skeletons. Over ten shattered in a single blow.
"These bonehead bastards dare touch me?!"
A knight wielding an axe bellowed. Savage energy radiated outward.
"Kopski, nice one!"
Bollas shouted toward the man.
Unlike the other knights, Kopski was a high-class expert.
"You don't expect me to step in for trash like that, right?"
"Of course not! Leave it to me!"
Kopski roared back.
In the meantime, the shattered skeletons fully regenerated. Their numbers returned to normal.
"Regenerate all you want. I'll smash you until you stay broken."
Kopski snorted derisively.
No matter how many mid-class there were, they couldn't handle a high-class.
Confidence overflowed on Kopski's face.
That was when it happened.
Something dropped from the sky. Kopski looked up and recoiled in surprise.
"...A kid?"
A small girl charged at Kopski. She swung a dainty fist at the same time.
"Kyeng!"
A chill of unease grazed his neck, and Kopski blocked the punch with his axe's haft.
In that instant, an enormous impact hit him. Kopski's body was shoved backward.
"This power... You're undead after all!"
Kopski bellowed and lunged at the girl.
Perhaps because he was focused on her.
Kopski didn't notice the shadow beneath his feet rippling like waves.
A black wolf burst from the shadow. It bit Kopski's throat in one motion.
Crack.
With a gruesome sound, Kopski's head was torn off. His headless body crumpled to the ground.
"..."
Bollas stared blankly at the scene. Veins soon bulged on his forehead.
"To dare... To dare harm my subordinate...!"
Bollas unleashed his mana. Vast mana exploded outward. Everything piled on the ground was blown away.
"I'll smash every last one of you right now!"
That's when Bollas spotted someone in his view. A man stood behind the undead.
He wore a wooden mask, so his face was unrecognizable.
Bollas instinctively realized it. That man was the black mage leading the undead.
"It was you!"
Bollas switched targets immediately. He charged at the masked man.
"Kyeng!"
-Kieeeek!
The undead and skeletons tried to block him, but it was futile. They couldn't even slow a master-class.
"I'll chop off your limbs and drag you away!"
Bollas swung his sword at the masked man. At that moment, the man murmured softly.
"Dominico."
A greatsword appeared from nowhere and blocked Bollas's blade.
With a boom, Bollas's body was flung back. He looked up and stared ahead.
A man wielding a greatsword stood in his way.
"Death Knight? How the hell did a mere Death Knight block an aurablade...?"
Bollas glanced at the Death Knight's greatsword.
Incredibly, black aurablade enveloped the blade.
"...A master-class Death Knight?"
Dozens of skeletons with mid-class power.
Two undead that slew a high-class in an instant.
And now even a master-class Death Knight.
"You... Who the hell are you? Why is a black mage like you attacking me?"
Bollas glared at the masked man and demanded.
"This is the domain of the great Weapon Master. Attacking me is no different from making an enemy of my master."
Bollas warned the masked man. But the masked man didn't even pretend to listen.
"Dominico, what are you doing?"
He only said curtly.
"Kneel that bastard before me."
In that instant, killing intent poured from the Death Knight. Bollas's face hardened.
"You're really going to do this? You'll regret it!"
Bollas leaped at the Death Knight.
The two master-class fighters swung their weapons to kill each other.
Invisible slashes clashed in the air. Each collision boomed like thunder.
The shockwaves alone cratered the ground where they stood.
It was a duel of superhumans. Neither yielded an inch as they swung relentlessly.
"...Damn it!"
The more they exchanged blows, the more twisted Bollas's expression became.
"A mere Death Knight blocking my master's swordsmanship? Do you even realize how arrogant you are?!"
Unlike the raging Bollas, the Death Knight's expression remained cold.
Suddenly, the Death Knight's movements changed. His forearm bulged as he swung the greatsword from below upward in a massive arc.
With a dull thud, Bollas's sword was deflected. His longsword soared into the sky.
Bollas gritted his teeth and gripped the hilt tightly.
He barely kept hold of it, but his front was wide open.
The Death Knight didn't miss the gap. He lunged forward and brought the greatsword down.
The Death Knight's greatsword severed Bollas's forearm. The hand clutching the weapon hit the ground.
The attack didn't stop. This time, it slashed diagonally across his torso.
The greatsword carved through Bollas's body. Blood spurted from the gaping wound.
"Kuhk!"
Bollas collapsed to the ground. The Death Knight hooked his greatsword onto a clasp on his back.
-My liege, it's over.
The masked man approached Bollas. Bollas stared at him with a pale face.
"Weapon Master's disciple. I have some questions."
"F-fuck off."
Bollas spat curses. But the masked man showed no reaction.
"Answer honestly, and I'll kill you cleanly."
"You insane bastard... You're gonna kill me anyway... What, acting generous...?"
The masked man opened his subspace. He pulled out a travel bag.
"Take a good look. If you don't answer properly, you'll end up like this."
An undead emerged from the travel bag.
The moment he saw it, Bollas's eyes widened.
"...Jeremy Dram?"
As a fellow disciple, there was no way he wouldn't recognize him.
"H-how... How the hell...?"
Examining Jeremy Dram, Bollas could only be horrified.
"Y-you turned Jeremy into an undead?"
"You catch on quick."
The masked man grabbed Jeremy Dram's head and shook it around as he spoke.
"I thought this guy, being a Weapon Master's disciple, would know something. But he's mostly out on external missions, so he knows nothing. You're different, though."
Unlike Bollas, Jeremy Dram was a prized disciple who basked in the Weapon Master's favor.
The man he'd always envied stood before him as an undead.
The shock Bollas felt was indescribable.
"If you don't want to end up like this and serve me, you'd better spill everything."
"...You're wasting your time. I'll never talk about my master."
"You won't last long. If needed, I'll kill you and extract the memories from your soul."
At the masked man's words, Bollas burst into laughter.
"Go ahead and try. You won't get shit from me! My soul has a seal that prevents me from revealing anything harmful to my master!"
For the first time, the masked man reacted to Bollas's shout.
The masked man placed a hand on Bollas's head. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"...It's real. There's a seal."
"See? You won't get anything from me! You idiot!"
"Well, they would need security like this when forging a demonic sword from a duke-class demon's corpse."
Bollas froze as if struck in the back of the head by those words.
"What? H-how do you...?"
"If there's a seal, you're no use to me. Die."
The masked man stepped back. The Death Knight raised his greatsword again.
Even with death looming, Bollas had no time for it.
"Tell me! How do you... How do you know that?!"
Finding out how this guy knew about his master came first.
"I said tell m—!"
The Death Knight brought the greatsword down.
Bollas's head hit the ground.
* * *
-My liege, it's over.
Dominico shook the blood from his greatsword as he spoke.
The skeletons, Miya, and Mongchi finished off the remaining enemies, then awaited Demian's orders.
"You've all grown unbelievably stronger since I last saw you. Especially you, Dominico—your skills have improved the most."
-You flatter me.
When Demian first met Dominico, he was only high-class.
But he possessed exceptional talent that could propel him to master-class at any moment.
"Anyway, seems like we've cleaned up... "
Demian turned to the dwarves and asked.
"Now I'll ask you some questions. It'd be wise to answer honestly."
At Demian's warning, the dwarves all wore terrified expressions.
"...Wh-who the hell are you?!"
One dwarf asked in a trembling voice.
Normally, he would have ignored it. No need to reveal his name.
But right now, Demian needed to spread his fake identity far and wide.
"My name is Victor."
Demian said, staring at the dwarves.
"I've come here to steal the Weapon Master's glory."