Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Pyramid (3)
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Upper noble mummy! The guy, who was a grand lord himself right below the desert emperor they served, could do far more than one might expect.
Normally, it was barely used except for self-defense and indulging in luxury and pleasure, but once the user switched from Rolpi to Rokan, its purpose flipped 180 degrees.
"Nice."
First off, it was an army.
The lower noble mummies could only muster single-digit numbers, mid-tier ones double digits, but as an upper noble, Rolpi could command hundreds.
His body contained that much power and authority built-in, so with enough time and materials, he could raise even larger forces or repair the destroyed ones.
Thus, using them properly would make dealing with other upper noble mummies far easier.
"Alright then, let's get started."
But the reason Rokan grinned contentedly at the troops lined up in perfect rows was something else entirely.
"Strike!"
Thud!
One soldier, standing ramrod straight like a Vatican guardsman at the castle gate, crumbled into a pile of rubble.
Yet not it nor anyone around even glanced at Rokan. Their lord had ordered them to stand still.
"Good. Good. Stay just like that."
Swoooosh.
Rokan's battle axe cleaved through the air once more, dooming them.
[You have leveled up.]
In this bizarre scene of gathering the entire army and smashing them one by one, Rokan gained a satisfying amount of levels. In an incredibly short time, no less!
Mana shortages slowed him midway, but the critical hits now bursting out naturally kept his pace at a speed no one else could dream of.
'Crossing the hell-level section like this, huh.'
Thanks to that, he was blasting through the infamous hell-level section from levels 240 to 250.
A whopping level 243!
Having subjugated a single Rolpi and netted three levels in the hell section, Rokan issued orders to Rolpi after butchering the last one.
"Revive them!"
Using the upper noble's authority to resurrect the entire army.
It would take time and drain Rolpi's power considerably, but that didn't matter. Rolpi might weaken, but Rokan himself grew stronger!
An upper noble mummy could be a formidable combat asset, but Rokan already surpassed that.
So Rolpi's forces would suffice for tripping up enemies and handling small fry.
"I'm heading in first."
With that, Rokan left Rolpi behind and entered alone. While Rolpi poured power and time into revival, Rokan had his own tasks.
[You have crafted a mid-grade bloodstone.]
Namely, bloodstone crafting.
Bloodstone recipes were top-secret, but with Rolpi pledging absolute cooperation to Rokan, he had no choice but to spill.
However, like bloodstones themselves, the recipe wasn't perfect.
No way yet to eliminate the blood poison side effect, and with no living beings here, crafting entirely new ones was impossible.
What Rokan made was just combining lower-grade bloodstones.
[You have crafted a high-grade bloodstone.]
Combining lower materials into higher ones was common, but bloodstones could only be crafted and synthesized in special locations, so Rokan took over Rolpi's chambers and started fusing the bloodstones gathered from the previous floor.
'Not enough.'
Still, the number of high-grade bloodstones he could make was limited. Bloodstones only dropped from noble heads, so supply was low.
He could make even a few thanks to Rolpi's upper noble authority.
The ability to spawn not just soldiers and knights, but lower nobles too. He used that to create and hunt lower- and mid-grade noble mummies with bloodstones.
But since "destroy then regenerate" yielded no items or EXP, it was inherently limited.
"Guess I'll have to hunt them all."
To hit the desired quantity, he'd need to take down other upper noble mummies.
And thus craft the ultimate bloodstones.
The cheat key for taking down the level 280 desert emperor, Scorpion King.
"All done? Let's move."
Lost in thought for a while, Rokan synced with Rolpi finishing the full army revival and proceeded to the next step.
Finally, war.
"Terrain interference, possible?"
The target was, naturally, the lord of the neighboring territory.
As they entered his domain, what Rokan demanded was terrain interference—arbitrarily altering the established image each lord built in their domain using the same bloodstone power.
"I-it is possible, but..."
"Then do it."
This let him remove potential traps or obstacles.
But tampering with someone else's was harder than altering his own, obviously.
Rolpi whined after expending much power reviving the shattered army, but Rokan was firm. Rolpi's issues weren't his problem.
"A tunnel would be good."
"Understood."
Rumble rumble rumble.
As Rolpi focused, red light shimmered and the terrain shifted. A tunnel burrowed underground, bypassing the gates straight to the lord's castle.
Rolpi's army began marching in single file.
'It'll work once, at least.'
Invading another's domain like this gave the owner a subtle unease, but since no visitors—players—had ever intruded, they'd likely chalk it up to imagination.
Rokan was banking on that complacency.
They raced through the tunnel and breached the inner castle.
"Groooar!"
Emerging, battle was already raging. Sand soldiers, sand knights, stone soldiers, steel knights—all tangled in melee.
The enemy upper noble hadn't joined yet, so no clear upper hand.
As Rokan and Rolpi stepped out, a roar erupted from deep in the enemy lines.
"You bastard! Rolpi!"
The upper noble mummy who'd held back to identify the attacker.
"Whoa!"
Rolpi ducked behind Rokan at the fierce glare, but Rokan coolly ordered and charged.
"Platform!"
Swish.
Now adapted, Rolpi instantly got it.
A sand platform formed under Rokan's leaping feet as he aimed for the foe overlooking from the inner walls.
Thud.
He rocketed off it, closing the gap in a flash.
"B-block him!"
"Rift Attack."
Last, Rift Attack! Shattering steel knights moving to block the windows, Rokan slipped safely inside.
"No time, let's end this quick."
Grinning with white teeth amid crushed steel knights, Rokan's axe blade gleamed mercilessly.
"Rampage."
Rampage packed huge power but required setup and recovery time—yet Rokan unleashed his ultimate without hesitation.
A battle-tested veteran might've dodged, but this one, like Rolpi, had only lorded over others in luxury in life.
Despite solid physical stats, it floundered and took the full brunt.
"N-No...!"
"All forces, halt!"
Thud thud.
As it fell, the clashing soldiers froze or collapsed in place. Without their commander, they dangled like cut marionettes.
Rolpi accordingly ordered his troops to stop destroying them. Seize command authority, and they'd become his own.
Plus, even discarding the wrecked ones, this gave 1.5 times the forces—overkill for the remaining upper nobles.
"Get started."
Having one-shot the upper noble mummy, Rokan tapped a frozen steel knight and ordered Rolpi.
Ownership transfer.
The moment the husks fell into Rolpi's hands.
"Submit to me."
Rolpi had used much power already, but mere transfer took little. Owning more troops even amplified his authority.
"Heh heh, Lord Rokan. If you give me the upper noble insignia..."
"Ah, slipped my mind. Of course."
And one more thing—Rolpi demanded the dropped upper noble insignia.
No way he'd get high-grade bloodstones, so this to recover his spent power.
Rokan knew and handed it over promptly.
"Alright, round two with the new batch. Gather them to one side."
But he wouldn't let Rolpi just build power unchecked. Expend as much as gained to balance.
The contract was ironclad, but too much power might breed funny ideas.
'Can't fully trust regular NPCs, let alone monsters.'
Plus his own leveling goal, of course.
Thus, sorting and slaughtering the new troops, Rokan leveled easily and moved on to the next, then the next upper noble mummies.
"Whew, finally the last one."
The tunnel worked for the first two raids. After, rumors spread—they countered with the same terrain shift, forcing open war thereafter.
Some wavered at Rokan's lie of sparing lives, others spat curses revealing loyalty to the desert emperor.
All ended up decapitated by his battle axe anyway.
And now, the finale.
Revived hordes backed Rokan now, but this time, they'd suffice as decoys.
He ordered Rolpi to surround the castle, then stepped before the firmly barred gates and bellowed.
"Licking the messenger boy's boots while learning to wag your tail, huh? Quit hiding behind the walls like a mangy mutt—come out and fight!"
Provoking the general-type monster.
Mocking its warrior pride and emperor loyalty—it couldn't ignore that.
"You worm! Daring to insult His Imperial Majesty—you court death! I'll sever your head and offer it to him!"
'If talks fail, they'd expect a duel anyway.'
With equal or inferior forces, it wouldn't emerge. But facing overwhelming numbers, it had no choice but to step up.
Hoarding a massive greatsword on its shoulder, it leaped from the walls and swung to cleave Rokan's skull.