Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Undead Killer
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"W-what in the world was that magic? To think a Dullahan would vanish just from being hit by a dagger!"
Duke Ropereu stared, dumbfounded, at the spot before the castle gate where the Dullahan had melted away.
"That wasn't magic. There was no movement of mana..."
"Nor was it divine power. I don't understand what just happened."
The mage and priest assigned to our position also stared blankly at the dagger spinning on my finger.
"Hmm."
I feigned composure, striking a pose, but having used Hwagolsan for the first time myself, I was utterly astonished.
Just as I'd thought, Hwagolsan was a cheat-level ability, powerful enough to put Holy Water to shame.
"Your Grace. The sun is beginning to rise. It is time to prepare the order to attack."
"Hmm. Then I leave the east gate to you. And let's talk later."
"Understood."
As he descended the ramparts, Duke Ropereu kept looking back at me. He seemed incredibly curious about my ability.
Clang!
"Begin the attack!"
As the sun, once hidden by the mountains, began to reveal itself, Duke Ropereu drew his sword and shouted with a voice that echoed past the castle walls and through the mountains.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Aaaaargh!"
At the Duke's cry, the knights and soldiers at each gate thrust their swords to the sky and roared.
"Begin."
"Yes."
"Understood."
Wooooong
At my command, the priest knelt and prayed, and a shimmering net of light materialized above the undead pounding on the castle walls.
"Fire Explosion!"
The mage, standing beside the priest, chanted his spell and launched a sphere of fire, blazing like the sun, toward the net of divine power the priest had created.
BOOM!
Rumble!
The sphere of fire, now coated in divine power, annihilated the dozens of undead blocking the gate in a single moment.
It was an effective method that utilized the phenomenon of magic and divine power momentarily merging.
"Open the gate!"
Rumble
Stone dust trickled down as the east gate began to open. Looking around, I saw that the gates in the other directions were also opening, with knights pouring out.
Before leaping from the wall, I glanced at Duke Ropereu. He was heading for the north gate, but he met my gaze and nodded.
It seemed to mean, 'I'm counting on you.' I nodded back and jumped straight down from the ramparts.
"Charge!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Aaaaargh!"
At my order, the knights and soldiers waiting before the gate shouted and charged forward.
"Uwaaah!"
"Let's go!"
"You filthy undead!"
Squish!
Crack!
Most of the undead in front of the gate were dead, but there were still many more near the walls. They were mostly zombies, the weakest type, so even the soldiers could handle them without much difficulty.
"Kieeeek!"
But the ghoul before me was a completely different monster from a zombie, save for its appearance.
Creator's Eye is activated.
Ghoul
Though it resembles a zombie, it is a fundamentally different type of undead monster. It possesses attack and movement speed greater than that of a soldier, and its skin is as hard as tree bark. The ghoul's teeth and claws are coated in a corpse poison containing the curse of the dead.
Skills: Skin Hardening (Support), Corpse Poison (Special)
"Kiaaak!"
The ghoul lunged, its claws aiming for my face, but I dodged lightly, grabbed its arm, and used the Poison-Absorbing Force.
Poison-Absorbing Force is absorbing the poison (Corpse Poison) from the target.
Poison-Absorbing Force assists the circulation of the Myriad Poisons Magnetic Divine Qi.
The proficiency of Poison-Absorbing Force has increased.
The attainment level of Myriad Poisons Magnetic Divine Qi has increased.
Blood Reversal Cry () is unlocked.
It was worth coming here.
The Poison-Absorbing Force could even extract poison from a corpse like a ghoul. In an instant, the ghoul's corpse poison was converted into my internal energy, and a new poison was unlocked.
"I came all this way, I might as well profit from it. But Blood Reversal Cry... the name alone gives me chills."
"Kieeeek!"
Thwack!
Unaware of what had been taken from it, the ghoul aimed for my neck with its flesh-caked teeth, but all I had to offer it was a dagger slathered in Hwagolsan.
"Kigi..."
"It can't even move."
The ghoul, with the dagger embedded in it, couldn't move its body. It trembled violently, then its body melted away in an instant.
"So it causes paralysis."
It seems that when an undead is struck by a weapon coated in Hwagolsan, it becomes immobilized. Come to think of it, the Dullahan also stopped moving after the dagger hit its head, right before it vanished.
"Seriously, this is so broken it's ridiculous."
"Aaargh!"
"Die!"
I left the zombies to the knights and soldiers and focused solely on the ghouls.
Eliminating the ghouls that posed a threat to the soldiers while absorbing their poison was a win-win situation, killing two birds with one stone.
"Grand Prince. We've dealt with all the undead in the vicinity."
"Our side is finished as well."
"Well done."
As I was finishing off the last ghoul and marveling at the power of Hwagolsan, Knight Commander Kiron and Karox from Count Reven's retinue approached.
"Are there any injured?"
"There are soldiers who were struck by the ghouls' claws."
I told the soldiers not to engage the ghouls and to leave them to the knights. They must have mistaken them for zombies and gotten hit.
"Where are the injured soldiers?"
"Over there."
I went to find the soldiers who had been struck by the ghoul's claws. Unlike a zombie's, a ghoul's poison could be fatal if not treated quickly.
"Kugh!"
"Ugh!"
The wounds must have been quite deep, as the soldiers' faces were slowly turning black.
Woong.
Using the Poison-Absorbing Force, I absorbed all the poison tormenting them.
"W-what the..."
"The pain vanished in an instant."
"Gasp!"
The priest, who had been kneeling beside them preparing to use his divine power, gaped up at me.
"Only the poison is gone; the wounds are still there. Rest in the barracks."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, Grand Prince!"
"Priest. Let's go."
"Ah, yes..."
The priest followed behind me, looking dazed. We left the medical tent and returned to Kiron and Karox.
"The Duke asked us to cross the forest before noon. We should take a short break to regroup and then set out immediately."
"Understood. Ten minutes to regroup!"
"We move out in ten minutes!"
After the ten-minute break, we entered the dark forest, remaining on high alert.
"Kkueeek!"
"Kieeeek!"
As soon as we entered, zombies that had been spread throughout the forest began to swarm us.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Yes!"
Zombies were creatures that even the soldiers could handle, so I looked away from them and expanded my senses over a wider area. I felt a presence approaching, something different from a zombie.
"Ghouls on the left!"
"Dammit! Fall back!"
"Aaargh!"
While everyone's attention was on the zombies, five ghouls hiding behind a large tree to the left rear ambushed the soldiers.
Shhhk!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Kigiii..."
"Kiik!"
Struck by the Hwagolsan-coated daggers, the five ghouls froze in their charging poses, unable to use their sharp teeth and claws.
"Th-they stopped."
"We're alive!"
"What in the world is happening?"
While the knights and soldiers were panicking in shock, I used a footwork technique to move toward the ghouls at high speed.
Clatter!
"Ugh, what a waste."
Even Hwagolsan's insane ability had a downside. They melted so quickly that I could only absorb the poison from three of the five ghouls.
"E-excuse me, Lord Yuren."
"Yes?"
The mage, who hadn't taken his eyes off me, spoke up.
"That's not divine power or magic, is it?"
"Of course not."
"Then. On that dagger..."
"It's a secret."
I walked past the intensely curious mage with a grin. His eyes were glued to the daggers at my waist.
"Aah..."
He must have been dying to study my power. But what could he do when the bodies simply vanished? The mage stared with a look of futility at the spot where the ghouls had melted away.
"Sh-shall we move on, then?"
"Yes."
Knight Commander Kiron stepped forward, cautiously stealing glances at me.
"Kkigigik!"
"Right side, skeleton soldiers."
"Prepare for battle!"
The skeleton soldiers charged at us, filled with a bitter grudge against the living.
"Skeletons..."
The undead I'd faced so far had been fleshy. Wondering how to deal with skeletons, I threw a dagger, intending to lodge it in a skeleton soldier's bones.
Shhhk!
Crack!
Perhaps because the dagger was thrown with too much force, it pierced through the skeleton soldier's rib cage and flew past.
"Gigik..."
But even just grazing it seemed to be effective. The skeleton soldier's movements halted, and a moment later, its bones began to melt.
"It even works on them..."
The phrase 'a graze is a kill' was made for moments like this. Against the undead, Hwagolsan had the power of a dragon's breath.
We pushed through the forest, dealing with minor undead along the way. After about two hours, a bright light appeared ahead, signaling the end of the woods.
"We're out of the forest. Now... Gasp!"
A soldier's gasp was heard just as I was thinking about what lay ahead.
"Kihihihihi!"
"Kyahyahyahya!"
"S-Specters!"
As soon as we exited the forest, more than ten specters were flying through the air.
"Of all things! Those bastards!"
"Hoo, this won't be easy."
Creator's Eye is activated.
Specter
An undead monster that can fly and pass through walls. It is normally immune to most physical attacks but is weak to aura and divine power, and has strong resistance to magic.
Skills: Magic Defense (Support), Mind Control (Magic)
In other words, the only things that could harm them right now were aura and divine power.
"Mage, Priest."
"Tch, specters have high magic resistance. I won't be of any help."
"Then I will cast a blessing and bind them with divine pow"
Shwaaang!
While they were conferring, I imbued a dagger with my internal energy and poison and threw it at a specter.
"Kiaaak!"
It seemed my internal energy worked on specters as well. A hole was blown through its transparent body, and thanks to Hwagolsan, its movements ceased.
"Ki..."
After 4.5 seconds, the specter vanished into thin air like a puff of cigarette smoke.
"What in the world is that dagger..."
"No way..."
The priest and the mage watched the specter disappear, looking utterly aghast.
"I'll take care of these blowflies."
One dagger, one specter. As if following a formula, I used twelve daggers to obliterate all twelve specters that had been flitting about before us.
Killing any monster in a single hit felt like I was playing a game with a one-shot-kill cheat code. There was no tension at all.
"Undead Killer..."
Someone behind me muttered, as if entranced. I had a feeling I would get a new title after this battle was over.
"Well, in any case. It looks like we're the first to arrive at the first defensive wall."
"Yes. The Duke said to wait for now..."
"Then let's wait here."
We stood guard in front of the open gate of the first defensive wall, surveying our surroundings.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump!
"W-what is that."
From inside the wall, the heavy sound of footsteps that made the very earth tremble could be heard.
"Kuaaaaaah!"
The creature was over four meters tall with green skin, and in its hand, it held a massive club that looked like it could demolish a house in a single blow.
"An, an ogre!"
"It's an ogre!"
"No. That's..."
It was an ogre, but not an ordinary one. Its flesh was torn all over, revealing stark white bone, and its eyes burned with a red glow.
"Grrrr!"
The most chilling thing was the dark aura surrounding it.
"Dark Resurrection! Just as I suspected, a Black Mage is behind this!"
The priest shouted to everyone upon seeing the undead ogre.
Dark Resurrection is black magic that revives the dead in their living form. The stronger the deceased was in life, the more powerful they become upon resurrection.
"Hmph, what a fool. So he was pouring his power into Dark Resurrection."
I sighed at the culprit's foolishness.
As expected, the story had changed because so much time had passed, but it seemed things hadn't gotten harder, but rather much easier to resolve.
"Kuaaaaah!"
"Aaargh!"
"I-it's coming!"
Having spotted us, the ogre began to charge madly. It looked twice as fast as a normal ogre.
Shwoong!
I threw a dagger at the ogre. As if under orders, it tried to block the dagger with its massive club, but I had already anticipated that move.
Shhhk!
"Kurk!"
Thrown in an arc, the dagger easily bypassed the ogre's club and embedded itself in its leg. As soon as the dagger struck, the ogre's movements froze.
"Kuak!"
"Uh, uh..."
"It's coming!"
"Get out of the way!"
The ogre, toppling from its own momentum, tumbled to a stop right in front of us. Its entire body shuddered, and then, belying its massive size, it melted away like spring snow.
"My god..."
"Good heavens..."
"The ogre... it's gone."
This time, the dumbfounded exclamations didn't come from the people around me.
When I turned around, Duke Ropereu, Kyle, and the knights who had arrived from the other directions were all staring at me, completely stunned.
"You've all arrived. Let's head in immediately."