Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Death Knight in Flight
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"It seems like it's moving?"
Soon after, the Death Knight's fierce gaze flickered ominously. It sheathed its sword and bolted off toward somewhere at breakneck speed.
I, who had been trying to wrest control from it, felt my 5th-circle realm subtly holding me back and gave chase a beat too late.
As an undead, it never tired.
The Death Knight navigated the maddeningly complex maze as if it knew the way by heart.
Of course, that might've been because its speed was utterly ridiculous.
"Huff... Pant... Heave!"
Parell, trailing behind me, was completely spent, gasping for breath.
"Brother... Just a moment... Please, just a sec..."
I slowed down, and the guy somehow caught up, staggering with eyes spinning wildly, unable to focus.
"That thing won't stop! A Death Knight for fragile mages like us in the first place..."
Mid-sentence, he noticed something off and stared straight at me.
"Wait, Brother. Why are you perfectly fine?"
My physical prowess had risen to a level even a Sword Master couldn't handle.
So no matter how hard that thing ran, it was still within my grasp. Parell just couldn't keep up with me.
Judging that matching Parell's pace would make me too late,
I knew letting it go would spell disaster.
The highest necromancy spells I could cast were 5th-circle.
Fortunately, this Death Knight was upper Expert-tier—something I could manage.
The best move was to chase it down so it couldn't escape, even if we couldn't catch up right away.
In truth, necromantic mana began pouring out around me.
"Gasp?!"
Parell flinched beside me, and even the Death Knight ahead halted, turning back with a jolt.
A mere 5th-circle gate was narrow and terribly frail.
But the endless stream of necromantic mana surging through that tiny gate carried an overwhelming dominance that worked differently on the undead.
"Huh? The Death Knight..."
It took a step back, then another, retreating from me.
As the necromantic mana spread thicker and denser, swirling like black mist, the creature began to tremble violently.
And then.
Bang!!!
It bolted away from me like a madman fleeing for its life.
My free slave was escaping!
The undead I'd acquired so far were worthless enough to feed to Mu-Yeong anyway, but not this one.
Like prey fleeing a predator, it dashed off, and I stomped down hard in pursuit.
Compressing my power so fiercely the ground cratered, I chased it at a speed utterly unlike before.
The subjugation force, true to their elite status, swiftly and ruthlessly invaded the necromancers' hideout.
The necromancers could only panic as their sturdy defenses suddenly unraveled without a sound—and worse, those barriers now blocked their own escape.
"Damn it!! What the hell?!"
"The door... the door won't open! Arghhh!!"
"Why the fuck is the trap activating?! Gah!!"
Screams of necromancers echoed from all directions.
They had no idea their own defense systems had turned against them.
More profound than standard elemental magic, but lacking in security—it was the flaw of those fools.
It didn't take long to slaughter the dozens of necromancers in the hideout.
In the end, only Balra, the 5th-circle necromancer elder leading this operation, remained.
"Lord Balra..."
"Damn it. With our current forces, we can't handle a 5th-circle mage and a Sword Master. Open that blocked path now!!"
He bellowed without even bothering to straighten his wild beard.
He'd known the subjugation force was coming.
But not this fast.
The safe route on the 7th layer. To reach their hideout, the enemy had to breach the magic set by their lord's artifact.
Yet the magic was intact, and the subjugation force had breached the interior.
"A traitor?"
"Or a problem with the magic..."
"Big trouble!! Some of the kingdom's dogs are heading to the final sacrifice—Gahhh!!"
Kaboom!!!
Suddenly, the heavily sealed iron doors shattered, and knights and mages poured in.
Pushing aside the bloodied, fallen necromancer, a man advanced with a razor-sharp aura blade at the ready—none other than Duke Berli, Bata's sole Sword Master.
"Hear this, terrorists who plotted to assassinate His Highness. You won't escape here today. Those who surrender might at least die without screaming."
His mocking words made it clear: no mercy for anyone.
"Duke Berli..."
Necromancer Balra ground his teeth, face tense, eyeing the duke and the encircling foes.
"How... how the hell did you breach the barrier?"
He racked his brain for a way to buy time, but Duke Berli mercilessly drew his sword and stepped forward.
"Wait!! Aren't you looking for Goldson Vidar's whereabouts?! At this rate, you'll never find him?!"
"No negotiations with terrorists who targeted His Highness. Kill them all! I'll take that one."
One survivor was enough anyway.
At the duke's resolute command, Balra finally gnashed his teeth and screamed.
"Damn it!! Activate the final sacrifice!! Dark Swarm!!"
He unleashed all his remaining undead and spewed a massive black mist.
Slash!!
But despite Balra's efforts, Duke Berli's prowess was beyond imagination.
"Gurk!! Graaaah!!"
Balra, arms severed in an instant, collapsed pathetically to the floor.
The other knights and mages swiftly cleared the undead and slit the necromancers' throats.
The extermination squad's mission—targeting total annihilation—was complete.
The tracking team hadn't yet located Goldson Vidar, but it was only a matter of time.
Their swift entry was the key to success.
Not only had they seized the magic the enemy relied on in a flash, but Leon had even blocked their escape.
He hadn't even used much power.
Yet he'd eroded their spells in a way no ordinary necromancer could comprehend, seizing everything.
"Ngh... Gurk!!"
The duke pinned the writhing Balra underfoot, sword at his throat, and caught his breath.
The king nearly assassinated by trash like this?
Frankly, he doubted these mages could even wield the curses or protective spells here.
Which meant someone backed them.
He'd find out by capturing this one.
"All targets eliminated, sir."
A knight approached slowly to bind the subdued Balra on the floor.
Watching this, Duke Berli felt an odd chill.
That was when it happened.
Vmmm!! Vrrrm!!
The entire space around them resonated ominously.
A spine-tingling dread flashed through his mind, and reflexively, Duke Berli unleashed his aura to the max in all directions.
BOOMMMMM!!!!!!
The staggering shock made him lose consciousness for a split second, nearly toppling him.
What just happened?
Through his blurry vision, he first saw black mist blanketing everything.
Quickly assessing himself, the duke was horrified.
His aura had been nullified and scattered in an instant.
Not depleted, but the amount consumed was staggering.
A split-second slower, and he—and everyone nearby—would be dead.
Whatever that spell was, it wasn't trivial.
Necromancy? He'd never heard of necromancy like this.
Hell, could anything pierce a Sword Master's defenses like that? They called them strategic weapons for a reason.
Leaning on his sword, he scanned the surroundings.
Every subjugation member nearby had collapsed unconscious.
Clink... Clink. Slither!
Thud... Thud...
Soon, two presences emerged from the opposite passage of the hideout.
His eyes widened at the figures emerging from the dark corridor.
Gleaming blue eyes, pitch-black bones.
Black robe.
It looked like a Mage Skeleton at a glance, but he instinctively knew it wasn't.
Black bones.
Only one undead with bones that black came to mind.
A grand mage of at least 6th-circle who delved into forbidden arts beyond their lifespan.
A Lich.
In its hand, it dragged a bloodied, unconscious man.
'Marquis Vidar...'
The figure was the royal court mage chief, who'd gone with the tracking team to find his son.
Even a flying ace like the royal mage chief couldn't escape unscathed against a grand mage—a Lich, no less.
Confirming the second set of footsteps, he nearly dropped his sword.
—Kill... me...
The thing was a massive lump of flesh—a grotesque monster like a human body bloated to extremes and stitched with random bits.
Dozens of tiny human faces clung to its "face" region.
And at the center was a face Duke Berli recognized.
Goldson Vidar.
The one Marquis Vidar had desperately sought—the man kidnapped after the marquis's family was attacked.
From his hollow eye sockets poured endless black bloody tears as he begged for death.
"Hoh. Quite the elaborate trap, yet you survived. Impressive. A Sword Master, from the looks of it—you'll make a fine second-rate Death Knight."
Gritting his teeth, Duke Berli struggled to his feet, aiming his sword tip at the Lich amid the chilling voice laced with malice.
"You... What the hell are you?"
"Heh, not bad for a pup. A Sword Master who's barely crossed the threshold, yet no fear?"
The Lich approached leisurely, eyes gleaming as if the duke were no threat at all.
"You destroyed my sacrifice, so I have no choice. I'll recover by turning you lot into replacements."
With those words, the Lich gestured into the air, sending black mist snaking out.
It coiled around the fallen necromancer Balra's body on the floor.