Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: A Shared Secret
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A black land, devoid of the energy of life.
It was a bizarre region where a haze rising from the dark soil blocked out even the sunlight.
Due to the swirling black fog, the Kitan Cemetery was never touched by the sun, and undead appeared around the clock.
Into such a place, Wang-sik stepped.
“My lord, please be careful.”
“Just give our guests a proper welcome. Do as you were told.”
“Understood.”
After giving his orders to Mold, Wang-sik entered the black land.
*No time to waste.*
Only ten days had passed since Duke Rohan had announced his intention to subjugate the area.
Even this had been postponed from five days ago to today, as the Hemian Temple claimed they had preparations to make.
Although they had not yet arrived, Wang-sik began the subjugation.
The reason was that he had companions he didn't want to be seen.
“Have a good rest?”
Not long after he entered the black land, three companions came into view.
Min Ha-na, Sa Seon-gi, and Gong Yeong-ji.
The combat agents of Mad Castle.
“I think I'm getting sick. I can't even rest for two days. I find myself back in a hunting ground before I even know it.”
“Me too, sis. Even school is boring now. What if I can't even graduate at this rate?”
They couldn't adapt to the leisure forced upon them after such an intense life.
“We'll be able to rest properly once this is all over.”
Everyone nodded at Wang-sik's conclusion.
Knowing a crisis was approaching, rest could hardly be sweet.
“Alright, let's start. Let's get this over with quickly.”
As Wang-sik took the lead, his companions naturally fell into position.
*Shwooo!*
A sacred energy spread beneath their feet as they walked into the undeads' lair.
It was Gong Yeong-ji's S-rank buff.
“I don't think I can live without this anymore.”
“Hehe.”
Though he didn't say it, Wang-sik also clearly felt the change.
The buff was so effective that it felt as if he had ranked up.
*Kuaaaah!*
A massive undead giant appeared before the now-stronger group.
The five-meter giant, which had burst forth from the black earth, looked like a forced amalgamation of multiple corpses, its entire body covered in dried bloodstains.
A Dead Marionette.
A monster dreaded even by priests.
The stench it emitted was poisonous, and if you cut off a piece of its body, it would transform into another undead monster.
Moreover, its body, made of corpses, spewed a green liquid with a strong acidity that could melt through anything.
This monster was one of the reasons this land had never been subjugated.
*Kwakwakwang!*
Such a monster was scattered to ash by a single burst of flame.
“Ugh, that smell.”
Before Min Ha-na, fanning her hand in front of her face, could finish her sentence, the ground shimmered and hundreds of undead appeared.
“So this is why they call it a cemetery.”
The undead were synonymous with fear and death, but no one there felt any fear.
“Let's break through to the center for now.”
With Wang-sik in the lead, the subjugation began in earnest.
* * *
Rohan Leit arrived before the Kitan Cemetery at the appointed time.
Behind the soldiers holding the ducal banner followed the Hemian priests, all of whom grew tense as they neared the cemetery.
“Welcome, my lord.”
A private soldier from the House of Lennox, who had arrived earlier, greeted the party politely.
But there was only one of them.
“Where is Count Lennox?”
Rohan Leit asked, hiding his bewilderment.
“He has already begun the subjugation.”
“Why? You mean he started without us?”
“Yes? He said that was our role. I was told that our Lennox family would take the vanguard, while the House of Rohan and the Hemian Temple would handle the purification.”
Leit was dumbfounded.
“How many have gone to the subjugation?”
“Five people, including our lord.”
Leit had heard the rumors.
That the Lennox soldiers were so skilled they always succeeded in their subjugations with a small, elite force.
“Is he saying we're only needed to protect the priests?”
“That is what I was told. I was instructed to treat you with the utmost courtesy so that you would not be inconvenienced.”
“Well, now. It feels as if we've come for a tour.”
Leit no longer bothered to hide his astonishment.
“Let me ask you. Do you think they are enough for this subjugation?”
“Yes. They will return without a single casualty.”
There wasn't a hint of hesitation in the soldier's reply.
*Just how strong are they...?*
Leit's question would be answered soon enough.
He set aside his complicated feelings, ordered the purification to begin, and entered the cemetery.
And inside, he saw a cemetery in ruins.
The bodies of undead were strewn everywhere, and considering how many had been completely annihilated, he couldn't even begin to guess how many monsters had been dealt with.
“Astonishing.”
The Hemian priests who had come with him were just as surprised.
“We can begin the work immediately. What are your orders?”
The place was so completely cleared of threats that it was hard to believe it was a land of the undead.
“Begin the work. Bellern and his squad will follow me. I need to see the state of the subjugation for myself.”
Having confirmed that the area was safe, Leit led his men in the direction Wang-sik had gone.
At the same time.
“Didn't expect this.”
Not everything had gone as planned.
They were standing in a vast graveyard. This was the reason it was called the Kitan Cemetery.
Each gravestone in the cemetery held magical energy, so they had destroyed them all, but the last one they toppled had a guardian.
It was a Dark Knight wielding a black sword, and they had judged that defeating it would eliminate the greatest danger.
But after dealing with the Dark Knight and bringing down the large gravestone, a huge pit appeared in the ground.
“It's a dungeon.”
Wang-sik said, feeling the demonic energy flowing from the pit.
“Someone's coming.”
There was no time for deep thought.
“It must be the Lennox knights. For now, you guys head back. You did well.”
His friends' role ended here.
Not long after they disappeared, Mold and the mercenaries arrived as previously instructed.
“The people from the House of Rohan have arrived.”
He had ordered them to come to the central cemetery when the people from the House of Rohan arrived.
It was to create the illusion that they had conducted the subjugation together.
However, seeing where Wang-sik's gaze was fixed, they instinctively knew something was wrong.
“There was a dungeon?”
A suffocatingly strong demonic energy was pouring out.
“That corpse looks like a knight...”
Realizing this, they forgot their orders and stared blankly at Wang-sik.
A single name surfaced in everyone's mind.
“A Death Knight!”
Dark Knights were known to be minions of Death Knights.
This meant there was a high probability that a Death Knight was in that dungeon.
“My lord, perhaps it would be best to abandon this...”
“Have you forgotten your orders?”
Wang-sik was completely unshaken.
In the end, while Wang-sik guarded the dungeon entrance, the mercenaries spread out across the cemetery and dealt with the few remaining undead.
All the strong ones had already been annihilated, so mopping up the remnants wasn't a problem.
Just as all the work was finished, someone approached the cemetery.
It was the ducal knights, led by Rohan Leit.
“You've arrived.”
Wang-sik bowed his head, still guarding the dungeon entrance.
Rohan Leit, who had been greatly surprised by the traces Wang-sik had left on his way here, spotted the dungeon entrance before they could even exchange greetings.
The power emanating from it was so strong that it was impossible to miss.
“So it had become a dungeon.”
“That is correct. The purification will be impossible unless we deal with this place.”
“Is it a Death Knight?”
“Most likely.”
Wang-sik's expression showed no fear as he answered.
“You intend to clear it.”
“Of course. We can't stop after coming all this way.”
“Truly remarkable. What you've done so far is already an immense...”
Various emotions flickered across Rohan Leit's face.
As someone who took pride in his knighthood, he admired great strength. He couldn't help but be captivated by the power required to conquer the cemetery to this extent.
At the same time, he was suspicious.
*Why is he so strong?*
This wasn't a level one could reach through ordinary training. And he was intensely curious about the source of that power.
*Is it them?*
There were private soldiers nearby, but they didn't look particularly outstanding. The only unusual thing about them was a composure not typically seen in common mercenaries, but he doubted they were strong enough to lay waste to the Kitan Cemetery.
That left only one person.
Vega, who was single-handedly blocking the entrance to the Death Knight's dungeon.
“We will handle the clearing.”
“No, I will join you.”
At those words, the surrounding knights forgot their etiquette and stepped forward.
“You must not!”
“We will go in your stead!”
They couldn't let the next head of the family enter a Death Knight's dungeon. It was something they had to prevent, even at the cost of their own lives.
But a voice that ignored all the knights' objections was heard.
“Very well.”
The words were spoken without a moment's thought.
The knights were about to protest vehemently, but Rohan Leit raised a hand.
“Are you trying to tarnish my honor?”
At the mention of honor, the knights could only bite their lips and hold back.
“How many will be going?”
“I plan to clear it with just the two of us. Is that acceptable?”
“Just two?”
Even Rohan Leit hadn't expected that. But seeing Wang-sik's expression, he couldn't back down.
*There's something more to this.*
Otherwise, he wouldn't be invited into such danger.
*A Death Knight.*
It wasn't just curiosity that moved him; there was, in fact, a greater reason.
*I'll prove that I'm more than just the Duke's son.*
A competitive spirit against a strong monster.
This was another reason he had agreed to this subjugation.
The next head of the House of Rohan.
This was a great honor, but it was also a device that subjected him to excessive protection.
He had trained harder than anyone as a knight, yet he was never deployed to battlefields where his life would be in danger.
Living in an era when the Empire's power was at its peak, everyone simply bowed their heads wherever the Imperial Knights were dispatched, and even when a special subjugation like this was planned, his family's knights always went first.
This time, too, the original plan was for the priests and knights to handle the cleanup while he merely commanded.
But because of Wang-sik, much had changed.
“Then let's go.”
Wang-sik turned without any particular explanation.
“Young Master! You mustn't!”
A loyal knight blocked Rohan Leit's path, risking his life. Then Wang-sik, who was about to enter the dungeon, spoke.
“Nothing will happen to the Young Master.”
“Then we will go with you.”
“More people just means more people to protect. The decision is yours, Young Master.”
Rohan Leit eventually pushed the knight aside and followed Wang-sik.
“I am a knight, too. Do not tarnish my honor any further.”
Rohan Leit drew his sword and followed Wang-sik.
Why did Wang-sik draw Rohan Leit in?
*Since it's come to this, I'll make him misunderstand completely.*
The dungeon hadn't been part of the plan, but there was no reason to miss an opportunity like this.
“I have a secret.”
Wang-sik said as he descended into the dungeon, pulling out a golden shield.
*Woooong.*
Leit's eyes widened at the aura of divine power repelling the demonic energy.
He could clearly feel the divine power, which seemed to soothe his pounding heart.
“That is...”
“The last holy knight of the Saina Temple. I received it from him.”
A temple now lost to history.
The first mythic-grade item Wang-sik had obtained was a relic of the Saina Temple.
“The Holidom!”
“Yes. That's right. I met him during my wandering days and inherited this shield and its techniques. The reason I subjugate monster-infested lands is because of a promise I made to him.”
“I see.”
“However, I cannot tell this story to anyone else. As you know, I am also an Elder of the Hemian Temple.”
“Hmm...”
Rohan Leit took a moment to organize his thoughts.
“I understand. I didn't realize you had such circumstances.”
“Will you keep my secret?”
“Of course. But frankly, I don't know why you're showing this to me.”
“To be honest, I'm a bit weary. I wanted to confide in someone. And frankly, I was moved by your actions today.”
“In what way?”
“I thought you would only give orders. That's why I proceeded with the subjugation alone. When I heard you would enter the dungeon yourself, I hoped you might become a friend I could confide my secret in.”
Finishing his lament in a sorrowful tone, Wang-sik looked at Leit, who wore a similar expression, and became certain.
*He bought it.*
Wang-sik mentally praised himself for his acting skills.