343 Choice (1/2)
Amid the chaos, the sudden changes, and the emergence of many powerful existences, the original big boss was forgotten.
Upon detecting Undead Emperor Zero's pressure and presence Davey felt both delighted and afraid. It was apparent that she had no intentions of even telling him of her arrival, and there was also the question of how long she had hidden herself among his army.
”I might have lost the Emperors' trust…”
Yet Davey didn't even have the time to be depressed. He needed to first think of something to overcome the trial before him. As he gazed at the battle between the Titan Giants and the True Gods from afar, he was well aware that the energy waves emanating from their fight alone could decimate a Myth-rank individual to pieces. Davey was filled with indecision at the sight.
Should he go help the two Titan Giants? The way the battle was heading there looked to be no thought of sending his subordinates. Even Davey himself would be torn to pieces by the shockwaves from their battle. Even if he was able to help, he would be utterly suppressed by the True Gods. Perhaps his own allied Titan Giants would get annoyed with him and stomp him to death first.
Go help Zero? First of all, he had no way to explain to her just why it was that he had failed to catch the culprit behind the disappearances in his army. Zero was also very famous for AOE attacks that harmed both enemies and allies. There would be no time for him to regret if he accidentally got too close and transformed into an eternal sculpture of ice. And likely nobody would be willing to help unfreeze him.
Davey was filled with inner turmoil. But it seemed worse to not do anything. What about circling around the two battles and forcefully attacking Oak Town's castle walls, instead? That sounded nice, but where did those two Immemorial Red Dragons fighting at the castle gate come from?
The giant Red Dragons were biting and angrily roaring at each other. Their bodies crashed into and crushed large portions of the castle walls, while dragonbreath scorched the earth into seas of fire. Their dragon magic ran rampant and destroyed the attacking undead armies. The fiercest fight of all the fights was actually happening here.
On the other side of the castle walls, the rampaging dwarf Goddess Mary was currently battling against the thunder Titan Giant Hatley. Her war hammer would repeatedly clash against his thunder spear. Bystanders caught in the middle would not be able to survive unscathed, no matter the individual.
But the most dangerous battle was still the battle between the two Undead Emperors. Although neither of them were at their most powerful states, just the natural power level suppression of these two veterans caused Davey to not even dare approach.
”…This was supposed to be my battle, but I've become nothing more than a side character. The powerful ones are so willful.”
Many seemingly coincidental events were actually deliberate in design. Davey hadn't seen through to the true nature of things. At such a time, any large-scale battle was actually very likely to cause powerful existences to personally take part.
The Contract Heroes system was introduced, a new Silver Species was born, the immemorial Titan Giants were awakening, and the undead Tark Republic was returning. Any one of them were capable of attracting the entire world's attention on its own. It was only natural for the simultaneous occurrence of these events to attract the attention of the major powers.
Davey's army's attack on the wood spirits was only a catalyst. The Holy War was underway, and the situation, time, and place were all too sensitive by far. The eyes of numerous factions lay on the Bardi Empire. The state of affairs was similar to an international situation where the countries were in highly sensitive states—major incidents might erupt at any moment.
This battle was the catalyst that ignited the flames, and numerous powerful existences would leap forwards for the sake of their personal benefits—either to gain advantages or to protect what's theirs. Some might not even have a goal and only want to flaunt their existence to everyone, all to be more well-known and pave a way to obtain future benefits. Yet, for ordinary mortals, they were all irresistible calamities.
”How about I first return back to the main base and try to control the undead armies?”
From a certain standpoint, this was actually a wise decision. An Undead Lord without his own undead army would only be at one-third of his peak combat strength. Moreover, leaving here meant he wouldn't have to worry about getting unknowingly dragged into any of these powerful battles.
Unfortunately for Davey, that choice served only to activate the final time bomb waiting for him. When he returned and placed his entire consciousness into his army to better control it…
The individual who would lead him to his end came for him.
”Edwin? Didn't you go missing?”
From the shadows out stepped a lich—his old friend, one of Davey's closest allies. Edwin. However, didn't Edwin disappear two weeks ago? Why did he appear in front of Davey now? Had the disappearing incident been resolved? Did Edwin manage to find out the truth?
The floating lich didn't answer his old friend, who was also his direct boss. Edwin strode closer; his skeletal face was expressionless and his soulfire seemed unmoving. No trace of emotion was revealed at all.
It was at that moment that Davey discovered that he could no longer control his physical body. He suddenly jerked into motion and started walking towards Edwin, too.
As he walked, Edwin lost his form, transforming into nothing but a black shadowy whirlwind.
”This—why can't I move!? Why do I even feel delighted?!”
His soul's screams were soundless. Davey was forced to open up his arms and hug the dark shadow.
This black whirlwind instantly swallowed him up. Even though Davey's soul was still strong enough—he retained the will to resist—he was unable to do anything but watch the black shadow devour him bit by bit.
”It's time to combine.”…Ah, so this was how everyone disappeared.
It was only now that he understood everything. Davey obtained much knowledge, and saw many old friends. However, this was his final thought. From the very start, when ”Mars of War” had decided to make this entire undead army into his food, Davey, who was the highest leader of this army, had become one of the most important factors for Mars to consume. It was practically set in stone for him to end up just as an addition to Mars' knowledge banks and cores.
Other Myth-ranked undead would still have a chance to escape, but for Davey, the concept of this entire army being a part of him ended up becoming a heavy chain that restrained him. Once all the ”effects” were confirmed, the ”causes” that were affected by karma would naturally be unable to escape.
The entire earth began to roar, as if some monster was piercing through it. Once the undead army's leader was devoured, Mars' true master began summoning him, and the vicious beast known as ”Mars of War” had finally awakened.
I flicked off the specks of snow upon me as I jokingly glanced at the ghost Undead Emperor before me.
As an expert in ice magic… fine, just pretend that I am an expert in ice magic. At the very least, I count as half an ice magic master, right? Even someone like me understood this Undead Emperor's strategy the moment I came into contact with her icy snow.
”Life absorbing, or to use a more accurate term, heat draining.”