Chapter 225 (1/2)
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The ability to command the dead—that was the unique ability of the Rawlsman household; it was an ability that could be considered a massive cheat as well.
As long as the possessor of the ability wanted to, he or she could infinitely command all sorts of undead like Lichs, skeletons, and even Death Knights.
An ability that granted the lone individual enough strength to fight many—no, beyond that, even the country and the world itself.
Lichs knew that this ability was at odds with them, so they tried hard not to directly confront Herrels.
Su-hyeun thought that if he utilized this ability properly, he should be able to locate all the Lichs, plus their leader, the Lich King.
If this world is the real deal, then…
And if he could hunt down the Lich King of this world and thus prevent the emergence of the Lich King back in his own world…
Then, I shall hunt it down here!
He had a dependable ally in this world in Herrels. Although lacking in physical attributes, he still possessed the near-invincible ability when it came to dealing with the undead.
Su-hyeun believed that the fight against the Lich King should be doable as long as he received the nobleman’s assistance.
Unfortunately…
“They say they can’t find the king of the Lichs.”
This ability was not good enough to locate the elusive Lich King.
“As for the Lichs…Their overall numbers can’t be tallied at all.”
“Exactly how many of them are out there?” Su-hyeun asked.
“I’m not sure. They are hidden so well that I think some of them managed to get to a place where the eyes and ears of the dead can’t even reach.”
“…That’s troublesome.”
Lichs had been shoring up their strength for a long time. The only reason why they managed to hold themselves back and hide for so long was probably because of the Lich King’s existence.
Judging from the Lichs’ reactions, the Lich King definitely exists.
Su-hyeun initially wondered if this trial was the “past of another world” and if Roy would become the king of all Lichs in the future.
However, he realized that this idea was faulty not too long afterward.
If his theory was correct, then the Lichs wouldn’t have a central figure they could pivot to. Not only that, but the Lichs wouldn’t have such blind faith—something they held even dearer than their own lives—if the Lich King wasn’t around yet.
Therefore, the Lich King already existed somewhere, and it was likely that the Lichs required their second “god” for some reason.
The theme of this trial has been bared in full now.
The Lich King, the Lichs, and Roy, who might become the second “god” of the undead.
For the remaining six days… I shall completely uproot all the Lichs.
Sitting around while twiddling his thumbs wasn’t his style at all.
Act 3
Half a day flew past like a blink of an eye.
The sun had already gone past the midday sky and began to gradually creep toward the horizon. Eventually, the night came to visit the world once more.
Herrels, who had remained silent all the while, finally opened his mouth to speak. “Now that’s a lot of them.”
He said that after listening to the voices of the dead souls. He got to learn that Lichs had already filled up the nearby area.
“Will this fight really be the end?” he asked.
“Hopefully so,” Su-hyeun replied.
The final battle against the Lichs—that was what both Su-hyeun and Herrels wanted to happen. It was also what their opponents desired.
The undead required Roy, while Su-hyeun and Herrels both wanted to completely eradicate all the Lichs.
Lord Herrels’ ability isn’t unbeatable.
While his ability didn’t require magical energy to activate, that didn’t mean he could use it indefinitely, however.
Herrels had never used his ability to the absolute limit yet, but he already confirmed the level of fatigue that he had sustained depending on how much he used it from the events of the capital city.
It was unknown just for how long he could use his ability.
There’s a good chance that this will turn into a war of attrition.
A fight between an army of tens or hundreds of thousands and two men. Even with the assistance from the undead army, there was no doubt that this battle would prove to be arduous.
“Will you really be alright?”
That was why Herrels asking this question was quite understandable. Unlike him being accompanied by the undead army, Su-hyeun would have to fight all alone.
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“There will be a limit to how much I can help you. And also…” Herrels stopped talking for a moment and scanned the surroundings. “It’s not only the Lichs that have shown up.”
“It seems that way.”
Maybe Su-hyeun’s composed reply took him back? Herrels asked in a surprised tone of voice. “You already knew?”
“There’s no reason to be surprised, though. They were already in such a relationship with the emperor of all people, so…”
“Well, you do have a point there, but…”
“It’s quite likely that the Lichs will use their human friends to kill you, Lord Herrels.”
Su-hyeun spread out his magical energy on the ground to scan and analyze the countless number of people currently gathering around them.
The footsteps reverberating from everywhere couldn’t even be counted. They were still too far away to be seen by naked eyes, but there was no doubt that the gathered number was quite considerable to behold.
“How many Lichs you think you can deal with, Lord Herrels?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to give my all and see how it goes. But, one thing is certain—the Lichs cannot kill me.”
Herrels had been battling the Lichs for quite a long time. During his battles, he got to clearly confirm that the undead couldn’t harm or kill him, the inheritor of the Rawlsman bloodline.
The reason for that was unknown. Maybe it was connected to the Rawlsman bloodline’s ability to command the dead somehow.
“And that’s precisely why they brought so many humans like this. Just so that they can kill me.”
Lichs couldn’t kill Herrels. On the other hand, humans certainly could.
That was indeed the reason why they even bothered to gather up that many humans and brought them here.
“It seems that they are really determined this time. No, maybe it signifies that this unknown something they desire so badly is literally just around the corner.”
While saying that, Herrels stood up from his spot. He then gazed at Roy and Miru who were currently sticking very close to the cliff face behind them. The boy had been dazedly staring at the sky since last night while riding on Miru’s back.
“Roy is everything to me in this world,” said Herrels as he began walking away. “That’s why I shall definitely protect him, no matter what.”
A father to a boy—at this very moment, Herrels was carrying the heavy burden of that title on his shoulders.
Geu-guk, geu-geu-geu-guk—
With him as the center, countless skeletons began rising up—thousands, no, tens of thousands of them.
That wasn’t all, however.
Giii-aaaahk—!
Kroooooar—!
Beasts made out of nothing but bones also began rising up from the ground.
Su-hyeun witnessed the tens of thousands of skeletons and bony beasts rising up and looked at Herrels’ back as he walked away while commanding his army. At that moment, Su-hyeun realized that the nobleman was prepared to sacrifice his life today if he needed to.
Even if that was the case, he couldn’t stop Herrels because he knew the kind of determination that drove the nobleman to make that choice, after all.
“Alright, then. Now…”