Chapter 229 (1/2)

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Drop, tumble—

Clack, clack—

One by one, the bodies of the tottering skeletons began crumbling down.

“It seems that the end is drawing near,” Seward said as blood seeped out from various wounds riddling his body.

His gaze was locked on Herrels whose fatigue was evident. The latter was now surrounded by less than 100 undead, the Bone Dragon, and the Death Knight Louw.

“You are truly a tenacious individual—absolutely staggering, indeed. Who could have possibly imagined that a person capable of confronting all by himself this many Lichs, as well as an army of this scale, existed?” Seward spoke again and shook his head.

Several magicians and knights capable of stopping an army by themselves had existed before within the lengthy history of the empire as well as the continent. One of those magicians even commanded a dragon.

However, the current situation exceeded those.

Quite a few among the gathered Lichs today were once powerful magicians whose feats had been recorded in history books.

Herrels fought against hundreds of such Lichs, as well as an army of several tens of thousands, and the end result was that only about 10,000 remained in the combined army of the empire, as well as another kingdom.

“You talk too much,” said Herrels.

“I see that you do not fear your death?”

“That’s not scary at all. If I’m to get scared, it’d be about something else.”

The people from the Rawlsman bloodline didn’t fear death. What they were scared of always had been other things.

One would only fear death when they had a lingering attachment or some sort of regret in life. As for Herrels, he only had one regret.

Roy.

The face of his son seemed to waver in front of Herrels’ eyes. But that lasted only for a moment. His vision blurred, and the undead protecting him began crumbling away rapidly.

Clack, clack, clack—

Thud—

The Bone Dragon and the Death Knight Louw guarding his sides all fell down to the ground.

A thick smile spread on Seward’s lips as he witnessed this sight. “And so, this really is the end, judging from how you can no longer keep Sir Louw by your side, the one who has been protecting you for the longest time.”

Step, step—

Seward then approached Herrels with a slow gait. The latter rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand to clear up his blurry vision and stared at the former.

“Allow me to be the one to send you away on your final journey.”

Seward unsheathed his sword.

Herrels didn’t even have enough energy to run. Even if he could, he knew that escaping was impossible, anyway.

He wasn’t scared. It was just that a lingering regret continued to haunt him.

To die like this… It seems that I still have too many things to lose.

Just as Herrels closed his eyes…

“Enjoy your trip.”

Swish—

Clang—!

Seward’s sword, which was about to swing down, collided against something and got deflected upward.

Splash—!

Blood splattered.

Seward’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief as he stumbled backward. “Isn’t this…?”

Clack—

The undead Louw had gotten back up again.

Herrels opened his eyes at these unexpected noises and looked in front of him. “But how…?”

He had not risen the Death Knight. He didn’t even have any energy left to control a single undead.

Right then…

“Everyone…”

Wuuuooong—

A voice reverberated throughout the battlefield.

“Arise.”

The bones of the undead lying on the ground began shaking from that voice.

Clack, clack—

Creak, creak—

Ku-gugugugu—

The bones that were scattered on the ground assembled again to quickly regain the former silhouette of the Bone Dragon. It was the same story for not only Louw but also the other Death Knights.

The undead were being revived again.

Herrels, who was in the center of the battlefield, was not the only one who was stunned by this development; the Lichs and Seward, plus the human army, were just as shocked.

This isn’t my ability.

Herrels was acutely aware of his tank being completely empty right at that moment.

If that’s the case…

Only one person could have pulled off something like that besides him.

“Roy?”

Roy, who shared the same Rawlsman bloodline as him, could do this.

“Ro—?!”

It was right then that Herrels recalled the voice that he just heard.

Could it be?

Step, step—

The clear footsteps reverberated throughout the battlefield. The unnaturally distinct footsteps caused everyone’s gaze to shift in the direction where sounds came from.

Gu-gugugugu—

Sha-aaaah—

The man was deliberately unleashing the aura of his presence. Although Herrels couldn’t see him due to the crowd of people covering him from all sides, he nevertheless knew who that man was.

“Dammit. I thought I was going to die for real.”

Unlike his usual self, Herrels muttered a curse and plopped down on the spot. He didn’t even have any energy left to stand. It only worsened when his tension left him and the feeling of relief rushed in.

Su-hyeun had come.

“I shall give you some time.”

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Su-hyeun’s voice washed over the entire battlefield.

“Humans who wish to live, soldiers who got dragged here against your will, you are allowed to leave. If you do, you will live.” His gaze then shifted toward the Lichs hidden within the ranks of the human soldiers. “As for you… Don’t ever think that you can leave here alive.”

Shu-wuwuwu—

Pitch-black aura leaked out of Su-hyeun’s body. When that aura seeped into the surroundings, all the crumbled skeletons and corpses of the monsters began rising up again.

That ability was the same as Herrels’.

Not only that…

Split—

The third eye in his forehead that he kept closed until now was finally released as well. He had been holding himself back from using it to preserve his magical energy reserve, but it didn’t matter anymore.

He had already acquired a new ability that could be seen as extra insurance separate from the magical energy.

[Third Eye – Predator]

Sha-aaaaah—

A chilling hiss blanketed the entire battlefield. The moment they heard that hiss, several soldiers fell to their knees in pure fright.

The Bone Dragon? It became useless.

A snake large enough to dwarf the expansive forest, a creature possessing the splendor exceeding that of dragons from legendary tales, appeared right in front of their eyes.

“U-uwaaaaah!”

“S—save me…”

“I—I’m out of here…”

Soldiers overtaken by fear began muttering incomprehensible things.

The story wasn’t all that different from the Lichs. However, the fear they felt was not the same in nature from the one felt by the human soldiers.

This power, it’s definitely…

It’s the great one’s.

But how can that human…?

Their fear stemmed from the fact that Su-hyeun now possessed the same type of power Herrels wielded, which was in direct conflict with their own.

Also, they could sense that Su-hyeun’s power was very similar to the god they worshiped.

They found this event difficult to accept because it could only mean one thing.

If the great one didn’t use that human’s body to descend to this world, then…

It can’t be…we failed?

It could only mean that their scheme to bring about the advent of their second god through the Life Vessel had failed, and the god’s power was now completely residing within Su-hyeun’s body.

What should we do?

For now, we must escape. If that bastard has acquired the great one’s power, we don’t stand a chance.

Escape? Like this?

I’m saying we must think about the future first.