Chapter 39

Oh! My God (4)

Archimond's undead army that once swept across the entire continent.

The greatest strength of the five-million-strong undead legion was not merely that its soldiers never tired and never died.

Undead that neither ate, slept, nor rested.

Their true power lay not in combat strength, but labor.

Fortresses that would normally take a month to build were erected within days, while entire mountains could be excavated in only two.

The countless ice citadels and glacier fortresses located across the polar regions of the continent had also been built by their hands.

"Tunnels...?"

"You're saying there's a tunnel leading from the north all the way behind the barrier? Don't say ridiculous things."

Yet the knights dismissed my words as nonsense.

Archimond and his army had long since become little more than ancient legends buried beneath two hundred years of history.

Now there was no one left who remembered their might, nor anyone who truly believed in their power.

'There's no guarantee another monster like me will never appear again, and yet they forgot everything...!'

Once again, I realized just how thoroughly the Empire and the Alliance had tried to erase my existence.

The countless strategies of Archimond analyzed by military tacticians across the continent.

Yet now, it seemed the only person left who remembered them was me, the very man responsible.

"This isn't the time to concentrate all forces at the barrier! One company—no, at least a battalion—needs to be redirected to the rear!"

I pointed toward the floating map in the center of the room as I shouted, but the knights remained unmoved.

Whether Corax had drilled strict orders into them, or whether it was simply their stubborn northern mentality, they absolutely refused to listen.

"Considering the enemy's scale, we cannot afford to withdraw forces to the rear."

"That's why I said I'll go! Open the damn door already!"

I desperately argued with them, but they only shook their heads.

"Orders from the captain will arrive shortly. Until then—"

"You want me to quietly wait for a reply? Do you seriously think that's acceptable right now?"

"It is still more reasonable than allowing Young Lord to go outside."

"Y-You...!"

My breath caught in my throat.

"We cannot redeploy forces based solely on the words of an outsider whose identity we cannot verify."

"The honor of protecting this place belongs to us. You are—"

"That damn duty, that damn outsider nonsense, and that fucking honor!"

I felt the last thread of patience I'd been holding onto finally snap.

"And if, just if, my words are correct—are you willing to accept civilians in the rear being slaughtered?"

At those words, cracks finally appeared in the previously unwavering expressions of the knights.

"Think carefully. What exactly are you protecting? The barrier itself? Or the lives living beyond it?"

That was my final question to them.

And my final warning as well.

The faces of the two knights twisted painfully.

Yet the answer they eventually gave was so frustrating it made me feel exhausted.

"As knights, we cannot recklessly act upon information from an unverifiable source."

"This barrier is something we have protected for countless years. Please stop interfering."

That was enough.

There was no more time to waste talking.

'Right. Somewhere along the line, I've gotten too influenced by that bastard Berkel with all this talking and persuasion nonsense.'

It wasn't that I couldn't understand their actions.

But now was not the time for this pointless arguing.

The enemy's detached unit was getting closer by the second, and here I was wasting time in a half-baked debate.

This wasn't my way.

"Hector!"

I raised my demonic energy and called his name.

Beyond the door I faced, a knight wrapped in shadows appeared.

"A Death Knight?!"

"Young Lord Klein! What do you think you're doing?!"

Even the knights seemed startled by my sudden action, hurriedly grabbing their sword hilts.

"Dismiss the undead immediately! This is a clear violation of military authority—!"

"To hell with authority. Move away from the door if you don't want to die!"

I coldly cut off the panicked knight and immediately gave my order to the Death Knight Hector.

Kiiiiing—!

An upward slash exploded forth in an instant.

The stance of the Meteor Sword I had personally engraved unfolded through the Death Knight's hand.

Not some incomplete imitation lacking mana, but the strike of a genuine knight.

KWAAAAANG—!

With an explosive roar, the door before me shattered apart.

Thick smoke spread around the entrance.

The knights apparently never expected me to go this far, hurriedly drawing their swords and rushing toward me.

"Damn it, stop him! Don't let him escape—!"

But the knight never got to finish his sentence.

CRACK!

A necromancer's eyes see souls, not forms.

"Gghhk?!"

My kick pierced through the smoke and landed perfectly on the knight's jaw, instantly knocking him unconscious.

"I clearly warned you."

"Berken! Damn it...!"

Seeing his comrade collapse before his eyes, the remaining knight hurriedly swung his sword.

But at that moment—

"That's enough."

Ian blocked the knight's wrist with the liquor bottle in his hand while smiling brightly.

"You...!"

"Didn't he say the situation's serious? You've got nothing to lose anyway, so why not trust him for once?"

Still smiling, Ian immediately struck the knight at the back of the neck and knocked him unconscious.

It took barely over a minute to subdue both knights.

Fast by ordinary standards, but unbearably slow to me.

"Damn it, I should've done this from the start!"

Leaving those words behind, I sprinted through the barrier following the Banshee's guidance.

"The ones circling around seem pretty numerous too. Shouldn't I come with you?"

At Ian's question as he followed after me, I shook my head.

"In terms of scale, the barrier side really is the more urgent issue."

The undead continued crawling up the barrier walls moment by moment.

"With the forces currently at the barrier, holding back those things alone will already be difficult."

"Go there, wipe out the undead, and bring Corax here."

If they abandoned the undead climbing the barrier just to stop the detached unit, that would truly be putting the cart before the horse.

After hearing my explanation, Ian asked once more.

"You're saying you'll stop that detached force by yourself? Is that really possible?"

Whether it was concern or disbelief, I simply nodded.

"I've already figured out the structure of those bastards' necromancy. Stop worrying and go!"

At my words, Ian clicked his tongue briefly before turning away.

He had also seen the enemy numbers through the detection formula, so he couldn't refute me.

"If you die, even by some absurd chance, I won't forgive you. Got it?!"

The blunt words of the blind man.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, I answered him.

"I absolutely won't die."

Step. Step.

Beneath the barrier.

Archimond's secret passageway, abandoned for centuries, had become a dangerous path riddled with collapsed sections.

But that only applied to ordinary armies.

Reinforcing the walls with corpses and smashing through blocked passages using undead strength, their advance encountered no obstacles.

"Once we arrive, turn the defenseless civilians into undead first."

"You intend to destroy the enemy's morale."

"Exactly."

A sinister grin spread across the necromancer's lips as he explained the operation.

"If their own family and relatives come charging at them as monsters, even those knights will hesitate."

"And if we exploit that opening, we could swallow this entire sector whole!"

"The bodies of countless knights, supplies, and even forgotten knowledge."

"Kuhahahaha!"

Nearly two hundred necromancers had gathered here.

They unleashed the undead accumulated across the northern frozen lands against the barrier while they themselves struck the rear and completely encircled it.

A strategy only possible because of the underground passage Archimond had created long ago.

"As expected, Lord Archimond prepared all of this for the future itself...!"

"A route that could not be used during the glorious holy war! But do not worry, Lord Archimond...!"

Archimond.

Every time they uttered that name and took another step forward, indescribable ecstasy filled their faces.

With this battle, they would finally obtain the knowledge of that great being.

The necromancer legend who commanded millions of undead and engulfed the continent.

Archimond.

That legend would be reborn through their hands.

How could they possibly not rejoice?

"Wait."

As they advanced while filled with excitement for the future, the lead necromancer suddenly gave a hand signal, causing the twenty followers behind him to stop in place.

"There's someone ahead."

At those words, the ease visible moments ago instantly vanished.

Grrrrrrr—!

They immediately pushed an undead creature to the front and slowly advanced forward.

Gurok! Gurok!

The rotting flesh dragged across the ground as it gradually revealed the intruder's figure.

"That person is...?"

The moment the lead necromancer saw the boy standing opposite them, his eyes widened.

Flowing silver hair. Dark blue eyes.

And even the sword hanging at his waist.

The very target they had searched for so desperately had appeared before them.

"Young Lord Klein!"

At the sound of his name, the stiff-faced boy stepped forward.

"I didn't expect you'd know about this old passage."

Young Lord Klein frowned as he looked at them.

"We planned to come find you ourselves, but I never imagined we'd meet like this, Young Lord Klein."

The lead necromancer addressed the boy with exaggerated gestures.

"You know me?"

A cold voice answered him, and the necromancer nodded before continuing.

"Of course. We came to this barrier specifically to meet you."

"To meet me?"

At those words, Klein narrowed his brows.

"To be precise, for the necromancy you inherited. For the knowledge left behind by Duchess Claire."

Klein gave no answer.

Perhaps he truly had never heard of it before. That was possible.

He may have learned that knowledge without understanding anything about it.

But it hardly mattered.

The only thing important was that the boy now stood before them.

"Were you sent by the Empire? Told to bring me back?"

"Hah! The Empire?! Don't make me laugh!"

The man snorted in disgust at Klein's assumption.

"Why would we follow apostates incapable of recognizing who the true god is?"

"Apostates?"

Klein's expression grew even stranger at the necromancer referring to the Empire that way.

"Yes! Apostates!"

Yet the man paid no attention and continued insulting the Empire.

"Then who are you? A cult? Some other organization?"

"Fuhahahahaha! No! Not at all!"

As if he had been waiting for Klein to ask that question, the man spread his arms wide and shouted loud enough to shake the cave.

"We are the Archimond Order!"

Archimond.

The moment that name was spoken, Klein's eyes widened.

"We are the sacred vanguard risen to resurrect the true god who sought to punish the world—Lord Archimond!"

The man shouted, intoxicated with religious fervor.

The other necromancers following him seemed much the same, many trembling with ecstasy.

Some were even so overwhelmed that tears streamed down their faces.

Some would call this fanaticism.

And what of it?

When serving a god who had descended upon the earth itself, what reason was there not to lose one's mind?

Thinking that, the man turned his gaze toward Young Lord Klein.

Whether he felt fear, or perhaps the same reverence they did, Klein merely stared silently at them.

Silence followed.

At first his expression seemed shocked, then disgusted.

And finally—

"H-Haha...! Hahahahaha!"

Looking at them, Young Lord Klein burst into laughter.