The numerous titles and nicknames of Ivan the Great King were created before the Great War. Except for hunting down the Seven Dragon Lords, the war against the demons was not something to leisurely coin nicknames.
At 12 years old, he served as a prince for the first time in battle. Leading only about 2,000 cavalry, he won in five engagements. The nickname earned then was ‘The Great One.’
At 15, his father, who attempted to pass the throne to his illegitimate son, was ‘poisoned by someone’ and Ivan ascended the throne. He became the rightful ruler of Krasilov.
At 17, he faced local rebels who aimed for the young king’s insufficient authority. At this time, without the support of the Krasilov Army, he led only the Royal Guards to battle and beheaded the rebel leader in ten days, earning the title ‘The Blood Bear.’
At 21, he nearly doubled the territory of Krasilov and earned the name ‘The Warlord.’
At 27, he pushed away most neighboring nations and took control of the entirety of northern human civilization, being called ‘The Fearsome One.’
At 32, he pushed all neighboring countries to the south, except for powerful nations like Tylesse and Drovian, establishing modern borders and earned the title ‘The Thunder Lord.’
At 45, he enlisted at the front lines with the onset of the Great War. Continuing the war against demons, he became known as ‘The Bleeder.’
Finally, at 64, when he lost track of the location of the Seven Dragon Lords due to information disruption, he attempted interception with the Royal Guards until all citizens of the five territories exposed to the demon army were evacuated.
Until all territories exposed to the invasion completed their retreat, out of about 3,000 Royal Guards and 3,000 Royal Army soldiers, only around 200 survived.The last title he earned when those who returned after the operation carried him back to be enshrined in Frechenkaya was ‘The Great King.’
Little Ivan occasionally reminisced. He had defeated the Seven Dragon Lords and Abiditas with a force of about 30. However, that was due to sufficient battle experience and training, thorough preparation and rehearsal, and the ambush occurring at a chosen time and place.
So at a time when he was ambushed without any information, commanding all his soldiers essentially to commit suicide, he guided every single one of them to advance before the Seven Dragon Lords without deserting the battlefield.
And at last, the former king who had successfully accomplished ‘objective achievement.’
Well, to put it simply.
Just.
The person was strong.
EP41. Memory
Isabelle stared blankly at the skeletons walking as if they were protecting them. About 500 skeletons were moving silently.
It was truly a ‘silent’ movement. The weight of the skeletal soldiers was exceedingly light. However, due to not having a body structure to buffer noise, their movements should have produced natural friction sounds.
But the skeletons moving with the group now made no sound at all.
In a situation where they were walking armed with weapons, there was almost no sound, like a sword hilt hitting bone.
It felt as if all troops except for this group were illusions, a lack of reality.
– Clack.
One of the skeletons walking to the side raised a finger and made a sound. With the signal, six or so skeleton soldiers quickly descended into the underground.
Looking away again, another skeleton guiding the soldiers was seen. They soon ran around the corner of the main road and disappeared.
A skeleton gesturing from above the wall caused another six or so to vanish.
And they eventually returned silently, moving within the ranks as if nothing had occurred.
Seeing the weapons stained with blood and mud, it was not hard to deduce what might have happened in between.
“I’m a bit scared now.”
At Isabelle’s words, Yuri quietly nodded.
Every single skeleton present here was equivalent to Ivan’s ‘soldier version.’ They disappeared as if it was something ‘naturally to do’ and returned after cleaning the area.
The movement of the ranks was like cleaning. On the long path from the counterintelligence command building in the distance to the Krasilov Palace, all potential threats were eliminated as they advanced.
Cleaning every alleyway and securing safety by entering every visible entrance to the underground, they moved forward to join forces.
Occasionally wandering zombies now clearly recognized them as enemies and swarmed like a wall, attempting to resist.
– Slosh.
– Crack.
In the battle between the deceased, there were no sounds of screams.
As the zombies rushed silently, the skeletons crushed them without answering.
Like a siege weapon smashing through the gates, no, like arrows slicing through silk. This force of around 500 moved forward towards the royal castle with mechanical dryness.
Unhurriedly, trudging along, movements that could hardly be believed to belong to the dead.
Forward.
But to the point where they could hardly be believed to be human, insensible.
Like a precisely operating machine. Focusing solely on slaughter, they became weapons of war.
Forward.
“If this place has an environment similar to the Demon Realm…”
Enrique smiled and approached the group.
“They have spent their entire lives in that place; it’s like coming home for them.”
Krasilov Royal Necropolis was constructed solely for one person. Under the reign of Kiril, his royal authority was virtually inherited from his father’s achievements, thus King Kiril had to invest a huge amount of resources to build the necropolis even amidst poverty after the war.
Therefore, during that time, the Royal Guards who perished while facing the Seven Dragon Lords alongside the former king were laid to rest in the best environment this nation could provide.
Under a dome completely imitative of the imperial court, where the sunlight poured in when the sun rose, a man lay with his hands on his chest.
With almost perfect preservation and sealing, maintaining his appearance from the time of death, armed with the sword and armor he had used in life, the king looked peaceful as if he were asleep.
“Do it. Now!”
The robed men all reached out at once. Purple mana seeped into the sleeping king.
The seals encompassing his body and the holy relics laid upon the altar could not stop them. The moment the sacred power vanished, the necropolis lost its minimum means of protection.
The sleeping king’s fingers trembled.
“Success, my lord!”
A mage smiled brightly and raised his head. A spell prepared with finesse and precision beyond merely raising a lion.
Unlike summoning zombies or skeletons, this was a meticulously prepared spell on the level of resurrecting a death knight.
Even amidst severe resistance from the humans, it was given directly from his master’s detailed command. The mages felt beads of cold sweat trickling down, certainly not normal, as they completed the spell.
The king finally opened his murky eyes. His gaze slowly turned to the nearby mage.
“Awaken, rise and serve your rightful master. Slay the necks of all rogues that trespass upon your master’s domain.”
The mage approached, whispering commands to this ‘carefully prepared’ undead.
The king’s gaze scanned around. The mages’ spells were indeed connected to his body. A powerful will surged in, and the hazy mind from prolonged death stirred, shaking his soul.
His gaze fell again on the mage standing close.
The king opened his mouth.
– Swish.
Before that, the great sword cleaved through the mage’s neck.
“What—?!”
The mages gasped in shock simultaneously. The decapitated mage was also a high vampire, and he quickly regained his posture, recovering his body.
The spell had undoubtedly been successful…? Amidst the mage’s tension and confusion, the king uttered his first words after being resurrected.
“I serve no one.”
“Stop him!!”
The drawbridge upon the deep moat of Frechenkaya Inner Castle was fully raised.
On the walls of the inner castle stood knights looking down at them. All were undead. Ivan could remember their faces.
They were the knights of the Royal Guards. Laid to rest alongside the necropolis… once his seniors and comrades were looking down at him with cold expressions.
“The level of the spell is different.”
Enrique mumbled softly while gazing at the inner castle.
The spells that merely raised zombies or those hastily used during escape against the Cleanup Unit were on a different level entirely.
That was a highly prepared type of spell to raise death knights. Compared to the demon army, magical prowess was at the level of the commanders of Abiditas, meticulously perfected through thorough preparation.
Miracles do not happen more than once; that is why they are called miracles. No matter how great they are, if they were raised with techniques built on malice, they could not retain their previous sanity.
The knights raised their swords with dry eyes, preparing for battle. With most of their limbs intact and even their bones well preserved, their skills would not differ much from when they were alive.
Ivan kept his mouth shut and placed his hand on the axe handle. The muscles in his arm twitched, the sturdy axe handle trembled as if about to break under his grip.
“Calm down. We expected this.”
“Yeah.”
Enrique patted his shoulder.
The news that the Royal Guards’ knights had risen meant that the necropolis had already been pilfered.
So, it meant that the former king had also fallen into their hands. They must have been preparing at the time they attacked the Counterintelligence Command.
Enrique felt an extreme sense of obligation.
This offensive was effectively aimed solely at her. Meaning that if she had not been in this city, their eternal rest would have been unbothered.
“Given that preparations for a siege are inadequate, shall I try to take the gate?”
As Elphihara prepared a spell, Enrique smiled and stopped her.
“We’re not going to lay siege, Elphihara.”
“Eh? But…”
“We’ll infiltrate.”
As soon as Enrique finished speaking, the skeletons observing the walls began to disappear into the darkness as if melting away.
[The walls have been breached! My lord, you must return now!!]
[What about that guy?]
[We’ve managed to barely control it… but it’s not easy. My lord, with our abilities…]
[Buy me a little more time.]
Within the dark, flowing shades of dark green mana, a vampire silently reached out.
Once, an artifact of the one who ruled all undead began to glow slowly and lifted into the air.
[Having obtained the powers of both of the Seven Dragon Lords, if I now overcome that person…]
I shall touch the Demon King.
In an era where the gods are dead, the opportunity shall not come again.
I shall become the god of the undead and take revenge for my “father.”
[Maximilian—!]
As the sole heir of Olegha, I shall raise his bloodline to the most glorious position in this world.
And I shall behead him and present his head upon the altar.
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