The King of the Dead (2)
Boom—!
Rumble—!
The passage leading up from the lower detention block to the upper chamber.
Countless judges were desperately holding back the violently shaking iron gate, as if it might explode at any moment.
"How… how the hell…?!"
It should have been a perfect plan.
From the very day that detestable bastard escaped the reformatory,
he had sharpened his blade while waiting for the day the bastard would return.
He had even lowered himself to beg those necromancers from the Empire and prepared restraints specifically designed to suppress necromancy.
He had cornered even that arrogant proxy who kept protecting the boy!
'We planned everything so thoroughly, so why…?!'
"D-Director!"
"We can't hold it any longer!"
Listening to the judges shouting while bracing the door, Ben desperately spun his thoughts.
If the entire floor was covered, then there had to be at least six thousand of them.
An overwhelming number—three times the forces defending the reformatory.
'But they're probably nothing more than lowly skeletons.'
Back when the Inquisition had dispatched inquisitors to assassinate Klein,
Ben recalled their battle records and spoke.
"Have all the troops gathered?"
"Yes, Director."
One of the judges standing beside him answered.
Even the judges guarding the outer walls had been called back.
'With this much, we can stop them!'
After finishing his calculations, Ben raised his hand, and the judges simultaneously lifted their weapons.
"Looks like you won't be needing our help?"
One of the necromancers watching them asked.
But Ben spat on the floor with a "Ptooey" before growling,
"Get back underground and keep your test subjects under control."
They were already indebted to the Empire because of the restraints and research.
He couldn't afford to let the Empire get any more leverage over him.
"You there!"
As Ben summoned two judges, the blessed clerics immediately ran toward him.
"You called for us?"
"Go outside and contact the Order headquarters. Tell them that Young Master Klein is the reincarnation of Archimond and is trying to overturn the reformatory with undead!"
No one objected.
In a situation this dire, anyone foolish enough to question him already knew what would happen next.
Ben's mace wouldn't be aimed at the undead—it would smash their skulls instead.
"Understood!"
"We pray for your victory, Director!"
The judges spoke with solemn expressions before turning around and sprinting out of the fortress.
"The rest of you, form ranks! They'll be here any second!"
Shrrrnk—!
At Ben's command, the judges raised their weapons in unison.
Darkened armaments still stained with thick, dried blood.
They infused them with holy power and sprinkled holy water taken from their robes, strengthening them twice over.
"In the name of the Holy Order, in the name of the holy Father Kersias!"
Excitement for the coming battle ignited his fighting spirit.
Showing his yellowed teeth as he shouted, he looked like a blood-starved mad dog.
"That heretic who dares rebel against the Holy Order…!"
—Cover them.
At the exact moment Ben raised his voice to rally his men—
Fwoosh—!
Every torch and light illuminating the dark chamber vanished at once.
"What the hell?!"
"All the torches went out!"
"Damn it, I can't see anything?!"
As all light disappeared, unrest spread among the judges who couldn't adjust to the darkness.
A tiny confusion erupting right before battle.
But that tiny confusion was more than enough to hand the initiative over to the invaders approaching next.
KWA-BOOOOM—!
Almost simultaneously with the lights going out, the door the judges were holding back exploded apart.
—Bark! Bark!
. Grrrrraaaagh—!
A flood of shadows pouring out like a burst dam.
Not the humanoid skeletons from the reports, but thousands of hunting hounds surged forward at once.
"W-What are those?!"
"Defend! Everyone, raise barriers!"
"Damn it, I can't see anyth—! Aaaagh!"
Crunch!
Crack!
Screams rang out everywhere as judges had their throats torn apart.
Unlike the living, who relied on their eyes to see the world, the eyes of the dead saw souls.
The hunting hounds leading the charge—Grave Hounds—accurately seized and twisted their targets' necks.
"You pathetic tricks—!"
KWA-BOOOOM—!
But only for a moment.
Ben's holy-power-infused mace blasted dozens of hounds into the air.
"Ooooh!"
"As expected of the Director!"
As the judges regained their morale watching the hounds vanish with dying shrieks—
"Seriously, your strength really is something else."
A lazy voice sounded from behind them, causing Ben's grip on his weapon to tighten violently.
"You haven't changed at all in eight years, you mad dog."
Wearing rags and carrying a worn sword, standing proudly under the protection of spear soldiers.
Right now, that bastard looked as though this reformatory belonged to him—as though he were its king.
"You dare… you dare return to this reformatory twice…!"
He wanted to tear that face apart and devour it whole.
He wanted to split open his skull and scatter his brains across the ground.
"Klein—!"
As Ben charged forward, the other judges rushed in as well.
"First unit, hounds. Full assault."
But at the same time, Klein gave his own command.
And from the underground passage he had emerged from, twice as many Grave Hounds as before burst forth.
KWA-BOOOOM—!
Walls made of holy power collided against waves of undead, and screams and explosions engulfed the entire reformatory.
"Wow~ as expected."
Watching the scene with a relaxed expression, Klein raised his hand toward the other forces and spoke.
"Dogs should fight dogs. Makes for a better picture."
KIIIIING—!
Blinding flashes scattered outward, pulverizing the hounds made of shadow and bone.
Holy power was the natural enemy of undead.
He had overwhelmed them with numbers, but he couldn't overturn that elemental disadvantage.
'To think priests of Kersias, who governs justice, are trash like this.'
Watching the terrifying power that literally ground undead to dust, I thought to myself.
Corrupt clergy who had taken tens of thousands of innocent lives for profit.
Yet Kersias's holy power seemed completely ignorant of that fact.
Fwaaaash—!
Pure holy power flowed into weapons steeped in every kind of sin.
Pure white light burst forth from weapons crusted with dried blood.
Whether that was truly holy power or merely fragments of power granted mindlessly, nobody could say.
"But that alone won't be enough."
After saying that, I deployed the infantry waiting behind me as reinforcements.
"R-Reinforcements!"
"Damn it, these hounds alone are already enough trouble…!"
Endless Grave Hounds poured out from the passage I had appeared from.
And before they could even see the end of them, ordinary undead joined the battle as well, filling the judges with despair.
"Kill the caster! Kill the caster!"
But they weren't idiots either.
A group of judges immediately rushed toward me, aiming for the necromancer's weakness.
—Kiiieeek!
Realizing their intent, I tried to raise a defensive wall with skeletons, but it wasn't enough.
KWA-BOOOOM—!
The skeletons exploded apart under the pressure of holy power, and their maces began charging toward me.
"It seems I'll have to handle this myself. It's still too early."
My demonic energy was continuously producing more and more undead.
If I summoned Raven, the Death Knight, I'd leave myself completely defenseless.
"We made it!"
"You arrogant bastard! Tear his throat out—!"
Slash—!
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I drew my sword.
Fools puffed up with confidence, pointing their weapons at me.
Krrrik—?!
At the same time I severed the fingers of the judge gripping a mace, I sliced through his neck—and the eyes of the one rushing in behind him—in a single motion.
A technique that transformed the curved trajectory of the Shadow Strike into a slashing attack.
"Gaaaagh?!"
"What the hell?! Where did that sword come fro—?!"
The dark surroundings, invisible sword strikes,
and that uniquely bizarre sword path.
Without even understanding what had hit them, they clutched their blood-spurting arms.
"The inquisitors were tougher than you lot."
The monsters from the Order who hadn't reacted even while their arms were split into six pieces.
Comparing the judges to them as mockery, I narrowed the distance and moved directly into the center of their formation.
"You bastard!"
"Hraaaah—!"
The moment I entered their range, a judge immediately swung his mace.
'Swinging while your ally's in the attack path? Idiot.'
My eyes had already completely tracked the mace's movement.
As I slipped my body aside to evade it, the judge's mace slammed directly into the shoulder of the ally trying to join the attack.
Crunch—!
"Gaaaagh?!"
The judge's eyes widened at the sound of his comrade's shoulder bone collapsing.
He clearly hadn't expected to be struck by an ally's weapon.
'The blind spot where each other's attack paths overlap.
If you seize that position first, you can easily handle twenty men alone.'
I heightened my focus as I recalled what I had learned at the Wall.
What Ian taught me
wasn't merely swordsmanship.
Practical combat lessons and tactics.
Even methodologies for exploiting an opponent's movements.
What he taught me wasn't just technique,
but tactics that changed the battlefield through information.
"W-What?! Why are you over there…?!"
"Damn it, I told you to coordinate your attacks—!"
The judges clearly weren't used to battles on this scale.
Their teamwork was pathetic.
'They've probably never fought opponents on equal footing.'
Their job was to capture and torture those who defied the Order.
Their holy power and physical abilities were excellent, but without those advantages, they were nothing more than amateurs with no real combat experience.
'Honestly, fighting them one-on-one might've been harder.'
Even while thinking that, my sword didn't miss the opportunities they created themselves.
Shrrraaaak—!
Crossing my steps, I weaved through the middle of their clustered formation.
At the same time, the technique unleashed by my sword was Rudel's Phantom Sword.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk—!
As five Adam's apples were gouged out simultaneously, the judges collapsed dead on the spot.
"Gghhh?! "
"When did he cut our throats…?!"
Their ambitious breakthrough operation had failed.
But during that time, the judges had managed to wipe out all the Grave Hounds I had sent.
Crack—!
The skull of the final hunting hound shattered, and the judges gathered around me and my infantry, surrounding us in a complete circle.
"This… this is the end, Klein!"
Certain of victory, Ben spoke between ragged breaths.
A shield wall formed by thousands of skeletons protected me.
"Bwahahahahaha—!"
But as if none of that mattered in the slightest, I burst into booming laughter.
"Blocking our vision and launching a surprise attack was clever, but your finishing move was sloppy."
Click—!
The judges aimed their weapons at me simultaneously, preparing to charge.
"Once we catch you, we'll tear off your limbs first—!"
"Hahahahaha—!"
Completely surrounded by Ben's judges without a single opening.
Yet instead of panicking, I laughed as though I couldn't be happier.
"You've been completely surrounded. Have you gone mad from fear?"
Having regained the advantage in numbers, Ben raised his hand as though he had nothing left to fear.
"No. It's the opposite."
And I, too, stretched my hand toward the sky, signaling my army.
"I'm the one who's completely surrounded you."
At those words, shadows rose from every part of the fortress walls.
Fwoooosh—!
"What?!"
"The outer walls! Undead are appearing there…!"
Their eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and Ben and the judges frantically looked around.
"…Huh?"
"What… what the hell is all this…?"
And after taking in their surroundings, they stared behind themselves in disbelief.
Shrrrkkkk—!
Thousands of judges surrounded me and the skeletons.
But behind them, skeleton crossbowmen radiating blue ghostly light were aiming their crossbows directly at their backs.
Skeletons densely filled the walls and the outer perimeter of the chamber.
There were at least thirty thousand of them.
"That many undead… when did he…?!"
"Infantry formation, switch armaments."
I issued the order to the skeletons surrounding me in a circle.
Clack! Clack-clack!
The swords and round shields in their hands vanished, replaced by massive tower shields designed for defensive formations.
"All of it… was bait?"
Trembling as if he couldn't believe it, Ben muttered while staring at me.
"You used thousands of undead… and even yourself… as bait…?"
Seeing Ben filled with shock, I smirked.
"You were right. The undead gathered here are just cannon fodder."
The souls of innocent people who had died weak and powerless.
But as I swung down the hand I had raised toward the sky, I spoke.
"So I revived around forty thousand of them. Do you like it?"
The hand signal meant sequential fire.
The moment those words left my mouth, the ceiling of the reformatory was completely covered by a rain of launched quarrels.
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