Chapter 291

Chapter 291

The undead army surrendered to the Thunder God!

The crowd trembled at the sight of hundreds of undead kneeling around Jae-Hyeok.

Of course, the army wasn’t in good condition. The Thunder Emperor’s earlier onslaught had left much of the legion without arms, legs, or torsos. Some even lacked heads—that they were animate at all was testament to Wilhelm’s expertise.

Despite being worse-for-wear, the legion radiated an oppressive aura, especially the three liches floating in the air; they clutched strange spheres in their hands and bore golden crowns and scintillating cloaks.

Liches, a Necromancer’s greatest weapon, immortal mages with bottomless mana cores, able to cast endless magics...

Will they really obey?

Jae-Hyeok had some doubts and winked at Theodore, who turned to the foremost lich.

“You, rebuild the mansion.”

At Theodore’s command, the light in the lich’s sockets flickered.

Not long ago, its late master had sought to destroy the mansion. As an intelligent monster, Lich Vera naturally reasoned that rebuilding the mansion contradicted the old master’s will. However, old was old and new was new—since Theodore was the strongest undead, Theodore was now the master, and the master’s orders were absolute.

Vera’s jaw fell open. “It shall be done. It shall be more magnificent than it once was.”

One of the undead’s main specialties was construction. After all, the undead were tireless and resilient and, in the case of liches, commanded bottomless mana reserves.

Blue light flared in Vera’s eyesockets, and dozens of small magic circles appeared around it, within which mana alchemized into various batches of rare wood and stone. Any one of which would sell for millions on the Community exchange.

Clack clack!

Clack clack clack!

Before long, skeleton warriors wearing helmets and carrying various tools started transporting the materials.

The death knights moved to the ruined mansion, where they moved and buried rubble to level the foundation.

In the process, the death knights uncovered the bodies of the Chinese National Treasures, including the Phoenix.

“

Rise.”

The corpses had already decomposed to bones, and Vera swiftly added them to the undead ranks. Just in time, too:

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“...Is this a true story? Isn’t it a dream?”

“The news was true.”

Players from the Association and the military arrived at the scene and stared with dumbfounded expressions.

“Your Excellency.”

Association President Jang Baek-San found Jae-Hyeok and greeted him with a ninety-degree bow. Before Jae-Hyeok was a youth, he was a National Treasure, and as such, Jang Baek-San was careful to offer full etiquette.

Similarly—

“Attention!”

The military commander also saluted Jae-Hyeok. He had an iron face and two stars pinned to his chest, but the sweat beading on his temple betrayed his nerves.

“Please evacuate the citizens quickly.”

Jae-Hyeok urged them.

The purple gate still loomed in the sky, blotting out the dawn light.

Its appearance vaguely resembled a black hole, and the deep, mournful sound it emitted was ominous.

With the monster wave cleared, the odds of more monsters emerging from the gate were low. But there were no certainties when it came to a new gate; their properties were inherently unpredictable.

It was best to err on the side of caution and evacuate the citizens as soon as possible.

“Yes.”

“Attention!”

The heads of the Association and the military dared not question Jae-Hyeok. They obeyed as if an extension of Theodore’s undead army.

“Ah, why?”

“Isn’t everything under control now? Can’t we watch a bit longer?”

The crowd loitering around Jae-Hyeok’s front gate booed and complained when ordered to evacuate.

Many of them had nearly died and only survived thanks to the Thunder Emperor’s efforts. Yet in the blink of an eye, they’d lost their gratitude and forgotten their sense of danger, treating the collapsed roads and alien-looking monster corpses as an exciting spectacle.

Some of the media influencers had even taken to rolling around in the monster blood and taking photos.

Monster waves, battles between players, and street-wide destruction—such things were common in the outskirts of Seoul, while it was only worse in places like Grishi: That had been where Jae-Hyeok had rescued Elder Song. It was chock-full of beastmen and gates, and it was only a dozen minutes away from Seoul.

In the end, whether it was in person or through the internet, the people of Korea had grown up surrounded by death and were long desensitized to it.

“Do you plan to regret it only after you die?”

“This is a real situation! Please cooperate!”

“Have a sense of crisis! Do you think a National Treasure can protect all of you? What if the Thunder God puts himself in danger because of you?”

The players from the Association and military spread out and corralled the unruly crowd, scolding them all the while.

Jae-Hyeok shook his head in pity. He felt sorry for those born into this era, numb to danger, numb to death...

The Thunder Emperor clapped a hand on Jae-Hyeok’s shoulder. “Concentrate.”

Jae-Hyeok looked up and caught the Thunder Emperor’s gaze flickering between the gate in the sky and Wilhelm’s corpse.

“I don’t think it is over.”

A sudden gate...

True to its name, they appeared without warning and immediately unleashed a monster wave, giving players no time to scout, plan, or organize a measured response. They could only rush in blindly, unaware of what kind of monsters or how many they might face.

The only good thing about such gates was that the method of clearing them was simple: eliminate the monster wave.

At least, that was how it usually was. This time, the gate showed no sign of closing. It was indeed strange.

“I don’t sense any more monsters.”

Jae-Hyeok’s experience-gain following the Sword Master’s death had not been small. The current him was confident in seeing through the Sword Master’s stealth, let alone sensing a few straggling monsters across a gate.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a gate as big as this one. Maybe it just needs some time and will dissipate on its own?”

“Mm...”

The Thunder Emperor couldn’t refute it. He far surpassed Jae-Hyeok in terms of knowledge and experience, but even he’d never seen anything like this gate.

In fact, the Thunder Emperor’s mana detection surpassed Jae-Hyeok. Although his stats weren’t overwhelmingly higher than Jae-Hyeok’s due to Jae-Hyeok accumulating many achievements, the Thunder Emperor still held a slight advantage. He was over level 200, after all.

Moreover, he was a magic-type player—people often mistook him for a warrior due to his muscular build and aggressive fighting style, but strictly speaking, his techniques and Skills specialized in fine mana control and ranged casting, so long-distance aura detection was his forte.

Yet, he also sensed nothing beyond the gate.

As Jae-Hyeok said, maybe it’ll close on its own.

The Thunder Emperor felt a slight sense of relief, and his tension eased, if only by a bit.

But it was enough.

A smile split the face of the demon lurking across the gate. Squatting, it lept and shot through the gate like a ray of light.

Thud.

“?”

The Thunder Emperor and Jae-Hyeok only registered the sound of something landing behind them. They turned and were met with a bipedal creature the size of a palm.

It had skin as red as a heart, pointed teeth and ears, and a long tail like a mouse.

“A demon?” The Thunder Emperor’s face turned pale as he recognized the identity of the creature.

“I, Gorul, a subordinate of the 33rd great demon, have descended here after being drawn by the wishes of humans!”

The little demon’s voice split the air and shook the entire city.

We have to kill it!

Though his ears bled, the Thunder Emperor’s judgment was swift. Lightning branched from his palm and snapped toward the demon. But the demon was faster, having already plunged its little hands into Wilhelm’s heart.

Dark energy pulsed through the demon and into Wilhelm’s corpse.

“Kukuk!

Kuhahahat!

Be reborn as a demon!”

Wilhelm didn’t show it outwardly, but he had been feeling despair throughout his battle against the Thunder Emperor. The Thunder Emperor had curbed him every turn, and he could only watch as his undead legion, his pride, was scattered and destroyed.

The Thunder Emperor had thwarted him at every turn. He harbored immense hatred towards him. And that Hatred became determination.

He was determined to win—even if it meant selling his soul to a demon.

That unyielding will was fully captured in his mana.

That’s right.

The sudden occurrence of the gate was the result of Wilhelm’s honed intent to summon a demon with his mana.

Wilhelm’s severed head spoke.

“Blackening...”

The Thunder Emperor frowned in disgust, and screams erupted from every direction.

Only one person was different.

Is heaven blessing me?

Jae-Hyeok was smiling. In his hand, Iyarugt hungered and urged him forward.