Chapter 41

Bam!

When the Ogre’s fist of mana hit the ground, the battle formation of the Blizzard Army collapsed in an instant.

"

Kieek!

Kik!?

T-t-that’s scary.”

"H-h-he must be an excellent warrior… This is amazing!"

"

Kik!

Wait… that thing is on our side… right?”

The undead fought against the Blizzard Army on the front line. And the Skeleton Ogre leading the undead was scary but trustworthy.

"

Kaaak!

" Skeleton Wolf roared.

"

Argh!

" Shin Ha-Yul screamed, surprised by the roar and the Skeleton Wolf that popped out from the side.

"Does this… make sense though?”

Dozens of the undead dominated the battlefield. The other challengers who saw the undead flinched at the killing intent and pure malice they emanated. This was an army of immortals who were unafraid of death. Therefore, more fear arose among the living.

"Who is he? Maybe he is Lee Shin?"

"He went up to the 10th floor a long time ago and people haven’t heard about him since... Would he be Lee Shin?"

"But then, is there any reason for him to hide himself?"

"I know…

Ha

... By the way, why did he have to disappear… leaving things like that with us…”

"Well, at least, I don't think they're going to attack us. So let's just try our best.”

* * *

"Is it here?”

Countless soldiers of the Blizzard Army gathered deep inside the forest. The main contingent of the Blizzard Army appeared only when the fifth wave had begun.

All the troops assigned to invade other villages were gathered here as well.

"Master, there are too many troops."

"All you have to do is chop off the head of the army, no?"

"How are you going to get through so many troops, you idiot?"

"Well, of course it’s possible with our Master’s mana. Don’t tell me you think our master is weak.”

"When did I say that!”

"Stop it. I have a plan,” said Lee Shin.

Lee Shin saw a troop of soldiers in the distance. His Dominance was currently 94.

Considering the number of Skeleton Ogres, including Bark, that were summoned to the other villages, there were not many undead here that Lee Shin could dominate. There were too few of them to fight the thousands of soldiers in the corps.

Lee Shin was planning on killing the soldiers all at once because these soldiers would typically scatter to different places. However, even with all the challengers in this stage combined, it would be difficult to deal with those soldiers at once.

‘There has to be a way.’

Did the undead need to be dominated by Lee Shin?

"Harpness!" Lee Shin called out.

At the call of Lee Shin, the Grim Reaper popped out of the black portal.

- Did you call me?

"Release all the undead that were put into the World of Death," Lee Shin commanded.

- I got it.

[The Path between Life and Death]

It connects the path between the World of Life and the World of Death.

All the undead made by Harpness were in the World of Death. That was the world where the dead lived.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Woong—

Black portals were formed over the main contingent of the Blizzard Army. The eyes of the soldiers in the corps were drawn to the black portal. A great sense of morale was oozing out from the hundreds of undead who came out of the portal.

Geughhh—

Geuahhh

—

Their roars resonated on the battlefield. And the Blizzard Army seemed to be panicking because of the sudden attack of their enemies.

"How dare the undead come to this place!" Beltiar shouted.

Within the Blizzard Army, Beltiar was the head. Beltiar, who had a powerful presence amidst those numerous soldiers, shouted as he was staring at a particular spot. Among the undead that were emerging from the black portal, the Skeleton exuded a different kind of mana. The Skeleton was wearing a black robe and holding a wand. He stared at Beltiar with his stirring blue eyes.

"Where… am I…? Why is that asshole staring at me?” Lich asked as if he was annoyed.

"What an arrogant Skeleton you are. I'm Beltiar, the head of the Blizzard Army! I will crush every one of you who invaded this place," Beltiar shouted.

"You’re funny… I could have been threatened if this was before I died, but that’s no more threat to me now that I’ve become Lich after death..." Lich explained.

The undead under Lee Shin, which identified itself as a Lich, was named Kalen. Lifting its wand, Kalen yelled, “The Hand of Death!”

The Hand of Death was Kalen's main mana. And it had become more powerful as an undead. With this skill, his black hand extended in all directions toward the corps of the Blizzard Army.

"That won’t be enough! Kill them all, my soldiers!" Beltiar shouted.

The undead clashed with the Blizzard Army. The crudely assembled bones were scattered and broken. Kalen's gaze began to waver, which was unlike his confident stance and attacks at the beginning.

"It's nice to see you panic!" Beltiar laughed at him.

"Don't mess with me! Fight, you damn undead!" Lich shouted.

Kalen's mana extended out to the undead and he began to control them. His skills were much better than what Lee Shin had expected. It really seemed like Kalen had increased his capabilities quite a bit within the World of Death.

Perhaps because he was a Dark Wizard before he died, his power had increased, rather than decreased even though he became an undead. The World of Death was literally the world of the dead. The undead who entered were beyond Lee Shin’s control.

Still, they could be summoned anytime through Harpness.

Lich was now brought into the World of Life, no longer bound, and was allowed to run amok. The undead in the World of Death did not all belong to Lee Shin.

Because of that, it was impossible for Lee Shin to know if one of them were beaten by the other undead and had their bodies broken. Therefore, it was not a surprise that the number of undead that came out through the portal was significantly fewer than the number that Lee Shin had put into the World of Death. However, the power of each individual was much stronger than they were before entering.

"If we leave him like this, I feel like he’s going to die soon.”

"He's a good fighter. Shouldn't we save him?"

Warrie and May spoke as if they were worried about Kalen after they saw how well he fought in the battle just now. Of course, the concerns were all about improving Lee Shin’s power. The next moment, Lee Shin took out a scroll.

Sheek—

The scroll was unrolled. There were unknown characters and formulas written on it. Lee Shin's mana began to unfold on top of it.

Wooong—

The mana that extended from the scroll created a large portal in the air.

"Titan!" Lee Shin called out.

Lee Shin could not use this level of mana, even though he used to be a Great Wizard in his previous life.

[Dimensional Warehouse]

Dozens of Titans walked out when Lee Shin used the Great Mana, which Lee Shin purchased with 50,000 points.

Thud Thud Thump Thump

The number was insignificant compared to the corps of the Blizzard Army, but when nearly thirty unmanned Titans gathered, their presence was no less than that of the corps of the Blizzard Army.

These titans were made in a large factory on the 9th floor using Artificial Intelligence. They did not perform as well as the original Titans, because they were slightly modified from the original design. However, their advantages were that there was no need for a Titan pilot and they could be easily built. And most importantly, their skills and abilities were not too bad.

"You guys go over there and support them," Lee Shin commanded.

“Yes, sir," replied a Titan.

"Alright," replied another Titan.

"You go too, Gundo," Lee Shin ordered.

Lee Shin summoned Gundo from the bracelet using his mana.

"It's been a long time since I got a chance to fight.” Gundo seemed pretty excited.

During Lee Shin’s last battle on the 10th floor, he did not call out Gundo because Gundo would draw too much attention. However, this time, his presence would be significant in such a great battle.

"

Kerarak!

" Gundo roared.

As Lee Shin watched the battlefield, he decided to use another mana of his.

Swoosh—

A pool of blood appeared in the air. And from there, a creature of the noble class appeared.

"I almost died of boredom while waiting for you to call me, Master," Lilian muttered.

"We are going to kill Beltiar,” Lee Shin explained.

"Hmm... I think I can easily kill him on my own,” said Lilian.

"You're right, but that’s only if you could use your original power. But, you can’t do that right now. They are not for you to deal with, because they don't bleed," Lee Shin explained.

"

Ugh

." Lillian frowned as if her pride was hurt by the fact that she could not even handle those guys on her own.

"We are going to get this done as fast as we can," said Lee Shin.

It was necessary for him to advance quickly and reduce the time needed to defeat the army. He had to go up to the 21st floor quickly.

* * *

"Ha… ha…” One of the human challengers was out of breath.

"This is crazy. Why are they disappearing like this all of a sudden?"

"This can’t be happening…”

A group of undead who were slaughtering the Blizzard Army on the front line of the battlefield, suddenly disappeared into the black portal. And the challengers started to panic at the sudden disappearance. They knew that their side was winning, but they were not so happy when the undead left them saying, “Take care of the rest on your own.”

Kang Young-Hoon sat on the ground and grumbled. He wiped his cold sweat with his sleeve. He thought their biggest problem was the collapse of the battle formation. They had to save Belkhan who was suddenly isolated from the group, and they also had to go get Happy who was trying to run away from the battlefield. It was chaotic.

"

Ha

..."

"Wait, what happened to him? Do you think Lee Si-Hoon got killed?”

"No way..."

"Otherwise, there's no reason for the undead to suddenly disappear."

"I don't think so, because if the shaman was dead, the undead would collapse helplessly on the spot. But as you guys saw, the undead disappeared through the portal."

[The head of the Blizzard Army has fallen down.]

[The remaining waves will disappear.]

[You have cleared the 11th floor.]

[Your achievement is being...]

[...]

A whole bunch of system messages appeared in front of the challengers. Those who were defending against the fifth wave were puzzled by the sudden sound.

"The head of the army had collapsed?”

"What are they talking about? What's going on here?”

"No way... Did Lee Si-Hoon leave the group to get the head of the army?"

"I was wondering where he went. And he had gone to kill the head of the army? Can he do that all by himself?”

"This has made it clear. Lee Si-Hoon must be Lee Shin."

"Is this for real?"

"Who else would have this level of skills other than Lee Shin?”

"Oh well… That’s true.'

"We’ll find out when we go out. Let's check it out!"

* * *

[You have defeated Beltiar, the head of the army.]

[You have defeated the Blizzard Army.]

[You have cleared the 11th floor in the shortest amount of time.]

[Your achievement is being recorded.]

[You have achieved 242,200 points]

[You have received 242,200 points.]

[Your Health Point has increased by 8,020.]

[Your Mana Power has increased by 16,200.]

[Your Strength has increased by 10.]

[Your Agility has increased by 6.]

[Your Intelligence has increased by 20.]

[Your Dominance has increased by 15.]

[You have acquired the 『Title - The Cruel Slayer』]

"Beltiar... was a demon?”

His ability as He Who Knows Death was invoked as he killed Beltiar. The background was showing a devildom that was filled with coldness everywhere. And Beltiar, who lived there, was killed by the apostle of God who suddenly appeared.

"I can’t believe the gods mess with demons even.”

"I can't believe it, because there must be a Demon God in the demon realm."

"Well, we don’t know that for sure. Maybe the Demon God allowed it.”

Lee Shin stood before Beltiar’s corpse.

"Harpness, get him up."

- Alright...

Harpness's sickle slashed the soul of Beltiar.

Swoosh—

With the support from the Power of Death, the bones and flesh were separated, and a huge undead rose from it.

"I… I am…" Beltiar opened his mouth.

"Beltiar, be my clan," Lee Shin commanded.

[The Black Mana tried to dominate Beltiar, the head of the Blizzard Army.]

"

Keugh… Ahhhh… Keuaaakk!

" Beltiar began to struggle in pain due to the Black Mana that flowed from the tip of Lee Shin’s wand.

[Beltiar has failed to resist the Black Mana.]

[Beltiar has become your clan.]

[Your Dominance has increased.]

[Your Dominance has increased.]

[Your Dominance has…]

Thump!

Beltiar was almost as large as the Skeleton Ogre, Bark. He knelt down in front of Lee Shin.

"I, Beltiar, swear to obey your commands," Beltiar declared.

"All right, stay inside for now,” Lee Shin replied.

Lee Shin put Beltiar in the Shadow Space with a look of satisfaction. Beltiar had shown extreme hostility to Lee Shin until a while ago, but he now vowed obedience to Lee Shin. Considering the class of Beltiar’s soul, Lee Shin thought that he could escape from the Dominance of his Black Mana. However, Lee Shin’s new class helped this process.

[Death Ruler]

# The dead are easily afraid of you.

# Your Dominance over the dead is strengthened.

# You are easily acknowledged by the dead.

Recently, Lee Shin’s class had changed from a Necromancer to a Death Ruler. This result was given because of this new title. Lee Shin felt like his identity was gradually being cast this way as time went by.

"Martyr." Lee Shin called out.

- Yes, my lord.

Lee Shin took out Martyr, which he was wearing around his waist. It was a beautiful sword that was pure white. Compared to the class contained in Martyr, Lee Shin realized that Beltiar was nothing.

"No wait, nevermind,” Lee Shin muttered.

Lee Shin thought Martyr would be a counterweight to balance this tilt.

"Master, the damage is quite significant this time," May said anxiously as he approached Lee Shin.

There were dead soldiers who were slashed and broken bones all over the place where the battle took place. Also, many half-destroyed Titans and ruined ground could be seen here and there.

"The battle has destroyed 23 Titans, and 7 of them need to be repaired immediately. About 75 percent of the undead we've collected so far have disappeared," May said anxiously.

"There's still more left than I thought,” Lee Shin muttered.

Lee Shin’s team had an overwhelming disadvantage in terms of military might. Typically, the soldiers would have been scattered in all directions and the challengers had to defeat them one after another instead of fighting with the entire army in one place. Lee Shin had expected this amount of damage.

"But since we got Beltiar instead, it's not a loss for us," Lee Shin explained.

The number of undead that could be stored in the Shadow Space was extremely limited. Therefore, only those who had the potential to grow ought to be gathered. Additionally, Lee Shin had saved some time, which was his biggest goal. He had saved a week's time.

.

"I'm going to the 12th floor," Lee Shin said.

[You are moving to the 12th floor.]

* * *

"

Keu.. ugh

..."

Swish—

Park Joo-Hyuk's sword was pulled out with the enemy's flesh. The ten challengers who attacked them were now cold, dead bodies.

"

Blech

...

Ugh

!" Eun-Ju started throwing up.

"Eun-Ju! Are you okay?" Park Joo-Hyuk asked.

"

Ha

…

ha

..." Eun-Ju sighed.

"Focus! It's only the beginning," Park Joo-Hyuk shouted.

Park Joo-Hyuk seemed to be fully energized and eager to fight.

Crack!

Park Joo-Hyuk's sword pierced through the Nucleus of Hell.

[The Nucleus of Demon Realm has been broken.]

[The Demon Realm in some areas has disappeared.]

"Time is on our side. Soon, a large number of reinforcements will come up from lower floors," Park Joo-Hyuk muttered.