Chapter 168. Quite a Lot to Handle

Something unidentifiable squirmed faintly in his grasp. Kim Do-Joon focused on the creature—or rather, the entity controlling it.

“So, you’re the culprit,” Kim Do-Joon muttered.

Only the perpetrator would hide and observe the scene by sending out only their "eyes.”

He shifted his focus to the creature’s aura. An ominous, undead-like energy wrapped it in a sinister grip. A fine thread of mana extended from the creature, trailing off somewhere distant.

Does the source lie at the other end?

Snap!

Suddenly, the thread of mana was severed.

Instead of retreating to its origin, the mana dispersed harmlessly into the air.

They’re covering their tracks.

Clearly, the enemy had anticipated the possibility of being traced through the mana connection.

Maybe I should’ve pretended not to notice.

That way, he’d have been able to track them back to their workshop.

But who cares.

Either way, his plan remained the same.

Drawing a circle in the air, he invoked the Ring of Dominance.

“Ashunaga,” Kim Do-Joon called.

From within its glow, a Naga wielding a crescent blade emerged.

“What now—

aaah!

” Ashunaga shrieked the moment she saw the shadowy soldiers encircling them.

“Not those soldiers again!” she wailed, swinging her crescent blade wildly to fend off the shadow soldiers.

The dense forest offered little resistance against her raw strength; a few trees posed no obstacle. However, harming the soldiers themselves was another story.

Flick.

“

Ow!

” Ashunaga yelped as Kim Do-Joon flicked her forehead.

Though the flick was light, she clutched her head and crouched down in pain.

“Listen to her while I’m gone,” Kim Do-Joon ordered the shadow soldiers, gesturing at Ashunaga.

The soldiers, filling the entire field of vision, silently nodded in unison. Their eerie synchronization resembled something out of a horror movie, but to Kim Do-Joon, they were the most reliable force he could ask for.

Rubbing her head, Ashunaga rose to her feet and grumbled, “What’s going on? Explain, Human.”

“I took that bastard’s power. These soldiers are part of my troop now,” Kim Do-Joon replied curtly.

“Ah, got it,” she said, nodding as if she understood.

If she were more perceptive, the word “took” might have raised some suspicions, but such nuances did not register with Ashunaga.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Take these soldiers and follow the trail up the mountain,” Kim Do-Joon instructed. “You’ll probably run into the Mahal Tribe fighting undead somewhere. Go help them.”

“Understood. But why did you call me? Can’t you handle it yourself?”

“I’ve got somewhere else to be.”

With that, Kim Do-Joon leapt onto a nearby tree branch, effortlessly scaling it. From his elevated vantage point, he scanned the forest landscape beyond.

The severed mana thread had left the familiar lifeless, like a battery-depleted toy. However, he vividly remembered the direction in which the mana thread had extended.

All that remained was to head straight in that direction. With his heightened senses, he was confident he wouldn’t miss even the faintest trace of mana.

It would be a brute-force approach, but oh well...

Though it lacked finesse, Kim Do-Joon didn’t mind. With his current abilities, even the subtlest of signals wouldn’t escape his senses.

“I’m counting on you,” Kim Do-Joon said, preparing to leave.

“Go on, human. Come back alive,” Ashunaga replied.

Summoning energy to his legs, Kim Do-Joon activated Sky Thunder, propelling himself off the branch.

Thud.

His departure was no longer accompanied by the explosive roar of displaced air, but the quiet rustle of branches underfoot.

***

"Damn it... Damn it!"

Archlich Keldian frantically scattered his mana, reinforcing his defenses. He had never expected anyone to make it this far. His earlier preparations had been slapdash, relying on the assumption that his workshop was invincible.

However, the man he had glimpsed through his familiar was dangerous. It seemed he could easily breach this sanctuary.

Hastily, he etched mana circles, scattered reagents, and set traps. Every second mattered to him at this point.

"Return!"

He didn’t stop there. Archlich Keldian issued an emergency recall to all undead legions he had deployed to the nearby tribes. Some of the tribes were not fully conquered yet, but that was secondary now. His survival took precedence.

Undead may be slow, but...

At least, they didn’t tire. Their constant march made them surprisingly efficient. Still, those he had sent far beyond the mountain would take time to regroup.

"I’ll show you just how strong a mage at his workshop can be!" Archlich Keldian shouted with determination.

He modified the mana circles around his workshop into a robust counteroffensive array. Hundreds, no, thousands of magical missiles were rigged to launch. He then added barriers, elemental traps, and venomous ambushes, all aimed to obliterate any intruders.

Once his preparations were complete, Archlich Keldian waited, his throat dry.

Gulp.

Moments later, an overwhelming energy surged toward him, like a tsunami crashing ashore.

He confirmed the source using his familiar stationed outside the workshop. It was as he had feared.

I'll get rid of him before he gets here.

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, the magical traps around the workshop sprang to life.

Fire and ice rained down in a relentless storm, lightning roared through the air, and poisoned arrows shot from concealed positions. Archlich Keldian knew the barrage could pulverize anything caught within.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground shook violently as explosions thundered, causing dust and debris to fall from the ceiling of Archlich Keldian’s chamber. Even this far away, the impact was staggering.

"Did I get him?"

Archlich Keldian’s eyes remained glued to his familiar’s vision, watching intently. Against any other opponent, he would’ve confidently declared his victory, but not so with this man. The sheer presence he exuded earlier lingered like a phantom in Archlich Keldian’s mind.

As the smoke cleared, Archlich Keldian stared at the aftermath. Neither trees, rocks, nor even shrubs remained, besides a massive gouge in the earth.

Relief began to seep into Archlich Keldian’s expression.

Crack—!

"

Aaaargh!

"

Suddenly, a piercing pain jolted through him. His familiar had been caught—gripped in the man’s hand.

—Found you.

Then came the man’s calm voice. Archlich Keldian clutched his eye socket, severing the mana connection in a panic. However, it was too late.

Boom!

Moments later, the man crashed through the multi-story ceiling of Archlich Keldian’s workshop, landing with a force that shook the entire structure. Every trap and magical array Archlich Keldian had set up failed. They did not malfunction—they simply could not stop him.

"You insolent wretch!" Archlich Keldian bellowed, pointing his staff and unleashing his most powerful spell.

The seventh-tier spell, Hellfire, named for its devastating inferno, erupted instantly. If it detonated, it would annihilate the entire workshop in seconds. Archlich Keldian didn’t care—he could rebuild, but he couldn’t reclaim a lost life.

Fwoosh!

The man grabbed Hellfire as if it were a mere spark, making Archlich Keldian’s jaw drop. Even if cast in haste, it was still one of the most destructive spells in his arsenal!

"Your flames are subpar," the man said dismissively.

Dark red flames burst forth from the man’s hand. The spell was extinguished, devoured by something far more terrifying.

The sight shattered Archlich Keldian’s will. Without hesitation, he turned and bolted toward a secret emergency passage.

However, he never reached it.

Crack—!

Archlich Keldian’s legs buckled as a brutal force shattered his knees.

"

Argh!

" he screamed, collapsing.

He attempted to crawl, but his limbs refused to budge. With methodical precision, the man systematically crushed every part of Archlich Keldian except for his head.

The once-mighty Archlich Keldian dangled helplessly by his skull, gripped in the man’s iron grasp.

"Who... Who are you?! Are you one of her lackeys?!" Archlich Keldian shrieked.

The man remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a low, cold voice.

"You seem to know quite a bit.”

Archlich Keldian’s glowing blue eyes flickered nervously. He couldn’t regenerate, fight back, nor escape. All he could do was tremble.

***

“It’s not just me...! There are others like me—liches stationed across the land, all working to annihilate the Mahal Tribe,” hissed the skull that lay discarded on the ground.

Kim Do-Joon glanced at it as he deliberately and almost casually pulled an unconscious Mahal warrior from a nearby coffin. Despite his apparent distraction, Archlich Keldian didn’t even consider retaliating.

“Are you trying to seize control of this labyrinth?” Kim Do-Joon asked coldly.

“A labyrinth?” Archlich Keldian’s voice crackled with dry amusement. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Fair enough,

thought Kim Do-Joon. After all, he was the only one who had entered this place using a labyrinth key. The concept would be foreign to the Lich.

“This place is a Branch cultivated by him, our master’s foe. Naturally, we must claim it before it grows too strong,” Archlich Keldian explained.

“A Branch?”

Kim Do-Joon paused mid-motion, his attention turning fully to the skull. The word struck a chord. He had heard it recently in Shanghai’s incident. Along with it came the cryptic announcement of a “Branch” manifesting, a message broadcast across the globe.

“You mean... a Branch of the World Tree?”

“Of course. What else could I mean?

An ordinary tree branch?

”

According to Archlich Keldian, the Branch was like a seed, a precursor to entire worlds. Just as a gardener would plant a branch to grow a new tree, these fragments were the beginnings of new realms.

That brought to mind the dark void Kim Do-Joon had seen inside the Black Coffin. If Archlich Keldian’s explanation held true, then that void was not simply an aberration. It was an unformed world—one molded by Mel Sior’s will.

“Then, the Roots...” Kim Do-Joon muttered to himself.

The World Tree’s Roots, connected to small worlds—dungeons—were far too abundant to be coincidental.

A sudden memory flickered in Kim Do-Joon’s mind: the third labyrinth, Collapsed temple. He thought about the Archlich, the army of undead and the divinely-empowered Mahal Tribe.

Then could the roots be... dead worlds? Ones that have perished?

Just as a tree used decomposed matter to fuel its growth, the World Tree appeared to nourish itself on the remnants of fallen realms, giving birth to new ones through its Branches.

The stems were likely just hollow channels through which nutrients traveled. Why, then, was a world inhabited by elves and spirits located there?

It feels... seamless...

The thought didn’t seem out of place at all, almost as if the buried memories of an old man within him affirmed it. Kim Do-Joon resumed his work. He pulled a familiar-looking Mahal tribe member out of the coffin where they lay unconscious and gently placed them on the ground.

“So,” Kim Do-Joon began, his voice steady.

“

So?

”

“Who exactly is this

‘he’

you keep mentioning? Your boss, I mean.”

This meant one thing: these creatures were invaders. Whoever this “him” was had unleashed beings like Archlich Keldian onto the branch.

“Well... He is...

Hehehe... Heh.”

Suddenly, Archlich Keldian started laughing. The laugh, small at first, escalated into wild, maniacal cackling.

“What the...”

For a moment, Archlich Keldian was silent. Then, his voice turned mocking.

“Oh, you fool... You’ve wasted so much time talking,” Archlich Keldian cackled, “that you didn’t even notice it happening!”

Kim Do-Joon raised an eyebrow.

Boom—! Crash—! Crack!

Then, the walls of the workshop crumbled, revealing a horde of undead stretching beyond the horizon.

A grotesque, writhing sea of skeletal warriors, ghouls, and abominations churned before Kim Do-Joon’s eyes, their sheer numbers impossible to count.

“Come forth!” Archlich Keldian’s voice rang out triumphantly.

At the forefront, a headless knight astride a rotten steed galloped forward, seizing Archlich Keldian’s skull and fastening it to his side.

“Guess what! A necromancer’s true strength lies in their army!” Archlich Keldian said confidently.

Kim Do-Joon rose slowly to his feet. He expanded his senses, scanning the area. While he could not determine the exact number, it was obvious that thousands of undead had gathered nearby.

“

Ha.

”

A soft chuckle escaped, his expression faintly amused. It was neither mockery, nor scorn, but simply laughter that bubbled up unbidden.

“W-What...?” Archlich Keldian faltered at the sight.

Why was this man laughing? He could order his army to attack right then and there, tearing this mortal apart. He wondered why Kim Do-Joon was not terrified, and his confusion deepened.

Kim Do-Joon did not answer. Instead, he stepped forward, stomping his foot against the ground.

Thud!

From that point, shadows rippled outward, spreading like ink across the ground. They surged ahead, devouring everything in their path, as if even the horizon would be swallowed.

“So,” Kim Do-Joon said, his voice quiet but deliberate. “You called this Branch the seed of a new world?”

The shadows surged, enveloping the undead army.

“What... What is this?!” Archlich Keldian’s voice grew panicked.

The creeping darkness swallowed the undead without resistance, their forms disappearing one by one. Within moments, the entire army had been consumed.

When the shadows finally receded, something new emerged.

From the remnants of Archlich Keldian’s forces rose a new army—shadow soldiers, dark and imposing, exuding an overwhelming aura of obedience.

All at once, they knelt before Kim Do-Joon, as if paying homage to their sovereign.

“No... This can’t be...” Archlich Keldian stammered, his voice trembling.

His carefully amassed army—an effort spanning over a century—had been stolen in an instant, becoming the foundation for Kim Do-Joon’s power.

Archlich Keldian could only watch in horror, paralyzed by the crushing reality before him.