Chapter 161: Aerial Woods

[You people do not understand romance.]

Zarka Hochi, seated on the throne, clicked his tongue at Gordon as if he had just witnessed something blasphemous. He held a small picture frame, which he carefully placed on the table beside his chair.

“Romance, my foot. A guy who’s been rotting for a thousand years talks about romance. The stench here is worse than the toxic fumes within the walls,” Gordon snorted in response. “Shut up and give me my medicine.”

[What?]

Zarka looked at Gordon with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t know what it is, but you must have something like medicine on you, right? Like the treasures dropped by dungeon bosses. At least you’re a monster we can communicate with.”

[It’s been a while since humans ventured here, and one of them turns out to be a madman...] Zarka shook his head in disbelief.

As he stood up, a sinister aura filled the ballroom. Miliana sensed the coldness and began to gather her mana.

[It’s a familiar aura... Yes, it has been a long time since someone broke through the Dragon’s wall. You seem capable enough.] Zarka nodded slowly, acknowledging Miliana’s power.

“I have a few questions for you, Zarka Hochi,” Karyl began.

[What is it?]

The tension was still high, but thanks to Gordon, the atmosphere had eased slightly, delaying the conflict. Karyl considered it fortunate that they could talk before resorting to violence.

“Why was this medallion inside the Bone Dragon?”

Karyl took out the medallion they had obtained earlier. As he did, it emitted a faint green glow, matching the one from his armor. However, the black magic within the castle dimmed the glow.

Zarka Hochi’s eyes twitched slightly at the sight.

[Why are you wearing Elven Mail if you’re not an elf?]

“This isn’t made by elves. It’s a gnome creation.”

[Hmph... Did they steal the World Tree’s branches? Those rat-like creatures haven’t changed in a thousand years.]

The poor relationship between gnomes and elves was well-known, much like their animosity with dwarves. Receiving confirmation firsthand felt like seeing an old fairy tale come to life.

“Ugh...”

But the wonder faded quickly. Zarka Hochi’s handsome visage was just a thin veneer over his skeletal form, which moved grotesquely with each word. Aidan, with his keen eyes, shuddered at the sight.

[Very well, but why should I tell you anything? You’ve invaded my castle.]

“You’re not in a position to talk about manners when you tried to poison us. Why not just get to the point?” Karyl nudged a nearby bowl with his foot.

[I have nothing to say. You have trespassed on this sacred ground, and the only thing you shall receive is death.]

At that moment, a hazy mana barrier formed around Zarka Hochi.

“See? When you ask politely, the skeleton gets angry,” Gordon complained to Karyl before turning to Zarka Hochi. “I’m sorry about that. Just ignore what this guy said and tell me where my medicine is before I blow your smart head off.”

Gordon clicked his tongue again, but given that he had just smashed a man’s head earlier, his apology sounded far from sincere.

[Insolent intruders... You’ve come to steal the Essence of the Soul Spring, haven’t you?]

“The Essence of the Soul Spring...?”

“See? He talks right away. Is that my medicine?” Gordon tilted his head at Karyl.

[Nonsense... Do you know what these corpses around you are? They are those who challenged this castle and perished. You shall join them and dream endless nightmares here.]

At that moment, a powerful mana storm erupted in the ballroom.

Snap!! Crackle—!!

Dark mana, like a spreading fire, engulfed not only Karyl but the entire castle.

“Be careful!!”

Knowing this was no ordinary mana, Karyl’s shout made everyone draw their weapons and concentrate their mana.

[Escape the confines of flesh and embrace freedom...]

[Obey the master’s command.]

Ominous voices echoed from all around. The scattered corpses rose as the dark mana made contact with them, emitting white smoke.

“Guh—!”

Instinctively, Gordon charged toward Zarka Hochi, swinging his hammer with all his might.

Boom—!!

The impact created a powerful echo, but the mana wall around Zarka shook with a ripple as it deflected Gordon’s hammer.

“...!!”

[Hahaha... Is that all you’ve got? Tremble in fear, mortals! My mist-like mana cannot be stopped by your crude hands.]

Zarka Hochi was taunting Gordon with his low laughter.

“Is this necromancy...? How troublesome,” Karyl muttered, staring at the shimmering mana wall.

“We can break it. We took down a Bone Dragon, after all,” Miliana spoke as she emitted a sword aura. Since unblocking her meridians, she hadn’t yet had a chance to properly use her mana, so she had actually been hoping to go against a powerful opponent.

“Be careful. These aren’t like the weak undead outside. They’re skeletal, but they have a spectral flesh covering them, just like that Zarka guy. People brought back with necromancy can use their abilities from when they were alive.”

Despite Karyl’s warning, Miliana seemed even more excited.

“After all, they died to that elf. At most...”

Boom—!!

At that moment, a deafening crash interrupted Miliana. She was thrown backward by the force, flipping through the air before slamming into the ground and tumbling several meters. Even with her sword planted into the ground, she kept sliding before finally crashing into a wall.

She quickly sprang to her feet, prepared to charge once more, but then stopped abruptly, wincing in pain.

Drip...

“Huh?”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and saw a smear of blood.

“Blood...?”

Even though she had blocked that attack with her sword, her cheek was burning and her nose throbbed from the necromantic swordsman’s attack.

“You bastard!!” Miliana growled.

She vanished the next second, leaving only an afterimage behind as he charged at the swordsman with incredible speed. She jumped, spun three times in the air, and extended her sword toward the opponent.

Clang!

The clash of steel rang out as her sword, Arc, met the swordsman’s blade. Still in the air, she pressed on. She pushed Arc aside, causing the swordsman to stagger, and then swung her other sword, Gale, in a horizontal arc.

Crash! Boom!!

With a series of explosive sounds, she spun mid-fall and stomped down on the swordsman's head, driving it into the ground and cracking the marble floor.

“This guy...”

Despite her relentless assault, Miliana’s expression hardened as she looked at the fallen swordsman.

She’s no joke either...

Aidan thought to himself as he observed her ferocious attacks.

“Kid, this isn't the time to be admiring her. Focus if you don't want to die. Those two over there are your responsibility.”

“Wh-What?”

Gordon’s words snapped him out of his reverie. More undead revived by Zarka Hochi's necromancy were approaching them.

“Karyl, can you see it? Zarka’s wall of mana is connected to those undead. We need to take them all down to dispel it.”

With necromancy, the caster usually used dark mana to animate the undead, fueling them. Once their bodies were destroyed or their core shattered, they would stop moving.

Woosh!

The swordsman Miliana had knocked down rose once again and swung his sword.

“That’s the troublesome part of necromancy. An elf using necromancy... It’s bizarre.”

“Grraaah...”

Growling like wild beasts, the surrounding undead closed in, each one protected by a layer of mana similar to Zarka’s.

Necromancy connected the mana between the caster and the undead, forming a protective barrier. The barrier would not break until the mana was completely depleted, and even if it was somehow shattered before that, it would regenerate instantly.

“What do we do?”

“We’re supposed to attack until the mana shield is depleted...”

In his previous life, Karyl had encountered demons using necromancy in large-scale battles. Back then, they could deplete the demons’ mana with enough soldiers, but now it was different.

“Elves already live long, but add a thousand years... Depleting his mana would take forever...” Aidan said in a disheartened tone.

“Graaahh!!”

At that moment, a woman in a dress lunged at him, shrieking and swinging her sword.

“Ugh!!”

Although the woman appeared fragile, Aidan felt a sharp pain in his arms from blocking her attack.

“Move!!”

Gordon Fabian swung his hammer with all his strength. The woman's body bent at an unnatural angle, and her ribs shattered.

Crack! Crack! Crunch!

“Kraaagh!!”

The undead woman bounced off the floor and slammed into the wall, half of her skeleton shattering. She staggered momentarily as the bone fragments reattached themselves to her body. Once fully restored, the woman charged at Gordon with frenzied speed.

“Damn it!!”

Gordon Fabian punched the woman in the face as she tried to sink her rattling teeth into his neck. At the same time, he drove his Martyr into the butler’s waist as he lunged at him from behind.

The hammer’s head slammed the butler into the ground, separating his torso from its legs, and leaving him writhing helplessly on the ground.

Normally, the bodies of these undead wouldn’t shatter like this while being protected by Zarka Hochi’s mana shield. That was clear from Miliana’s clash with that undead.

However, Gordon’s vicious attacks broke through the undead’s protection, blow by blow.

“If breaking them means it’s over, then the method is simple. Hey, elf. A thousand years of mana? Let’s see how long you last."

Gordon smashed the butler’s head again with his Martyr as the upper and lower halves of his body were about to fuse back together.

“...”

Surrounded by these monstrous figures, Aidan found himself missing Suan Hazer for the first time.

“Come.” Gordon Fabian beckoned with his finger.

At his provocation, the undead in the banquet hall drew their weapons.

Crack—!

Just then, the skeletal butler rose back up and cracked its neck left and right, even though he had been smashed to pieces moments earlier, his skull turned to dust. He charged at Gordon once more.

Boom! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!

Dozens of undead clung to Gordon, bone fragments exploding in all directions and filling the hall with smoke.

“The lich’s mana might actually run out,” Aidan remarked to Karyl, amazed by Gordon’s monstrous display of power.

Something’s off...

A sense of unease prevented Karyl from joining in the admiration—there was something wrong about the way the undead were attacking Gordon.

“There’s no way...”