Chapter 130
[You…!]
Prince lowered his stance and growled. Simon casually looked around, then spotted Prince’s true body.
A corpse seated on the throne, with a crown placed on its head. As Prince caught Simon’s gaze, he reacted with extreme sensitivity.
[Is it the crown you’re after?!]
“No.”
Simon shook his head and added,
“You’re the one I’m after.”
[...What?]
Prince made a dumbfounded sound.
“I told you. Join my Legion.”
[Screw you! I’d rather die than make another contract with a necromancer!]
“Hmm.”
Simon pointed out the window with his left hand, the one not holding the greatsword.
“Then how are you going to stop that?”
Outside, a one-sided battle was still raging.
The Meat Golem Prince destroyed was just one, and the situation hadn’t changed.
“I can lend you power. Of course, only if you join the legion and swear absolute obedience to me.”
[Shut the hell uuuup!]
Enraged, Prince leapt forward and started throwing punches. Simon blocked the blows with his greatsword and slipped aside.
‘His movements are easier to read than when we first fought.’
Of course, he had powered up with Feer and the legion’s strength, but there was also a strange, tickling feeling—like he was starting to understand something.
Prince, without care or caution, began wildly screaming and throwing rapid attacks.
‘He’s agitated. On edge and cornered mentally. He has no composure at all.’
He felt like a completely different person from the Prince he fought in the sewers.
Was the childlike appearance affecting his mentality too? He was being overly swayed by emotion.
‘This might actually be easier than I thought.’
While deflecting Prince’s attacks with his greatsword, Simon deliberately struck Prince’s arm instead of his fists.
Clang!
Even with Feer’s greatsword, he couldn’t cut through Prince in one strike. The sword left a wound, but bounced off as if it had hit metal.
Simon’s right arm rose, creating an opening and Prince dove in without hesitation.
Hook, line, and sinker.
‘Open Gate.’
Fwwwoooosh!
Subspace opened around Simon. Blades of Overlord pushed Prince, who was airborne mid-leap, slamming him into the far wall.
Boom!
Prince grimaced in pain from the impact. Simon immediately dashed forward, stepping over Darkness, and drove his greatsword hard into Prince’s abdomen.
With a slicing sound, Prince screamed in agony.
‘Wow, he’s ridiculously tough.’
Not even a quarter of the sword had gone in. Simon let go of the hilt and stepped back.
[Urghhh! What the hell are you trying to do?!]
“This.”
Simon launched himself from Darkness and kicked the hilt of the greatsword.
Crunchhhh!
Now nearly half the sword pierced into Prince’s abdomen.
[Gu… Guaaaah!]
Though his body was solid, he definitely felt pain.
Prince gagged and drooled as his mouth hung open, trembling with tears brimming in his eyes.
“That’s enough payback for laying a hand on my friend.”
Simon turned and approached Prince’s true body.
[Don’t touch my body!]
Prince thrashed and screamed, but Simon ignored him with ease.
He stripped the luxurious clothes off Prince’s true body, then forced open the split in its chest.
Thump—thump—
He could see Prince’s Core pulsing like a heartbeat.
[Y-You… You wouldn’t dare!!]
Simon answered with a smile. Just then, the commotion drew a horde of zombies swarming in.
“Take care of it, Feer.”
[Got it!]
Schlk!
The Bone Armor Simon wore peeled off like living clothing and returned to its giant skeleton form.
[Kahaha! Stand down!]
Feer shouted thunderously, pointing a bony finger at the forehead of Prince’s true body.
[You want to see your master die?!]
At that, the zombies hesitated, and Prince gritted his teeth.
[You thug bastards! Get out of my mansion this instant!]
Regardless of Prince’s rage, Simon focused on the Core before him.
They were once his father’s comrades, so he had intended to respectfully persuade them over time. But now, the situation was too urgent.
‘I’ll take it first.’
If it didn’t work out, he’d just finish him off later. For now, he needed to shackle Prince.
Simon decisively placed his hand on the Core.
Fwoooooosh!
Simon’s and Prince’s Darkness exploded and raged uncontrollably.
“Ggh!”
[Curse youuuu!]
It was painful, but the moment passed quickly.
Soon, as the Darkness stabilized, a dark blue aura unique to Simon began leaking from Prince’s true body.
“Hoo.”
Success.
Now as the third Ancient Undead of the legion, Prince looked completely defeated, without even the strength to scream anymore.
“I’ll get you out.”
Simon approached, pulled out the greatsword from Prince’s abdomen, and retracted the Overlord blades. Prince’s body collapsed and dissipated like black smoke. It had reverted to an ordinary zombie corpse.
Kraaaa-booom!
Then, a black lightning bolt struck a nearby zombie. Its body turned black and transformed into Prince.
Five lives remained.
[Hah! Hah!]
Prince panted heavily.
Perhaps due to Simon’s influence, his appearance had changed. His pupils now glowed dark blue, and the ceremonial robes he wore had shifted to navy tones.
Prince, eyes brimming with tears, glared at him in frustration, but Simon simply smiled without flinching and said,
“Welcome to the Legion.”
Feer laughed heartily from the side and added,
[Kwahaha! Once in the legion, forever in the legion!]
[You goddamn bastards……]
Prince trembled with rage as he stood up. His clenched fists were visibly trembling with force.
“Planning to fight?”
Simon blinked.
“If I don’t release the legion, you’ll die if the legion commander dies.”
[Shut uuuuup!]
Prince charged at him without warning. Simon stood calmly in place, and Feer, arms folded, chuckled and made no move to stop it.
Simon spoke.
“Kneel.”
Boom!!
As though his knees had turned to lead, Prince collapsed to the ground in a kneel. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t rise.
Sweating coldly and groaning, he stared at Simon as if looking at a monster.
‘Damn! Is this... Absolute Order?’
There was no way to resist such a power. Prince felt his will breaking in half.
Simon sighed softly and said,
“Whether you like it or not, we’re on the same side now. If you don’t want the crown taken, we need to work together.”
[…]
“Explain the situation. If there’s something I can help with……”
[Help?]
Prince sneered coldly.
[Don’t make me laugh! Help, my ass! Thanks to you forcefully legionizing me, the situation has gotten way worse!]
“?”
[If you’ve got eyes, look out the damn window!]
Simon did as he said and looked out the window.
‘The zombies…!’
The zombies that had been fighting on the front lines were now acting strangely, as if their command structure had been disrupted.
Even with enemies right in front of them, they stood dazed in place, dug at the ground randomly, or began tearing at each other.
[Because you forcefully turned me into a legion member, the connection between the crown and the zombies was severed! Now what?!]
Prince trembled as he spoke.
[We're already outnumbered, it’s over! Before I can even recover control of the zombies, Magnus and Javier will storm into the mansion and—Hey! What are you doing!]
Simon was already lifting the crown from Prince’s true body.
“So this is what you use to control the zombies?”
[You lunatic bastard! Put that down right now! That thing isn’t something a human can withstand!]
“If there’s no other way than activating this crown again, then what choice do we have?”
Simon said, and carefully placed the crown on his head.
“......!”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—
A flood of countless thoughts surged into Simon’s mind.
Not just one or two undead. Hundreds, thousands—no, even more.
So many thoughts it was impossible to count rushed into his head. At the same time, their sensations poured in.
The footsteps, movements, blinking eyes, the pain of being stabbed by weapons, even the agony of being crushed by a Meat Golem, every sensation from the zombies fighting outside was transmitted.
In just a few seconds of wearing the crown, Simon experienced death several times.
Thud!
The crown fell and rolled across the floor. Simon collapsed, soaked in cold sweat.
“Uugh!”
His vision spun. Nausea rushed over him.
It was madness. Connecting to over ten thousand minds was sheer madness.
[Heh, told you, didn’t I?]
Prince laughed with a smug look.
But Simon, staggering, picked himself up and reached for the crown again.
[You’re not seriously……!]
“This.”
Simon muttered softly.
“Is more doable than I thought.”
[What……?]
Prince felt his thoughts freeze.
What the hell is this guy?
Simon lifted the crown once more and placed it on his head. Then, writhing in agony, he let out a groan of pain.
[You crazy bastard! Even after getting burned once, you’re doing that again……!]
[Kehuhuhuhu!]
Feer chuckled with his shoulders shaking.
[Why aren’t you stopping him? You’re supposed to be the mentor!]
[Don’t try to judge that boy by your crooked standards.]
Feer grinned slyly.
[That kid is more dangerous than Richard, in a whole different way!]
Thump!
Eventually, the crown fell again. But this time, he had endured far longer than before.
“Huff! Haah! Haah!”
Simon panted heavily, then gripped the crown once again.
[Why the hell are you going this far……!]
“Let’s go, Prince.”
Now, he truly had a grasp of it.
Simon wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled.
“I’ll show you, how I’m going to win this war.”
Superb.