Chapter 505
Through the rift in space carved open by the Greatsword of Destruction, Simon hurled himself without hesitation.
Thud.
The echo of his boots striking stone spread out. Dampness. Heavy air. The smell of mold and experimental reagents lingered.
This place was a cave. Black, red, and brown were tangled together chaotically.
The floor was solid, and jagged stalagmites jutted out of the walls. Somewhere nearby, the faint trickling of water could be heard.
“Here is….”
This was the secret base of the Executioners.
But it wasn’t merely an indoor chamber.
“…It’s a dungeon, isn’t it?”
[Khhrrh! Indeed!]
Following behind Simon, Kajan, Serne, Loraine, and General Amin stepped inside. They all scanned the surroundings with astonished eyes.
“Kajan. As I thought, this is—”
“Yeah.”
Kajan let out a quiet sigh.
“This looks to be the legendary Gold Mine Dungeon that actually existed in Tarados decades ago.”
“I thought adventurers destroyed it back then?”
“Apparently not. Seems the Executioners seized it and turned it into their laboratory.”
Loraine raised her arm slightly.
“Simon, look over there.”
Where she pointed, water flowed.
No—more precisely—
“…It’s all blood.”
Gurgle—Gurgle—!
Thin streams of blood welled up and coursed like rivers through the dungeon. Now and then, corpses drifted along with the current. Just looking at it was enough to make one’s stomach heave.
‘…….’
As Simon’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, more horrors came into view.
The dungeon was vast. Corpses dangled from the ceiling. Massive instruments operated, crushing and draining already lifeless bodies. Skewered corpses, burning corpses—wherever one turned, it was a vision of hell.
The thought that all the abducted residents of Tarados had been slaughtered in such ways made him even more nauseous.
‘How could fellow humans do something like this…!’
[Boy!]
The voice of Feer echoed in his head.
[Steady yourself! They’re coming!]
Step—Step—Step—Step—
The darkness ahead writhed. Undead soldiers began pouring toward them.
Their numbers dwarfed those that had been fought outside the dungeon. At the rear, grotesque mid-sized Chimeras, twisted from both beasts and plants, slithered closer.
Shrrng!
The first to move was Loraine. She slashed the air with her crimson dagger, cleaving the leading undead soldiers in two.
But from their severed stumps, flesh squirmed upward again.
“As I thought—same type as those outside.”
Each one was part of the Immortal Army. Simon nodded grimly.
“And their regeneration speed looks much faster than outside the dungeon.”
Everyone readied themselves for battle. Simon unfolded the map General Amin had given him.
“Our plan’s a little off. Looks like we’ll need an all-out fight from the start, so I’ll divide roles right now.”
He turned his head.
“Serne, take the side passage. There’s a staircase leading to the upper floor. That’s where the captured townsfolk are imprisoned. I want you to rescue them.”
Freeing prisoners wasn’t simply a matter of brute force. Of the group, Serne—specialized in psychic magic—was best suited.
Serne shrugged.
“Yeah, yeah~ It’s a boring job, but I promised cooperation for two coupons, so I’ve got no choice.”
“This isn’t boring—it’s lives at stake. I’m counting on you.”
“Fine.”
With a wink, Serne strode off, silver-white hair fluttering. Scattered feathers turned into summoned Feather Soldiers, flanking her as guardians.
“Kajan, you head to the laboratory on B2 and recover Kal. I think the Executioners sustaining this dungeon has to do with Kal’s power.”
“Understood.”
“Until we reach B2, stick with us.”
Securing Kal might be the key to collapsing this dungeon and the Immortal Army.
Simon handed Kajan the socketed necklace containing Kal’s fragment.
“And Loraine, you come with me to B3. We’ll take down Nirti and find the dungeon’s master.”
“Got it.”
“And finally, General Amin—”
Simon turned back. He had planned to ask Amin, still not fully healed, to remain in the rear and block the Executioners' reinforcements.
But—
‘?!’
Through the broken cavern opening, beyond the friendly camp tents, gigantic silhouettes loomed.
Simon rushed outside.
Boom—Boom—
A battle was raging outside the dungeon as well.
Towering undead, each as massive as skyscrapers of a metropolis, roared as they crushed tents, trampling thieves of the Ganes Guild and the regular army soldiers beneath their feet.
The oppressive aura of Darkness rolling from them was enough to confirm their overwhelming power.
“They’re also from the Executioners…!”
[No.]
Feer’s voice was heavy.
[Something’s wrong. I can sense it! Those belong to Magnus’ 5th Legion!]
“…Magnus?!”
At the sudden, dreadful name, Simon’s face turned pale.
“Why is he in Tarados…!”
Undead of Magnus’ Legion—no ordinary soldiers could stop them. They might even have Ancient Undeads among their ranks.
Inside those tents were Lisa, her brother, and even the old coachman.
‘If this continues, it’ll be a massacre.’
Cold sweat trickled down Simon’s face.
‘What do I do? Fight Magnus’ Legion today, and then face the Executioners tomorrow at midnight?’
“I’ll go.”
Loraine stepped out of the dungeon beside him.
“You stick to the Executioners as planned.”
“But—!”
“Remember what your client said? If the Executioners' experiment succeeds, the whole continent falls into peril. Every second counts.”
“I’ll help too.”
General Amin emerged, voice resolute.
“These are the men I brought. It’s my responsibility. I’ll command them so not a single one breaches the dungeon!”
Simon bit his lip. He was worried, but there was no choice but to trust them now.
“Stay safe, General Amin. You too, Loraine.”
“Simon?”
Rumble—Rumble—!
Her crimson eyes blazed as immense Darkness erupted. Her black hair fluttered like flames.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten whose daughter I am?”
Shivers ran down Simon’s spine at her unleashed power. He nodded firmly.
“Sorry for worrying for nothing. See you later!”
Simon stepped back into the Gold Mine Dungeon.
By then, the undead soldiers had already advanced almost to the very entrance.
Kajan lashed out with long-range claw strikes to take down the fastest ones at the front, but they kept regenerating.
“Simon!”
“Yes. I’ve finished talking.”
Simon strode forward and stood before Kajan. He raised his hand high overhead.
“From here on, no more holding back. I’ll unleash the full might of the Legion.”
Clack!
In his grasp appeared Feer’s skull, reshaped into a helmet. Pressing it down deep over his head, dark-blue magic flickered in its eye sockets.
Clack!
Chachachak!
Feer’s bones clung magnetically to Simon’s body. Simon drew his arm back and then ripped the space open wide.
A massive subspace tore open, and from it began to crawl countless undeads of the 7th Legion.
—Aaaaarghhh!
—Kiiiii!
Skeletons, zombies, corpse spiders, skullwings, and all manner of large and small undead that Feer had gathered.
More than a thousand undead poured forth like a tidal wave, swelling their ranks until they matched—and even surpassed—the Immortal Army of the Executioners.
[My my, it has been long since we marched with our Commander.]
“I’m counting on you, Erzebet.”
The general of the spider troops revealed herself.
Crashhh!
A bolt of black lightning struck a zombie, and striding forward with a crown upon his head and uniform tails fluttering came Prince.
[Hey, hey, Simon! You’ve set the stage for me to show off my hidden card, right?]
Throwing light jabs into the air, grinning, it was Prince, the general of the zombie troops.
“Of course. I’ve laid the whole stage out for you.”
Simon and Prince bumped fists.
The charge was ready. Simon drew in a deep breath one last time.
[Der König ist Zurück—!!]
A dirge rolled from Simon’s mouth, echoing through the entire Legion. Dark-blue sparks flickered in the eyes of the undead.
—WOOOOAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!
The mighty dead, their morale driven sky-high, let out deafening roars. Erzebet and Prince both turned to him in shock.
[Commander?]
[Wh-what the hell did you just do?]
Simon only smiled faintly.
‘Everything I learned at Keyzen is now my strength. The experience of a Legion Commander merges with the growth I achieved in Keyzen.’
He lifted the Greatsword of Destruction and roared.
[All forces—]
The Legion’s undead crouched low, snarling, hands pressed against the ground as if ready to spring.
[Follow me.]
With an Absolute Order, Simon leapt forward.
Erzebet, Prince, and Kajan surged after him, and the entire horde of the dead charged with their commander.
—Kyaaaaak!
—Kiiiiiii!
Thousands of undeads of the Legion collided head-on with the Immortal Army. At the very front, Simon swung the Greatsword of Destruction mightily.
CLAAAANGGG!
A line tore straight across the battlefield, and every Immortal soldier touched by it was cleaved in half. Before they could regenerate, zombies of the Legion rushed in to bite and tear them apart.
—Krrrrk!
—Kii!
Corpse spiders leapt to the ceiling, slinging poison, webs, and nets in a relentless barrage.
Whump!
Skullwings swooped down, scattering cursed feathers, seizing immortal soldiers and dragging them into the rivers of blood.
[Keep pushing!]
Simon shouted.
[Der König von Undead fiel hier nieder—!!]
Borrowing strength from the dirge, an even stronger, wider Absolute Order seeped into the Legion.
Empowered, the undead pressed forward like spears, tearing apart the Immortal Army’s formation.
Immortal soldiers, destroyed and still regenerating, were trampled into uselessness by the advance. Both were undead armies, but the difference in quality was overwhelming.
[Khhrrh! We’ve broken through, boy!]
The Legion tore through the Immortal Army’s encirclement in an instant. Simon’s party and the undead surged forward in a mighty flood.
Ahead lay the passage leading to the first basement floor.
“Unbelievable.”
Kajan laughed under his breath as he cut down foes at the lead.
“So this is the power of the Legion.”
[We shall not fall behind!]
Erzebet spread webs across the sky, shredding flying Immortal soldiers into fragments.
[Hidden Card Punch!!]
Prince dashed along her web and struck out with his fist, the shockwave blasting immortals in every direction.
At the very tip of the advance, Simon swung the Greatsword of Destruction again and again, driving forward at speed. In the distance, deep in the dungeon, stairs descending to the lower levels came into view.
Dark-blue sparks danced endlessly in his pupils.
‘I’m coming down, Nirti.’
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters