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At the top of the Magic Tower, Evergrant, the newly appointed Tower Master, stared intently at the center of the table. He had discovered something unusual—a most unexpected result—just a few minutes ago. Along with the long-lost light of Thunderbolt’s sphere, he found that the light of the Red Flame and Void’s spheres were nowhere to be seen.
And just then, another marble was reduced to dust with a barely audible sigh—but it was not on top of the table this time; it was in Evergrant’s arms.
“Jerath, even you…” Evergrant muttered with clenched teeth.
There were only a handful of beings who could pose a danger to them on the continent. With that bit of information, Evergrant had already reached a conclusion: he was one hundred percent certain that the mages’ demise was caused by him.
“I should’ve just destroyed the Agnus Duchy before…”
“Sir Evergrant.”
Evergrant slowly turned his head when he heard a voice behind him. A robed man with slightly hunched shoulders waited there.
“The other side has come back with a response to the problem you ordered to be handled the other day.”
“What did they say?”
“For the first time in decades, the fully stable system has been disturbed. They acknowledged the gravity of the situation and stated their willingness to agree to it.”
As a result of the man's reply, Evergrant’s stony face relaxed a little.
“The date is next month, about two years earlier than before. We’ll send safety notifications two days in advance.”
“But…” The man wasn’t done, but he hesitated. “Excluding the Tower Master, there will be a total of four attendees…”
“Four people?” Evergrant tilted his head.
“Originally, everyone would have come, but they cited the precarious situation as an excuse and will not be attending. And so, only a representative from each of the three major empires that have two Stars will be coming.”
“Then, the last one…?”
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“The King of Darkness has announced his intention to take participate.”
“....”
Evergrant fell silent. The King of Darkness’s involvement came as a surprise since he wasn’t the type to care much about the world around him.
‘Then…’ Evergrant’s thoughts halted as his eyes suddenly snapped open. ‘Is it for revenge?’
If that was the case, then it wasn’t all that bad.
Except for the King of Darkness, everything was going as expected.
Hubalt Empire’s Martial Emperor and God’s Knight.
Avalon Empire’s Sword Emperor and Dark God.
Since the Swallow Empire was missing one person, it only had one Star remaining.
From the beginning, he hadn’t considered the King of Darkness, who was an external power, and the other four Kings. Only the Tower Master had been considered.
‘Perhaps things will work out easier than expected.’
Evergrant finally pulled himself out of his thoughts and look at the man.
“In the event that you do obtain a detailed list, please inform me immediately.”
“Most certainly. And…”
“...?”
“What of Ian tun Murrary, Marcus, and Elisha’s future in captivity—”
“Prepare for an execution ceremony as soon as Terra’s personnel arrive,” Evergrant said before the other man could complete his sentence.
“...!”
“This is the long-awaited first step towards an empire of the great mages, so do not slack off in preparations.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Now get out,” Evergrant directed.
The man bowed deeply and hurriedly departed the room.
“Revenge…” Evergant murmured to himself.
He grinned grimly once he was alone in the chamber.
He was not like him at all. Evergrant had no intention of ruining his grand plan because he couldn’t control his desire for immediate revenge.
Once everything happened as planned, he would be able to achieve everything he had ever wanted.
‘Even if you have everything in the world, you still can't achieve anything without the help of others.’
An emotion flitted across Evergrant’s face. He had been rejected by both his family and his country. An individual could not go against a group. If he could not win in a one-on-one battle, then he would win through a war.
His dream was slowly coming to fruition.
Evergrant clenched his fist tightly.
***
Step, step, step.
The intrusive pounding of feet pained their ears.
Joshua moved forward without hesitation.
Theta’s brows furrowed at the sight. Based on his memory, there were more than ten thousand monsters on the 30th floor. He had thought that Joshua had some kind of plan, but it was obvious that Joshua intended to take them head-on.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’ll show you.”
“...!”
Theta’s eyes flew open at Joshua’s words.
Cracks formed on the ground they were standing on. Soon, the demonic power that Joshua began to radiate was felt everywhere—Theta could feel it down to his bones.
With a metallic clank, two hundred Dullahans rose from the ground. Soon after, a thousand skull knights clattered upward from the earth. Five figures dressed in robes took the center, and the death knights joined the party.
“Holy shi—”
In a fraction of a second, a legion of supernatural beings came to being
Iceline’s jaw dropped, while Theta’s eyebrow flew up in shock. Even though he had witnessed it himself, he still couldn’t believe it.
That was reasonable since only mages who wield black magic could command the dead, and even then, it was only the Necromancers who had that particular set of abilities.
Soon, a magnificent show began right in front of them.
Joshua pointed his spear towards the stronghold a kilometer away.
“Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Perhaps it was announcing the beginning of the war?
Before Theta could even sort out his thoughts, the Lord of Dullahans materialized in front of him and screamed. The Wild King approached beside him and emitted fighting power from every pore of his body. The army's focus was now concentrated on one area.
Joshua's spear was aimed squarely at the stronghold.
“Advance.”
The volume of Joshua's voice may have been low, but it carried clearly.
That was the beginning.
Thud!
Joshua’s army took a step as one.
The ground trembled with that single move. It vibrated. It shook.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The vibrations became faster as the army moved.
The highest-ranking undeads in the army were at the vanguard.
The liches pointed their staffs in the air, unleashing demonic power.
Whoooong!
A terrible sound rang through the air.
Crackk.
Eight white horses sprang out of thin air after that. They weren’t white because their hair was white; they were white because they were undead horses made only of bones. As their hooves propelled them through the air, they released demonic air.
“Ghost horses?”
Theta’s jaw dropped. His ability to see black magic was unrivaled, but this black magic was almost never used now; he never imagined he’d see it.
- Neighhhh!
Seven ghost horses set out to locate their riders. Five of them went to the death knights that had become Joshua’s servants inside the Tower. The other two went to the Wild King and Kasselon. Finally, the largest and most powerful ghost horse went to stand before Joshua. It blew black flames through its nostrils as it softly neighed.
Joshua gave the horse’s nose a quick pat and then jumped off the ground to climb onto its back.
Screeeeech!
Meanwhile, the Wyvern's screams pierced their ears like they had been waiting for Joshua.
The war had already begun.
Black beams were cast out of the liches’ hands. One by one, the wyverns were brought down by the beams, lending an acidic odor to the air that stung their noses.
“Kwaaaaaaagh!”
“...!” Theta’s eye widened.
This time, a massive explosion shook the upper ground.
There was a castle gate far too grand and elaborate that it was difficult to believe it was a monster stronghold, but an undead death knight lightly swung its saw-toothed blade and ripped the gate like it was a sheet of paper.
“That’s fu—” Expletives spilled uncontrollably from Theta’s lips.
It wasn’t just the skies and the castle gate.
The dullahans and the skull knights had yet to follow them. It was just the small group of undead in the vanguard that were slaughtering everything in their way.
“Is that… Is that even possible?”
Theta’s expression said it was impossible for him to believe what he was seeing.
A huge dullahan, one at least twice as big as a regular one, let out a roar. As if it was Dragon Fear, it was so terrifying that even an ogre known for its ferocity would scamper away.
“It’s like a one-man army.”
“....”
“There’s no one like him. Common sense doesn’t apply to him.” Iceline spoke softly.
“The impact of this on the continent…” Theta mused.
“Huh?”
“What would the continental people think if they saw this? Would they think, ‘Wow, that’s amazing’ as they cheer and clap?”
“....”
“As if. The entire continent would be instantly swept up, and I’m sure there would be some who’d be absolutely thrilled. Think about it. A foreigner who went beyond a Master to become a Superhuman, but turns out he’s a black mage.”
“That—”
“Not to mention, this was their competitor who’s been raising his fame and value… Haa. Did I pick the wrong side? Just the Tower Master on his own was a pain in my ass, but now, the entire continent might be an enemy…”
“So are you saying that you regret it?” Iceline’s exquisite eyebrows furrowed. “If you’re afraid, then why don’t you change sides now?”
“Huh?”
“For a man, you sure don’t have any guts… You’re not going to be much of a help.”
Iceline glared at Theta.
A quiet fell that was strange, unexpected, and out of place on the chaotic battlefield.
Theta stared at Iceline with an odd look in his eyes. “Do you like him?”
“...!”
He had struck a killing blow. Within seconds, Iceline's face was flushed to the point that her earlobes were visibly red.
“Hoh?” Theta laughed in disbelief.
“No!”
“Your response was a bit late there.”
“Eek!”
Their positions had flipped in a heartbeat.
Iceline was saved from her predicament by a sound.
It was a huge, deafening noise that could not be compared to anything else. Both of their heads swiveled around simultaneously.
“Ah—!” Iceline's mouth opened as she exclaimed.
On the roof of the stronghold, a person stood looking down. As Joshua had promised, the monsters on the 30th floor were wiped out in under ten minutes.