Lee Shin Woo figured out where Seagald was. He was already in the center of Bayran, protected by the thorn wall! Tarianâs force had just been bait and the golems, which theyâd form a temporary alliance with, were as well.
[So they were trying to kill us here?]
âNo. They made it so that you couldnât interfere. It seems like their interests donât align with yours. âŚOr they know exactly who you are.â
[âŚ]
Even after absorbing his precious subordinateâs bones, Lee Shin Woo didnât know what Seagaldâs true intentions were. However, he was sure of one thing: that this loyalty towards the Empire hadnât changed.
âWas Anti-Skull really just created to protect people from the undead curse? To kill the Emperor, who spread the undead curse? No, probably not. Thereâs no way itâs that simple.â
On second thought, there was something else that was strange. The Undead Emperor, Jissehanu, had seemingly been researching immortality but was actually looking for a way to break through the barrier. And there mustâve been a few people who knew what he was planning.
âThe Retadanes are a family of high rank nobles that have been with Jissehanu since the very beginning. Were they really not aware of how to get past the barrier? Seira might not have, but it wouldnât make sense for Seagald Von Retadane, the past head of the Retadane family, to have no knowledge about it.â
No⌠What even was Anti-Skull? Was it truly an organization designed to research methods to resist the undead curse? Was that all? If not, then perhapsâŚ
âDamn. Letâs think about this later. Letâs get a move on for now!â
[Agreed. It seems like our alliance with Anti-Skull is already meaninglessâŚ!]
As always, Arema Steelworker despised following Lee Shin Wooâs orders and moving according to his will. However, he hated Seagald Von Retadane more, whoâd put him in this situation in the first place.
Above all, he wanted to know what Seagald was planning. His strength may not be enough, but he was sure the Heaven Defying General would be able to find out.
âIâm going at full speed, so try to keep up. Leave behind anyone who canât keep up.â
[It might take a bit longer, but weâre all going.]
âYour choice. Letâs go!â
Jin really ran at full speed. They couldnât reveal everything, so Lee Shin Woo didnât reveal his darkness and Jin didnât reveal her light. However, just the fact that she used all of her skills and exhibited such overwhelming speed was enough to astound the others with her speed.
[That horseâŚ!?]
[I knew he wasnât normal, but to think even his horse was unusual!]
The Metal Army realized just how far ahead Lee Shin Woo had gotten, gritted their teeth, and followed him. Fortunately, no other traps activated as they rushed after him!
Arema and the rest of the golems were relieved, thinking that all the traps had been destroyed already. They couldnât even imagine that Lee Shin Woo was actively disarming them as they went along.
âAnyway, what was that explosion all about anyway? It mustâve been Seagald Von Retadane. If not, then it mightâve been the Spirit General, Dana Von Etliber.â
âIt looked like magic to me. Itâd be nice if it was Kratia or Prince, but it probably wasnât. Which meansâŚâ
The first thing that came to mind was the Archmage, Feotane Von Seldin. There was a chance he was here. The palace mightâve sent some âinsuranceâ, aside from the Golden Shadow General.
âThere really are three of the four Heavenly Commanders (of the 12 Generals) here.â
If that were indeed true, then not immediately striking down Arema Steelworker while also bringing him to his side was a wise decision. If the Annihilation Flame Sword God and the Archmage were truly there, then it wouldnât matter how strong Lee Shin Woo was, he wouldnât be able to take them on whilst protecting his allies.
âDamn. That only matters if theyâre still alive.â
As a test, Lee Shin Woo sent all of them a private chat request. All of them denied his request, but the fact that they even denied his request meant that they were still alive.
But it also meant that they didnât have the time to answer him⌠Thatâs probably what it meant. It was just a hypothesis, but there should be three level 8 members of the 12 Generals in there!
[Lord Paul Zero!]
[We were waiting for you!]
Lee Shin Woo soon arrived in front of the thorn wall. Heâd called the Chi Pauls beforehand. Aside from the three whoâd been injured and retreated, all of the Chi Pauls had gathered here.
[I see it. The thorn wall⌠Huh? Are those your subordinates?]
[Theyâre not weaker than me. Where exactly did they come fromâŚ?]
Arema Steelworker and his elites had arrived. They were shocked once they saw the Chi Pauls standing by. Although they were standing right in front of them, they couldnât properly sense their presence, as if they were looking at the Golden Shadow.
[I wouldâve been suspicious if you hadnât called your subordinates in such a dire situation. So you did have your forces here.]
[Theyâre all strong too. How did you nurture them in the EmpireâŚ? No, wait. Did they come from the surface?]
[âŚHoo.]
The golems stirred up a commotion while the Chi Pauls desperately suppressed their urge to kill them. He knew this would happen. After all, they had been used as their test subjects in the past!
Fortunately, unlike Tarian, they were decent enough actors to not allow their emotions to show. It was all due to Lee Shin Wooâs influence. This is why you had to have a good master!
[Paul Zero. Do you have a way to get through the wall? If you donât, then we have no choice but for the two of us to attack at once.]
âWe donât have time to waste here.â
Lee Shin Woo replied and extended his hand, feeling as though Arema was a pain in the ass. Even now, he was trying to get a feel for his abilities. The area of the wall his fingertips were pointed at collapsed without any resistance.
He had condensed the Evil Eye ore into a single, tiny piece, which was floating over to him. But such a trivial thing had given Arema Steelworker quite the shock.
[Impossible. The thorn wall!?]
âLetâs go.â
Heâd completely broken the link in the affected area, so the collapsed area didnât repair itself. With just one gesture, Lee Shin Woo had broken the thorn wall, the Empireâs pride and joy. Lee Shin Woo just took command of the Chi Pauls and went inside.
Arema Steelworker couldnât believe his eyes and pounded on the thorn wall with his full strength. Aside from the area Lee Shin Woo had just demolished, the rest of the wall retained its incredible durability.
[Y-YouâreâŚ?]
âI see it. No⌠Itâs tremendous.â
The thorn wall must also prevent people from sensing the mana within its walls. While he could sense the cannonâs immense mana before, once he broke through the thorn wall and went inside, he realized that that was just the tip of the iceberg.
That wasnât all. He also felt traces of other mana spread far and wideâŚ!
âIt is the Archmage.â
[Feotane Von Seldin⌠This isnât even funny.]
There were monsters everywhere. There were traps set-up around the city that summoned monsters or undead, but this wasnât even comparable to that. The Archmage had probably used his spatial magic to summon monsters from wherever he could!
[Break through!]
[Understood!]
For now at least, the golems and the Chi Pauls were like-minded, and charged. Lee Shin Woo and Arema Steelworker used their respective Command skills to aid their troops and fought at the vanguard.
Hundreds, no thousands of monsters sensed their hostility and rushed towards them, but they couldnât stop Lee Shin Woo or Arema Steelworker.
âUooooooh! Weâre running all the way to the cannon!â
[Show them the pride of a Steelworker!]
The two level 8s (one of them was riding atop another level 8) charged side by side. It looked like an eraser as they cleared a path through the battlefield. Of course, the ones they didnât kill were soon erased by the following Chi Pauls and golems.
It was a real spectacle; hundreds, no thousands of monsters turning to dust in an instant.
âAhâŚ!â
âT-The Heaven Defying General!?â
In the midst of all that, the heroes finally noticed them. Kratia, who knew that Lee Shin Woo was the Heaven Defying General, looked slightly relieved, while Prince was shocked that the Heaven Defying General had shown up with the Metal General. She was more concerned about Lee Shin Woo not showing up than being fearful of them.
âW-What about Junior!? What about our Junior!?â
âArema, weâre helping the heroes. Theyâre on our side.â
[Those half-wits, huh. I thought as much, but⌠Are you a hero who died and turned into an undead? And one who still retained the spirit of a hero?]
âThink what you want. But listen to my orders.â
[KeukâŚ!]
It was great that heâd found them, but at the same time, there were others that caught his eye. First up was Feotane Von Seldin, who was floating around the cannon and emitting an overwhelming pressure. As expected, heâd found his way here too!
[Hm. It seems we have more guests. If you wanted to kill the Empireâs monsters so badly, then you shouldâve requested an audience with His Majesty first!]
Once heâd discovered Lee Shin Wooâs group, he seemed to get a bit tense, though superficially, as he didnât lose his cool. He was probably confident in his spatial element. And heâd also used that very magic to cause chaos.
[Ah. AaahâŚ!]
[Giiiiii!]
[Kugureureuaaaaah!]
But there was a bigger issue than the Archmage himself. A beautiful woman was tied to the center of the cannonâs gun barrel with a chain made of âEvil Eyeâ.
She had black hair and pale, white skin. He could sense a large quantity of mana from within her, and there were hundreds of corrupted spirits roaming around her⌠Most of them were level 6, or even level 7 spirits, which were further increasing her power.
[Lv8 Spirit General Dana Von Etliber (Undead transformation delayed)]
Once he was finished looking her over, he was shocked at the information he saw. What? She wasnât undead? Her undead transformation was being delayed? What the hell did that even mean? He didnât know what it meant, so he examined her himself and came to a shocking conclusion.
âThe undead curse⌠Still hasnât properly saturated her body.â
She was definitely being affected by the undead curse. She was indeed being affected by it, but the curse was being sucked out of her body as if Lee Shin Woo or Jin were absorbing it.
Thus, her undead transformation hadnât progressed. She was experiencing so much pain, but he couldnât really say that she was alive. If thatâs the case, then where was the mana that escaped her body heading? The answer was simple. It was going into the cannon.
âHey, Arema. Even if you were to fire this death energy charged cannon at the palace, it doesnât seem like itâll do any damage. On the contrary, wonât it make him stronger instead?â
[âŚIt does seem that way. Seagald, that bastard. What the hell is he thinking?]
Thatâs how it was built. The mana of the cityâs inhabitants and spirits would be gathered by the Spirit Generalâs ability so that the cannon could be fired. The undead curse had filled the Undead Empire, so the curse that affected her body was being drained by the cannon itself.
It was truly horrifying, but⌠It was precisely because of this that she hadnât turned into an undead yet and had survived. No one couldâve expected this. They hadnât scrapped this failed project before moving on to the next, which had resulted in all their failed products remaining here. Thatâs what this all meant.
âShe doesnât seem sane though.â
She had been the cannonâs âstrawâ that supplied energy to it by gathering the worldâs and spiritsâ magic for dozens of years. It would be a miracle if she had actually retained her sanity.
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Seira Von Retadane must have thought that she wouldnât be in this situation as a princess. And right now, Seira Von Retadane wasâŚ
âDie. Just die already!â
[âŚLittle sister. Nowâs not the time for this. Donât you see that Lich looking down at us?]
âDie! Please⌠die!â
Having a bloody sibling feud with the Annihilation Flame Sword God, Seagald Von Retadane.