She was the Spirit Princess, the Spirit General, and the Spiritsâ Springsâ contractor. The Immortal (a never before seen species), Dana, suddenly raised her head. Sheâd gotten the signal. Ever since sheâd come here, sheâd been waiting for that signal.
âThe Hero is calling us. Itâs time.â
[Zenonâs gone to the front.]
[Yeah, I feel like Paul Zeroâs calling us.]
The Spiritsâ Spring spirits had prepared for battle as well. No, perhaps they had waited for this moment over any other. Their hatred and anger towards those whoâd abandoned and imprisoned them! They had nurtured their anger and hatred until it was ready to explode!
âAre you all ready? You remember what he said, yes?â
[We know.]
[Iâd like to kill all the humans, but⌠I know that we canât.]
As the spirits were abandoned by humans, their anger was indiscriminately directed at all of mankind. But if they werenât careful, then they would bring ruin to humanity.
Lee Shin Woo had used their anger to goad them on and had turned their anger towards someone else. He limited their targets and had reset their goals. As a resultâŚ
[In order for our descendants to live on the surface, we mustâŚ]
[Side with the humans.]
[Weâll act like weâre on their side.]
[Weâll give the humans who embrace us another chance.]
[If they accept us, that is.]
[But we canât forgive the Emperor and his associates.]
The spirits, all pumped up, each had something to say. Yeah, that was plenty. Dana smiled and turned around. Sinea flew beside her.
[Whenâs our turn? When can we meet Paul Zero again?]
âWe have to wait a little longer. When the humans begin to despair and start praying for their salvation⌠thatâs where we come in. To disavow the Emperor and all thatâs under his control.â
[As expected of Paul Zero. Heâs trying to change everything with one single battle.]
âBut still, the Empireâs vast. Though this battle will determine the fate of the Empire, if the battle takes place in an isolated location, it will be difficult to overturn the common perception that has developed over many years with just one battle.â
[Yeah.]
Sinea agreed and gazed at the spirits that filled the Spiritsâ Spring to the brim. Right now, they were divided into two groups. One group would participate in the battle between the humans and the undead in order to restore the spiritsâ status and the otherâŚ
âThe rest of the Imperial Armyâs elites will be in this battle. Miss Jin Jin made it that way. Therefore, the forces protecting the cities (the soldiers and the knights commanding them) are minimal.â
[Thatâs probably true, but⌠those soldiers wonât attack us, right? Not only are the soldiers citizens of the Empire, but attacking them will cause the people to hate us more, no?]
âYouâre right. Thatâs why the golems are going to attack the Imperial Army.â
[�]
Seeing Sineaâs head tilt, Dana smiled faintly and continued.
âThe Hero, through Rem, has already taken control of all the golems within the Empire. With the addition of his innate elements, even the Emperor cannot retake control over the golems. Those golems, which are spread all across the Empire, will attack the Imperial Army all at once⌠How do you think the people will react?â
[Theyâll lose all faith in the Emperor! âŚBut so many people will die!]
âItâs ultimately all just an act. Our true goal isnât the soldiers, whoâre just following orders, but the vested rights of the ruling class. The golems were ordered to execute the corrupt nobles and knights only. And after killing them, the golems will act like theyâre turning against the people as well, but thenâŚâ
[Thatâs where we come in?]
âExactly. Weâll destroy the golems and save the people. If we maximize the Spiritsâ Springsâ mobility and the golems match our movements, then itâs certainly possible. Itâll be quite the show.â
[Youâre actually calling it a showâŚ]
It was just a poor show. However, it would still fool the people. When the golems drew near, the appearance of the spirits, who would appear like lightning and rush to their aidâŚ
Contrary to the Emperor or the nobles, who were afraid of the spiritsâ power and ostracized them, the people were taught that the spirits were wrongful existences. The nobles that had abandoned them and the spirits that had saved them; it was clear which side theyâd choose. Even more so once the Emperor and the nobles that had abandoned the spirits were out of the picture.
[But Dana, you must know that even if things go according to plan, thatâŚ]
ââŚThereâs nothing we can do about the resulting casualties; they truly are âunavoidable casualtiesâ. If we took into account the lives of each and every soldier, then we wouldnât be here right now. The Hero is also aware of this fact.â
[Wow, Paul Zero will really go to Hell when he dies.]
âHoo, hoo. Donât worry. Iâll follow him down to Hell and assist him.]
[Dana, you still donât know Paul Zero well enough yet. One day, Paul Zero will control Hell too.]
âOh my, itâd be well worth assisting him then.â
[Haha.]
The two women smiled meaningfully and turned towards the spirits. Their power then simultaneously took control of the spirits.
âEveryone, get ready! The stage that the Hero has prepared for us⌠It requires our very best acting!â
[Chin up, everyone! This is the first step towards our future!]
Whereas, Shino Rendu was speaking to his own troops, though its purpose was different. Countless Pauls were following him! âŚAnd there were countless more undead following behind them, trying to kill them!
[Is that the fastest you can go!? If youâre that slow, then those undead bastards will catch us!]
[No, sir! We can run even faster!]
Obviously, the Pauls were undead, so their stamina was limitless. To be more specific, of the two domains that governed oneâs body⌠defense and stamina, stamina was essentially limitless. This was why it was so difficult to face an undead in combat.
If the undead werenât able to catch them now, then they would never be able to catch the Pauls in their game of tag. Honestly, this short play of theirs had gone on for two hours already. Thousands of Pauls were being chased by tens of thousands of undead⌠Whatâs worse, their pursuersâ numbers were continuously increasing!
[Weâll kill all of the undergroundâs undead. Weâll erase all proof of the curseâs existence! Us! Thatâs our job. Thatâs what Paul Zero ordered us to do!]
[For Paul Zero!]
[His great goal of purifying the entire Empire⌠All of our efforts have been for this!]
[Lord Paul Zero, weâre right here!]
They uttered such nonsense that it was difficult to distinguish whether they were his troops or a part of his fan club; regardless, the Pauls continued to run diligently! They looked quite funny, but the result was by no means a joke. Looking back, Shino Rendu was shocked.
âTo think that I would be able to do something like this⌠No, this is also Lord Paul Zeroâs will. He really is amazing. No one couldâve ever imagined it. To think heâd both be the one who caused the war that would decide the continentâs fate, as well as the one who would end itâŚ!â
Through this battle, Lee Shin Woo was attempting to eliminate all of his enemies on the surface and underground, and simultaneously eliminate all sources of the curse. That was also the reason that heâd ordered the Pauls to âlureâ so many of the undead over.
[Not yet. We havenât gone east yet. Draw out all of the undead hiding about. Bring out all of the undead that are snooping around the city walls!]
[Uoooooooh! You cowards! The Heaven Defying General is calling you! He told us that heâd take you to the surface!]
[Follow us. You poor souls whoâve lost your egos! We will bring you true salvation!]
[G-GuoooohâŚ!]
[Kuaaaaaah!]
Obviously, this was happening all across the Underground Empire. Shino Rendu was but one of the brigades luring the undead; there were also a small handful of elites with exceptional aggro abilities that lured thousands of undead towards them.
Lee Shin Woo had meticulously divided the Underground Empire into parts and had sent his Pauls off into different locations. Heâd ordered his Pauls to lure the undead to the surface. Several of the Heaven Defying Generalâs corps were currently fulfilling this order of his!
Though their locations and their destinations differed, the result would be the same. They would lead the undead to the surface! Before proceeding with this mission, Lee Shin Woo had dug several passageways to the surface.
He had set up these regional passageways so that they would gather in one single location! The golems had been helping him with this for months now!
âLeading all the undergroundâs undead to the surface. And bringing them peace once they get thereâŚâ
All would dance upon his stage. What was the difference between them and Shino Rendu? At the very least, Shino Rendu knew what his role in all this was, and he had been prepared for his role beforehand.
âItâs ironic. They had dreamt of returning to the surface, but theyâll be killed after getting a taste of it.â
The relationship between Seira Von Retadane and Shino Rendu was also ironic. When they were still alive, nothing he said got through to her, yet after dying, they became true comrades.
âThough she rejected me outright, and our goals are a lot different from when we were still heroes⌠Ha, thinking about this now is pointlessâŚâ
He was getting emotional; it was unlike him. His personal feelings werenât anything compared to Paul Zeroâs orders. Only by following his orders could he obtain that sweet revenge heâd been waiting for!
Shino Rendu smiled bitterly, urged his skeleton horse to run faster, and yelled to his troops in a booming voice.
[This is where it all starts! Once we get to the surface, we have to act like weâre on the same side as them. Remember what Lord Paul Zero told us! Weâre going to push them. To peaceful salvationâŚ!]
[Lord Paul Zeroâs salvationâŚ!]
[And thus, peace will be restored to the EmpireâŚ!]
Mm, it really was a religion. A true pseudo religion. One where the believers had to sacrifice themselvesâŚ! Shino Rendu, who wasnât aware that he was one of them, just smiled bitterly.
But then⌠before they had even moved out, the hero Lloyd was screaming.
âLee Shin Woo went to the imperial palace by himself!? âŚWhat are you even talking about!? Didnât you say we were going to fight against the Imperial Army now!?â
âOh, so you didnât know yet. My bad.â
Whereas, Kratia, who was responsible for explaining the battle to them, expressionlessly struck her forehead, and began explaining whilst retaining her expressionless face.
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âWeâre going to follow him slowly. While Shin Woo keeps the Emperor busy, we need to drag out all the forces within the capital and lure them underground.â
âWill that even work!?â
âIt will.â
Kratia, with the Mana Radar that Lee Shin Woo had entrusted to her (as he said he didnât need it anymore), discerned that a huge amount of undead were moving and smiled slightly.