Ch.214Chapter 214 – Army of the Immortals

Eldran, the first demon, sat on his throne, looking down at the demon bowing before him.

The demon currently bowing before him was named Belkan, the chief research director of the demon legion.

“Lord Eldran. I have come to report something to you.”

As Belkan bowed his head and mentioned he had something to report, Eldran’s face brightened.

“Belkan. Could it be that what I ordered has been completed?”

“Yes, it has.”

The reason Eldran’s face brightened at Belkan’s words was because what he had instructed Belkan to create had been completed.

“The ‘Army of the Undying’ that you commanded has finally been completed, Lord Eldran.”

The Army of the Undying.

It referred to an army utilizing the undead—those who had died but could not truly rest, endlessly moving and hostile to all living things around them.

The undead could be described as corpses that should have returned to nature but for some reason moved again in a dead state, literally defying the laws of nature.

“Is that so? Truly wonderful news.”

Eldran had been trying to research these undead to turn them into forces they could use.

Undead creatures like zombies, ghouls, and skeletons inherently carry toxins, pathogens, or curses.

“We’ve made significant progress in research and development. We’ve succeeded in developing undead that carry stronger curses than naturally occurring ones.”

“What’s the difference?”

Eldran showed interest in Belkan’s words.

Undead carrying stronger curses. How exactly would they affect their opponents?

“Naturally occurring undead have a low probability of turning their victims into undead when they kill living beings—perhaps one or two out of ten. However, with the newly improved undead I’ve developed, when they kill someone, nine out of ten victims become undead themselves.”

“Excellent. Truly excellent!”

Eldran applauded after hearing Belkan’s explanation about the newly developed undead.

He was extremely satisfied with the results Belkan had brought him.

Undead that could turn their victims into more undead at a much higher rate than naturally occurring ones!

“Currently, this has only been applied to highly contagious zombie specimens, but if you give me more time and allow me to collect more samples, I believe I can apply it to ghouls and skeletons as well.”

“I will send more people to assist you. However, it may take some time, so continue your research by improving on your existing work. You may withdraw now. I won’t forget your hard work.”

“I am at your service.”

Belkan expressed his gratitude to Eldran for acknowledging his research and withdrew from his presence.

Even after Belkan had disappeared, the smile did not leave Eldran’s face.

“The Army of the Undying…”

There had been attempts to use the undead as military forces in the past.

However, since the undead were fundamentally beings born by defying the laws of nature, whenever undead appeared, most countries would implement undead eradication operations.

Because of this, the undead were essentially regarded as natural disasters that could be managed by human hands.

But Eldran had thought in reverse: “What if we create an army of undead so numerous that they cannot be managed?”

That’s why he had instructed Belkan, who was considered eccentric even among elves, to improve the undead under the name “Army of the Undying.”

Although there had been progress in research and development, it was not yet perfect as it could only be applied to zombies.

But given a little more time, an almost perfect Army of the Undying would be completed…

“When that time comes, the whole world will recognize the greatness of the Demon God and bow their heads willingly.”

Eldran’s laughter filled the empty space as he imagined what was to come.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

Eterna Lumio Sol, the Saint of the Solar Order.

Since beginning her activities as a Saint, she had been busy every day.

A Saint could be considered a direct representative of the deity.

Thus, Eterna was the representative of the Sun God, who had the largest following in this world aside from the Great Goddess Church.

This was why Eterna had left the Gelebrio Empire at the request of Sun God temples in various countries.

Holding the positions of both Chief Inquisitor and Saint simultaneously, she was spending incredibly busy days, wishing she had ten bodies.

“Haah…”

Eterna sighed as she traveled in a carriage.

“Is something wrong, Saint?”

“It’s nothing.”

Although Eterna brushed it off as nothing, she was actually in a very troubled state.

‘I miss Lord Patos.’

The reason was obvious—she hadn’t seen Patos for a long time.

Time had passed since Patos’s resurrection, and now it was October, when crops were ripening.

Patos had been resurrected around June, and after receiving news that his body had recovered, Eterna had begun her overseas tour.

In effect, she hadn’t seen him for over two months.

‘The position of first wife has already been taken by someone else. So what I can do is claim the position of second wife.’

If other priests of the Solar Order heard Eterna’s current thoughts, they would be horrified.

A Saint was supposed to be the most pure, noble, and holy being.

Of course, since her days as Chief Inquisitor when she concealed her identity as a Saint, Eterna had already destroyed the skulls of countless heretics.

It was no wonder her nickname had been “Skull Crusher.”

Now she was at least called “Saint” instead of “Skull Crusher.”

In other words, Eterna was someone far removed from nobility and purity.

But she was dejected at the news that it would be at least the end of the year before she could finish her overseas tour.

However, that feeling didn’t last long.

“Hmm?”

Eterna detected an unpleasant, sticky energy from inside the carriage.

“Excuse me. Are there any graveyards or sites of mass casualties nearby?”

Eterna knew the identity of this energy.

It was the energy of death created by the undead.

Similar to demonic energy yet filled with impurities, making it utterly filthy—that was the energy of death.

This was because the undead were influenced by demonic energy, but the energy became corrupted during the mutation process.

“No, there aren’t any.”

A holy knight escorting her answered Eterna’s question.

Upon hearing this response, Eterna closed her already narrowed eyes and spread her holy power around her.

“Ugh!”

Her holy power detected countless undead in the vicinity.

Having faced many undead created by heretics during her battles against heresy, she could clearly distinguish their energy.

And the energy of the undead horde she sensed was clearly approaching the people of the Solar Order traveling with her.

“Undead horde! Everyone prepare for battle!”

Eterna opened the window of the moving carriage and called for battle preparations.

“The Saint says undead have appeared!”

“Everyone prepare for battle!”

At Eterna’s words, all combat-capable personnel prepared for battle and formed a formation.

“Everyone prepare to recite prayers!”

“When the undead appear, weaken them through purification!”

Non-combat personnel began preparations for those entering battle by readying prayers and holy magic.

Eterna also drew her weapon, a mace.

Having used it since she first became an inquisitor, it had absorbed so much holy power that it could inflict critical damage on the undead even if wielded by an ordinary person—essentially a sacred artifact.

“Saint? Are you planning to join the battle yourself?”

When Eterna drew her mace, her escort holy knight asked in surprise.

“I’ve fought on the frontlines as Chief Inquisitor.”

“If you get hurt, we will be held accountable.”

“It’s fine. Do you know how many heretics and undead I’ve taken down so far?”

At Eterna’s words, her escort holy knight couldn’t say anything.

Although her escort was an impressive person, he was nothing compared to Eterna, who had crushed the skulls of countless heretics and undead while traveling the world.

“Everyone prepare for battle. There are approximately 1,000 of them.”

Eterna announced that an undead horde of over a thousand was approaching.

“Haha, a thousand is nothing, I can cut through them easily.”

“A thousand is no problem at all.”

Those accompanying her were people who could handle a thousand undead without breaking a sweat.

“They’re coming.”

At Eterna’s confirmation that they were approaching, the holy knights lowered their helmet visors and coated their weapons with holy power.

“Grrrr…”

And from the dense forest, an undead horde of over a thousand revealed themselves.