Ch.98Revenge Plays Are Dangerous (7)

“…Hmm, how unpleasant.”

“So there really is something going on.”

“There’s still one left over there.”

For some reason, one Flame Scorpion remained standing dazed in place, not following its companions.

While the hunters at the front exchanged glances, one stepped forward and spoke.

It was Sanada, known as the Sword Master of Japan.

“There’s no need to be alarmed. It’s just a malicious prank.”

Slash!

Screech─!

The moment he drew his sword was barely visible, but soon several lines appeared across the Flame Scorpion’s body, cutting it into pieces.

Truly skills worthy of being called a Sword Master. The tense atmosphere among the raid party softened somewhat.

However.

Clunk.

Clunk-clunk-clunk.

Rustle.

Rustle-rustle.

The severed pieces of the Flame Scorpion began slowly crawling northward, as if they weren’t dead yet.

“……”

Slash!

SLASH!

BOOM!

CRASH─!

When Sanada, his pride wounded, unleashed a storm of sword strikes, the Flame Scorpion finally stopped moving.

Witnessing this scene, most of the hunters in the raid party turned their attention to one woman.

It was Celestia Yesiel, known as the Saint of France.

“Hey, Saint. Aren’t those things undead?”

“I heard that the Korean hunter working with Chae Hwain is also a necromancer.”

“Perhaps he’s targeting us.”

But Yesiel herself responded with a serious expression and an uncertain answer.

“I… I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t detecting death energy your specialty?”

“Yes. If those monsters were undead, I would have noticed immediately upon encountering them. But…”

“You couldn’t sense any death energy, is that it?”

Yesiel nodded slightly.

“There’s definitely something off about them, but for some reason, I couldn’t sense enough death energy to call them undead. Even during battle, they didn’t show any particular reaction to my holy power.”

It was a very strange statement. If that was the case, what explained the abnormal vitality those monsters had shown earlier?

“I’m not sure, but we should remain vigilant.”

The hunters hardened their expressions and readied themselves.

Night was approaching anyway, and they couldn’t just blindly push forward from here.

However, a few hours later, they would learn firsthand that the true battle had only just begun.

“Two o’clock! We’re under attack! This time it’s Sand Snakes!”

BOOM!

CRASH!

CRUNCH!

By outside standards, it was probably just dawn.

During that time, the raid party hunters had suffered from numerous attacks, unable to get proper rest.

Their exhausted faces told the story.

Kieee!

Kehik!

Boom.

Boooom.

After quickly finishing this battle too, the hunters exhaled roughly and began spitting out irritated words.

“…This reckless war of attrition is insane. Do they have no intention of clearing the dungeon?”

“Damn it. We can’t use this place anymore either.”

“I do have wide-area recovery skills, but if things continue like this, we’ll be in danger.”

It was an incredibly malicious act.

Regardless of the circumstances, both sides should be trying to clear the dungeon, but someone was making an already difficult task even harder.

“…Huh, can a high-ranking necromancer really produce this many troops alone?”

“Are they seriously trying to cause a Break?”

“Maybe that’s the goal. It’s possible they’re planning to create chaos across America and use the confusion to hide.”

Faced with this unexpected situation, the hunters naturally began listing the worst-case scenarios they could imagine.

Either way, they couldn’t continue to be attacked like this.

Michael, America’s S-rank hunter who had been silent until now, spoke to raid leader Jacob.

“Jacob. It might be time to make a decision.”

“……”

After hearing Michael’s words, Jacob thought for a moment before finally delivering his ultimatum.

“As of now, I’m changing our primary objective. This doesn’t seem like it will end otherwise.”

“That’s certainly for the best.”

“…We have no choice.”

And so, in the dead of night, the raid party members headed toward the depths of the dungeon fully armed.

To deal with those two hunters, Chae Hwain and Baek Eunha, once and for all.

#

“They’re finally responding.”

The undead I had scattered around for detection purposes sent me signals.

The raid party had finally started moving, unable to endure the continuous attacks.

I got up from the Lizard Wolf’s back that had been serving as my chair, and made one final check of my forces.

‘They’re faster than I expected, but it should be enough.’

Hundreds of undead stood in formation from where I was standing.

Most were just reanimated dungeon monsters, but among them were several special specimens that the raid party hunters had encountered earlier.

‘I’ve confirmed they can withstand holy power, so that’s good.’

They were called Demi-undead.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call them half-corpses, created by combining Kan’s sorcery with my necromancy.

They were special entities that could relatively withstand holy power because, while possessing the life-sustaining power characteristic of undead, they hadn’t reached complete death.

‘They have many drawbacks and aren’t very cost-effective, but…’

With someone on the raid party’s side who mainly uses holy power, I had no choice.

I couldn’t just watch my carefully created undead army melt away like snow.

[KUOOO!]

[KIEEEE!]

[KRAAK, KAK!]

Watching my legion roar as I moved, I sighed deeply with a dissatisfied expression.

‘In my prime, I could easily handle tens of thousands.’

Of course, each individual was quite powerful, but at times like this, I really felt that I hadn’t fully regained my power yet.

But there were achievements too.

My level had grown exponentially from hunting S-rank dungeon monsters in succession, and thanks to that, I was able to extract new items from the Book of Death.

“Extraction, materialization.”

Whoosh!

FWAAAH!

“…Kurdalia.”

As I chanted the incantation, a staff emanating ominous energy appeared from the Book of Death already in my hand.

It was the symbol of the Lord of Death that I had used as my main weapon during my time in Thebes.

It was a necromancer-exclusive staff made from materials that only appeared in legends, such as a dragon’s heart and Fenrir’s fangs.

Without this, it would have been difficult to control hundreds of undead of this caliber at this point.

Moreover, my prepared forces didn’t end there.

In fact, the real power was on this side, not that side.

Crack!

Crunch!

[Grrrr.]

[Kishaaah.]

[KWRRRR─!]

“Don’t move yet. That’s an order.”

Three undead with different appearances,

Although they were different types, they all emitted a sinister death energy incomparable to other undead.

These were my secret soldiers, created using monsters from this dungeon as materials with Kurdalia’s assistance.

Chae Hwain, who was observing them again by my side, spoke with a somewhat tense expression.

“…Have you really not regained most of your power?”

“Of course. Considering my original abilities, this is just child’s play.”

However, to the hunters who would face them, it would certainly not feel that way.

I received information about the hunters’ movement route through my scout undead and said to Chae Hwain:

“I’ll say it again, but before targeting your revenge subjects, you need to neutralize that saint or whatever first. These things don’t have holy power resistance, so if they face her, they’ll be completely wiped out.”

“…I remember clearly.”

Actually, I probably could handle it without doing that, but there was no reason to take the difficult path when an easier one was right in front of me.

“Good. I’ll keep the rest occupied, so you just focus on beating up those American bastards and bringing them here.”

After that, we just needed to guide the situation according to plan.

At my confident words, Chae Hwain nodded without hesitation.

And soon, the raid party hunters finally appeared before us.

Each with expressions of surprise or disbelief.

I activated the power of the ring I had been saving, and while riding on the Lizard Wolf’s back, I greeted them:

“Welcome, you morons.”

These deaf fools who didn’t properly listen and rashly accused me of being the culprit, irritating me.

Now it was time for them to pay the price for their stupidity.