Undead King’s Movement (4)
Right after the Undead King, who had attacked the conference hall, left.
‘Something feels unnatural.’
Audre, a high-ranking official in the Azerion Empire’s intelligence department and advisor to the Crown Prince at this summit, felt that way.
‘I don’t know how he managed to infiltrate the shrine, but it couldn’t have been that simple. So why go through all that trouble just to leave so abruptly like this?’
He belonged to the type of people who believed every action had a purpose.
‘It would make more sense if he had some ulterior motive and left gracefully after achieving it.’
Just like there’s a legitimate reason for a baby crying, even if it’s the reasoning of a madman, there’s logic and evidence in their actions.
However, the Undead King’s behavior this time felt eerily unnatural, even if one were to assume he was mad.
‘Of course, with the hero and others present, they wouldn’t go down easily. If the fight had continued, they could have driven him out somehow. Sure, there would have been greater sacrifices; but it was still a shrine, after all.’
If that had happened, the casualties wouldn’t end with just a dozen deaths.
Perhaps the barrier set up behind would have been destroyed, and the delegation, including himself, would have perished.
From their perspective, it could be considered fortunate.
But…
Swoosh— swoosh—
Audre pulled out the documents detailing various people’s information again.
It contained the results of the investigation conducted by the Empire’s intelligence department right after securing the list of participants.
‘Count Kaien Turkan from the Empire, the Crown Prince’s right-hand man. The mercenary guild’s Kanbl and Peyton, the Mercenary King and his right arm. The Sharotti Kingdom’s…’
As he skimmed through the information about the deceased again, he eventually made a connection about their common trait.
‘They all have dirty backgrounds. Some with similar conditions survived that battle, but at least none of the dead were innocent.’
Was it a coincidence?
…No, he didn’t believe in coincidences.
Everything had a valid reason, and that applied to this incident as well.
The problem was that he couldn’t figure out that reason at all.
An Undead King selectively killing bad guys? What a bizarre combination of words!
‘To collect the negative energy from the souls of the wicked? Wouldn’t it be easier just to kill everyone and choose from among them instead? Or perhaps it was a necessary step for some black magic ritual? Or…’
His mind thickened with all sorts of hypotheses and speculations, yet none yielded clear results.
Because of that, Audre was trapped in his own head, agonizing over this for several days.
The reason the Undead King had withdrawn so easily was equally puzzling.
‘…Am I too stuck in my ways? I mean, the Undead King isn’t likely to act like an ordinary lunatic.’
He was a veteran investigator who had analyzed the behavior of numerous madmen, including black magicians, but still, they were only human after all.
Comparing them to the Undead King was absurd.
Just as he was about to give up analyzing this matter, news about the Rohan Principality finally reached him.
At that moment, there was only one name in his mind.
In the increasingly complicated situation, he squeezed his eyes shut and murmured that name inwardly.
‘…Undead King, Hans.’
The root of all evil.
*
“What the hell is going on?! Is the Rohan Principality collapsing?!”
“I’ve heard it’s precarious, but until now, they’ve held strong. How could things escalate so suddenly…?”
“There must have been some signs leading up to this, right? We should’ve received alerts in advance…”
The atmosphere inside the conference hall, where the continental summit was held, grew chaotic.
Everyone appeared flustered by the sudden news.
Even those of different races, not well-versed in the Ion Continent, wore serious expressions as they processed the news of an entire nation’s fall.
Clatter—
Amid the ongoing confusion, the door to the conference hall swung open, and the representatives from the Rohan Principality, the Magic Tower, and the Church entered together.
The ruckus faded in an instant, and all eyes turned to them in unison.
However, Dennis and others sat down stiffly, while Cardinal Cordelia, equally grim, stepped forward.
She immediately got to the point, as if understanding everyone’s confusion.
“I’ll cut to the chase. First, the Principality hasn’t completely perished. But…”
The Rohan Principality was bordered on three sides by the Northern Mountain Range, and since the onset of the Madness incident, the nation had been fully committed to defending its borders.
The Holy Church had also sent not only shrine soldiers but also additional Paladins from the main body to assist.
“…During a fierce battle with monsters, our defensive lines suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons. Also, around the same time, key facilities in the Principality were hit by simultaneous suicide attacks.”
The headquarters of the order located in the capital, shrines of the Holy Church, and the Magic Tower were all targets of these mysterious groups.
The sudden assault had dealt a huge blow to the shrine, which was supporting border defense with minimal personnel, and even destroyed the critical Gate of the Church.
Naturally, the conditions for the other targeted locations were no different.
“Even if we were short on troops, to the point of destroying the Holy Church’s shrine?”
“And it’s not just that, is it? How many places were attacked simultaneously?”
“Given the timing, they must have done something in the border area. There were indeed reinforcements from both the church and the Empire there.”
The delegation began to murmur again as new information surfaced.
Naturally, their thoughts quickly converged to one point.
“This must also be the work of Undead King Hans, right?”
“No way…! Was the attack on us to divert attention before he acted?”
“That seems odd; his movements were strange…”
“In the end, it’s all unfolded like this, right? He just tried to mock us!”
It was a natural conclusion for them to identify the Undead King as the culprit of the incident.
His infamous reputation was so great that even the once skeptical individuals gradually fell in line with the prevailing opinion.
Among those nodding earnestly as they listened to the discussion was Heinrich, the Hero who would oppose the Undead King.
Yet, his true thoughts were quite different…
‘No, what the hell is going on?’
Even he was taken aback by the backlash of the careless words he had uttered.
Furrowing his brow, he carefully replayed all the information that had been shared so far.
‘It feels like there’s a malevolent intention to destroy Rohan. During the fight against the invading monsters, they simultaneously broke the defenses and attacked the church and the Magic Tower to cut off further support.’
This was beyond the capabilities of an ordinary organization, and certainly something that couldn’t be accomplished in a short amount of time.
‘This would require a minimum of a year’s worth of preparation.’
And Heinrich knew exactly who could pull off such an act.
‘The Oath of Reversal… have they moved?’
He had long dismissed them as insignificant due to their numerous past failures, but they were not to be underestimated.
Above all, they were the ones who opened the Abyss and unleashed that ‘Madness.’
If they set their mind to it, toppling an entire nation would be a piece of cake for them.
‘I haven’t heard a word about this from Oldman. Was it the issue of being a cell organization?’
Banshee Queen Olivia had gathered intelligence based on what she learned and apprehended Oldman, the head of the Tuluk Kingdom branch.
Though she struggled to extract information from him due to a mysterious seal etched on his heart, that wouldn’t hold true for Hans, who had reached the pinnacle of Dark Magic.
‘Of course, it was a bit cumbersome, akin to a self-destruct code.’
The seal limited the soul purely to prevent information leaks without caring for the target’s well-being.
According to the “Forbidden Knowledge,” it was said that only demons could utilize such high-level black magic.
‘Still, there might be something I missed, so I should revisit him.’
This was too significant a matter to brush aside lightly.
Monsters possessed by Madness would be surging in from the collapsed defenses even at this moment, and the demolished Gates of the shrine and the Magic Tower meant fast reinforcements were now impossible.
While there were still some rear defensive lines, just having poured all the nation’s strength into that frontline breach, who knew how long they could hold?
It was not merely a decline in public safety; the very existence of the nation was at stake.
“Cardinal Pirey from the Empire’s Jeron Shrine has decided to take action personally regarding this matter. He plans to gather the elite of the church within the Empire and move them to the shrine nearest to the Rohan Principality, attempting to save as many as possible.”
Cordelia’s calm voice continued.
However, no one noticed the simmering anger behind her cool tone.
The losses the continent had suffered so far were significant, and the thought of an entire nation collapsing and the resulting refugees weighed heavily on her heart.
Subsequent discussions focused on how to respond to the Rohan Principality.
While the Holy Church and the Azerion Empire took the primary roles in providing swift support, the Continental Alliance couldn’t just stand by either.
As discussions continued vigorously, Heinrich quietly immersed himself in thought.
*
“Mulo, have you received any new information about the Rohan Principality?”
“Yes, my Lord. The borders are completely shattered now, and while we’re holding the second line against the monsters, it seems insufficient to stop them.”
Heinz’s efforts to build an information network covering the entire world had been ongoing steadily.
Naturally, vampires from the clan were dispatched to the Rohan Principality, and Mulo could receive real-time updates from them.
‘He really is talented. This is all possible thanks to Mulo’s mastery of Blood Magic.’
With Refined Blood Essence making him stronger, he now had the capability to communicate in real time with his subservient vampires whenever he chose.
An indispensable ability for the head of a continent-wide information network.
Just as Heinz was feeling pleased internally, Mulo’s report continued.
The hastily formed second line of defense had more holes than a sieve, allowing numerous monsters to slip through, essentially barely better than having no defense at all.
However, the situation didn’t allow for even that.
“The second line of defense likely won’t hold for long either. They’re trying to set up a third line in front of the capital, but…”
Mulo stopped speaking and shook his head quietly.
There was no need to say more.
“Hmm…”
Heinz closed his eyes, sinking into thought.
Of course, he had no intention of leading the vampire clan to help despite the dangers facing the Rohan Principality.
There was no reason to do so, nor were the circumstances favorable.
The blood gates of the Yufershi Clan, which allowed for long-distance movement, required considerable time and resources, and it was still premature for them to act openly.
“It seems like there’s no choice but to do that.”
“Huh? Do you have any orders?”
“No. Rather, how is Theodore’s progress going?”
“Yes. While it might take some time as clan members are spread across the globe, it seems there won’t be any major issues gathering them here.”
The Talia Kingdom, located at the western edge of the continent.
Heinz II had set this place as his territory and was gradually planning to expand the vampire clan’s influence.
After preparation is sufficient, he had also been considering formally stepping out into the world.
Then, the next necessary step would be…
‘It’s about time Hans had a stronghold of some sort established too.’
In truth, keeping the undead army within Hans’s dimensional space indefinitely was inefficient.
To properly deploy the army, a base was necessary, and given their nature, it needed to be in a location difficult for the inhabitants of the continent to access and sparsely populated.
The west was already claimed by Heinz II, the center had the Empire and holy sites, while the east was occupied by the republic and the island nation of the Magic Kingdom.
The southern desert, while sparsely populated, would constantly clash with the tribal alliance located at the southernmost tip.
Ultimately, there was just one remaining option.
‘Indeed, the Demon King’s castle should be in such a place to truly serve its purpose.’
A harsh environment with rugged terrain that only a select few could access, filled with ferocious monsters—a high-level field where novices couldn’t even approach.
The Northern Mountain Range.
That would be the most suitable spot.
‘But if he hides too deep, the intimidating presence of the undead army won’t be showcased adequately. It should be a challenging yet achievable location.’
Just in time, there happened to be an ideal spot available.
Yes, for example…
‘Just north of the Rohan Principality, the mountains there would be perfect.’
And of course, that would compel the existing inhabitants of that location to change their affiliation, whether they wanted to or not.
‘From Madness… to Death.’
