Karnak, Monarch of Death

After a fifteen-day march, the imperial army reached the vicinity of the capital, Thea Krahan. They had remained on high alert, wary of a possible ambush, but nothing of the sort had occurred.

Even after they set up camp at the foothills south of the city, the situation remained unchanged. Despite the imperial army appearing right at their doorstep, the Cult of the Black God, showed no reaction. Just as Karnak had predicted, it seemed they intended to hole up inside the city and focus solely on defense.

Soon, the imperial army began its assault on the capital in earnest.

***

Flames rose throughout the streets. Through the thick smoke, waves of rotting undead surged forward like a tide. At the forefront, imperial knight Sir Daston advanced with a determined expression, swinging his sword. His flashing blade ceaselessly ripped apart the rotting flesh of the oncoming zombies.

"Damn these cursed things!"

Other knights, their expressions equally resolute, charged into the mass of undead. Hundreds of soldiers followed behind them. It was the fifth regiment of the first imperial legion under Sir Daston's command.

A brutal battle between the living and the dead unfolded. Soldiers raised their swords and shields, crushing the skulls of the moving corpses, while mages unleashed streams of fire, frost, and lightning. Behind them, archers with crossbows took up firing positions.

"All units, take aim!"

Ordinary arrows were practically useless against the undead. They would simply remain lodged in their undead bodies. The undead would keep moving unhindered.

But arrows imbued with the blessings of the goddesses were effective. Priests positioned behind the archers invoked the power of their respective goddesses onto the arrowheads.

"Let the holy light of Katera be upon them!"

"Alium, place your power into their hands!"

Immediately, the archers fired a volley. "Fire!"

A shower of radiant arrows streaked through the air, striking the oncoming ghouls across multiple points. Agonized screams erupted from all directions.

The undead assault began to falter, and the knights at the front charged forward with renewed ferocity. "Advance!"

It was then that dark clouds began to gather from the far side of the city. No, they weren't clouds. They were countless arrows of darkness, each one trembling violently as it flew.

"Necromancy!"

"B-Block them!"

The knights raised their shields. The priests cast blessings upon them with divine magic. The mages collectively unleashed wind magic to scatter the arrows of darkness. The incoming arrows of darkness veered off course, crashing into the surrounding buildings instead.

Considering how dire the moment had been, it was an impressive defense. Yet Sir Daston's expression was grim. "Damn it..."

In that brief gap, another wave of zombies fell upon the fifth regiment. These were undead soldiers clad in imperial swords and armor. These were imperial legionnaires who had risen from the dead.

Until just moments ago, they had been fighting undead raised from the corpses of the capital's citizens. They had no armor and no proper weapons. They were simply fodder that could be cut down easily with a single push.

But these undead were different. Their blades clashed against armor. Their swinging swords split through shields. The zombie legionnaires roared as they encircled and pressed down on the fifth regiment. Yet the fifth regiment did not yield.

"Cut them all down!"

"His Majesty is watching over us!"

Arrows rained down without end. Javelins flew through the air in a constant stream. Blood and smoke filled the streets.

Those who bled and sweat continued a fierce battle against those who dripped rotting fluids and foul malice. Swinging his sword like a madman, Sir Daston glanced at the large bell tower on the other side of the city. I have to get there somehow!

How long had this brutal battle raged on? Those who first noticed the shift in the situation were the mages and priests stationed in the rear.

What's going on?

Their assault seems to have weakened, hasn't it?

Was the imperial army turning the tide and pushing back the zombie legionnaires? That didn't seem to be the case. The knights at the front were still being pushed back. Yet, strangely, the zombie legionnaires had begun to stop moving one by one, as if on their own.

The expressions of the mages brightened as they realized the reason. They found the ones controlling them!

***

A human head traced an arc through the air beneath the graphite-colored sky. It belonged to a necromancer, and the one responsible for reaping it was Leven. The dead eyes still looked as if they could not comprehend what had happened. Even in death, the necromancer hadn't realized what was coming.

The head of their companion fell and rolled across the ground below the building. The necromancers hurriedly retreated, raising shields of darkness in panic.

"W-What?"

"When did he get here?"

As usual, they had picked a building within the city, hiding there while secretly controlling their undead legions. Necromancy was a craft best practiced like a rat in hiding, and they took great care to remain discreet.

But a young man had suddenly appeared behind them, cutting down their comrades before they even had a chance to react. In the blink of an eye, the heads of three necromancers flew into the air.

And it wasn't just that their heads had been severed. The stump of their heads were engulfed in purple flames and burned away. Leven was infusing aura into his strikes, ensuring that the necromancers could not be revived as undead. It was proof that he was well-versed in fighting the undead. As they hastily prepared for battle, the necromancers glared at Leven.

"What trick did you use?"

"How did you find where we were hiding?"

Inwardly, Leven scoffed. You can tell just by looking.

It wasn't that he had detected their dark energy or presence. If it were that easy to find, the fifth regiment would have discovered their position long ago. It was simply the wisdom gained from experience.

Leven had spent a long time as an adventurer. With a glance at the terrain, he could roughly tell which spots were good for hiding and which offered clear lines of sight.

If you didn't know where the enemy was hiding, the simplest approach was to head straight for the place that was best suited for hiding. But there was no reason for him to explain that to them.

"What's so surprising about me being here? It's just a street people used to walk on."

He sneered, then suddenly found himself smirking.

Ah, that's Lord Karnak's way of speaking.

After spending so much time with him, it seemed he had picked it up.

"Y-You insolent bastard!" Infuriated by Leven's taunts, the necromancers began chanting spells. Circles of dark necromantic sigils spread across the walls and floors of the building, summoning the tentacles of hell and clouds of corrosion. "Go forth, servants of the underworld!"

Twisting tentacles and rotting flesh surged from all directions.

Leven narrowed his eyes. There's no need to dodge.

His right hand disappeared for a moment before reappearing, and a blinding flash of light streaked from one end of the building to the other.

Delphiad Swordsmanship, Radiant King's Strike!

The blade of energy cleaved through the world. An entire massive building shattered to pieces. Through the explosions, the fragments of the necromancers' corpses scattered like petals. The screams of the few who barely survived echoed in the air. In a single strike, the controllers of the powerful zombie legionnaires fell without resistance.

It was to be expected. The zombie legionnaires were indeed strong. But that did not mean the necromancers controlling them were strong as individuals, did it? Those bastards were the same as they had always been.

Leven lifted himself off the ground to deal with the few who were still breathing. He slipped between the shattered buildings.

Hm?

Leven instantly leapt back. At the same time, a streak of dark aura sliced past the tip of his nose and struck the wall opposite. Leven turned his head toward where the dark aura had come from. Four knights were charging forward from beneath the building, shouting angrily.

"You bastard!"

"That's far enough!"

Black energy billowed from their entire bodies. It was dark aura, a power of destruction similar to aura but derived from a completely different source.

Are they death knights?

Judging by their armaments, they seemed to have been aura users who once served Martial King Batalok. Now dead, they had been turned into death knights and become the enemy.

The death knights glanced around and shouted.

"What about the necromancers?!"

"Almost half are dead!"

"That doesn't matter! I'm asking if the corpses are intact!"

In necromancy, death did not equate to leaving the battlefield. Even if the necromancer died, if the corpse remained intact, another could revive it and make use of it again.

"The corpses are smashed to pieces!"

One of the death knights ground his teeth at Leven. "You heretic bastard..."

Just as imperial regiments were composed of knights, mages, priests, and regular soldiers, necromancer armies had their own standard formations.

Necromancers and priests from the cult played the roles of mages and priests, undead legions acted as the foot soldiers, while death knights and dark knights fulfilled the roles of knights.

These death knights had been commanding the zombie legionnaires from the rear, and after the necromancers fell, they had hurried back. If they lost the necromancers, even the strongest zombie legionnaires would simply return to being ordinary corpses.

They were forces that could not be lost, so they had to save the necromancers first, even if it meant pushing themselves to the limit.

"Take him down, now!"

The death knights simultaneously drew out their dark aura. Leven frowned as he stared at the ominously trembling black aura blades. What level are they?

Once someone became a Death Knight, regardless of their level in life, their aura turned pitch black. This meant one could not simply gauge their level by the color of their aura.

However, for someone of Leven's caliber, it was possible to roughly estimate their strength by the presence they exuded.

Two reds, one blue, one purple, huh?

He could easily face the reds and blues, but the purple-level death knight was on the same level as Leven. On top of that, it was a four-on-one fight.

Leven lowered his stance, tension filling his body. This won't be easy.

***

Four streaks of dark blades and a single purple aura blade tangled in a chaotic dance. Brilliant light and darkness clashed repeatedly, sending shockwaves in all directions. As Leven exchanged blows, his expression gradually changed. This is easier than I thought.

However, he wasn't foolish enough to relax just because it felt easy, so he kept his focus razor-sharp. Still, there was no reason to distrust his senses.

Despite facing four opponents by himself, it wasn't all that difficult. He was able to dodge and counterattack with ease, even against the purple-tier death knight.

I really have gotten stronger.

Come to think of it, he had faced absurdly strong monsters as of late. After constantly facing martial kings, archmages, and towering ten-meter-tall fallen popes, facing opponents that were at least within the bounds of common sense felt almost comfortable.

Meanwhile, the death knights were having a hell of a time. It felt as if they were being pressed on the verge of death, even though they were already dead.

"H-he's strong!"

"Had he already reached the pinnacle of his tier?"

In the end, they lost their heads one by one. Even the purple-tier death knight met his end once again beneath Leven's blade.

After finishing off the last of them, Leven steadied his breathing. There was a strange tingling inside his head. It wasn't exactly an itch, but that was the only crude metaphor he could use to describe the sensation.

He had felt something similar once before, as a precursor to awakening as a purple knight. At this rate, I might really become a silver knight.