Chapter 184
Hrung-ga had, until now, only heard superficially that the dead were dangerous.
The truth was, he himself had never directly experienced just how immense the numbers of the dead truly were.
But at this very moment, Hrung-ga felt his blood run cold.
It was only natural, for the lair of the Lord of the Dead, into which Ungrim led him, was swarming with an overwhelming number of the dead.
And not just that.
[... Was it called Death Fear?]
[You mean the one we took down earlier?]
[Yes.]
[That's right.]
It had taken both Ungrim and Hrung-ga attacking together to defeat a single Death Fear.
Yet there were at least a hundred of them teeming in this place.
And not just Death Fear-if you added the thousands of death knights and necromancers as well, figuring out how to even confront such numbers seemed impossible.
But that was not all.
Each of those commander-level beings commanded thousands of dead each, resulting in the land, where all the snow had melted away, being packed so densely with the dead that the earth itself looked black.
Of course, this was only natural. How many had died on these northern lands throughout the ages?
All of the corpses from all those years must have been resurrected, so the numbers simply defied imagination.
Even an army of barbarians nearly a million strong, even if you combined all the military power of the Empire, compared to these numbers, would be like a drop in the ocean.
However, Ungrim's gaze was fixed elsewhere. He was not looking at the dense ranks of the dead, but beyond them.
[Do you see that massive black mountain in the back?]
[... Isn't that just an ordinary snow mountain?]
[Why would there be a snow mountain when all the snow has melted away? Think about it.]
Hrung-ga narrowed his eyes.
Now that he thought about it, all the snow had melted away due to the dead's corrupt aura, yet that massive object he had thought was a snow-covered mountain still remained.
Soon enough, Hrung-ga realized what that enormous mountain truly was.
Outstretched protrusions, elongated wings—this was no mountain, but rather the form of a dragon.
[... That's...]
[Yes, it's a dragon.]
What Erich had predicted was unfolding.
This was the place where the Lord of the Dead would regain strength by harvesting the power of a dragon.
But that dragon was not yet dead—it was still twitching. Upon confirming that, Ungrim allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.
[The dragon's power hasn't been completely drained yet. If we're lucky, we might be able to resurrect the Lord of the Dead in an incomplete state.]
[... In other words, if we could break through those masses of dead and reach the dragon...]
[That's the problem, though.]
Even Hrung-ga, who always preached courage and honor, simply could not muster the resolve to charge into those swarms of the dead.
Honor or not, if one dived into that mob and died, it would be nothing but a pointless death.
Nevertheless, as he watched the horrific horde of the dead, Ungrim smiled.
He had already fulfilled his purpose—coming here was to confirm the lair of the Lord of the Dead.
[At any rate, we've completed our assigned mission. We'll retreat from here and return to the rear.]
Hrung-ga nodded. There was no one who would object to that judgment.
But at that moment, Ungrim quickly glanced around.
[... Damn.]
Seeing Ungrim's urgent expression, Hrung-ga, who was about to ask what was wrong, realized it immediately as well.
A terrifying aura was closing in around them.
[So, they've noticed after all.]
Now they saw that the dead were already closing off escape routes from a distance, encircling them.
In fact, Ungrim had anticipated this danger ever since they defeated the Death Fear to enter this place.
If it was the Lord of the Dead, of course he would realize that enemies had entered his territory.
However—
'To think they would react this quickly...'
They could handle breaking through one or two layers of the dead with their current military power, but...
[There are already more than ten layers of dead forming a siege around us. This is bad.]
How had they moved so quickly?
Even for Ungrim, who had warred with the dead before, this was an unexpected situation.
'Did they lure us here intentionally from the beginning?'
Ungrim thought he could see a cold smile from the Lord of the Dead far away.
In reality, a chill as cold as if cutting through bone was closing in from all directions.
Then Hrung-ga spoke up.
[... Which way should we break through?]
[Is it not already decided? We have to go to the rear. Even if everyone dies, at least one must survive to inform the main force of what's happening here.]
The barbarians slowly nodded. Though shaken, they did not crumble. That was simply how barbarians were made.
Not only physically, but also mentally—they were resilient. Even if they faltered, they would never collapse psychologically.
'It's simply how they were made.'
The reason they had survived in places like this until now was because, no matter the worst situation, they possessed a powerful, unshakable instinct to survive.
And right now, the fighting spirit of the barbarians flared up.
The more impossible the odds, the more it made their blood boil. That was a talent they were born with.
Ungrim and Hrung-ga moved quickly.
They shifted the formation, which had been facing forward, to face the rear, preparing to break through the dead.
The two inspired the barbarians—shouting and encouraging them, stoking their fighting spirit even higher.
At this moment, breaking through the horde of the dead was the only way for them to survive and to give meaning to their coming here.
Their eyes lit up, anger building. The moment they fixed their gaze on the enemy—
Ungrim realized that the dead at the front lines were growing agitated.
[... What's this?]
Soon, they heard another sound in their ears—a sound that the barbarians had once heard before.
― Bwooooooo!
It was the sound of knights' charge trumpets.
***
The dead fixed their formations toward the barbarians before them.
The death knights, moving at a slow pace, prepared to block their way.
The layered ranks of the dead, with death knights intercepting behind, formed a phalanx as solid as an iron wall.
A single death knight was hard enough for even dozens of barbarians to take on; here, there were countless such enemies.
Break through one, and there were two more lines behind. The odds of breaching this phalanx were almost nonexistent.
But then, the dead's eerie white gazes glinted. A strange vibration rumbled beneath their feet.
And the Death Fear commanding them rolled its eyes toward the barbarians.
The barbarians there did not move at all, simply poised to strike at any moment.
The Death Fear, commanding so many of the dead here, tried swiftly to assess the situation. Where was this vibration coming from?
There was no such report from the other Death Piers stationed around; they simply blocked all routes.
Then what? The Death Fear's neck snapped to the rear.
Then it saw.
― Kkudeudeuk.
Enormous clouds of dust were rising in the rear. And from that speeding cloud, reverberating powerfully, came the sound of the horn.
― Bwooooooo!
What emerged from the dust were knights clad in plate armor. Huge horses, wearing sturdy barding, snorted clouds and galloped forward.
Death Fear was thrown into confusion.
Those knights were not supposed to be here—no one had mentioned such a thing.
It was strange for them to be charging in this direction, as well.
They should have succumbed to the chill and corrupt energies by now, but they were charging forward as if they were completely unaffected.
Could the dead withstand such massive force?
Even if they were death knights, could the formation withstand the charge of thousands of cavalry?
That question was soon answered.
― Kwajijijik!
A knight with a dragon-emblazoned crest at the van barreled into the dead.
A death knight tried to intercept him, but the lance the knight wielded from horseback pierced through the neck of the charging death knight, and with a simple twist, decapitated it.
The dead converging on him fared no better. He was like an iron wall, charging in and mowing down the swarming dead as he went.
His defense was like a looming mountain. And the knights following after dug even deeper into the enemy formation.
Death Fear's gaze shifted in confusion.
In that instant, Death Fear remembered something from the past—the scene of slaughter when they first met the Empire's knights.
And now, the situation was completely different from then.
Soon, the barbarians also charged in from the rear.
The Death Fear already knew the enemy had the military power to take out a Death Fear.
And that very force was coming straight for him.
― Chwaaaak!
The Death Fear twisted its body in a grotesque way to evade the attack, but blue blood spurted from its chest.
― Grrr!
Death Fear let out a monstrous howl, opening its mouth to spew out tentacles.
The attacker rushed in with bare fists, but even a mere graze could burst flesh--such was the bizarre power at play.
Yet, even while controlling the dead, the Death Fear could objectively assess the situation more than anyone.
To lure the enemy inside and annihilate them—that was the plan laid by the noble Lord of the Dead.
There was no way mere humans could overcome a strategy devised by the Lord of the Dead.
But now, the Lord of the Dead's plan to wipe them out had shattered. Beyond the spirit, it was as if the king's groan echoed.
To the rear, countless charging knights. To the front, the overwhelming strike force of the barbarians.
The cries of the dead rang out all around, while the barbarians and knights roared in return. And in that instant—
Death Fear could see the Lord of the Dead recalling someone.
― Chwaaaak!
As Death Fear's head flew off, the person the Lord of the Dead pictured in that moment was Erich.
The one who had ruined the king's plans up to now.
Even at this very moment, the one who had disrupted the Lord of the Dead's personal scheme.
Here, Erich claimed his first victory over the Lord of the Dead.