Necromancer Of The Black Bible (157)

It did not take long for the undead legion led by Kael to capture Graneum Castle.

The gates were already wide open, and the garrison blocking their way had fled instead of fighting back.

Kael calmly took control of the castle.

Under his command, the undead soldiers steadily occupied the important facilities inside the castle.

Knight Horun, who had received operational command from Margrave Valbern, was watching nervously for his chance in the underground prison.

He had spent a long time on the battlefield, but at this moment he could not let his guard down.

The undead legion’s regular footsteps and rumbling sounds were chilling every time he heard them, and the voices that occasionally rang out echoed through the underground, stoking fear.

The morale of the 20,000-man ambush force, waiting only for Horun’s order, sank lower and lower as time passed.

In the end, the adjutant, unable to bear it any longer, asked Horun.

“When will you start the operation?”

Horun looked into his eyes and answered in a heavy voice.

“When the sun rises.”

It was an answer packed with meaning.

But the adjutant, unable to read it, asked again.

“Why do we have to wait until then?”

Horun quietly answered, listening to the sounds the undead soldiers made aboveground.

“The enemy is undead. I don’t know much about them, but one thing is certain: they are weak to light. The time they infiltrated our castle was also after the sun had gone down. If we want to raise our chances even a little, we have to proceed while considering such points as much as possible.”

Horun’s voice was low, but clear.

That voice carried to the soldiers waiting throughout the underground prison, and they all slowly nodded.

The commander’s deep consideration gave them a glimmer of hope, and the thought that they might perhaps win here bloomed in every soldier’s heart.

But the adjutant found this long wait too agonizing and asked again.

“We can’t look outside from here. There’s no way to check whether the sun has risen, so how do you plan to decide when to act?”

Horun stared at the adjutant for a moment, then took something out from inside his clothes.

It was an hourglass.

A standardized clock measured in fixed intervals of time.

Horun set the clock down on the floor and opened his mouth.

“When the clock is turned six more times, dawn will break. That will be the time for us to move.”

Only then did the adjutant relax.

The soldiers also checked the clock Horun had set down and waited calmly.

Horun’s clock was effective in dispelling the soldiers’ fear and maintaining morale.

Until just moments ago, their faces had been pale with fear and anxiety, but after that they gradually regained their composure.

And so Horun and his ambush force waited calmly, and the hourglass was turned six times.

Confirming this, Horun put the clock back into his clothes and spoke.

“Now we move. The vanguard, come up to the upper floor with me.”

He slowly went up with 100 swift soldiers he had selected in advance.

The remaining 20,000 soldiers watched them from the darkness, and Horun climbed the stairs one step at a time, leaving behind their expectant gazes.

They tried to go up as quietly as possible, but because they were fully armored, the sounds of their footsteps echoed starkly.

How long had they climbed like that?

After climbing the tall staircase for more than ten floors, they finally saw a door.

When they opened that door, iron bars came into view in the distance.

‘All we have to do is open the door over there.’

Horun took out a key from his clothes and walked that way.

Because straw had been laid on the floor beforehand, their footsteps could barely be heard.

Scuff, scuff, scuff.

Advancing carefully, Horun soon reached the door and opened it with the key.

Creeeak-

As the door opened with a small metallic sound, Horun gave an order to his subordinate.

“Tell everyone to come up. They must not hurry under any circumstances.”

His order was carried out immediately.

After waiting a while, the fleet-footed soldiers came up the stairs and stood behind them.

After confirming that about a thousand soldiers had filled the space, Horun moved forward again.

‘It must succeed.’

Horun burned with a sense of duty.

Already over seventy, he was a veteran with more military experience than anyone else.

He had experienced ambushes many times and carried them out many times as well.

That was why he could sense that the current situation was not all that bad.

‘This place is empty. That means they haven’t noticed our presence.’

The essence of an ambush is to strike by surprise.

Anyone will panic when attacked at an unforeseen moment.

Even if the enemy is undead, there would be no exception.

Horun’s heart began to pound harder and harder.

Despair that everyone, including himself, would die if they lost and hope that if they won, they would leave behind a legendary battle remembered in imperial war history crossed in his mind.

At the same time, Horun felt that he was still alive.

The corners of his mouth twitched, then drew into a smile.

‘This battle. I will surely win.’

Just as he made that vow and opened the door, a voice was heard.

-It’s a good plan. The timing of the attack is good too.

‘…!!!!’

Horun was startled and looked around.

But nothing was visible to his eyes.

The voice continued.

-The planning was good, but the execution was even better. Doesn’t seem like something you just tried once or twice.

“Wh-who are you!”

At Horun’s sudden shout, the soldiers also began looking around.

But no form could be seen anywhere.

Only then did Horun realize something: the voice he had heard up to now had not come through his ears.

The voice was not in his ears, but ringing precisely inside his mind.

-I’m inside you. If it weren’t for that strong will of yours, I wouldn’t have been able to find you.

“…!!!”

Horun could not open his mouth carelessly.

If he said anything else in his current state, it would clearly have a bad effect on the soldiers watching him.

‘Damn it!!’

Horun bit his lip.

The appearance of an unknown opponent.

And his words shook Horun’s heart violently.

As if watching Horun like that, the other continued in a leisurely voice.

-If you surrender, I’ll give you a gift. How about it?

Horun hesitated for a moment.

After hesitating over whether to answer or not, he finally spoke.

“Who are you! Reveal your identity!”

His heavy voice split the space.

At the same time, fear rose among the soldiers who sensed that they had encountered the enemy.

But since they could not hear the voice Horun heard, they only looked around.

Then the voice rang out again in Horun’s mind.

-I am the new ruler who has taken this castle.

“…!!!”

Horun opened his eyes wide.

He had faced countless situations, but he swore he had never been as terrified as he was now.

The enemy was not only invisible, but could also speak directly to his mind.

Moreover, it could hear not only his words, but even his innermost thoughts.

Once he realized that he could hide nothing, Horun’s mind turned as blank as a sheet of white paper.

Thinking that whatever he thought would be read by the enemy as is, he couldn’t even begin to figure out what to do.

The other smiled as if watching him plainly and continued.

-You have a lot of experience. That’s why you were able to do all of this so skillfully.

“Are you reading even my thoughts!”

-You already know that without asking, don’t you? Ask something more essential and important. Right now, does it matter who I am, or whether I can read your thoughts? Is that really what you’re curious about?

The other side’s question was simple and clear.

And so the most essential question spilled from Horun’s mouth.

“Wh-what are you going to do to us?”

His question was heard by the other, as well as all the soldiers here.

The adjutant and the soldiers fell into panic instantly, and the other did not miss the opening.

It created an invisible barrier in front of Horun, where there had been nothing before.

After that, the voice echoed in everyone’s mind.

-I will harvest your souls.

Horun’s expression crumpled.

At the same time, the soldiers’ murmuring could be heard.

“Harvest our souls?”

“Wh-what is that supposed to mean?”

“Who on earth is saying that?”

Hearing the voice, Horun shouted.

“Everyone! Keep quiet! It’s the enemy’s scheme! Don’t be fooled by that voice!”

-Everyone, including you, knows that I am real.

Horun shut his mouth.

The other had exceeded his expectations.

He had thought it only possessed the ability to raise the dead, but he had not expected it to communicate like this.

‘It can read my thoughts and speak to my mind.’

Moreover, it can also speak to his subordinates here.

Only demons, high-ranking demons like the Demon King, could possess such abilities.

Only a great Demon King comparable to a god could communicate in this way.

Horun asked quietly.

“No way, are you the Demon King?”

-I ask the questions. Will you surrender here, or die resisting? As I promised earlier, if you surrender, I will give you a gift that will satisfy you all.

This time as well, it seemed the voice was heard by Horun and all the soldiers.

The words surrender and gift kept spilling out among the soldiers.

‘Damn it….’

Horun saw through the other side’s intentions.

It was trying to disrupt their discipline with a sweet offer.

‘And then it will attack afterward.’

But there was no way to stop it.

Above all, since he could not find the opponent’s form, there was no way to know how to attack.

If he ordered a reckless advance, they would be blocked by an invisible wall and unable to take even a single step forward.

Horun opened his mouth in despair.

“What gift have you prepared?”

Only then did the other side’s laughter reach him.

It was laughter as if satisfied.

Soon after, the voice rang out in their minds.

-I will give you eternal life.

It was truly an answer that could only come from a demon.

Eternal life.

Horun gave a snort of laughter and spoke.

“Rather than live forever as an undead, I’d rather die honorably as a human.”

-You’re mistaken about something.

The other snorted once and continued.

-Death is the same for everyone. It is the end of life. Rich or poor, strong or weak, death equally means the end of life. What comes after that is miserable. You will wander the spirit realm while spending time recalling the pleasures of life. You may go mad, or you may remain in one place and become a malignant spirit. If you’re lucky, you may possess a child being born and be reborn, but then you must forget all the memories of your previous life and start from the beginning. In that case, it’s better to accept the gift.

“Then are you saying you can give us complete eternal life?”

-That is right.

“Do you really think living forever in a decaying body, unable even to feel the five senses, is a gift?”

-Who said you couldn’t feel the five senses? Who said that body would keep rotting?

While Horun was searching for an answer, the door opposite opened and someone appeared.

A young knight with a pale face.

It was Kael, whom everyone had thought dead.