Chapter 79
Boom!
A new legion rose from the center of the front line like a wave of black mist.
“Graaah!”
A thousand headless knights—Dullahans—raised their cries to the sky.
In their right hands they held their weapons; in their left, their own severed heads. The sight was…
‘Grotesque.’
I grimaced.
The Dullahan—beloved by Necromancers for their raw power—were A-rank undead.
Just one of them would be impervious to the Ghouls and Specters swarming the field.
And now there were a thousand of them?
For an A-rank dungeon, this was absurd.
But that wasn’t all.
“Death Knights…”
One of the soldiers muttered.
“D-Death Knights… damn it, they’re literally the ‘Knights of Death…’”
Terror filled his eyes.
Fear spread like a contagion, darkening the faces of those nearby.
Murmurs began to ripple through the ranks.
“Death Knights? Are you serious?”
“I heard another city got wiped out by just ten of those things…”
“And there are a hundred here? We’re doomed! How do we fight that?”
Panic spread like wildfire.
“You’re sure you’re not seeing things?”
“Who could mistake something that real?”
“No… not even the gods could stop that. We’re done. We’re already dead!”
“I can’t fight this! I’m running! Let the city fall—better that than dying for nothing!”
“He’s right! I’d rather live in the mountains than cross swords with those monsters!”
One by one, soldiers dropped their weapons and fled.
Even the officers who should’ve been shouting commands…
“……”
They couldn’t stop them.
They simply stood frozen, staring blankly at the approaching horde.
All will to fight was gone, crushed under the weight of despair.
What they saw before them was not an army of monsters—
It was death itself.
In the endless tide of the Immortal Legion, they saw their graves waiting.
Rumble…
That was when the Death Knights took formation, exuding a suffocating darkness.
“Neighhh!”
Mounted atop massive spectral steeds, they rode ahead of the Dullahan ranks.
Their combined aura became a chorus of ghostly resonance.
Rrrrumble…
The deep, dreadful hum swallowed the soldiers’ panicked cries as easily as stones vanishing into a lake.
Their roar was louder—more commanding—than any mortal voice.
“This is…”
Lee Seonah’s expression darkened.
“Not just a hundred Death Knights… but ten Liches as well. Even I can’t handle that.”
She shook her head.
“Death Knights are one thing, but those Liches…”
Liches.
The highest tier among S-rank monsters.
Each one was equivalent to a high-level Necromancer’s unique ability.
And not just any Necromancer—an S-rank, top-class one.
To put it simply, a single Lich could fight ten lower-ranked rankers at once.
“This is impossible. The intel was completely wrong.”
“……”
Her despairing words spread silence among us.
The air grew heavy.
“…Dungeons really are cruel things.”
Kang Jihoo finally broke the silence.
Even then, he hesitated—like a man unsure if speaking would make things worse.
“To impose a participant limit and then spawn enemies like that… that’s just a death sentence. And besides…”
He turned his eyes to me.
“They said the dungeon was re-evaluating the Necromancer’s level, right? That’s why the difficulty increased.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Seonah nodded slowly.
“The Skeleton Lord may be B-rank, but his potential is close to ranker level. He’s a Necromancer capable of crafting S-rank weapons, after all.”
“Or maybe…”
Tap.
The vice captain spoke again, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“Maybe the Skeleton Lord has been hiding his true strength.”
“……”
The tension deepened.
The Black Sword members kept their heads down, silent.
I bit my lip.
‘He’s not wrong.’
I was hiding plenty.
That the skeletons I commanded were fragments of absolute beings from other worlds.
That my mentor possessed strength beyond every ranker in this world combined.
They didn’t know any of that.
But still—
“Let’s all calm down.”
Now wasn’t the time for accusations.
The dungeon had thrown a problem at us. Our only choice was to solve it.
And in a dungeon, mistakes meant death.
I spoke firmly.
“Honestly, I don’t know why this is happening either. Maybe it’s because of my potential, like Captain Lee said. Or maybe the vice captain’s right, and I’ve been hiding something.”
“So you admit—”
Kang Jihoo’s eyes widened.
“But does it matter?”
I clenched my fists.
Following the tenets of the Supreme Azure Mind Method, energy rippled through my heart.
“We’re already inside the dungeon—and dungeons are, by nature, incomprehensible. Right now, what we need isn’t analysis, but action. We need to survive.”
Strangely enough, the fear I’d felt earlier melted away.
‘Maybe because it’s already happened.’
Like a market crash already priced in—the dread had already peaked, leaving only clarity behind.
‘Honestly.’
After all the insane dungeons I’ve been through, this wasn’t even surprising anymore.
‘Yeah, dungeon. Figures you’d pull this kind of crap again.’
“Skeleton Lord is right.”
Lee Seonah nodded, then turned to Kang Jihoo with a sharp look.
“Vice.”
“…Yes?”
“Blame—blame—blame! You know blaming others is bad, right?”
“…I wasn’t blaming anyone. I just thought maybe he was hiding something. If I offended you, I apologize.”
Kang Jihoo bowed his head toward me.
Well, at least he was quick to own it.
But seriously—
This wasn’t the time for manners.
– Kiiiii!
Then, all ten Liches flared their red eyes at once.
“Grrraaah!”
“Kuaargh!”
Rumble!
The Immortal Legion surged toward us.
“Fight back! Don’t just stand there!” I shouted.
I scanned the field.
There were too many. Far too many.
Fighting out here in the open would be suicide—we’d be surrounded in minutes.
‘We need terrain.’
And there was only one option nearby.
“The gate!”
Thud!
I stomped the ground.
“Head for the gate!”
“The gate?”
Lee Seonah caught up beside me.
“Yes! We’ll use the narrow gate as a choke point! No need to climb the walls!”
“Smart—cuts off their flanking routes.”
All around us, soldiers in the plains were being slaughtered.
I couldn’t help them now.
It was cruel, but necessary.
A panicked soldier was worse than useless.
“Here!”
I reached the fortress gate and took position.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bone Four and his subordinates formed a curved shield wall around the entrance.
“Formation complete, master.”
Behind them, Eldrin and Bone Five took their positions.
Bone One and Sunny stood ready among the ranks, weapons drawn.
It was lightning-fast coordination.
“Grrraaah!”
But the Immortal Legion was faster.
The leading Death Knight swung his blade of dark blue flame toward Bone Four’s wall.
Behind him, dozens of Dullahans charged forward.
“Hold the line! Use everything you’ve got!”
I raised my spear and met their charge.
With precision, I thrust straight through a Dullahan’s exposed neck above Bone Four’s shield.
Pchhk!
The unpleasant sensation crawled down my arm.
“Hmm.”
Beside me, Lee Seonah lowered her sword.
“Undead of this level… Thunder Annihilation or Black Wind Blade won’t be enough.”
Thud!
She leapt three meters into the air.
Crackle!
Extending her arm forward, she unleashed her next technique in a sweeping arc.
[Black Sword Flight.]
[Wide-Area Technique.]
[Third Form: True Thunderburst.]
Rumble!
Her blade rained down like a storm of lightning.
KRA-KAAANG!
The Dullahans screamed.
Their spectral steeds were shredded by the strikes; their severed heads burned to ash.
Black smoke filled the air.
“Nice.”
I couldn’t help admiring her style.
Her skills were as bold as they were beautiful.
Lee Seonah gave a modest laugh.
“Thank you. It’s powerful, but the range is narrow, and the energy cost’s too high to spam.”
Thud!
Without another word, she dashed back into the fray.
Her movements were like a butterfly’s dance, slicing through Dullahans and pushing back Death Knights.
‘As expected of a ranker.’
Even in this chaos, she fought with perfect composure.
“Haah! Die!”
“Ugh! Vice! Their sword strikes are too strong!”
“Endure it! The captain’s fighting alone—Junsu, left flank! Yujeong, right! Move!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Kang Jihoo and the Black Sword members fought desperately on both sides.
“Whew.”
I steadied my breath and focused again.
Lee Seonah’s assault had cleared part of the field, but it was only a fraction.
There were still countless enemies left.
“Come on, then!”
My skeletons fought relentlessly.
As long as I had energy left, they wouldn’t stop.
All I could do was add my own strength to theirs.
“Grrraaah!”
Even if it was just low-rank Ghouls or Specters—
Pchhk! Slash!
I’d cut them down one by one, easing the burden on my summons and teammates.
Whoosh, stab!
My spear pierced another Ghoul’s neck.
You couldn’t just stab their hearts—undead needed to be completely separated.
I kicked the body away and yanked my weapon free.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Like the blazing sun over the ancient desert—
Push me harder!
When I endure, I grow stronger!
What’s the worst that can happen? Death?
I kept stabbing, fighting nonstop.
Whenever a skeleton fell, I resummoned it instantly, losing myself entirely in battle.
Then—
“Kyaaaah!”
A piercing scream erupted from behind.
‘What?’
I turned my head sharply.
Black Sword member Kang Yujeong was rolling on the ground, clutching her left shoulder.
“What the hell—are you all right?!”
The vice captain’s shout rang out over the din.
I narrowed my eyes through the rising dust—
And saw it.
“Kyaaaah! It hurts!”
A spray of blood—and a severed arm.
Kang Yujeong’s left arm was gone.
“……”
Damn it.
Our first casualty.