Chapter 80
Injuries.
For Hunters, they were as common as breathing.
‘An injury? Please, that’s nothing.’
‘Yeah, what’s an injury? You go to bed one night, and the Hunter you knew yesterday is already being buried the next morning.’
‘If a Hunter’s been around long enough, losing a limb or two’s practically a badge of experience, isn’t it?’
That was the public’s honest perception.
So, I merely frowned but didn’t leave my position.
Blocking the advancing Dullahans came first. The gate must not fall.
“Urgh! Aaagh!”
Kang Yujeong’s eyes were filled with shock.
The pain of amputation was brutal, but the horror of losing her sword arm—of losing her identity as a swordswoman—seemed far worse.
The vice captain, Kang Jihoo, swung his blade and shouted,
“Hey! You okay?! Stop the bleeding yourself for now!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“Jinsu! Cover Yujeong’s flank! Move! If they break through, we’re dead!”
“Understood!”
As expected of a top-tier S-rank Hunter from the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, Kang Jihoo remained calm even in crisis.
But what surprised me more was what Yujeong did next.
Riiip!
Through tears, she tore the hem of her uniform with her teeth, wrapping it tightly around her wound.
The bleeding was so bad that her white uniform turned scarlet in seconds.
“Haaah, ngh!”
Even in agony, she moved decisively, almost instinctively.
Crunch!
Kang Jihoo crushed a Ghoul’s head with his sword hilt and shouted,
“Finish the bleeding and get back here! Sorry, but we can’t shift formation for one person! You know that!”
“Yes, sir!”
“The situation’s bad! We’re completely outmatched! If it weren’t for those soldiers up there providing ranged cover, we’d already be wiped out! If those bastards had siege weapons, we’d be done for!”
“……”
I watched with a bitter expression.
So this was the reality for team-based Hunters—
Fighting without rest, even when maimed.
Bleeding, hurting, yet pushing forward because if they didn’t—
The whole formation would collapse. Everyone would die.
Ah.
That’s when I remembered once more the brilliance of my own skill.
‘Skeleton Summoning…’
My skeletons didn’t suffer from wounds.
They didn’t die.
As long as I had energy left, they’d rise again, as strong as ever.
That was the broken glory of the legendary class—Necromancer.
“B-bleeding’s stopped! I’m returning to formation!”
“The pain?”
“It’s killing me, but… I’ll endure it!”
“Good! Even with one arm, use the other to block! Go!”
“Y-yes!”
Yujeong took back the Dullahan that Kim Jinsu had been holding off.
‘Wow…’
No wonder high-ranked Hunters were high-ranked.
To show that kind of grit in a battlefield worse than hell itself…
Maybe that’s what it took to join the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
‘Of course.’
I’d been the same.
Pain? I could handle pain.
I’d built tolerance by getting beaten half to death by the old man every day.
And I’d once let Sunny pierce through my whole body—and still stood.
Whoosh!
I swung my spear again with full force.
Clang!
The Dullahan’s axe slammed against my weapon, jarring my arms.
On my own, I couldn’t overpower an A-rank monster like this one.
All I could do was block.
But that was enough.
Because the opening it left—Sunny seized it.
He darted forward and rammed his spear straight into the Dullahan’s severed head.
Pchhk!
“Kieeeek!”
That was their weakness—the head in their left hand.
With a shriek, the creature burst into black smoke.
“Master, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
“No, your spear…”
“Oh.”
I looked down. The blade was chipped and cracked beyond use.
No wonder it hadn’t been piercing properly.
No matter.
Weapons were lying everywhere.
Thunk!
I dropped the broken spear and reached for a fallen Dullahan’s sword.
Then—
“Hey! Over there!”
From afar, Black Sword member Kim Jinsu shouted.
“Look! More undead—another wave is coming!”
What?! Another wave?
I lifted my gaze.
And there they were.
“Huh?”
A tide of white bones marching in formation.
“That’s…”
I blinked in disbelief.
“Skeletons?”
[You have spotted the Skeleton Legion.]
Creak! Clatter!
The horde of bone soldiers charged forward, brandishing the weapons of the fallen.
“They must’ve resurrected the dead soldiers!”
“Yeah.”
I nodded grimly.
The armor and weapons—they were identical to those worn by the fortress troops.
‘But… why now?’
I climbed atop a mound of Ghoul corpses for a better view.
From the higher ground, I could see it clearly.
Far in the distance—
Crash!
Lee Seonah was dueling several Liches at once, her black lightning scattering across the battlefield.
‘Did her magic trigger their summoning?’
Whatever the case—
A grin spread across my face.
‘Skeletons, huh? Perfect.’
My title wasn’t for nothing.
I was the Skeleton Lord—ruler of all skeletons.
The moment I’d earned that name, the message had declared:
[You command all Skeletons.]
[You reign above all Skeletons.]
[No Skeleton can harm you.]
[You are the Skeleton Lord.]
I smiled.
Ah.
Every dungeon has a solution—you just have to find it.
“Vice Captain!”
I called out to Kang Jihoo.
“Yes?”
“I think I just found our way out of this!”
“What do you mean?”
“Can you escort me to those Skeletons?”
The appearance of the Skeleton Legion was good news—
but the problem was reaching them through the wall of Ghouls and Specters.
“Huh? Wait—”
Kang Jihoo’s eyes widened as he seemed to recall my title.
“You’re not saying…”
“I can’t guarantee anything. But come on—what have we got to lose?”
“To reach them, everyone has to move. The gate could fall!”
I understood.
If this failed, we’d be overrun before we even got close.
But if it worked—
The tide could turn completely.
Even if those Skeletons weren’t strong, they could serve as shields—expand our line—
and give our skills more reach.
“What’s your call? If we go, we go together. Once I leave, you’ll be on your own.”
Aside from Lee Seonah, only three others remained—and one was wounded.
I kept scanning the battlefield.
Time was running out.
The undead tide was pressing closer to the gate.
“Damn it!”
Kang Jihoo shouted,
“Fine! Standing still means dying anyway! Let’s move!”
“Good call.”
They didn’t believe it yet—but I did.
I’d cleared three S-rank dungeons before.
And my instincts had never been wrong.
—
Without the fortress wall at our backs, the assault intensified.
“……!”
“Haa… haa!”
There was no time to speak.
We just cut, stabbed, and smashed the flood of undead like a collapsing wave.
No elegance, no precision—just desperate survival.
Sometimes, I didn’t even slice cleanly. I just crushed them.
“Stay together! Don’t leave your flank open! Follow Bone Four’s lead!”
Our goal was the Skeleton Legion’s position.
At the front, Bone Four and his units formed a shield wall, pushing the enemy back.
Behind them, the rest of my summons and the Black Sword members cut through the sides.
“Haa… haaa! Are we really going to survive this?”
Kim Jinsu panted beside me.
“Focus! Don’t waste breath on doubt!”
“You’re incredible… still just B-rank, but you fight like S-rank… haa!”
“……”
I didn’t answer.
I was too busy letting the Supreme Azure Mind Method and Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts guide my body.
‘At least one thing’s clear.’
In both composure and strength, I’d surpassed even these A-rank Hunters.
‘System.’
This has got to be enough, right?
Come on—let me ascend already!
“Skeleton Lord!”
“Yes, vice?”
“There! We’re almost there!”
“Oh?”
I could see them now—
The Skeleton Legion charging toward us, joints creaking, weapons raised.
Creak! Clack!
And—
‘Wait.’
They were attacking the Ghouls and Specters.
“They’re helping us! The Skeleton Lord was right!”
Kim Jinsu shouted.
“It’s true! The Skeletons are fighting the enemy!” Kang Yujeong cried.
Roughly a thousand Skeletons were tearing through the undead lines.
[You are the Skeleton Lord.]
[You command all Skeletons.]
Ah.
I could feel them—each one resonating with my will.
‘These aren’t weaklings.’
They were stronger—at least on par with Ghouls, maybe even superior.
And all of them were charging this way.
‘To protect me.’
Their Lord.
The army of bones pushed forward without fear, breaking the enemy’s formation bit by bit.
“Amazing… so this was your trump card.”
Kang Jihoo exhaled in awe.
“No wonder the captain’s interested in you. Your ability’s far more useful than mine. So please…”
He swallowed hard.
“…whatever happens, keep us alive.”
Of course.
“Skeletons! Spread the line! Form up wide so our skills can hit more of them!”
We hadn’t turned the tide completely—
But with the Skeleton Legion, we could finally breathe again.
– Necromancer.
Then it came.
– You’ve held on well. But you’ve yet to witness the true might of the Immortal Legion…
The voice of the Lich who had cursed us earlier.
– Now, endure… the cold wrath of darkness!
Wuuuuum!
Suddenly, the rain stopped.
Swoooosh!
A frigid wind swept across the field, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Even Lee Seonah, who had been fighting the Liches afar, stopped and turned toward us.
Frost began forming in the air.
Whoooosh!
A blizzard roared to life.
“It’s getting colder!”
“This is…”
The Lich’s ultimate wide-area spell—
A high-tier magic that blanketed the battlefield in ice shards, freezing everything in its path.
[Blizzard].
Crack! Crackle!
The Skeletons slowed, their joints stiffening.
Creak!
Even I flinched instinctively from the cold.
Kang Jihoo trembled beside me.
“Damn it… is this dungeon even beatable?”
Good question.
Because that was exactly what I was wondering too.