The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 379: How to Defy Fate (1)

– “They…”

Sir Geo-Rexius opened his mouth.

Slowly and Cautiously.

Yet delivering an unwavering truth.

– “Lord Lloyd, you have become entangled in the flow of causality without even realizing it.”

“Entangled?”

– “Yes, my lord.”

The Hell Knight continued.

– “First, you and Sir Asrahan believed you had disposed of Lupellan. You were confident in that belief. However, the reality was different. His body may have died, but his soul lingered in the netherworld.”

“You mean… a wraith?”

– “Yes, my lord. His attachment to life and his obsession must have been incredibly strong.”

“…”

Lloyd fell silent.

He recalled the events of a few years ago when they had dealt with the dark mage Lupellan.

Obsession with life.

Yes, he remembered that clearly.

Lupellan’s fear of death was unlike that of normal people.

He was driven by the belief that if he died, he wouldn’t be able to revive his deceased wife and children.

He was obsessed with survival to continue his dark magic research.

‘Tsk. Ridiculous. Sacrificing innocent people to revive already dead family members? What a selfish lunatic.’

The thought irritated him.

The extraordinary level of Lupellan’s attachment to life was particularly distasteful.

‘Only his own interests mattered. If he died, what about his wife and kids? Did he think they were special only to him? There are countless fathers in South Korea who live every day, shouldering the responsibility of providing for their families.’

He scoffed.

Meanwhile, Sir Geo-Rexius continued his story.

– “In any case, he became a wraith fueled by his exceptional obsession. Instead of crossing over to hell, he wandered the netherworld. This wasn’t particularly unique. Such wraiths aren’t rare. But the problem was…”

“The problem?”

– “He retained all his dark magic knowledge as a wraith.”

“Hm. Let me guess.”

– “You can probably figure it out.”

“Yeah. He found an appropriate vessel, didn’t he?”

– “Precisely, my lord.”

Sir Geo-Rexius nodded.

– “Lupellan, as a wraith, was obsessed with being reborn. With his obsession and knowledge, he only needed a suitable vessel. And eventually, he found one.”

“… Tsk. That vessel was Sir Neumann, wasn’t it?”

– “Yes, correct.”

“How did that happen?”

– “Purely by chance. Or perhaps a twist of fate. Anyway, after being exiled by you, Sir Neumann was a broken man. His entire body was shattered, rendering him a cripple. Unable even to feed himself, his mind was also fragmented, leaving him a babbling fool. He constantly muttered the same phrases in his delirium—how he wanted to kill Lloyd Frontera or be killed. It was during this time that he encountered Lupellan’s wraith.”

“…”

Lloyd clicked his tongue.

A coincidence, but a cruel one, or fate.

Especially considering both Lupellan and Neumann held grudges against him, which made it all the more cruel.

Sir Geo-Rexius continued his explanation.

– “It was a meeting between the wraith of a dark mage and an exiled knight who only had his body left. They quickly realized they shared a common grudge against the same person.”

“So, they merged?”

– “To be precise, Lupellan destroyed Neumann’s soul and took over his body.”

“Tsk. Typical dark mage behavior.”

– “Indeed. And his actions afterwards were similarly typical.”

“What did he do?”

– “He hid his true nature. Pretending to be the same broken, mad Neumann, he received care from Neumann’s family while secretly preparing. He used dark magic to repair the shattered body.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me.”

– “You guessed it?”

“Yes. This is a horrifying guess, though. Did he use Neumann’s family as sacrifices? Is that correct?”

– “Regrettably, yes.”

“…”

Lloyd was at a loss for words.

The Hell Knight continued, emotionlessly recounting the facts.

– “On the first new moon night after obtaining the new body, Lupellan used the dark magic he had painstakingly prepared in secret. He summoned a demon and offered Neumann’s family as sacrifices. The demon feasted on them and, in return, granted Lupellan a modicum of health. Enough to limp around. That was when it all began.”

As the cruel truth was slowly unveiled, revealing the cold, harsh reality.

– “With his newly granted mobility, he began to modify himself. Using all his dark magic knowledge. Finally, he reached the pinnacle of dark magical body modification. He became a lich.”

“Tsk.”

Lloyd clicked his tongue at this point.

He knew exactly what a lich was.

They were mentioned in the novel “The Iron-Blooded Knight.”

‘A dark mage who abandons their humanity and life to become undead. An undead archmage, if you will. Their body endlessly resurrects even if destroyed, and their magic power is limitless.’

In terms of power?

They could be on par with a Hell Knight.

But now, the dark mage he had once dealt with had become such a being.

Even just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Moreover, there was a question.

“But tell me, what does Lupellan becoming a lich have to do with the Hell King’s plans?”

– “It’s deeply related.”

Sir Geo-Rexius’s eyes gleamed.

– “Even as a lich, Lupellan did not forget his goal. His sole purpose was revenge on you, Lord Lloyd Frontera.”

“What about resurrecting his family?”

– “Becoming a lich made him lose much of his humanity, so his attachment to his family faded considerably.”

“So, all that’s left is his grudge against me?”

– “Yes. And so, he chose the surest path to revenge.”

“What’s that?”

– “He used all his magic to request aid from the Hell King. To open a Hellgate and send reinforcements.”

“A Hellgate? Reinforcements?”

– “Yes. A Hellgate opened in Frontera and the forces to sweep through it.”

“…”

Lloyd closed his mouth.

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

Finally, he understood.

‘The dark mage Lupellan, that bastard, he’s serious about this.’

He could guess what happened next.

The lich likely spied on Frontera.

Realizing something crucial.

‘He must have concluded that despite becoming a lich, there was a chance he could lose. Understandable. With Javier around, even if Javier and I were away from the estate, there’s Dragon Solitas. Recently, Archangel Raphael has also become a guest. The Dragon King Verkis resides in the guest quarters.’

Comparatively, a lich was no match for such power.

That’s why he requested support from the Hell King.

“And the Hell King? Did he readily accept the request?”

– “Yes. There was no reason to refuse.”

Sir Geo-Rexius replied as if it were obvious.

– “As you know, the Hell King wants to kill you. To have you by his side in death. But you keep escaping death. That fact must have irritated him.”

“So, while that was happening, a lich from the surface requested massive reinforcements?”

– “Yes. It was a welcome opportunity for the Hell King. By Hell’s regulations, the Hell King cannot deploy Hell’s legions to the surface for personal reasons.”

“Right. The request must have been a godsend for the Hell King. It allowed him to send legions to the surface.”

– “Exactly. It gave the Hell King a legitimate reason for deployment.”

“Right. On the surface, it’s not a personal mission. It’s responding to a request from a lich on the surface. Oh, wow.”

Lloyd took a deep breath.

Now, he understood how things had unfolded.

Why the dark mage he had dealt with long ago was now tied to the Hell King.

‘This could be a major trigger event. A new version of the fate restoration phenomenon.’

He recalled the contents of the novel, “The Iron-Blooded Knight.”

The dark mage Lupellan originally appeared as a villain in the latter half of the novel.

A powerful and evil dark mage.

His obsession with resurrecting his family.

Using that obsession to conduct numerous human experiments.

Not to mention, he had destroyed entire cities, becoming a mass murderer.

But here?

‘He got caught by me and Javier before he could grow strong.’

So he died much earlier than in the original.

He couldn’t wreak havoc as in the novel.

Lloyd had thought it was fortunate.

That he had nipped disaster in the bud.

That he had saved countless people from being massacred as in the original.

He had been proud of himself for that.

But now?

‘Even my actions ended up twisting the story. And that damn fate restoration phenomenon affected Lupellan’s fate as well.’

The dark mage Lupellan, who died much earlier than in the original.

But fate’s strange pull resurrected him.

Made him a lich.

So, the massacre that should have happened in the original was now set to occur.

‘In the original, he was a high-ranking dark mage. Now, he’s a lich. The massacre site has changed to Frontera. The ghouls and zombie armies he summoned in the original are now Hell’s legions.’

While the details varied, the overall plot remained similar to the original.

No, in terms of scale and horror, it was worse than the original.

‘And if Frontera is invaded and burned down? If everyone dies? That outcome will be close to what the fate restoration phenomenon wants.’

Thinking about it made his skin crawl.

The fate restoration phenomenon.

That damn incomplete reset was constantly seeking the deaths of the Count and Countess. Julian, Lady Serazad, Sultan, and Lady Namaran—all who had died in the novel.

‘So, Frontera’s invasion is essentially what the fate restoration phenomenon wants. Returning the altered fates and histories to their original state.’

The more he thought about it, the more chills he felt.

The fate restoration phenomenon.

It was meticulous and relentless beyond imagination.

At the same time, his vision darkened with despair.

Suddenly, he recalled the recent words of the Hell King.

‘The fate restoration phenomenon will grow larger and come endlessly, like waves. Increasingly unmanageable in scale.’

But could he stop it?

How long could he hold out?

The Hell King had laughed as if certain of Lloyd’s death.

Gritting his teeth.

‘But do you think I’ll give up that easily?’

He couldn’t.

He absolutely couldn’t.

‘How have I lived until now!’

He had clawed his way up here.

From a moldy room in a small Korean boarding house.

From a mountain of debt as a minor noble.

Breathing in dust through countless construction projects.

Earning merits with the royal family.

Finally being recognized as a loyal subject.

Now, he was ready to live a comfortable life.

He had long dreamed of a leisurely, property-owning life.

‘So, I just have to resolve this one thing.’

Then he could live comfortably.

He could enjoy life.

But this last wave seemed so overwhelming.

Even if he managed to stop it.

He couldn’t imagine how much worse the next wave would be.

Lloyd naturally concluded.

‘I must settle it this time.’

No matter what.

By any means.

He had to end it all this time.

‘The scale of the incident is already growing beyond manageable. This invasion of Frontera? I might barely stop it by working hard. But the next version of the fate restoration phenomenon? I’m not confident. So, I need to end it this time.’

The relentless grip of fate.

The Hell King’s obsessive greed.

He decided to cut it all off this time.

Otherwise, something even more unmanageable would come next.

But that’s why he didn’t lose hope.

Considering all possible outcomes.

Listing all resources he could mobilize.

Planning meticulously.

He finally arrived at a solution.

“Ha.”

Lloyd smiled brightly.

Finally.

He looked at Javier and Sir Geo-Rexius and casually said.

“Well, this is easy.”