Chapter 505 – Struggle, Despair, Sink, Then Annihilate

One hour earlier.

Shattered Isle Region, several hundred kilometers away from Black Mountain.

Death Knight Ulysses opened their eyes. “The Young King has finally appeared.”

“Hmm?”

They noticed that shortly after this Young King appeared, he headed directly toward a specific direction.

That place was the frontline warzone of the human force known as the Taixuan Alliance.

What did this young monarch intend to do there?

Death Knight was puzzled.

They certainly knew that humans were at war with Dragon’s Slumber Valley.

As members of the Undead Clan who were living beings, they stood in natural opposition to the Filth lifeforms, and Dragon’s Slumber Valley was one of their great enemies.

When they occasionally encountered monster legends, they would eliminate them casually, but that was the extent of it.

The undead and humans had always been clearly distinct.

If not for the emergence of the Filth disaster, the undead would have been hostile to humans, elves, elementals, orcs, dragons…

That Death Knight ignored the humans appearing within their field of vision was already an act of great mercy. They would absolutely never rescue unfamiliar humans.

Moreover, Dragon’s Slumber Valley possessed immense power, with a high-ranking Hunting Grand Duke stationed in this domain.

Ice Burial Grand Duke wasn’t much weaker than them.

They also had their own mission.

Persuading the Young King to return was what they should be doing.

Human lives and deaths were none of their concern.

However, what that young monarch intended to do was very much their concern.

Death Knight followed.

They witnessed over a thousand monster legends harnessing the power of heaven and earth, launching fierce assaults on the human warzone.

They saw the monstrous tide surging violently, reminiscent of the undead calamity from years past.

They beheld the kilometers-long colossal beast symbolizing catastrophe, roaring and shaking the world.

They also saw the top-tier powerhouse commanding Dragon’s Slumber Valley’s army. The one who had devoured the Frost Dragon’s body, wielded the concepts of frost and death, and possessed overwhelming ferocity – Ice Burial Grand Duke.

“Ice Burial…”

Death Knight murmured.

The whispered murmur grew louder, carrying astonishment and confusion.

They watched as the young monarch stepped forth upon the Heaven-Earth Bridge, his sword pointing toward that top-tier powerhouse they themselves had to treat with caution – Ice Burial Grand Duke.

“The Young King’s target is Ice Burial Grand Duke?”

“But why would he want to confront Ice Burial Grand Duke? Why does he harbor such firm and intense killing intent?”

The intense murderous aura seemed to declare that eliminating Ice Burial Grand Duke was an absolute necessity, regardless of what hardships and dangers lay ahead.

The concept of death in the world resonated with this powerful will.

But why?

The cold silver-white bone wings, the ferocious skeleton, the faintly burning soul fire…

This form reflected in Death Knight’s eyes, and they suddenly understood.

“It’s because of the Frost Dragon.”

“The once noble, proud Frost Dragon Overlord has now been reduced to a vessel for Filth creatures.”

“This is desecration.”

“He cannot tolerate such defilement.”

“He intends to personally return this long-fallen Frost Dragon Overlord to dust, granting final liberation to the former overlord.”

Even though Ice Burial Grand Duke was immensely powerful;

Even though this one was merely a young legend who had recently come into being;

He would still not retreat.

Because he was the king of the Undead Clan.

This is what defines a monarch!

At this moment, Death Knight suddenly understood the gap between themselves and a true king.The disparity in will, the gap in conviction.

It also made him understand more clearly why his Overlord had always said: only with the emergence of a King could the Undead Clan possibly be revived.

The Death Knight had completely and utterly acknowledged this King.

However…

His expression turned grave.

“No matter how powerful a legendary being may be, a King in their infancy could never defeat a veteran Law Realm expert.”

The gap between the Soul Realm and the Law Realm was overwhelmingly vast.

The King had indeed grasped a concept, and the power he wielded was astonishing.

Yet the Death Knight believed that defeating the young King would not be difficult for him—though capturing him alive would not be simple. Nor was he willing to force a young King into submission.

The King had his own reasons for his actions.

He could only strive to understand and keep up with the King’s reasoning.

The Death Knight pondered silently, his gaze fixed intently on the distance.

…

“BOOM—”

The towering Corpse Giant, its hands gripping the not-so-imposing form of the Ice Burial Grand Duke, slammed him violently into the ground.

The layer of ice, imbued with a trace of the concept of hardness, shattered with a series of cracks.

The thick ice layer instead inflicted more damage on the Ice Burial Grand Duke as he was brutally driven into the earth. The giant, larger than any calamity beast, continued to pummel the ground with fist after fist.

The earth sank continuously, and shockwaves like tidal waves sent the surrounding monsters flying.

Some legendary monsters withered and crumbled in the aftermath, perishing on the spot.

Suddenly,

Crack, crack, crack—

Frost-silver ice began to form on the Corpse Giant’s arm, spreading upward relentlessly.

The frost froze nearly half of the giant’s body, and within the freezing power, the concept of decay continuously emerged.

Frost begets death, death begets frost—an endless cycle of frost and death!

“Freeze! Wither! Shatter!”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke roared with fury.

Crack—

The ice shattered, but the massive arm bone of the Corpse Giant did not break along with the ice.

It was harder than the hardest substance in the world.

This was the concept of hardness!

The giant itself also symbolized withering, so decay-based concepts of the same type had little effect on it.

But seizing the moment when the frost froze the giant, the Ice Burial Grand Duke broke free from his restraints and soared back into the sky, his gaze level with the giant’s.

“A newly advanced Law Realm undead?”

“So what.”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke was indeed most skilled in decay, but he was by no limited to it.

Moreover, the withering concepts favored by undead experts had minimal effect on him, at most slightly dulling his scales.

It was merely scratching the surface.

“Ice, wind.”

He chanted.

A raging ice storm surged forth, forming a cylindrical tempest of snow and ice that spanned the vast heavens and earth.

The storm reached into the sky and covered dozens of miles around, completely engulfing the massive Corpse Giant.

At the same time,

A brilliant golden light gleamed on the Ice Burial Grand Duke’s frost-silver Bone Wings.

He spread his wings.

He soared through the mist.

This also contained a concept related to extreme speed.

Under the power of this concept, obstacles like wind resistance, energy tides, and spatial rifts meant nothing to him.

He was teleporting continuously.

And these two concept-wielding Moves did not rely solely on his own power as their foundation.

He still had strength to spare.

This was the composure of a veteran Law Realm expert.

“Slash!”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke’s claws gleamed with a silvery-white radiance, within which lay the concept power to sever all things.

In an instant, his figure appeared in dozens of locations, simultaneously unleashing dozens of Severing Claws!

Crack!

Crack!Hard as the Corpse Giant may be, its skeletal frame was continuously fracturing.

…

In the distance, the war raged on.

Various calamity beasts, Soul Realm entities, and legendary creatures advanced slowly.

The weapons on the human side were also charging continuously.

However, both monsters and humans had their gazes fixed on the two colossal figures towering in the distance.

“This newly appeared being is a powerful undead.”

“A mountain range pressing down upon the heavens and earth, a giant reaching to the skies! Whose general could this be?”

“Hey, is this really the time for jokes? Be realistic—how could such a powerful existence possibly be a general under some Lord? Besides, our Taixuan doesn’t have such a formidable undead divine general.”

Many veteran legends were certain of this.

If the sudden arrival had been an unfamiliar human powerhouse, they might have wondered if it was a guardian general from some overlord Lord’s domain.

But for a non-human powerhouse…

The mainstream forces of Taixuan were predominantly human. In the lower tiers, Lords had many opportunities to recruit non-human troops, such as goblins, skeletons, and slimes—these three appeared more frequently than peasants or militiamen.

Yet, as one advanced to higher tiers, opportunities to recruit non-human remnant souls or troops grew increasingly scarce.

Among epic-tier troops outside the Human Race, dragons were relatively more common, followed by elements or miscellaneous series. Epic-tier races like elves or the undead had exceedingly rare recruitment chances.

Thus, undead powerhouses in Taixuan were truly few and far between, let alone those at the Law Realm.

A general under some Lord’s command?

Absolutely impossible.

“He is a mysterious undead powerhouse of unknown origins!”

“Speaking of which, not long ago in the Shattered Isle Region, I happened to encounter a powerful being from the undead race. It nearly scared me to death at the time.”

“Regardless, this mysterious undead powerhouse is clearly on our side, but…”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke was a renowned figure even among Law Realm experts.

World-class powerhouses—their fame was almost directly proportional to their strength.

The mysterious undead powerhouse was now at a disadvantage.

The Lords of Taixuan couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

…

“As expected…”

the Death Knight thought to himself.

“The Ice Burial Grand Duke has numerous techniques and refined skills, whereas the Young King, still in his youth, has not yet stepped into the Law Realm and has had little time to observe laws or develop matching conceptual power skills. He cannot defeat the Ice Burial Grand Duke; his defeat is only a matter of time.”

Even so, the combat prowess displayed by this Young King astonished him once again.

Within the giant’s massive frame lay an inexhaustible, vast energy.

The conceptual power of “hardness” contained within was also exceptionally profound.

In his view, this “hardness” concept might even surpass the Ice Burial Grand Duke’s “severance” concept. Otherwise, the Corpse Giant wouldn’t have lasted this long.

The Young King’s defeat lay in his incomplete tactical system and lack of diverse methods.

Though defeated, he was victorious in spirit.

The Death Knight slowly rested his hand on his sword hilt.

He would not intervene, of course.

At least, not now.

He could not interfere in a King’s battle—it would be disrespectful to the King.

But once this battle concluded, he would step in to ensure the Frost Dragon Overlord’s remains returned to dust.

“Hmm??”

The Death Knight’s eyes suddenly widened.

…

Perhaps the Ice Burial Grand Duke felt this method was too inefficient.

Or perhaps it was due to a more cautious strategy.Under his mental command, the Calamity Colossus wielding a blood-red halberd strode forward, delivering a mighty slash that sent the Corpse Giant’s massive body flying off the ground. Upon crashing, it shattered dozens of mountain peaks.

Calamity Beasts possessed no conceptual power, but their energy reserves far surpassed even those of the Law Realm.

Though massive and cumbersome in movement, they were perfectly suited to dealing with equally colossal foes like the Corpse Giant.

“Boom—”

The Corpse Giant plunged its hand into the Calamity Beast’s torso, tearing off one of the Calamity Colossus’s arms with a sickening rip.

In the eyes of such beings, Calamity Beasts were ultimately just oversized toys.

Yet monster legends also interfered from afar.

Seizing the opportunity, the Ice Burial Grand Duke continuously slashed at the protected giant’s head.

The Death Knight gripped his sword hilt.

“Crack—”

The giant’s skull split open.

No.

It was the bones forming the giant’s head that parted on their own, creaking and cracking to reveal a passageway.

The undead powerhouse who emerged seemed to glance at the sky.

The Ice Burial Grand Duke followed his gaze upward.

There, the silvery mountain phantom hovering motionlessly above the heavens appeared to have grown more solid and real.

And before them,

from within the battered, crumbling skeletal giant that was still pounding the Calamity Beast, countless black dots suddenly surged forth.

“Gates of the Netherworld!”

The giant’s pupils transformed into massive vortex-like gates.

A gate also opened behind Deadbone.

Undead!

From the Undead Holy Mountain, the undead Deadbone had accumulated over half a year came flooding out like a tsunami.

There were epic undead like Frost Dragons, Shadow Dragons, and Flesh Mountain Lords;

as well as low-tier undead like Skeleton Soldiers, Little Skeletons, and Walking Corpses.

Yet even these low-tier undead now stood suspended in mid-air, lifted by formless black mist, merging into a single entity within the fog, indistinguishable from one another.

The Ice Burial Grand Duke watched these undead.

Their numbers were indeed vast, and they continued pouring out endlessly.

But what was the point?

Just as monster hordes were mere cannon fodder, ordinary legends held no significance before the Law Realm.

Even powerful Calamity Beasts could only provide minor distractions.

Moreover, among this overwhelming tide of undead, there were countless low-tier undead—the most disposable of cannon fodder.

The Ice Burial Grand Duke swung his claw down.

“Swish—”

A brilliant silver blade tore through the sky, extending hundreds of meters and annihilating countless undead before its energy gradually dissipated.

But the Ice Burial Grand Duke frowned slightly.

“Indeed, these undead aren’t all cannon fodder. They’ve formed a formation similar to army soul. Only attacks containing conceptual power can truly destroy them.”

He continued slashing, slashing, and slashing again.

Silver light bloomed, bloomed, and bloomed once more.

The surrounding undead had been cleared, and he seemed to have caught sight of that undead powerhouse.

But when the Ice Burial Grand Duke scanned his surroundings, the black tide had already filled the entire world.

Above and below, everything was covered in dark figures.

They continued spreading, relentlessly consuming and devouring everything they covered.

Like a tidal wave, like locusts.

The Ice Burial Grand Duke saw a fleeing Legendary Realm expert being overtaken by the black tide. In the blink of an eye, their Domain was pierced with numerous holes. The legendary struggled briefly before being completely swallowed by the black tide, falling silent.

He began to feel a vague sense of unease.The Ice Burial Grand Duke flew outward, only to be met head-on by a tide of undead.

“Slash!”

A gash hundreds of meters long appeared, only to close up in the blink of an eye.

The Ice Burial Grand Duke roared.

He seemed to have fallen into a vast, boundless black lake.

The water he obliterated was insignificant compared to the entire lake.

He changed his approach, intensifying the storm imbued with the concept of frost and concentrating its power to annihilate a large swath of the black tide in an instant.

But beyond this empty expanse, the black tide remained endless.

They converged!

They closed in!

They were reborn!

“Roar!”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke bellowed, unleashing wave after wave of silver slashes and frost-white storms, clearing vast swathes of undead.

“Roar!”

The Ice Burial Grand Duke struggled, the silver radiance shining within the black tide gradually growing dimmer.

“Roar.”

The scales of the Ice Burial Grand Duke began to lose their luster, as a deathly, desolate gray-black hue crept over his body.

He roared, he struggled, he despaired.

His towering, mountain-like body, like an insignificant rock, slowly sank into the viscous black tide.

Until he vanished.

(End of Chapter)