Chapter 122 – Five Kings (1)

Black Forest outskirts.

It was a place teeming with undead raised through Necromancy by the Black Forest Temple’s Black-Clad Monks and natural undead spawned by the unique death energy of the Black Forest. A hellish battlefield where groups of various types clashed over territory.

Most were merely low-level undead of 1 or 2-Star caliber, but given their sheer numbers, they were more than sufficient to form a primary barrier for any outsiders attempting to enter the Black Forest.

Naturally, the first thing Hans encountered after slipping into the Black Forest to avoid people was a group of skeleton-type undead soldiers among these undead.

Clatter, clatter.

The army of white bones approaching, their bones clattering with every movement.

At a glance, they seemed to number over a hundred.

Even if skeleton soldiers were only 1-Star, this would have been a burdensome number if Hans were an ordinary 3-Star level.

Moreover, they weren’t even ordinary 1-Star.

Seeping, seeping.

There was something visible, likely due to the newly added <Necromancy> Skill.

The unique aura of death inherent to Necromancy dwelling within each skeleton soldier.

It seemed to elevate the skeleton soldiers’ level to that of 2-Star.

This meant a Necromancer existed behind the skeleton soldiers.

If they were undead without a master, Hans could have avoided the fight by dominating them with his own Necromancy.

Facing the enemies glaring at him with murderous eyes, Hans gripped his sword.

If he couldn’t avoid the fight, he just had to win.

The memory of his frontal victory against the knight was giving Hans confidence.

Of course, the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword that had aided him back then had disappeared after the last Historical Alteration ended.

“Sword Unification.”

Now, Hans had the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword to replace the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword, and an Awakening Skill that allowed him to become one with sword-type weapons.

Furthermore, with the 2nd Stage Transcendence effect applied in reality added on top, his Grade had reached the 5-Star Rank.

Sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk!

Before Hans, the skeleton army was being torn apart like paper.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art contained within the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword was fully unraveling from Hans’s body.

Thanks to Sword Unification, which made him completely one with the sword, he could wield the equipment’s Skills as proficiently as his own.

Sssssssssssssssshhk!

Thus, amidst what was less of a battle and more akin to slaughter.

Rough arrived in this era via the Path of the Fairies.

Pat.

Thanks to his Dual Identity, he naturally became one of the skeleton soldiers, blending into a spot slightly separated from the other skeleton group.

Pretending to have fallen behind during movement, he refrained from participating in the battle and quietly observed Hans’s might.

Whoooooosh.

While unfolding Great Fortune Circulation and sending the Wind of Heavenly Fortune towards Hans.

Hmph.

As if sensing the heavenly fortune, Hans briefly glanced in Rough’s direction before refocusing on the slaughter.

With the heavenly fortune dwelling within him, the divinity of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was integrating and altering his General Skills.

Hum.

[Conditions met. <Stamina Enhancement> and <Zombification> are integrated.]

[Rare Skill <Corpse Manipulation Art> is formed.]

Based on the wisdom contained within Necromancy, he created a new combination formula for the two General Skills.

The result was naturally a Martial Art, specifically an Outer Art form that tempered the body.

While the immediate enhancement of stamina or physique was inferior to <Stamina Major Enhancement> or <Ghoulification>.

<Corpse Manipulation Art> was a growth-type Skill with a higher ceiling, capable of growing stronger continuously with effort.

Flex, flex.

The Killing Intent flowing within his body transformed into vitality, increasing his stamina.

Moreover, this Killing Intent could be naturally replenished by the Life-Stealing Art contained within the Heavenly Demon Divine Art every time he slew an undead.

If the opponent was undead, Hans could fight endlessly without tiring.

No, from the start, the Black Forest itself was land so saturated with Killing Intent that natural undead could be born.

Even without slaying undead, he could replenish his stamina just by absorbing the Killing Intent in the area.

Sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk sssshhk!

As most of the skeleton soldiers fell, the master behind them, who controlled them, could no longer ignore Hans and revealed himself here.

Clack clack clack clack.

A 4-Star Skeleton King leading disciplined 2-Star Skeleton Knights and 3-Star Dark Knights.

―How dare you… my soldiers…! So the Zombie King truly intends to start a war!

Whether the Skeleton King, seeing the fierce Killing Intent flowing through Hans’s body, mistook him for a zombie or not, he shouted in rage with absurd words.

―Then I shall hold back no longer. Royal Guard, bring me that fellow’s head!

Clack!

At the Skeleton King’s Order, his subordinate knights simultaneously raised their swords.

Then, the knights charging towards Hans in formation.

Hans’s eyes assessed their levels.

First, the skeleton soldiers who had formed exoskeleton armor and become skeleton knights were similar in level to the knights of the Tyrant King that Hans had defeated before, but their physical abilities were inferior.

Force is the product of mass and velocity.

Since they were left with only bones and became lighter, their force was weaker.

‘No matter how many skeleton knights come, I can defeat them.’

Perhaps because he was unified with the divinity of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, Hans, equipped with arrogance, did not retreat against dozens of knights.

But he did not let his guard down either.

The dark knights mixed among the skeleton knights.

They were ones who compensated for their lacking muscular strength by attaching condensed Killing Intent of dark matter, namely <Dark Fighting Spirit>, between their skeletal frames.

‘Those guys are probably slightly stronger than the Tyrant King’s knights, who had stamina limitations.’

Moreover, it couldn’t be ignored that they too, like the skeleton soldiers, were enhanced by the Skeleton King’s Necromancy.

If their entire group were to be graded, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them 5-Star Rank.

Thus, keeping only the Dark Knights in mind, Hans rampaged as he plunged into the knights’ formation.

‘But you’re not the only ones who can enhance your strength!’

Clang! Sssshhk! Chaejaeng! Sssshhk! Clang! Sssshhk!

Hans too was in a state enhanced by one stage through the Heavenly Demon Qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, as if blessed by the Heaven-Slaying Star.

Even the Dark Knights could only barely withstand one or two exchanges before the 6-Star level Hans unleashing the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Rather, from such clashes, only Hans’s Killing Intent grew as he grasped the structure of the Dark Fighting Spirit.

[General Skill <Killing Intent> evolves into Rare Skill <Dark Fighting Spirit>.]

Perhaps because the Killing Intent, the resource for Corpse Manipulation Art, had evolved.

The physical enhancement level of Corpse Manipulation Art also instantly surpassed Ghoulification.

Bulge, bulge.

With the Dark Fighting Spirit dwelling within, his skeleton swelled to nearly double its size due to the attached energy, making Hans’s body, still in its growth period, larger than most Adults.

But the true utility of Dark Fighting Spirit lay elsewhere.

Hummm.

As the Grade of the Killing Intent Hans possessed itself rose, the dominance of his Necromancy rose to a level comparable to the Skeleton King’s.

Clang— Ssssshluk.

The moment he clashed with a Dark Knight, he created a seed of Dark Fighting Spirit and implanted it within the opponent’s body.

Then, the seed took root in the opponent’s Dark Fighting Spirit, devouring the Necromancy of the Skeleton King who controlled the Dark Knight and replacing its position.

Sssshhwak!

Immediately, the Dark Knight turned around and began slashing the skeleton knights who had been allies until just moments ago.

His master was now Hans.

And Hans realized that when the seed rooted within the Dark Knight, now his subordinate, bore fruit, he could harvest it and make it his own power without loss.

It was wisdom newly extracted as the divinity of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword altered <Farming Knowledge>.

Click.

[General Skill <Farming Knowledge> evolves into Rare Skill <Demonic Art>.]

A Demonic Art that harvests the life and energy of opponents like harvesting crops took root within Hans’s body.

And Demonic Art and Dark Fighting Spirit naturally came to resemble the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which had already reached its peak.

Hum.

[Conditions met. <Dark Fighting Spirit> and <Demonic Art> are integrated.]

[Unique Skill <Heavenly Demon Qi Art> is formed.]

They integrated into a Qi Art that commands the Demonic Qi of all Dark Fighting Spirit and Demonic Art, manipulating Heavenly Demon Qi.

Although Hans had been handling Heavenly Demon Gang Qi, the superior version of Heavenly Demon Qi, through the Heavenly Demon Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, that was ultimately borrowing the sword’s power, not entirely his own.

But the moment Heavenly Demon Qi Art took root in his body, the Heavenly Demon Qi became entirely Hans’s own.

It meant he could now imbue Necromancy with Heavenly Demon Qi.

“Follow me.”

Right after Hans uttered those words.

The skeleton knights and dark knights who had been targeting him simultaneously turned their blades.

Towards the Skeleton King.

―You… you’re not the Zombie King’s subordinate. Nor are you a subordinate of the other three kings. Who exactly are you?

Only then did the Skeleton King realize that Hans was not another king’s subordinate but a new king.

The sixth king surpassing the five kings vying for hegemony at the Black Forest outskirts.

At the Skeleton King’s question, Hans fell into contemplation for a moment.

The moment he usurped the Skeleton King’s position with Necromancy amplified by Heavenly Demon Qi, Hans’s fate also changed.

[Keyword ‘Necromancer King’ is unlocked.]

[Existing keyword ‘Kingslayer: King Slayer’ and new keyword ‘Necromancer King: Undead King’ collide.]

Zzzzt—

[Higher keyword ‘Heavenly Demon’ is unlocked!]

Hans, having established a new Identity, answered.

“I am… the Heavenly Demon.”

Sssshhk!

Immediately after, the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword precisely cleaved the Skeleton King in half from the crown of his head down to his groin.

At that moment, all traces of the Skeleton King’s Necromancy remaining within the surviving undead vanished completely, and nearly a hundred undead came perfectly under Hans’s command.

[Feat, ‘Ruler of the Undead’ achieved.]

[The Heavenly Slaughter Constellation records Hans’s Feat and Altered history.]

[Third Awakening Skill 《Night Parade of One Hundred Demons》 is formed.]

…….

Having completed his Three-star promotion, Hans continued the Historical Alteration for his Four-star promotion with the Divine Artifact, the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.

And Rough, who had been ambiguously separated and observing the clash between the Skeleton King and Hans, also subtly disguised himself as an undead under Hans’s command and blended into his group.

It was a bonus that information Rough gleaned through Divination was transmitted to Hans via the Necromancy controlling his disguised identity.

“If I kill all five kings, I can obtain the original Reverse Tendon Cleansing Marrow Scripture of the Black Forest Temple?”

Hans gathered information on the remaining five kings by reading the memories of the dominated Skeleton Knights and Dark Knights through Necromancy.

The one with the most information was the Zombie King mentioned by the Skeleton King.

A 4-Star ‘Bone Armored Giant Zombie King’ who controls 3-Star Bone Armored Zombies, which underwent a special evolution of fusing with Skeleton Knights rather than evolving from 2-Star Zombie Mutants into Ghouls.

He was a king who frequently coveted the Skeleton King’s territory because Skeleton Knights were required for the evolution.

Next with considerable information was the Decapitation King.

He too is a king leading a 4-Star ‘Dullahan’, which achieved a special evolution unlike the normal evolution route, like the Zombie King.

Because Dullahans are born only through a fusion evolution involving beheading a Dark Knight and forming an external Spirit Particle neural network connecting the severed head and body, he frequently plundered the main forces of the Skeleton King and the Wraith King.

Wraith King.

A king controlling wraith-type undead, the third lineage of undead following zombies and skeletons.

Under the 4-Star ‘Wraith King’ are 1-Star ‘Ghosts’, 2-Star ‘Will-o’-Wisps’, and 3-Star ‘Wraiths’.

Thanks to the Decapitation King, they are close to being allies, but interaction is minimal due to the Decapitation King’s territory lying between them.

Ghoul King.

Generally a 4-Star ‘Ghoul King’ controlling 3-Star Ghouls evolved from zombies.

As his territory was the farthest from the Skeleton King’s territory, information about him was also the least.

“The one sharing the widest border is the Zombie King.”

However, upon seeing the Bone Armored Zombies, the Zombie King’s main force, Hans realized a new application of Dark Fighting Spirit.

The technique of Skeleton Knights forming exoskeletons by excessively regenerating bones with Killing Intent is added to the Heavenly Demon Qi Art.

Clatter clatter clatter clack!

As if black bones interlocked, Heavenly Demon Qi covered Hans’s flesh in the form of exoskeleton armor.

It was the moment the Black Bone, a defensive Qi Art form of the Heavenly Demon Qi Art, was created.

Ssshh.

Having transformed into an appearance similar to a Dark Knight, Hans looked towards the direction of the Zombie King’s territory.

“Shall we start from there?”

Even if they were kings vying for hegemony at the Black Forest outskirts, they were ultimately 4-Stars.

He was confident he could defeat whomever he faced first.

Still, judging that the fight with the Zombie King, about whom he had the most information, would be easier, he was about to head there first when.

Da da da da!

―The Skeleton King is dead, so we shall take over the remaining Dark Knights!

The Decapitation King, sensing the Skeleton King’s death, invaded the Skeleton King’s territory first.

“Ah. You came on purpose because you wanted to die first.”

Since only the order of killing changed, not what needed to be done.

Hans gladly welcomed the Decapitation King’s army.