Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 199

199

Temple (1)

Ekhlahim, the royal capital called the heart of the northern continent. Eclahim Palace, the source of all the power that makes the heart beat.

The spacious palace hallways were cool and deserted.

Only the palace guards stood by the passages leading to the numerous crossroads, making as little noise as possible.

Step by step. Step by step.

The sound of Dallen and Felber’s footsteps echoed through the empty hallway without any filtering. How many times did I turn and how many stairs did I go down?

The place the two finally arrived was in front of a low door decorated with pure silver and blue jewels.

“…He said not to let anyone in.”

The guard guard guarding the door said. Felber waved the sleeves of his robe.

“It doesn’t matter. “We came to pick up that friend.”

“But he…”

“Are you going to have to deal with this old man because of the king’s ancestor, whom you don’t even know what name to call?”

Felber’s staff lightly taps the breastplate.

The guard captain’s eyes were slightly frowning through the gaps in his helmet, but on the contrary, his magnificent body wrapped in plate metal was stiff and motionless.

He is also a survivor of the battle that took place a few days ago. This was because he clearly remembered what kind of performance the wizard in front of him had done in this battle.

He is a being who has converted the magic techniques fired by hundreds of mercenary wizards into artillery fire at a level that cannot be defeated by the combined spells of the Royal Wizards.

According to popular rumors, it was said that the reason he disappeared from the castle walls at some point was to defeat the two great evils with other heroes.

Of course, it’s not like he never dealt with wizards before rising to the position of guard captain. However, at least the wizard in front of him was clearly beyond his capabilities.

Moreover, no matter how they deal with this wizard, the warrior who has been quietly watching from behind is…

“……”

The warrior’s black eyes look here beyond the narrow field of view of the helmet.

Black pupils that look like they’re about to be sucked in. The moment our gazes crossed, a feeling of suffocating helplessness spread throughout my body.

“Ugh…!”

The guard captain almost placed his hand on my waist without realizing it. After chewing his lip, he resisted the urge and took a few steps back.

gulp.

In the quiet hallway, the sound of swallowing was especially loud. The guard captain held his trembling legs and gestured to his subordinates.

“Open it.”

“yes? But….”

“These are people to whom the Tsarina granted the status of state guests as a special order before her death. “At least until the next Tsar reverses his decision, not even the Royal Guard that guards the Frost Throne Hall can block these people from entering.”

The guard captain opened his eyes and gave an order. The subordinates had no choice but to retreat to the left and right walls in confusion.

Although they are nothing compared to the monsters called transcendents, their leader, who guards the palace’s innermost chambers, is skilled enough to be called a superman.

If a captain like that shows such weakness, what level of existence has he reached?

These were soldiers who had already experienced the fear of an evil spirit that they could not resist a few days ago. The fear of the unknown being spread even faster into the hearts of the soldiers.

With their gazes increasingly colored with fear instead of doubt and curiosity, Dallan and Felber entered the door opened by the soldiers.

“…What have you done?”

“You didn’t do anything. “He kept glaring at the old man, so I just glared at him too.”

“Even with the hierarchy of demigods right in front of us, our mischievous habits haven’t gone anywhere.”

“well. “If you glare at others, you are prepared to be glared at yourself as well.”

Felber laughed heartily. Dallen just shrugged.

The inside of the door resembled a hall where the Frost Throne was located.

It was so cold that an ordinary person would freeze to death just by entering. My breath is so white that it feels like frost is settling into my mouth.

The only difference from the Frost Hall is that instead of a pure white snow field with no end in sight, there is a clear boundary between the walls and ceiling.

The source of the cold was the scepter that the Tsarina wielded.

And the Tsarina’s body was lying in front of the scepter that stood upright in the middle of the large room, with her hands clasped neatly together.

“Bjorn.”

The one-eyed master craftsman Bjorn Kaladrakum was sitting down next to him.

Felber sighed at the lack of response and took the lead.

“Bjorn my friend. “Dallen is awake.”

“…….”

“Isn’t he the only one who watched the Tsarina’s last moments? “I have something to tell you, so please stand up and listen.”

…What story?

While Dallen was confused by the words that were not discussed in advance, the dwarf turned his head heavily.

“…Dallen.”

His bearded face was haggard.

The few tear stains that had flowed down were frozen before they even dried, and his breath was so frozen that icicles hung from his beard.

The ends of his beard and hair, which had been frozen solid for several days, crumbled and fell off at the slightest movement.

Unlike a dwarf, he was particularly sensitive to the cold.

A dwarf whose beard would normally tremble even in the common snowstorms of the northern part of the continent, let alone this extreme cold.

Bjorn spoke in a quiet voice.

“This kid looks like Tasha.”

Passyuk.

A few strands of beard become brittle again. He looked down at the Tsarina’s face with hollow eyes.

Is it because he was completely frozen by the power of the scepter? The Tsarina’s body looked fresh, as if she had just died.

The blood stains on the tattered body were wiped away and the parts injured by the evil spirit were covered with colorful clothes and accessories so as not to look ugly.

The silver mask that covered half of his face was modeled after his face when he was alive, so it blended in seamlessly with the other half of his face.

A beautiful and calm appearance that does not remind one of the intense struggle that took place a few days ago.

Dallen looked at that face for a while and then said.

“The Tsarina called him great-grandfather.”

“That’s right. Tasha was this child’s maternal grandmother. The Tsarina was a woman as beautiful as her high status. “It’s really beautiful and doesn’t suit me at all when I used to dig up gemstones in caves in the mountains…”

Pop. Pop.

Tears flowing down again.

The sadness that flows down from the frozen marks condenses on the hardened beard and covers it with icicles.

Dallen looked down at the sadness in silence and was lost in thought.

The short conversation we had in the Frost Throne Hall and the runes engraved on the Tsarina’s arms still remained vivid in my mind.

The identity of Bjorn Kaladrakum, which was shrouded in mystery even in the game, was a descendant of an unknown dwarf dynasty that only appeared in the setting, and was also the ancestor of the current Tsarina.

I was wondering where and how they got the gunpowder technology that only two countries could properly utilize on a vast continent, and was there such a background?

The grieving dwarf told without hesitation all the secrets he had kept hidden all along.

“It wasn’t recorded in our relationship, but Tasha and I once loved each other passionately. She enthusiastically supported my research. “I gave up the throne and abandoned my people. Even when I left the family that accepted me again… she supported my choice.”

“…….”

“Maybe you thought I would come back someday. As I kept turning away under the pretext of research, more than a century passed by. “I couldn’t say a single warm word to this child who looks exactly like her…”

The end of the sentence was wet and trembling. The air settles heavily.

The dwarf, who had been shaking his shoulders slightly for a while, suddenly let out a deep sigh and raised his head.

“Dallen.”

He said.

“Are you going to kill the evil spirits?”

“exactly.”

The answer was without hesitation.

“What if they can’t defeat you and hide in hell?”

“Then I have to destroy that hell and kill it. “Every last one.”

“Yes, down to the last one… That’s right…”

Phew.

A deep breath exhaled slowly.

The frozen beard slowly melts and the acrid smell of burnt smoke spreads throughout the room.

Bjorn stood up, holding his knees. He said without taking his eyes off the Tsarina’s face.

“Then my hands are yours.”

The dwarf’s shoulders no longer trembled.

However, the black waves that started under his feet were calmly drawing concentric circles.

***

It has been ten days since the trumpet sound of victory sounded in the royal capital of Eklahim.

Three days have passed since the funeral, which left behind the fever of festivals and filled the streets of the city with the sound of wailing.

The group gathered in a meeting room rented from the Northern Continent branch of the Holy Knights.

This is the first time we have gathered in one place since the end of the war. This is because there was a mountain of work to be done at each position.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes Dallen. “I am fine.”

Lucia smiled faintly at Dallan’s question.

Of course, that didn’t mean the shadows under my eyes would disappear.

Her blue eyes were drenched with fatigue that she couldn’t hide, and even her blonde hair, which had never lost its shine, seemed to have become slightly dull.

The past ten days may have been busy for everyone for their own reasons, but Lucia has had more hectic days than anyone else.

“The interrogator did a great job. “This war would have required redrawing the power map of the Palace of Destruction, so the report I had to personally write would have taken hundreds of pages.”

Felber, who was savoring the scent of tea, said.

“As promised to the deceased Tsarina, I had to draft the expansion of the North Continent branch, and on top of that, I had to dispose of monster corpses and take care of the injured. “All the high-ranking knights who were dispatched returned to God’s side in battle, so even ten bodies would have been lacking.”

“…If the tower lord hadn’t helped me, I might have really died from overwork. thank you.”

“What do you think this old man did?”

Felber bursts into laughter and the atmosphere at the table softens.

Time passed quickly just by exchanging what we had done for the past 10 days in our respective places.

The second headquarters of the Holy Knights to be built in the north. The progress of mercenary wizards in creating their own magic tower. An agreement made between the Tsar’s royal family and the High Orc warchief. Even the plan to power the Tsarist state-of-the-art gunpowder corps.

While high-quality information is exchanged like small talk, consolation for what has been lost is also not left out.

Just as I was belatedly unraveling some of the thoughts I had accumulated over the past ten days, Felber cleared his throat and asked.

“So…what is our journey ahead Dallon?”

“Tell me honestly.”

Talk. Talk.

Fingers tapping on the table. Dallen opened his mouth while holding a steaming teacup.

“I don’t know what they’re saying about the well of Yeokcheon, a prophecy, Nabal, and fate. But one thing is certain.”

“…….”

“I will kill all five evil spirits.”

After the short declaration, silence fell on the table. Unlike the atmosphere just now, it was a weight that could never be called light.

Dallen drank the tea in one gulp and buried himself deeply in the soft backrest. He said.

“It will be very dangerous. I won’t force you. “You each decide whether to follow or not.”