Chapter 77

Manzhi felt something unusual about Lamber.

As the highest-ranking necromancer of this era, Manzhi could sense the inhuman aura emanating from Lamber.

The dense miasma that enveloped Lamber in a combat-ready state was enough to make Manzhi, who had been complacent in the one-sided hunt, raise his guard.

(Is this oppressive feeling from the miasma? If so, then it must be an undead... But to maintain such a level of self-awareness, it would have to be a high-ranking lich. If such a being existed, I would have heard of it through the 'Chimera's Tail'... But even if he is human, he is no ordinary one. It's unsettling that such a being did not appear in my preliminary investigations. Could he be a guild adventurer?)

A lich is a necromancer who has obtained eternal life by casting a curse on themselves, transforming into an ageless body.

Due to the breakdown of their life functions, mental state, and mana, they are said to suffer significant deterioration. However, compared to ordinary undead, it is easier for them to maintain their self-awareness.

Dormilion, who bound his mana to his skull and lived for two hundred years with a slime-like body, also falls under the broad category of lich.

However, there are no precedents for undead that can maintain a completely stable self-awareness with only an extraordinarily strong will and mana. Therefore, there are no words to define Lamber's state.

Manzhi glared at Lamber and raised his hand.

"I will eliminate any uncertain factors. It's fortunate that my hands are free."

The undead guarding Manzhi's sides drew their swords and charged at Lamber.

(The ones I brought here are not just any subordinates. I directly inscribed magical circuits into them using the Book of Gailof, the finest magical medium. One might be able to handle a single one, even if it's as strong as Robin Hood, but two would be too much to handle!)

The mana infused in their bodies ignored the brain's control and propelled them at a speed beyond their limits.

The physical abilities of the two undead far exceeded their living states.

They kicked off the ground in front of Lamber and scattered to the left and right.

One of the undead took a position in Lamber's blind spot.

It was a perfect move.

Manzhi even relaxed his lips and sighed in admiration. Even after creating many undead, he rarely saw such agile movements.

These were created from the bodies of elite adventurers from the adventurer city of Baraila, whose bodies were honed through daily training.

"Hehe, hehehehe! Wonderful! I am moved. Thank you, adventurers. Thank you for training your bodies so hard to become my puppets...! There are too many wonderful corpses here!"

Manzhi, overwhelmed with emotion, called out with a blissful look in his hideous face, spreading his arms wide.

Robin Hood, while keeping Yunos at bay, was also watching Lamber and Manzhi from the corner of his eye, but he was astonished by the movements of the two undead.

(I thought the strength came from Yunos' body, but it's different! As long as the body is minimally trained, I can create undead of that level on the spot! A simple strategy to deal a fatal blow with two, but with that level of perfected movement and the durability of the undead, it's beyond the realm of human capability...!)

Undead do not stop after being cut once or twice.

To defeat them, one must destroy the joints, burn them, or destroy most of the spine and brain.

Since their attacks do not stop even when cut, it is impossible to defend against their unconventional sword techniques that ignore evasion and defense.

And these were being executed from two directions with the movements of top-tier swordsmen.

Two blades aimed for Lamber's neck, slashing from different directions.

"Wonderful! Hehehehe!"

With that voice, fresh blood splattered, and the two undead corpses were cut and sent flying in different directions.

The upper bodies of the two undead, from the chest up, were smashed into the walls and crushed.

The two lower bodies of the undead that remained around Lamber did not move.

"Wh-what? What?"

As a necromancer, Manzhi, who was not even a swordsman, could not follow the speed of Lamber's blade, and he was confused.

The upper bodies of the two approaching undead had vanished.

It was more like magic than swordsmanship.

"Are you praising my sword? You're a strange one."

"N-no, not human... Impossible, such a thing... My enhanced undead...!"

"That book... Is it human skin? Could it be Gailof's grimoire?"

Lamber shook the blood off his greatsword and asked Manzhi.

"Can you recognize Gailof's grimoire just by looking at it...? You are indeed a lich!"

"I am a lich?"

"Are you denying it? No one who is not a necromancer could identify Gailof's grimoire at first glance!"

"I have seen it before. I didn't expect to resolve a long-standing regret in such an unexpected way. But I didn't think it would still exist after two hundred years."

"What... What are you talking about...?"

"I was the one who slew Gailof. Not being able to secure his grimoire was my greatest regret."

"Wh-what!"

Due to the machinations of a single alchemist, the Argolos Kingdom became a brutal and savage nation, repeatedly engaging in reckless wars and inhumane attacks.

The one who put an end to this was Lamber, one of the Four Demon Generals of the Legion Kingdom at the time.

Two hundred years ago, in the highest floor of the Argolos Palace.

Lamber confronted Gailof, who had been driven into a corner and was creating a wall of corpses with mad spirits and large-scale necromancy, and struck him down head-on.

However, Gailof, the worst alchemist in human history, was not so easily defeated.

Just before being slain by Lamber, Gailof transferred his grimoire, a testament to his life, to the hands of a distant disciple.

Leaving a significant scar in this world, he maintained his connection to his magic and the spirits of the otherworld he had contracted.

This final obsession of the worst war criminal in history, who is said to have caused the deaths of ten million people, ultimately overwhelmed Lamber.

As a result, for the next two hundred years, Gailof's grudge would change hands and continue to build mountains of corpses.

"So, my mistake was there."

Lamber's anger and excitement intensified, and the miasma around him became even denser.

"How absurd! Are you claiming to be the traitorous Four Demon General, Lamber! No way such a thing could be possible!"

"Indeed. I am Lamber de Dracow, the lowest of the Four Demon Generals, who tarnished history's end. I will cut down that cursed grimoire along with you."

Lamber said coldly and readied his greatsword.

Manzhi, with his thick, drooping eyelids, opened his eyes wide and glared at Lamber.