Chapter 1078

〈 Chapter 1078 〉 1078. Spirit’s Atlantis

Three hundred undead stood before me.

The dead ones charge at me without any sense of fear, their momentum downright menacing.

But upon closer inspection, it’s clear these guys are just chumps. Out of the three hundred, over two hundred are low-tier undead like skeletons and zombies. The rest are ghouls and skeleton knights, with less than ten death knights or dreadheads in sight.

Plus, they’re rushing in blindly without any strategy—just brute force.

‘This is basically them offering themselves up as snacks. Chen Guorui probably thinks I can only control the death knights.’

They seem to have judged that I can’t dominate high-tier undead.

‘It’s tough to control all high-tier undead. Their cost is too high, which limits the number of undead you can command.’

An elite few? In my opinion, what we need right now is a large number of undead.

It was impossible to dominate Wang Xuan with the power of the Golden Mask—it was a matter of cost. Wang Xuan’s cost was simply too high.

‘You gotta think about the worst-case scenario too. If I filled my ranks with only high-tier undead, Chen Guorui could potentially seize control of them.’

Even though I’m wearing the golden mask of Tutankhamun, I’m not a necromancer. I need to consider the possibility of losing control of the undead.

Crackle.

I activate Astrape, and a sapphire current runs along the blade of my sword.

I swing my sword towards the oncoming undead horde. The lightning-imbued blade sweeps through them. Skeletons and zombies crumble instantly, but the heavily armored death knights and dreadheads withstand the blow.

‘I took out around thirty?’

I unleash another wave of energy. Once again, only the skeletons and zombies get wiped out.

A headless knight wielding an iron mace approaches—it’s a dreadhead. It rushes forward quickly, raises its weapon, then hesitates. Suddenly, it smashes the mace into a nearby skeleton, shattering its skull into pieces.

I feel an invisible thread connecting me to the dreadhead. I’ve successfully dominated it.

“Eliminate them,” I command the dreadhead before clashing swords with an incoming death knight. A dark aura envelops the death knight’s blade.

In a contest of raw strength, I’m being pushed back. Pure physical power favors the death knight.

‘This guy… now that I’m up close, his leg armor is broken. He’s out of commission.’

I exchange blows with the death knight. It’s not easy. Death knights, made from the corpses of knights, retain their skills even in death.

‘In fact, many become even stronger after death—an immortal body that doesn’t tire, enhanced strength, and deathly aura…’

Truly deserving of their name, these death knights are formidable.

A sword slashes toward me from the right. Generally speaking, death knights’ techniques are quite straightforward.

‘Since they’re already dead, they don’t bother hiding their openings.’

I dodge the attack and step forward, closing the distance. My target is the elbow joint—a weak point in the armor. I slash at it. Though the armor prevents me from severing the arm completely, more than half of it hangs limply.

As undead, death knights don’t feel pain. He simply switches the sword to his other hand and continues fighting—a relentless killing machine.

But there’s a limit.

‘His skill has dropped. He must have been right-handed in life.’

I kick his sword away with my foot and stab my blade into the face hidden beneath his helmet.

‘Explode, Astrape!’

Zzzzzzzzzzzt!

I discharge all the electricity stored in my sword in one go. The death knight’s body shatters into pieces.


I froze in place. The electrified bastard’s body went up in flames. Then, a dark energy erupted from his body and ascended to the heavens. The corpse fell limp, now just an ordinary dead guy.

“What a splendid way to go…”

No time to get all emotional though—those undead still out there are aiming for me.

The battle’s over.

My spoils? Three Death Knights and five Dullahans. I could probably control more Death Knights if I wanted, but none of them really caught my fancy. Guess I’ll wait for better prey next time.

Rubbing my sore shoulder, I approached the pit.

“KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

King Xuan was still burning alive in the pit. Trapped by the iron chains, he writhed but couldn’t escape.

‘Dwarven craftsmanship never disappoints.’

I watched him with mild satisfaction. No clue how many times this guy has died already or how many more times I’ll have to kill him.

‘He ain’t getting out. It’s just a matter of time.’

So I waited patiently. Probably won’t take more than thirty minutes.

At some point, King Xuan stopped moving. His soul’s screams faded away. The body that survived fire and spears started to decay horribly. It didn’t take long for King Xuan to turn into ashes.

“H-Ha… Ha… Dammit…”

With those final words, King Xuan perished. I was slightly surprised that his willpower lasted until the end.

From afar, an angry voice boomed from the black pillar.

“DAMN IT!!! Do you know how much I invested into making THAT?! I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU, CHIENMA!!”

I smirked.

“What’s new?”

「You have slain King Xuan. Massive merit acquired.」

Merit.

That means rewards will be combined and given after everything is done.

To put it simply—if I succeed, jackpot. If I fail, I’m screwed.

•••

Skeletons: 200, Zombies: 170, Ghouls: 55, Dullahans: 15, Death Knights: 10, Skeleton Mage: 1.

This was my undead army.

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to command so many undead at once.

‘Guess this area’s influence affects me too. With no living beings around, just death everywhere—it makes things easier for necromancers and their minions.’

I gave it my all. There was no way to further enhance my full strength beyond this.

The counterattack began.

Leading my undead army, we charged toward the black pillar.

Ching Qiaoli opened the path. She deliberately let us advance, luring us right up to the black pillar. I knew it was a trap, but I had no other choice. I must destroy the black pillar and kill Ching Qiaoli.

Undead emerged from the ground, surrounding my forces.

“So you finally came. But it’s too late. Way too late.”

Ignoring Ching Qiaoli’s mocking voice, I summoned my spear.

“Astrape!”

I activated the skill. Lightning crackled from the spear as I threw it with all my might. My target—the red eye atop the black pillar.

It shot forward like lightning itself. But it was blocked by an invisible barrier protecting the eye and bounced back. I failed to pierce it.

“Hahaha, HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

His laugh was irritating.

‘If throwing doesn’t work… then I’ll climb up there and personally pop that eyeball!’

I ran toward the black pillar. Undead swarmed from every direction. My undead army clashed with Ching Qiaoli’s. They held their ground, buying me time. That alone made raising this army worthwhile.

But they wouldn’t last long—not against such overwhelming numbers and power. At best, they’d hold on for half an hour.

“Hell!!”

I pulled out my crimson staff and slammed it onto the ground.

「Crimson Drought

Summons a drought hell.

Each mana point summons 5 square meters of drought hell.

Only the ruler of the drought hell can use this ability.

Rank: SS」

This was the power of the staff I obtained from Hell.

The surrounding area transformed into a blood-red desert. The advancing undead stumbled and flailed. The black pillar remained steadfast.

“Chi’enma, I thank you.”

Ching Qiaoli’s voice reached me. I ignored it on purpose. The black pillar was right before me. Up close, it looked disturbingly alive, like a monstrous organism.

‘To kill him, I need to climb.’

I grabbed onto the black pillar and began climbing upward. Its surface pulsed with vein-like protrusions, twitching grotesquely. There were enough handholds to keep ascending…


The dots were good, but the warm and damp sensation was absolutely the worst.

“Having you around these past ten days made my time less boring.”

I charged mana into my hands and feet, then quickly climbed up the pillar. 10M, 20M, 30M… At around 60M, I felt the dark waves emitted by the black pillar directly hit my body.

「You sense Death Waves.」

「Your stats increase by 15%.」

Guess being in a state not much different from an undead actually worked as a buff for me. Energized, I climbed higher up the tower.

“You could say we’ve grown attached. Heheh. As a reward for entertaining me these past ten days, I’ll grant you the honor of becoming part of me.”

“Hmph. Heard there’s been an overabundance of nonsense recently. You’re done now—just wait. I’ll gouge out your eyeballs.”

“I already told you. It’s too late… far too late.”

Th-thump. Th-thump.

The black pillar pulsed like a heartbeat. As I climbed upward, I stopped when I sensed something ominous. I looked up. Only about 50M left to go, but the eye on top of the pillar moved downward before sinking back into the column itself.

‘Shit! What the hell is happening?!’

If I stayed here, I’d end up like a dog chasing chickens—pointless.

I clenched my teeth and summoned my Fire-Linked Blade, swinging it at the black pillar. The pillar, which seemed almost alive, was so hard it deflected the blade like it was nothing.

Zzzziiiiipppp!

I jammed the blade, now wrapped in red lightning and azure sword energy, forcefully into the pillar. The tip pierced through. My blade dug deeper inside, and blood began to spurt out. Gripping the hilt with both hands, I leaned back and pulled down hard.

A crack split open the surface, revealing the interior. I couldn’t help but feel an intense curiosity—what was inside this pillar? Leaning closer, I peered inside.

Inside the pillar was a giant curled up like a fetus. The giant twitched, lifting its bowed head. It had only one eye. Its eyelid trembled violently as it opened.

Our gazes met—its crimson pupil confirmed what I’d suspected: it was the same eye that had been atop the pillar.

“…Shit.”

Memories of the original story flooded back, and I realized exactly what was happening.

This pillar wasn’t just any structure—it was a kind of womb. Qing Guorui had sacrificed her own body to become the vessel for Valor’s physical form. This explained why his voice came from the pillar and why he couldn’t move on his own.

‘The purpose of Gathwall is to become a god. Merging with a deity is one way to achieve that.’

In other words, Qing Guorui had succeeded.

Valor’s goal was also achieved. He hadn’t manifested as a false god but as his true self in Atlantis.

The crouching giant stood up. He reached out his hand toward me. Panicking, I leaped down the pillar.

“System!! What are you doing?! Stop that thing immediately!!”

「Restrictions have already been applied to the heavy eye.」

“That’s not a false god—it’s the real deal! Am I wrong?!”

「Restrictions have already been applied.」

Before hitting the ground, I activated Flashing Lightning, temporarily turning my body into electricity to nullify the physical impact.

“So… you’re saying this is definitely the real deal?”

「Correct.」

The System remained calm. The deal between them was already done. The System had judged that Atlantis could handle Valor’s true form.

「The Lord of the Sky donates 100,000 AP.

“The hero shines brightest in times of crisis. Become the hero.”」

「The King of Markets watches over you.」

「The Hunter of the Moon watches over you.」

「The Adversary of the Sun watches over you.」

「The Flower of the Moon watches over you.」

「The Master of Gold watches over you.」

…

Dozens of divine thrones were watching me. A battle between a human and a true god—not just a false god manifestation—was enough to capture their interest.

‘This scene alone is enough to grab the attention of the divine thrones.’

The black pillar quivered. Its center split open, revealing the figure of a black giant. Compared to the pillar, the giant was relatively small at about 15M tall, likely due to the System’s restrictions.

‘Shit… I wanna run.’

Even with restrictions, this was still a god—a real god, not a fake one. Fundamentally, he was an overwhelmingly powerful existence.

‘But escaping this area is impossible. I have no choice but to fight him.’

I gripped the hilt tightly.

There’s only one option: I have to fight him.