Chapter 66 - Fort Polwyn (5)

The battle ended quickly with Kaen's victory.

"Whoa... I threw away all my clothes."

The blood mage tried to block Kaen's vision by collecting blood at the end, but it didn't work very well.

Thanks to that, Kaen's clothes were all covered in blood.

Still, I knew this would happen and brought a change of clothes, so it didn't matter too much.

Kaen, handed me a clean cloth, wipes his face.

[Basically, I know how to approach a swordsman against a wizard... Hmm... I'm wondering who the grandfather who was said to be a teacher is. Was there a swordsman with pink hair...? ]

Sierra looked over Caen's battle and muttered that.

'I hope you don't want to be as curious as the teacher...'

Fortunately, the swordsman had no children.

Even Sierra knew it.

Since Kaen and the Sword Saint did not mix even a handful of blood, it seems that Sierra has not even come close to the fact that her teacher is the Sword Saint.

Now it was time to claim the reward.

I didn't have to use it, it was a reward for Kaen.

It was a springboard for further use of 'Kaen Chance'.

Before that, there was work to be done.

"Miss Kaen, what's the first thing you should do after killing a blood mage in the blood mage's lair?"

"Umm... Do you want to check for bloodstone?"

"That's half the answer. You're looking for bloodstone. I'll look for the bodies of the victims."

We talked about it, and then we split up and searched for hiding places.

Well, I already knew, but there was no body.

There was nothing like that when I came here in the game.

You'd better not even imagine what he would have done with a body drained of blood.

I packed the reward for Caen and returned to him right away.

"I found the bloodstone."

As he said that, Kaen held a small red stone in his hand.

"To be precise, we should call it vampiric iron before it becomes bloodstone. Would you like to give it to me?"

I handed Kaen her vampiric iron, and I bit her finger, smearing her vampiric iron with her own blood.

Soon after, the blood-sucking iron made a hum and shattered into powder.

"Bloodstone has many recipes. However, if blood that does not follow the recipe flows in, it will be shattered like this. Their dreams and vain desires will be shattered."

Kaen listened to my explanation and nodded her head slowly.

I looked at her and continued her words.

"The recipe won't be here. Blood mages basically don't trust others, so they don't even keep a document."

I finished her explanation and threw her thing at her.

"What is this...? A ring...?"

Kaen accepts the ring I threw and gazes at it.

"I couldn't find the body... But I found this instead. It seems to be magical... It's solved, so wouldn't it be nice to receive a reward?"

It was a ring that increased attack power a little, but I didn't think it would be of much help to me.

As I handed Kaen her reward, I thought about the reward I had to earn.

Rich.

It was a matter of compensation for the bastard.

***

The day before the black-blooded trio and Polwyn's commander Mikhail left the fortress.

In other words, it was also the day before the lich was revived.

Returning from the night scouting without incident, I was in the state of investigating the lich without sleeping during the day.

Books written in the language of the demons were useful whether or not they were aiming for complete resurrection.

Because post-processing is overwhelmingly convenient.

However, Richie, who had undergone a complete resurrection, had no experience playing opponents in the game.

Even if the reward was better... It meant that his existence was becoming more dangerous.

In the end, it was a matter of whether I could handle it alone or not.

According to my plan, I would climb the snowy mountain and try to kill the lich as soon as it was resurrected.

So as long as I don't die to the lich, the lich won't hurt anyone else.

Besides, I had no intention of dying or hurting others because of my foolish greed.

There isn't much time left before the demon worshiper can resurrect the lich.

A pre-investigation of the lich before freezing was necessary.

It was only a few decades ago that the lich was active in the north.

So... He had to meet older people who had been through those days firsthand.

It wasn't even a normal person.

He had to be at least unmanned.

So, after asking the soldiers, he came to visit an old man who was a veteran soldier but now retired.

He was an Imperial soldier, and after the outbreak of war he joined the Allied Forces and retired.

"...Did you ask how strong the lich was at that time?"

"Yeah, I heard about the lich on a reconnaissance trip and I was curious about him. Just in case the elders knew something."

"Heh, Lichra... I miss you... You're lucky, I was there when I subdued the Lich."

"Is that true?"

The old man was just happy to see me asking a question, so he smiled and stroked his beard.

"You know that even riches are divided into classes..."

"There is a Lich who became undead by the demons and an Acrich who became undead himself, right?"

Yes.

Riches in this world are largely divided into two branches.

A lich who became undead by being empowered by demons, and a lich who walked the path of undead on his own without borrowing anyone's power.

In particular, the latter is an 'Archrich' and is a different person from an ordinary lich.

There is a big difference between a Rich and an Acrich, the presence or absence of a 'Life Vessel'.

Acrich hides a vessel containing his life force or soul called 'Life Vessel' in a place where no one can find it.

However, this Life Vessel was also Acrich's weakness.

Whether the Archlich was immortal or immortal, damage to the Life Vessel could have easily resulted in his death.

"Yes. I still remember the words he was arguing about. Even if he only had a fucking Life Vessel! So why did he fall for the evil tongues of the demons... Looking back now, he's an idiot, heh heh heh."

"Haha, that's... Funny guy."

I agreed with the old man's words and laughed broadly.

The lich I had to defeat this time was not an Acrich.

It was a lich who foolishly joined hands with the demons and became an undead.

So Aisin's ice magic alone could have killed him.

"Yes. He was ignorant... He was arrogant, and he talked a lot unnecessarily. He didn't tell us where and how to attack... It's shocking that Aisin, who is famous for being reticent, told us to shut up."

The old man spit out those words and then takes a glass of the high-quality liquor I bought.

Afterwards, I talked to the old man more and compared it to the lich I faced in the game.

'I think it's just about twice as strong.'

Reviving in a perfect state doesn't seem to add any special elements. It was only to the extent that the power of magic became stronger.

At that level, I decided that I could handle it alone.

The second boss, the lich, was both an undead and a warlock.

If I pay attention to the fact that he is a wizard, he has a 'Dispel' that can nullify magic, and considering that he is an undead, I have a 'necklace containing the warrior's blessing'.

The necklace was especially reassuring.

It was the blessing of the 'Hero'.

It was also easy to see in the game.

If you get this necklace first in the labyrinth, you can catch the next boss, the lich, very easily.

If you're a demon, you may have resistance to the light attribute, so it's a little more difficult. The lich in the game, who was only an undead, couldn't withstand the protection of the warrior.

I even had a reverse heaven, so if I used 2 cards, I could inflate the effect of the necklace.

Moreover, if it was his pattern, it was at the level of memorizing it.

"You'll have a drink too. But, didn't you say night scout?"

"Oh, I'm not good at drinking. It's okay."

"Sorry."

After that, I had a little more trivial conversation with the old man.

It was mostly just listening to what the old man was saying, but he was satisfied with that too.

On the way back after finishing the conversation with the old man, Sierra stopped in front of me in an empty alley and opened her mouth.

[A book written in the language of the demons... And even a lich... It looks like there's something to be learned, disciple. ]

"Yes. I'm returning the book to its owner. I've already found out who the owner is."

Now it was time to subdue the lich.

Aim for complete compensation, not incomplete compensation.

***

A man was standing in front of a large block of ice halfway up the snowy mountain.

Today is the day he has been waiting for and waiting for.

In his eyes, he sees the dead lich encased in a block of ice.

A black mage who became undead by borrowing the power of demons.

He thought that he, an apostle who followed the demon Helgenas, and the black magician who became a lich by the demons were similar in texture.

Resurrect Lich and deal damage to Fort Polwyn.

That was the order given to him by the 'Dark Church' he belonged to.

Fortress Polwyn is not easy.

Even if you resurrect a lich, you can never destroy it.

I don't know what the superiors mean, but they said it was enough to inflict damage.

He had no doubts about the order.

In the end, he firmly believed that everything would go according to the will of the demon Helgenas.

Even the fact that the commander will be away soon after he entered Pollewyn... I thought this must be a revelation from the Demon God.

However, there was one problem.

"Because I lost the book... A complete resurrection would be difficult, but it would be sufficient..."

The man muttered softly in front of the block of ice.

He had lost the book that would be used to resurrect the lich.

It was probably lost when being chased by the Yeti.

That there was a Yeti hideout nearby was information he hadn't heard yet.

Yeti... I could never deal with him with a poor body.

He somehow managed to get away from the brutal Yeti, but he couldn't find the book.

Luckily, I memorized important phrases.

Now the process he had to do was simple.

All he had to do was put his hand on the ice block where the lich would be trapped and recite the demon's spell.

Before long, the cold ice touched his hand, and it was when he tried to open his mouth to utter a spell.

He felt a presence behind him.

Someone was coming towards you.

'Today is the day off for the reconnaissance team, so no one will come here...?'

He hurriedly turned his head to confirm his identity.

What caught his eye was a man wearing a white bandage around his eyes.

An academy cadet who came to Fallwin for a field trip.

"Jetto... How are you...?"

"I'll meet you at a place like this, Buckland. Wasn't today a day off?"

Buckland was embarrassed.

Why did Jeto come here?

Why did he dare to come to this snowy mountain, in front of this block of ice, on a day when he could rest?

However, that question did not last long.

Jetto's meaningful words come out of his mouth.

"Should I call you... Not Buckland... Apostle...?"

"What are you really..."

Buckland said as he took out a sharp dagger from his bosom.

However, Jeto's words that followed were unexpected.

"Drinking Helgenas..."

"For..."

For Helgenas who drank.

After completing a short sentence with Zeto, Buckland thought.

Perhaps this man named Zeto is also an apostle of the Demon God like himself.

But Buckland was not letting go of his guard.

It is because he has not heard or seen that there is a blind apostle in the church.

While there was silence between the two, Jeto took something out of his arms.

At the same time Buckland's body trembled.

Jetto was a person with a different level of strength than himself, who tore the Yeti's neck with a single sword.

"He left it. It's an important item, so we shouldn't lose it."

What he held out to Buckland was a book.

It was a book he received from the church, containing the demon's spell to resurrect the lich.

Berkland accepted the book haphazardly.

However, the question mark on his face did not disappear.

"I thought it would be this day if I could resurrect the lich. Fortunately, it doesn't seem too late."

"Then you are like me..."

"Yes, it is. The place I infiltrated is a place after another... I'm sure we've never run into each other."

Buckland was able to understand only then.

The reason why he didn't recognize Jeto even though he was the same devil's apostle.

The Church had infiltrated an apostle into Innocence Academy.

If Jeto's true identity is discovered, things will escalate greatly.

No matter how much the church was, it would not be able to avoid damage, so the risk was great, so his identity was tightly hidden.

Buckland was moved by the greatness of the church and opened his mouth with a smile.

"Haha... I don't think the academy has an apostle... Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I can resurrect the lich to a full state."

"I won't report this mistake. Please be careful next time. The Beast Tribe who was with me almost found this book."

Buckland gave a small nod of his head and placed his hand on his block of ice again.

It was finally time for the lich to resurrect.

Buckland recited a spell while reading the difficult demonic language.

Around the time he had recited all the contents of a small book.

ㅡKoo-gu-gu-gung!

ㅡBreakfast... Gap...

Soon, the ice mass began to vibrate and crack.

"Success! I resurrected the lich!"

Buckland shouted excitedly and looked at Jeto.

In contrast, Zeto felt dry.

Maybe it's because I'm blind and can't see this scene.

Or is he just not as amazing as Richie?

Soon after, Jetto looks at Buckland and asks a question.

"...Then is the resurrection over now?"

"Yes, soon the lich that completely broke the ice block will come to Fallwyn. We must run away now. I am planning to escape from Fallwyn."

"Good. Hmm... Buckland, I have one last thing to say."

"Huh?"

"The book. You must never lose it, right?"

"Ah, if that's the case, don't worry."

Buckland replied and put his book into his arms.

'Thanks to that, I succeeded in completely resurrecting, but are they giving me face-to-face?'

When Buckland grumbled inwardly.

ㅡSureureung.

I hear the sound of a sword being unleashed.

Buckland's neck goes flying in the air.

"..."

Afterwards, Zeto, who spattered the blood on his sword, stood still in front of the cracking and shattering block of ice.

He was calmly waiting for Richie.

***

The most sleepy time after lunch on the wall of Polwyn Castle.

Lucia was yawning on top of the castle wall.

"Haaaaa... I'm sleepy..."

"..."

Orpheel, who was standing next to her, was looking down at the bottom of the castle wall without a word.

Orpheel hadn't dealt with Lucia well from before.

They, who were part of the guards guarding the wall, were spending their time leisurely.

"The scenery is nice because there is not much snow today."

Lucia struggled to open her flickering eyelids as she took in the northern scenery.

Then, something in the snowy mountains caught her eyes.

There was a strange block of ice.

Lucia was curious and asked her question to her guards beside her.

"Hey, what's that in the snowy mountain...?"

"Ah, the weather is nice, so I can see over there. That's the grave of a lich who died decades ago."

"Lee, Rich...?"

"Yes. It's a chunk of ice that was created when I caught a lich decades ago. Orphell, you know that, right?"

Orpheel, who was listening to the conversation between Lucia and the guards, nods to her.

And Orphel, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth.

"...I've heard it at least once in my family. He was proud of it, saying it was ice that would never melt."

"Really? It's amazing that it hasn't broken for decades...?!"

Lucia said to Orpheel, her eyes twinkling.

Orpheel looks at her blankly and answers her firmly.

"The ice of the Aisin family is not easily broken."

"Hehe... It's amazing..."

Lucia was standing at the edge of the wall, looking at her block of ice.

Then, a roar begins to be heard from far away.

ㅡKoo-gu-gu-gu-gung...

Hearing only the sound, I could hardly understand what had happened.

"What are you talking about...?"

"There is no construction work today?"

"Quickly find out what's going on."

The guards on the wall begin to get distracted.

According to Lucia, it was coming from that snowy mountain.

ㅡKoo-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung...

Before long, Lucia's eyes see the ice block halfway up the snowy mountain shattering.

"That... Orpheel..."

"Why?"

Orpheel tilts his head and approaches Lucia.

Lucia silently pointed her finger at the snowy mountain with her mouth open, and then Orphell's eyes also saw a block of ice shatter.

"Hey... A block of ice... It's broken...?"