Chapter 217

　　Chapter 217: Dorian the Phantom Thief

　　“…!” Aleister was caught by surprise .

　　He was hundreds of meters away from Kang Chul-In, but that vicious Overlord was already at his doorstep .

　　Judging from his speed, most people wouldn’t even know why and how they died .

　　”!كیسونغ“ In that instant, Aleister hurriedly chanted a spell to summon a bone wall .

　　Crack!

　　The bone wall shattered in the blink of an eye .

　　“Huk!” Aleister gasped .

　　Chulkuk,

　　Swishhh!

　　Kang Chul-In swung his Demon Sword Kaiforce at Aleister .

　　-Kyaaaaahhh!

　　At that moment, a shadow rapidly charged towards Kang Chul-In while letting out a terrifying scream .

　　-Kyaaak!

　　-Kehe!

　　-Kekeke!

　　It wasn’t just one .

　　Four female undead monsters with different skin colors were seen .

　　Huh .

　　Kang Chul-In could immediately identify them .

　　Banshees .

　　Banshees had incredible agility that was five times that of a man . They boasted great attack and movement speed .

　　Moreover, each skin color indicated a different unique ability, which made dealing with these banshees extremely tricky . Even Kang Chul-In could have some difficulties against them .

　　-Kyaaak!

　　A blood banshee with crimson-red skin swung her 15 centimetre long claws at Kang Chul-In .

　　Known as ‘Fresh Blood of Christmas’, this claw attack could infect its victim with hemophiliac curse, causing the victim to bleed to death .

　　-Kekeke!

　　This time, a blue-skinned arctic banshee ambushed Kang Chul-In from the back, releasing an icy aura . Her attack, known as ‘Cold Embrace’, could freeze the victim to death .

　　-Kehee!

　　Next, a black-skinned demonic banshee attacked Kang Chul-In with a life draining attack called ‘Kiss of Death’, and a white-skinned electronic banshee tried to electrocute him with ‘Thunder G.o.d’s Aura’ .

　　These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds .

　　A corner of Kang Chul-In’s mouth twitched momentarily .

　　The banshees were attacking him from the north, south, east and west . In normal circ.u.mstances, Kang Chul-In would have been in some trouble .

　　However,

　　“Get lost, small fries!” Kang Chul-In bellowed and mingled with the banshees .

　　Who could stop him with the [Full Moon] buff activated?

　　The banshees were launching a deadly attack indeed, but it was no threat to the buffed-up Kang Chul-In .

　　It didn’t take long for him to mangle the banshees .

　　Crack, crack!

　　Light Sword Mitra, the ultimate counter to the undead monsters, was held in his left hand .

　　Chulkuk!

　　Kaiforce, the bloodthirsty demon sword, was held on his right .

　　Swinging the contrasting two swords, Kang Chul-In showed dynamic movement resembling a fierce predator . He pushed the undead female warriors back courageously .

　　 ***

　　”!المفاعل النوويالأول في“

　　”!سیئول ودیع“

　　"مشروع قانون من جانب واحد بسبب امتلاك“ Meanwhile, Aleister was constantly chanting necromancy spells .

　　It was a good battle strategy .

　　While the banshees were pressuring Kang Chul-In, Aleister was preparing the perfect condition to use the Death Calling .

　　C-Crack!

　　A crack propagated through the ground .

　　-Keuhhhhh . . .

　　About a thousand ghouls emerged from the ground, their bodies swollen and dripping with rotten sap .

　　-Come . . .

　　-Come… with us . . .

　　-To the deep… cold underground . . .

　　These were not ordinary ghouls .

　　They were ghosts of drowned corpses .

　　In other words, Aleister was summoning drowned victims as undead monsters, instead of using the fallen soldiers on the battlefield .

　　His intention was to hold Kang Chul-In in place, as the ghosts of drowned victims tended to not let go of others .

　　” . . . بیة تختبر تشغیل“ Aleister refused to stop .

　　“ من الخبراء في كوریا الجنوبیة اليوم الاربعاء من ان التجارب . . . النوویة الكوریة . . . الشمالية“ He kept chanting spells to summon even more powerful undead monsters .

　　-Keek, Keeek?!

　　Among them were ten level 65 spider monsters called ‘atlach nacha’ .

　　Their job was obviously to hold Kang Chul-In as well .

　　The spider webs from atlach nacha, called ‘Chain of Restraint’, were strong enough to disable even the largest of monsters . It was enough to shackle Kang Chul-In .

　　Chuk!

　　50 skeleton knights appeared from nowhere and surrounded Aleister to protect him .

　　Necromantic Vanguard .

　　These knights were newly appointed replacements for the death knights who were wiped out in the Fox Valley battle .

　　Aleister felt safe under their protection . He grasped the epic item ‘Jadeite Skull Wand’ tightly .

　　This wand had a jade-colored skull the size of a volleyball attached to its shank . It was an incredible item which amplified mana by a whopping 200% for 10 seconds .

　　I shall end you fast, Kang Chul-In!

　　Aleister now acknowledged that he was weaker than his opponent . Therefore, he gathered all his strength to put an end to the strongest and most evil Overlord of all . He was a practical man who could make sound judgment, instead of deploying unnecessary courage .

　　Moreover, there was no doubt that it was the wisest move he could have made in that situation .

　　Ooongggg!

　　The dark mana started to vibrate,

　　Sssss…!

　　The skull wand spurted flashes of green light in all directions .

　　” . وریا الجنوبیة الیوم . . . الاربع ,اء من“

　　Subsequently, Aleister began chanting the most powerful spell he knew, ‘Necromantic Field’ .

　　Necromantic Field was a super high-level magic that boosted all undead monsters within a 1,600m² range of the user by 250% .

　　In addition, it shaved 10% of the stats off of any living person stepping in the field for three seconds . In total, a living person lost 30% of their power just by standing there .

　　It made allies stronger and enemies weaker .

　　With this Necromantic Field, Aleister could hunt down even Kang Chul-In, the strongest figure in the whole of Pangaea .

　　However, it was easier said than done .

　　مطلع العام المقبل بعد استكمال كافة الإجرا ءات . . . من التصاریو . . . الوثائق اللازمة منب . . . حكومة مدینة سیئول حتىالآن لتطویر أرا"

　　 . ضي شركة كیبكو، نب“

　　The Necromantic Field was almost complete .

　　Bang!

　　An intense sound thundered in the surroundings as rotten flesh, blood, and bones scattered everywhere .

　　-Kyaaaak!

　　-Keeeek!

　　The banshees let out their final shriek .

　　And,

　　Swis.h.!.+

　　A huge whirlwind headed straight towards Aleister, tearing everything apart in its path .

　　“W-What?!”

　　Aleister instinctively sensed danger and flung his body to the side .

　　Necromantic Field aside, it was game over if he got caught in that vortex .

　　Bangggg!

　　A vicious whirlwind swept the place where Aleister was chanting his spells at . It also crossed over to the Omega Fortress .

　　Cras.h.!.+

　　The infrastructures built with hard rocks collapsed like a sandcastle .

　　“Argh!” Aleister, who barely managed to dodge the whirlwind, was astonished by what he was witnessing .

　　His surroundings were completely barren .

　　Only the shattered bones of the Necromantic Vanguard were tossing around on the floor .

　　“You thought you could stop me with these small fries, Aleister?” Kang Chul-In emerged from the thick curtain of dust, with an annoying smile, his trademark, on his face .

　　“M-monster…!” Aleister turned pale . He backed off despite being an Overlord .

　　He was terrified .

　　Kang Chul-In was strong beyond his wildest imagination .

　　How could a man just tear four banshees apart in a second, and also use that powerful ability just now?

　　He couldn’t believe his eyes .

　　H-How . . .

　　Aleister was shocked once again .

　　You… a human… not even a single scratch?

　　Kang Chul-In appeared to be injury-free, other than a torn cape and a slightly worn-down armor .

　　n.o.body would believe that he was in a battle just moments ago .

　　It was all possible due to the [Full Moon] buff and [Spellthirst] ability, but Aleister had no idea of course .

　　All he could do was struggle in terror . . .

　　“Eeeeek! S-stop, stop him!” Aleister almost screamed .

　　-Come… with us . . .

　　-Kak, Kaaakk!

　　-Kelkelkel!

　　In response, all kinds of undead monsters began to charge straight at Kang Chul-In .

　　I will kill you, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

　　At the same time, Aleister whipped out his black pipe and placed it on his lips with a murderous intent .

　　He had to use his trump card .

　　He failed to set up the Necromantic Field, but he couldn’t just sit there and wait for impending death .

　　Moreover, his trump card let him have the power of the Death G.o.d even without deploying the Necromantic Field .

　　Beeep . . .

　　It was the flute that brought death .

　　Death Calling, the item that could guarantee death on a single target, began to play its deadly melody .

　　Beeeeep!

　　A sharp screech resonated and then,

　　Squeak, squeak!

　　A rat’s squeaking could be heard .

　　Squeak, squeak!

　　It wasn’t just one or two .

　　Squeak!

　　Squeaaaaak!

　　In fact, a whole bunch of rats appeared from nowhere and began to crowd around Aleister, covering the ground like a pitch black floor mat .

　　 ***

　　-Woof, woof!

　　After running for a few miles, Jackpot stopped in front of a wall .

　　It was just a normal wall that looks no different from the ones the crew saw on the way there .

　　“Ah, that was easy . ” Dorian, however, seemed to notice something else .

　　“Is it here, your Majesty?” Podolski questioned Dorian with a hint of skepticism .

　　“Yep, this is it . ”

　　“How can you tell?”

　　“Jackpot says so . ”

　　“T-That’s all?”

　　“Well, not just that . ” Dorian pointed at that particular wall .

　　“These skull-shaped faucets form a marker . ”

　　“Hmm… I can’t really tell . . . There are skull-shaped faucets everywhere, and isn’t this place a drain? There’s easily a thousand of them . ”

　　“That’s true . But it’s a little different here . ”

　　“ . . . ?”

　　“Let me explain . ” Dorian held chalk and marked a dot on the skull-shaped faucet with it .

　　“If I name this faucet vertex A as in a triangle, the faucet on the lower left will be vertex B, and the one on the right will be vertex C . A perfect triangle, isn’t it?”

　　“Yes . ”

　　“Now, if I name this faucet down here vertex A as in a reverse triangle, this is B and that is C . If we merge these two triangles… Tadah! It becomes like this!” Dorian showed his drawings to Podolski and Nieu in an exaggerated fas.h.i.+on .

　　“Oh wow, it’s a hexagram?” Nieu tried to look knowledgeable .

　　“You are right, it’s the Star of David . It may be pure coincidence, but if the wall that Jackpot pinpointed also has this sort of pattern on it, do we still have to be skeptical?” Dorian grinned .

　　“ . . . !”

　　“ . . . !”

　　Podolski and Nieu were very surprised .

　　It was justifiable .

　　Who knew that Dorian, the number one idiot, had such brilliance in him?

　　“I-Is that trustworthy? I’m not doubting your Majesty, but you seemed to have figured it out too easily . ”

　　“I understand your concerns . ” Dorian shrugged casually at Podolski’s cautious remark .

　　“I haven’t had many opportunities to test this chap’s abilities . Right, Jack?”

　　-Woof, woof!

　　Dorian threw a dog dental chew to Jackpot . It was a reward for locating the secret channel .

　　“It looks extremely easy, but you have to remember that Jackpot is an S-rank Seeker . He’s so good that he makes it look easy . ”

　　“I-Is that so?”

　　“Of course!” Dorian beat his chest and gave a confident expression . Still, that didn’t really persuade Podolski .

　　“Anyway, I’m certain that the Nekromantik Bay is behind this wall . The problem is… how do we get through it… wait a second?”

　　“Yes, your Majesty . ”

　　 Dorian excused himself and started to turn the faucets one by one .

　　“Hmm… opening this may be pretty difficult . Unless we break the wall open, we will have to turn the faucets one by one to guess the correct pa.s.sword . ”

　　“A p-pa.s.sword?”

　　“Yep . And that’s not all . I believe there’s some sort of voice-recognition magic casted on this wall . Almost guaranteed . Seems like it’s gonna be tricky . ”

　　“I beg your pardon…?”

　　“Aleister’s a lich, which makes imitating his voice next to impossible . His voice operates on a completely different wavelength from that of a human . Therefore, it is impossible to deceive the magic sensor implanted here . Tsk, Aleister you cautious p.r.i.c.k!”

　　“So, there’s nothing we can do?” Podolski seemed disappointed .

　　It wasn’t disappointment directed towards Dorian, but more towards the fact that they might not be able to obtain the life vessel .

　　“What nothing? Of course there is!” Dorian spoke with confidence .

　　“R-Really?”

　　“Is that true?”

　　Podolski and Nieu’s faces brightened from those delightful words .

　　“Of course~! This is my specialty we’re talking about . I’m even better than Kang Chul-In in this aspect, did you know that?”

　　Afterwards, Dorian rummaged through his backpack to whip out a flask containing a silver liquid .

　　“Hu-hu… This shall do the trick!” Dorian gave a cunning and confident sn.i.g.g.e.r, similar to Kang Chul-In’s .

　　“Call me Dorian the Phantom Thief from now! Nyahaahahahaha~!”

　　Dorian Explorer (Tomb Raider/29 years old) .

　　Indeed, he was THE expert at robbing graves and treasure deposits .