abcnovels
Chapter 101: The Return of the King 1
Chapter 101: The Return of the King 1
Chapter 101: The Return of the King 1
“They all ended up dying… and even their summoning ritual was unsuccessful.”
“Their deaths were an inevitable outcome.”
Even if they hadn’t committed suicide, the Behemoth would’ve killed them all.
After observing his surroundings for a moment, Woohyuk approached Amy’s corpse and revived her as an undead.
[Undead Amy]
- Class: Dark Assassin (Humanoid)
- Traits: Leadership (3,500), Shadow Kill (Hides within the enemy’s shadow and assassinates them from behind), Death Sentence (Casts fear upon the designated enemy that locks them in an illusion. May cast in a wide-area), Frenzy Dance (Temporarily gains additional stat points whenever an enemy is killed. The upper limit of the increase is 50% of the original stat)
- Stats:
Strength 227
Vitality 215
Dexterity 244
Intelligence 135
Spirit 197
‘As I thought, she retained her traits.’
Amongst the elite undeads Woohyuk had gathered to this day, none were oriented towards assassination.
This new one would be quite useful if he utilized her efficiently.
“Wha-what did you do?! Did you resurrect Amy?”
Princess Lizbeth expressed her astonishment as she saw Amy stand back up with a paper-white face.
Woohyuk calmed her down and revived Agatha as an undead as well.
[Undead Agatha]
- Class: Dark Mage (Humanoid)
- Traits: Leadership (1,500), Calm Analysis (Can read the status window of a target with lower total stats than herself), Frozen Heart (Decreases the effectiveness of ice magic up to 65%) Ice Bolt (Shoots a ball of ice at the target), Ice Strike (Creates protruding ice spears on a selected spot)
- Stats
Strength 84
Vitality 79
Dexterity 68
Intelligence 217
Spirit 204
‘Her intelligence and spirit stats are a lot higher than her growth stage.’
Indeed, his eyes hadn’t deceived him.
Agatha’s sense of magic was comparable to Yoo Kayoung.
However, since she was already dead, he had to make do with just her corpse, and not the actual human body full of potential.
While Woohyuk stood in his pool of disappointment, Princess Lizbeth eyes turned cold and mumbled.
“It is wrong to utilize the bodies of the dead…”
Her morals and mindset could not deem Woohyuk’s actions as acceptable.
“Why do you think so? These people don’t have souls anymore.”
“But they were living people at some point.”
Even if it were the corpse of an evil assassin like Amy, the princess couldn’t accept the use of her body, because a human using the corpses of other humans was no different to demons.
Princess Lizbeth expressed her viewpoint, and Woohyuk stepped forward and stood in front of her.
“Then do you believe it’s acceptable to sacrifice the living instead of using the dead to replace them?”
“If they’re all fighting according to their beliefs…”
“Then do you not care no matter how many people die?”
Woohyuk had experienced countless wars during his past 40 years.
Everybody fought according to their beliefs and opinions. The result to that was misery and demise.
The subjective views of justice couldn’t solve any problems as all of the opinions differed.
‘The Eeth Continent needs one supreme overlord.’
The Holy Aperian Empire had lost its previous powers and influence due to the internal conflict between the Pope and the Emperor, and was in no state to lead the entire continent to solve the international problems that would arise.
It was the same case with the Theresian Empire in the east.
With the long peace, corruption had crept its way inside the government. The thought that no problem would ever arise had spread in everyone’s minds. Meanwhile, the emperor was an incapable leader, and couldn’t mediate the conflict between the princes.
To solve the international problems that would arise, the world needed a new overlord.
Moreover, Woohyuk’s previous turn at life had proved that he was the only one capable enough to stand in that position.
“That’s… You’ll begin wars to protect the peace…?”
“If we don’t respond proactively, the situation will only worsen.”
Woohyuk knew of the tragedies of war better than anyone else.
However, the reason he wouldn’t hesitate to spark international conflicts was because he knew it was the best solution.
He had to gain supremacy over the Eeth Continent before the other Overlords would rise to power. That would lessen the damage as much as possible.
His necromancer class and the Seven Color Rainbow Ring were all for that purpose.
Both gave enormous powers, and Woohyuk believed that they should never fall into the hands of people like Logan and Marcus.
Princess Lizbeth blinked her eyes as Woohyuk finished his explanation.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“I will need your help for my future plans.”
Princess Lizbeth was King Henry’s only daughter.
If he gained her support, the Izuna Kingdom wouldn’t easily turn its back on Woohyuk.
This was one of the reasons Woohyuk had spent so much of his precious time to rescue the princess.
“I will not object anymore if you will truly use that power for the sake of peace. No actually, I never had the right to object from the start. You are my savior, so how could I ever think of opposing you…”
Woohyuk had risked his life and infiltrated the enemy camp alone. Had he not done that, Princess Lizbeth would not have been rescued this safely, as Behemoth, the demonic beast would’ve annihilated the rescue army and wrecked havoc upon the Izuna Kingdom.
Therefore, Princess Lizbeth was conscious of the debt she owed towards Woohyuk.
“Let us return to the surface now.”
“...Yes.”
As their debate came to a close, Woohyuk headed towards the 1st floor to capture the alchemist Lucas who was experimenting with living bodies.
Clack!
As the door opened, the mad scientist who was dissecting a chimera opened his eyes wide.
“Wh-who are you?! Why are you…”
Thump!
Woohyuk’s fist flew even before the man could finish his sentence.
“Urgh…”
Lucas let out a groan after getting punched in the face, and fell to the ground.
Woohyuk lifted him up and clumsily dragged him to the wall before pushing him against it.
“How much do you know about the Witch Cult?”
“I, I don’t…”
Whack!
“A, Amy! She is the executive who assists the Witch of Envy! I’m just a researcher who creates chimeras in this lab. So please don’t kill me!”
He spoke after a single hit.
Woohyuk didn’t even have to force the information out of the man.
As he asked the researcher a few more questions, a certain sound resounded behind the door.
Creak.
It was Agnes who was guarding the stairs between the entrance and the first floor.
“Urk… heim? Why do you have a human’s appearance? Did you get experimented on by Lucas already?”
She had descended due to the sudden noises downstairs.
“Perfect timing.”
Woohyuk released Lucas’ collar and walked to Agnes.
He extended his hand towards her and Agnes’ body began to drag itself towards him like a magnet.
“Eh… Eh?!”
“I am your new master.”
With Amy’s death, Agnes’ owner was undetermined. Therefore, Woohyuk utilized the power of Asura to take control by force.
“Wait, you… are you a demon king?”
“No, my name is Chun Woohyuk.”
He couldn’t explain too much as Princess Lizbeth was listening to them.
He wrapped his right arm around Agnes, who was still showing her hostility, and turned towards Lucas again.
“Don’t try to do anything stupid, Lucas.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Cold sweat ran down his neck as he stepped away from Princess Lizbeth, who he had planned to take as a hostage.
As he dropped the scalpel in his hand, Woohyuk spoke again.
“If you try something like that again, I won’t let it slide.”
“...”
A warning containing explicit killing intent.
Lucas nodded with a terrified expression.
“Then let’s head upstairs.”
By now, the chimeras on the surface would’ve gotten defeated by the army.
Woohyuk ignored the complaining Agnes in his arm as he pointed the Vampiric Dagger towards Lucas’ back.
***
Woohyuk was generously greeted as he returned to the kingdom with the Witch Cult subjugation army.
When King Henry amicably welcomed Woohyuk with open arms, the vassals could only bow their heads and show their best behavior.
Thanks to this event, the bond between the Rhine Kingdom and the Izuna Kingdom became indescribably strong. A marriage alliance between the two countries could even potentially be proposed.
In fact, during the banquet hosted by the royal family, Woohyuk sat right next to Princess Lizbeth and had several conversations with members of the royal family.
Once a sufficient exchange had taken place,
“Are you leaving already? You should stay here for a while longer. What a pity.”
“Ah, well it would be problematic for me to keep the throne empty for too long.”
Woohyuk was slowly preparing to return to the Rhine Kingdom.
“Please come visit us again when you have time. You are always welcome to our castle.”
“I will come visit again. This time, officially.”
King Henry lent many battleships to Woohyuk to ensure his safe return to the Rhine Kingdom.
The power of the Izuna fleet was world class.
No pirates would ever approach them during their journey.
While they were unnecessary escorts, Woohyuk accepted this favor.
“Wow, this is truly an amazing sight.”
Tinia let out her amazement as she watched Port Delphoa from the ship’s deck.
Silvia was also astonished, as she couldn’t close her mouth and kept observing her surroundings.
“I never thought we’d cross the sea like this. Did you seduce Princess Lizbeth in the castle or something, Brother-in-law?”
“Jeez, watch your mouth. No matter what anyone says, the one who belongs next to Woohyuk is me.”
Tinia stuck to his side as she put her tongue out.
Choi Kayoon sighed as she watched her actions.
“Royals marry between royals. Now matter how pretty you are, it would be difficult for you to become a mercenary bride.”
“It’s fine, Woohyuk said he’d give us a title. But why are you interfering? You’re not jealous, are you?”
“I, I’m not. I’m not interested in men.”
“Hm… That’s suspicious. Let’s see… Woohyuk bought that dress for you, right? It looks too expensive for something you bought on your own.”
Tinia closely observed Choi Kayoon and stared at Woohyuk.
Her eyes were demanding an answer from him.
Woohyuk shook his head as he sighed.
“It was a disguise we needed to infiltrate. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Is that so? Oh well, there’s no way you’d cheat on me with a woman like her.”
“I’m not in any kind of special relationship with you, though.”
“How come? Didn’t we share a deep kiss in the middle of the night while I was fully naked?”
Tinia hugged Woohyuk’s arm with a sorrowful face.
However, the man who was silently listening on the side, Sieg, intervened in the conversation.
“My lord, as presumptuous as it may be of me, shouldn’t you take responsibility for Tinia if you’ve gone that far with her?”
“...Tinia just entered my room on her own. All we did was kiss, so let’s stop talking about this since I’m giving her a noble title.”
“What a pity. It was the perfect opportunity for Tinia to become the queen of a kingdom…”
“Aren’t you revealing your true intentions a bit too easily, Sieg?”
Woohyuk stared at him in surprise.
At that moment, Agnes creaked as she appeared on the deck.
“Urkhei… I mean, Lord Asura. I’m here to report.”
“How is Lucas doing?”
“He shows symptoms of anxiety but doesn’t appear to resort to self-harm.”
“But continue keeping an eye on him since we never know what he plans to do. But don’t disturb him just because you feel bored.”
“Hiik…? I, I understand.”
Agnes flinched and showed guilt on her face before returning beneath the deck.
Sieg spoke as he watched her back.
“Are you keeping her powers sealed on purpose?”
“I’m planning to keep her like that for a while.”
Dark spirits like her were artificial beings, so there was the possibility of her breaking down if she overused her abilities.
Therefore, he was planning on asking for Song Anna’s help once he returned to Heidelberg.
If she later obtains the chance to make a contract with more spirits, Agnes would be able to use her powers in a safer manner.
As Woohyuk sank in deep thoughts, he heard a trumpet announce the departure.
The battleship began to advance on the sea and the eyes of the party gathered towards the horizon.
“We’re finally leaving, sister.”
“Yeah. We finally are.”
Tinia and Silvia turned to Sieg with eyes filled with expectations.
Sieg smiled kindly and patted the two sisters’ heads.
“Let’s start anew in the Rhine Kingdom. That place will be safer than the Izuna Kingdom. Am I correct, My Lord?”
“Obviously.”
As most of the problems within the country had been solved already, the Rhine Kingdom was a lot more peaceful than other places.
Its only problem was the issues that came from the outside, especially the Golden Rose Society that was led by Aleister Crowley. That organization was a significant variable within Woohyuk’s plans.
Woohyuk steeled himself as he gazed upon the long horizon with the others.