Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1170: In Gamma

---A day later, Gamma---

Seated on an ostentatious palanquin that also acted as a throne, her gaze drifted over the ruins of Gamma. She had to admit, judging by the ruins that were left, that this world used to have a great civilization. Technological advancements without any magic were fascinating.

Not really desirable if you already have advanced magitech, but interesting nonetheless. There were zones across the myriad worlds of the Pathworks, that lacked magic, or had anti-magic zones. There were even places that blocked the usage of skills.

It was rare to get a chance to see this kind of civilization, as they would usually completely cut off their connections to the Pathworks, once they got the hang of how to do it. She only had this chance because this world was abnormally riddled with terrifying catastrophes. It was almost a shame, that she was going to crush everything that

Only almost.

Things had changed a lot in the past two years for her. Ever since she was able to become the chosen of Kali in one of the new territories her standing the the Family had risen. During the evaluation of Chrona, she managed to get her hands on undead with great potential and even managed to return to Spatia with a quasi-legendary skeleton dragon, that could rival legends.

With this kind of power, her Durnham family had even risen to the standing of royalty, just below the imperial family. Their land had expanded to the size of a kingdom. There was only one blemish on her rise to power.

The humiliation she suffered at the hands of the bard. Although her deeds at the evaluation were an overall success, he had gotten in her way and thwarted her plans. His vulgar song and dance that mocked her and played with her emotions was the worst. She had never felt so helpless and ashamed. She couldn't sleep comfortably with her pride trampled like that. He had to pay. All of them had to pay.

To make matters worse, they kept resisting! Like an infestation that just couldn't be stopped. Nothing they had done so far worked. On the contrary, they kept losing resources and personnel. However, this time, they had created the perfect pretext to come here personally. It cost a lot, but she would make sure to flatten them with her own hands.

“Have the troops gathered?” she asked, looking up from the cityscape, dotted with the burning spires of Arget Nore. The undead empire had no chance against the traitor they supported. The Book of Death, the holy relic of Anubis, was unbeatable in a land of Death like they created here.

As a necromancer herself, she could feel the dark energy of the land nurturing her, making the usage and growth of skills easier. Once they dealt with Delta and Minas Mar, maybe she would really set up a residence here. Even when this world was full of dangers, she was pretty confident. What could there possibly be that could threaten her?

“Yes, Your Highness. Everyone has arrived now,” the servant that approached answered respectfully. The reason she was sitting here idle, was because they waited for the troops from Spatia to pass through the teleportation gate. Now the district below her was filled with almost 20,000 high-level soldiers, it had taken almost a full day to transfer them all here.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Originally, they would have gone directly to Delta, but the connection to the central district was lost. Most likely something had happened with the demons. Either Bragmomal betrayed them and broke their loose alliance or, the more likely assumption, Minas Mar has interfered. Either way, it forced them to gather at the closest teleport point they controlled, Gamma.

“Good, have them board the swarm, we will set off as soon as everyone is seated,” she instructed. Nervously, the attendant looked to the sky above, covered in dark clouds. Circling above them, creating a tornado of doom, were rotten shadows in numbers so great he could hardly make out any individuals.

Natina's confidence was not just based on her skeleton dragon, which had risen to legendary status after she fully refined it with her improved skills. Thanks to the dragon, she was able to improve herself and her undead army by leaps and bounds.

What calamities? She laughed at the notion. She was the horde, and the horde would spread across Urth. She would kill and absorb anything that dared to get in her way! She would make all of Minas Mar and all of Urth her undead servants and force the bard to watch as she played with their lives. She couldn't help but silently chuckle at the thought of her revenge.

As she got off her palanquin, the mountain-size skeleton dragon that towered behind her, lifted its head attentively. The hollow eye sockets glowed with a purple hue and a tinge of intelligence. All around the city ruins, the undead beasts flying in the skies soared to the ground, to pick up their human cargo.

Undead Wyverns, giant bats, zombie eagles, several bone dragons, other huge birds, and flying beasts could be seen in her swarm, landing on the ground to pick up her army. She herself obviously climbed on the back of her dragon, where they built a small pavilion for her and her executive staff to stay and meet.

...

His fingers wandered over the smooth, cold surface of the book's obsidian pages. They were pale but looked no different from living flesh. He enjoyed the sensation of touch, having finally regained his senses of when he was alive and not a lich. It was all thanks to this book.

Yet, he looked out the window of his spire in melancholy. He watched the overwhelming undead army and Spatia's human troops ascend to the cloud, leaving to subjugate Delta. At this sigh, he couldn't help but question his actions.

Did he make the right decision? He had worked with them and doomed his world to exist under the rampant tyranny of a bratty little girl. Yet, he could regret it. The only reason he had the leeway to think like this, was because his yearnings had been satisfied.

He had escaped the suppression of Arget Nore and gained an almost living body thanks to the decisions he made. Maybe the lives of everyone else in the world were not necessarily a sacrifice he was willing to make... But he would probably not change anything if he got thrust into the same situation again.

But that didn't mean that he could try to mitigate the damages of his actions. After the forces of Spatia left the ground, the falcon-headed warrior of Anubis suddenly rose all over the city and pursued them!

Now that they were all in the air, they were vulnerable to fall damage! Even high-level players had little chance of surviving a fall at total velocity on concrete! He would drop them like flies and-

“That was a really stupid decision, kiddo.”

He heard a voice behind him, but when he turned around, the scene in front of his eyes already started tilting. With a thunk, his severed head fell to the ground. He was an undead lich, severing his head was not lethal to him.

Looking up from the ground, he found an unkempt middle-aged man sitting on the small sideboard at the wall behind him. He was still holding the long, sleek sword that had just severed his head. He belonged to Spatia and was probably a legend. But even a legend couldn't kill him if they didn't have-

“Save the arrogant little sneer, I already have your phylactery,” he said emotionless and suddenly crushed a crystal in his hands. It was the phylactery he was forced to use under the supervision of Arget Nore's elders.

With a loud cinematic screech, the head and body turned to dust before the legendary man's eyes. The many unceremoniously stepped to the pile of ashes and looked through it for the Book of the Dead, however, it was not there. The lich also didn't drop an item box. And the army of Anubis also stopped their attack on Natina's swarm.

With a displeased grumble, he realized that they may have underestimated their collaborator.

...

Somewhere else in Gamma, a new Jackal Warrior stepped out of the shadows, carrying the black book in his hands. Even a legend couldn't kill him if they didn't have- The Book of the Dead.

He had long since unshackled himself from the phylactery using the spells of the book. As long as it was in the land of death, he could infinitely revive himself, as long as he held possession of the book.

The perfect conditions to harass Spatia until they managed to leave the district borders.