Chapter 66 : Battle for the City of the Dead

The Skeleton King, who had been asleep for a long time, finally opened his eyes.

In the distant past, when he was entrusted with a divine mission, the city blessed with glory enjoyed a brilliant heyday.

But it did not last long.

The power that was believed to be chosen by God was actually a curse that led everyone to ruin.

The man who called himself a God, when his desires were not met, submerged everyone deep beneath the sea.

It has been so long now that even the name has been forgotten.

It was thought that they would remain forever submerged beneath the ocean, never to see the light of the outside world again.

Yet, someone shattered this cursed fortress.

Who could have awakened everyone from this eternal prison?

The man who called himself a God?

No. It was not the overwhelming power felt from him.

But it was similar.

A sacred aura.

The intruder was steadily approaching.

So the Skeleton King decided to test him.

Was he merely the foolish folly of a mortal, or the savior destined to break the curse placed upon them?

He commanded everyone asleep within the fortress.

Stop the intruder.

By any means necessary, resist him.

There were over a thousand ways to do so.

And all were beings with immortal bodies.

No matter how many times they were struck down, they revived again.

Without the power of a god, the intruder would not stand a chance.

Thus, the Skeleton King sat leisurely on his throne, waiting.

In truth, he held little expectation.

Even if the ancient curse was broken, it was after all just a mortal.

However, those thoughts were shattered spectacularly.

Flames blazed fiercely.

Reduced to a handful of ashes.

The Skeleton King’s gaze, watching this, flickered sharply.

Could this truly be the savior to rescue them from eternal life?

Curiosity arose.

How far could he go?

From that moment, hope began to grow.

How many times had he dreamed of someone appearing to sanctify them all in the pitch-black depths?

The intruder drew closer.

Before long, he stood in front of the tower.

The last remaining obstacle was the golem guarding the tower.

But this opponent was on a completely different level from those faced before.

Operated by a high-grade magic stone, it moved with self-awareness.

Its strong durability and monstrous strength easily wielded a giant sword, overpowering hundreds of black knights without effort.

Yet—

Kuga Kang—

What on earth was unfolding right before his eyes?

A giant bear appeared, confronting the statue.

It did not retreat an inch.

In fact, it overwhelmed the golem.

Demonstrating what brute strength truly meant, it smashed the formation.

Before he could fully comprehend the scene, the giant bear crushed the last statue and charged straight at him.

An overwhelming presence.

At that moment, the Skeleton King’s long-stalled heart seemed to beat.

How long had it been since he last saw such a strong force?

The thought of closing his eyes to death vanished.

This might be the last chance.

If he missed this, he would be left alone in the fortress, gradually losing himself in the endless curse.

Yet his body moved on its own.

The Demon Sword Avalanche.

A blade that freezes even the wielder’s soul, but its power was undeniable.

As he swung the sword, ice crystals formed.

A blizzard erupted, freezing everything.

Clack—

He aimed to choke the giant bear, but narrowly missed.

It surely felt it.

The bone-chilling cold seeping deep inside.

Though strong, this opponent was not easy.

Avalanche was unmatched in close combat.

It would never allow anyone near.

Approaching alone would freeze one instantly from the overwhelming cold.

Then—

From somewhere, a bright light flashed, and something unbelievable unfolded.

Thousands of skeleton soldiers.

The soldiers who were once subordinates to the Skeleton King now pointed their swords at him!

***

Sensing the danger, Bandal took a step back.

He was helpless.

The odds were bad.

He had already used a lot of strength to come this far.

It was unfair.

He needed to match power.

He checked the skeletons stored in the Undead Summoning Necklace.

[Summonable List]

Sentries (137)

Warriors (221)

Archers (114)

Assassins (45)

Farmers (311)

Cleaners (52)

Merchants (15)

Knights (10)

Pirate Crew Members (7)

Pirate Captain (1)

Mages (2)

Berserkers (36)

Spearmen (73)

There were so many.

Summoning all of them would exceed a thousand.

They had been thoroughly crushed.

No wonder Bandal was being pushed back.

A brief rest.

He took a break, eating the Replicated 3,000-Year-Old Ginseng Honey Jelly and drinking potions he had brought.

Who was going to stop that guy during this time?

Try it yourself.

Face an army of over a thousand alone!

“Summon all skeletons!”

With a tremendous flash, over a thousand skeletons were summoned.

Their weapons were varied.

Swords, spears, bows, axes, maces, scythes, picks, sickles, hoes.

Every fighter capable of battle was gathered.

What now?

Attack immediately.

All-out simultaneous assault.

Teach that guy sitting arrogantly over there a lesson.

That ice sword, whatever it is, is fierce, but he’s no match up close.

One swing of the sword and the surroundings freeze solid.

White blades swirl like a snowstorm.

But—

Clack! Clack!

Our skeletons aren’t so easily intimidated.

Freeze the skeletons a hundred times over.

Do they even feel the cold?

Come on, don’t stop, keep pushing forward.

Archers and mages provide cover from the rear.

Team kills?

Don’t care.

Just attack all of them.

We’ll summon them again tomorrow anyway.

Huh, but he’s holding up better than expected.

Maybe that’s why he’s not the final boss.

Wielding a giant sword, he rampaged through the allied lines.

Dozens of skeletons fell at once.

Frozen and shattered like new snow.

But they weren’t just retreating.

No matter how strong the enemy, our team has a thousand skeletons.

They couldn’t dodge the incoming arrows and fireballs from afar.

Clack!

Finally, the first arrow hit.

Shortly after, the second fireball struck.

Now, let’s finish this.

Pirate Crew Members, ready?

Clack!

He handed rifles to the crew members watching from afar.

Bows and magic are fine, but nothing beats the romance of powerful firepower rifles.

Ready, fire!

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

Red fireballs burst forth, aiming at the Skeleton King’s head.

A white ice wall appeared for defense, but it was impossible to block all the bullets pouring in from all directions.

One by one,

The Skeleton King allowed the effective hits and gradually began retreating.

Now.

It’s time for a fair fight!

Fully recovered, Bandal charged forward with tremendous momentum.

Then—

Flash!

The Skeleton King’s sword clashed against him.

Bandal’s arm looked as if it had frozen solid from the intense cold.

But—

Fwah-rok—

We have the Sacred Flame Bracelet made from Bbyak’s Feather.

This cold won’t last a moment.

The sacred flame wrapped around Bandal’s body, instantly dispelling the surrounding cold.

Then—

Flash!

The finishing blow.

With a giant hammer, the head of the Skeleton King was struck, and two skull vertebrae collapsed weakly.

[King of Lost Souls, Skeleton King has been defeated.]

[The curse upon the dead souls has been lifted.]

[Reward] Hidden Underwater Pirate Base: City of the Lost

[Reward] Legendary Demon Sword, Avalanche

A more difficult opponent than expected.

And the reward was equally great.

Especially the huge sword he wielded.

A demon sword—this is dangerous.

But none of that mattered now.

The weather cleared without a trace of gloom.

The curse over the island was lifted, and a new master appeared!

***

Crack!

As soon as the owner of the fortress changed, Bbyak flew in from afar.

The protective barrier that had blocked the entry of level 5 monsters disappeared.

“Big brother, I missed you.”

The five brothers quickly flew in and snuggled in his arms.

They had briefly parted, but were they really that eager to see him?

Now his arms barely held them all.

Maybe it was time for a power-up.

After hugging everyone once, it was Mint’s turn.

Then—

Bubu!

Mint said something.

Right. There was a reason they had come here.

An incredible treasure was hidden somewhere in this fortress.

Mint, riding on Choco’s back, began leading the way.

The plaza a little distance from the tower.

They had been heading straight to the tower and hadn’t noticed this place.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary plaza.

Except for the unusually many ruined remains, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But Mint’s radar device couldn’t be fooled.

The mischievous Mint pointed to a button submerged beneath the sea.

Bubu!

Come to think of it, it really looked like a fountain.

Mint pressed it?

Just in case, he poked his head out to check.

A mechanical device that didn’t fit the medieval surroundings.

That wasn’t all.

Some familiar Hangeul characters were visible.

“Phonetic characters?”

A three-tiered fountain.

Each tier had one character inscribed.

On the first tier was “Height.”

It read “Deep Sea” and “Surface.”

Apparently, pressing the button in sequence with the installed panels would activate it.

The reason the island floated was the same.

Currently, the dial was set to the surface.

But the inscriptions on the other two tiers were strange.

One read ON, OFF.

What did it turn on and off?

For now, it was best not to press anything.

No need to cause any trouble.

Then what about the last, third tier?

Open, Close.

Was this some sort of treasure storage?

Actually, one character still wasn’t understood.

It was the 10,459th dimension, so it was understandable.

After all, it was Earth.

A parallel universe.

As long as Hangeul was used, it was possible for a Korean story.

But this?

An underwater city submerged within the tower.

Hangeul was never seen anywhere else, but only on this fountain.

It was suspicious.

Let’s try activating it.

ON, OFF seemed scary, so start with Open, Close.

Turning the dial from the preset Close to Open, Bbyak pressed the button at the top of the fountain.

Kugugung—

The sound of machinery echoed from somewhere.

Where was it?

Looking around, the panel beneath the fountain opened.

It was darkest right beneath the lamp, so who would have thought there was a door here?

With an old grinding noise, the firmly closed floor opened wide.

It looked like a suspicious place at first glance.

Mint hurried to stop the others who wanted to rush forward.

We don’t know what’s inside, so don’t just go rushing in.

Whatever it is, safety first.

We also have a trap sensor.

“Pirate skeletons, you go first.”

Clack?

Sailor No. 2 gave a reluctant expression to the order.

“If you disappear, I’ll summon you again tomorrow.”

What choice did he have?

Orders must be followed.

If he felt unfair, he could become sanctified.

Clack.

In the end, Sailor No. 2 unwillingly went first.

Still, just in case, he was given a torch before descending.

Soon, the sound of clacking echoed from afar.

“What’s inside?”

Clack!

Unlike other monsters, the skeletons’ voices were impossible to understand.

No matter what they said, it was only clacking sounds.

Still, since it sounded muffled, it seemed there was no trap.

Of course, it was too early to relax.

Let’s check again and again.

Go, Sailor No. 3.

Just to be sure, check up to No. 8.

Shortly after.

Clack!

Safety was confirmed down to No. 8, the last sailor.

Fortunately, it was just an ordinary staircase.

They all descended underground together.

Pat—

Upon entering, the place lit up in all directions.

A vast interior came into view.

It resembled a laboratory.

But what was that?

“Experimental animals?”

Monsters suspended in large glass cylinders.

Although they had long since died, traces of experiments on monsters remained.

And—

– Test Log 1 –

A black file folder lay on the floor.