Stop, Friendly Fire!
chapter-34-7

A few days before their scheduled hunt of one of the 12 generals, the heroes were discussing an unexpected topic inside the chatting channel.

[Lloyd H.K.: The Heaven Defying General. It fits him. After all, he's going around destroying cities. What exactly is his goal...]

[Ye Jin Jin: We talked about this before. That there were undead who acted against the Emperor...]

[Prince Altania: That doesn't prove anything.]

Before he entered the chatting channel, Lee Shin Woo told Ye Jin Jin that he was that Heaven Defying General. He'd told her without hesitating, as she already knew he was undead.

After that, Ye Jin Jin tried her best to keep the other heroes from looking at him, or the Heaven Defying General too negatively. However, that wasn't the easiest job in the world.

[Seira Von Retadane: It's meaningless. All undead are the same. They're the enemy of all humans.]

[Ethan Cruz: It's a tough problem. Since all the undead in the Empire are obsessed with the living. Even if it looks like they're intelligent, they revert to their undead nature when it matters most. Cooperating, huh. How can you trust him enough to cooperate with him?]

How shameless could he be to say something like that, when he himself was a Necromancer who controlled undead heroes. Lee Shin Woo spared his breath. Then, Seira Von Retadane even more forcefully expressed her opinion.

[Seira Von Retadane: This is the only thing Ethan and I agree on. It's impossible to form an alliance with the undead. Not only do the undead defy God, but they're also impurities of this world. Regardless of whether they're the other 12 generals or the Heaven Defying General, if they appear before you, you must kill them.]

[Erian Ruparte: I understand how you feel, Jin Jin. However, even I think that it would be impossible to cooperate with the undead. There's something you need to consider before relying on them. Can you really trust them to watch your back?]

[Silene Viesa: It doesn't make sense to form an alliance with the undead. Senior Ye Jin Jin, are you really a hero? You should know, as you've fought against the undead before. They cannot coexist with us. If they could, then would God have given us the order to purify them?]

Although Silene Viesa was the most recent hero, they had adapted to the Empire extremely quickly, as a result of fighting against the undead. Silene Viesa had done more in the Empire than Ye Jin Jin, and sometimes, they looked down on Ye Jin Jin.

[Lloyd H.K.: Silene, that's enough. Of course, I agree with you, but...]

[Prince Altania: Mm... Right?]

[Lloyd H.K.: What's with you?]

[Prince Altania: It's nothing. That's obvious. Mmm... I've never met an undead like that before, but I'm sure that that Heaven Defying General bastard has something else up his sleeve.]

[Seira Von Retadane: I think he's out of our league right now, so we should avoid him for now. ...Ethan Cruz, are you still going to proceed with your plan, despite everything that has happened?]

[Ethan Cruz: I think we should proceed because of what has happened. It'll become more difficult to hunt the 12 generals if the Empire's movements change, so shouldn't we go for it before then? With that in mind... everyone listen up. I've finalized the time, place, and the target. I know the way his troops are moving, so I plan on attacking first. I'll send the participants the location right away.]

[Prince Altania: Ooooh!]

[Silene Viesa: Keuk, I want to go too...]

Was it finally beginning? Despite an unknown force, the Heaven Defying General showing up in the Empire, it seemed like Ethan planned on going through with his plan. Soon, Lee Shin Woo was contacted by Ethan Cruz.

[Ethan Cruz: I believe in you, Super Rookie!]

[Lee Shin Woo: I believe in you too, Senior.]

[Ethan Cruz: Haha, flattery won't work.]

The battleground was a northeast area in the level 3 danger zone and was quite close to the level 4 danger zone, but because of the perilous mountain range behind it, there was a small possibility of enemies showing up.

It would be in three days at dusk when the Empire's artificial sun became dim.

Their target was the level 7 Beast General. Since Lee Shin Woo had never heard of him before, he assumed that Ethan Cruz had indeed picked the weakest amongst the 12 generals.

'The issue is whether this is all he has up his sleeve. The fact that he picked the grasslands right under a mountain range means that something is coming from across the mountains... Wait, could it be the Vulture General?'

A light bulb went off in Lee Shin Woo's head. An air force was plenty enough to stab the heroes in the back, and it explained why the Vulture General merely observed him, rather than fighting him. The Vulture General needed to capture the heroes, so he couldn't waste his forces on Lee Shin Woo.

Moreover, the city which sent a report, as well as where the Vulture General had sent his scouts, was the city that Ethan Cruz was talking about!

'Despite the fact that I gave them enough time to send a report, the other two cities didn't and just fell...'

Not all of the undead lords possessed a communication line to a general in case of an enemy attack. Even if they had one, they wouldn't always report to their superiors right away. Although they were incredibly loyal to the Empire and followed the Emperor's commands to the letter, some of them were incredibly laidback.

'There was also that lord who talked about the Golden Shadow, who had it strapped to his waist.'

But they had made it so that those two cities' reports wouldn't go through. Why? When he thought about the place Ethan Cruz had picked, it all became clear.

It seemed like he picked a spot furthest from where the Heaven Defying General was seen last so that he wouldn't interfere. But it would only take about half a day for the Paul Zero Corps to get there from where they were hidden.

"If I use my Command skill, then we could get there even quicker, but... Sorry I can't lead you myself."

[You empower us just by existing, Paul Zero! It may be difficult, but we'll get there in 4 hours no matter what!]

"Really? I'd really appreciate it if you came."

Did the effect of his Command skill increase that much from reaching the high rank level? In any case, it was better than them staying in a far off place where they would be of no help to him. He patted Chi Paul's shoulder, who had reassuringly replied to him and stood upright.

"Now, shall we get going and meet Retadane?"

"I guess it'll get busy now..."

"It's not too bad. Just be cautious of those you have to be cautious of, and kill anyone you have to kill. That's all you have to do."

Lee Shin Woo sat Kratia behind him atop Jin's back. Once he'd looked over his forces one last time, he looked at the sky, even though he knew that there weren't any scouts in the sky through Rem.

"The Vulture General, huh... I guess we'll end up facing him after all."

"You have a good idea, Kratia?"

"If you attach wings to Jin, then we can take care of him ourselves."

"Hey, don't put anything on me!"

Lee Shin Woo ignored the quarreling Jin and Kratia and worked on something he'd been postponing. Training the level 6 staff, the Bone Winged Serpent's skill: Serpent's Whirlwind.

"Hoo... I should get a feel for this before I meet Retadane."

"You're going to try it out?"

"Yeah."

Seira Von Retadane. Apparently, she wielded light magic. Light magic was like poison to the undead, and it was a power that every hero wanted.

If it was truly the opposite of the darkness element, or in other words, the ability to 'end relationships', then it made sense that its severing ability would be fatal against the undead. After all, all undead bodies and minds, which should've rotted away ages ago, were tied to this world through an 'unnatural connection'. If that connection was severed, then the undead would obviously die.

"...And that's why I've been avoiding her all this time."

"Yeah, I get it."

Lee Shin Woo was surprised when he obtained darkness magic, but he just accepted it and moved on. He had thought that the darkness element suited him, as he was an undead as well.

However, when he thought he might be able to use light magic by using his staff in tandem with his darkness magic, he suddenly felt a fear that he'd never experienced before.

'If the light magic were to destroy my very existence as an undead, then...'

Although it was a body created by God, he was still an undead. It was entirely possible that he would either be weakened or he would be killed.

Although he possessed Holy Resistance: MAX, he didn't yet know what the difference was between holy magic and light magic. In most novels, light magic and holy magic were usually similar, so he wondered if that would apply to this world as well. There was no way for him to be sure.

"So that's why you've been postponing it for so long."

"...To be honest, I attempted it before the staff evolved, but at the time, the staff's output was too low, so I failed."

The darkness element was clearly different from the other elements. When he'd awakened the darkness element, it was definitely described as a 'great element'. If that's the case, then the light element, which was its polar opposite, should be a 'great element' as well. The power of light was much too great for the staff at the time.

However, once the staff had evolved into the Bone Winged Serpent, he came to the conclusion that it would be able to convert the darkness element as well. If that was true, then all that was left was Lee Shin Woo's decision.

"Even if it damages me, I want to see it with my very own eyes before someone else uses it against me."

"...Shin Woo, don't use that on me."

"Wow, how considerate of you... Anyway, let's go."

Lee Shin Woo grabbed onto one of the Breath of the Lightning Gods, which floated in the air behind him as if protecting him, and converted it into a Bone Winged Serpent. And he carefully infused a small amount of darkness magic inside.

[Activating the Serpent's Whirlwind.]

The bone wings fluttered, and the infused power began swirling. The old staff would've stopped and blown a fuse in the middle, but it didn't this time. Although it didn't amplify it by very much, the darkness magic was definitely being converted into light!

"Shin Woo... You're ok, right?"

"...Yeah, for now."

Lee Shin Woo carefully stretched out his hand and grabbed onto the light. But at that moment, it felt like a power he hadn't even been aware of began to well up within him.

[Holy Resistance is reacting to the light magic. You have acquired Light Resistance: MAX. Magic has increased by 100.]

"...!?"

He'd been so worried about the light element, yet it all got resolved so easily!? Moreover, he acquired Light Resistance: MAX, yet only gained 100 magic in return? What a low stat gain.

Lee Shin Woo was filled with questions. The fact that he'd acquired Light Resistance, even though he already possessed Holy Resistance meant that they were different, but Holy Resistance responding and creating Light Resistance also meant that they weren't completely different either!

"Shin Woo, are you really ok? Shin Woo?"

"...I'm a bit dizzy, but my body is ok. Ah, you take it too."

"H-Huh!? Hey, stop! Kyaa!"

Lee Shin Woo mercilessly thrust the light magic at Jin. Why, you ask? If Jin was exposed to light magic, he would also gain Light Resistance: MAX, as he also possessed Holy Resistance: MAX. And as expected, Jin acquired Light Resistance: MAX! However...

"I think I'm going to level up!"

"Right now?"

"It's obvious something like this would happen. My magic suddenly went up by 100!"

And thus, Jin finally reached level 7. Lee Shin Woo continuously experimented with the light element while traveling towards his meeting spot with Retadane, but he didn't make any progress.