The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-200

Chapter 200 Corpse Queen (3)

Night Hunter clad in the mask of a plague doctor, and shrouded in a bloody red aura.

The Queen of the corpses concealed her identity with skeletal armor and helmet. Amid the crumbling and devastated battlefield, a man and a woman rose with determination.

“We dogs live by gnawing on bones.”

[A dog revealing its teeth without knowing its purpose should be killed.]

Vikir surged his mana. Simultaneously, Baby Madam on his left wrist spat out spider silk towards the front.

Splat-

The opponent’s vision was obscured by the sticky mist-like white mucus that spread out in a web-like pattern. When the spider silk landed on the Queen of Corpses’ face, she wiped it away with the hem of her cloak.

[…Where did this disgusting creature come from?]

Through her reaction, Vikir could be certain of one thing.

‘The current Corpse Queen is weaker than the corpse king he fought before his regression.’

The “King of Corpses,” who dominated the realm of death and controlled the massacre of the dead, was a terrifying demon that had prevailed in the era of destruction. How many living beings had despaired in front of that gruesome demonic black magic, which unearthed corpses buried in death and led countless undead diseases.

However, the current Corpse Queen had little combat experience, in reacting to such light attacks.

“Hasn’t it been long since the contract was formed? Human memories from the time when she was still a novice black magician are still ingrained in her. The memories of the time when she was still a novice black magician…”

Andromalius, who had a contract with Seth Le Baskerville, was the same. Even after death, Andromalius’ fear of Hugo remained deeply embedded in his bones, the terror that Seth’s body remembered, leading him to make critical errors at critical times.

And the contractor of Sere in front of him seemed to be in a similar situation.

“She’s pretty weak now. I surely lucked out.”

Facing on of the ten supreme demons, one couldn’t afford to be complacent. However, there was still a bit of a more hopeful thought.

Flutter-

Vikir withdrew after blocking the Corpse Queen’s vision with Baby Madam’s spider silk.

‘Keeping a distance and intercepting with the bow, then close in with the sword when the distance is narrowed.’

The Corpse Queen is unaware of the Night Hound’s main weapon.

It was much more advantageous for Vikir that the main weapon on the other side was black magic.

Vikir took advantage of the moment when Baby Madam’s spider silk curtain struck, and stepping back he quickly drew Anubis.

Black Bow Anubis.

Vikir took out five arrows, then aimed tightly.

At that moment.

[…!]

Seeing Vikir’s posture shooting the bow, the Corpse Queen hesitated for a moment right there. The eye gaze within the skull wavered.

A slight hesitation. It sank in an instant, and instead, what filled the void was…

[You’re a fucking barbarian! How dare you! I’ll crush you!]

It was a rage so intense that it could burn down the entire world and still have enough to spare.

The fierce anger was enough to make the surrounding air rise as a fiery sea, turning the surroundings into a sea of flames.

Even Vikir couldn’t help but be stunned by this terrifying momentum.

‘What? Why is she burning like that?’

I don’t know why she got so angry.

However, the Corpse Queen, who had shown a calm attitude just a moment ago, suddenly changed her attitude, narrowing the distance and unleashing a hellish fury.

[You filthy barbarian! Try blocking this with that pathetic bow!]

At the same time, the surrounding flames began to take on the shape of a long spear.

Kwa-Kwa-Crash!

Vikir rolled on the ground to avoid the spear, which seemed to be aimed at him.

Crash! Qua-qua-crash! Qua-qua-qua-crash!

The spear of fire was not just one. Dozens of black spears cut through the ground and soared into the air. The earth and stones touched by the passing spears melted into a reddish mush, spreading in the wake of the hellish flames. The wasteland was transforming into a lava zone.

…Thud!

As Vikir rolled on the ground to avoid the spear of fire,

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The ground seemed to hollow out, and from beneath, common steel thorns started shooting up.

[POOL OF DEATH!]

In the pit of death created by the Corpse Queen, sharply forged iron bars, shaped like snakes, aimed for Vikir.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

The steel snakes burrowed into Vikir in an instant.

Vikir was pierced by numerous steel bars in an instant.

[Insolent barbarian. Making a fuss and ending up like this.]

Sensing that the battle was over, the Corpse Queen slowed her pace. However,

“…Indeed. Even though you’re incomplete, you’re still one of the ten corpse”

Vikir effortlessly pulled out the steel bars stuck in his body.

Thud-thud-thud!

The steel snakes fell to the ground.

The soul of the Fog Lizard, trapped in the cursed Beelzebub, instantly regenerated his wounds.

Tss-tss-tss-tss…

By the time Vikir emerged from the pit of death, all the wounds were cleanly healed. Only the cloak covering him was a bit tattered.

[…What? How?]

The Corpse Queen tilted her head in puzzlement.

However, the Night Hound didn’t answer the demon’s question.

Vikir once again widened the distance and fired arrows.

Boom-boom-boom-bang!

Five arrows almost consecutively flew. Vikir showcased Aiyen’s skill, the most skilled archer among the Ballak’s warriors.

Although the arrows curved in different directions, in the end, they all aimed for a single target.

[…Indeed, the detestable archery of ‘Aiyen’ is unmistakable. I tried to be moderate, but it seems impossible. I won’t kill you elegantly.]

Purple veins appeared on the Corpse Queen’s neck.

Kururuk!

Soon, elements tainted by the dark mana, such as black ice, black fire, black earth, black wind, and black skeletons, aimed for Vikir in rapid succession.

So many simultaneous castings would be unimaginable for ordinary magicians. However, Vikir was familiar with such phenomena. Having seen many unreasonable things in his past life, he was accustomed to it.

——————

Churarak!

Vikir flicked his left hand.

A wire extended from his sleeve and hooked onto the steel frame of a partially destroyed building.

[Twit!]

Baby Madam. Vikir, propelled into the air by the thread she spit out, and was able to flee the magical storm in an instant.

At the same time.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-bang!

Arrows flew again, targeting the Corpse Queen.

Jjeojjeojeok!

Skeletons, zombies, and ghouls emerging from the ground gathered together to block the arrows.

However,

…Crash!

The wall of bones and flesh broke so easily.

Chi-iiiiik-

Everything touched by the arrows melted away. The potent venom emanating from Anubis even forced the Corpse Queen to step back.

She grabbed the hand of the recently resurrected Gerento and retreated.

“Disgusting venom. As expected, you barbarians know how to take and ruin what’s precious to others.”

“…Why do you dislike the natives so much?”

“Do I dislike them? Hahaha-”

The Corpse Queen laughed as if it was absurd.

Soon, she revealed her lips slightly under the bone mask and asked.

“What’s the relationship between you, the ‘Night Fox,’ and her child?”

Without hesitation, Vikir answered, “I am a Ballak.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Corpse Queen’s anger swept over terrifyingly.

[If that’s the case, you must have been there on ‘that night’ at ‘that place.’ Unforgivable!]

Soon after, the Corpse Queen pulled something out from under her cloak.

It was a black bundle, an ominous item dripping with dark mana.

Flutter-

The Corpse Queen pulled the black bundle and threw it on the ground.

And immediately, what was inside the bundle poured out with clattering sounds.

Clatter-clatter-clatter…

It was bones.

Bones that seemed to have been burned, covered in ash and imprinted with the marks of beast fangs.

Moreover, most of the bones were already broken and had signs of decay.

The Corpse Queen, after throwing these bones on the ground, infused them with the mana of darkness.

Tss-tss-tss-tss-tss…

Soon, the bones started rattling and moving.

A curtain of darkness covered them, allowing the bones to experience a semblance of life once again.

Vikir looked at the newly resurrected undead in front of him.

It was a living corpse, covered in dried flesh on a skeleton.

A high-ranking undead draped in the mana of darkness.

[Lich]

Danger Level: A+

Size: 3m

Discovery Location: Abyss Depths

– Also known as the ‘Noble Undead.’

Some magicians have created a completely new form of restraint that transcends the constraints of time.

They tied their souls to the chains of darkness held by the unknown giant hand lurking in the depths of the magical abyss, granting them an immortal existence.

…However, they did not know.

After obtaining immortality, would their age still be the same? Or would they continue to age even after gaining immortality?

Blinded by immediate achievement, the magicians who became Liches sank into the abyss without undergoing appropriate funeral procedures, and after a long time, not even their once-living bodies remained, dissipating like dust.

However, even so, the soul trapped at the bottom of the abyss still remained, thinking of itself as a magician.

Forever.

Lich. A demonic being classified as extremely high-risk.

Even more powerful and dreadful than Gerento he faced before, a new entity appeared.

[Grrrr…]

The newly arrived Lich descended to the ground, its jawbone rattling, and soon sat before the Corpse Queen.

And then.

“…?”

Vikir somehow found the face of the Lich quite familiar.

[Right. A barbarian of Ballak must be killed by another barbarian of Ballak.]

The Corpse Queen laughed with a voice that seemed to have sighed too much.

Kurururur!

Under the queen’s command, the Lich raised the mana of darkness.

It was only now that Vikir could recognize the face of the resurrected Lich.

“…!”

Brown skin, a mix of black and silver hair.

Behind the mask, Vikir’s eyes widened as if they were about to tear apart.

Only now could Vikir truly recognize the resurrected Lich’s face.

No, it wasn’t just recognition; he knew it very well.

…How could he forget?

The face of the person he spent the previous two years within the Ballak tribe.