The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-201

Chapter 201 Corpse Queen (4)

‘…Ah-Aheuman?’

Vikir expressed his confusion behind the mask. The undead before him, while shriveled, clearly had brown skin and a fluttering mix of silver and black hair. Moreover, the tattoos on the body were undoubtedly those of Ballak.

Aheuman, the Ballak’s shaman.

Born with the bloodline of the Rococo tribe, he was an outstanding dark magician. Yes, he definitely died. Crushed and broken by Vikir in the Illiad, he eventually burned to death at the hands of his fellow tribesmen.

However, his tough and tenacious vitality, along with the determination, inferiority, misery, anger, jealousy, despair, greed, frustration, and hatred that he carried until the very end, had turned him into an undead in this place.

The once noble shaman of the indigenous people was no more.

[Ttak- Ttagak- Ttak!]

Only the undead, which could express its intentions solely through the clattering of teeth, remained hideously.

On the other hand, the Corpse Queen, looking at the Lich created from Aheuman’s corpse, spoke.

[We found something good in the aftermath of the battle in the Red and Black Mountains. This is the relatively recent corpse of a black magician.]

Aheuman, twisted inwardly so grotesquely that he couldn’t speak, could only make noise by clashing his teeth together. He became nothing more than a faithful puppet, following the Corpse Queen’s orders.

‘Why is Aheuman’s corpse, which should be in the hands of Ballak tribe here?’

Vikir pondered for a moment, but didn’t think much of it.

After all, not long ago, the knight from the Donquixote clan was also a puppet of Dantalian, right?

Moreover, the undead puppets of Baskerville, morg, and Quabadis, who were once alive, also became the targets of demons.

Given that collecting corpses and processing them into puppets is the devil’s specialty, nothing is surprising about it.

Furthermore, Vikir had no time to think deeply.

[Ttak- Ttak- Ttagak-]

The sound of teeth clashing echoed loudly.

As Aheuman’s Lich moved, an unpleasant aura spread through the air.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu…

The scattered bones started moving again.

Vikir narrowed his eyes.

In Aheuman’s previous life, his specialty was playing around with dead lives.

And now, as a Lich, his already malicious hobby became even more threatening to the entire field.

Wooddeuk! Wood!

As Aheuman’s Lich moved, a foul aura spread around him. Surprisingly, the undead around him began to rise again.

Even the previously dealt with Epebo, Pedo, and Hebe were resurrected, which was surprising. Unlike the immaculately restored Jeronto, Epebo, Pedo, and Hebe were in shambles.

But there was no need to restore them cleanly. Vikir realized that they were nothing more than hideous remnants making noise with their teeth, following the Corpse Queen’s orders faithfully.

As Aheuman waved his hand, three undead beings converged in one place. Hebe, Epebo, and Pedo’s bodies fused, complementing each other’s lost body parts.

[Carnal Flesh Golem]

Danger Level: A+

Size: 8m

Discovery Location: Realm of the Dead.

– Also known as the ‘Giant of Flesh Walls.’

A golem created using the flesh of once-living beings as materials. The original forms of the ingredients are almost unrecognizable, as miscellaneous meat chunks are crudely molded into a vaguely human shape.

It is a filthy and impure existence, but its power is undeniably formidable.

Another high-level undead emerged. A sturdy body with powerful arms and legs, a twisted face, all directed menacingly toward Vikir.

[Tak- Thud!]

[Grrrrrr… Splort-]

The lich and the Carnal Flesh Golem surrounded Vikir. Soon, the dark spear summoned by the lich and the fist of the Carnal Flesh Golem flew simultaneously.

“Hmm.”

Facing two A+ level threats, Vikir found it challenging to confront them head-on. Moreover, the lich and the Carnal Flesh Golem were high-level monsters whose strategies were difficult to discern at this point, forcing Vikir to continuously step back.

Around that time, the inferno of the Corpse Queen began to rage.

[Thud, thud, boom!]

The fiery spear struck Vikir.

The ground that the common spear had passed overturned into a long lava path, bubbling and boiling.

[Grrrr… Guaaaah!]

The Carnal Flesh Golem began to press Vikir with its massive body.

Aheuman’s lich, with teeth and jawbones grinding, summoned a black flame.

Vikir withdrew, shooting arrows, but due to the flesh shield created by the Carnal Flesh Golem, he couldn’t land a fatal blow on the Corpse Queen.

Soon, the Corpse Queen and her two high-level undead prepared for their final attacks. The clouds in the sky formed whirlwinds, and ominous mana moved in waves.

And then Vikir sensed it.

‘Fighting solely with a bow has its limits.’

The Corpse Queen could intercept distant enemies with the fiery spear and the undead pool summoned by the lich. Conversely, long-range attacks were blocked by the Carnal Flesh Golem’s large, resilient body.

Ultimately, relying solely on the power of Anubis had its limitations.

Just as Vikir was about to draw his sword.

[Hoaeng-]

His left wrist suddenly felt empty. Turning his head, he saw baby Madam who had disappeared into the ground earlier, running towards a distant place, chirping noisily.

Did the beasts sense danger beforehand?

Like a rat escaping a shipwreck first or a cat swimming to another river to avoid an earthquake, the baby madam, too, had left Vikir’s side.

Did pets leave their owners on the brink of life and death?

It was a deeply ominous sign, but Vikir paid it no mind and turned away.

“Well… You too must survive.”

There was no need to die needlessly in someone else’s fight. Since the creature had recently hatched from an egg, its life should still be full of possibilities.

‘I hope it can grow up and become strong like it’s mother.’

The only concern was whether there was a space within this wasteland for it to find food and stay.

‘Survive until the end.’

Taking his gaze away from the departing baby madam, Vikir looked back at the Corpse Queen.

Eventually.

[…Die, barbarian.]

The Corpse Queen raised a black sun above her head. The flames of hell bubbled and boiled like petroleum.

“…”

In the place where the pillar of terrifying flames descended, Vikir stood firmly on the ground, lowering his posture.

[Kiri-ri-rik! Thud!]

The black vines of the hell tree summoned by the lich and the giant hands of the Carnal Flesh Golem perfectly blocked Vikir’s escape route.

Vikir clenched his teeth. ‘Even in decay, still a formidable opponent.’

‘I thoroughly underestimated the queen of corpses.’

Although she was only half-transformed, her power reached an extraordinary level. However, Vikir did not retreat. The experiences imprinted on his entire bloodline, having killed Andromalius and Dantalian, made Vikir’s mana flow even hotter and faster.

Baskerville Style, Seventh Form.

Despite its small size, it had a clear seventh fang, the aura of a Peak graduator overflowed.

Phew-

Vikir pulled out the demonic sword Beelzebub from his wrist and swung it lightly. The seemingly insignificant movement, like a butterfly’s wingbeat, quickly generated a tremendous ripple effect.

Kururururur!

The storm of the aura, rotating rapidly in a circle, quickly formed a sphere, emitting a blinding crimson light.

The sun of the red aura ascended on the high tip of the sword, preparing to descend.

At the same time.

[Thud, thud, boom!]

The hell tree summoned by the lich, the fist of the Carnal Flesh Golem, the black sun of the corpse queen and the aura emitted by Vikir collided head-on.

The hell tree and the carnal flesh golem blew apart.

The seven fangs of Baskerville gathered in the shape of a sphere, ruthlessly annihilating everything in their path.

And the final showdown was between the black sun summoned by the Corpse Queen.

Ujijijijik!

Vikir’s red sun and the Corpse Queen’s black sun clashed, creating a hemisphere.

Buildings that had already been partially destroyed were completely obliterated.

Stones crumbled into sand, and the sand boiled.

From the center of the collision, the hot wind melted steel beams like cheese.

In the chaotic battlefield where everything was breaking apart.

“…!”

Vikir suddenly saw something strange. It was the red pupils of the Corpse Queen shining within her skull helmet.

Originally, Snake Morg, who was supposed to become the Corpse King as destined, had shining red eyes. Similar but distinctly different, yet somehow familiar in that gaze.

[…!?]

In her eyes, Vikir saw she was looking at his aura and the sword in his hand.

[…Wait a moment!]

The Corpse Queen, seeing Vikir’s aura, shouted urgently. It was a desperate yet urgent tone.