Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 139
Chapter 139: Episode 42. Soul Cavalry (2)
It took three days and nights to arrive at our destination.
It was a huge mountain made of bones. It was a place where Skeleton Soldiers were buried.
“The Commander of the South made a secret place under here and hid the Soul Cavalry. Why did he do that?” Oswen asked, tilting his head.
I laughed. “You were the one who did it.”
“I just can’t understand. I, as the blacksmith, hate the Hell Lord. But I think ‘I’ as the Commander of the South wanted to be the Hell Lord himself. Perhaps he thought like that since the real Hell Lord hasn’t come back for a long time.”
“So there was a different point of view.”
“Yes, and I think I’m probably not the only one who thought so. The other commanders may have thought the same. They have been like that for so long. So even if the real Hell Lord comes back, they will not easily heed to him.”
There was no exaggeration in Oswen’s words. He naturally could tell since his memories as the Commander of the South remained intact.
‘I guess Maxium was unusual.’
Maxium had noticed me, only from the sound of the Hell Lord’s heart, from a long distance. He also did even in the battlefield, but he ignored everything and ran towards me.
But Oswen was saying other commanders could be different.
Maxium was the Emperor’s Knight. I concluded that Maxium was unusual because he was the closest man to the emperor.
“Time is very interesting because it changes everything. Their absolute loyalty was eventually changed over time, too. It wore out. Nevertheless, unlike them, there’s no change in this world at all. It’s a very sad place.”
Oswen gave his trivial thoughts whenever he could. He had finally found himself. Everything, including his body, was changed. I understood he had a lot to talk about. Overall, there was a feeling of sadness.
“What do the commanders want? What did the Hell Lord want to do in this world? As a blacksmith, I don’t know why he was so obsessed to be a god.”
“I heard he wanted to escape from the fate of being a guardian.”
“Certainly, he was a representative who protected the middle earth from Devildom. He was the emperor, but he was ‘not’ the emperor. That was why he was called the Shadow Emperor. He lost his mind in the later years and became known as the Hell Lord as well. The fate…hmm…”
Oswen smiled sadly and went on, “It’s really funny. He cursed his own fate, but he twisted others’ fates as well. What a hypocrite. If the Seven Sins were in his possession, the world would have ended already.”
“Didn’t you make the Seven Sins?”
“I did. I made them with the ‘God’s Metal’ that the Hell Lord brought to me. I was engrossed in the work as if I was possessed. But when I finished working, things turned out something beyond understanding. I realized if seven of them gathered, the world will be doomed. That was why I threw them in the crack. But I guess the Spirits of Darkness got a hold of them.”
He wore a bitter expression. It looked like he had no idea that things would turn out like this when he had made the Seven Sins.
“What will happen if I collect all of the Seven Sins?”
When I gathered three items, the new skill Depravity appeared. I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if I gathered all of them.
“I don’t know. The one thing I am certain is, the items will consume the user and the fall will be born. I would stop collecting them if I were you. You probably had enough help from them.”
“I will think about it.”
The items would consume the user… The fall would be born… But the Seven Sins weren’t made accidentally. The Hell Lord had commissioned Oswen to create them and had the intention of using them.
‘If the Hell Lord intended, I probably can do, too.’
My goal was to exceed everybody, including the Hell Lord. If he made a plan, I would carry that out.
“Please come this way. The Soul Cavalry are inside.”
Bone tombs lined up. It was an endless sight. Oswen stood in front of one of them, removed the bones, and touched the ground. When the dust was wiped away, stones with strange patterns were revealed.
Crack!
Oswen stood on the pattern and took his rib off. It was a bizarre scene. I quietly observed what he was doing.
Oswen said humorously, “It doesn’t hurt much because I’m undead.”
“The rib contains magic that reacts with the seal.”
“Right. You figured out at once. Hmm… If I remember correctly, it must be here.”
He placed his rib on the pattern. Soon, the pattern shined. The ground opened with a loud noise.
“Oh! I feel like I’m experiencing what happened in the dream. This memory was real.”
“Will you keep talking?”
“Yes…er…I mean, no. I’m sorry. Let’s keep moving.”
Oswen began to guide me based on the memory of the Commander of the South.
<hr />
The basement was spacious. We found a giant temple in the end. There were 2,000 soldiers lined up inside the temple.
The bones were glowing subdued silver light . Even the horses, also made of bones, were emitting light as well. They gave off their own illumination. It was an interesting scene.
“The key is the Sword of the Emperor. Smear your blood on the sword and command the Cavalry.”
It wasn’t a difficult procedure.
I used the Sword of the Emperor to cut my index finger. Once the blood flowed onto the sword, I said softly, “Wake up.”
Rumble!
The ground shook.
Whoosh!
A moaning wind flew in.
Soon, a light was formed at the empty eyes of the soldiers.
Stomp! Stomp!
They straightened up their backs and lined up. I nodded my head as I saw the magnificent figures.
“Brilliant.”
<hr />
Two thousand soldiers followed me. Oswen, riding on one of the Soul Cavalry’s horses, looked around, amazed.
“I haven’t seen them move even in my memory. What a great military power! It is said that these are the last and greatest powers that the Hell Lord hid. I can see that.”
He was full of admiration.
I looked ahead and said, “The fortress was probably not the main stronghold of the South. I’m sure there are other places, too, right? We will hit those.”
“Good plan. Makdalli probably has eaten everything already in the fortress. I know the locations, so it won’t be difficult to go to the other ones. If we recapture other bases and announce our survival, the rest of the South will gather—”
“Where is the nearest base?”
“Two days of running in the northwest direction.”
“Let’s go then.”
As I rode on a horse, the Soul Cavalry followed behind me.
<hr />
Chawureung was Makdalli’s third subordinate. He was a Lich who captured one of the southern forward bases and was raising the morale of the soldiers. He climbed the castle wall, drinking liquor made from the branches of Jellim.
‘Sir, Makdalli will become the best commander.’
For more than a hundred years, no commander ever died. But recently, the Commander of the South was removed. The wind began to blow, and this wind would raise Makdalli as the best commander.
‘All the other commanders will no longer address Sir Makdalli carelessly, including Malicious Commander Maxium.’
Chawureung felt good as the man he followed was on fire. If things went well as he imagined, Chawureung was sure he would be rewarded with an important role.
If Makdalli had opened the Treasure Warehouse of Shadow Emperor, he would have given things to Chawureung as well. Chawureung was sure that his strength would be enhanced by the treasure that he would receive.
“Huh?”
It was time when he walked through the castle walls, receiving a bow from the soldiers. He saw numerous lights from a distance.
‘What’s that?’
He looked intently. As he focused, he figured out what was coming.
“It’s an attack! Everyone brace up!”
Two thousand soldiers on horseback were rushing towards the base.
<hr />
The charging power of the Soul Cavalry was mind-boggling. Among them, the particularly huge one began to strike the gates.
Crack!
The gates were split apart. The Soul Cavalry entered the castle.
And so the massacre began… No words could describe the mayhem that the Soul Cavalry had brought.
‘I like it.’
It was a simple and ignorant method, but I liked this way of fighting.
While looking around with a sword, I found a Lich on the wall. He was the captain of this place, and I launched myself at him.
“Who the hell are you?” the Lich asked.
I laughed and pulled Rage. “I am the Hero of the South.”
<hr />
The Soul Cavalry wiped out 10,000 soldiers. I also killed Chawureung, the third subordinate of Makdalli, after the tight match.
We didn’t go unscathed. There were some casualties. Around 300 Soul Cavalry soldiers returned to Earth. Nevertheless, we were victorious.
As I was enjoying the afterglow of victory, Oswen approached me and said, “I will spread the rumor about the Commander and the Hero of the South arriving to reverse the situation.”
“We don’t have much time. Makdalli might come at us as soon as he stabilizes the fortress.”
“Makdalli doesn’t move unless his victory is guaranteed. He’ll probably send troops several times to check us first.”
“Hurry up then.”
Oswen left. It would be best if Makdalli considered his losses first before attacking, but we were in a war. In war, no one knew what would happen next. Then again, it would be stupid of me to think that he would not attack soon or at least prepare for a counterattack.
‘Jeff… Torium…’
I stood on the castle walls and looked at the distant horizon.
Rumors would spread soon. If they were alive, they would come here.
<hr />
In a month, around 50,000 warriors were gathered. They were Oswen’s followers from the South.
Every now and then, Makdalli would send his troops to provoke us. They lost every single time.
Moreover, rumors about the Soul Cavalry spread around the Underworld. Therefore, I decided to reveal myself.
I held the Sword of the Emperor, stopped hiding the sound of the Hell Lord’s heart, and ran towards the end of Makdalli. The tale about the return of the Hell Lord had dampened the morale of the enemies.
“You are not the Hell Lord!”
Makdalli didn’t admit it even in the end. He made a frantic last-ditch effort as the commander.
For him, the Hell Lord was a myth. He would refuse to believe it even when the real Hell Lord actually came back.
But still, I could see the fear in his eyes. He had no choice. I had the Sword of the Emperor, the heart of the Hell Lord, and even controlled the Soul Cavalry that only the Hell Lord could command.
I had run a long way to punish Makdalli. He couldn’t hide his fear and anxiety no matter how he denied it.
“You are right. I am not the Hell Lord.”
I had no intention of denying it. I was Randalf Bruciel, not the Hell Lord.
I lifted Rage and the Sword of the Emperor.
Makdalli returned to Earth with a scream.
And finally, the war of the South was over.
