The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 137

“Was there really no other way to get in here?”

Unknown asked Aden in a voice tinged with frustration.

Although his face was hidden by a mask, the moisture pooling in one eye suggested he was on the verge of tears.

Currently, Aden and Unknown had arrived at a hidden space beneath the mausoleum, an underground labyrinth.

Unknown hadn’t been injured thanks to Aden catching him just before he hit the ground.

However, while his body remained unscathed, his mind had suffered a traumatic experience.

Aden calmly surveyed their surroundings and replied.

“Well, maybe if we took our time, we could have found a secret door leading here. But this way was faster, wasn’t it?”

“…Damn it!”

Unknown stomped his feet in frustration.

It seemed he had never experienced falling dozens of meters underground due to the ground collapsing.

-How many people would have such an experience in their lifetime, Dragon Slayer?

‘Why wouldn’t they? I went through it at least a dozen times in my previous life.’

-…Stop thinking in terms of your own experiences.

Aden and Unknown found themselves in a long corridor adorned with murals on all sides.

This was the underground labyrinth of the Slaughter Cult.

It was a space that had existed even before the Slaughter Tower was built.

A space constructed to imprison a certain entity.

‘It’s essentially a dungeon.’

A dungeon filled with ancient traps, making it difficult to infiltrate even for a master.

As expected, the system responded.

-You have entered the Ruins-type Dungeon, ‘Underground Labyrinth of the Confined.’

The Underground Labyrinth of the Confined.

This was the name recorded in the system for this underground labyrinth.

To get through this place, they had to navigate the trap-filled corridor and descend to the next floor.

“Hey, Nine.”

“It’s Phantom Thief Unknown, by the way?”

“…Alright, Unknown. Do you want to get out of here?”

“Of course! I want to get out of this dark and damp place as soon as possible!”

“This is a labyrinth at least dozens of meters underground. Even for me, climbing back up is impossible. The only way out is to reach the end of this labyrinth.”

This was undoubtedly a type of dungeon.

Due to the distorted spatial magic, they couldn’t use the Hetos Workshop Key to create a door to escape.

“So, I’d appreciate your cooperation.”

“Tch, saying that after dragging me in here…”

“This place is filled with numerous traps and tricks. Without your cooperation, I might die. And then you’d lose the person who can fulfill your ‘wish.’”

“…”

Unknown fell silent under the mask.

Aden still hadn’t heard what wish Unknown harbored in his heart.

But at least from Unknown’s perspective, it was a very important matter.

Aden smirked and spoke.

“So, I’d appreciate it if you’d use all your abilities. If you’re the greatest phantom thief Unknown, this should be simple, right?”

“Damn it…”

In the end, instead of saying he couldn’t do it, Unknown muttered a curse that boiled up but didn’t explode.

He muttered to himself.

“Haa, what did I do so wrong in my previous life…”

What did he do wrong?

He robbed hundreds of noble families, even plundered the imperial palace.

He mocked the face of the Mercenary King and then ran away.

It seemed he had decided to cooperate, but being still young, he was full of rebellion.

Seeing that Unknown still seemed dissatisfied, Aden decided to dangle a carrot in front of him.

Aden muttered nonchalantly to himself.

“I heard that ancient dungeons are filled with relics and treasures…”

Flinch.

Unknown’s shoulders twitched slightly.

“Especially this place, an ancient dungeon from the Holy Era. Its value is beyond words. Well, I don’t need it, but…”

“What are you doing? Let’s hurry and break through so we can get out of here quickly!”

Just moments ago, he had seemed indifferent to everything, but now he was filled with energy.

Aden squinted at the thief kid whose attitude had changed instantly.

It seemed that strengthening the magic sword was just an excuse; he simply loved money.

‘Well, it’s easier for me since his intentions are clear.’

Unknown muttered in a small voice, “Treasure… hehehe,” and giggled.

From his waist, the magic sword Saere, who had been watching everything, spoke.

-…Magic Sword Saere says, “I can’t believe I contracted with such a fickle person…” and is ashamed.

* * *

Among the human-like monsters, there were those known as trolls, considered the strongest and worst monsters.

Trolls had greyish skin.

In the eastern part of the Wasteland of Death, where thousands of trolls lived, the ground was tinged grey.

Because of this, people referred to the place as the Grey Land.

Shaaah!

However, the grey land was now being stained with a blue hue, making its name meaningless.

Because the blood flowing from the trolls’ bodies was blue.

-Watuka, Watukawar…!

Impossible, impossible!

A troll, one and a half times larger than the others, screamed in despair, having lost its right arm and left leg.

A High Troll.

A higher species among trolls, considered a noble among them.

An immortal monster that could reattach its severed head and come back to life.

Particularly, the High Troll before them was a special existence.

Among the High Trolls, its strength and abilities were so exceptional that it had risen to the rank of High Chieftain, a High Troll Grand Warrior.

His strength recognized, the High Troll Grand Warrior had been entrusted with the vanguard unit of a thousand trolls in the war against the priests of the Slaughter Cult.

Leading his thousand trolls to face the Slaughter Cult, the ‘Demons of the West,’ the High Troll Grand Warrior had been steeped in arrogance.

He had firmly believed that he could handle everything without the need for the main force, the ‘Grey Immortal Army’ led by the High Troll Shamans, to move.

‘The Demons of the West are humans.’

No matter how strong they were, they were beings with fleeting lives who would die if their heads were severed or their hearts burst.

Weren’t they human?

In contrast, the High Troll Grand Warrior and his army were the strongest corps that wouldn’t die even if their limbs were torn off.

Because of that, he thought they could win.

He believed they would achieve a complete victory and lead his people to feast on human flesh and blood.

‘It was a complete miscalculation.’

The priests of the Slaughter Cult enveloped their bodies in a red holy power, rapidly healing any wounds they sustained.

Their strength and speed, while using sacred spells in battle, far surpassed that of ordinary humans.

But what was truly terrifying wasn’t these things.

‘Madness…’

They had no fear of death, only the thrill of battle filled their beings.

No matter how grievously injured or even facing death, even if their comrades fell beside them, they didn’t lose their momentum and kept charging.

A battle between six hundred priests of the Slaughter Cult and a thousand trolls.

The result was unfolding right before his eyes.

“Aha ha ha! It’s a massacre!”

“Offer a blood sacrifice to the god of death and slaughter!”

Shaaah!

“Graaaah!”

The priests of the Slaughter Cult, filled with frenzied excitement.

They tore apart the hearts of trolls with various weapons, severed limbs, and beheaded them, mounting the heads on poles.

They weren’t ordinary humans.

The massive bodies of trolls, over three meters tall, fell and bled blue under their assault.

The entire area was drenched in blue blood.

Over eight hundred of his comrades were already dead, the rest either fleeing or being captured and tortured.

In contrast, the Slaughter Cult’s casualties were only about a hundred.

“Running away in the middle of battle!”

“Desertion is an insult to our god! Repent!”

-Graaaah!

-Kraaaargh!

Only the anguished cries of trolls echoed across the blue-stained ground.

-Seir Ashak…

The Demons of the West.

The fallen High Troll Grand Warrior muttered as he looked at the scene.

The High Troll Grand Warrior finally realized why his people called them the ‘Demons of the West,’ and why they referred to their black tower as the ‘Stake of the Wasteland’ that bound his race.

‘We have forgotten…’

Hundreds of years had passed since the ‘ceasefire line’ was established, dividing the east and west from the nest of Death Worm Quen, the Queen of Worms.

Hundreds of years since the Slaughter Cult and the Grey Land had directly clashed.

Because of that, the High Troll Grand Warrior had forgotten.

No, the entire race had forgotten.

They truly were demons.

The ones who had pinned his great race to this barren wasteland.

And in front of the High Troll Grand Warrior stood the queen of those demons, a human woman known as the Saint.

Dressed in pure white garments and her face veiled, the human who had slain hundreds of trolls in an instant, who had severed his limbs multiple times and ultimately defeated him.

The strength of the human woman before him, called the ‘Saint,’ was unrivaled among the Demons of the West.

‘Dangerous.’

She was extremely dangerous.

The High Troll Grand Warrior could sense it.

If the main force clashed with them, it would lead to mutual destruction.

-Kliklik…

But the High Troll Grand Warrior, on the brink of death, could do nothing.

-Blessings on your victory, Queen of the Demons of the West.

“…”

-Enjoy this fleeting victory, for you will all soon perish.

All he could do was mock the enemy leader.

Whether the ‘Queen of Demons’ before him understood his words was unknown.

-I am merely the vanguard. Soon, countless immortal comrades will emerge, turning the land grey and surrounding you!

Cough.

The High Troll Grand Warrior, spitting blue blood, chuckled.

-We’ll see if you, the Demons of the West, can survive against so many of my comrades!

The High Troll shouted with manic fervor.

-The leaders of the main force will grant infinite regeneration to our comrades! Even if their heads fall, even if they are shattered to pieces, they will resurrect as the ‘Immortal Army’!

“…”

-We won’t let a single one of you escape! We will quench our thirst with your blood and fill our bellies with your flesh! Then we’ll destroy the black stake you’ve driven into this wasteland!

The High Troll Grand Warrior used his last bit of strength to smirk and mock the human before him.

-We will destroy every cornerstone, erase all traces of you. We will chew up every bit of your bones! Ah, Queen of the Demons of the West! You will leave no trace in this world! Not even a single one!

At that moment, the lips of the silent Saint opened.

“Thank you for that.”

-…What?

The High Troll Grand Warrior reflexively asked back, stunned by the unexpected words from the Saint.

Beneath the veil, the Saint’s lips, the lips of the Usurper Saint Spica, formed a satisfied, faint smile.

Then she spoke words the High Troll never imagined.

In Troll language.

“Gaa. Air Hakta.”

That is.

What I desire.

The face of the High Troll Grand Warrior contorted in shock at those words.

-What do you mean…!

The High Troll Grand Warrior couldn’t finish his sentence.

BOOM!

His head exploded completely from the swift attack of the Saint.

The blue blood of the troll splattered on her hand, running down her wrist and staining the pristine white robes of the Usurper Saint.

She slowly turned her head to look at the horizon.

Thump, thump, thump.

A low drumming sound began to echo.

And following the increasingly clear drum sound, a color began to spread across the horizon.

A grey hue.

A grey wave was sweeping over the Wasteland.

-Kurtila.

Each grey dot craved ‘death.’

-Seir Ashak…!

They shouted whose death they desired.

The Grey Army of immortals.

An undying troll army that wouldn’t die even when killed.

There could be no more perfect beings to put an end to the children of the Slaughter God, who led everything to death.

“Lady Merida.”

She muttered softly.

“I hate you.”

The priests of the cult, busy with slaughtering and torturing the trolls, stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to the horizon.

“Not just you. I hate everything you love and cherish.”

Her whispering voice was empty, like the last candle’s flame flickering out.

The priests gripped their weapons tightly.

Blood-red holy power, full of malice, flowed from their bodies.

“That’s why I hate my own existence.”

And finally.

“I will vanish along with everything I hate.”

A massive wave approached to sweep everything away, to end her and the cult entirely.