The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 163

What was the most troublesome situation when fighting a powerful Lich?

It was when the Lich had a large number of corpses under its control.

The skeletal Lich that Aden had previously defeated in a hidden dungeon.

The reason he was able to defeat it so easily was not only because it was a half-baked Lich but also because it didn’t have any corpses to command.

*“Kraaaah!”*

*“Aaaahhhh!”*

A hundred necromancers who had turned into undead.

Revived by dark magic, their physical abilities were greatly enhanced.

Aden swung his Aura Blade at the dozens of undead who leaped at him from all directions.

With a single stroke of his sword, he sliced through ten at once, cutting them into pieces.

However, other undead continued to shriek as they relentlessly pressed toward Aden.

Since they were already dead, fear did not exist for them, nor did hesitation.

“Do you know why I built this circular arena underground?”

Somora of Delight spoke.

“It’s because I enjoy arenas and the entertainment they bring.”

The King of Corpses watched Aden fight against the undead, feeling pleased.

“Those who hold no malice toward each other kill each other solely to survive. And the spectators in the stands cheer as their blood stains the floor, applauding and giving lowly praise when their hearts are pierced.”

*Pshhh, slosh,* Aden’s sword cut through eight more corpses at once.

“They simply enjoy watching someone die to alleviate their boredom. Yes, that’s true delight! The true nature of humanity!”

However, more corpses than Aden had slain stood up, reattaching their severed limbs.

Even more corpses shrieked as they charged at him.

Once again, his blue Aura Blade cleaved them in a single stroke.

Just like a field of wheat harvested by a sickle, the upper and lower halves of the undead were severed.

*Thunk,* something suddenly shot out from the ground where Aden stood and grabbed his leg.

It was the bones of a white skeletal arm.

“And so, whenever I get bored, I often watch duels here. There’s nothing quite as entertaining as when lovers, family, or friends fight to survive.”

The victims who had been sacrificed for Somora of Delight’s amusement in the arena.

In the form of skeletons, they crawled out of the dirt floor and clung desperately to Aden.

As if the ground they had slept in was too cold, they seemed to pull him toward the underworld, as if asking him to join them in their cold slumber.

“Such nonsense…”

*Shiiik,* Aden’s sword sliced through the skeletal wrist, breaking the arm and shattering the skull.

“…is something I really don’t care about!”

*‘I summon the Mantle of the Frozen Winter.’*

Once again, the harsh winter spread behind Aden. The cruelty of frost seeped into his Aura.

*Thud!* He drove Baalzebul into the ground.

‘Freeze.’

The Aura infused with the mana of the harsh winter spread rapidly across the entire ground.

*Crack-crack-crack-crack!*

The ground instantly froze over, and the mana of the Winter Queen, which had already put countless northern undead to sleep under the snow, froze and sealed the skeletons in the ground.

Random icicles sprouted from the ground, piercing the bodies of the undead.

A hundred undead were frozen solid in an instant.

*‘Sanctuary of Ice.’*

The ability manifested from the mana of harsh winter left by the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen.

It freezes everything around it.

Although it was very powerful and useful, the mana of harsh winter gradually tried to consume Aden’s body.

Because it was an ability that put a considerable strain on his body, it wasn’t something that could be used for long.

“I don’t need you to explain how much of a filthy piece of trash you are, you bastard.”

“Imbuing your Aura with a frost attribute… Did you obtain that ability by defeating the Winter Queen? Impressive. Truly impressive.”

The Arch Lich, Somora of Delight, marveled.

“Aden Remes, you are indeed a monster. Even if you are a contractor of ‘Gluttony,’ your strength is terrifying.”

He looked at Aden with fear.

“I’m truly relieved that I can deal with you before you become an even greater monster.”

And at the same time, he felt reassured.

This was his domain, the kingdom of Somora of Delight alone.

Here, no one could survive.

*“Explode.”*

The moment he uttered the incantation, the frozen bodies of the corpses emitted a sinister light.

*Bang, bang, bang, boom!* The bodies of the undead that had been frozen all exploded.

“…!”

Each of them carried tremendous explosive power, and Aden was instantly engulfed in the blast.

*Rumble,* the underground arena shook violently and trembled intensely from the explosion.

The thick greenish smoke from the exploding corpses filled the entire underground cavern.

As the smoke gradually cleared, the arena, which was now in ruins with only traces of destruction, was revealed.

Somora of Delight suddenly felt uneasy.

“Damn! What if he’s dead? I wanted to use him as a precious experiment…”

It was at that moment.

*Shiiik, ssshhhh!* A blue Aura Blade flew in and sliced Somora of Delight’s body precisely in half.

“…Damn, I almost died.”

Aden emerged unscathed from the place where only traces of destruction remained from the corpse explosion, cursing under his breath.

The translucent barrier that had been surrounding his body quietly vanished.

‘I’m glad I recharged the Bracelet of Protection.’

The artifact, a pair of Bracelets of Protection, was something Aden had obtained from a dungeon in Kartan City, the dungeon city.

He had given one to Elise and kept the other for himself.

The moment the corpses exploded, Aden had surrounded himself with a shield and survived the blast.

However, since it was a shield created by gathering all the mana that had been pre-charged, he couldn’t create another shield of that strength in this place.

*…Well, should I call it lucky, or stubborn…*

Somora of Delight, who had been cut in half, spoke to Aden through a telepathic message.

Just like when his neck had been severed before, his body reattached and stood up as if nothing had happened.

“…A strike that ignores and shatters barriers. How troublesome. To think I’ve experienced this twice now. But it’s all in vain.”

He looked at Aden with a mocking expression…

And then, he commanded the undead.

*“Gather.”*

The pieces of the corpses that had been shattered and scattered into bits of flesh.

They quivered and began to gather together at his command.

*Crunch, crack,* the sound echoed as the flesh and bone fragments of the hundred necromancers merged together.

*“Rise.”*

The combined pieces soon started to wriggle, forming a shape. It was the figure of a giant.

Corpse Golem.

A colossal golem made of corpses, standing over 6 meters tall, rose up.

“Graaaaahhh!”

The Corpse Golem roared at Aden.

As the black veins writhed on its flesh and its face formed without a sound, it presented a truly grotesque and horrifying sight.

“……”

“Aden Remes, there’s absolutely no way for you to kill me. By now, you should know it’s futile to continue.”

The creature’s words were true.

Somora of Delight was none other than an Arch Lich.

Unless all of its Life Vessels, whose number and locations were unknown, were destroyed, there was no way to kill it…

‘There is none.’

As long as the Life Vessel wasn’t destroyed, the creature was an immortal in the truest sense.

However, Aden simply shrugged his shoulders without backing down.

“Well, you won’t know until you try.”

“Foolish and arrogant.”

“Let’s see if I’m as foolish as you.”

“…Fine. But soon, you’ll be forced to kneel and surrender to me of your own will.”

“Ha, what nonsense is that? That was pretty funny.”

“The Saintess of the Sacred Fire Order, though not as powerful as you, is a troublesome existence for us. Just her mere presence strengthens the Holy Power of the Order.”

“……”

“And do you think her group will survive after stepping foot into my casino, into my kingdom? You’re naive, Aden Remes. Now, consider this—what do you think would happen if something like this occurred?”

Somora of Delight grinned wickedly.

“The thieves’ guild, jealous and resentful of my casino, detonated a magic bomb in a terrorist attack. More precisely, it was my own subordinates disguised in clothes bearing their emblem. In the ensuing chaos, many people died, and the Saintess met a tragic fate.”

“……”

“Imagine! A Saint, chosen to carry out God’s will, meeting her end in a gambling den! What a disgraceful event, too shameful to be publicly acknowledged! Ha ha ha!”

“……”

“The terror attack should have already started by now! Now, choose. If you kneel and surrender here, I’ll spare the lives of your companions…”

“Yeah, are you done talking now?”

“…What?”

“You set such a grim tone, but all you did was spew nonsense. Did you really think I wouldn’t see through that? You skull-wrapped bag of bones.”

Aden sneered at Somora of Delight, an Arch Lich.

“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.”

Aden’s relaxed demeanor only served to further confuse the creature.

“You really think I’m bluffing? Fine, then! Watch with your own eyes…!”

The creature pulled out a magic crystal orb from its chest. It was linked to the orb that managed and monitored the entire casino.

It projected a real-time, three-dimensional image of the casino’s current state, displaying it prominently in the air.

“See for yourself the horrors your companions are enduring! See… they should… they should be…”

The creature’s once-confident voice slowed down.

As it stared at the displayed images, it was horrified.

“Wh-what is this…?!”

*Pfft.*

It was like watching a third-rate villain in a Silbeta-like way, meaning it was utterly pathetic.

Even as the creature was filled with shock, the crystal orb continued to broadcast the real-time footage, showing Aden the situation.

“-Kyyaaaah!”

“Run! We all need to get out of here!”

“Move! I’m getting out first!”

The first thing shown was the chaos in the casino, with people desperately trying to escape after what appeared to be a bomb explosion.

Next, the image shifted to Elise and her group.

They were fighting off intruders who had burst in after the explosion.

The number of those intruders easily exceeded a hundred. However…

“-Kahah! I am the shield and spear of the Noble One!”

“-Graaah!”

With every swing of Bali the priest’s fist, empowered by Holy Spells, the intruders were sent flying through the air.

His strength remained absurdly unmatched, comparable to an ogre’s.

“Oh my, Sir Knight. You’ve already taken them all down? Impressive!”

“It was nothing, Miss Cassie. You did a great job covering me.”

“Oh, come on, this was nothing.”

In front of Rowe’s sword, dozens of people lay unconscious.

Having obtained the ‘Knight’s Spirit’ and become a semi-master, Rowe was growing rapidly and powerfully. There was no one who could defeat him now.

And then…

“Hyaaah! Hiyah! Hiyah!”

“-Khurgh!”

“How can a kid be this strong!”

“-Aaargh!”

Elise, with her small and nimble movements, was defeating dozens of intruders as golden holy flames enveloped her tiny fists.

She blocked sudden attacks with her shield, sometimes using it as a platform to jump into the air, attacking unpredictably like a little beast stalking her prey.

“Naughty uncles! I’m going to punish you!”

“-Aaargh!”

Using the martial arts she had learned from Aden, Elise struck her small yet fearsome fists into the intruders one by one.

She fought so well that Choco, who hadn’t even bothered to grow larger, watched on, wagging its tail in approval as if to say, ‘Good job, my master~!’

‘I gave them some hints beforehand.’

He hadn’t gone into detail about Chaos or the truth of the Holy Kingdom. He’d just told them there would be a fight in the casino and that they should pretend to know nothing until then.

“Hm, kids these days learn quickly. Their training is paying off.”

Aden watched with satisfaction as Elise wiped out the intruders.

Elise was a child talented in martial arts and was diligent as well.

Despite being attacked by dozens of scary men wielding daggers and throwing knives, she fought bravely.

“……”

Somora of Delight stared in shock.

He never expected the young Saintess, just a child, to be so strong.

Then it happened.

“Agh! This is so unfair!”

It wasn’t Aden or Somora speaking. It was a third voice.

“Everyone else is having fun, and I’m the only one stuck working! This is too much!”

“Unknown, you’re finally here? What took you so long?”

“What do you think? I was doing the job you gave me… H-holy crap! What is that gigantic monster? A giant? A golem? It’s wriggling! Disgusting!”

It was the Thief Unknown.

True to his cowardly nature, he was terrified upon seeing Somora’s Corpse Golem.

Somora of Delight was shocked by his appearance.

“How did an outsider get in here…! I thought I had sealed everything off?”

-“That’s because I’m an awesome dagger!” the Demon Sword Sere boasted, though its words went unheard by the intended audience!

Thanks to the Demon Sword Sere’s ‘Power of Escape,’ Unknown had teleported to Aden.

“Don’t get spooked by that thing. Did you bring what I asked for?”

“O-of course! What do you take the Thief Unknown for? Here, catch!”

Whoosh! Unknown tossed a bundle to Aden, who caught it effortlessly.

He then unwrapped the bundle and took out something from inside.

“Th-that’s…! No way…!”

Somora of Delight’s face twisted in horror as he recognized the object in Aden’s hand.

A crystalline shard emitting a violet light. The creature let out a wretched cry as it saw it.

“That’s my Life Vessel!”

It was a fragment of the Life Vessel that had been hidden and sealed in a remote part of the Holy Kingdom.

How could this wretch have it?

But this wasn’t the only surprise the creature would receive.

“It’s perfect. Just the right size.”

Aden brought the Life Vessel to his mouth and opened wide.

‘Wait, what is he… why is he putting that… perfect size? For what? Don’t tell me…?’

Before the Arch Lich Somora of Delight could finish his grim thoughts…

Crunch!

Aden bit down on the Life Vessel right before its eyes.

“Nooooooooooo!”

The Lich screamed in agony.