Chapter 5: The Army of the Undead
Yuan Haoran did not pause in his step when he heard the notification from the Hero System although he did not expect to get a new mission system. Without prompting, the system began telling him about the new mission.
[The Lich King is a powerful opponent. Even the followers of the evil cultivator, Guo Jianhong, struggled with subduing him. If they did not use black magic, they would not have forced him to guard the city of the dead.
The records show that the Lich King has killed tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of people in his living and dead life. He was the kind that would rather kill a hundred to prevent one from escaping. As a hero, you will gain great merit by ending his army.]
Yuan Haoran scoffed at the last part, but he kept walking until he stood in the territory of the Lich King. There was nothing unusual about the barren land covered in sand, but there was a heavy energy in the air.
Moments later, the entire area fell into inky darkness, and Yuan Haoran found himself surrounded by an army of liches. He did not move to attack immediately, and his powerful aura kept the skeletal creatures at bay, preventing them from making a move as well.
"Show yourself, or I will lay waste to your army." Yuan Haoran said without raising his voice. He could tell that none of the liches around him were the Lich King.
His tone showed that he did not take the Lich King seriously. He was ordering him like a mere servant without the dignity owed to a general who commanded an army of the undead. A strange silence filled the area, and then, the horde of liches attacked.
The liches were undead and had no fear despite their sensitivity to their opponents. Moreover, their weapons were imbued with necromantic power. A small slash on a cultivator would cause necrotising wounds which would fester and poison, leading to a painful death.
But Yuan Haoran was not afraid.
He was, however, very interested in the nature of the black magic the liches were wielding. It had an acrid smell and clung like a shadow on their weapons. Therefore, as soon as the zealous creatures surrounded him, he pulled one and held it in one hand while exerting his cultivation to keep it still.
His eyes perused the lingering energy on the creature and saw it was different from the ghosts in the necropolis. While the ghostly aura focused on condensing death energy of a cold nature, the lich energy was more corrosive and was attached to the skeletal beings and their weapons.
His lips stretched into an eerie smile.
It looked like these skeletons were not useless. An army of the undead could prove useful in the future if he needed to fight a large battle in the world outside of the domain. But first, he had to subdue the Lich King because he was controlling the army.
Unfortunately, the Lich King had yet to make an appearance and he did not like asking twice.
With little remorse, Yuan Haoran raised his hand and destroyed twenty liches at once, decimating their bones, cultivation, and death energy. Nothing remained to allow for reanimation. To Yuan Haoran, the obliteration was equivalent to breaking a few eggs to make an omelette.
The omelette was the complete control of the army of the undead.
As expected, the Lich King made an appearance, wielding a scythe, like a grim reaper. The creature stood tall at seven feet, and the figure was draped in bulky black robes, complete with a hood. Moreover, the cadaveric energy around it was oppressive.
"How dare you destroy my soldiers?" The Lich King growled.
Yuan Haoran looked back into the sockets glowing with an eerie blue light, like burning flames in the night. He knew the reason for the anger. The liches were not mere puppets controlled by the Lich King. Rather, each still had a soul bound to it.
If he could hazard a guess, Yuan Haoran would say that the army of the undead was a collection of soldiers who fought with their king in their living lifetime. Therefore, the Lich King valued each of them.
"I gave you a chance." Yuan Haoran replied flatly.
"You will pay for their souls with your life." The Lich King growled again before he attacked with his scythe in hand, glinting menacingly in the dark. It was clear he intended to liberate Yuan Haoran of his head.
Yuan Haoran also rose in the air, but he did not pick a weapon from the treasures he collected in the necropolis. He was sure he could handle the fight barehanded. When the scythe slashed towards his head, Yuan Haoran stretched a hand and caught it firmly.
"You are done for." The Lich King laughed with a boom. "A single touch of my necromantic energy will destroy anyone below the level of Overlord and can even injure a Star. You will rue the day you challenged me, the legendary General Fang Zexi."
Yuan Haoran looked at the lingering energy on his hand and wondered if he could synthesise it for sale. The energy had a somewhat plasma state, and the corrosive properties were suitable for use in weapons.
Depending on the concentration, it could be a mild irritant or a genocidal weapon. His scarlet eyes glowed with anticipation of harnessing the energy and testing his theory. The familiar anticipation of experimentation filled his mind.
He needed to build a laboratory in his pocket dimension as soon as possible.
After a short moment, Yuan Haoran realised his thoughts were a little ridiculous. He was getting ahead of himself. He needed to understand the world he was in a little before sinking into fantasies. He did not even know the kind of building materials available in this world.
The Lich King was still laughing evilly, waiting for his opponent to collapse in a helpless puddle of goo. He did not think that the young man could survive.
Cultivation was not an easy path, and each step was like swimming up a waterfall. Therefore, almost all experienced cultivators looked old despite their long lifespans or even near immortality.
Of course, one could revert or modify their appearance after reaching the level of Empyrean.
He could not sense deep cultivation in the young man before him, but he might have possessed a special artefact to hide his level. Also, he might have other instruments to protect himself.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to pass the thunderfield and enter his territory undetected.
The Lich King did not know that Yuan Haoran came from inside the necropolis, not outside. He thought that the young man was a precocious noble who came with grandiose dreams into the domain and wanted to raid the mythical city of the dead.
He did not know how wrong he was.
"Your power is quite impressive. You are much better than that useless showoff, Guo Jianhong." Yuan Haoran said as he cleansed the necromantic power from his hand with his spiritual energy. "I would like to offer you a chance at being great again as my subordinate, General Fang Zexi."
Weekly Power Status
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