Chapter – 63….
For a while, Carlisle was utterly stunned, staring at Gwen, who had become an undead soldier.
Sorrow?
A sense of loss?
Carlisle couldn’t quite define the chaotic emotions and thoughts swirling within him.
The only thing that was certain was that Gwen was now someone he could never meet again.
Gwen was dead.
Only her body remained, functioning as an undead soldier…
‘I want to… kill.’
The thought flashed through Carlisle’s mind.
And soon, that single thought completely dominated his consciousness.
‘I want to kill. Desperately.’
This urge wasn’t solely directed at the dark mage who had turned Gwen into an undead soldier.
The enemy.
It was a killing intent aimed at all those who sought to take the lives of his allies, and Carlisle himself.
‘I want to kill them all. Every last one.’
*Thump!*
His heart, which had grown cold, powerfully pumped the blood flowing through his veins—the blood of the Sigurd family.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump… Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom…!!!*
The Sigurd blood raced ferociously through every vessel in Carlisle’s body.
*Ding!*
A notification window appeared before his eyes.
—
[Notification: The blood of the Sigurd family is boiling.]
[Notification: Your latent potential is awakening.]
[Notification: You have awakened the Power of Sigurd.]
[Notification: Bloodline Awakening!]
[Notification: You have awakened the power of the <Nether King>!]
[Notification: You have entered a state of Berserk!]
—
Bloodline Awakening.
The power of ancient, monstrous deities that only a true Sigurd could possess.
The latent potential sleeping within his bloodline awoke, granting Carlisle immense power.
[Nether King]
The king of all the dead.
The lord who pacifies souls.
The ruler of the netherworld who reigns over the lords of hell.
Carlisle didn’t even glance at the status window.
Had it been any other time, he would have scrutinized the window popping up before his eyes, but he wasn’t in the right state of mind for that now.
*Swoosh*, Carlisle lifted Gramungand.
*Swoooooosh!*
The sword, which had been little more than a piece of scrap iron, missing parts and covered in rust, revealed its true form.
*Srrrung…!!!*
A black blade, as if containing chaos itself, gleamed with a fearsome edge.
—
[Notification: Gramungand thirsts for the blood of the barbarians…]
—
Carlisle cleanly ignored that notification as well.
The only thing that mattered now was whether he had the power to kill the enemies, those who had turned Gwen into an undead soldier.
“I’ll make you all… the same.”
The Nether King’s voice was laden with rage.
*”Grrruck!”*
*”Guwaaaah!”*
Several undead soldiers charged at Carlisle.
Carlisle did not swing Gramungand.
Instead, he merely glared at the undead soldiers rushing towards him.
*Chwa, chwaaaa!*
Black blades shot up from the ground, punishing the undead soldiers assaulting Carlisle.
[Blade Hell].
The one who opens the vast preface of death.
The vanguard of judgment.
It was the authority of the 1st Hell Lord, [Glasya].
—
* * *
—
“Im, impossible!”
A cry of astonishment burst from Crowley’s lips upon seeing [Blade Hell].
As a skilled dark mage, Crowley’s magical knowledge was considerable.
A scholar’s insight, having spent a lifetime studying various dark magics and necromancy, researching and exploring the secret rites of darkness, was sufficient to recognize [Blade Hell] at a glance.
“B-Blade Hell…?”
The reason Crowley knew of [Blade Hell] was because he was a necromancer.
Necromancy was the study of raising the dead with dark power or making pacts with beings residing in other dimensions to summon them into this world.
As such, it was natural for Crowley, a dark mage, to be well-versed in powerful entities from other dimensions.
“How can someone who isn’t even a dark mage have a contract with Glasya…!”
Humans tend to judge everything based on their own knowledge and experience, and Crowley was no exception.
One sees only what one knows.
True to his nature as a necromancer, Crowley misunderstood Carlisle’s ability to cast [Blade Hell] as being due to a contract with the 1st Hell Lord, Glasya.
Even though Carlisle, a direct descendant of the Sigurd family where not knowing magic was the norm, knew not a whit of magic himself…
‘Why?’
But Crowley had no time to resolve that question.
*Chwa, chwaa!*
*”Kuaaaak!”*
*”Kyaaak!”*
*”Va, Valhalla… Kehek!”*
The black blades rising from the ground were indiscriminately slaughtering both the undead soldiers and the surrounding barbarian warriors.
“Barbarian Chieftain! Are you just going to stand and watch?”
“Didn’t you say we needed to capture him alive earlier, old mage?”
“That’s a matter for later! Let’s subdue him first and then think!”
“Agreed.”
Zarkan nodded in response.
“However, I don’t care if he lives or dies. I seek only vengeance for my brother. Valhallahhhhh—!”
Saying this, Zarkan charged towards Carlisle along with his warriors.
‘A Sigurd contracted with Glasya! He’s the finest material imaginable!’
Even in his shock, Crowley’s greed for Carlisle burned even more fiercely.
Glasya was an entity on a completely different level from the demons of the demon realm.
Even the Demon Kings of the demon realm were of a lower rank compared to the Hell Lords of the netherworld. A Sigurd wielding Glasya’s authority could potentially become the most powerful undead in history.
“Go, my kin.”
Crowley commanded all of his followers.
That included the Death Knights guarding his side.
*”Guwaaaaak!”*
*”By the pact of undeath…!”*
Crowley didn’t stop at just sending his minions.
“May the breath of frailty sweep the battlefield, flesh rot and souls become resentful shadows…”
Incantations for various dark magics flowed from Crowley’s lips as he held his wand.
—
* * *
—
Carlisle saw the enemies rushing towards him.
‘I’ll kill them all. All of them.’
A murderous intent filled the hand gripping Gramungand.
*Chwaarak!*
The black blade extended long, bisecting all the enemies charging at him.
*Puhwaaaak!*
Crimson blood spurted like a fountain, and severed bodies rolled on the ground.
With just a single swing of his sword, three barbarian warriors were cut in half.
Even though the blade itself hadn’t directly touched them…
*”Valhallahhhhh—!”*
Zarkan roared and swung his greatsword at Carlisle.
“By the pact of undeath, loyalty beyond death.”
The Death Knights also rushed at Carlisle alongside Zarkan.
*Jjek, jjeok!*
Pale white bone hands shot up from beneath the ground, trying to grab Carlisle’s ankles.
Furthermore, Crowley’s curses tried to cling to Carlisle like vengeful spirits.
But Crowley’s magic and curses had no effect on Carlisle.
—
[Notification: Magic Nullified!!!]
—
As the notification appeared, the bone hands trying to seize Carlisle’s ankles shattered into pieces, and the clinging curses were neutralized and dissipated.
The reason?
Carlisle didn’t know.
It seemed like a notification had popped up, but in his current state, there was no way he could pay attention to such things.
Only kill, kill, and kill again…
*Chwaaaa!*
Gramungand bisected a barbarian warrior who had charged with Zarkan, vertically from top to bottom.
“Mo, monster…!”
Finally, an exclamation mixed with surprise escaped Zarkan’s lips.
The martial prowess of Carlisle, who had achieved Bloodline Awakening, was such that even Grokan, a 4-star barbarian warrior, couldn’t help but be amazed.
*”Kyaaaaaak!”*
*”Euaak!”*
Not only were Crowley’s magic and curses completely ineffective, but with every swing of Carlisle’s sword, undead soldiers and barbarian warriors fell apart helplessly.
Except for Zarkan and the Death Knights, no one could stand against Carlisle.
And Carlisle’s performance became the driving force that reignited the dying fighting spirit of the Decaron troops.
“Everyone, take up your arms! We fight to the end! Not even death can make us surrender!”
“Waaaaaah!”
At Helen’s cry, the soldiers of Bowden Fortress, who had momentarily lost their will to fight, let out a unified war cry and charged at the enemy.
Thus, the battle, which had briefly paused, resumed.
*Chang, chaeng!*
*Kwaaaang!*
*”Euaaaak!”*
*”Kehek!”*
The battle was fierce.
Life and death constantly intersected.
Life clashed with life, stealing each other’s existence, continuing in an endless, interlinked chain.
Perhaps war was the struggle of sentient beings, unable to escape the laws of the ecosystem even in this.
At that intersection of life and death, Carlisle tirelessly swung Gramungand, taking the lives of his enemies.
The martial prowess of Carlisle, who had awakened the [Nether King] latent in the Sigurd bloodline and entered a Berserk state, was sufficient to handily face not only Zarkan, chieftain of the Butcher tribe, but also the Death Knights.
However…
*Stab!*
A sword swung by a Death Knight pierced Carlisle’s side.
*”Kehek!”*
Blood gushed from Carlisle’s mouth.
—
[Notification: Insufficient Mana!]
—
*Gulp, gulp!*
He frantically pulled out and drank a mana recovery potion, but the mana consumption of the Berserk state overwhelmingly surpassed the potion’s recovery rate.
—
[Notification: 10 seconds until Berserk state is released!]
[Notification: 9, 8, 7…]
—
Unfortunately, one cannot be satisfied with the first bite.
It seemed impossible for Carlisle, experiencing his first Bloodline Awakening, to contend against 4-star barbarian warriors, Death Knights, and even the dark mage Crowley all at once.
—
[Notification: 3, 2, 1…]
[Notification: The Berserk state has been released.]
—
Carlisle felt as if he had fallen from a great height.
The monstrous strength that had filled his entire body vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by extreme fatigue and pain.
*Shiver, shiver, shiver!*
His entire body, from head to toe, trembled violently as if he had been thrown naked onto a frozen lakeshore.
*Thud!*
Zarkan’s vicious kick landed squarely on Carlisle’s chest.
*”Kehek!”*
Carlisle coughed up blood and was sent flying far away.
“Die!”
It was the moment a barbarian warrior brought his axe down towards the fallen Carlisle.
*Flash!*
*Swaaaaaaaaaah!*
A brilliant white light flashed like hail, and swords of light carrying a chilling cold poured down like a torrential rain.
*”Kuaaaaaaak!”*
*”Euaaaak!”*
Carlisle’s enemies screamed miserably, spraying blood.
*Thump!*
Soon after, a knight with golden hair so light it was almost silver, landed with a *thud!* from high in the sky.
“Y-you are…”
Helen recognized her and was utterly astonished.
Selena van Sigurd.
The eldest daughter of the Sigurd family and Carlisle’s older sister.
Furthermore, she was evaluated as the strongest among the currently living Sigurds, second only to Grand Duke Guntram.
