Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Confrontation with the Dragon, "Book of the Dead" Emerges
"Burp!"
Limuru, who lazily returned to his sly master, burped.
Louis looked at his magical pet with a speechless expression.
It didn’t have digestive organs or an esophagus, so why would it need to burp?
It probably saw someone burp while eating and just imitated them.
However, with this feast of the sapphire dragonling, Limuru might undergo another transformation.
At least Louis could sense that a new power was forming within it.
It was the power of the gem dragon.
Louis felt a tickle in his throat.
This was the "Greed Dominator" replicating the changes on Limuru through the contract.
Who knows what benefits he and Limuru would ultimately acquire.
As he was lost in thought, his hand never stopped with the sling.
The bird turned, and a pebble directly burst one of the living dead transformed from an adventurer.
He was just about to release another when he noticed all the living dead were already slain.
Gasp!
This batch of living dead must have been in the thousands.
Although thousands might not sound like a lot, plenty of high schools have even fewer students than that.
On a Monday flag-raising ceremony, they would fill the field densely, a vast crowd.
These living dead seemed to mostly be local residents and some missing adventurers.
Some were even exemplary individuals in their lifetimes.
Yet, after a few charges from the Royal Guard, they were utterly wiped out.
Head maid Lumi alone had pinned down the King of the Living Dead.
If it weren’t for its rapid regenerative abilities, Lumi might have beaten it to death.
But after the Royal Guard’s iron hooves swept away most of the living dead, even the King of the Living Dead faced a second death.
Louis looked up to see a large crowd rushing from afar.
Upon closer inspection, it was the adventurers he had hired at great expense.
The outbreak of the undead on the Dragonbone Prairie had directly drawn this group into the fray, forcing them to fight as they retreated.
The leader of the "Whale Swallow" adventurer group, Whale Shark, focused on heading toward the King of the Living Dead.
As they charged ahead violently, many adventurers joined forces with them, battling everywhere.
This growing group went from a dozen to dozens and eventually to over two hundred people.
A large group, the living dead, even with zombified brains, couldn’t ignore such a delectable "meal" rampaging across the prairie.
Their speed slowed further.
When Whale Shark arrived with his group, all they saw was a field of corpses.
"Oh my, how many have died here! We’re late; such a grand title is wasted!"
Whale Shark pounded his chest, on the verge of tears.
Initially, he thought having more people would relieve some pressure, not expecting things to change so quickly.
By the end, he felt his beheading axe was almost polished smooth.
Head maid Lumi swept her gaze over the group of adventurers and said directly:
"There’s still fighting in the Burning Smoke Mountain Range. We temporarily conscript a group of adventurers to join us in suppressing the living dead. Anyone opposed?"
No one spoke up.
Louis expected some adventurers might refuse.
But to his surprise, Lumi mounted a large horse brought by the other Personal Guards and took over the little swan from the knight, leading the charge toward the mountains.
The Royal Guard followed closely, rushing toward the mountain range.
Leaving behind a group of bewildered adventurers.
"Can we really rally this group like that?"
But before the dust had settled from the Royal Guard’s galloping hooves, Louis noticed the adventurers wearing a hesitant look.
"If I cut down 50 of the living dead, do I have a chance to join the legion?"
"Legion? Where’s the legion?"
"Who would want to be an adventurer if they could get into the legion!"
"Whether there’s a spot or not, if the royal family gets involved, they won’t skimp on the cash!"
Whale Shark stood dumbfounded, muttering to himself:
"This might be my only chance to surpass my ancestors, oh my, isn’t this tempting me?"
As he spoke, Louis noticed the adventurers’ gaze had evolved from playful dogs to keen, hungry wolves.
Damn! Are the rewards from the royal family really that generous?
Louis’s eyes started to burn.
If the adventurers could get rewards, why shouldn’t he, who had supported them throughout?
Raising his head again, a fire burned in his eyes.
The sin of greed whispered to him that he might profit from this!
"What are you waiting for, charge with me!"
Louis grabbed Limuru, who was still savoring the "taste of home," and charged towards the Royal Guard’s direction.
The group of adventurers finally snapped out of it.
Such immense wealth couldn’t be left for others to grab first.
The adventurers marched grandly toward the Burning Smoke Mountain Range.
...
Several hours later.
As they broke through the wave of living dead, two forces stood in confrontation before Louis and his team.
One side was the fully armored Royal Guard united at one point.
—Louis even saw the fully armored Jino Kaichen among them.
The other side comprised two massive creatures exuding an intimidating cold glow.
—More accurately, they should be called "dragons."
Both sides methodically cleared the living dead surging from a subterranean hole.
But their eyes remained on each other, wary of an attack.
Louis roughly skimmed the nearby battlefield.
This area looked like it had been scoured by missiles, with ruins and crosswise slash marks everywhere.
It was clear his mentor had likely been dueling with the dragons for some time.
Though, from the looks of it, his condition wasn’t very good.
Soon the living corpses pouring from the dungeon were all slain.
Jino seemed to notice Louis’s arrival, his face darkened, genuinely wearing his displeasure.
Louis blinked.
It seemed his mentor got beaten up!
Judging by his appearance, it was one against two, injured by the opposing sapphire dragons.
He didn’t step forward for a reunion.
Today he’s adventurer Caesar, not familiar with Jino, ha!
Noticing Louis’s gaze, Jino puffed up in anger.
Furious!
He raised his greatsword, a blazing beam of light soared skyward, then crashed down like a meteor onto the cavern ceiling.
With a roar, the ground shook, creating a massive crater on the surface.
The surrounding area collapsed, revealing a huge void beneath.
Seeing Louis’s eyes light up, Jino snorted, saying nothing more.
"You think I can’t handle you?!"
Meanwhile, with the caverns’ top blown open, an altar of bones below was exposed.
On the altar laid a magical tome clutched by countless skeletons.
An obscure, foul magic power seeped from the tome, forming a black pillar shooting skyward.
Whether adventurers, Royal Guard, or the two dragons, they all displayed slight discomfort.
—Except for Louis and Olivia.
For some reason, the foul magic didn’t affect him at all.
He felt nothing but calm, maybe even felt like laughing.
The little swan was stranger still.
The foul magic avoided her entirely even before coming close.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
The giant statue beside Louis said incredulously:
"We clearly destroyed the New Book of the Dead!"
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed instantly.
Over the past five centuries, among the calamities on the continent, Mad King’s Bloody Ten Days were absolutely a top-ranking disaster.
And now, is the New Book of the Dead, representing Mad King’s legacy, resurfacing?
For a moment, everyone’s faces turned complex.
Some panicked.
Some were astonished.
Some were greedy.
Yet no one noticed the spinning, whistling sound of the sling already started.
With a boom!
A giant slime smashed directly onto the altar.
"Dissolve it, Limuru."
Louis gave an unhesitant command that shocked and angered some onlookers.