Chapter 1444
From the moment Leon saw the Blood Oak Forest and everything he witnessed inside the shadowy castle, he instantly confirmed Lester Black's identity. Then, he even raised the banner of the Skeleton King, and went so far as to utter the Skeleton King's name.
Lester Black had no doubts left—he was nearly scared to death. As the Fifth Vampire Progenitor at level forty-eight, he now had no choice but to bow down and kneel before Leon, the level forty-six Skeleton King.
Ordinary undead don't have nearly as many schemes as Lester Black. Don't be fooled by Leon's mere forty-sixth rank—just knowing the Skeleton King's name says a lot. At the very least, it means he's extremely close to the Skeleton King, maybe even personally raised by him.
Lester Black wouldn't dare provoke such an undead. It doesn't matter if he's level forty-eight—even the First Vampire Progenitor wouldn't dare defy the Skeleton King.
There is only one true king in the Undead Plane, and all dark creatures have to admit it—because the Skeleton King's fist is the biggest. He's a terrifying existence beyond the Sky Rank, able to effortlessly tear apart all Vampire Progenitors with one hand, and kill them utterly...
Leon said nothing, and Lester Black was even more miserable.
Damn undead, so rigid—can't they be a little flexible? Idiots, absolute idiots...
Lester Black was miserable inside, but he didn't dare show any disrespect. Even though he believed he could easily tear apart this level forty-six Skeleton King, he wouldn't dare harm even a single finger bone.
"Lord Skeleton King, everything has been done according to the Skeleton King's will. As long as one of those foolish humans takes the bait, the rest will follow—all of them have fallen into the trap."
Leon put the box away and nodded to Lester Black.
"The Skeleton King will understand. You did well. The Skeleton King once said that as long as those humans remain alive, they'll keep luring more powerful humans our way."
Let them enter the Realm of Nightmares. In the end, this war will be ours—we’ll achieve an unprecedented victory!
At last, Lester Black breathed a sigh of relief. But just then, Leon suddenly swung the Reaper’s Scythe, dismembering Lester Black in a single instant.
Even after being torn apart, Lester Black did not die. His severed head rolled across the ground, staring at Leon in terror and confusion, unable to comprehend why Leon had suddenly attacked.
The unique power of the Reaper’s Scythe prevented him from transforming or healing. Already gravely wounded, this only worsened his injuries. If a Vampire Progenitor had a soul, he’d be dead by now...
"Lord Skeleton King, why? Why are you doing this? I fulfilled the Skeleton King’s command..."
Leon tossed the Reaper’s Scythe aside, and a layer of gray mist enveloped his body. When the mist dissipated, Leon returned to his true appearance. The vast life force radiating from him was, in Lester Black’s eyes, as dazzling as a miniature sun.
"Human—you’re human! Damn it, this is impossible, absolutely impossible..."
Lester Black was driven completely mad by fear. How could a Skeleton King possibly become a human?
Leon put the box away and nodded to Lester Black.
"The Skeleton King will understand. You did well. The Skeleton King once said that as long as those humans remain alive, they'll keep luring more powerful humans to us."
Let them enter the Realm of Nightmares. In the end, this war will be ours—we’ll achieve an unprecedented victory!
At last, Lester Black breathed a sigh of relief. But just then, Leon suddenly swung the Reaper’s Scythe, dismembering Lester Black in a single instant.
Even after being torn apart, Lester Black did not die. His severed head rolled across the ground, staring at Leon in terror and confusion, unable to comprehend why Leon had suddenly attacked.
Killing a Vampire Progenitor is no easy feat, but Leon had learned from last time. Treating a Vampire Progenitor as a special living material made things much simpler. Since they lack souls, sacrificing them as unique materials meant their deaths were truly final.
Using the remains of a level forty-eight Vampire Progenitor as material to upgrade the Reaper’s Scythe, the once bone-white weapon now bore streaks of blood-red patterns. The entire scythe seemed to ignite with crimson flames, its edges sharper and more menacing, its aura far more terrifying—vastly stronger than before.
Previously, this Reaper’s Scythe was merely the companion weapon of a level forty-seven Skeleton King, almost an extension of his body. Now, it was absolutely on par with the weapon of a level forty-nine Skeleton King—perhaps even stronger in some ways.
When Leon picked up the Reaper’s Scythe again, a newly emerged blood-red skull seemed to come alive, glaring at him with terrifying malice. The scythe itself trembled, as if it wanted to break free and strike Leon down.
Leon ignored Lester Black’s cries. He sprinkled his own blood, then took out a prepared Alchemical Array and tossed Lester Black’s dismembered limbs into it, activating the array with blood.
Soon, Lester Black’s agonized screams echoed from within the Alchemical Array.
"Human, you won’t escape your fate. The Skeleton King won’t spare you, nor will the vampires. It’s useless—you can kill me, but it won’t matter. All those people have entered the Realm of Nightmares. No one can save them now."
It’s pointless—they’re trapped for good. Even the Skeleton King can’t rescue them. You’ll die, and your death will be miserable. Ah...
Amid the agonized screams, Lester Black was reduced to a pool of blood. Leon considered for a moment, then tossed the Reaper’s Scythe into the Alchemical Array as well.
Killing a Vampire Progenitor is no easy feat, but Leon had learned from last time. Treating a Vampire Progenitor as a special living material made things much simpler. Since they lack souls, sacrificing them as unique materials meant their deaths were truly final.
Using the remains of a level forty-eight Vampire Progenitor as material to upgrade the Reaper’s Scythe, the once bone-white weapon now bore streaks of blood-red patterns. The entire scythe seemed to ignite with crimson flames, its edges sharper and more menacing, its aura far more terrifying—vastly stronger than before.
Previously, this Reaper’s Scythe was merely the companion weapon of a level forty-seven Skeleton King, almost an extension of his body. Now, it was absolutely on par with the weapon of a level forty-nine Skeleton King—perhaps even stronger in some ways.
When Leon picked up the Reaper’s Scythe again, a newly emerged blood-red skull seemed to come alive, glaring at him with terrifying malice. The scythe itself trembled, as if it wanted to break free and strike Leon down.
Leon shook his head and transformed back into a skeleton. The purest death aura began to emanate from him, and the Reaper’s Scythe immediately calmed down. The blood-red skull glared at Leon for several seconds before opening its mouth to devour a wisp of death energy from him. Instantly, the scythe’s aura became identical to Leon’s—a sign of acceptance.
Leon scratched his skull with a bony claw, sending up a shower of sparks, feeling both amused and exasperated.
The birth of a Skeleton King is mostly a matter of chance—a skeleton undead who picks up the Reaper’s Scythe at its birthplace. If the scythe recognizes him, it devours a bit of his death power and becomes part of the Skeleton King. If not, it destroys the skeleton on the spot and consumes his Soul Fire, waiting for the next candidate.
This recognition depends not just on the number of Death Marks, but—most importantly—on the purity of death power. Undead in the Undead Plane don’t really care about such things; as long as there’s Soul Fire, they’ll keep devouring it, regardless of species.
But if an undead consumes too many of other kinds, its death power becomes mixed and impure, even if the Death Marks increase...
You won’t find many undead in the Undead Plane who haven’t devoured other kinds’ Soul Fire. Thanks to the Chapter of the Fallen, Leon’s death power was transformed—his magic became purer, and so did his death power, purer than any undead in the plane.
So it’s no surprise the Reaper’s Scythe accepted him. Now, Leon felt as if the scythe was an extension of his own arm—part of his body. He was finally a true Skeleton King, not just a pale imitation.
In his skeletal form, Leon erupted with a terrifying surge of death power, swinging the Reaper’s Scythe and slicing the shadowy castle into fragments, erasing every last trace of living presence in a flood of death energy.
No one would ever find evidence of the living here again—at most, they’d discover this place was overrun by undead, and that a Skeleton King was responsible.
But dark creatures and undead were never exactly friendly—in fact, most didn’t even know the meaning of the word. So what if a Vampire Progenitor’s castle got torn apart by a Skeleton King? Nobody would care...
If it’s the undead who did it, it’s just internal strife. Even other Vampire Progenitors, unless they’re especially close, might investigate a little, send a dark army to slaughter a few dozen Sky Rank undead to vent their anger, and then forget about it...
Leon, with the blood-red Reaper’s Scythe on his back, left the Blood Oak Forest. Every Blood Oak Tree he passed instinctively parted, clearing the way for a Skeleton King radiating such terrifying power. Getting out of the forest was no challenge at all.
If it had been a living person, those Blood Oak Trees would’ve launched a suicidal assault—shredded to pieces, they would never stop attacking.
Once again, Leon appreciated the perks of disguising himself as undead. The Chapter of the Fallen might not seem so powerful, but it’s easily the most practical component of all.
Disguise as undead, avoid danger, become a native of the Undead Plane, and absorb Soul Fire to comprehend laws and level up the undead way—far more useful than any other component, at least for boosting your rank.
After leaving the Blood Oak Forest, Leon took out that pristine level-48 Soul Fire. In the Undead Plane, something of this grade was rarer than rare—you could trade it for a territory the size of the Odin Kingdom from any undead lord, provided you survived the transaction...
The Soul Fire had no consciousness left—it was just a currency in the Undead Plane. Leon found a spot and began carefully absorbing it.
A level forty-six Skeleton King carrying a weapon fit for at least a level forty-nine—like a toddler lugging gold into a bandit’s den. Higher-ranked Skeleton Kings wouldn’t hesitate to snatch the Reaper’s Scythe, even if they couldn’t guarantee its acceptance.
As Leon began to devour the Soul Fire, he realized it was even more powerful than he’d imagined—and it belonged to a skeleton undead.
Absorbing just one-thirtieth of its power matched all of Leon’s own soul strength. In other words, this Soul Fire held thirty times more soul power than Leon’s, and its quality was three or four times higher—even though Leon’s own Soul Fire was already frighteningly pure.
As Leon absorbed the Soul Fire, he purged a vast amount of potentially harmful energy—nine-tenths of it wasted. He decided to channel all the excess soul power he couldn’t use into the Reaper’s Scythe, letting the weapon absorb it.
Devouring so much soul power, the Reaper’s Scythe might even evolve into a magic weapon, perhaps developing a weapon incarnation—no longer just a Skeleton King’s tool.
After a week spent absorbing the Soul Fire, Leon had only taken in one-tenth, but his soul power had surged fivefold, and its quality improved more than three times over.
The Soul Fire was packed with Death Marks, which merged directly into his own, granting him instant comprehension of those rules—Leon leveled up...
Level forty-seven Skeleton King...
After transforming back into a human, Leon realized his rank had reached Sky Rank seven. But only his grasp of the dark laws matched that—earth, fire, water, wind, and space were still far behind.
Still, an increase in rank was an increase. With this boost, gaining insight into other rules seemed much easier.
After a brief check, Leon transformed back into Skeleton King, marveling at the power of the Chapter of the Fallen.
Advancing as undead was so easy—a Skeleton King with a mage’s wisdom could progress far faster than most undead in the Undead Plane.
After this breakthrough, advancing further by devouring Soul Fire would become much harder. Each step up would be exponentially more difficult—but even so, it’s still far quicker than a mage trying to comprehend those obscure laws on his own.
Most importantly, this method is instinctive for the undead, perfectly aligned with the Undead Plane’s rules, and carries no side effects whatsoever—that’s what makes it so terrifying...
If Leon wished, he could hunt high-level undead—those above level forty-seven—and keep devouring their Soul Fire, pushing for level forty-nine in no time.
But that’s just wishful thinking. With only ten percent efficiency, reaching level forty-nine would mean taking down at least a dozen level forty-nine undead.
Plus, if his mastery of death laws overpowers earth, fire, water, and wind, it could destabilize his foundation—no potential for growth in the future.
Now a level forty-seven Skeleton King, Leon began pondering how to rescue Gandalf and the others. According to that unlucky Vampire Progenitor, they’d all entered the Realm of Nightmares.
Thinking about the Realm of Nightmares, Leon couldn’t help but scratch his skull with a bony claw, sending sparks flying. The situation was complicated—very complicated...
The Realm of Nightmares—the divine realm of the Lord of Nightmares. During the great war of gods and demons, the Lord of Nightmares was grievously wounded. To escape his nemesis, he fled from the world of Northend to the Undead Plane, but his wounds were too severe. Even with the Undead Plane’s power, his divine soul shattered like glass, and he couldn’t escape his fate.
The Lord of Nightmares fell in the Undead Plane, and his divine realm collapsed with him. Over time, it merged into the Undead Plane, becoming a sort of quasi-affiliated plane.
The Realm of Nightmares has no definite world. Entering it is like stepping into endless nightmares—no one can predict what will happen inside. And with its unique fusion with the Undead Plane, there’s even less certainty about what awaits within.
According to the unlucky Vampire Progenitor, the information was highly reliable—it answered all of Leon’s lingering questions.
Only a place like the Realm of Nightmares could trap Agalon. He hasn’t fallen, but he’s completely confined there. With Agalon’s strength, he won’t die inside the Realm of Nightmares, but escaping is nearly impossible.
At least for now, there’s no hope of getting out—unless Agalon ignites his divine fire and becomes a being beyond Sky Rank.
The fifth Vampire Progenitor hasn’t died, but suffered terrible wounds and hasn’t recovered after all this time. As for the fallen Vampire Progenitors, it was likely Agalon or Alonzo who took them down. At their level, even the vampires’ legendary vitality couldn’t save a Progenitor from destruction.