“You knew Mordred was the Lich King?” Lyriel asked Ulfrik as the five threaded a carpeted path. From the magical torch embedded in stone pillars and the darkness beyond them, they should be in some kind of castle.
“Don’t underestimate Ulfrik.” Demiurge commented, “He seems stupid at a glance, but he is still a member of Team Universal Truth. Being our peers, his intellect is comparable to any of us. In his domain, I dare say his mental acumen even surpasses my own.”
With a wry smile, Thorun asked the man himself, “So it’s only me and Lyriel who are unaware of who Mordred actually is?”
“Well…” Selene scratched her head, “This matter only came up after Mordred protected my kingdom's army from being obliterated… I found some ancient records as a result of the expedition but… I suppose I’ll let Ulfrik do the explanation.”
“Hey, answer the damn question.” Thorun urged Ulfrik once more.
Ulfrik pondered. “Before Cosmagus created the Universal Truth Guild and we split up on our ways, I noticed that Mordred’s Reinforcement Arts had always been fishy. I scoured the frontiers, even to the point of diving into several rank 4 Dungeons, but unfortunately, going solo has its limit. Nevertheless, I have found clues about ‘Death Specter’ in an undead dungeon fifty years ago.” His gaze then glanced at Selene, “It was also the moment where rumors spread about his Death Covenant wanting to establish the 8th sovereignty, the Death Kingdom, in the civilized world.”
“With Cosmagus’ help, I was the one who curbed those rumors.” Selene added, “Turns out, the Dark Guilds have been fighting in the shadows for centuries. That rumor was simply the collateral damage that came to light, caused by the opponents of Death Covenant to pressure it through the Seven Kingdoms' powers. Now, Death Covenant has become the undisputed leader of Dark Guilds.”
“Yeah. I kept digging around and found out that ‘Death Specter’ is merely a species of undead. They are similar to shadow demons that could perform dimensional reduction depending on their needs. Considering our Mordred’s Arts allows him to turn back and forth from corporeal to two-dimensional shadows and vice versa, added with his moniker as ‘Death Specter’ despite being a Lich, I assumed that he’s not even using his real body when he traveled with us.”
“When did you find out that he was the Lich King?” Lyriel inquired.
Just because they know Mordred is a lich, doesn’t mean he is the Lich King. It’s like saying a beggar on the side of a street is Cosmagus because both are human.
The Lich King is a famous entity that every single person in the Seven Kingdom knew, either through hearsay, ancient records, or bedtime stories. Supposedly, the Lich King was one of the few undead who existed since the Undead Calamity that occurred 751 years ago. During the inceptions, the undead were extremely hostile and would kill all living beings that they saw, but throughout history, this senseless behavior slowly ceased.
As more high-rank undead began to pop left and right, most of them gained intelligence and sentience. The undead race is unique in the sense that high-rank undead can somewhat govern the low-ranked ones through necromancy, so a semblance of order begins to take form. Supposedly, when the Lich King ascended as the king of undead, almost all non-dungeon undead began to stop their senseless murder as they gathered under the Lich King’s banner. Thus the creation of the Undead Legion.
This is why, despite having a negative effect on living beings, necromancy isn’t completely outlawed.
Even if they are outlawed, it’s not like it would cease the spread or usage. Everyone had already gotten a taste of how useful necromancy is. It'll be hard for them to give up this power completely.
“Ten years ago, I dived into a rank 3 dungeon, Deathly Silent Catacombs, to chase an escaping beast… Unknowingly, the dungeon has been completely subjugated and turned into Mordred’s Necropolis. According to my deduction, we should be the deepest reaches of Deathly-”
Crackle! The sound of bones rattling against each other can be heard beyond the darkness, startling everyone. The group ceased their steps as they began to notice the presence of a staircase not too far from their current position. The staircase led to a throne, of which a hooded figure sat still like a statue.
Swoosh! An arcane wind blew, igniting some sort of candles on the staircase’s edge. The faint illumination shed light on the surroundings, revealing various abstract statues of skeletons next to the staircases. The skeletal figure stood up and descended, gracing the group with their presence.
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[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1161489269383254126/1169263385364402176/Mordred.png?ex=6554c462&is=65424f62&hm=55495def2ff7396908d934f197f72202d4dacd2f843dbd7dbb0b2639f303ed5a&]
“Your Majesty!” Led by Demiurge, everyone else followed his lead of presenting a respectful bow.
Seeing no response after some time, Lyriel and Thorun raise their heads, followed by the rest of the team.
“Deathly Silent Catacomb’s most annoying feature is its eerie silence. I swear, the silence in this place is similar to Tellanor’s military punishment, solitary confinement.” Ulfrik whispered.
“So that’s why Mordred never spoke…” Lyriel and Thorun realized.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you… The Lich King is mute…” Demiurge touched his chin, “... and blind. I mean, he’s all bones, there’s no way he has vocal cords and eyes. What’s left must be rotten and fall off.”
“Then, how did he know that we’re here?” Lyriel asked.
“Vibration.” Ulfrik’s gaze quickly switched to Demiurge, his expression serious. “Now that we’re all here, would you mind elaborating your plan?”
Demiurge nodded, “The Civilized World consists of the Seven Kingdoms, each has its specialty and races, and their relationships are in a strange harmony due to the necessity of survival…” Demiurge uses his Magic Arts to refract space, creating an image as if he conjures lines of light with his finger as he draws a hexagon on the empty air.
Water Kingdom Meros is located in the northernmost portion of the civilized world. It is primarily governed by Merfolks, a fish-men race with various subspecies. Its primary exports are seafood and other water-related resources.
Earth Kingdom Tellanor guards the northwest portion of the civilized world. Its primary race is human. Due to human’s shorter lifespan and higher birth rate, its primary exports are actually human resources, but its strategic rare earths exports also play a big role in maintaining the civilized world.
Metal Kingdom Galvandor is the sovereignty of the dwarves, located in the southwest portion of the civilized world. Being natural-born miners and blacksmiths, dwarven techs such as weapons and golems ensure the stability of the civilized world’s borders.
Fire Kingdom Ignos stood at the bulwark of the southernmost portion of the civilized world. Governing the location with the most amount of sandy desert and volcanic zones, the lizardmen who thrived on the heat became the primary demographic of this kingdom. Its sand warriors are famous throughout the Seven Kingdoms, but its primary contributions to the civilized world are their mounts.
Wind Kingdom Zephyria’s territory is filled with craggy mountains and windy crevices, it is located in the southwest portion of the civilized world. The harpies’ relatively weaker physique forces them to hone their magic Arts, turning them into one of the most powerful air forces in the Seven Kingdoms.
As for the Forest Kingdom Sylvarios, it is the land of the elves, located in the northwest portion of the civilized world. Not only having great physical prowess, the elves’ Magical Arts are also powerful, making them the elites of the Seven Kingdom. However, due to their extremely low birth rate, they aren’t numerous, forcing them to rely on reinforcements of other races.
The last one is the Lightning Kingdom Fulguria, located in the center region surrounded by the other six kingdoms. The fairies governing Fulguria are physically weak, but in exchange, their magical Arts potential is the greatest amongst the seven races, to the point of allowing them to make contact with the Spirits.
Despite each race’s advantages and differences, there’s one thing that is similar between all seven kingdoms.
There’s not a single rank 4 being in their midst.
Demiurge’s gaze met with Ulfrik’s as he clenched his fist, dispelling the magical drawing that he made. “As the epitome of the human race, you’ve spent decades, perhaps centuries in the frontier just to hone your Reinforcement Arts.” He then took a deep look at Selene, “What about you? The ‘Celestial Arcanist’ is well-versed in all seven elemental attributes of Magic Arts, yet incapable of finding a way to ascend into the realm of rank 4?” His gaze then moved on to Thorun and Lyriel, “The same can be said with your golem and chimera. It’s not like you’re incapable of interacting with rank 4 resources that are plundered from the few first floors of rank 4 Dungeons in the frontiers, but why can’t you produce any rank 1 golem or chimera?”
“The ‘frontier’ is a vague line on the map, it is merely a gray territory outside the seven kingdom’s sphere of influence. The only thing that is standing between us pioneers and the area beyond the horizon is the existence of rank 4 dungeons which are a constant threat to any intelligent life.”
Before anyone could rebuke, he continued, “On the other hand, the situation within the Seven Kingdoms border had always been stable, no? The war between the seven races had been completely eliminated. In exchange, there are expeditions to the frontier with the goal of expanding the living space which occur every twenty years or so, but why is it that it occurs roughly every twenty years? In my opinion, if we waited for two hundred years to accumulate rank 3 manpower, I’m sure we might be able to subjugate a single rank 4 dungeon…”
“What’s your point?” Selene retorted back. In the last expedition, if not for Mordred’s help, her kingdom’s army would’ve suffered severely. Her acquaintances wouldn’t be able to return home, so she is also curious about Demiurge’s intention.
“The Lich King and I hypothesize that… the existence of the Seven Kingdom is merely a farce. The wall that kept us safe is a cage designed to lock us in.” Demiurge said, his expression grim. “In this ‘farm’, the regular vicennial expedition is but a method to harvest the crops… us.”