Four days after the battle in the City of Peyton, Lux and his comrades finally bid their goodbyes to the Yelan Generals and made their way toward the Ammarian Kingdom, where the last of their enemies were located.
"We should have brought that old Halfling with us," Prince Cyrus grumbled. "If he came along, we no longer have to worry about failing to conquer this dungeon."
Malcolm, Nero, and the rest of the members of the Skystead Alliance kept their silence. They neither agree nor disagree with their Prince's statement, but inside their minds, the majority of them shared the same opinion.
Gaap had woken up before Lux left the City of Peyton. The two of them talked for a while about many important things.
The old Half-Ling didn't tell Lux why he fell asleep for a few days, and Lux didn't ask. Even so, they discussed what must be done, and the way on how to do it.
After their talk ended, the Half-Elf announced that he would now go to the Ammarian Kingdom to deal with the remaining monsters. He added that those who wanted to come with him may do so, and those who wanted to stay in the city could remain behind.
If this was an ordinary scenario, many would have stayed in the city in order to play it safe. However, since they were being watched by their superiors outside of the Domain of the Fallen, showing cowardice was not an option.
An hour later, everyone hopped onto their mounts and followed the Half-Elf, who was leading them to the venue of their last battle.
Since Gaap had stayed behind in the city, the majority of the teenagers were feeling anxious. Only Lux and his guild members weren't too worried because they believed that they would be able to overcome any situation as long as they were with the red-headed teenager.
"The spirits are feeling restless," Cai commented while sitting atop of her Winged Serpent, Coatl. "We should be careful when we arrive at the Ammarian Kingdom."
"Can you communicate with them?" Lux asked while his Thunder Warg King flew alongside Cai's flying mount. "Maybe they can tell you something we don't already know."contemporary romance
"Um, I can do it, but not now," Cai replied as she gave Lux a knowing glance.
The Half-Elf nodded because he understood what Cai was trying to say. Since there was a risk that people would find out about her real identity, the High Priestess of the Rowan Tribe made sure that she stayed in her Boar form whenever she was in public.
So far, only a handful of individuals aside from her Tribe members knew about her true form.
"But even if I can't communicate with them, I can make a guess," Cai stated. "You remember that silver-haired Devil that kidnapped me? He's here."
Lux's expression immediately turned serious after hearing his fiance's words. If that silver-haired Devil was really here, then this final showdown in the Ammarian Kingdom wouldn't go smoothly.
"Do you think he is one of the Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses we are going to fight?" Lux inquired.
Cai didn't reply right away. Instead, she closed her eyes as if using her Divine Powers to find the answer to her fiance's question.
A few minutes later, the Boar opened her eyes and shook her head.
"I don't know," Cai replied. "But if he isn't one of the two Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses that we already know about, then things would be a lot harder. That bastard is pretty sly. I still want to pay him back for kidnapping me back then."
Lux also wanted a piece of that silver-haired bastard's face. Back then, he was still too weak to fight against him.
The Half-Elf was confident that as long as the Abyssal Creature wasn't a Calamity-Ranked Monster or a Saint, he would be able to beat him to a pulp.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the border of the Ammarian Kingdom.
It was quite evident that a fierce battle had taken place. No matter where one looked, there was destruction everywhere. Many villages, towns, and cities along the way were in ruins.
Bloodstains could be seen in all directions, but no bodies were found.
Clearly, the monster made sure to devour their victims, leaving nothing but the blood that dyed the ground.
"Let's rest here for the night," Lux said as he urged his Thunder Warg King to land in a ruined city, where several houses were still intact. "It will take us one more day to reach the Capital City. Everyone, do what you can to recover your strength just in case we need to fight monsters along the way."
The Half-Elf wanted to test something that he had learned in Zangrila, and this city was the perfect place to do his experiment.
After everyone had settled down, Lux went off on his own and went to the place where he could feel the strongest presence of lingering souls in the city.
Following the awakening of his Necromancer sense in Zangrila, Lux could see the earth-bound souls of the dead that were unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
"Can any of you tell me what happened here?" Lux asked the souls that he had summoned to him. "What kind of monsters attacked you?"
"Devil," an old man replied. "It was a Devil that attacked us. He commanded countless monsters. We weren't able to do anything."
"Everything happened so fast, we were unable to defend ourselves," a man wearing armor answered. "However, even if we had been warned beforehand, it would still be simply impossible to fight against them. We were outranked and outmatched."
The other souls also shared everything they saw during the day of their deaths, but aside from the silver-haired Devil that they spoke of, they didn't get the chance to see the other monsters that were as strong as him.
"I can't find my mommy anywhere," a little girl said tearfully. "Can you help me find her? I've already looked everywhere."
"It hurts… it burns… stop… don't kill me!"
"Noo! Don't come close! I don't want to die!"
Some of the souls had already lost their reason and were reliving their last moments before they died. It was very painful to see, so Lux helped them cross over to the other side.
But not everyone wanted to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Several soldiers and those who had helped to defend their city on that fateful day wanted revenge.
There were several hundreds of them, with a few of them being rankers as well.
"How about I help you out on this one, Lux?"
Leoric appeared beside the Half-Elf and looked at the souls of the dead with a smile.
"What do you plan to do?" Lux asked.
"Well, I plan to temporarily convert them into Wraith Soldiers until they finish their revenge," Leoric replied. "Although they are only numbered around five hundred, with my ability, they will be able to instantly gain combat experience, making them more effective in battle."
As the Wraith King of Zangrila, Leoric had the ability to recruit ghosts, specters, wraiths, and any other corporeal spirits into his own Legion.
Each member of Lux's covenant could have their own armies under them, greatly increasing the Half-Elf's forces, without him having to do anything.
"So, do you want revenge?" Leoric asked the souls in front of him.
"We do!"
"Kill those monsters!"
"I'll avenge my family!"
"I'll kill them all even if that's the last thing I do!"
"Very well." Leoric nodded. "All of you kneel."
The souls all knelt in front of Lux and Leoric as if they were their sovereign.
"Do all of you swear to acknowledge Lux Von Kaizer as your temporary Sovereign until you finish with your revenge?" Leoric asked.
"""We swear!"""
"And, do you also swear to defend and obey him until death takes you for the second time?" Leoric asked.
"""We swear!"""
"Then I dub all of you Wraith Knights under the service of your new liege!" Leoric raised his sword and a ray of light descended upon the souls in front of him. "Rise! And until you have exacted your revenge, serve him well!"
"""Yes! My Lord!"""
All the souls that had sworn fealty towards Lux received spectral armor, similar to what the Wraith Soldiers of Zangrila were wearing when they fought against the Abyssal Creatures.
The knighting ceremony also raised their ranks back to the peaks they had reached when they were alive, allowing these warriors to fight at their full potential.
Although they were just temporary soldiers that would fight under Lux's banner, having them around would greatly bolster their current forces.
Lux, who had seen Leoric's ability, pondered for a bit.
Gaap had told him before they left that if ever he came across a battlefield with many earth-bound souls, he should ask the newest member of his Covenant, the Wraith King, to make them all part of his spectral army.
After seeing it firsthand, Lux finally understood how terrifying Leoric could be. As a Necromancer, he could revive the dead, but the souls of the departed were still out of his reach.
'Maybe I can unlock a skill that would allow me to have dominion over souls after I become a Ranker,' Lux thought as he eyed the Wraith Army in front of him.
Because of this, Lux decided to go to the Ancestral Grounds of the Necromancer with his Master, Gaap, in order to receive the blessing of the World as soon as possible.
That way, he would be able to unlock his Transcendent Skills, which would truly bring out the power that he currently possessed inside his body.
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