Absolute Dweller-Chapter 200

The Lich gazed down at his crumbling, blackened bones, deep in thought.

What... was that?

A power that erased hundreds of Death Knights in an instant—

A power that wiped out the Death Knight General and even the Reaper, who had been personally blessed by the Lord of Death.

That black sphere didn’t just kill.

It deleted everything it touched.

The Lich looked at the dark energy crawling up his spine, realizing—

It wasn’t just eating away at his bones.

It was erasing his existence.

‘Who... is the master of this power?’

From the very first encounter, the Lich had sensed Divinity in that man’s energy.

But this wasn’t like any Divinity he had ever known.

‘Even Divine power cannot take the lives of the Undying Legion.’

The Undying Legion.

They were called that for a reason—

They didn’t die.

Even if their ribcages shattered, even if their skulls were pulverized—

They stood back up.

For them, death was a concept denied.

Even against Divine power, at most, their resurrection would be delayed.

‘Only He can grant us death.’

The Lord of Death.

Mortimus.

For the Undying Legion, death was a gift that could only be bestowed by His will.

And yet—

‘What is this power that dares trespass upon His authority?’

The man had killed those who should not have died.

That was why, at the start of battle, the Lich had hesitated to intervene.

He had watched as skeletal soldiers were erased in real-time.

It was an impossible phenomenon—

One he needed to comprehend before acting.

Only after observing how the man exhausted himself fighting the Reaper—

Only after he had wasted his energy on that meaningless Meteor attack—

Had the Lich deemed it safe to strike.

‘And yet... he had been hiding such power all along?’

Perhaps the man had been waiting—

For all the key figures of the Undying Legion to gather in one place.

‘That explosion...’

The Lich recalled that final moment—

That power.

It had shredded through his defenses.

The Divine Blessings layered upon his mana barrier—

The same barrier that had withstood thousands of years of attacks—

Had been ripped apart like paper.

Could His Lordship have survived that?

‘I must report this.’

The Lich knew—

There was no saving himself now.

The black energy had already reached his neck bones.

His very essence was being unmade.

But before he vanished, he had to send a message.

To warn his Lord.

To tell him—

That power is dangerous.

It must never be approached.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Even if it was blasphemous to dictate orders to Him, the Lich felt he had to.

But then—

RUMMMMMMMBLE—

The ground quaked.

His skull rolled, his vision shaking—

CRACK!

His head slammed into a sharp rock, the weakened bone crumbling like sand.

And in that final moment—

The black energy surged, engulfing his entire skull.

‘So this... is death.’

As he faded, his final sight was a cataclysmic eruption.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion tore through the earth—

A red-hot geyser of lava shot into the sky.

Black ash blanketed the heavens, while molten magma rained down like fire.

The raw fury of nature—

Consuming everything in its path.

That was the Lich’s last vision.

***

At that very moment—

The one who had commanded the Undying Legion sensed it.

The connection was broken.

In a barren, silent city, a lone skeletal figure stirred.

His jaw parted—

And in a deep, rumbling tone, he spoke:

[...Rise.]

But—

Nothing happened.

[...]

The Death Knight General.

The Lich.

The Reaper.

In his long, unending existence, they had lost battles before.

There were always stronger foes.

But it had never mattered.

Even if their bodies were destroyed beyond recognition—

With just one call from their Lord, they would rise again.

Yet now—

His command was met with silence.

[...Rise.]

He spoke again—

And again—

Nothing.

His empty sockets turned southward.

Then—

Rattle.

For the first time in ages—

The Lord of Death moved.

Clack.

In the dead city, his solitary footsteps echoed—

As he walked south.

***

The first order of business after the Avatar’s death was to evacuate all vassals and civilians into the Safe Zone.

I had initially planned to wait until the Avatar resurrected before making any moves.

The Undead Legion’s power was overwhelming.

Even with the self-destruction attack and volcanic eruption, there was no guarantee that the enemy had been completely wiped out.

It made more sense to fortify our defenses and hold out for three days—until the Avatar returned.

But my vassals thought differently.

Kim Dabin spoke up first.

"We must attack first."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why do you think so? I've already explained how dangerous the Undead Legion is."

Kim Dabin met my gaze with absolute certainty.

"Because they are dangerous."

"...What?"

He took a step forward.

"If they truly have the power to breach the Safe Zone, as you suspect, then doing nothing is the worst choice. If we sit and wait, the damage could be catastrophic."

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"...."

"Furthermore, now is the best time to strike."

The volcanic eruption and the Avatar's detonation had caused massive destruction.

We believed the eruption was from Baekdu Mountain—the falling volcanic ash confirmed it.

Even if the Death Knight General, the Lich, and the Reaper hadn't been completely annihilated, they had to be critically weakened.

This was the perfect chance to finish them off before they could recover.

Another vassal chimed in.

"Even «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» if they weren’t wiped out, they must have suffered serious losses. We should finish them before they regain their strength."

"But what if the Undead Legion is just one part of their forces? What if they have reinforcements?"

It was a valid concern.

The Legion’s sheer scale suggested they were merely a subset of a much larger army.

Before making any reckless decisions, we needed more information.

Yet every single vassal in the room was willing to fight.

I frowned.

"This isn’t like before. This enemy is different. A single mistake could mean death."

The Death Knights’ cursed energy wasn’t something we could afford to underestimate.

Even the Avatar—covered in a divine energy barrier—had been wounded by their attacks.

If a normal vassal was touched by that deathly aura...

I didn’t even want to think about it.

Yet—

"Jaehyun-nim."

Kim Geon spoke next.

"We swore an oath when we became vassals. If this day ever came, we pledged to lay down our lives without hesitation."

The room fell silent.

Then, one by one, the others voiced their agreement.

"That’s right. We knew this day would come."

"We received these powers to protect this place. If that means giving our lives, so be it."

"My family is here. My friends are here. If we let them invade, we’ll lose everything."

Some spoke of duty.

Some spoke of family.

Some even saw this as humanity’s last stand.

And then—

"Uh... I didn’t exactly sign up to die, but... yeah... I’ll fight."

Park Saerom hesitantly raised a hand.

"But, uh... can you summon me out if things get bad? I really don’t want to die."

A chuckle spread through the room.

Even the more hesitant vassals were prepared to fight.

And at that moment, I realized something.

These people weren’t burdens for me to protect.

They weren’t weaklings I had to shelter.

They were warriors—standing beside me as equals.

I smiled.

"I’m grateful to have you all."

And then—

"Son."

A heavy hand fell on my shoulder.

"...Dad?"

My father stood behind me.

"This time, I’m coming with you."

"But the Estate—"

"Your mother will hold it. As long as one of us is there, the Estate functions just fine."

I hesitated.

I had deliberately kept my father out of battle.

Not because he wasn’t strong—

But because I was scared.

During the Vampire War, I had seen him fight a True Ancestor.

And I never wanted to see him in that danger again.

I had tried to keep him in the Estate, where I thought he’d be safe.

But he saw through me.

"Great power comes with great responsibility."

His words pierced my selfishness.

He placed his other hand on my shoulder.

"And a husband must protect his wife, right?"

"...Be careful. Don’t push yourself too hard."

With that, the decision was made.

Kim Dabin quickly organized the plan.

"Since we’re taking the initiative, our first priority is gathering intel. We’ll assemble a scouting team."

Ten elite vassals were selected:

Kim Geon (Crow Manipulation)Moon ByunghoKim GayeongKang DeoksooLee JunhyukJang SungjoonYoo HangilJung SoraYang HayoungMy father.

They were all high-level combatants.

The rear-guard vassals would stay behind to defend the Safe Zone.

Kim Dabin gave a final nod.

"Alright. Let’s move."