Chapter 1645 – 1645. God’S Atlantis
Having obtained Moses’ Staff and the Book of the Dead (2), I left the Ramesseum.
I knew where the Book of the Dead (3) was, so I moved without hesitation. The sight of hundreds of giant frogs, giant flies, and giant locust undead moving together was spectacular.
“There’s no time to stop. Walk faster.”
Time was not on my side.
I knew that better than anyone.
‘The ruler of the golden desert knows my location. He already sent an army once, and they were defeated by me. This time, he’ll send an army twice as large. If I stay still, I’ll be done for.’
I knew how vast the golden desert was. If Hatep, the ruler of the golden desert, decided to gather his army and march… there was no way to win in a head-on fight right now.
‘I need to increase my army as quickly as possible.’
Both quantity and quality.
I had to obtain both.
“Walk! Don’t run, walk!”
The undead don’t get tired. They can run all day without even panting. Why? Because they don’t have breath to pant!
However, the undead’s bodies are not immortal. They are made of bones and flesh. This means that the more they are used, the more their durability wears down.
‘If they break a joint while running? That’s the worst. Except for special cases like Skeleton Mages, the undead are basically meat shields. If they can’t run or move on the battlefield, their usefulness drops. At best, they can only be used as meat bombs.’
So, I had to use them as efficiently as possible. Although the undead’s bodies decay in the sunlight… there was nothing I could do about that. Using black magic could slow down the rate of decay.
‘The bigger problem is that if I send them out haphazardly, there will be a lot of stragglers.’
Some undead are too fast, and some are too slow. If I made them run at full speed, the undead army would be divided. Dividing the forces was definitely not a good idea.
Sitting in the palanquin, I looked at the sunlight. As a dead undead, I didn’t feel the heat of the sun. It was just a bit annoying.
‘I can’t do anything about the sun… I have no choice but to endure it. Suddenly, I feel really lazy. Should I switch to auto-mode?’
I decided to postpone auto-mode for later. I had things to do right now.
‘I need to create high-level undead.’
Unlike the mid-level undead that could be created haphazardly, high-level undead required some effort.
‘I’ll create a few at first and then switch to auto-mode.’
I recited the high-level undead creation spell written in the Book of the Dead. Three mid-level undead nearby stopped abruptly. Their bodies were finely disassembled and merged into one, forming a cocoon. The creation method itself was similar to when creating mid-level undead.
However, if you looked closely, something was different. A dark aura and an unusual presence could be felt from the cocoon.
Screeeeeech!
The cocoon split open, and a high-level undead emerged.
“Krrrraaaaa…”
It was a ghost.
Not an ordinary ghost. It was a ghost that exuded cold air. Frost formed in the place where the ghost was. Of course, the frost melted and froze repeatedly in the hot sunlight.
‘A cold ghost, huh? Something’s lacking.’
I checked the cold ghost’s abilities. It could do three things: fly, emit cold air, and shoot cold air. Everything else was mediocre.
“Master… command…”
“So, you can talk because you’re a high-level undead. That’s not bad.”
I began creating new high-level undead. I couldn’t use all the mid-level undead to create high-level undead. If I did, the army’s size would become too small. I planned to create high-level undead while maintaining a minimum size for the army.
Screeeeeech!
A new cocoon split open, and a zombie appeared. Not an ordinary zombie. It was a zombie that was 3 meters tall, with its right arm disproportionately large, like a tree trunk.
“Grrrraaa…”
“Looks like a meat shield zombie. Say something.”
“Grrrraaaaaa…”
Unlike the ghost, the zombie couldn’t talk. It seemed that not all high-level undead could talk.
‘I can’t shake off this ambiguous feeling.’
I was expecting a Death Knight as a high-level undead, but it was disappointing.
‘This one-armed undead looks slow… I need to modify its legs to make it run faster.’
That alone wouldn’t be enough.
‘Hmm.’
The cold ghost next to me caught my eye. I decided to modify the one-armed zombie using the cold ghost.
‘Modifying a high-level with another high-level, I should get something useful.’
I used Undead Modification (SS). The cold ghost and the one-armed zombie merged. The base was the one-armed zombie, because the zombie had more mass. There were limits to Undead Modification (SS), so it was an unavoidable choice.
What was created was a cannon zombie. Its large arm had transformed into a cannon.
“Shoot that hill over there with your cannon.”
“Krrrraaa…”
The cannon zombie aimed its large cannon arm at the hill. Unlike its stupid cry, its actions were quick.
Then, cold air gathered in the cannon and was fired.
KWAANG!
A cold air shell landed on the sand dune. The shell exploded, and cold air swirled around. The sand dune froze instantly.
I opened my mouth in surprise and then smiled. It was more powerful than I had imagined.
“Cannon Zombie! I’ll call you Dragoon! You’re as dumb as a Dragoon!”
“Krrrraaaaa…”
Seeing the potential of high-level undead, I felt much better.
• • •
Hatep sensed the presence of Tutankhamun, who had disappeared. However, he did not tell his subordinates. According to the reports from the warriors, Tutankhamun’s power was not threatening.
And in the current situation, he could not go to where Tutankhamun was. Having chosen conquest, he was leading his army to the 5,145th district, the Ant Desert, right next to him. It was the opposite direction from where Tutankhamun was.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The golden sand soldiers around Hatep marched in step. Hatep’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the golden sand soldiers. He desperately suppressed the rising corners of his mouth. If his face relaxed, he would lose his dignity.
‘These are soldiers!’
The golden sand soldiers don’t get tired. They don’t refuse orders. They don’t consume food, and they don’t need to sleep. They were truly ideal soldiers.
They had the disadvantage of not moving proactively, but he had solved that as well.
‘I spent a large amount of gold to create commander golden sand soldiers.’
Hatep smiled as he looked at the commander golden sand soldier walking beside him. The commander was larger and more ornate than the other golden sand soldiers.
‘Compared to them…’
Outside the golden sand soldiers were the desert warriors. The desert warriors riding camels were somewhat better, but the desert warriors walking on two feet without camels were panting and sweating profusely.
‘They need rest after a little march, and they demand food more than three times a day. They are useless compared to the golden sand soldiers.’
Hatep, sitting comfortably in his palanquin, clicked his tongue.
He planned to get rid of all the desert warriors later when the number of golden sand soldiers increased to 100,000.
“Great ruler of the golden desert! We will soon enter the Ant Desert district!”
“I know. Advance.”
He had finished his preparations when he advanced the army.
“I will become the master of the desert.”
Hatep had bet everything on this expedition. If he failed, he would lose everything. But Hatep was confident. He believed in the gold he had accumulated.
“Great ruler of the golden desert! We have discovered a desert tribe! Their number is estimated to be around 300!”
A scout approached and reported to Hatep.
“Capture them. The more prisoners, the better. Especially treat the women with care. They will be offered to the master of the oasis. As for the men… you can kill them if they resist.”
“Yes! Great ruler of the golden desert!”
The warriors of the golden desert advanced towards the enemies.
The battle ended quickly. Hatep’s army and the 300 desert tribesmen. The difference in power was like the sun and a campfire. The desert tribe surrendered without being able to do anything. The desert warriors shouted in victory.
At this rate, they would surely take a break to celebrate their small victory. For Hatep, it was an annoying thing.
“Don’t stop. Our goal is to kill the ruler of the Ant Desert by the end of today!”
At his urging, the army began to move again.
• • •
I met Harmo. It was to receive support from Harmo. I equipped the undead with the equipment I received from him. My undead army was getting stronger day by day.
“Harmo, I didn’t expect you to come in person. Isn’t the western tycoon busy?”
“I am busy! These days, I’m working with the Baldert Duke family on various things, so I’m even cutting down on my sleep time! The only reason I’m moving in person is because of Cheonma. He’s a VVVIP customer, so I have to attend to him personally, right?”
“You’re doing business with that illusionist?”
“Haha. Why are you like this? Most of the executives of Helten know that the illusionist is a mirror. How could they not know when he’s openly using such tremendous illusion magic? They’re just keeping quiet about it.”
“What kind of business are you doing? It doesn’t seem like an ordinary business.”
“Mask business! I’m using the source that Cheonma told me about. Hehehe. It’s about a year until the volcanic island rises.”
Harmo chuckled.
“The western tycoon will become a continental tycoon. Can I invest too?”
“That’s unexpected. I thought Cheonma wasn’t interested in this kind of thing.”
“I can’t miss an opportunity to make money for sure when it’s right in front of me.”
“Actually, I’ve already received enough investment from the mirror, but… I can’t leave out Cheonma. I’ll accept your investment. The mirror will definitely like it too.”
Harmo said with sparkling eyes.
“I don’t have money right now. To make money… I have to go around here and there. Is a loan possible?”
“Haha. Why are you like this? Have you forgotten who I am? My Lykos Merchant Guild handles everything that can make money. Information is also included in that. Of course, loans are also possible.”
He said, approaching me in a burdensome way. It was clear what Harmo wanted. He wanted to know information about the future.
