The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 148

The Grey Immortal Legion departed eastward with the Immortal Lord, while the priests of the Slaughter Cult returned westward following Saintess Merida.

-Urgh… Ukurak, almost saw Father. Almost became meat…

Aden found Ukurak, who miraculously escaped the guards of the Slaughter Tower while bound in chains, and sent him back to Frozen.

Anyway, he was a lucky ogre.

“Waah! Our home has collapsed!”

“All the prisoners are dead! Waaaah!”

“The ogre we were going to eat for dinner escaped! Sniff!”

“…”

Saintess Merida and the priests of the Slaughter Cult stood in a daze, staring at the collapsed Slaughter Tower and the fifty priests who were sobbing uncontrollably.

Their expressions, as if they had lost their country overnight, might have evoked a tiny bit of guilt in Aden.

But humans can easily brush off such a tiny bit of guilt, and Aden did just that.

-…Dragon Slayer.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

However, Aden did not wish to sour relations with the Slaughter Cult. He called in the Dwarf construction workers from Stoneheim through Hetos.

“All is well!”

“A sala alai malaiku!”

Using their peculiar spirit construction spells, they built temporary houses and began the construction of a new Slaughter Tower.

In a week, a brand-new tower would be completed, with interior finishing done neatly.

Since it was a tower built by dwarves, it was bound to be much sturdier and better than before.

‘In the future, the Slaughter Cult priests will also be dispatched to Frozen.’

Currently, in Frozen, they were using Frost Ogre Lord Okurak to make the monsters mine minerals and build the city.

But it was challenging to control the monsters with just Ukurak.

However, if the priests of the Slaughter Cult added their strength, they could perfectly control the monsters.

‘Saintess Merida also promised to help whenever the Slaughter Cult’s power was needed.’

The Slaughter Cult consisted of elite warriors with the prowess equivalent to ten thousand trolls.

They would be a great help when significant power was needed in the future.

-You destroyed the tower and now, in exchange for rebuilding it, you receive the right to summon the Slaughter Cult and their monster by-products. What a bandit-like move…

‘Did I destroy it? The tower collapsed on its own. It’s not my fault.’

-…

Spica, who had reverted from a usurping saintess to an ordinary priestess, had not woken up for a while, likely due to the effects of having died and been revived while possessed by the demon sword.

Saintess Merida said she would take responsibility for her life.

‘It no longer matters to me.’

The revenge against the Iron-Blooded Saint was already over. She had paid the price.

Whether she woke up and committed suicide out of guilt or shamelessly held her head high and lived boldly, he had no intention of getting involved.

Spica Runious was nothing to Aden anymore.

‘They, however…’

But there was one thing that bothered Aden.

It was the existence of ‘them’ that Spica had testified about.

‘The ones who gave Spica the demon sword Lavolas.’

They must have known the power of the 72 demon swords and used Spica to harm the Slaughter Cult.

In this timeline, only warlocks and a few extremely rare individuals knew the secret of the 72 demon swords.

‘And among those related to the three major divine sects who would pull such a stunt, I know only one.’

The radical warlock faction, Chaos.

It was definitely their doing.

‘They did similar things to the Sacred Fire Order, so the likelihood is even higher.’

They had corrupted the vice-cult leader of the Sacred Fire Order, making him abandon his holy power and accept dark magic, turning him into a warlock.

Then they assassinated the cult leader and set him up as the next cult leader to corrupt the Sacred Fire Order.

Given the future downfall of the Sacred Fire Order, what they wanted here was probably the downfall or weakening of the Slaughter Cult.

Holy power and dark magic are mutually opposed.

The weaker the three major sects became, the easier it would be for the warlocks of Chaos to act.

‘That’s why it was so difficult to subdue the warlocks in the future.’

The Sacred Fire Order, as previously mentioned, was ruined by the vice-cult leader.

The Slaughter Cult was annihilated due to the Immortal Lord’s resurrection.

The Law God Sect had been corrupt and rotten from the beginning.

‘Because of this, the empire nearly fell to the warlocks.’

But no one connected the weakening of the three major sects with the warlocks.

There was no correlation between the three events.

However, this time, Aden was sure.

The warlocks of Chaos were aiming for the downfall or weakening of the three major sects.

Thus, it made sense that they used the variable of the demon sword Lavolas, unlike in the future.

They must have been planning a similar scheme in the future.

‘And before they could execute the plan, the Immortal Lord incident occurred.’

Thanks to the Immortal Lord, Chaos took advantage without lifting a finger, so they probably ignored the Slaughter Cult side.

But with the future changed, they moved their plan forward.

-It’s likely because you dealt with the vice-cult leader and saved the Sacred Fire Order, Dragon Slayer.

‘That must be it.’

Failing to weaken the Sacred Fire Order, the anxious Chaos targeted the Slaughter Cult.

‘Annoying.’

They were cockroaches that had never pleased him in the slightest, but now he detested them even more.

Especially since they kept interfering with his revenge.

‘I’ll have to figure out their base in this life.’

Aden called the Chaos faction cockroaches not just as an insult but also because he couldn’t pinpoint their nest.

In his past life, although he had captured and killed many warlocks, he never managed to subdue the base of the Chaos faction.

At some point, they seemed to vanish as if they had evaporated, stopping their activities and traces, hiding in the world.

Later, because of the Great Dragon incident that turned the continent upside down, there was no time to worry about the warlocks.

‘Where will they target next?’

First was the Sacred Fire Order, then the Slaughter Cult.

Only one sect remained.

‘The Law God Sect.’

Their next target would likely be the Law God Sect. It was just a guess, but it seemed probable.

It seemed he would have to visit the Law God Sect nation, Ternian, at least once.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

As Aden was passing through the door of Hetos’s workshop on his way back to Frozen, he paused at the door.

-Why, Dragon Slayer?

He glanced back at the Wasteland of Death. Only a barren wilderness was visible.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

‘Something feels off.’

The intuition that had saved Aden countless times while slaughtering thousands of Talos was tingling inside him.

“Young man! Why are you dawdling and not coming in?”

“Nothing, Hetos.”

“Damn it, I never thought I’d let a troll set foot in my workshop! You rotten scoundrel!”

“Thanks to that, we prevented a war, didn’t we? Stop grumbling and let’s crack open a bottle of Remes estate wine.”

“Damn it…”

At Hetos’s urging, Aden closed the door with a wry smile, and the workshop door connected to the Wasteland of Death smoothly disappeared.

* * *

Everyone had disappeared from the eastern outskirts of the Wasteland of Death.

As the sun set in that place, the cold chill of the night carried the scent of blood, indicating that a battle had taken place.

The desolate wilderness, devoid of any living creatures, was filled with the aura of death.

[Ugh…]

A faint groan echoed in the area.

The source of the sound was the scattered fragments of the demon sword Lavolas, destroyed by the Immortal Lord.

Sssss…

From the fragments of Lavolas, a small mass of black smoke emerged.

The smoke took the shape of a grotesque, ghostly face.

[Curse that wretched fallen fairy… How dare she…!]

It was the spirit of Lavolas.

Amazingly, it had not vanished.

Despite the destruction of the demon sword, it had managed to preserve its consciousness by imbuing the largest fragment with its spirit.

But that was all it could do.

The will for slaughter and the enhanced powers it had accumulated over centuries while passing through countless hands—all of that was scattered.

The demon sword was enraged at the futility of all its efforts.

[How dare she reduce me to this state… I will not forgive any of them!]

Dark energy began to emanate from the fragment where its spirit resided.

The surrounding fragments trembled and responded.

Click, clack, clack.

The fragments gradually gathered towards the largest piece where the spirit resided, slowly reassembling.

Given enough time, it could regain its form.

It began to leak its energy slowly to attract any passing monsters.

[An orc, a goblin, anyone will do, as long as I can make a contract!]

Even a lowly beast would suffice; it resolved to bind itself to any monster that happened to pass by and use it to find a stronger host for revenge.

[I will slaughter them all! That damn troll, the saintess, and the human who saved her…]

“Ho, your resolve is impressive.”

[…!]

A sudden voice caused Lavolas’s spirit to pause.

Chills ran down its non-existent spine at the sound of the voice.

‘Am I feeling fear?’

It couldn’t understand itself. It was an almost instinctive fear, as if engraved into its very being from birth.

Lavolas’s spirit, formed from smoke, turned towards the direction of the voice.

There, floating in the air, was a small Curse with white hair resembling the ashes of a burned forest and blood-red eyes.

“Though I have forgotten much, I still remember your tenacity,”

[You, you can’t be…!]

“The Lord of Slaughter. Even the remnants are as tenacious as weeds.”

Seeing Curse, Lavolas’s spirit let out a terrified scream.

[This is impossible. You shouldn’t be here! No, how did you maintain your consciousness in the first place?!]

“That doesn’t matter. What’s important are two things.”

Curse reached out towards Lavolas’s spirit with a sinister smile.

Darkness flowed from Curse’s palm, enveloping Lavolas’s spirit.

“You are a suitable meal for me, and I don’t find you likable enough to show mercy.”

Lavolas’s spirit was drawn towards Curse, feeling its power and consciousness being absorbed.

[No, please…!]

“Begging is futile.”

Lavolas’s spirit was completely absorbed by Curse, its final scream filled with terror.

[Aaaaaaah!]

With that last scream, Lavolas’s spirit was entirely consumed by Curse.

Snap.

The remaining fragments of the demon sword Lavolas rusted instantly and disintegrated into dust.

Having absorbed Lavolas, Curse’s body grew to the size of a five-year-old child.

Curse clicked its tongue in dissatisfaction as it watched its fingers blur and then become clear again.

“Hmph, is this all for now? Well, expecting much from a mere remnant would be unreasonable. Hm?”

Rumble, rumble, rumble-!

The ground shook lightly as an earthquake occurred. Simultaneously, the cold, dusty wind was replaced by a warm, life-filled breeze spreading across the land.

“Ho.”

Curse unintentionally showed an intrigued expression.

In the dark night of the Wasteland of Death, where only the scent of blood and harsh, cold sandstorms had blown, flowers began to bloom.

The flowers grew at an astonishing speed, as if determined to cover the entire blood-soaked wasteland.

Soon, spring water began to bubble up from the dried land here and there.

In no time, the wilderness was covered in flowers, and the dried streams started to flow.

The transformation of the blood-soaked wasteland into a field of blooming flowers was a truly enchanting sight.

“…A fairy who bore the name of the Immortal has finally found rest.”

Curse murmured.

There was a hint of bitterness and a strange sense of envy in Curse’s expression.

After gazing at the land, which had turned into a flower field, lost in thought for a while, Curse shook its head.

“This is no time for this; I must return before he wakes up.”

Shhh.

Having completed its task, Curse decided to return to Aden.

If Aden woke up too late, it would be troublesome to explain.

Just as it had appeared, Curse was enveloped in darkness and disappeared without a sound.

And on that day, a notice from the Spirit Commerce was issued across the Wasteland of Death.

-This is a notice from the Spirit Commerce.

-A legendary dungeon, ‘Forest of the Ever-Sleeping King,’ has been created.

It signified that an immortal being had finally entered eternal rest for the sake of its kin.

**The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son**

Author: Shadow

Publisher: Lee Jongjoo

Published by ROK Media Co., Ltd.

Publication Date: March 24, 2003

Address: Room 318, Building B, DMC High-Tech Industry Center, 330 Seongam-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

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Website: rokmedia.com

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ⓒ Shadow, 2020

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