The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 175

20. Bloodline: The Reunion of Bastards

Memory is a truly mysterious thing.

Recent memories vividly retain the emotions and feelings of the time, but as time passes, they become twisted and distorted in various ways.

Difficult memories are often glorified into fond recollections, while happy memories become tinged with a subtle sadness.

However, not all memories are like that.

Some memories become clearer with time.

For Gazelle, the Desert King, the final battle twenty years ago was such a memory.

The demons streaking across the blue sky and the monsters racing across the pure white snowfields. Commanders driven to suicide by mental magic. Soldiers who, upon death, became undead and tore at their allies.

If there were a hell on earth, it would be here.

The northern part of the Elden Kingdom, where the final battle took place, remained a stage of nightmares for Gazelle even after decades.

The severed limbs of allies, eyeballs dangling out of place, intestines dragging along the ground, and the sea of corpses that dyed the pure white snowfields red.

Among these, the most terrifying memory was… the Demon King Baal.

Born in the desert and priding himself on living a manly life, Gazelle was rendered speechless and motionless when he first saw the Demon King.

The thoughts that flashed through his mind were:

An absolute predator determined by fate.

An irreversible superior-inferior relationship.

The feeling of one’s hands and feet trembling and all fighting spirit drying up, turning into a living mummy just by making eye contact, was impossible to describe in words.

‘Is this… defeat?’

It was when despair swept through his mind.

A cool breeze blew from behind.

At the same time, the paralyzed muscles regained their function. The depleted vitality returned. The heart beat fiercely, supplying blood.

When he looked up, there was a man passing Gazelle like an arrow.

The shimmering silver hair that reached down to his waist was dazzling whenever it caught the sunlight. His fair skin, like kneaded flour, and his sculpted, beautiful appearance also stood out.

However, what caught Gazelle’s eye was something else.

The unwavering determination and upright spirit with which he charged at the Demon King. The dazzling halo shining behind him.

It was the memory of the hero Kyle, which still felt like yesterday.

*

When Gazelle led his army to attack Duke James, he realized that the opponent was not human.

“To think I’d see undead again…”

Crack!!

They were a loathsome presence that made his teeth grind. Creatures he never wanted to see again. Enemies he had cut down countless times during the final battle.

Now he knew who Duke James was. The troublesome Lich King who commanded tens of thousands of undead. That bastard must have been acting as the Twilight’s Arrogance and Duke James.

“I thought the Demon King was sealed and dead, but he’s been hiding well for twenty years.”

The Desert King, mercilessly cutting down approaching ghouls and zombies, tried to rush towards the Lich King.

But things in the world don’t always go as planned. The endless wave of death blocked his advance.

Rather, he was busy encouraging his allies.

Gazelle had faced the undead before, but most of the desert warriors were encountering the forces of darkness for the first time today. It was a natural phenomenon to be consumed by fear.

“Fight to the end, all troops! Even if they were comrades, if they have become corpses, cut them down without mercy! You have to blow their heads off to kill them completely!”

His breath came in gasps.

His body was not what it used to be.

Even after his sister’s death, he had continued to train, but he had also become closer to alcohol. The accumulated alcohol and the passage of time had brought even Gazelle, the Seven Star [one of the strongest warriors], to his knees.

“Is this the end…”

Once again, his whole body was drying up.

He had experienced this before.

Even the hero Kyle was not here.

It meant there was no one to save him.

A distant despair tightened his heart.

“Human lord, so you were here.”

A death knight discovered Gazelle and raised his sword. Black mana surged from the blade.

Normally, it would have been an enemy he could easily defeat, but for some reason, Gazelle sensed defeat. He had to raise his sword, but his body remained motionless.

“Die.”

The moment the sword came down, Gazelle closed his eyes without realizing it.

And…

Crackle!!!!

Blue lightning covered all directions. A dazzling light pierced through his thick eyelids. Even the Desert King, who was protecting his body with aura, felt a tingling sensation followed by convulsions.

When he cautiously opened his eyes, the surroundings were scorched.

The undead that had been swarming around were charred, and the death knight who had directly crossed swords with him had disappeared without a trace.

Roar!!!!

Was this the anger of the mountains and trees?

The ground vibrated up and down.

The air bubbled.

A beautiful creature gliding through the sky and a single human riding on it. The lightning that fell from the sky originated from them.

Even if others didn’t, Gazelle, a Seven Star from the desert with good eyesight, recognized the dragon knight at a glance.

Hennon Lloyd.

The eighth star of the continent. A man who broke through a hundred thousand troops. A wise man with not only strong martial prowess for his youth but also the wisdom to act according to the situation.

He discovered his true worth only today.

Roar!!!

With another powerful roar, the human riding the dragon shot out in a straight line.

The direction was where Arrogance was.

The intention was clear.

That young punk was running to catch the Lich King who commanded a hundred thousand undead.

Why was that?

Why did the silver scales of the dragon remind him of the hair of the hero Kyle?

Was it a simple delusion arising from jumbled memories?

An unyielding heart and an upright spirit.

Eyes burning with fighting spirit.

He looked exactly like the hero Kyle he remembered from the past.

“What are you doing?”

Pahel, who had just arrived, spoke bluntly.

“If you’re going to keep spacing out, go rest in the back. I’ll take it from here.”

Even Pahel fearlessly scattered sword strikes against the approaching undead.

Only then did Gazelle realize.

Time was not just a heartless plunderer who only took away what one had. New sprouts were growing even in the desolate fields, and they were already trying to bloom.

For them, time was fertilizer that would help them grow and the best helper to bring out their hidden potential.

That’s right.

Nothing would change much.

He just had to run again.

Like then, he would crush everything and destroy evil.

Gazelle, raising his sword, shouted loudly.

“All troops! Charge!! Follow me!!!”

“Waaaaaaa!!!!”

A powerful shout followed.

It was the moment when the direction of the vague battlefield of the Great Plains was decided.

* * *

Dragons have an aura called fear.

The fear emitted by them, blessed from birth, has the effect of making beings of lower status cower.

The undead forces blocking the way were unable to come to their senses due to the fear emitted by Coco, who had grown even stronger as a fully-fledged dragon.

Originally, the stronger one’s mental strength and patience, the better one could withstand fear, but there was no way corpses, who had become undead and had only hatred for life left, could endure it.

Even the death knights and liches, who could be called the leaders, were busy running away at the sight of the dragon.

Slash!! Slash!!

Enemies fleeing are the best prey.

The numbers were too great, so he thinned out the commander-level undead.

Every time the emerald aura blade flashed, a death knight disappeared and a lich lost his reason in agony.

After catching those guys for a while, he was standing in front of the Lich King before he knew it.

Arrogance, with the appearance of pure white bones. The hem of the black robe he wore fluttered in the blowing wind. Blue ghost flames surged in his pupils as he supported his body with a staff.

“To think a dragon knight, only told in legends, would appear. Am I dreaming right now? Who are you?”

“Hennon Lloyd.”

Killing intent poured out from Arrogance’s body upon hearing my name. As expected, that bastard knows me.

“So it was you. The guy who interfered with my plans at every turn.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you too. You’ve been spreading shit everywhere, haven’t you?”

“Hehehe… I wonder where a guy like you popped out from… A bastard from a backwater marquis family, he wouldn’t have been anything special if his father hadn’t been a Seven Star.”

Suddenly, his breath tightened and he gasped for air. He urgently drew up Three-Origin Mana, but his condition worsened. Then, a system window appeared.

[You have been cursed by the Lich King.]

[Passive skill Self-Purification activated.]

[Immune to all status ailments.]

[The curse has been 解除 [removed].]

His breathing became easier again and his complexion improved. It seemed he had used a curse I didn’t know about, rather than pressuring me with his aura.

Anyway, I 解除 [removed] it with a druid skill, so I was fine now. The Lich King tilted his head, wondering if something was wrong since I was unaffected by the curse.

“To think a mere mortal would tame a dragon and withstand my curse. Just what is your identity?”

“Find out for yourself if you don’t know.”

Self-service is basic.

Arrogance’s jaw dropped slightly, and I realized that it was a smiling expression.

“Good. Why don’t you try showing off your tricks!”

Arrogance waved his staff, and the undead surrounding me swarmed in.

Coco emitted fear again, but it was useless this time. The fear of the Lich King had surpassed the fear of the dragon.

Kuaaaaak!!

Countless swarming troops.

Was he planning to crush me with numbers?

There was no reason to be taken in so easily.

[Wood Control]

[Crystal Control]

[Golem Summon]

Dozens of wood golems and crystal golems popped out. This was enough to be a tank brigade-level force. As soon as the huge golems appeared, they rushed towards the undead as if they knew who their enemy was.

Ghouls and zombies directly hit by the overwhelming power were crushed in an instant. Even the death knight’s sword blade hardly worked, and they were immune to the lich’s black magic.

The golems mercilessly swept away the undead, who were clearly flustered. It was a display of power that perfectly matched the word killing machine.

The encirclement formation collapsed on its own.

Taking advantage of this gap, I used a linked skill combo.

[Wood Rain]

[Crystal Rain]

A druid skill that evolved from Spear to Rain. As expected, it was effective against a large number of enemies. The wood and stone icicles that fell from the sky rained down like a storm.

The undead didn’t have the intelligence to block the falling rain of death by raising shields, so they were completely exposed to the carpet bombing.

The guys didn’t die from getting some wood or stone fragments stuck in their arms and legs, but they lost their mobility and fell to the ground anyway.

The fallen zombies and ghouls gradually piled up, unintentionally forming barricades. Naturally, the undead waiting behind were blocked and wandered around in confusion.

[Giant Wood]

[Giant Crystal]

I decided to give a gift to the undead who were swarming and causing a bottleneck.

Numerous stones and wood fragments stuck to my hand, forming a large fist.

Thanks to being promoted to a top-tier druid, a fist as big as a giant was created.

“Die.”

Kwaaaaaang!!!!

The fist that came down crushed all the undead. Every time thunder sounded, dozens of undead disappeared.

This wasn’t the end.

Coco opened her mouth wide.

The mana energy that had formed small inside grew like a snowball and soon transformed into a violent electric storm.

Crackle!!!

Dragon Breath.

I only knew about it, but this was the first time I had seen it directly.

The electricity mixed with the wind raged in all directions. The undead who collided head-on disappeared without a trace, and even the enemies who were slightly grazed were paralyzed by overcurrent and collapsed. It was truly terrifying power.

In the end, the undead army that was approaching me was easily neutralized. The time it took until then was only five minutes.

“Is this all you have to show?”

Arrogance had been standing by with his arms crossed throughout the battle.

I was constantly wary, wondering if he would attack suddenly, but he didn’t attack until the end.

It seemed he judged that accumulating solid combat data was more important than a hasty attack.

“You manipulate wood and stone with near-divine skill. Looking at it now, the dragon is also cooperating of its own will.”

“You see well.”

“Then there’s only one conclusion… You must be the druid that the 教主 [Cult Leader] has been looking for.”

“That’s right.”

I readily admitted it.

Even if I showed this much skill and tried to deny it, they wouldn’t believe me, and it was about time to reveal my true identity.

“I heard you’re a Sword Master, but a druid and a Sword Master? You’re a complete monster, aren’t you?”

“If you’ve realized it, surrender on your own.”

“Kekeke… This is very interesting. I think I know why the 教主 [Cult Leader] is looking for you. You’ve piqued my interest. It would be okay to make you an undead and offer you to him.”

The strength of a necromancer is clear. Because they can raise the dead, they can always have numerical superiority.

Conversely, this means that the moment numerical superiority becomes meaningless, there is no more helpless existence than them.

Arrogance attempted an infantry tactic, and I easily overcame it. But he still had such composure, so did he have a hidden card left?

“I’ve been watching you for a long time. To be exact, it’s been since 질투 [Jealousy] was defeated. From then on, I felt that you would become a major obstacle to Twilight.”

“This is quite an honor.”

“My hunch was right. You killed my disciple Urka and crushed the plan to swallow the kingdom. And now, you’re blocking my path head-on.”

“Your rambling is long. Do you want to buy time? If that’s your intention, I’ll attack you right away.”

“To put it shortly, I thought I would meet you someday, so I prepared a gift.”

Arrogance snapped his fingers. Then, a death knight emerged through the undead. Dark armor and a deeply pressed helmet. Only red eyes burned quietly like candles inside.

“So, is my gift that death knight? He doesn’t seem any different from the guys I’ve fought so far.”

“Oh, don’t be too quick to judge. The festival starts now.”

Thud!!

As soon as Arrogance finished speaking, the death knight rushed towards me. As usual, I tried to create an aura blade to block it.

The moment his black sword and my emerald sword collided,

Clang!!

“Keuk!!”

A heavy weight spread throughout his body.

His body was pushed back involuntarily.

This guy… his strength is no joke.

Just what is his identity?

The swords were crossed in an X shape. While struggling, he made eye contact with the death knight. A familiar voice was heard from within the empty helmet.

“It’s been a while, brother. Do you recognize me?”

“!!”

No way.

He recognized it as soon as he heard it.

The death knight’s identity was Phillip.

He was my half-brother.