Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 233

233.

Nobles who heard the news flocked to the capital.

None of the nobles gathered in the capital questioned my overreach of authority.

That meant the appearance of the Necromancer was a great shock to the nobles as well.

‘Ian, with Beregon even going to the battlefield, the high-ranking nobles are nowhere to be seen.’

The Calpheon Empire was practically a newborn nation.

Most of the high-ranking nobles had become meritorious subjects by achieving ‘military exploits’ during the nation’s founding.

In other words, most meritorious subjects were more warriors than scholars.

War was the fate of warriors, and meritorious subjects were no exception.

Rather, meritorious families like the Beregon and Ian dukes levied the most financial burden and soldiers when war broke out.

That was no different even in the current situation.

I turned my gaze to Marquis Pike, the highest-ranking among the assembled nobles.

“Is everyone here?”

Marquis Pike nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness. All the nobles remaining in the capital are gathered.”

I opened my mouth directly.

“I assume you heard the news on your way here.”

Marquis Pike answered on behalf of everyone.

“Yes. It’s a serious situation.”

I looked around at the nobles and said.

“The appearance of the Necromancer cannot be hidden. It will only take a moment for rumors to spread from the direct territories to the imperial capital.”

I informed the nobles because I judged that the situation was urgent and that the appearance of the Necromancer could not be hidden anyway.

The nobles did not question my judgment either.

These are the black mages who cause an uproar throughout the empire even when only one appears.

The most dangerous of the black mages was the Necromancer. Weren’t they the ones who used magic to turn living people into corpses and raise the dead?

Above all, they often were powerful because they directly received and used power from the beings of the Demon World.

There were easily hundreds of such Necromancers.

It was no wonder the nobles were shocked and rushed over.

“I believe the imperial palace has been continuously receiving news from the direct territories. Recently, they were pushed back to Grenian, but they seized an opportunity for a counterattack by burning all enemy supplies. It was a golden opportunity to crush the famine-stricken Kingdom Alliance in one fell swoop.”

My voice echoed throughout the hall.

“Just before the counterattack was about to begin, enemy commanders, including Jane, fled. I thought they fled because the war situation was unfavorable, but they had been preparing for a long time.”

“Then what is the situation in Grenian now?”

At the words of a young noble, I answered briefly.

“Kingdom Alliance soldiers have all turned into living ghouls and are attacking the castle.”

Exclamations of shock spread from here and there.

All the soldiers were living ghouls!

“There are easily over three hundred thousand of them.”

Some were on the verge of fainting.

Three hundred thousand!

Living ghouls were more powerful than ordinary ghouls and difficult to kill. It took ten human soldiers to struggle to catch one living ghoul.

With simple calculations alone, three hundred thousand living ghouls were no different from three million troops.

They were much more efficient than human armies.

Because they did not fear death and absolutely obeyed only the Necromancer’s orders.

I said gloomily.

“The empire is facing the greatest crisis since its founding. The elves in the west and the barbarians in the south are not the only problems.”

At that moment, the door to the hall opened.

Marquis Pike shouted.

“What is the meaning of this!”

A courtier hurriedly knelt.

“I apologize. But the news was too urgent.”

A knight appeared behind the courtier.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness!”

The knight bowed his head.

“What is the urgent news?”

“I have brought a letter sent by His Majesty.”

“From Father?”

I immediately called the knight closer.

The recipient was Marquis Pike.

-Summon a meeting of the council.

The letter was not sent because he had something to ask of him separately, but because he was currently the highest-ranking noble remaining in the imperial palace.

-There is someone behind the southern barbarians. They have been training Necromancers.

I bit my lip.

‘The Purifying Flame Order has begun to move in earnest. They intend to turn this entire continent into a battlefield.’

I said to the silent nobles.

“It is said that there is someone behind the southern barbarians and that they have been training Necromancers.”

“Then the Necromancers…….”

Marquis Pike couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“I don’t know if the Necromancers who turned the Kingdom Alliance soldiers into living ghouls have moved south to operate, or if they are different Necromancers. But one thing is certain.”

I tried to calm down.

“The sudden appearance of Necromancers like this means they all belong to one force. And the Kingdom Alliance and the southern barbarians are all just puppets of that force.”

I was now keenly aware that the empire’s power must be united.

I had to let the frightened nobles know.

That if they did not mobilize all their strength now, the wealth, honor, and privileges they were enjoying would disappear in an instant.

“There is something that I have been investigating for a long time with Father. It is an investigation that started with Mother’s death.”

The nobles looked at me with bewildered expressions, as if they had never dreamed that the story of the Empress would come out of my mouth.

“The force that trained the Necromancers is called the Purifying Flame Order and has been hiding in the civilian population for a long time, disguised as a religion.”

Sharing information about the nobles and the Purifying Flame Order was my own independent decision.

But now was not the time to get Father’s approval one by one.

Because we needed reinforcements not only in the direct territories but also in the south.

As my explanation continued, the atmosphere in the hall became heavier and heavier.

The nobles were now feeling it in their skin.

That the empire was in real crisis.

I secretly wished my father was here, so I wouldn’t be afraid of any enemy, but even my father had no brilliant plan to overcome the current crisis.

The empire was always on the offensive.

It had been that way since its founding.

It was founded by destroying and surrendering other countries.

The wars that had taken place since the founding were all called ‘Unification Wars,’ but they were wars of invasion against other countries.

That empire was being attacked for the first time.

And in that attack, the empire was at the point where it had to discuss its destruction.

After finishing all the explanations, I added one last thing.

“You all know the situation, so let’s discuss countermeasures from now on. Even at this moment, the direct territories are holding back three hundred thousand living ghouls, and in the south, not only barbarians but also corpses are rising up and attacking the empire.”

* * *

“Gale, take care of that guy over there!”

At Lilian’s words, Gale immediately flew into action.

There was one living ghoul with a particularly large head.

It seemed to have been a knight of the Kingdom Alliance in his lifetime, as he was wearing knight armor.

Gale stepped on the heads of the living ghouls and swung his sword.

Swish-!

Every time Gale passed by, several heads of living ghouls rolled on the floor.

In the meantime, Lilian once again fired magic under the castle walls.

Kwaang-! Kwang-!

The 9th Circle was not fully formed, but it had taken shape to some extent.

Today, Lilian had killed at least fifty thousand living ghouls alone.

The living ghouls, who were frantically clinging to the castle walls, were being killed by the soldiers and knights with all their might.

Kwaaaang-! Kwang-!

Dukes James and Olivia did not leave Lilian’s vicinity.

‘They are not ordinary ghouls. Ordinary ghouls have low intelligence, but these are showing almost human-like intelligence.’

Duke James emitted pure white aura and bit his lip.

The living ghoul that Gale had just dealt with was no different from a commander.

It found weak spots in the castle walls and attacked, focused on attacking the knights, and constantly tried to kill Lilian.

It was a completely different level of intelligence from the ghouls that rushed in randomly.

Dukes James and Olivia took on the role of guarding Lilian from the surroundings so that she could focus solely on attacking.

Gale roamed the entire castle walls, directly dealing with the living ghouls that Lilian pointed out from time to time.

Kwaaaang-!

The moment Lilian’s magic exploded once again, Duke James shouted loudly.

“The sun will rise soon! Hold on a little longer!”

The soldiers swung their spears with all their strength.

If they were human soldiers, any stab with a spear would cause a fatal wound, but living ghouls were different.

Unless their heads were cut off, they moved endlessly.

Pshuk-! Pshuk-!

Seeing the living ghoul moving even though several spears were stuck in its body, one soldier pierced the living ghoul’s neck with a spear as if he was fed up.

“Grrr!”

The living ghoul finally had its head cut off and stopped moving when the soldier swung his spear.

And soon it slowly returned to its human form.

The soldier trembled as if he was terrified by the sight of the gruesome corpse.

Duke James roughly pulled up the slumped soldier.

“Swing your spear even once more! Do you want to see your family behind me become like this? Or do you want to see them become the prey of these guys?”

“No!”

Duke James’ aura cut off the neck of the living ghoul behind the soldier.

“Squeeze out all your strength!”

The soldier nodded and rejoined the battle.

Soon someone shouted loudly.

“The sun is rising!”

At the same time, the living ghouls jumped down the castle walls like lightning.

It was a terrifying speed.

As their figures disappeared without a trace, the soldiers collapsed one by one as if the battle until just now had been a dream.

The knights also sat down on the spot, and Duke James also gasped for breath.

Fortunately, the living ghouls only operated at night.

As long as the sun was up, the living ghouls all hid and did not appear until sunset.

That one point was more comfortable than fighting the Kingdom Alliance soldiers.

Because the defense time and rest time were fixed.

Lilian approached Duke James.

“Duke, the situation is serious.”

“Still, we killed a lot today. I think we killed over a hundred thousand.”

“Things will be different if the Necromancer joins the battlefield.”

“How?”

“They will raise the dead as well. Even if a living ghoul has its head cut off, it will pick up its own head and get up again, right?”

Lilian continued.

“It’s fortunate that they only made them into living ghouls, entered commands, and then left somewhere. If the Necromancer had directly commanded them, Grenian would have been pushed back already.”

“Isn’t there any way? You even destroyed the Eric family in an instant.”

“Is it possible to hold out for half a day without me?”

Duke James smiled bitterly.

There was no power to protect Lilian so that she could prepare magic for half a day.

If she wasn’t there, Grenian would have collapsed long ago.

Duke James felt powerless for the first time in a long time.

“Still, won’t His Highness come up with some way?”

At Gale’s words, Lilian shook her head.

“His Highness probably doesn’t have any particular way either. The easiest way is to find and kill the Necromancer, but it’s hard to even find their location.”

Olivia opened her mouth.

“He will be back soon.”

Olivia looked around with a bitter expression.

Now the soldiers…… have fallen to less than half of the original number.

And rumors about the living ghouls spread terribly, and the residents who had defended Grenian until the end even against the Kingdom Alliance’s attack were leaving the castle one by one, taking advantage of the night.

‘Is there any point in protecting it?’

Olivia decided to tell Arun to consider abandoning the direct territories when he came.