Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 249

249.

“We need to destroy a total of fifteen altars.”

Ken spoke with a serious expression in the temporarily arranged conference room.

“Based on what we’ve gathered so far, the altars serve two purposes. The first is to emit a dark aura that turns even living people into undead. The second is as a device to summon the Demon King.”

Ken obtained this information from the Necromancer, and now it’s time to establish a new strategy.

“The original plan was to destroy five altars in the Kingdom Alliance simultaneously. However, the operation has changed, and we are now launching a full-scale attack on the Kingdom Alliance.”

Ken’s voice continued sharply.

“Right now, it’s crucial to destroy even a single altar as quickly as possible.”

Gale asked,

“Why is that?”

“The Necromancer didn’t tell us everything, but the altars are devices for summoning the Demon King. In other words, if even one is missing, there’s a high probability that the device won’t function properly.”

Gale nodded.

“First, we need to find out if they can only build altars in specific locations, or if they require special materials, and what conditions must be met to build an altar.”

Gale suggested.

“The Necromancer is quite cooperative. How about asking him?”

“Of course, I plan to get more information by asking the Necromancer additional questions. He’s not being cooperative; he’s mocking us. He absolutely believes in their victory. If we exploit that, we can get a good amount of information.”

After Ken finished his long speech, he turned his gaze to me.

“Your Highness.”

“Speak.”

“Leave the main force to Lord Gale and take a small unit to destroy the nearest altar.”

This meant breaking through the heart of the enemy territory with a special forces unit.

I readily agreed.

“I will do so.”

“We don’t know when the Demon King will be summoned, but if the Demon King is summoned, the continent will face a great crisis. If we destroy even one altar, we can delay the summoning.”

Ken said to Olivia,

“Please take good care of His Highness.”

I immediately asked Ken,

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I will lead the main force with Lord Gale. The role of the main force is also important.”

Ken then unfolded a map.

The nearest altar was located southwest of the Kingdom Alliance’s capital.

“After destroying the altar there, please join the main force immediately.”

I examined the map in detail.

“It’s quite a fortress.”

The surrounding area was mountainous, and a river flowed in front of the castle.

It wouldn’t be easy to capture.

“If you go through this mountain, you can enter the castle surprisingly easily.”

Ken pointed to a hill to the right of the castle.

It was lower than the other mountains and adjacent to the castle.

“Their main force is the undead. The defense efficiency is definitely lower than if a human army were guarding it.”

“Good.”

I decided to follow Ken’s advice.

“How many soldiers should I take?”

“Lead ten thousand cavalry. Speed and firepower are important for this operation.”

The plan was to quickly reach the destination, wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop, and destroy the altar.

Cavalry is naturally much faster and has stronger firepower than infantry.

“We’ll depart tomorrow morning.”

Ken handed me a crystal ball.

“What’s this?”

“This is a crystal ball that connects from anywhere within three days’ distance. Lord Gale and I will continue to advance along this road with the main force.”

“After destroying the altar, I can join the main force near the capital of the Kingdom Alliance.”

* * *

After morning came, I led the cavalry out of the Jane family.

The main force was scheduled to depart after completing more preparations, so Ken and Gale saw Olivia and me off.

I said to Olivia,

“We’ll mainly move during the day. There are undead that are active during the day, but there are still fewer than at night.”

“Yes.”

“The undead seem to be concentrated in major strongholds. We’ll move as quickly as possible during the day and rest at night.”

Olivia suggested,

“Ten thousand cavalry is still a considerable size. Will there be a place to rest? It seems like we need to occupy even a small castle every time we rest to rest comfortably.”

I unfolded the map.

I drew a straight line to the altar.

That’s the fastest way.

I planned to break through all the obstacles in the middle.

After hearing the Necromancer’s words, I became anxious.

Thinking that the Demon King might be summoned, I felt a sense of crisis that the continent might really be destroyed.

Even if I can summon the Spirit King, ‘summoning’ and ‘descent’ have different meanings.

‘Usually, the descent of the Demon King means that the Demon King comes to the middle realm with all the power he has in the Demon World. The Spirit King also has power comparable to the Demon King, but…’

The problem is my ability.

I couldn’t summon the Spirit King here for a long time.

Because I lack mana.

Spirits also cannot exert their full power when summoned to the middle realm.

On the other hand, as the master of the covenant, that restriction disappeared.

The spirit is summoned to the middle realm with its full power.

Of course, the same was true for the Spirit King.

Since the Spirit King was summoned to the middle realm with his full power, it was inevitable that he could not be maintained for a long time.

No matter how excellent my realm is, it is impossible to handle all the power of the Spirit King.

‘I can accumulate more mana, but.’

That is something that cannot be resolved immediately.

For now, the best thing to do was to prevent the Demon King from being summoned.

So, time was running out.

I don’t know when the Demon King will be summoned, and I don’t know the exact role of the altar or how it is made.

‘I have to trust Ken and Hamilton.’

I trusted my subordinates and focused on what I had to do.

“Three days, I’ll cross it in three days. This place, this place, this place, this place.”

I marked four castles on the route.

All of them are small castles.

“I’ll rest here. I plan to arrive near the altar in three days, attack the castle the next day, and destroy the altar.”

Olivia nodded.

“Yes. I’ll tell the soldiers.”

* * *

I didn’t bother to ride a horse.

I didn’t bring Zephyr, and it was more comfortable and faster to run using spirit magic than riding a horse.

I didn’t bring a horse in the first place because I was worried that my horsemanship would not be as good as the other cavalrymen, which would slow down the speed.

We departed from the Jane family and almost arrived at the first base.

Fortunately, there was no battle during the journey here.

We ran without stopping, except for a short lunch break in the middle.

I gave a signal.

Soon, ten thousand cavalry stopped simultaneously.

“Olivia, form four reconnaissance teams, including knights, and scout around the castle.”

“Yes.”

Olivia disappeared immediately.

I looked around at the cavalry.

So far, there was no one on our side showing any signs of abnormality.

What if the soldiers were affected by the altar and turned into undead?

‘According to Hamilton’s report, living people turn into undead if they are exposed to the dark aura emanating from the altar for at least two weeks or more.’

That means all five altars must be destroyed within at least two weeks.

I was still worried that there might be something wrong with the soldiers, so I called the knights.

“Check the condition of the soldiers carefully. It’s been two days since we entered the Kingdom Alliance. Isolate any soldiers showing signs of abnormality.”

One of the knights said,

“Shouldn’t we execute them immediately if they show signs of becoming undead?”

I shook my head.

“There’s no need to execute them immediately just because they show signs. Anyway, you guys should examine the condition of the soldiers in detail.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

I soon summoned the spirits.

I was also going to go up into the sky and look down at the castle.

Sylphs supported my body and sent me up into the sky.

Soon, the entire area around the castle came into view.

‘There are undead.’

There were undead inside the castle.

There were no necromancers or humans.

The undead were just wandering around the castle with meaningless gestures.

‘About five hundred?’

Could they be the people who originally lived in the castle?

It seemed like they had become undead due to the influence of the altar.

Seeing the people who had become undead, I was worried about the soldiers again.

‘I must destroy the altar.’

I came down to the ground with a firm determination.

Olivia had sent out a reconnaissance unit in the meantime and was waiting for me.

“I sent them out mainly with knights.”

“Good job. Let’s rest for a while until they come back.”

While the soldiers were checking the condition of the horses and inspecting their equipment, the reconnaissance units returned.

The reconnaissance itself was easy because it was a small castle and the undead did not attack first.

I immediately prepared the cavalry after hearing the reconnaissance unit knights’ reports, which were not much different from what I had seen.

“Break through the castle immediately!”

Soon everyone got back on their horses.

I stood at the very front and rushed towards the castle.

Ten thousand cavalry were rushing into the castle, but the undead had no concept of defense and did not use the castle walls at all.

‘The castle walls are not very meaningful for a castle of this size.’

I passed through the old, worn-out gate without hesitation and immediately unfolded the Wind Blade [a spell].

Swish-!

The heads of the undead rolled on the floor.

Kwaaaang-!

Swish-!

The five hundred undead disappeared in the blink of an eye.

In the first place, there was nothing to call a battle.

The difference in power was so great that it felt like cleaning up the trash in the castle.

The battle ended before dust could accumulate on my body.

“Everyone, prepare a place to rest! We’ll stay here tonight.”

The soldiers moved quickly.

The fragmented undead were all gathered separately and burned, and the guards were selected on their own to guard the castle walls.

The collapsed gate was repaired to some extent.

As the sunset fell and it gradually became dark, all the field tents were set up.

I used a tent with Olivia.

The horses were all gathered separately, and it seemed that they were well-trained warhorses, so it was not difficult to control them.

I was feeling once again why the flower of the battlefield is the cavalry.

The soldiers and horses could not all enter the small castle, so the horses were tied up on the outskirts of the castle, and the sight was spectacular.

I was also going to go up to the castle walls and comfort the guards.

They take turns working, but guarding in enemy territory is always tiring.

Olivia opened her mouth urgently.

“It’s a strong one.”

I nodded.

“It’s not just one.”

A strong mana energy was felt not far away.

Except for Olivia and me, even the knights would not be able to handle it.

I immediately summoned the spirits, and Olivia also drew her sword.

The intense mana energy was getting closer and closer.

Audaciously, it was from the direction of the main gate.

I jumped off the castle walls.

And the owner of the mana gradually came into view.

“They are…”

Olivia trailed off.

I didn’t know the faces of those who were approaching, but I certainly knew their attire.

“They are His Majesty’s Shadow Squad.”