A Lich was an immortal being that was evil down to its core. It was a top-tier undead that was incomparable to common undead like skeletons or zombies. It was also a powerful boss monster that would be difficult to find even in high ranked ruins.

Kang Yoon-Soo was thinking of creating a Lich by using Nakron’s codex.

‘I was a Lich myself when I lived as the Ultimate Necromancer, but I can’t do that this time so I have to do this instead.’

He thus studied the things related to creating the Lich.

[The following hereunder is a warning to you, who arrogantly dares to read my codex.]

[The fastest way to create an excellent Lich is to use the corpse of an Archmage. If you don’t, the intellect of the Lich you create will be greatly reduced. I mean, a Lich that won’t even be able to remember its own name will be created.]

[Damn it, a stupid Lich? Just thinking about it is horrible.]

[Remember, creating a Lich is an act of committing suicide. The Lich you create will charge at you with the intention to kill you. That’s why I suggest you consider being a Lich yourself instead of creating a Lich—or go somewhere else and choose a simpler way to die.]

‘There’s no way for me to obtain the corpse of an Archmage. I’ll skip that part.’

He briefly considered whether he should join forces with Yu Si-Do to murder the royal court magician, but the assassination of the emperor alone would probably take most of the day. Also, there was a chance of the Lich he created rebelling against him.

Next, he studied the materials he needed to create the Lich.

[A high-grade mana stone.]

[200 mementos infused with the anguish of the dead.]

[300 bones of a superior race.]

[A magic circle drawn with the blood of the contractor.]

Kang Yoon-Soo had knowledge from his previous lives about which ingredients he needed to create a Lich, but he had never attempted to make a Lich even once in his previous 999 lives.

‘It’s not a bad idea to summon a large and powerful undead like the Bone Dragon, but this is the front of the royal palace. Causing any large-scale conflict here will result in me becoming wanted by the empire.’

It was not necessarily a bad idea to destroy the whole royal palace, but that would only be a waste of time. Kang Yoon-Soo had to remove every unnecessary thing from his plan and focus on growing as fast as he could, because this was going to be his last life.

He stabbed the back of his hand and blood flowed out of it. He then started to draw a large magic circle with his own blood.

“What are you doing? Did you suddenly get into occultism or something?” Yu Si-Do asked with a yawn, sounding bored.

Kang Yoon-Soo completed the magic circle and placed the required ingredients in it.

‘It’s good that we hunted the Bone Dragon, Skeltrodon, before coming here.’

Kang Yoon-Soo piled up the bones of the ancient dragon; the mementos filled with the anguish of the dead were also an absolute requirement.

‘These are the items the Crossed Swords Bandits stole from their victims.’

Kang Yoon-Soo unsparingly placed various pieces of equipment on top of the bones. Lastly, he took out a jewel that had a purple glow.

‘The Supreme Gem of Requiem.’

It was the magic stone Kang Yoon-Soo had carved out of the Ancient Stone back when he was with the Red Rock Excavators. The magic circle started to tremble as soon as he placed the Supreme Gem of Requiem inside it.

“O great sage who is deep inside the abyss, heed my call and receive your new life.”

The ingredients on top of the magic circle started to shake and tremble as soon as Kang Yoon-Soo chanted the spell, and his surroundings were engulfed in evil darkness, unlike the bright light that had appeared when he created the spirits.

[The Supreme Gem of Requiem is becoming the core of the Lich.]

[The Lich’s life vessel is being molded.]

[The bones are badly preserved.]

[The Lich’s body size will be reduced.]

[The mementos filled with anguish have been used as one of the components.]

[The black magic of the Lich has become stronger.]

[The intelligence of the Lich has greatly decreased because the skull of an Archmage is missing.]

[You have gained a great Necromancer achievement.]

[The skill level of Mass Raise Dead has increased.]

An undead being was born in the midst of the quiet darkness, and it was a short, chubby skeleton.

“…”

It had a small frame, almost the size of a goblin or a dwarf, and it would have been impossible to tell what it was if it did not have the red robe and bony staff which were the signature symbols of a Lich. Otherwise, it would have been mistaken for an ordinary skeleton.

The miniature Lich clacked its jaws and exclaimed, “I’m very evil!”

The Lich held a brightly shining vessel where it kept its life force.  A Lich was technically immortal, but it would immediately die if the vessel where it stored its life force was destroyed.

Kang Yoon-Soo took the life vessel from the Lich like taking candy from a baby.

“Don’t take it. That’s mine,” the Mini-Lich complained.

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“You’re very evil,” the Mini-Lich protested.

“I made you, so of course I’m more evil than you,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Is that so?” the Mini-Lich innocently asked.

“That is so,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“You’re a genius,” the Mini-Lich said, astounded.

Just as the codex said, the lack of an Archmage’s corpse greatly reduced the Lich’s intelligence, but thanks to that, Kang Yoon-Soo did not have to worry about it plotting any rebellion.

“I’m your master, the one who created you. Show me what you can do,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The Mini-Lich walked toward a tree in the forest and gently touched it. The tree that had been full of vitality just moments before suddenly withered all the way down to its roots.

‘This is more than enough,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought, and he nodded.

The Mini-Lich was definitely much weaker than an average Lich, but if Kang Yoon-Soo nurtured it well, it would grow into a very powerful undead capable of leading an entire undead legion.

“You are really cute. I have taken a liking to you,” Iris said, seeming to have unexpectedly taken an interest in the Mini-Lich. She patted the Mini-Lich’s skull, and the tiny lich naturally offered its head to Iris.

“I like you too. You seem nice, unlike my master,” the Mini-Lich said.

“What the hell is wrong with that Lich…? It should definitely enjoy killing if it’s an undead. Do you want me to teach it?” Yu Si-Do said, feeling restless due to his desire to taint and corrupt the young lich.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored Yu Si-Do’s squirming and shook the life vessel of the Mini-Lich, saying, “I’ll be keeping your life vessel. If you don’t follow my commands, I’ll kill you.”

“I’ll follow your commands even if you don’t take it that far. Return my life vessel,” the Mini-Lich protested.

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Why not?” the Mini-Lich asked.

“I’m evil, remember?” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Master is smart…” the Mini-Lich exclaimed.

Kang Yoon-Soo pointed toward the Centaur army and said, “Go join them when they’re about to die. Draw their attention to you and drag out the battle.”

“Okay,” the Mini-Lich responded, and it disappeared into the darkness.

Kang Yoon-Soo could not help but feel anxious.

‘The captain of the First Order of the Imperial Knights, Helkin, isn’t someone I can face at this time,’ he thought as he put on his bunny mask.

***

The old knight did not sleep because he did not feel the need to rest. He had been like that since the day he was born. 

One day, an apprentice knight had asked him, “How can I become a knight like Sir Helkin? I plan to live by the sword and be a true knight just like you, sir.”

“If you really plan to live by the sword, then cut your penis off first,” the old knight replied as he checked his sword’s sharpness. He continued, “You’ll be able to focus solely on the sword if you lose such a weakness, and your mind will be free from distractions. If you want to, I can do it for you right now.”

That day, the apprentice knight cried as he ran away from the old knight.

From that day onward, the biggest topic in the royal palace was, ‘Is the captain of the First Order of the Imperial Knights actually a eunuch[1]?’. Of course, the old knight did not comment on the rumor, and it was only dispelled when the other knights who went to the public baths with the old knight discredited it.

That incident perfectly showcased the old knight’s upright and stubborn personality.

“Grandpa,” a boy called out.

“What is it?” the old knight asked.

“A horse is running toward us,” the boy said.

Helkin hesitated for a moment. He pondered whether telling his seven-year-old grandson that the horse running toward them was not a horse was the right thing to do.

“That’s not a horse. That’s a Centaur,” he finally said.

“Is a Centaur not a horse?” his grandson asked.

“Isn’t the upper half that of a human?” Helkin replied.

“Why is a Centaur a mix of humans and horses?” his grandson asked.

“It’s because a horse and a man had sex,” Helkin replied.

Helkin’s young grandson was shocked for a moment before starting to cry. It was only then that Helkin realized he had made a mistake.

“I’m sure the horse didn’t consent to it. It would be easier to call it rape,” Helkin said, hurriedly trying to fix the situation.

The young child’s face turned ghastly pale when he heard his grandfather’s words. Helkin regretted his words and felt as if he wanted to cut off his tongue.

“I bring a message!” a Centaur ran forward and shouted. He stared at Helkin with murderous intent and asked, “Are you the strongest knight among the humans, the one they call Helkin?”

“That’s something they decided on their own,” Helkin replied.

“So you are indeed Helkin. Then your swordsmanship must be good enough to strike down a whole army by yourself?” the Centaur asked.

“Well, I do have the skill to instantly kill creatures like you who were born out of bestiality,” Helkin replied, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

Calling them creatures born from bestiality was the worst insult anyone could say to a Centaur. However, the Centaur unexpectedly just laughed off the insult hurled by Helkin and said, “Your nonchalant manner proves that you are indeed Helkin. I would love nothing more than to test your strength right now, but I will have to hold back on that. Our forces will occupy the royal palace shortly, and I do not want to shed any unnecessary blood until then. Now, why not go and alert your fellow humans about this?”

“Hoo… You seem to be quite confident,” Helkin said, sounding amused.

“You are just weak humans in the first place, and we have carefully prepared for this very moment for decades. All that awaits you humans is death,” the Centaur said.

Helkin saw an opening and aimed for the precise spot where the Centaur was split between man and horse, then cut the Centaur in half.

“Huh…?” The Centaur was confused, as he had not even been able to see Helkin draw his sword. He was split in half and died, his blood spurting all over the place.

“I-I’m going to the library!” Helkin’s grandson screamed, running away away from the scene.

Helkin scratched his head covered with gray hair and sighed, thinking, ‘It’s much easier to cut down hundreds of enemies than to see my grandkid smile once…’

Clop! Clop! Clop!

Hundreds of Centaurs carrying spears and bows charged from a distance toward Helkin, and their numbers were great enough to make the earth shake.

Helkin slowly walked toward them as hundreds of enemy weapons flew at him. However, as soon as the old knight attacked, tens of arrows and three spears were instantly cut down, and several Centaurs died instantly—all with one swing of his sword.

***

Kang Yoon-Soo, Yu Si-Do, and Iris unexpectedly had very good team chemistry, as the trio successfully infiltrated the royal palace while all of the attention was focused on the army of Centaurs that had charged in. However, a guard standing watch spotted them and was about to call out. Yu Si-Do suddenly dashed forward and subdued the guard bare-handed, wrapping his arm around the guard's neck.

Yu Si-Do drew close to the guard’s ear and asked in a whisper, “Here’s a question. What’s tastier? Cookies or biscuits?”[2]

“W-what?” the flustered guard asked.

“Answer me properly. Your answer will decide whether you live or die,” Yu Si-Do threatened the guard.

“C-cookies…?” the guard answered.

“Damn it! You’re putting unnecessary blood on my hands! Isn’t the answer sugar no matter who you ask?!” Yu Si-Do cried out before twisting the guard’s neck.

Iris said innocently, “Yu Si-Do is crazy.”

Kang Yoon-Soo twisted the neck of the barely breathing guard back into place and fed him a healing potion. However, Yu Si-Do seemed disgruntled about the fact that Kang Yoon-Soo had done that, as he asked, “Why are you saving him?”

“Our trail will be long if we leave behind corpses,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What a greenhorn thing to say. Then we can just crush the corpse or grind it down! You won’t be able to achieve much in life if you worry about small things like this!” Yu Si-Do retorted.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored the madman’s ramblings and walked away. Meanwhile, Yu Si-Do grumbled as he took the clothes and sword off the guard and finally clothed himself.

“Let’s go up here,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The trio started to scale the walls of the royal palace. Surprisingly, nobody asked for any help as they climbed. Kang Yoon-Soo was already quite adept at scaling walls, Yu Si-Do even had the leisure to do all sorts of dangerous tricks while climbing, and Iris climbed by stabbing her fingers into the wall with her monstrous strength.

“Hmm… our chemistry is actually really good. Don’t you guys have any plans to join my clan?” Yu Si-Do asked.

“Do you have a lot of delicious food there?” Iris asked.

“There are some who enjoy human meat from time to time,” Yu Si-Do replied.

“…then I don’t want to,” Iris responded.

The trio broke a window and infiltrated the royal palace. The sound of the glass window breaking was quite loud, but thankfully, nobody was in the corridor at that time. Kang Yoon-Soo took the lead and started to walk through the corridor.

“Infiltrating and assassinating the emperor is quite a fun thing to do, but how do you plan to enter his bedchambers? This place has been designed to make it difficult for anyone to pass without anybody noticing it,” Yu Si-Do remarked.

In response, Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly leaned forward against a wall. He kicked the wall twice and tapped it five times with his palm. Then, the stone wall suddenly split open to reveal a secret passage.

Yu Si-Do let out a hideous smile and exclaimed, “Ahhhh! I will really fall for you at this rate!”

1. A term referring to men who have had their penises removed or mutilated. This was a practice done in ancient dynasties, where men serving the royal family had to be castrated to ensure the legitimacy of heirs wouldn’t be questioned. ☜

2. The original joke is “What’s tastier? A sagwa (the Korean word for apple) pie or an apple pie?” which is a nonsense question thrown around in Korea, based on using the Korean word and the English word. But this is a translated novel… so the joke went r/woosh. ☜