Damn Necromancer - Chapter 140

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Extravagant Necromancer (140)
Promotional Ambassador
The next morning.
Geom-seon, Sin Chang, Dok Ma, Gwon Wang—
Making calls to them was no difficult matter. Neither was extending a simple request: a sparring match with Isabella.
Geom-hae Hall.
A place he hadn’t set foot in for quite some time.
He made his way inside, Isabella trailing quietly behind him.
Four Awakeners were already gathered there.
“Thank you so much, seniors. For arranging this space on such short notice.”
“Min-woo, if it’s a favor from you, we’ll gladly oblige.”
Geom-seon smiled broadly, his expression warm and pleased as he looked his way. The other three elders showed no different sentiment.
Gwon Wang rushed over in an instant and seized him in a fierce embrace, his muscular arms bearing down with surprising force.
“Hahaha! Look at you, you handsome devil! Thank you! These days, training actually feels worthwhile again!”
“Sir, it’s a bit much…”
“What’s wrong with you, boy? Why’s your body so frail? Should I buy you some tonic?”
It wasn’t that he lacked strength—it was that Gwon Wang’s power defied imagination.
‘And I’m not even wearing gear…’
Just then.
Sin Chang, restraining Gwon Wang, spoke with measured courtesy.
“I’ve learned much from you. I once thought it’d be enough just to avoid declining in my later years… but thank you.”
Dok Ma, humming softly in the background, nodded vigorously.
From the atmosphere, it seemed all three elders had made some kind of breakthrough.
‘Makes sense.’
Geom-seon was foremost, but that didn’t mean the other three Awakeners lagged far behind.
At most, they were half a step behind—and that alone was the kind of talent that could compete for rankings on the world stage.
In such a state, having encountered some profound revelation, it would’ve been strange if they hadn’t made progress afterward.
It had already been four months since then.
Since Geom-seon had awakened the Heart-Sword in just a single month, four months was more than enough time for others to gain something as well.
In any case.
He’d obtained their contact numbers back then, but since there was no immediate use for them, he’d only sent occasional greetings and donations.
Now seemed like the time to capitalize on the opportunity.
He handed Earpiece Translators to all four men.
“What’s this…”
“Developed by Ilseong. If you put it in your ear, it’ll translate for you.”
Isabella couldn’t speak Korean.
At best, she was fluent in English as a second language.
All four of them had picked up basic conversational English during their glory days, traveling abroad frequently, but proper communication would require equipment.
Of course, Isabella wore a translator too. He introduced her as she stood beside him.
“You’re all familiar with these, I imagine?”
“Ah, I know it. Her name was… Isa… what was it again?”
“Youngest, these days electricity reaches even the mountains. Watch some TV, keep up. Isn’t it Isabella?”
“Right! Isabella!”
Only then did Gwon Wang clap his hands once, as if it had suddenly come back to him.
“My apologies, Isabella. I don’t keep up with what’s happening in the world these days. This is what I use for a phone.”
The small, aged flip phone in Gwon Wang’s hand was so worn it looked grimy with age.
“…Not at all. But if you don’t mind me asking, aren’t you quite wealthy?”
“Money? I gave all of that to the instructors. And this thing works fine even if it’s old. A phone just needs to make calls.”
“Ah, I see.”
Isabella nodded in understanding.
Geom-seon, fixing his gaze on her and Kim Min-woo, then spoke.
“So you want us to spar with this girl, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“How strong is she?”
At that moment.
Isabella stepped forward and answered herself.
“I’ve never lost to anyone in my life. Not since I was eighteen.”
“Interesting.”
Geom-seon nodded, visibly pleased.
The other elders’ reactions were no different.
The young man was smiling with a satisfied chuckle, pleased by such youthful spirit.
“I’d appreciate your help. He’s a bit taciturn, but he’s genuinely good people.”
“I think I understand. That works for me.”
He turned to Isabella.
“Okay?”
“……All right. But it has to be the best.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about quality.”
Because the batteries that would come out could slap American corporate products back and forth. So Isabella stepped forward.
“Do you happen to have equipment?”
“Oh, I do. Even after we retired and scattered a few pieces of gear around, we’re still sharper than the active ones. Should we match sets?”
“My equipment is quite good, but…….”
Gwon Wang answered with a slight laugh.
“Isabella, you worry a lot. We didn’t waste our years, so don’t be concerned. Then, shall I go ahead first, seniors?”
“Go ahead.”
Gwon Wang stepped forward.
Equipment began to be equipped on his body one by one. Clearly, it was of lower quality than Isabella’s.
Multiple Legends.
Ancient gear at best two or three pieces.
The stat difference in equipment was overwhelming.
And yet.
When the battle began.
Bang!
Gwon Wang was throwing a punch as he closed in on Isabella first.
Kim Min-woo’s eyes widened.
‘Wow.’
Gwon Wang’s Level was definitely high.
Over a thousand without question.
Multiple Titles and Skills as well.
And yet, Gwon Wang’s strength as he knew it was not to the point of growing younger with age.
His fundamentals themselves had changed.
To the degree that one could only say so, Gwon Wang was moving with fervor.
Relentless and overwhelming pressure from the opening.
Isabella’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She seemed flustered by the way things weren’t unfolding as she’d expected.
“Your movements are excellent!”
Gwon Wang, by contrast, spoke with admiration, and even as all of Isabella’s S-Rank Skills activated, he maintained the advantage.
The two old men, Sin Chang and Dok Ma, watched with relaxed expressions.
A realm beyond the Material Realm.
After hearing Geom-seon’s words, all three of them contemplated and agonized over that subject without fail, day after day.
When they grasped even the smallest thread of clue.
As if shedding an old skin, their strength had improved far beyond what it once was.
Gwon Wang was the very example of that.
“……I’ll go all out.”
Isabella’s eyes turned cold.
Soon, brilliant light erupted around her body. Item activation and SS-Rank Skill activation.
She was using everything.
Gwon Wang’s eyes hardened as well. The full power of Isabella with gear and without was a difference between heaven and earth.
An Awakener of Gwon Wang’s caliber couldn’t be unaware of that.
“Then, I’ll go all out too.”
The moment Isabella nodded and her body vanished.
Boom!
An explosion erupted.
Immediately after.
“Cough!”
Isabella staggered backward, coughing up blood with the blast, her eyes furrowing as if she’d witnessed something incomprehensible.
Her brow was creased as though confronting something beyond understanding.
When she had closed in on Gwon Wang at high speed.
A chilling sensation ran down her spine, and she activated all her defensive skills.
It was an instinct bordering on survival.
‘My defense should have been thorough…….’
The fist never made direct contact, yet a tremendous impact coursed through his abdomen.
A devastating blow powerful enough to shatter all his defensive skills in one strike.
It was an incomprehensible sight. All the more so because he had activated every piece of equipment.
In this state, he was confident that no one in the world could easily stand against him.
Yet he’d been overwhelmed.
If Gwon Wang hadn’t pulled back at the last moment…
‘It would have been fatal.’
Of course, the items’ effects would have kept him alive, but the blow was no less threatening for it.
“…What was that just now?”
“Oh, this? The Heart-Fist—a fist born from the heart. Seems Isabella knows a bit of it too. To make me resort to this.”
“The heart… fist? Is it a skill?”
“A skill, I suppose? Though it’s rather mysterious. In any case, I’m sorry to Isabella, but it’s costly. I can’t teach you anything.”
“…Then who could teach me?”
“Who knows? You’d have to ask the original creator.”
Gwon Wang’s eyes drifted meaningfully toward a particular spot.
Kim Min-woo stood there.
“…?”
Isabella blinked.
‘The original creator?’
Was Kim Min-woo saying he was the one who taught Gwon Wang the Heart-Fist?
The words made no sense.
Of course, she’d learned through yesterday’s sparring that Kim Min-woo possessed remarkable skill. But the technique Gwon Wang had just displayed…
‘It’s on an entirely different level.’
It was far too distant to be described as merely a skill.
How could anyone teach such a thing?
And if he possessed skills strong enough to teach something like that, why hadn’t he used them during yesterday’s sparring?
“Does it perhaps require an enormous amount of mana to use?”
“It does require some. But nothing prohibitive—you can manage it with control.”
Then Kim Min-woo should have used it too, shouldn’t he?
Sensing her curious gaze, Kim Min-woo scratched his cheek. He could roughly guess what she was thinking.
But what could he do?
This body had catastrophically poor talent for learning anything.
How else could he explain that despite wielding a sword relentlessly all this time, not a single basic skill had manifested?
The silence was brief.
Isabella, who had drawn near without warning, spoke.
“I want to learn it too. The Heart-Fist. What do I need to give you?”
Return home?
Such a thought had already vanished from her mind. Solo cultivation was far less important than hearing even a fragment about this Heart-Fist technique.
For her own sake, and for France, her homeland.
“Haha! How aggressive. But learning that won’t come cheap, I’m afraid?”
Three elders nodded in agreement, playing their supporting role perfectly.
A sharp assist he hadn’t anticipated.
It would be foolish not to use it.
Kim Min-woo studied Isabella intently. Only an amateur would blurt out an answer the moment someone asked to learn something.
A true master…
“Start with your promotion campaign first. I’ll contact you in a few days. That’s all for now.”
First, he needed to build anticipation by letting it marinate.
* * *
“What our Gu Long Guild has been lacking is Highest-Grade Elixir! But through Minister Li’s magnificent decision, we too shall receive this powerful elixir! Today, at this moment, our Gu Long Guild will journey to Korea to receive the Highest-Grade Elixir and once more face the Ilseong Guild with a renewed spirit of friendly competition…”
As the Gu Long Guild Master’s powerful voice rang out, countless camera flashes erupted.
An impassioned speech.
A fervent embrace with Minister Li and cheers from the people.
After the brilliant display concluded,
Minister Li Zhemin approached the Gu Long Guild Master and spoke.
“Since things have come to this, squeeze out one more thing. Understand?”
“Yes. I will do my utmost.”
“And Liang Xiaojun—learn much from this.”
“I am grateful for your boundless grace, Minister!”
Liang Xiaojun bowed deeply.
Roughly ten members of the Gu Long Guild were heading to Korea. Five of them would receive training.
Originally, there would have been no reason for Liang Xiaojun, low-level as he was, to join this expedition.
But things were different now.
The Gu Long Guild’s standing had fallen through the Guild War; meanwhile, Liang Xiaojun was emerging as a new beacon of hope for China, shattering records across France.
‘I should make good use of him for the time being.’
To appease public sentiment and demonstrate the Gu Long Guild’s integrity, a new star player was essential.
Liang Xiaojun fit that role perfectly.
So there was no helping it.
He would simply have to play one of his five cards.
‘And it’s not a loss, really.’
A Gate competition?
After all, low-level Awakeners participated in these anyway. Developing Liang Xiaojun would pay dividends.
‘He’s sharp, too.’
All this talk of him being China’s hero and such.
Most would let that swell their pride, but not Liang Xiaojun.
He grew only more cautious and restrained, bowing low with deference—the mark of someone who understood his place.
His family, too, lived quietly, he’d heard. At least they knew how to read the room. For now, at least, he was worth nurturing.
Even if Liang Xiaojun harbored other ambitions.
The Gu Long Guild’s surveillance network was everywhere. If he decided to look, he could learn how many hairs were on Liang Xiaojun’s head.
And so the Gu Long Guild boarded a private jet and departed for Korea.
There was no grand reception from Isabella, naturally.
There wouldn’t have been one anyway, but now it was even less likely. Korea and China relations were strained as it was.
And hadn’t the Ilseong Guild—once dismissed as Korea’s perennial fifth-place outfit—just crushed them decisively?
Both governments had made diplomatic noises about reconciliation, but the rift in the people’s hearts ran deep.
Whoosh……
The quiet airport.
The Gu Long Guild members set their luggage down and waited briefly.
Hong Tao swept his gaze across them, eyes blazing with resolve. “For the honor of our China, we must learn even one thing more. Patience in hardship—let these words echo in your hearts, again and again!”
“Yes!”
The Gu Long Guild members answered with gleaming eyes. The die was cast.
Now there was no turning back. They would have to lick Kim Min-woo’s boots if need be, learn everything they could. Strength was the only card they’d have to play.
Moments later, several vehicles approached the Gu Long Guild contingent.
“Please, board.”
The Gu Long Guild members climbed in quietly.
Their destination was the Ilsong Training Center.
A bodyguard in sunglasses spoke. “Please proceed inside. Young Master Kim is waiting for you.”
Guild Master Hong Tao nodded in acknowledgment on behalf of the group.
They would spend several days receiving intensive training at this facility, resupplied with Elixir.
Then came the main event: another Guild War against the Ilseong Guild.
The ten Chinese members entered the center.
And soon enough, they encountered Kim Min-woo.
“You’ve come such a distance. Thank you for your trouble.”
Kim Min-woo greeted them with a bright smile.
That was the moment.
Kim Min-woo and Liang Xiaojun.
Their eyes met.
And before each of them, a message appeared.
For Kim Min-woo:
[First Follower detected. How you utilize them is your choice.]
Such a message.
And for Liang Xiaojun:
[Loyalty buried in deep slumber now blazes to life. You are ready to follow him.]
‘…What?’
Kim Min-woo tilted his head at the sudden confusion.
Then it happened.
Thud!
Liang Xiaojun dropped to his knees.
In this moment, emotion welled up inside him like a volcano, entirely beyond his control.
His hands trembled violently.

Memories continued to crash down on him like a tidal wave.
Countless recollections of those who had followed in his footsteps, devotees of his great wisdom.
He had been a great ruler.
He had been a great founder.
He had been a great avenger.
And he had been a ruler brought to ruin.
And he himself…….
had been the follower who yearned for him endlessly.
Even when everything crumbled, fractured, and scattered.
When told it was not yet the end, he had steeled himself to endure ages of waiting—such was the devotion of that follower.
He had waited for epochs that approached eternity.
A vague faith that this was not the end.
Yes.
It truly was not the end!
He understood it instinctively.
The Death Lord.
What manner of being that name signified.
And who now stood before him.
These were certainly the memories of another—a stranger.
Yet he could not reject the flood of those memories. It was as though he and the figure within them had become one body.
His vision blurred.
Two streams of scalding tears ran down Liang Xiaojun’s cheeks as he knelt.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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