Damn Necromancer - Chapter 141

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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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The Spendthrift Necromancer (141)
Follower
Hong Tao and the other Awakeners stared at Liang Xiaojun with bewildered expressions.
‘What in the world?’
‘Why is he suddenly on his knees…….’
He stood there tears and snot streaming down his face, utterly unable to contain himself. Liang Xiaojun gazed at Kim Min-woo as though the world had never known such sorrow, and burst into tears.
Kim Min-woo was equally baffled. Yet something was beginning to take shape in his mind.
‘A Follower…….’
And of all things, Liang Xiaojun was an SS-rank Necromancer?
This had to be connected to Death Load somehow…….
‘Demen.’
He turned his gaze toward the Chinese delegation, offering up a silent prayer in his heart.
“There’s no need to do anything right now. Why don’t we all take a moment to rest?”
“Ah…… Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”
Hong Tao replied in a dazed voice, still reeling from shock.
With that, the Chinese delegation helped Liang Xiaojun to his feet and moved him toward the rest area in the Center.
The moment they had put enough distance between themselves and Kim Min-woo, Liang Xiaojun’s mind snapped back into focus as though someone had splashed cold water on him.
‘……What?’
What in the hell had he just done?
A flood of memories had come crashing down without warning, and he’d lost his mind entirely—dropping to his knees.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it. He’d wept openly at the sight of Kim Min-woo.
What must the Gulong Guild members be thinking right now?
Liang Xiaojun’s mind raced at unprecedented speed.
If they simply assumed he had some kind of mental illness, that would be a mercy.
But what if they suspected some kind of connection between him and Kim Min-woo?
‘I’m finished.’
His spine grew cold and slick with sweat.
Just then.
Hong Tao, who had helped him onto the sofa, looked down at him with concern.
“Are you alright? Why did you suddenly…….”
“That’s…… it’s…… *sob*!”
The vertiginous moment when memories of an incomprehensible existence had flooded into him.
And along with them, that heartbreaking sense of duty to offer loyalty to Kim Min-woo.
As those feelings resurfaced, hot tears began streaming down his face of their own accord.
His cheeks wet with tears.
Liang Xiaojun spoke.
“When I saw that man Kim Min-woo’s face…… I realized just how dire our nation’s situation has become…… and I thought of how much pain the Chairman must endure. I couldn’t help myself—the tears just came. I’m terribly sorry!”
The Gulong Guild members exchanged glances at his words.
They themselves were devoted party cadres who served China with conviction.
But truthfully, none of them burned with the intensity that Liang Xiaojun had just displayed.
‘……His loyalty to the Chairman ran that deep?’
The moment he laid eyes on that man Kim Min-woo, his legs had given way beneath him from sheer anguish, and he’d wept like a child?
Hong Tao’s eyes grew serious.
‘Even our Gulong Guild’s intelligence network has blind spots.’
As befitted China’s greatest guild, every new recruit underwent rigorous background investigation without exception.
All the more so for someone who had achieved SS-rank status.
Multiple layers of investigation had naturally followed.
According to that intelligence, Liang Xiaojun had nothing particularly remarkable about him. In other words, his patriotism and loyalty had been wholly ordinary.
Which was why Chairman Li Zemin himself had entrusted Hong Tao and his intelligence division with continuous, meticulous surveillance.
‘……All that worry was for nothing.’
The display he had just witnessed.
And those burning tears.
Over the years as Guild Master of Gulong, Hong Tao had observed countless people.
And so he could speak with certainty.
That was genuine sincerity—the real thing.
Perhaps this young man had spent all his years quietly concealing his true heart within his chest.
So thoroughly that even the Gulong Guild’s intelligence apparatus could not detect it.
But today.
At last, his inner nature had been laid bare for all to see. He must possess some simple, forthright side that even he could not control.
“……I’m truly sorry. I’ll be more careful going forward. *sniff*.”
“……It’s all right. For this moment, don’t hold back. Cry if you need to.”
Hong Tao patted Liang Xiaojun’s shoulder warmly.
‘I could shape him into something remarkable.’
‘I’ve made it.’
Two men’s opposing thoughts crossed at the same instant.
* * *
An intriguing smile played at Kim Min-woo’s lips as he observed the break room. Liang Xiaojun’s reaction just now had been genuine, no question about it.
He’d seen the man kneel as though pledging his allegiance.
‘If I play this right, this could be a jackpot.’
But what pleased him even more—
SS-rank Necromancers weren’t limited to Liang Xiaojun alone.
They were scattered across the world.
Ten of them, no less.
‘If just half of them become Followers……’
This was genuinely sweet, wasn’t it?
There was even a possibility that all ten could end up as Followers if his luck held.
And the Necromancer Rally wasn’t even completely finished yet.
As time passed, more SS-rank Awakeners would emerge, and some would inevitably choose Necromancer. That meant the prestige of the class would only climb higher.
Achievement Points and loyal followers alike.
‘I’ll need to perform even more impressively from here on.’
Of course, Kim Min-woo wasn’t entirely free of complicated thoughts either.
What exactly was Death Lord’s arrangement? Why did connections between Death Lord and reality keep forming? And what larger picture did all these entangled threads ultimately paint?
He couldn’t possibly predict every ripple of consequence.
Frankly, in the worst case, this could all be Death Lord’s grand scheme to reclaim his body and resurrect himself—and that wouldn’t be surprising given what he’d learned.
He’d witnessed that malice firsthand, after all, with Merchen.
‘But the train’s already rolling.’
Necromancers?
They’ve spread everywhere already.
Was he supposed to stop growing stronger just because he feared Death Lord?
No.
The smarter move was to respond proactively rather than defensively, to grow stronger faster.
That was Kim Min-woo’s way.
Besides—
‘It’s not just Necromancers with this kind of structure.’
Other EX-rank classes would have their own hidden machinations too. Did he really think all those beings had no agenda?
They were all on the same ride together anyway.
‘Best to ride it out and think it through later.’
That was why.
He focused only on the countermeasures available to him now, and the benefits they would bring.
In any case.
He’d found one more reason to live earnestly.
‘Though there is one other matter……’
If Liang Xiaojun kept kneeling and crying like this every time they met, it would become a problem for Kim Min-woo as well.
One or two times could slide by with some excuse, but that wouldn’t work forever. People would inevitably suspect something unsavory in their relationship.
That didn’t bother him personally.
The issue was his adorable Followers.
From a position where he needed to use them effectively, squandering such a powerful card as a Follower so pathetically was……
‘Not particularly appealing.’
There was something he needed to do in moments like these.
‘I trust you. Demen.’
Prayer.
Death Lord had surely worked out the structure well. Surely he hadn’t overlooked something as basic as this.
And indeed.
When the Chinese personnel appeared again—
Liang Xiaojun was gazing at Kim Min-woo as though he’d never shed a tear in his life.
When Kim Min-woo returned a bright smile, the man’s eyes wavered and he looked away.
Well, for now, Kim Min-woo had no intention of putting him on the spot.
The training period was deliberately set long anyway. There would be plenty of time for a quiet conversation with Liang Xiaojun down the road.
“All right then, let’s begin the lesson. All five of you, come at me.”
Kim Min-woo drew his sword.
Hong Tao nodded with a grave expression. He had already confirmed Min-woo’s skill at their last meeting. The man had subdued him in merely six exchanges. He had every right to be arrogant.
Since word had been given beforehand, the Gulong Guild also knew this fact.
And so the lesson began.
A few hours later.
Kim Min-woo glanced around at everyone and spoke.
“Good. That covers the group instruction for now. From here on, I’ll guide each of you individually. It’s more efficient that way. Hong Tao?”
“Yes.”
Follow me. The rest of you—once the Guild Master comes out, come in one at a time.”
“Understood.”
The moment Liang Xiaojun watched Kim Min-woo and Hong Tao disappear into the private training room, his face drained of color.
‘What’s this? The original schedule shouldn’t have gone like this…….’
Individual instruction?
He’d only been informed that there would be education—no such detailed curriculum had been mentioned.
‘Could it be…….’
Was he creating a private space to avoid the eyes of others?
It couldn’t be.
Please.
After several guild members had gone through, Liang Xiaojun’s turn finally came.
The moment he entered the training room and closed the door.
“Well, Liang Xiaojun.”
……
“I think we have quite a lot to discuss. You feel the same way, don’t you? The good news is that the soundproofing in here is excellent, so you don’t need to hold back.”
“W-what do you mean. L-let’s just start the lesson…….”
“You’re my Follower, aren’t you? Right?”
Thump.
Liang Xiaojun’s heart turned to ice.
“I wonder how this works. Ah, could you grab that Dumbbell over there for me?”
That was the moment.
Compelled by some inexplicable pressure that he must obey that command, Liang Xiaojun’s body began to move of its own accord.
He approached the Dumbbell, picked it up, and gently placed it in Kim Min-woo’s hand.
“What—what is this……! My body, why is it…….”
Liang Xiaojun’s pupils trembled violently.
Like a puppet, as if someone else were manipulating his body—what a grotesque sensation?
“Fascinating. So it’s a structure where you follow commands? But your consciousness seems perfectly intact.”
“W-what are you planning to do with me.”
“I have no intention of harming you, so don’t worry too much. After all, why would I hurt my own Follower?”
……
“Read through your skill details for me. Tell me what you summon.”
Determined not to become a slave, Liang Xiaojun clenched his teeth and kept his mouth shut. But the more he tried to resist, the more that strange pressure squeezed his chest as if it would burst his heart.
Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Liang Xiaojun’s mouth opened.
“I’m—I’m a Follower of Death Load…….”
Kim Min-woo’s assessment upon hearing the details was simple.
“That’s just a complete downgrade of mine.”
“……What?”
“Varyan? Isn’t that supposed to be some dragon knight’s subordinate?”
“W-well, yes…….”
“Cedric is a dragon knight.”
“……?”
“He’s my Follower. So your summon is just the rank-and-file of some legion commander? Let me see. Call him out.”
In silence, Liang Xiaojun summoned Varyan.
Kim Min-woo summoned Cedric as well. A skeletal form resembling a sturdy barbarian stared fixedly at Cedric.
Soon after.
―Commander…… I see…… greetings…….
Varyan uttered words with halting difficulty and bowed his head.
―Varyan?
―That is so…… I…… your…… subordinate…… and…… also meet…… the worthy successor…… of the great one…….
A simple bow of respect toward Cedric.
And a deep, formal bow toward Kim Min-woo. Liang Xiaojun watched it all with his mouth hanging open.
He had summoned Varyan countless times before, but this was undoubtedly the first time that creature had spoken so much.
Regardless.
Kim Min-woo turned to Cedric and asked.
“Are you two close?”
―We were enemies. Once.
“Enemies?”
―I was a knight who held back the barbarians of the frontier. Varyan was their chieftain. In the end, he was subjugated, but I petitioned the Lord to resurrect him later. It seemed a waste to leave talent like his as nothing but a corpse.
―Yes…… that’s how it was…….
“So grudges from the living world are no longer an issue?”
Cedric shrugged as he spoke.
―We fought for ten years. We’ve lived together for centuries. I think that answers your question.
Kim Min-woo nodded.
“Varyan.”
―You called…… my great lord’s…… successor…….
“Just call me successor. It’s shorter.”
―Understood…… successor…….
“If they and I give commands, whose takes priority?”
―My great lord…… comes first…… the successor…… must be obeyed…… the same…….
Liang Xiaojun stared at Varyan in a daze, his face mingling sorrow with a sense of betrayal.
“Don’t be too sad. I plan to respect your autonomy as much as possible.”
“……Yes.”
“By the way, a moment ago you were on your knees crying. Did you remember something?”
“……I’m not entirely sure. Strange memories flooded in all at once, but now they’ve become very faint. All that remains is the feeling that I encountered something…… truly enormous.”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
He suspected the fading memories were why Liang Xiaojun had stopped kneeling. That was fine with him.
“From now on, I’d like to run a few experiments.”
“Experiments……?”
“To see how far my commands reach. How much autonomy you retain, that sort of thing. Don’t you think you should know as well?”
……He didn’t want to know.
But honestly, there was no way out of it.
The fact that he was a Follower had already been laid bare.
If Liang Xiaojun had been in Kim Min-woo’s position, he would naturally have thought to put a Follower to use.
‘Damn it…….’
How had his life gotten so twisted?
Liang Xiaojun let out a long, heavy sigh.
Over the following days at the Training Center, several experiments took place.
With each one, Kim Min-woo’s face grew brighter, while Liang Xiaojun’s darkened steadily.
The scope of the commands was vast.
His autonomy, too, could be overridden entirely if Kim Min-woo chose to press.
In truth, this was no different from slavery.
No matter how formidable a Death Lord was.
Who in the world actually enjoyed becoming a slave?
Liang Xiaojun was no exception.
But what was more frightening was…….
‘Curse it. Curse it…….’
Every time he carried out one of Kim Min-woo’s commands, some vast, incomprehensible spiritual satisfaction flooded through him.
The more intricate and detailed the order, the more intense it became.
Kim Min-woo had long since noticed this fact. He peppered Liang Xiaojun with questions every time he issued and watched him execute the commands. When three days of verification were done.
“Liang Xiaojun.”
“……Yes.”
“You probably understand by now—you won’t be able to escape me.”
“……I suppose not.”
“So come with me. I’ll raise you well.”
“What do you mean by ‘raise me’……?”
“Let’s dream big. Don’t you want to become President of China someday?”
Kim Min-woo asked with a cold smile.

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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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