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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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“Red Tower Master, are you out of your mind, spouting such nonsense in a time like this!”
Blue Tower Master, Lysfield Dior, raised his voice. Raymond, knowing what kind of place the Path of the Forgotten was, could understand Lysfield’s sensitive reaction.
It was the realm of vengeful spirits, from which once you entered, you could not return.
In the Black Mountains, many disappeared without a trace. Most were eaten by monsters, but some could not even find such traces.
Those who liked to talk about these cases said that those who had participated in the ancient tribal wars and lost their lives were led astray by the Path of the Forgotten.
‘But that’s actually true.’
It wasn’t just a myth.
The corners of Raymond’s lips twisted.
The ‘Path of the Forgotten’ was a territory imbued with the resentment of knights who had participated in the
tribal wars and fought to subdue monsters, but were now forgotten, and it was the path to the ‘Forgotten Tomb’
where the Soul Sword slept.
Even those who believed in the existence of vengeful spirits did not believe that an intangible sword, tempered
with their resentful souls, was sleeping there. So, even when listening to the stories that were passed down, there
was no mention of the Soul Sword.
‘But I know.’
I saw it in the setting book. And I know, because I read the scene in the early part of Volume 2 where Cron, who
had become a Marquess, obtained the ‘Soul Sword’ in the Black Mountains and the protagonist announced the
resurrection of the Demon Sword Master.
If I get the Soul Sword, I will be stealing three of the protagonist’s lucky chances, including the ‘Spear of
Sacrifice’ and ‘Desia Helly’, but I didn’t feel guilty.
In order to survive in the novel 《Empire of the Dead》, which has a cruel worldview for all supporting characters
and extras, I have no choice but to become the protagonist.
And what is the best way for Raymond, the extra Fifth Prince, to become the protagonist?
‘Steal everything that belongs to him.’
I don’t regret this decision.
“What are you so anxious about?”
Raymond said in a voice filled with dignity, but the fear on the faces of the two Tower Masters did not recede.
Looking at the dignified Fifth Prince, the two Tower Masters tried to calm their anxiety, but it was not easy.
The further they went, the thicker the fog became, and the darkness deepened. There was nothing that could be changed by retreating, and the soldiers were gradually getting tired. Along with physical fatigue, anxiety began to rise in their hearts.
This was because almost none of the soldiers on the northern border did not know about the ‘Path of the Forgotten’.
Even if there were people who didn’t know, the anxious minds were quickly spread by the soldiers next to them who were talking about the legend of no return.
“Fifth Prince, is it okay to leave it like this? The morale of the soldiers is hitting rock bottom.”
Gestain carefully approached and expressed his concern in a small voice. Raymond nodded silently and turned to the soldiers.
“Soldiers of the Philios Empire.”
He announced the beginning in a calm voice. The soldiers, who were walking powerlessly with their eyes down, stopped walking at once and raised their heads.
The Fifth Prince was shining brilliantly in the thick fog.
It was because he was wearing golden armor, but the tired soldiers thought that the light might give them the answer.
Looking at the appearance of the castaways who were struggling to grab even a glimmer of hope after falling into the vast ocean, the Fifth Prince, Raymond, opened his mouth with a bitter expression.
“Don’t worry too much. The royals of the Philios Empire do not die in a place like this.”
It was too short a ‘declaration’ to be called a speech.
He didn’t have the gift of gab, so he thought that speaking at length wouldn’t have much of an effect, so he made a choice, but it worked.
The soldiers of the Philios Empire nodded and began to agree with the words of the Fifth Prince.
“That’s right, there’s no way that the bloodline of the first Emperor would lose his life so futilely.”
“Let’s cheer up, even if it’s just us.”
“Indeed! We must not show weakness before His Highness!”
It was a reaction that was possible because they were soldiers of the Philios Empire who worshiped the descendants of the royal family as the bloodline of God.
“Do you really know the way out?”
Blue Tower Master, Lysfield, came closer and asked in a small voice.
The way to get out of here? Of course, I know.
“Hasn’t the old man seen me looking for something with Desia since earlier?”
At Raymond’s words, Lysfield recalled. Come to think of it, he remembered that the Fifth Prince and Desia had been looking around a lot.
He thought it was just because he was anxious, but it seemed that it wasn’t.
“May I ask what you are looking for?”
“A tombstone.”
Lysfield was shocked by the Fifth Prince’s sudden and creepy answer that he was looking for a tombstone.
“T, tombstone?”
“It doesn’t have to be a tombstone, find a tomb, grave, or something that looks like it. That will be the key for us to escape this ‘territory of vengeful spirits’.”
“Then shouldn’t we tell the knights and soldiers as well?”
At Lysfield’s words, Raymond shook his head with a look of bewilderment.
“Old man, if I give the order to find a tomb in this situation, wouldn’t I look like a madman?”
It was a short explanation, but it was enough to convince Lysfield. The old Blue Tower Master nodded with a calm expression instead of answering.
“I will also help.”
“I will also look for it.”
Gestain and Berenus, who had been listening silently next to him, also promised to cooperate. And how much time had passed?
It was when the light of hope caused by the short speech was faintly dying.
Gestain, who was walking among the tired soldiers, discovered a small hill with an old sword stuck in it. When he approached and scanned his eyes, he saw a tombstone buried in the dirt.
“Captain?”
His subordinate approached and asked cautiously at Gestain’s sudden change.
Gestain opened his mouth with a calm face, without taking his eyes off the tombstone.
“Bring the Fifth Prince here.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Soon, Raymond, the Tower Masters, and the elite guards appeared. Gestain bowed his head silently to his lord.
“There is a tombstone here.”
Then he carefully stepped aside.
Raymond slowly moved forward. Next to the old sword stuck in the ground, there was a tombstone that was almost buried.
“I didn’t touch it, just in case.”
“Good job, if you had touched it, you would have lost consciousness for a day.”
According to the setting, a powerful magic barrier was in operation.
It was visible to Raymond, who had reached the level of an intermediate mage. But he couldn’t destroy it himself.
He could only see it.
‘You need at least a high-level mage to destroy that.’
But was that really a problem? There were two Tower Masters standing right next to him. Why waste his own strength?
Subordinates existed to be used by their rulers.
“Desia Helly.”
“Yes, Fifth Prince.”
At Raymond’s call, Desia stepped forward, letting out a thin and beautiful voice.
She was also a high-level mage. She knew the level of the barrier and knew exactly what she had to do.
“I will destroy the barrier.”
Desia was smart and quick to understand. It was good that I didn’t have to explain.
As she aimed the staff with the magic stone at the tombstone, faint mana flowed out and danced. And erosion began.
Some ‘energy’ began to flow out of the tombstone. What was clear was that it was not pure mana.
“What on earth is this ominous energy!”
The Blue Tower Master was agitated when he saw the opaque gray energy instead of blue.
The Red Tower Master also couldn’t take his eyes off it out of curiosity, and Desia’s pupils were shaking uneasily.
Only the Fifth Prince, Raymond, maintained his composure.
“Your Highness, what on earth is that?”
It was before the mana and the mysterious energy collided. Desia asked in a trembling voice.
She thought that the Fifth Prince would know. From the mysterious knowledge he had told her so far, and from his calm demeanor in this territory of vengeful spirits, Desia was convinced.
The Fifth Prince knows.
Raymond did not turn away from the trust contained at the end of her gaze.
“A soul, more precisely, a vengeful spirit.”
At the simple explanation, the two Tower Masters’ curious gazes were fixed on the energy of the vengeful spirit.
They may be experts in magic and mana, but they can’t help but feel mysterious about fields such as vengeful spirits and souls.
“A vengeful spirit… interesting.”
Desia also couldn’t hide her interesting demeanor.
She began to move the mana to destroy the barrier. The vengeful spirits resisted, but they couldn’t last long in front of the high-level mage’s overwhelming mana.
Sparks flew with a crack! The intense resentment towards the living could not cross the wall of mana. The blue light destroyed the opaque gray energy.
“I have destroyed the barrier.”
Desia said. Raymond nodded and reached out to the tombstone. When he cleared the dirt, the inscription engraved on
the tombstone was revealed.
[If there is no requiem, oblivion will continue, and in the end, you shall become one with us.]
The tombstone was old, but it was not difficult to read the engraved inscription.
“It’s a tombstone full of resentment.”
At the words of the Blue Tower Master, Lysfield, Raymond nodded calmly and opened his mouth.
“Of course. They were once the hope of many, but now, even their very existence has been forgotten. If their grudge is deep enough, wouldn’t it reach all the way to hell?”
“Your Highness, where in the world do you even hear such things? Not even the old tomes in the Mage Tower contain such knowledge…”
“Have you forgotten where I first met the old man?”
Imperial Treasury Room 7. Since old and rare history books are stored there, he may have been able to find records about them there.
Lysfield had no choice but to nod at Raymond’s answer.
“You seem to know how to escape this hell, Your Highness.”
Raymond smiled at the question of the Red Tower Master, Berenus, and put his hand on the tombstone and injected mana. The way to escape this territory of vengeful spirits?
Of course, I know. Ad not just that.
“I pay my respects to you.”
The tombstone resonated.
Now, what’s needed here is the blood of the imperial family, and an oath. The protagonist in the novel had a hard time finding the blood of the imperial family, but Raymond didn’t need to go through the arduous hardship because he himself was a member of the imperial family.
“I swear to you in the bloodline of the imperial family.”
He drew his dagger and cut his arm. The red blood of the imperial family splattered on the tombstone. Everyone around him widened their eyes and was shocked by the Fifth Prince’s sudden rash action.
“Your Highness!”
“W-What are you doing all of a sudden…?”
There’s no need for fuss. Raymond raised his left hand to calm them down and opened his mouth to continue his oath.
“You are no longer forgotten nameless knights, you will be reborn as proud knights of the Empire.”
The ground trembled.
“W, what’s going on!”
“What is this!”
The vengeful spirits were wailing.
The panicked soldiers drew their weapons. Even in a situation where even the knights were terrified, Raymond was still relaxed. This is because he knows that this is not a cry mixed with hatred.
This is an cry of joy for regaining their ‘name’.
-O noble bloodline that remembers the ancient oath.
-When all have forgotten, you alone have remembered the nameless knights.
A sorrowful voice. The vengeful spirits’ outcry. Raymond and his subordinates were listening quietly. Even the
talkative Blue Tower Master kept silent obediently.
-Of the two imperial families and the five royal families, only the bloodline of Philios has proven worthy. And so, the earth trembles, and the tombs open once more.
-We bestow upon you the sword tempered with the resentment of a thousand forgotten knights.
The path to the Soul Sword has been opened.
“Master!”
“Your Highness!”
It was the shouts of Gestain and Desia.
But the voices that came to my ears were too small to be said to have shouted right behind me.
Raymond turned his head in the direction they were in. Something opaque was blocking the path of his subordinates.
Desia lost her composure in the sudden situation and was embarrassed, and the two Tower Masters didn’t know what to do.
“Master! I will save you!”
Gestain swung his sword. But even the high-level knight’s mana sword could not cut the barrier created by the vengeful spirits throwing their bodies.
“Oh no! Your Highness!”
“Stay calm! Blue Tower Master! And Fifth Prince! Step back! I will smash the resentment of these damned spirits!”
Instead of the agitated Blue Tower Master, the Red Tower Master wielded a rain of fire. The flames exploded, but
the wall of resentment did not waver.
It seems that they misunderstood that this barrier was hostile. I could see pure loyalty in their reactions.
A clear smile spread across my lips.
“Oh no! Your Highness! You can’t laugh in this situation!”
The Blue Tower Master was agitated again. In the meantime, Desia and the Red Tower Master were analyzing the
barrier, and Gestain was constantly wielding the mana sword he had created by gathering his energy to the limit.
“Nothing will happen, so don’t worry too much!”
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