As expected, Baekdu Mountain had erupted spectacularly.
The scale of lava flowing in all directions and the continuous ascent of volcanic ash was beyond imagination, visible even from a great distance.
‘The volcanic ash that reached Seoul was just a tiny fraction.’
Most of the ash was being carried eastward by the wind, dispersing over the East Sea.
Even so, the sky over Seoul was now dark and grim, with the sun obscured by the thick volcanic ash.
‘It’s a relief that this happened during sumr.’
Thanks to the strong westerly winds in the sumr, most of the volcanic ash was being pushed eastward.
If it had been winter, when the northeastern winds were stronger, all of Baekdu Mountain’s ash would have drifted this way.
Right now, the only effects were a slightly cooler temperature for sumr and the sight of ash swirling in the air. But if this had happened in winter, it would have been as if ash was falling like heavy snow.
‘Well, even then, the transparent barrier would have blocked the ash, so there wouldn’t have been any direct damage.’
Thanks to the continuous bombardnt, the level of my Household Proclamation had reached 43. As a result, the main base in Busan had turned most of South Gyeongsang Province into a safe zone, while the detached base in Seoul had done the sa for most of Gyeonggi Province in the capital region.
Additionally, with the various forward bases and domains established across the country, one could say that all major cities in South Korea were now under my control.
After constructing these domains, we actively rescued survivors in the area, leading to the majority of South Korea’s remaining population joining us.
‘I can’t say everyone has been gathered, but…’
In any case, even if a large-scale fall of volcanic ash were to occur, it wouldn't lead to significant damage.
It was astonishing to think that what had started as a small Household Proclamation had grown into sothing on a national scale.
‘…Now that I think about it, my ability is incredible.’
Not just against the Ice Dragon, but even against natural disasters like volcanic ash—I had the power to protect my people.
‘Would I be able to stop sothing like that as well?’
The aftermath of Baekdu Mountain’s eruption wasn’t just ash and lava.
The explosion had caused the Cheonji (Heavenly Lake) atop Baekdu Mountain, holding a staggering 2 billion tons of water, to overflow, flooding an area spanning tens of kiloters.
The only fortunate thing was that this catastrophe had engulfed the undead army rather than North Korean civilians.
‘Considering the barrier can block radiation, cold, and volcanic ash, it should be able to handle floods as well…’
It wasn’t entirely clear, but the type of things the transparent barrier filtered out seed to be dictated by my subconscious.
For example, when the level increased and the domain expanded, goblins and orcs were eradicated, while squirrels and mice were allowed to exist within the safe zone under temporary permissions. It seed to operate on a similar principle.
Essentially, anything that posed a negative influence on was automatically rejected.
‘What exactly is this power?’
I looked down at the black aura flickering around my hand, lost in thought.
At this point, my power had grown to a national level, creating barriers that could withstand most natural disasters.
And yet—
‘…Is this really my power?’
It was a question that had haunted for a long ti.
Was this power truly mine?
I wasn’t questioning whether I could call it my own just because it had suddenly appeared one day.
What I feared was the possibility that soone else was the true owner of this power.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
What if this power had a rightful master and I was simply being used to strengthen it?
And when the true owner of this power eventually appeared—
‘…Would this power continue to follow my will?’
The conclusion was always the sa.
‘There’s no way it would side with .’
If the original owner existed and had intentionally granted this authority, there would undoubtedly be safeguards in place.
The fear that, one day, soone would co and take everything away from .
That was the root of my anxiety.
‘How should I prepare for this?’
Where had this power co from?
If there was an original owner, what did they want?
Did their vision of the future include and my people?
‘There’s too little information.’
At that mont, Yoo Han-gil, who had been sitting cross-legged atop a crow in deep concentration, spoke.
"The skeleton corps in this area appear to have been completely annihilated."
Despite the volcanic ash limiting visibility, Han-gil's clairvoyant abilities ant the reconnaissance was proceeding without issue.
"Possibly due to Baekdu Mountain’s explosion, there are no signs of the undead army in this vicinity."
Thankfully, even as we drew closer to Baekdu Mountain, neither the Reaper nor the Lich had appeared.
This raised the possibility that they had truly been wiped out.
They weren’t the type to retreat just because they had taken so damage.
If they had survived, we should have already encountered them.
The fact that we hadn’t ant—
‘Considering their immunity to physical attacks, could Avatar’s final self-destruction attack have been far more lethal than expected?’
Avatar’s self-destruction was a purely black-aura-based attack.
It had simply been an uncontrolled explosion of energy.
And that was it.
However, considering not even five consecutive teor strikes had been enough to kill them, but the Lich and Death Knight commander had been effortlessly destroyed by Aura-imbued attacks, it was possible that divine energy itself was fatal to them.
‘If that’s truly the case, then the explosion might have wiped out the core forces of the undead army.’
Even though Avatar’s death ant his accumulated experience points were lost, the fact that the imdiate threats to our faction were eliminated was reassuring.
I gave an order to the reconnaissance team.
[Good work. Proceed north as planned.]
The core of this operation was reconnaissance.
‘Since the skeletal battalion was advancing south, their main base must be further north.’
We needed to determine:
The exact location of their stronghold
The scale of their forces
The number of high-level undead like Death Knights, the Reaper, and the Lich
That was the primary goal of this operation.
"Understood."
The reconnaissance team passed Baekdu Mountain and continued further north.
As we distanced ourselves from Baekdu Mountain, the undead army began to reappear.
They were moving southward in formations ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands.
‘They’re more scattered than before.’
Compared to the initial massive wave that covered the entire horizon, their numbers seed significantly smaller—but they were still a considerable force.
Moreover, by the ti they reached the Korean Peninsula, they would undoubtedly grow even more densely packed.
As they crossed the narrow passages and rivers like the Yalu River, bottleneck effects would co into play.
anwhile, newly spawned monsters would continue to rge with them, amplifying their numbers.
Eventually, they would form another wave covering the entire horizon.
But for us, this was actually good news.
‘It just ans easier targeting for artillery strikes.’
The tighter their formation, the higher the kill efficiency.
As long as our reinforced artillery units were in place, the undead army would be nothing more than an endless source of experience points.
‘But I don’t see the skeletal battalion anymore.’
This was a highly positive developnt.
‘Kim Da-bin’s theory might be correct.’
Death Knight Commander, the Reaper, and the Lich.
I had assud there was an even higher leader above them.
However, Kim Da-bin had suggested that those three might have been the true core leadership.
If that were true, and we had successfully eliminated them, then all that was left was to level up endlessly using the mindless undead.
As I entertained the hope that Kim Da-bin’s optimistic prediction was correct—
"!!!"
"What’s happening?!"
The crows carrying Moon Byeong-ho, Jang Seong-jun, and Kim Ga-young suddenly plumted without warning.
‘Enhance.’
The mont I recognized the anomaly, I imdiately reinforced my retainers' power.
Moon Byeong-ho used Teleport to land safely on the crow carrying Kang Deok-soo, while Jang Seong-jun used telekinesis to suspend himself in midair.
Finally, as Kim Ga-young was plumting, Father personally teleported and caught her, ending the crisis.
"Th-thank you."
Yang Ha-young gripped the bone spear she had pulled from her own body and asked, "Is this an ambush?"
The other retainers imdiately heightened their alertness and scanned the surroundings.
But no attack ca.
Instead—
"They’re falling!"
The remaining crows suddenly stopped flapping their wings and began plumting straight to the ground.
"What? Aaaah!"
"Kyaaah!"
"……!!"
The first to react was Jang Seong-jun, who had already been using telekinesis to anchor himself midair.
He imdiately extended his power to grab Lee Joon-hyuk, Yoo Han-gil, and Yang Ha-young, keeping them afloat.
The others followed suit.
Even before I could intervene, they all used their own abilities to survive the fall.
Whoosh!
Jung So-ra summoned a wind spirit, gently guiding herself down.
Moon Byeong-ho teleported to the ground with Kang Deok-soo, while Father did the sa with Kim Ga-young.
Boom! Boom!
Monts later, the crows crashed into the ground, sending shockwaves through the air.
‘What the hell…?’
My first thought was how empty the area was.
Even though the undead army had been spotted earlier—though scattered—there wasn't a single sign of them here.
Not even a single insect.
‘What happened here?’
At that mont, Kim Geon landed with a shaken expression, imdiately rushing to check on the fallen crows.
His face darkened.
Moon Byeong-ho approached him. “What’s wrong?”
Kim Geon spoke, his voice trembling.
"……They’re dead."
"What? What do you an—"
Moon Byeong-ho never got to finish his sentence.
Because—
KIEEEEEEEEK!
The crows Kim Geon had just declared dead suddenly let out a horrifying screech and began rising.
Screeeeeech!
At that mont, black-imbued arrows of light pierced through the heads of the reanimated crows.
Kim Geon, who had just witnessed his beloved familiars die, imdiately shouted in anger.
"What the hell are you doing—?!"
But—
"Snap out of it, Kim Geon!"
Kim Ga-young’s sharp voice cut through the tension.
"Do they still look like your crows to you? They’ve beco part of the undead army!"
"That… That can't be…"
Kim Geon’s dazed eyes stared at the grotesquely reanimated bodies of his crows.
So of them had smashed skulls, their guts spilling out as they lunged at the Silver Knights summoned by Kang Deok-soo.
They were indistinguishable from the undead.
Then—
BOOM!
A black-aura-infused bone spear rained down from the sky, impaling the remaining crows, finishing them off instantly.
Ziiiing…
As the corpses vanished, their destruction registered as an official kill, and Kim Geon stared at the aftermath, his face utterly blank.
‘What the hell is happening?’
I had kept Absolute Sight fully activated, keeping an intense focus on every single retainer.
Which ant—
‘They weren’t attacked.’
The crows hadn’t been hit by anything.
They had simply died.
And for so reason, the scene reminded of what happened when my domain expanded during level-ups—when monsters were wiped out instantly.
‘Why…?’
Why was I associating this situation with that mory?
At that mont—
“Urgh…!”
The weakest among the scouting party, Yoo Han-gil, suddenly clutched his throat, struggling for breath.
Imdiately—
[Everyone, gather in one spot. Now!]
The scouting party wasn’t just chosen for combat strength.
Moon Byeong-ho, Lee Joon-hyuk, Jang Seong-jun, and Jung So-ra.
They all had 100 loyalty and 100 trust.
They were here for a reason.
In case of ergency, so I could use the skill at any ti.
[Hurry!]
At my urgent command, all airborne retainers descended to the ground.
Then—
‘Domain Expansion.’
Vwooom!
I preemptively deployed the domain.
The black aura spread outward, forming a protective field.
"Haaah!"
The mont the domain took shape, Yoo Han-gil gasped for air, his condition stabilizing.
Then—
‘Descent.’
Flash—
I teleported directly to their location.
‘……’
Crackle—
The domain was smaller than usual.
At the outer edges, sothing was interfering, causing continuous sparks of resistance.
‘Absolute Sight.’
Inside the domain, I activated Absolute Sight.
The black aura-enhanced vision allowed to see things normally invisible.
And what I saw—
Crackle!
The entire surrounding area was saturated with eerie purple energy.
And—
Clatter…
At the center of that ominous energy.
Clatter…
A single, pathetic-looking skeleton was slowly walking toward us.
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