Volume 4 Chapter 23 Race
After the battle with Rose.
Gálu, the Forest King and leader of the Forest King's Army, returned to the base, drenched and with a twisted expression of anger on his face.
"Ugh, that little brat...! I swear, I won't let that one live...!"
She etched the fear he hadn't felt in a long time into his mind.
He suffered an overwhelming defeat.
He experienced an unbearable humiliation.
Determined not to forget that red-haired girl, Gálu's anger surged.
He grimaced as if in pain from his lost right arm, holding his right shoulder, and reached the base with unsteady steps, deciding to rest his body in preparation for the rematch with the girl.
"Hey! Is anyone there! Hurry up and call for the healer!"
As Gálu shouted this while entering the ruins base, no one came running.
Normally, he would be greeted right away, so Gálu felt a sense of unease at this strange situation.
Many of those on the defensive mission against the cursed funeral tree were out.
Even so, there should be nearly half of his subordinates waiting inside and around the base.
As he proceeded deeper into the ruins, puzzled...
"...What the hell, they're all here after all."
Familiar members of the Forest King's Army were gathered in the central hall of the ruins.
However, it seemed Gálu's command had not reached them, as they all stood silently.
"Hey, why didn't anyone come! I said hurry up and call for the healer!"
And this time, he issued a command up close.
However, his subordinates were just standing there blankly, not following Gálu's words.
Upon closer inspection, the monsters of the Forest King's Army all looked as if they were "dead"... their faces were pale.
"What the hell is this...? What's going on...?"
What on earth happened while he was away?
Moreover, a strange smell permeated the entire ruins, leaving Gálu confused and unable to grasp the situation.
"The Forest King's Army has already fallen into my hands."
"...Vamph?"
From the shadows of the hall in the ruins, a boy with black hair and red eyes approached.
The moment Gálu saw him, he instinctively realized who was responsible for this situation, clenching his teeth like a ferocious beast.
"Vamph! What the hell is going on?! "
The Forest King's Army has already fallen into his hands.
That line, along with the current situation, proves it more than anything else.
It was undoubtedly the spirit king Vamph standing right before him who harmed his subordinates.
In response to that suspicion, he spoke.
"You've been a fool, and I've had quite the easy time of it, Gálu."
"What, did you say...!"
"I always thought you were lacking in intelligence, but I must admit I'm surprised you're this incompetent. Your foolishness has led to the death of your own subordinates."
Vamph looked at him with innocent eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Seeing his spirited demeanor, Gálu ground his teeth in frustration, desperately trying to grasp the situation in his mind.
Betrayed by Vamph.
He wasn't particularly surprised by the fact that he seemed to be plotting something from the beginning, but he felt bewildered that his subordinates were completely ignoring him.
How on earth did this situation come about?
"Hey, you all! Get it together! Can't you hear the command of Forest King Gálu?!"
He rushed over to his pale-faced subordinates and shouted in a mix of anger.
However, that monster stood frozen like a soulless puppet, not listening to Gálu's voice.
As a monster with the attribute of Forest King Gálu, he can force commands on forest demon monsters.
But for some reason, that monster attribute isn't working at all right now.
Vamph announced the answer to that question with a colorless face.
"It's useless. Those beings are no longer forest demons... they are the undead."
"Wait...!? These guys are undead...? Don't mess with me..."
Suddenly, Gálu's eyes opened wide as if struck by a flash of inspiration.
"This scent, could it be...!"
"You've finally noticed. I took one of the Cursed Funeral Trees and matured it into something special with my power. Right now, behind this base, I'm spreading a curse to 'turn' the monsters into the undead."
"Turn into the undead, you say...!"
The spirit king Vamph has the ability to manipulate undead monsters as puppets as part of his monster attributes.
If his subordinates have indeed become monsters of the undead race, then it's understandable that they are following Vamph and not responding to his commands...
"I've never heard of a curse that changes a monster's race...!"
Curses generally only affect the human body.
The curses released from the cursed funeral tree are the same, and even if we use the cursed funeral tree, the monsters of the Forest King's Army shouldn't be affected.
But right in front of him, there are my subordinates who have been turned into undead and are now puppets of Vamph.
Does the spirit king Vamph have the power to curse even monsters?
By spreading that through the catalyst known as the cursed funeral tree, all the subordinates of the Forest King's Army were turned into undead tribe members.
"So that's why you were doing that rare curse work...! You traitor...!"
"Traitor? I never intended to cooperate from the start. I told you, my goal is to acquire the biological sphere of the undead race and resurrect the cursed funeral tree."
Do not interfere with each other's subordinates.
Do not disturb each other's invasion zones.
That agreement was just a decorative piece for Vamph.
For him, the Spirit King's Army, the resurrection of the cursed funeral tree is essential to rule the world.
Once the sapling is planted, he will be nothing but useless baggage.
"You...!"
Everything was planned from the beginning.
From the moment the Spirit King's Army offered to cooperate with the Forest King's Army, he had a feeling something was off.
However, he had underestimated him, thinking he was just a shallow strategy that Gálu could easily suppress.
Never did he expect that he would have his comrades taken as pawns.
Additionally, Gálu, after losing an arm in the fight against Rose, was significantly exhausted.
He could say there was no chance for him to win.
"[Instinct Liberation]!"
Even so, Gálu did not give up on the fight, unleashing the monster's instincts to improve his physical abilities.
Seeing Gálu ready for battle, Vamph narrowed his red eyes.
"The curse of death transformation is no exception for you. How much will you be able to endure with that wounded body? Shall I test you?"
"G...Gaaah!!!"
Transformed into a fierce beast, Forest King Gálu charged forward, with Vamph's puppet-like subordinates blocking his path.
As he mercilessly kicked them aside, Gálu aimed to claw at the spirit king Vamph.
* * *
"Even in decay, you truly live up to being called the Forest King."
The battle lasted hardly ten minutes.
However, the inside of the ruins had crumbled completely, with the corpses of the Forest King's Army monsters lying everywhere.
Among them, there was the figure of Forest King Gálu.
Though he had lost an arm and was in a state of exhaustion, Gálu engaged in fierce combat with the horde of puppets that had become monsters.
"If I had enough stamina left to unleash Instinct Destruction, those claws might have reached you."
Even so, the victory went to Spirit King's Army, and Gálu met his end at the hands of his own subordinates.
The ruins fell eerily silent, as if it were a lie.
At that moment, a skeleton monster dressed in a top hat and jacket approached Vamph, letting out a strange chuckle of 'clack, clack.'
"But wasn't that alright? If we had turned Forest King Gálu into a member of the undead, he could have been a significant force."
"My undead puppets are not infallible. Even so, they are counted among the monsters that serve the Demon Lord. There's always the possibility they might defy their bindings and revolt."
While that may not apply to other monsters, with someone like Forest King Gálu, it's conceivable he might resist his monster traits.
To eliminate any potential threats, Vamph decided to completely take care of Gálu.
As a result, Spirit King's Army secured several high-ranking members and dozens of soldiers from Forest King's Army, seizing the cursed funeral tree and this forest as well.
"I'll take a short break. The others should deal with the adventurers trying to destroy the cursed funeral tree."
Thanks to the creation of the cursed funeral tree of the undead, Vamph was somewhat worn out, though not as much as Gálu.
Therefore, he decided to leave the elimination of intruders to the others and rest at the altar deeper in the ruins.
Soon, the curse is expected to spread to the remnants of the Forest King's Army, and all soldiers of the Forest King's Army will likely fall under Vamph's control.
To put it another way, if the curse of necromancy spreads across the entire continent, all monsters can be turned into puppets.
This ambition was drawing significantly closer to reality, and Vamph couldn't help but smile faintly inside.
Just at that moment──
"Sir Vamph"
"...Skull"
The skeleton monster in a top hat from earlier had arrived.
As usual, he let out his strange laugh of 'clack, clack.'
"Skull, you too follow the others and eliminate the intruders."
"No, Sir Vamph. I have been ordered to prioritize your life above all else. Leaving my resting master unattended would be a violation of the Command."
Skull, who said such nonsense, twirled his staff with his left hand while gracefully bowing with his right hand, removing his top hat.
Skull is one of the executives of the Spirit King's Army and one of the few monsters allowed to serve Vamph.
While not on the same level as Vamph, he can use a special curse and is a presence that is respected by the Spirit King Vamph.
Despite Vamph's monster trahis, he faithfully follows Commands and is an excellent subordinate...
However, he is also a monster that easily pulls in troublesome matters, and he often gave Vamph a headache.
And even in this moment──
"...I don't mind, but at the very least, you should take care of that 'winged insect' that seems to have some business with you."
"Winged insect...?"
As Vamph said that, a figure suddenly leaped out from behind a stone pillar.
They rushed straight towards Skull, attempting to slash at his back, wrapped in a jacket, with the sword they held.
Skull opened his eyes wide in surprise for a moment, but quickly reacted by bringing his staff around to his back.
Bang!
With a high-pitched sound, he blocked the sword with his staff and, looking at the attacker over his shoulder, Skull laughed.
"Clack, clack! I've seen that face somewhere before."
"I won't let you forget that you cursed me...!"
It was Dahlia, the Eastern Hero, her light pink hair billowing as if embodying her anger.
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