Chapter 72 – Corps Destroyer (4)

"What the...?"

Kratia had succeeded in taking out the knights protecting the Corps Commander with her arcane magic. Once she safely retrieved the Eternal Ice serving as the core of the ice spear and gave herself the time to let out a sigh, the battlefield had already turned into a complete mess.

"Listen up everyone! Don't even dream of national security if you can't restore discipline within the army! Show no mercy. Kill those who defy my command!"

Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia had worked together to kill the Corps Commander, and that had gone well, but contrary to her expectations, Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t run away. Instead, he had entered the fray and was now spouting off lies vigorously.

Kratia stared at Lee Shin-Woo, speechless. He stood out standing on top of Jin, who looked like a steel war horse with his magic armor. What was even more stunning was the fact that each and every word Lee Shin-Woo said caused a ripple through the huge undead force.

[The Corps Commander has given the command! Those who insult the Corps Commander are guilty and sentenced to death!]

[Don't listen to that strange skeleton! He's tricking you all right now!]

[You're still spouting that nonsense! Kill them!]

Why would the undead follow Lee Shin-Woo’s orders when they don’t even know him, and why were there so many of them following him!?

Moreover, the number of brainwashed undead increased every time Lee Shin-Woo shouted something. Kratia sensed traces of magic influencing their minds.

[Y-You fools...! Just look at him! He's neither a ghoul nor a mage!]

[How dare you question the Corps Commander; I feel like a fool for following you until now!]

[He's the Corp Commander's enemy! Execute him in Sir Metafel's name!]

The high-ranked level 5 undead weren't affected by Lee Shin-Woo's shallow machinations, but their subordinates were, and they stopped following their orders. Lee Shin-Woo boosted their morale through Command, and they attacked their previous superiors under his influence!

"What is he doing..."

Kratia actually knew the answer, but she simply couldn’t believe it. Lee Shin-Woo was swaying and breaking up the army through a perverse method!

To think he'd impersonate the Corps Commander after killing it right in front of the undead; and to think that it was working! By reading the flow of the fight and the mood permeating the battlefield, Lee Shin-Woo was able to control how things unfolded.

If Kratia had to give Lee Shin-Woo a title, she would call him 'Joker'.

[Attacks against the walls have decreased.]

[Located Steelworker. Checking with core owner first. May we go back to guarding Steelworker?]

Kratia wasn't the only one who noticed the unexpected change happening. The Iron Golems, who had been willing to put their lives on the line to defend and protect their city, also noticed that there were less attacks against the walls.

They also spotted Lee Shin-Woo on the battlefield, so they requested Kratia's permission to return to his side. The invaders wouldn't have the energy to attack the walls any longer, so Kratia sent the Iron Golems on their way without hesitation.

"Ah, you can go now."

[Returning to protect Steelworker. Destroying structures that get in the way.]

[How dare you, kuheok!]

[Charging! Killing anything in the way!]

[In the name of Steelworker!]

As if they had been waiting for the very moment, the Golems immediately turned around and charged directly towards Lee Shin-Woo, killing all the undead in their way.

The Iron Golems dwarfed the other level 5 elites. With them charging side by side into the fray, the infighting undead didn’t stand a chance to stop them, and ended up pushed back! They cut through the undead like a hot knife cutting through butter!

[Reaching core limit. Detonating core!]

[Detonating core!]

Meanwhile, the level 4 Bronze Golems had reached their limit after recklessly charging into the battle to repel the undead. And one by one or pairs by pairs, they executed their final coded command: self-destruct. The surrounding undead were swept away and crushed by the explosions, falling to the ground in flames.

[Self-destructing!]

[Keoheok! They're exploding!]

[Mages, stop the flames!]

Explosions erupted all over the battlefield, spreading both fire and chaos. It would be difficult for the undead corps to defend against the explosions even if they were working together, let alone when they were fighting amongst themselves. The suicide attacks ended up dealing maximum damage.

[Ah, is that Captain over there!?]

[The Captain's in danger!]

[Let's save our Captain! Let's return peace to the imperial army who've lost their reasoning!]

[Huh...? Paul Zero!]

[Paul Zero's a good man. I'll help save him as well!]

To make things even more chaotic, there was a new party trying to get into the middle of the fight; they were none other than the Pauls, who had temporarily left Lee Shin-Woo to grow stronger! Moreover, their numbers had doubled. The other Pauls must've been drawn to them and joined up!

[Let them rest in peace!]

[Paul Zero!]

[Captain's over there!]

Although they were up against an undead force nearing 10,000 strong, they opted to join the battle over retreating, attacking with their poison, curse, or dark magic while swinging their weapons. The twelve level 4 elites led a force of 40 lower-level elite undead, further compounding the chaos!

[Rescue our Captain!]

[The Corps Commander is alive!]

[Paul Zero!]

[Detonating core!]

[That guy's not the Corps Commander. He's not... Ugh!]

[Protecting Steelworker!]

All the different voices babbled on and on in one place, creating an absurd ruckus with Lee Shin-Woo at the center. It was utter chaos.

"Phew... What a mess."

Kratia watched the chaos unfold and wondered whether she should intervene, but no matter how she thought about it, it seemed things would be settled without her getting involved.

"...Let's just meditate."

In the end, she began to meditate in a safe spot. She decided to gather some mana for now, but she didn’t think she would have to use it.

[Low Rank Command has reached Lv10 and evolved into an intermediate skill. You can now command several subordinates at once and protect them from negative mental influences. All stats have increased by 3.]

Meanwhile, at the very center of the chaos, Lee Shin-Woo had been ordering the undead around while moving and killing those who approached him.

His once depleted mana had now been replenished enough for him to wield the Lightning Tooth again, but he decided to use the transformed Bifurcated Snake Spine he'd gotten from the Corps Commander instead.

[Bifurcated Snake Spine]

[Lv4]

[Durability: 950/950]

[Attack Power: 280 - 420]

[Magic Attack Power: 400 - 500]

[Options: Magic +40, Calculation assistance]

[Passive skills: Elemental reversal - Absorbs an element and releases the opposite element.]

The staff probably had different properties before Bone Reinforcement transformed it, but there was no way for Lee Shin-Woo to find out. Regardless, he was quite satisfied with what he got. Normally, only mages had access to a staff, but as someone who could wield the elements, he was able to use the weapon as well!

The original owner of this staff, the Corps Commander Vitas, had been a mercenary, yet he had also been a genius capable of using such refined and pure elemental magic. His staff must have helped as well...

Knowing that much was enough for Lee Shin-Woo. The staff he was using now might appear different from Vitas', but as long as the magic looked similar, it would help confuse the skeletons! And the elemental magic Vitas used most when he was still alive was...

"I'll freeze you all! Frozen Cloud!"

[There! That’s Corps Commander's technique! Never thought I’d see it once more!]

[It would freeze everything aside from our allies!]

The skeletons who had heard Lee Shin-Woo's high pitched scream yelled in elation. Of course, Lee Shin-Woo couldn't use magic like Frozen Cloud. He was simply putting fire element into the staff, and the other fork of the staff would spit out ice!

Fortunately, he had superb control over mana, and had caught a few glances of Frozen Cloud in Vitas' memories, so he was able to shape the cold mana in a similar fashion. He'd infused quite a bit of mana inside, and the result was truly astounding; hundreds of undead soldiers were completely frozen solid!

[H-how can this be? Is he truly the Corps Commander all along...!?]

[That power; that range! How could that be anything but the Corps Commander's power!?]

Lee Shin-Woo had foreseen their reaction. The undead inflicted with a state of confusion and fear ended up completely fooled even though his imitation was poor—that was what Lee Shin-Woo thought, but he had actually managed to replicate Frozen Cloud perfectly with his extraordinary aptitude in mana!

[I will follow your commands, Corps Commander!]

[C-Corps Commander...!]

[How can this be? How can this be... Kuaak!]

Those who'd followed him in an obedient state were more certain than ever that he was their Corps Commander, and those who were confused but not yet obedient bought into his lie after the display. Those who were neither confused nor obedient were both shocked and flustered, and ended up falling victim to the attacks coming their way.

What the magic represented was much more effective and far-reaching than the magic itself, and Lee Shin-Woo’s skill reflected his success.

[Acting is now Lv12. Your acting ability has become even greater. Your acting ability is now supernaturally enhanced.]

Huh, supernaturally enhanced? That may actually be the case. Lee Shin-Woo grinned and yelled out his final order.

"Punish all those who attempted to tarnish Sir Metafel's will with their vile machinations! We are the forces under the direct command of the Mercenary King!"

[Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

[The Corps Commander has spoken! Punish them all!]

His scream rang out and hit all of the enemy forces this time! Just because they were in range of his skill didn't mean they would be affected by it, but Lee Shin-Woo had managed to turn half of the undead troops to his side with that declaration, tarnishing Sir Metafel’s name with his vile machinations for his victory!

[Low Rank Shriek of the Dead has reached Lv10 and evolved into an intermediate skill. You have continued to train the skill despite it being nothing more than a mere scream; in doing so, you are able to utilize this karma to its maximum potential. You have created a skill whereby anyone who hears your cry will become dizzy and confused, allowing you to order them around as you please. The Joker's innate skill, Instigate has been born! All stats have increased by 10!]

"An innate skill?” Lee Shin-Woo muttered, unable to contain his pride. He had thought the evolved skill would be more connected with the Joker’s karma, but he didn’t expect to create an innate skill all on his own. “Heh, everything is going according to plan."

"Stop lying..." Jin retorted with an incredibly composed voice.

It hadn’t even been two hours before the battle came to a premature end, and the skeletons went back to where they belonged.