"Alright, that's enough chatter."
Jin's casual tone disappeared as he turned his attention away from Simon and Pier. Whatever amusement he had gained from watching Simon panic over Richard's name could be saved for later, because there was still an unfinished battle waiting around them.
"Now, let's get to the main part."
As those words left his mouth, Jin slowly lowered one hand toward the ground. The violet light burning beneath his crown-like helmet seemed to deepen, while the shadows surrounding his feet began to ripple across the ruined street.
Then, with a commanding voice that seemed to fill the entire battlefield, Jin spoke a single word.
"Arise."
Fwoooooosh!
The shadow beneath Jin suddenly expanded.
Dark shadows spread outward from beneath Jin's feet, quickly covering the ruined ground behind him. Violet light flickered within the spreading darkness, and before Simon or Manus could fully understand what was happening, countless figures began rising from the shadows one after another.
Armored knights emerged first, followed by soldiers of different shapes and sizes. Some carried swords and spears, while others wielded weapons that neither Simon nor Manus immediately recognized. Yet despite their differences, every one of them shared the same unmistakable appearance.
Their bodies were formed from deep black shadows, while violet energy glowed from within them like an eerie flame.
The number continued to increase.
Dozens became thousands as Jin's forces steadily filled the area around him. The Shadow Army spread across the battlefield in organized ranks, yet unlike the zombies under Simon's control, there was no groaning, stumbling, or restless movement among them. Every Shadow Soldier remained perfectly still after emerging, their glowing eyes fixed ahead as they silently awaited their monarch's command.
However, several presences immediately stood apart from the rest.
At the front of the Shadow Army, directly behind Jin but ahead of the countless soldiers filling the ruins, a small group of shadows emerged whose appearances alone made it obvious that they weren't ordinary summons.
The first was Beru.
The ant-like Shadow stood taller than most of the soldiers surrounding him, his body covered in a sleek black carapace lined with violet energy. Long claws extended from his hands, while the sharp contours of his body and predatory posture made him look less like an undead servant and more like a monster patiently restraining its desire to tear into whatever stood before its king.
Beside him rose Tusk, whose enormous frame contrasted sharply with Beru's leaner figure. The giant shaman carried a massive staff in one hand, his shadowy robes and hulking body giving him an imposing presence even while standing completely still. Violet flames glowed from his eyes and mouth, while an immense amount of magical power quietly gathered around him.
The final figure was Cyrene, whose appearance stood in stark contrast to the other elites gathered at the front.
Unlike Igris, Beru, and Tusk, she retained her original form, appearing as an elegant young woman with pointed ears and extremely long pink hair that flowed behind her, gradually fading into soft shades of blue and cyan near the ends. Delicate floral ornaments decorated her hair, while her luminous violet eyes carried an almost otherworldly beauty.
Her predominantly white attire was just as distinctive. Layers of elegant fabric flowed around her figure, decorated with intricate patterns and soft accents of pink, blue, and violet, while ribbons and translucent pieces drifted gently around her. Beneath parts of the flowing fabric, deeper shades reminiscent of a star-filled night sky could occasionally be seen, making her look almost completely out of place among the monstrous figures beside her.
Together with Igris, who had already appeared earlier to welcome Jin onto the battlefield, the four stood at the head of the Shadow Army.
They were the Shadow Commanders. The four most powerful soldiers serving directly under the Shadow Monarch.
Of course, the shadows currently gathered in Death Land were nowhere near the entirety of Jin's forces.
Unlike Sung Jin-Woo, Jin had never possessed something as convenient as the Demon Castle, where countless powerful monsters could be hunted and converted into soldiers.
However, the world Jin had been born into offered an entirely different advantage. Necromancers, undead, monsters, magical creatures, and other powerful beings were hardly rare, giving Jin more than enough opportunities to steadily expand his Shadow Army over the years.
Quantity was never the real problem.
Finding individuals worthy of standing beside monsters such as Igris, Beru, or Tusk was another matter entirely.
Even in a world overflowing with supernatural beings, existences capable of reaching the level of the Shadow Monarch's most famous 'elites' were still exceedingly rare. That was precisely why the few standing at the very front of Jin's army were different from the thousands behind them.
And now, with the Shadow Army gathered behind its monarch, the battle that had originally belonged to Simon, Prince, and Manus was no longer theirs alone.
Ever since the four Shadow Commanders appeared, Pier had been unusually quiet. At first, Simon thought he was simply observing their unfamiliar opponents, but as the silence continued, he began to sense something strange through the Bone Armor covering his body.
Pier was becoming increasingly uneasy, and the longer he observed the four Shadows, the harder it became for him to believe what he was sensing.
Finally, unable to contain his shock any longer, Pier cried out.
[T-This... This is impossible!]
The sudden outburst made Simon turn toward him. "What's wrong, Pier? Did you notice something?"
Pier remained silent for a moment, as though he was still trying to accept what his senses were telling him. Eventually, he gestured toward the four figures at the front of Jin's army.
[Boy, look carefully at those summons. Can't you feel it? They're completely different from the soldiers behind them. Those four should be the elites or captains of the Eighth Legion, existences occupying positions similar to mine and Prince's within the Seventh Legion.]
Simon had already noticed that much. Even among the thousands of shadows filling the ruins, those four possessed presences that were impossible to overlook. However, Pier's troubled reaction suggested there was something more, and his next words confirmed Simon's suspicion.
[But their strength is another matter.] Pier's voice became unusually grim.
[Even when I was at my peak, back when Yona still commanded the Seventh Legion... I'm afraid the strength I possessed at that time still couldn't compare to theirs.]
"What?!"
Simon looked toward Jin's elites again, but this time his expression had completely changed. He knew better than anyone how powerful Pier was, and the giant skeleton had never been the type to casually admit inferiority.
If Pier himself believed that even his peak strength couldn't compare to the elites of the Eighth Legion, then the difference between their two Legions might be far greater than Simon had initially imagined.
The realization only made Jin's decision to summon his army even more suspicious. Pier seemed to reach the same conclusion, because after recovering from his initial shock, he tightened his grip around his greatsword and raised his voice toward the armored figure standing ahead.
[Jin! What exactly are you planning by summoning your army here?!]
However, before Jin could answer, an enormous killing intent suddenly erupted from the front of the Shadow Army.
[How dare you speak to my liege in that manner!]
Beru took a step forward, and an overwhelming wave of killing intent erupted from his body, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
The sudden pressure was so terrifying that Simon's entire body stiffened beneath Pier's Bone Armor. Prince instinctively lowered his stance, while Manus tightened his grip on his sword, his expression turning serious as he stared at Beru.
And the worst part was that Beru hadn't even attacked yet. Just the killing intent coming from him was already enough to make them realize one thing.
Pier hadn't been exaggerating at all.
Jin, however, remained completely unfazed by Beru's overwhelming killing intent. Seeing that his subordinate was about to lose his temper, he simply raised his right hand, signaling him to stop.
That small gesture was enough to make Beru immediately obey.
Beru immediately stopped, and the enormous killing intent surrounding him receded as quickly as it had appeared. Without questioning the order, he stepped back into position beside the other commanders, while Jin calmly lowered his hand and returned his attention to Simon's group.
"Isn't it normal for a Legion Commander like me to take an interest in another Legion?" Jin asked. His violet gaze moved from Pier to Prince before eventually settling upon Simon. "Especially when that Legion happens to be the infamous Legion of Betrayal. And besides..."
His gaze shifted slightly upward, stopping on the crown resting upon Simon's head.
"That crown of yours is also rather interesting."
Hearing Jin suddenly mention the crown, Simon instinctively reached up to touch it. His expression grew tense, and he could feel the pressure on him growing even heavier, especially with the enormous Shadow Army standing behind Jin.
Pier and Prince remained on guard, while Manus kept his attention fixed on Jin and his army. For several moments, nobody said anything, leaving Simon struggling to figure out what the Shadow Monarch was really planning.
Could it be...?
As he thought back to everything Jin had said and done since arriving, a terrible possibility suddenly crossed Simon's mind. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually gathered the courage to ask.
"...So that's what this is about? You want to defeat us and devour what's left of our Legion?"
"Hmm..."
Jin tilted his helmet slightly, seemingly considering the idea before giving an answer that none of them expected.
"That depends. To be honest, you guys are too weak. So weak that you actually remind me of a certain small, flying, white emergency food whose combat strength is only one-fifth that of a wild boar from Mondstadt," Jin said casually.
Paimon: "HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING EMERGENCY FOOD?!"
"Why would I make you join my Legion when you're that weak?"
Hearing such a ridiculous comparison, Simon and Pier were completely caught off guard. They had been expecting Jin to say something threatening, but instead, the Shadow Monarch had just compared their entire Legion to some kind of flying emergency food.
For a moment, neither of them knew how to respond. In the end, all they could manage was...
[...]
"..."
Prince, however, wasn't about to let that insult slide. His expression immediately twisted in anger.
[Say that again, you bastard!]
He had barely finished speaking when a streak of pink light flashed past his right cheek.
Fwish!
Prince froze as the projectile continued into the ruins behind him, and a fraction of a second later, the entire area erupted.
BOOOOM!
Stone and dust exploded high into the air. For several seconds, Prince could only stare at the destruction behind him before slowly turning back toward the Shadow Army.
This time, his gaze landed on Cyrene, who had already raised her bow and was casually preparing another pink arrow between her fingers.
Despite the destruction she had just caused, the smile on her face remained as sweet as ever.
"Ehe, bad kid ~. You shouldn't say rude things like that, okay?" Cyrene tilted her head, her cheerful voice contrasting almost absurdly with the bow aimed in his direction. "Otherwise... this big sis will have to punish you ♪."
[...]
Prince looked at Cyrene, then glanced once more at the enormous crater behind him.
For once, he decided that remaining silent was the wiser choice.
Simon couldn't help looking at Prince for a moment before returning his attention to Jin. If Jin's elites could casually display that much power, his earlier insult toward the Seventh Legion clearly wasn't empty arrogance. Yet that only made the situation stranger.
"...If you really think we're that weak, then why are you showing us all of this?" Simon asked. "You brought out your army and revealed your elites as though you're preparing to devour us, but now you're saying we're not even worth taking."
"Simple. I'm curious."
"Curious?"
Jin gave no further explanation. Instead, his attention shifted away from Simon and moved toward Manus, who had been watching their exchange from the other side of the battlefield.
"So, how about we stop talking and have ourselves a Legion battle?"
The unexpected proposal caused Simon's expression to stiffen, while Manus narrowed 'his eyes'. Jin allowed them only a brief moment to process the words before continuing in the same relaxed tone.
"Actually, let's make it a little more interesting. I'll even give you a handicap."
His violet gaze settled completely upon Manus.
"Manus, why don't you join Simon's side? After all, considering the situation..."
Jin spread one hand slightly.
"You don't really have a choice, do you?"
Manus didn't answer immediately. Only moments earlier, he and Simon had been preparing to send their armies crashing into each other, so fighting beside a Kizen necromancer was clearly the last thing he wanted.
However, after looking at Jin and then at the enormous Shadow Army behind him, the Ancient Skeleton eventually lowered his sword.
He wasn't foolish enough to misunderstand the situation.
[Young Simon. Although I truly have no desire to cooperate with someone from Kizen, it seems that our previous battle will have to wait.]
With those words, Manus began walking across the ruined ground until he eventually stopped beside Simon. He then turned around, raising his sword once again as his gaze returned to Jin.
[For now, it seems I have no other choice.]
Simon gave him a brief glance before nodding. Whatever conflict existed between them could be settled later, because the appearance of the Eighth Legion had completely changed the battlefield.
Pier understood that as well. The Bone Armor surrounding Simon began to shift before peeling away from his body, and as the bones gathered beside him, the enormous skeleton reconstructed himself into his original form.
Pier gripped his greatsword and looked toward Simon, who answered with a nod before summoning another set of Bone Armor around himself.
Prince, meanwhile, finally stopped grumbling and moved beside Simon. His expression was still visibly irritated, especially after Cyrene's warning, but even his childish temper couldn't prevent him from understanding what was about to happen.
Once everyone was ready, Simon raised his hand.
Through the crown, his will spread across Death Land.
The enormous zombie army surrounding the battlefield responded almost immediately. Thousands of undead that had previously been scattered across the ruins began reorganizing themselves, their chaotic movements gradually disappearing as row after row turned toward the Shadow Army.
Manus followed by raising his sword and issuing orders to his own skeleton forces, causing the army that had been fighting Simon's zombies only moments earlier to move alongside them.
Two armies that should have been enemies now formed a single front.
Across from them, Jin remained silent as Simon and Manus completed their preparations. The zombies of Death Land gathered under Simon's crown while rows upon rows of skeletons formed beside them, turning two armies that had been trying to destroy each other moments ago into a single enormous force.
Only after the last ranks had settled into place did Jin finally move.
"Igris."
The black knight stepped forward from among the elites, one armored hand resting near the hilt of his sword as he respectfully inclined his head.
[My liege.]
"As a fellow swordsman and knight, I'll leave Pier and Manus to you."
At those words, the violet light within Igris's helmet brightened. His gaze passed over Pier's enormous skeletal form before settling upon Manus, and although no killing intent erupted from him, his hand slowly closed around the hilt of his sword.
[As you command.]
"Tusk."
The enormous shaman moved forward next, his massive staff striking the ground with a heavy thud as violet flames flickered within his eyes and mouth.
"You handle their armies. Keep the mobs occupied."
[Yes, my liege!]
Having given those orders, Jin was about to continue when his attention shifted toward the distant Kizen campsite. His helmet remained turned in that direction for several moments, as though he were looking at something far beyond what anyone else on the battlefield could perceive.
Then, a faint chuckle escaped from beneath his helmet.
"Beru. Cyrene."
Beru immediately raised his head, while Cyrene's pointed ears twitched slightly as she followed Jin's gaze toward the distance.
"It seems we're going to have some guests. Prepare to 'receive' them when they arrive."
[Leave them to me, my liege!]
Beru's claws flexed eagerly, but Cyrene merely rested her bow against her shoulder and smiled.
"Alrighty~ But how far are we allowed to go?"
Jin considered the question briefly before looking across his four elites.
"Igris, Tusk."
Jin looked toward the two Shadow Commanders before continuing.
"Pier, Manus, and Prince are not to be killed. This is a battle, not an execution."
Both shadows acknowledged the command before Jin turned toward Beru and Cyrene.
"The same applies to our guests. Don't kill them either. Otherwise, I might return to Kizen tomorrow and discover that the professors teaching my classes have suddenly changed~"
[Understood, my liege!]
"Got it~ Their survival is guaranteed!"
With that, every one of Jin's commanders had received their role. Igris would face the two swordsmen. Tusk would confront the combined undead armies. Beru and Cyrene would remain ready for whoever was approaching from Kizen.
There was only one person left.
Jin's helmet slowly turned toward Simon.
The young Legion Commander felt those violet eyes settle upon him from across the battlefield, and before Jin even spoke, Simon already understood.
"As for you, Simon..."
A dark ripple opened beside Jin.
His hand disappeared into the distortion before emerging with the shaft of an enormous scythe.
"You'll be fighting me."
For several seconds, the battlefield remained still.
Then Jin stepped forward.
THUD.
Behind him, the entire Shadow Army moved with him.
Thousands of armored feet struck the ruined streets at almost the exact same moment, sending a heavy tremor through the ground. Rows of violet eyes ignited within the darkness as swords were drawn, spears lowered, and shields rose into formation. At the very front stood Igris, Beru, Tusk, and Cyrene, while countless Shadow Soldiers stretched across the ruins behind them.
Simon immediately raised his hand in response.
The crown upon his head pulsed.
THUMP!
Thousands of zombies answered.
Their cries rolled across Death Land as the enormous horde surged into formation around Simon. Manus raised his sword soon afterward, and the skeleton army responded by lifting their weapons as one, filling the gaps between the zombies until the combined force stretched across the ruined city.
On one side stood the Seventh Legion and the undead of Death Land, reinforced by the Ancient Skeleton who had once ruled this land.
On the other stood the Eighth Legion.
And at its head stood the Shadow Monarch.
With both armies now facing each other, Jin slowly lifted the massive scythe from his shoulder and gripped it firmly in his hand, preparing to address his Legion.
The violet flames within the Shadow Army grew brighter. One after another, the shadows behind him lowered their bodies into battle stances, yet despite the thousands of soldiers gathered there, not a single one moved before their monarch gave the command.
"My Legion!"
Jin's voice thundered across the battlefield, immediately catching the attention of every Shadow Soldier standing behind him. As his words echoed through the ruins, thousands of violet eyes turned toward their Monarch, waiting for what he would say next.
"Standing before you is the Seventh Legion, the Legion of Betrayal! By hierarchy, they are our seniors. Their name once shook the continent, and the Ancient Undead standing among them once fought at the side of one of the greatest Legion Commanders of their era!"
Pier tightened his grip around his greatsword, while Prince's expression darkened. Even Manus remained silent as Jin's voice continued to roll across the ruined city.
"But tell me..."
The tip of Jin's scythe slowly lowered.
"Does being our senior make them stronger than us?"
Darkness began surging from the Shadow Army.
"Are they more powerful than us?"
The violet flames grew brighter.
"Are they worthy of making the Eighth Legion lower its head?!"
Thousands of weapons struck the ground at once, sending a thunderous sound across Death Land.
As the sound gradually faded, Jin continued staring at the enemy army for several seconds before a low chuckle escaped from beneath his helmet.
"Heh."
After letting out that brief laugh, his tone suddenly turned serious as he continued.
"But none of that matters."
The massive scythe came down until its blade pointed directly toward Simon.
"Forget their history! Forget their reputation! Forget whether they are our seniors or whether they once terrified this continent!"
Behind Jin, the shadows leaned forward.
"Right here..."
Igris drew his sword.
"Right now..."
Tusk raised his staff as enormous waves of violet magic gathered around him. Beru spread his claws with a vicious grin, while Cyrene raised her bow and calmly drew back its string.
Jin tightened his grip around the scythe.
"They are our opponents."
Hearing their Monarch's words, the Shadow Soldiers immediately raised their weapons toward the sky.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Thousands of weapons rose together, their armor clattering as they moved in perfect unison. The sound echoed across Death Land, making their response clear even without a single shout.
The ruined windows trembled. Dust fell from broken buildings, and the ground beneath the two armies shook from the thunderous sound of thousands of Shadow Soldiers moving together.
Across from them, Simon's zombies answered with their own deafening cries. Manus's skeletons lowered their weapons, Pier raised his greatsword, and Prince bared his teeth as the two enormous forces finally prepared to collide.
Jin raised his scythe one final time, pointing it toward the enemy army.
"Then show them who stands above!"
Hearing their Monarch's command, the violet flames surrounding the Shadow Soldiers suddenly grew brighter. One after another, they tightened their grips on their weapons, ready to charge at any moment.
"DEFEAT THEM!"
Thousands of violet eyes burned brighter as the Shadow Soldiers focused their attention on the enemy army.
"TRAMPLE THEM!"
The aura surrounding the Shadow Army grew even stronger, sending waves of violet energy across their ranks.
"DESTROY THEM!"
Jin lifted his scythe slightly before slamming the bottom of its shaft against the ground.
THUD!!!
"MY LEGION! CHARGE!!!"
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shook beneath thousands of charging feet as the Eighth Legion surged forward.
With violet flames burning around their bodies, the Shadow Soldiers rushed across the battlefield like an enormous wave, ready to devour the undead army standing in their way.