I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Adonis' hometown, which he hurriedly ran to, was already under attack by the Recruiters and Death Soldiers.

Perhaps because it was a fairly large village, Adonis' hometown had no less than five recruiters stationed there.

In addition, the number of death soldiers dressed in black uniforms was much greater than in the previous village.

It was no exaggeration to say that they had deployed an entire battalion-sized force.

"Kill all the elderly, women, and children!"

"Let no one leave alive!"

"There must be no witnesses!"

The Death Soldiers followed the orders of the recruiters and sealed off the village so that not even an ant could escape.

After that, following orders, they killed all the elderly, women, and children, while capturing the men to bring them to the recruiters.

*Fwooosh!* *Crackle*

The death soldiers fire to various places to leave no traces, burning alive any potential survivors who might be hiding.

It was a massacre carried out with meticulous planning, a ruthless slaughter devoid of blood or tears.

"Bathory… I will kill you… by any means necessary."

Otto felt genuine anger once again as he watched the village burn.

This brutal massacre was perpetrated by the Corrupted Queen Bathory, the King of Erzsebet, as part of a campaign to create soldiers of death, resulting in the slaughter of her own people.

In fact, Bathory was currently carrying out massacres throughout the Erzebet Kingdom, producing undead forces in the process.¹

Undead forces not only had significantly greater combat strength compared to human soldiers, but they also required no maintenance costs and could engage in battle regardless of climate.

They didn't even tire, felt no pain, and could fight at night just as effectively as they did during the day.

In other words, from Bathory's perspective, there was no reason not to create undead forces to expand her military power.

The problem was that creating them openly would lead to a rebellion.

Thus, Bathory focused her efforts on targeting imprisoned convicts, villages large and small near the border, and rural estates.

She was wiping out entire populations and burning everything to erase traces, making it seem as if an enemy force had attacked, all while producing her undead soldiers.

And at the center of it all was Aquinas, the guardian spirit of the Erzsebet Kingdom.

"How could the ruler of a kingdom… so mercilessly slaughter their own people and turn them into monsters… How could she…"

Otto was so enraged that his hands and feet trembled uncontrollably with fury.

Witnessing a massacre carried out by enemies was already enough to stir overwhelming anger and horror, but seeing the king's will behind the slaughter of their own people pushed Otto to the brink of losing his composure. Ɍ�

"Stand… back."

Saying this, Otto headed alone towards Adonis' hometown.

"……."

"……."

Camille and Qasim did not try to stop Otto.

They were worried.

However angry he might be, Otto would never recklessly throw himself into enemy territory without a plan.

So, Camille and Qasim trusted Otto and watched silently.

Upon reaching the entrance of Adonis' hometown, Otto did not draw his sword.

‘There's no point.'

The reason Otto did not draw his sword was that swinging it and rushing in would be futile, he could not save the people living in Adonis' hometown.

The village was quite large, and no matter how hard he fought, it would be impossible to save everyone.

Moreover, if he engaged in open combat here, it could draw the attention of other nearby enemies.

Thus, Otto quietly took out and opened the Book of Carnage.

*Flash!*

The Book of Carnage glowed, ready to unleash its omnipotent power at any moment.

This was thanks to the abundant soul energy it had absorbed during the battles on the Uruk Plains.

"You…"

"Do you even know where you are?"

The death soldiers gripped their weapons and approached, but Otto paid them no mind.

*Flutter* *Flutter*

The Book of Carnage opened on its own.

"I shall bring down… divine punishment."

Otto murmured quietly to himself in a low voice.

"In the name of those who were unjustly slain."

In the next moment.

*Flash!*

A brilliant white flash rained down from the clear sky.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Baaang!*

Hundreds of lightning bolts struck down, hitting the heads of the recruiting officers and soldiers of death.

"……!"

"……!"

Camille and Qasim were astonished.

They had not expected that a single spell could eliminate all the enemies attacking Adonis's home village simultaneously, in less than a second.

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The divine punishment unleashed by Otto struck the recruiters and Death Soldiers with precision and they were annihilated in a single moment.

"W… What the!”

“Why did lightning suddenly….”

The villagers were bewildered as the sudden lightning strikes eliminated the evil undead.

However, they soon realized the reason for the disappearance of the undead.

*Thud*

As they saw Otto walking into town with the Book of Carnage open…….

"Oh, brave hero!"

"Thank you for saving us! Thank you so much! Huhuhu!"

"Thank you! We owe our lives to you!"

The villagers realized that Otto was the one who took care of the undead and expressed their gratitude.

"….."

Otto couldn't even offer them a word of reassurance.

What good was reassurance to people whose family, friends, and neighbors had been slaughtered just a few moments earlier?

"I would like to speak with the leader of this village."

Then the chief, who had been lucky enough to survive, approached Otto and announced.

"This old man is the chief of this village…"

“You must lead the villagers to the borderlands of the Arad Empire immediately, and seek asylum in the Arad Empire, it is dangerous here.”

"But, brave warrior. This is our home. And our kingdom's army…"

"Do you still not understand?"

Otto said to the chief in frustration.

“The Kingdom of Erzsebet is complicit with the undead.”

"It’s just as dangerous to stay here. They will likely raid this village again to eliminate any witnesses."

"Oh my God."

"There’s no time for a lengthy explanation. There isn’t even time to collect the bodies, so guide the villagers to bring only the essential belongings and seek refuge in the Arad Empire. This is all I can do for you."

“Ah, I understand.”

“And.”

Otto asked the chief.

"Do you happen to know where Adonis and his family are?"

"Are you…. looking for Adonis, the shepherd boy?"

Adonis was the most handsome man in the village, so the chief certainly knew him.

“I can't divulge anything beyond that.”

"Well, but Adonis is no longer of this world."

“Eh…? No way.”

"Adonis died during the invasion of the Arad Empire not long ago."

According to the chief, Adonis had been conscripted into the army of the Kingdom of Erzsebet when the forces of the Arad Empire invaded the border.

Afterward, while serving in a reconnaissance unit of the border defense forces, Adonis was killed by the invading troops of the Arad Empire.

“Oh, my God.”

Otto was so stunned by the chief's words that he could hardly believe his ears.

Adonis had been killed.

Not of this world anymore.

‘The time when Rowena and Adonis met… right after the founding anniversary celebration. Rowena saw the shepherd Adonis while patrolling the border and fell in love at first sight.'

For some reason, it seemed that their meeting didn't happen because Rowena didn't patrol the border.

As a result, Adonis remained in this village as a mere shepherd, unable to meet his lover, Rowena, who was both a ruler and a benefactor.

Later, when Rowena crossed the border to assist Otto in destabilizing the rear of the Kingdom of Erzsebet, Adonis was conscripted into the army as the chief mentioned. As a result, a tragic incident occurred during his reconnaissance mission,

This was a clear case of the butterfly effect and also a variable.

With Adonis no longer in this world, the object of Rowena's obsession had effectively become Otto.

Moreover, someone capable of executing strategies and tactics in Rowena's faction was gone, meaning that a clever opponent who could stand against Otto had disappeared.

‘What on earth was the problem? Why didn't Rowena patrol the border like she should have done the day after the founding banquet?

Otto was confused.

Unable to recall any specific events that could have triggered the butterfly effect, it was incredibly difficult to deduce why Rowena and Adonis never met.

But then.

‘Wait a minute.'

A sudden thought occurred to him.

‘The reason Rowena developed feelings for me was the founding anniversary celebration.'

The Rowena, Otto knew didn't develop feelings for someone at first sight.

She'll be oblivious for at least a few days, and then all she can think about is her crush.

Initially, her meeting with Adonis would likely pass without much thought, simply noting that he was a handsome young man.

However, after a few days, she would recall that she had fallen for Adonis at first sight and set out to find him.

If one thinks about Rowena's behavioral pattern…

‘What if she developed feelings for me after seeing me, and because she was thinking about me after the celebration was over, and didn't go out to patrol the border?'

The pieces fell into place.

In the first place, Otto meeting Elise was also a variable.

Attending the founding anniversary celebration of the Arad Empire was also a variable.

In other words, all of this happened because Otto met Rowena before Adonis did.

The variables gave rise to more variables, resulting in a butterfly effect that led to the removal of the character Adonis, who was crucial to Rowena as a Lord character, from the scenario.

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After confirming Adonis's death and while the villagers were evacuating, Otto fell into deep thought for a moment.

“Are we returning to our home territory now?”

Camille asked Otto.

“Hang on a minute.”

Otto, lost in thought, couldn't immediately decide to return.

“This is an opportunity. I don't want to go back like this just yet.”

“Wha…?”

"Perhaps now is a good opportunity to weaken Bathory's power."

The reason Otto came to this conclusion was that Aquinas, one of Bathory's subordinates, was active in the area.

Aquinas was not merely someone who created recruiters.

He was the most valuable asset to the Corrupted Queen Bathory, and from an opposing standpoint, he was a top priority target for assassination.

Why?

Aquinas had the ability to maximize the potential of the death soldiers recruited by the recruiters.

If a death soldier possessed truly outstanding talent and potential in life, Aquinas could amplify that, upgrading them into even more powerful high-ranking undead units.

In other words, Aquinas was the key figure who produced high-level units for the Corrupted Queen Bathory.

Then….

‘I need to get rid of him now.'

Since Aquinas was likely nearby, Otto resolved to take this opportunity to eliminate him.

If he could successfully eliminate Aquinas here and now, it would provide a significant advantage in the future war against the Kingdom of Erzsebet.

** ** **

TL/N:

1. Uhh… South Korea just love undead armies in fantasy novels.

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