Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1176: What Do You Mean By Aurora? [1]

Michaelʼs interest deepened.

”Are you an outsider as well?”

The chief did not answer immediately.

Michael glanced around him.

”Should I take that as a yes?”

The chiefʼs grip tightened around her staff. A low pulse spread from the purple crystal. Several guards near the gate trembled, though none dared rise.

The chiefʼs violet soul flames fixed upon Michael. Silence spread across the settlement.

Michael felt his curiosity intensify. He placed both hands behind his back.

”I didnʼt come here to attack your settlement.”

The chief remained motionless.

”Then why have you come?”

”Iʼm searching for dark-element resources.”

The violet flames within the chiefʼs skull flickered.

”What kind?”

”High-quality ones.”

The chief fell silent. For the first time, the soul flame within her skull showed something resembling hesitation.

Michael noticed it immediately.

”You know something.”

The purple crystal at the top of her staff pulsed once. The chief slowly descended the staircase. Each step caused a metallic sound to echo through the settlement.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

She stopped before the gate, still several dozen metres away from Michael.

”I know of places where such things may exist.”

Michaelʼs smile grew slightly.

”Good.”

”However…”

The chief tilted her skull.

”I have no reason to give that knowledge to an outsider.”

Michaelʼs eyes remained calm. That was fair. Information had value, especially within a realm like the Netherworld.

”What do you want in exchange?”

The chief looked toward the kneeling skeletons. Then back toward Michael.

”I want to know who you are and how you came here.”

Michaelʼs expression did not change.

”Thatʼs a difficult question.”

The violet flames narrowed.

”Then give me a difficult answer.”

For several seconds, the two simply stared at one another across the settlement gates. Then Michael quietly laughed, the sound fading almost as soon as it appeared.

Interesting or not, the chief appeared to have misunderstood something. She was indeed unusual. Unlike the weaker skeletons, she possessed enough intelligence, strength, and self-awareness to resist the instinctive influence of Deathʼs Heir.

However, resistance was all it was. She had not freed herself from that influence. She was merely enduring it.

Michael could sense the tension within her soul flame and the constant effort required to remain standing before him. Every second she resisted, the violet fire inside her skull trembled more violently.

That alone proved her uniqueness. Yet uniqueness did not grant her the right to negotiate with him as an equal.

Perhaps if she had been a living being, Michael might have shown more patience. Even if she were weak, he would have acknowledged her as an independent person and treated her with a certain degree of respect.

But she was undead. No matter how open-minded Michael considered himself, some instincts were difficult to erase completely.

Undead were monsters. Intelligent monsters, perhaps. Monsters capable of loyalty, reason, preference, and even something resembling emotion. Yet still monsters.

To be honest, this was a prejudice undead races like vampires still faced throughout the wider universe. But interestingly, even they would see many undead types as monsters.

Michaelʼs eyes gradually became colder.

”You appear to be mistaken.”

The violet flames inside the chiefʼs skull narrowed.

”About what?”

Michael did not answer. Instead, he released a bit of his aura infused with his will and pressed down on his surroundings.

Every blue soul flame dimmed at once and the air became impossibly still.

The chief froze. Her fingers tightened around the hybrid staff.

Crack.

A fracture appeared across one of the bones in her hand. Her violet soul flames flared violently as she fought against the invisible authority descending upon her.

Michael watched calmly.

”So you can resist.”

The chiefʼs body trembled. One foot slid backward. The sharp end of her staff dug into the ground as she used it to support herself.

”You…”

Her voice emerged strained.

”What… are you?”

Michael ignored the question. He strengthened his will slightly. The effect was immediate.

Boom!

The chiefʼs knees struck the black earth. The force shattered the stones beneath her and sent several cracks spreading outward. Her staff slipped from one hand but remained gripped in the other.

The violet flames inside her skull surged wildly. She attempted to rise, but her arms shook and her spine creaked. For a brief moment, she managed to lift one knee from the ground.

Then Michaelʼs authority pressed down once more.

Clang!

The chief collapsed completely. Both hands touched the earth. Her skull lowered despite her desperate resistance.

The surrounding skeletons remained perfectly still, their soul flames burning with even greater reverence than before.

Michael slowly approached. The distance between them disappeared one measured step at a time.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

The chief continued struggling. It was futile. The difference between them was not merely one of strength. This was an authority engraved into the very nature of her existence.

She could oppose Michaelʼs mana. She could resist his soul pressure. She might even survive a casual attack from him. But resisting Deathʼs Heir was different. It was like a flame attempting to reject the concept of heat.

Michael stopped several metres before her.

”Raise your head.”

The command carried his will. The chief obeyed instantly. Her skull lifted even though every movement showed her reluctance.

The violet soul flames stared directly at him. Michael examined them closely.

There was obedience. Absolute obedience. If he commanded her to release her weapon, she would do so. If he ordered her to reveal the settlementʼs resources, she would comply. If he told her to walk into destruction, her body would move before her will could refuse.

However, the result was not identical to the reactions of the weaker skeletons. There was no blind worship. No overwhelming joy. No complete surrender of identity.

The chief still possessed herself. Her pride remained. Her thoughts remained. Even her hostility and suspicion had not disappeared.

She simply could no longer disobey him.

Michaelʼs eyes showed a trace of surprise.

”…Interesting.”

*This gives me a bit more insight into my abilities as Deathʼs Heir.* The weaker skeletons had practically lost themselves in reverence the moment they sensed him. This chief, however, retained a distinct identity despite being placed under his absolute authority.

She did not see him as a god and did not consider herself an object created for his use. She knew who she was. She simply recognised, or had been forced to recognise, that his authority stood above her own.

Michaelʼs curiosity deepened. With a thought, he activated Detect. A translucent panel appeared above the kneeling skeleton chief.

[Skeleton Chief]

[Grade: Epic ★★★]

[Level: 49]

”…”

Michael stared at the information for several seconds. Then he read it again.

Epic Grade. Three Stars. Level Forty-Nine.

What was this?