Record of a Thousand Lives - Chapter 201

The Imperial Knights prepared to set out on an expedition. It was a historic event, as for the first time in the entire history of the empire, five orders of knights were being mobilized at once. The sight of hundreds of Imperial Knights marching in formation had made the citizens think that a war had broken out somewhere.

Rumier, who was on the back lines, muttered something when they were about to cross a small mountain. The knight at the forefront shouted loudly, “All forces! We will now take a break!”

Even though it was time for a break, none of the knights took their armor or weapons off. Some of the knights rested in the shade of trees, while others sipped water from their canteens.

The captain of the Fourth Order of the Imperial Knights, Kahwelin, grumbled while chewing on a cigarette in his mouth, “I can’t understand this at all. Why should the Imperial Knights listen to the commands of a mere alchemist?”

“Lower your voice, Sir Kahwelin. Even Sir Helkin is staying silent right now,” Sorden, the captain of the Fifth Order of the Imperial Knights, replied.

Both of the men had been able to become knight captains despite their young age, and their swordsmanship alone was renowned all throughout the empire.

Kawhelin continued grumbling, “Let Rumier overhear if he wants to. The only ones I serve are her majesty and Sir Helkin.”

“Her majesty was the one who bestowed Rumier with the authority to lead this expedition,” Sorden replied.

“Damn it… That’s why I’m even more irritated. What backing does that alchemist have for her majesty to give such a command?” Kawhelin grumbled with a grimace.

At that moment, they heard the sound of twigs snapping as someone stepped on them. It was a very faint sound, but the two knight captains heard it clearly. They had purposely chosen to have their conversation in a secluded area, as it could affect the army’s morale if the knights under them heard their discussion.

Sorden quickly turned and called out, “Sir Eric? What’s the matter?”

A newbie knight, who was wearing a bandana around his head, ran out from behind the bushes and gave a salute as he replied, “Sir! H-Hello! Captain!”

Kahwelin puffed out a cloud of smoke and grinned before asking, “Oh, are you that famous Eric from the Third Order? You should have done a better job if you wanted to hide. I can see why you’re known as the biggest problem among the Imperial Knights.”

“T-That is right!” Eric replied, sounding tense.

“You dare to eavesdrop on our conversation?” Kahwelin continued coldly.

“That is…” Eric muttered, looking as if he did not know what to do next.

Kahwelin tapped his cigarette a few times to get rid of the ash before saying, “Be careful. Lenox might be a nice, soft captain, but I would have chased you out immediately if you were in my order.”

Sorden gave Eric a strict glare and said, “Sir Eric. The only one with the right to punish you is Sir Lenox, but I advise you to be on your toes, as any blunders you cause in this expedition could end up affecting the other knights as well.”

“Yes! I will keep that in mind, sir!” Eric replied, gulping and saluting nervously.

The two knight captains walked past the young knight and exited the area after giving him an earful, leaving Eric alone. Eric examined his surroundings to confirm that there was nobody else near him, then leaned back against a tree with a cold expression that was completely unlike the appearance he had shown the two captains.

It was time for him to renew his transformation. He took out his canteen and drank from it, consuming a special potion that would extend his transformation time, which his clan had managed to procure through painstaking effort. His body became fully alert the moment the bitter taste of the potion hit his tongue.

‘Things are going better than expected,’ ‘Eric’ thought…

No, he was not truly Eric. nor was he an Imperial Knight. The leader of the White Lion Clan, Han Se-Hyun, considered his infiltration successful.

‘It’s a relief that there was a blockhead among the Imperial Knights.’

The only one his clan had managed to trick was the newbie knight, Eric. They had drugged him before abducting him and taking him to a secluded place; then, Han Se-Hyun had transformed his appearance into Eric’s before infiltrating the ranks of the Imperial Knights. The wrist device on his arm had been hidden with invisibility magic, leaving it visible only to his eyes.

‘Although it’s pretty annoying having to act like a pushover…’ Han Se-Hyun grumbled inwardly.

The Imperial Knights would no doubt lock him up if they caught him, and if he were truly unlucky, he could end up being handed a life sentence. However, he had a reason to take the risks and infiltrate the ranks of the Imperial Knights.

‘There’s something strange about the expedition this time.’

Han Se-Hyun coveted the seat of the emperor, which was why he had been monitoring whatever went on in the palace through the information network of the White Lion Clan. However, strange and completely unexpected things seemed to have begun happening at the palace as of late.

The emperor’s sudden death, the sudden reappearance of the crown princess, the opposition suddenly falling silent, and the Imperial Knights’ expedition…

‘Something strange is happening at the palace that I haven’t figured out yet,’ Han Se-Hyun thought.

He did not have any concrete proof, but he could smell danger lingering in the air; to him, it was the smell of the road to becoming the emperor.

‘Still, infiltrating the ranks of the Imperial Knights is certainly a risky thing to do,’ Han Se-Hyun thought.

The White Lion Clan was always at odds with the Black Tiger Clan, and the absence of the clan leader could end up having severe consequences. However, the clan leader of the Black Tiger Clan, Yu Si-Do, had not shown any signs of movement as of late. Han Se-Hyun had no idea what that madman was thinking but he was certain that it was a chance he could not afford to miss.

‘It’s a relief that I infiltrated disguised as the blockhead among them. They seem to overlook my mistakes and the fact that I can’t keep up with them,’ Han Se-Hyun thought.

The Imperial Knights were the strongest knights of the empire. Each and every one of them was rumored to be at least Level 400, and although there was no public information about the levels of the knight captains, it was certain that their levels would be much higher than those of the knights.

The Imperial Knights were made up of five orders, and the lower the number of the order was, the stronger iyd knights were. The knights under the command of the strongest knight on the continent—the captain of the First Order of the Imperial Knights, Helkin—were rumored to be the fiercest and the strongest of all knights.

‘I have to be careful not to show any gaps and make them think that I’m unusually incompetent,’ Han Se-Hyeon thought.

He knew that his level was far below that of the Imperial Knights, which was why he needed to put in the extra effort to keep up with them. Even though he could be considered one of the highest-level individuals among the Travelers, he was no more than slightly above average if the Continentals were also taken into account.

‘I might only be able to barely avoid a knight captain’s sword no matter how much I struggle,’ Han Se-Hyun thought.

However, that idea did not bother him at all. Social influence and political power—those were the kinds of strength Han Se-Hyun wanted, and not individual combat prowess. That was why he had established the largest clan among the Travelers, as well as the reason he was aiming to become the emperor.

‘There’s a secret hidden behind this expedition.’

There were no reasons for the Imperial Knights to go on an expedition at this time of year. In fact, if all five knight orders left the palace and rebels began acting up, the authority of the crown would be severely limited.

Han Se-Hyun was certain that there had to be a significant reason for the empire to send out all five knight orders, despite fully knowing the risks involved with them not being present at the palace.

‘Not only that, the command was given to an alchemist and not a knight?’ Han Se-Hyeon pondered.

That was the most suspicious part. He was certain that the royal family’s secret had something to do with the expedition, and he was also certain that that secret was the key to becoming the emperor.

‘The emperor…’ Han Se-Hyun suddenly recalled a certain man.

That man had confidently said he would help Han Se-Hyun become the emperor despite being a weakling himself. The very same expressionless, yet brave man was the one who had managed to somehow infiltrate and assassinate the previous emperor.

‘I’m grateful to him for getting rid of the emperor, but I wonder what he’s doing right now…?’ Han Se-Hyun wondered what kind of bizarre plan the man was cooking up at the moment.

The man had simply left after making a pact to help him become the emperor. The biggest reason why Han Se-Hyun had let him go was that he believed that the man would be a great help toward furthering his ambition. That was why he had a certain feeling.

‘I will meet him again one day,’ Han Se-Hyun thought.

His intuition would soon turn out to be spot-on… but in the worst way possible.

***

[Legendary Quest—Journey to the Magic Tower (1)]

The magic tower where the Colossi reside is the most dangerous place among all of the forbidden areas on the continent. In fact, it is the most dangerous place on the entire continent!

However, you will be able find clues leading toward the magic tower if you put your life on the line. Some of the pieces that broke off from the magic tower have scattered across the continent, and powerful boss monsters guard those pieces as their treasure.

The road leading to the magic tower will present itself once you manage to gather all of the fragmented pieces.

+Four pieces of the magic tower exist on the continent.

+You will have to discover the location of the pieces yourself.

Kang Yoon-Soo moved quickly to complete the quest. He opted not to use Divine Punishment to save his divine power for another time. Nonetheless, he still plowed through the quest at a frightening speed due to his class ability, which gave him buffs depending on the environment he was in.

[Valley of Death]

[The health and life force of undead you raise will be greatly increased.]

[The wounds sustained by the undead you raise will slowly heal themselves.]

[You may temporarily use one necromancer skill (Master).]

“Kyahaha! Look! It’s those corpses that are weak to light!” Light exclaimed while laughing in her usual maniacal fashion.

“Huhu… I don’t feel so good about this place…” Sharp muttered nervously.

Kang Yoon-Soo had summoned Light and Sharp before entering the Valley of Death.

Shaneth took out her new weapon and destroyed the undead with it, while Henrick summoned Rick, who was able to gather quite a lot of life essence in the valley. Meanwhile, Iris seemed to have somehow managed to get used to the dragon’s power, slowly beginning to display proper control over it.

However, compared to all of them, Light’s brilliance was the most critically fatal to the undead. She exclaimed, “Oh my god, you don’t want to be friends with me? Then I guess you’ll have to die!”

“Huu… Huu… Light… You’re alright when you’re normal, but you’re really scary when you become like that…!” Sharp cried.

Kang Yoon-Soo smashed through the undead legion guarding the valley easily, as Light made short work of them.

A large skeleton appeared from deep within the valley after they got rid of all of the undead in their path. It was the boss monster of the Valley of Death, the Skeleton King!

“Bone Armor of Requiem,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered, using the skill he had obtained as part of his authority as a god. The bones scattered across the ground flew toward him before linking together to create a suit of armor that significantly boosted his defense. He then dashed toward the boss monster and smashed its skull to pieces.

[You have killed the king of the Valley of Death, the Skeleton King!]

Kang Yoon-Soo took the magic tower piece dropped by the skeleton, and they immediately moved to the location of the next piece. The normal route would have required them to stop by an inn to gather information leading to the whereabouts of the magic tower piece, but that did not apply to Kang Yoon-Soo, as he was well aware of the locations of all the pieces.

The three other places that held the magic tower pieces were not that far from the Valley of Death. They were the Wolves’ Moonlight Camp, the Mermaid’s Lake, and the Wyvern’s Cliff.

The wolves at the Moonlight Camp scrambled and ran away the moment White let out a deafening howl, Acle froze the lake and instantly killed all the mermaids, and Iris took care of all the wyverns by flying around and unleashing dragon’s breath on them.

After they collected all four pieces of the magic tower, the first part of the legendary quest was completed.

[You have completed the Legendary Quest—Journey to the Magic Tower (1)!]

[The legendary quest has been updated.]

[Legendary Quest—Journey to the Magic Tower (2)]

“I’m really tired,” Iris said, looking haggard, before covering herself with a blanket. It seemed that the busy schedule had taken a toll on her.

“Get some sleep, unni,” Shaneth said. She seemed to be exhausted as well, but she diligently prepared dinner for the party members.

Henrick let out a yawn before grumbling, “Doesn’t that guy ever get tired?”

Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo was fixing up an abandoned forester’s hut they had found in the forest with a sculpting hammer and nails he borrowed from Henrick.

[You have restored an old forester’s hut.]

[Your understanding of architecture and construction has increased.]

[You have gained 15 Divine Power.]

[Remaining Divine Power—3,705.]

‘This is nowhere near enough…’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He absolutely needed divine power to create things or inflict divine punishment with the authorities he had gained. Additionally, he needed more divine power to inflict even stronger divine punishment or create any useful item. He had to restore the things on the continent to replenish his divine power, but that was not his style at all.

‘I might be able to restore buildings like this, but it’s not efficient, either time or effort-wise,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought, thinking deeply about a solution while sitting in front of the campfire.

The weather was quite cold, and it seemed that winter was right around the corner.

Shaneth passed bowls filled with hot stew to the others.

“Shaneth’s stew is the real deal. Your stew can really make me happy whenever I eat it,” Iris said, blowing on the steaming hot stew before gulping it down. Then, she extended her empty bowl toward Shaneth and asked, “Shaneth, can you give me another bowl?”

“You downed an entire bowl of stew in one gulp? Is your stomach possessed by a ghost that starved to death or what?” Henrick remarked.

Iris retorted with a pout, “You have to eat well, especially when the weather starts to get colder.”

“You’re right, unni,” Shaneth said with a laugh before serving another bowl of stew to her.

It was right as their dinner time was about to end that Kang Yoon-Soo, who had been alternating between eating the stew and drinking his alcohol while deep in thought, suddenly said, “I think I should create a new species.”