Claudius had a total of five Skills.
[Dead Call]. [Abyss Call]. [Ultimate Sacrifice]. [Miasma Resistance]. [Life Force Recovery]
Of these five, three were Active.
And… of those three, one could be considered his most powerful move.
—His Trump Card!
"Feyu… Shuri… you might have to step away… maybe leave this vicinity." He muttered.
They both glanced at him in surprise, but Claudius kept his gaze on the surprisingly unmoving creature that had to be beaten.
'If they try to escape, that thing will try to use [Wyvern Breath]. But, I'm at least confident they can defend themselves or counter with an equally powerful move.'
That meant they could safely escape.
'If that's the case, then I can use my power to its fullest without any living witness… and with no way to sacrifice them.'
He made a wry smile and prepared himself for what had to be done.
"Wait for my signal, you two. Once I tell you to—"
"Oh? What's this? You guys aren't done yet?" A voice suddenly echoed from behind the crowd of Mercenary Gang soldiers.
'H-huh? That voice…' Claudius' eyes widened as he looked behind him.
The entire army also recognized the voice and instantly bowed while parting ways for the person, or rather, the two important people, to pass.
"Phobio! Fernand!" Claudius beamed as he looked at the two men who approached from behind.
The army that they led remained behind, their numbers also about a thousand.
Phobio and Fernand also appeared to be intact—the former was even smiling widely while the latter appeared as indifferent and stoic as always.
"What's going on here? We saw the building still standing from afar and wondered what caused the holdup… so we came to check."
Phobio's tone seemed as carefree as always, with his regal dark hair flowing behind him with every word he uttered.
As for Feenand, the claw scar on his face seemed particularly dull under the dim glow of moonlight.
Either way, two more members of the Mercenary Gang's Head of Destruction were present.
'And these two are strong enough to be considered candidates of the Deadly Three!' Claudius beamed with delight as he saw them.
With five Heads of Destruction present, the situation seemed a lot more manageable than the previous alternative.
"It's good you're here. We're dealing with a rather troublesome enemy, so we would really appreciate your assistance." Claudius swiftly responded to Phobio, his eyes trailing to the standing Compound Corpse.
"Oho! I see. So you're having problems dealing with that huge thing, eh? I understand… it's quite big and looks pretty strong."
Despite saying this, Phobio didn't flinch at all.
Claudius instantly knew why.
'His Blood Magic allows him to create a massive avatar which he can use to fight.'
If they had something that big to restrain the Undead, it was possible to defeat it.
'The only issue is that he requires a lot of blood to achieve that, so…'
"Time to use my Crimson Valkyrie! Hehe!" The man laughed as he licked his lips with delight.
Claudius was confused.
He didn't see a sphere of blood anywhere, and Phobio needed a large stock of blood to be able to utilize such power.
"Lord Phobio, how do you plan to use Crimson Valkyrie?" He asked.
"Huh? Are you stupid? Can't you see my sphere of blood?"
Phobio's irritated response made Claudius begin to doubt himself.
'I can't see it? Is it hidden or what?'
"I was able to harvest quite a lot from the battle on our end. All of those weaklings were so easy to kill." Phobio sneered.
"A-ah… so your mission went well, then?"
"Of course! Ask Fernand if you don't believe me." The young man chuckled even more.
Claudius shifted his gaze to Fernand, who merely shrugged as he spoke in a calm, collected manner.
"It's true. We were able to massacre everyone in the KariBlanc Shop and eliminate all their affiliates in the Black Market. All witnesses were extinguished, and we've pretty much conquered the Black Market in the Capital."
Claudius couldn't believe they were fortunate enough to have been blessed with such an uneventful mission.
'Ours started uneventfully too, until…'
"See? See? We did all of that and you guys were still stuck with this single problem." Phobio began to laugh, pointing at the massive Undead before them.
"Well… it's very difficult to handle since it has many lives and it also ada—"
"Don't you worry, though. Since I'm in a good mood, I'll use my Crimson Valkyrie to help you out this time."
Once again, the Necromancer was confused.
'With what blood?'
Claudius glanced at Feyu and Shuri, sending them signals about whether or not they saw any blood sphere, but they both shook their heads.
'This doesn't make any sense, though. If they indeed slaughtered everyone in the Black Market, then the blood sphere should be massive by now.'
Yet, Claudius and his own allies saw nothing.
'Something is wrong somewhere!'
"Alright, I think I've given you all enough time to chat." The voice that echoed in the air caused Claudius to have chills.
For the first time since the start of the fight, the black suited man began to walk forward—towards the group of over two thousand.
"Now that you are all present, I suppose we should start moving on to the main event."
'Now that we're all here? Was he waiting for us to converge? Is that why he didn't make any move until now?'
Dozens of questions raced within Claudius' mind, but they were all interrupted by Phobio's arrogant tone.
"Hm? Who is this guy, Claudius? Is he an idiot? Can't he see that we're conversing?"
Claudius was frozen in disbelief, perhaps a bit of shock.
He was yet to see the power of the black suited man, but there was no way he would underestimate him after all he had witnessed.
Phobio, on the other hand, had the disadvantage of ignorance.
"Phobio, please be—!"
"Since everyone is present, I no longer require you, Corpse." The black-suited man's voice drew Claudius's gaze back to his position.
He saw that the man was right beside the giant Undead, and in a snap of his fingers, the Undead melted into his shadow.
It all happened very quickly, but Claudius had gotten a glimpse of the entire thing.
"He's a Necromancer like you, Claudius?" Fernand's calm voice echoed out.
"No. We're not on the same level. He is the superior one."
Upon hearing Claudius' confession, Fernand narrowed his gaze and let out a slight frown.
"I see…" His voice trailed.
Claudius returned his sights to the black-suited man, who was now standing by his lonesome, with Aldred still standing right in front of the mansion's doors.
'It seems he wants to fight us by himself…'
Usually, that would be good news, but Claudius didn't know why he felt even more uneasy.
'If he's a Necromancer, doesn't that mean he's weaker when it comes to head on assault?'
However, as soon as Claudius had this thought, he quickly dismissed his utilization of common sense.
'I can't think of him as a normal man. Perhaps he's also confident in his combat ability—enough to be able to handle all of us.'
Claudius had to operate under that assumption.
The mere fact that he could discard such a powerful card like the Compound Corpse… it meant he was also very strong
"Are you going to use another Ancient Magic…?" Claudius found the courage to ask.
"No. Ancient MajiK is too draining for my current form, so I'll desist from it for this round."
Claudius felt relief, but also confusion.
'That should be his trump card—the thing that escapes common sense—yet he can't use it?'
If that was the case, didn't that mean that they had a chance to win—especially if they went all out from the start?
Five of the Nine Heads of Destruction.
Two thousand Mercenary Gang soldiers.
Thirty members of Scylla's Recon Unit.
Combined, they could actually stand a chance against this man!
"I suppose it's time I introduced myself."
The man placed one hand on his chest in an attempt at a formal introduction.
"I am Ater; a name given to me by my Master." He didn't bow his head in the slightest, but he appeared polite regardless.
'Master?! He has a Master?!'
At this point, Claudius found himself swimming in an ocean of confusion
He didn't know how to navigate through it.
"We don't need to hear your name! Let's just get down to it." Phobio sneered in absolute confidence as he took a casual stance.
Fernand did the opposite and reached for his blade in caution while frowning his face.
"Who is your Master?"
Claudius was also curious, so he was grateful to Fernand for asking the question.
'There is no way the Blanc House could have such a monster in their ranks.'
Even if they did, they would have taken him to the Dark Gathering.
'Any Master of this man… what kind of monster could he be?!'