Keomi stared in disbelief at his body lying on the ground.
His head rolled a few times on the ground before stopping.
A man picked up his head and smiled.
Only then did Keomi realize he had been tricked; the figure on the castle was fake! It was the witch in disguise!
Yes! That's right, the witch also carries the aura of the Crystal Crown. If I had been more careful... if I hadn't been in such a hurry to use the Cataclysm... if... if...
The long staircase had been completely destroyed by the natural disaster. The witch Ig spat out a mouthful of foul blood and squatted down. She had survived a natural disaster. How should one evaluate her?
In short, Riverst managed to kill Keomi before he could actually unleash the cataclysm, otherwise she would have certainly died.
“I have lost, but I foresaw your death… Live happily…” Keomi looked at the heavily injured witch and finally closed his eyes in peace.
Good night, my king... Good morning? My king...
...
"You're injured, is this part of the ending you foresaw?" Rivist brought Keomi's head to the witch Igor.
“I can only foresee part of it. If this injury is inevitable, then the outcome is something neither you nor I can change.” Igor looked up at Keomi’s head, his blue eyes now dulled to gray.
The Black Crown Prophecy has reclaimed Keomi's power; this body is utter trash!
"What a pity, I thought I could keep it as a collectible!" Riverst brandished the Hero's Sword that he had snatched from Keomi.
The sword's original properties have completely dissipated, leaving behind only a fragile longsword, useless except for its ornate appearance.
The battle did not cause Rivers any losses; the enchanted items he used up just helped him spend some money.
It's a bit of a shame about those slain grunts; selecting and training them again will take a lot of time...
...
"You could recruit the elites from each island; there's no need to create a unified army, as that would diminish their original fighting strength."
A few days later, inside the castle, Igor, dressed in a white dress, was reading a book on the balcony, commenting on Rivist's actions.
This unified army showed significant weaknesses when fighting against the blue-eyed zombies under Keomi's command, as their strength was constrained by their equipment and tactics.
As a result, they were spotted and brutally killed by the meticulous elite zombies.
“I have my own ideas,” Riverst said as he watered the flowers on the balcony.
"No!" Igor closed the book and laughed, "You just have OCD~"
"Uh...heh, whatever you want!" Riverst shook his head with a smile. "By the way, how's your injury?"
"The injuries from the natural disaster have greatly affected my possession. I need to stabilize my body during this time, and at the same time, I will keep an eye on the Black Crown's movements." Igor reassured him, "Don't worry, with me here, you will grow faster than any of the kings!"
Indeed, with Igor's guidance, he quickly began to grasp the techniques for initiating natural disasters.
Crystal Burst! It can unleash two stages of calamity-inducing power!
The first stage involves dozens of crystal spikes, each ten meters long, shooting upwards from the earth at an extremely fast speed.
Riverst had tried using it on ocean behemoths, and the effect was surprisingly good, especially the second explosion, where the shattered crystal spikes would instantly kill large creatures.
Of course, for small creatures, these tiny crystal fibers can pierce the skin, and the crystal fibers caused by this kind of natural disaster cannot be metabolized at all. As they flow through the blood, they will damage the internal organs and eventually lead to death!
...
Several months later...
Far North
Led by islanders lured by gold coins, the ghostly behemoth breaks through the glacier in search of the land of life and death.
To the Dark Sea King:
Oh! My Riverst! Holder of the Oath Crown, you are always so impatient. Believe me, the far north will not yield the results you desire. You will return disappointed, for it was all just a waste of time. Well... you are free. I can only wish you a safe journey and a speedy return.
The youngest and most beautiful witch: Igor
"..."
In the captain's cabin, Riverst leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, crumpled the letter into a ball, and angrily threw it to the door.
"She knows where I am! She's watching me! She's watching everything I do!"
"You know what, Kyle? This woman is always talking about responsibility, but she's actually begging for responsibility from someone who's already been hurt by the world?"
"I feel..."
“This is terrible,” said the man in the fur coat behind Riverst.
He wore a terrifying mask of broken bones, his black eyes fixed on Riverst—was it pity? Or empathy?
“Ha! Just like you said, it’s terrible!” Rivers rubbed his head.
He gazed at the white birds that had taken flight over the glacier, creatures he had never seen before. Were they like him?
Trapped in the lonely glacier, deprived of the right to pursue freedom?
"Kyle, what do you think freedom is?"
“I don’t know,” Kyle said in a low voice. “All I can say is that when you freed me from the ogre’s cage, allowing me to run freely on the grasslands, to enjoy every sunrise and sunset, and to no longer be afraid in the dark…”
"I think that's freedom."
"Creak—" Riverst leaned back lazily in his chair, making a long, grating sound.
"Boss, I think we've arrived." Old Captain Jessie knocked on the door from the outside.
...
The salty sea breeze swept over us, along with a chilling cold, and countless snowflakes engulfed the ghostly behemoth in moments.
"Hmph, there's no need to be so frugal, is there?" Riverst crushed a heating crystal rod, the heat from which restored his warmth.
He waved, gesturing for Kyle to come over and warm up with him.
"Boss, can the Ghost Ship still move forward carrying ice and snow?" Kyle asked, looking down as he approached Riverst.
"Of course! Boss!" Old Captain Jessie patted his chest and assured him, "My sailors and I are not afraid of the cold, and the Ghost Ship is protected by Calamity, so a mere snowstorm..."
"It would be better to clean it up." A stack of enchanted scrolls suddenly appeared in Riverst's hand.
His obsessive-compulsive disorder was truly unbearable!
"This is affecting my view of the scenery, even though there's not much scenery to speak of."
“Yes, boss!” Jessie accepted the scroll and instructed the ghost sailors to release it.
In an instant, the giant ship was kept clean!
“Kyle, don’t just stand there! We’re almost there. Hopefully, we’ll get the answer I’m looking for…” Rivers patted Kyle, who was lost in thought.
...
In this hell sealed by ice and snow, countless skeletons are buried by the wind and snow. No one knows how long they have been asleep, nor does anyone know what terrible calamity will befall them if they are awakened.
"Legend has it that in the far north there is a group of undead who sing songs, ride on horns, and laugh as they lead the living from afar to this white paradise," Kyle murmured the tribal tale on the parchment.
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