I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Chapter 96

Kairos’s gaze upon the wraith knights was conflicted.

They were former comrades-in-arms who had traveled with him across the continent more than four hundred and fifty years ago.

They were real men, part of the mercenary organization Kairos had run before he became Emperor.

It was no wonder Kairos’ insides were starting to rot at the sight of his comrades-in-arms becoming wraiths roaming the earth.

*Skkrrrr.*

Kairos clenched his fists and trembled uncontrollably.

‘If only I hadn’t been so stupid as to fall for it… you guys wouldn’t be in this state.’

Kairos felt a great deal of guilt at the thought of his former men wandering around as wraiths, but he kept his emotions tightly contained.

Appeasing his former comrades was more important than his personal feelings at the moment, so….

Sigh.

Kairos smiled weakly and turned to the wraith knights.

He spoke to them in the same tone he’d used when they’d roamed the continent together.

“Hey, assholes, I’m sorry. I’m late. Were you waiting for me?”

The terrifying auras emitted by the ghost knights slowly began to subside.

Then….

“Elder brother.”

“Brother.”

“My lord.”

Agato, Hildegard, and Maximus, high-ranking wraith knights, walked towards Kairos.

“It’s been a long time. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but it’s good to see everyone.”

Kairos smiled at his old comrades-in-arms, who were like his hands and feet.

“Where have you been?”

“I was waiting for you.”

“It’s not too late.”

Agatho, Hildegard, and Maximus reprimanded Kairos.

“I apologize. It just happened. I thought I’d get my revenge while I was still alive, so I fought off the rebels and escaped. Perhaps it’s my old age, but the wounds didn’t heal well.”

He shrugged.

Kairos scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“And all of you are still waiting for me because you’re such good men? If you thought you were screwed, you should have gone off and lived your own lives. What do you think you’re doing, you stupid, foolish bastards?”

Then Agatho, Hildegard, and Maximus answered.

“How can we not wait for our lord? We knew you would return one day.”

“How can we not wait for our brother?”

“Even if our brother does not return, we must have our revenge.”

The Wraith Knights’ loyalty to Kairos.

And their vendetta against Emperor Argonne, which not even death can deter.

Even though the body may be gone….

“But not like this. If you die, you should go in peace. You shouldn’t be wandering the world like this. You deserve to rest in peace. So….”

Then.

*Swoosh!*

The thick fog lifted and an intense sun beamed down from the sky.

The fog that had been lingering for the past few days had finally begun to dissipate.

*Ssshh….*

And with that, the wraith knights disappeared, one by one.

“Wait, hey! Where are you guys going? I still have something to say to you all!”

Kairos was incredibly puzzled as his former comrades-in-arms vanished without a trace.

He had hoped to be able to make amends, but the reunion had been too short.

“Don’t panic, you’ll see them again.”

Otto said as he approached Kairos.

“Is that true?”

“You can meet them in the forest, maybe.”

Now that the fog had lifted, they would have to go inside the Ghost Forest to meet the wraith knights.

“Let’s go.”

“Not now. Later.”

“You expect me to stay put when my men are wandering around as wraiths!”

Kairos was furious at Otto.

That was because he wanted to appease his old comrades in arms and help them move on to peace.

“Your men aren’t the only ones in the woods.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll have to take an army to get in. So wait. Can’t you see everyone’s exhausted?”

Thanks to Otto’s brilliance, there hadn’t been any fighting in the last two days.

However, the troops of the Kuntachi Duchy were very tired, having been up all night, preparing for any eventuality.

The lack of sleep had left them dozing off and on, and they were in no condition to fight.

“Let’s rest for a while, and if the weather is good, we can go in then.”

“I see.”

Once Otto explained the situation, Kairos was no longer insistent.

In his heart he wanted to storm the Ghost Forest on his own.

But Kairos had less than a tenth of his former strength, and entering the Ghost Forest alone would only get him killed.

As Otto had said, it was best to wait and go with the army of the Kuntachi Duchy.

While Otto was resting, he filled Kairos in on the whole situation.

“So there’s a piece of armor out there in the forest, and it’s attracting nearby spirits, so when my men wandered nearby, they gathered in that forest and became wraiths?”

“Yeah.”

Everything that happens has a reason.

It was loyalty and revenge that drove Kairos’s former men to wander as spirits.

However, it was an item called the <Phantom Armor> that allowed these spirits to become Wraith Knights and exert physical influence.

A breastplate that protects the chest, it was a legendary item with the power to attract and control a large number of spirits, but it had been lying abandoned in the Ghost Forest for some time.

The spirits of Kairos’s former subordinates were drawn to its power and turned into wraith knights.

“You mean to tell me that not only my men, but other evil spirits are affected by that armor?”

“Yes. That’s why we need an army.”

“Damn it, to think that because of that haunted piece of scrap metal, my men can’t rest and are forced to wander the world!”

“Let’s be clear. It’s loyalty and revenge. Even if it hadn’t been there, they would still be wandering the forest.”

“Is that the case?”

“Anyway, wait a day or two longer. The clearer and sunnier it is, the weaker the evil spirits in the forest.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, and….”

“Hmm?”

“No.”

“Why do you stop talking?”

“I’ll tell you later. For now, don’t think about it.”

“……?”

“I’m resting.”

In fact, Otto hadn’t even told Kairos the shocking secret that Julius was Emperor Argonne.

If he told him now, he would have gone on a rampage, frothing at the mouth, so he had planned to wait until after they had finished the subjugation of the Ghost Forest.

“Is it true you’re Emperor Kairos?”

“Hmm?”

“How nice to meet you. My name is Conrad von Kuntachi, and I happen to be this boy’s grandfather.”

“Kairos.”

Kairos was not polite, even to the older Conrad.

After all, what did age matter to Kairos, a former emperor who had lived for more than five hundred years?

“It is indeed a pleasure to meet you here, a man whose name is only found in history books.”

“I suppose that could be true.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with you.”

“I’m afraid that’s a little too much for me right now…”

“It’s a 100-year-old whiskey. It’s very rare.”

“Let’s have a drink.”

Kairos, who had originally planned to bluntly tell him to get lost, seeing the bribe Conrad held out, relented and agreed to talk.

‘Anyway, he’s a sucker for a good drink.’

Otto shook his head in disbelief at Kairos’ apparently severe alcoholism.

But he didn’t try to talk him out of it.

There wasn’t much else to do until the weather improved, so it didn’t matter if he drank or not, as long as he stayed in good shape.

After all, for someone as skilled in the use of mana as Kairos, it wasn’t that difficult to flush alcohol out of the body.

* * *

Two days later.

As if on cue, a fine day of sunshine arrived after a thick fog enveloped the land.

After checking the weather, Otto promptly summoned an army to clear the Ghost Forest.

Almost no ordinary soldiers participated in the campaign against the Ghost Forest.

Since the enemies were evil spirits that impervious to physical force, ordinary soldiers were of little use.

Therefore, only the most elite members of the Kuntachi Duchy – magic swordsmen, mages, and knights – were involved in this campaign.

Otto led a punitive force of about 500 men into the Ghost Forest.

*Ssshhh!*

Despite the bright daylight, the Ghost Forest was barely lit and brimming with a frigid draft.

The temperature was so low, in fact, that you could practically see your own breath.

“It’s an eerie forest.”

Camille said.

“Can’t we just burn it all down?”

Befitting his character, Kairos made an extreme statement.

“You can’t start a fire until you have a spark, and with all the humidity and low temperatures, it won’t last long, and the whole forest is haunted by evil spirits, so even if you throw oil on it, the fire will go out quickly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

The reason Otto didn’t use the very simple solution of setting a fire and burning it all out was because he’d been there, done that.

When he tried to clear the Ghost Forest in the game, he tried to start a fire, but instead of being able to burn anything, he just wasted oil and firewood.

“Anyway, be careful, the evil spirits will be attacking soon. Not just one or two….”

Then.

“Gahhhhhhhhhh!”

“Let’s go… together… to the afterlife…”

“I will kill everyone…”

From everywhere, grudge-filled spirits sprang up to attack Otto’s group.

They were all spirits who had lived different lives at different times in the past, so they all looked different.

Among them were magic swordsmen, mages, and knights who had been ordered by the Kuntachi family to scout the Ghost Forest and had died.

“Hmph!”

Otto inhaled deeply as soon as the evil spirits appeared, then he let out a shout.

“Rooaaaaaaaaaarrrr!!!”

“KKkkkkkwwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

He casted both a buff and debuff, unleashing a <Warcry of Valor> that buffs allies and a <Savage Roar> that slows enemies.

“Slay the evil spirits!”

“Do not panic! We have the Little Lord!”

“Wipe them out!”

The allies fought against the evil spirits, aided by Otto’s buffs and debuffs.

“You can’t kill the already Dead….”

“The end of you all is to end up like us….”

But no matter how many they killed, the spirits kept coming back to attack their allies.

This was what made the Ghost Forest so terrifying.

Anyone who stepped foot in the forest was in an ant pit, as the spirits would constantly resurrect and attack.

It was a very unreasonable and unfair position to be in, as one would only end up exhausted from fighting and die at the hands of the spirits.

“We should go.”

Otto looked back at Camille and Kairos.

“There’s a battle going on, and we’re not in it?”

“What are you talking about?”

Otto questioned Camille.

Camille and Kairos tilted their heads as if to say, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Given the situation, wasn’t it obvious that the battle would be severely disadvantaged if the strongest members of Otto’s group were missing?

“If we keep fighting, there’s no end to it! We have to keep going while our allies buy us time!”

With that, Otto took off running, heading deeper into the forest.