Published at 17th of December 2020 8:12 pm

Chapter 461 - Temple Run 2.0

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Dave received an incoming call while he was still with the Undead King and company. His first words were, "Oh god, here it comes." Then he proceeded to plug both his ears with his fingers as he answered the call.

Unfortunately his action served little purpose when Zoe shouted through his brain: "DAVEYYYYYYY!!! How'd you do it?!"

"Easy on me babe, you're too loud, I'll tell you all about it later. We aren't finished here yet," Dave apologised for having to hang up, but the Undead King still had many things to say.

"Okay, TTYL," Zoe replied in an understanding manner.

"Childe, I have many allies that I shall ask to attend your coronation. On the morrow, the world shall know of our next prince, and they shall tremble at his feet. As it will be to honor you, where do you suggest to host your coronation?" the Undead King gave Dave the choice.

A notification popped up in front of Dave locating several spots where he can choose from.

***

You have been given the choice to choose where your coronation ceremony will be held.

The Lost City of Urburg.

The Eastern Kingdom's Capital.

Moria, rim of the Eastern Kingdom.

Second Raid Zone, Burning Heights.

Kis'Shtiengbrah's Personal Territory in the Dead Realm.

***

NPCs who have a friendly relationship with the Undead King will all attend. A chosen few Players will also be invited. While within the event, all fighting is prohibited, and all hostile activities will be dealt with by execution. Feel free to invite some of your acquaintances from the player base.

***

"Your Majesty," Dave addressed him with some hesitation.

"Yes, Childe."

"Could we host it here?"

The Undead King tilted his head, then rubbed his own small goatee beard.

"I see no reason not to," The Undead King answered after thinking for a bit.

"But that will allow others to learn of our city and palace layout," Dagla chimed in. ��Do you truly think this wise, Your Majesty?"

"So what?" the Undead King said, "What could ants possibly do against oppressive power? Let them see what we have, We shall make sure that every Undead, every one of our subjects is present at this event. We want the world to know how much power We hold, even if it is unwise to show one's cards, in this case I shall permit it. It shall be a show of the glory that awaits Kis'Shtiengbrah once he takes the throne!"

"Wow, hold on a moment. I don't need the crown, it fits better on your head," Dave quickly said.

"We would wager it would fit better on yours," the Undead King rebutted with a smile. "We have ruled Our fair share of years. We've waged wars against countless threats, and have emerged victorious many, many times. We have grown tired of ruling and this, my children can vouch for. It is in Our vision, that once We see you fit, that you shall lead the Undead to a future We have not been able to grant them."

"I doubt any Undead would ask for anything more than what you have offered them so far. They have safety within their lands, power that can protect them and allow them free reign to take their own actions, and they have you to back them up if they are ever in trouble, is that not true? What else could they ask of you, Your Majesty?" Dave asked.

"In a sense, you are both right and wrong. It is true that We have given them many things, but We have not given them what should be rightfully theirs."

"What is it, then?"

"Freedom from the shackles of the Underworld. Only a few of our children are able to walk on the Overworld, and even while waging war, we have only been able to stay for a small period of time. What We hope to see one day, is for them to be able to stay in the Overworld whenever they want, and for however long they wish to. That is the kind of freedom We have not been able to grant them due to Lord Ramsha's rule."

"I think I understand. Ramsha has locked up the demons and you guys with them. He didn't let the Demons do as they please, as they can't leave the Underworld, but he gave you more freedom than them. In a way the Undead are sorta the Demon's wardens."

"Exactly, we have been appointed wardens, and yet it is a task we had no say in. But once the Ash King is forever gone, our mission shall be over, and we shall be able to claim our place in the Overworld."

Dave nodded then asked, "I find it a little bit hard to believe that Ramsha would allow the Undead to walk out after we finish off the Ash King. I mean, no offense, but we are the Undead, we're not the friendliest of the bunch toward the other 'living' races."

"It is indeed so, but we are not chaotic. We think, we make allies, we consider benefit and loss before we take any action, yet the Demons, they all seek destruction. We abhor that, we seek valor, chivalry, and honor even after death. We Undead, the ones blessed by the Death Heart, we who think, do not mindlessly kill! We will not slay helpless women and children, and we only kill men who would raise a sword in opposition. We give everyone a chance to live, it is their responsibility to either take the chance, or forgo their lives."

Dave nodded again, as he agreed with the Undead King's word. The Undead might be considered evil, but not chaotically evil.

"Right then, I'll head to the East now. I still need to bring down the remaining temples of the Ash King."

"Good, we need to limit his power as much as we can, our raid upon his dominion is nigh, and we can use all the advantages. If that failure of a demi-god believes he can bring us to our feet in our lands, then we shall prove how we can do the same, only more efficiently. In a week's time, our raid shall commence, make sure to bring down as many of the temples as you can, Childe." The Undead King ordered.

"As you command," Dave gave a half courtesy bow and turned to leave the room.

-------

Once he left, Dave used the teleportation scroll to the Eastern Kingdom. He needed to see how things were going in his new territory and by the looks of it, Demetri was doing a great job.

The Undead Dave had hired had fully repaired the capital, people brimmed with confidence as they moved about to do their jobs. Trade prospered as players teleported to the Eastern Kingdom to quest and explore. The security was also superb with all the Undead Captain and Death Knights patrolling.

Dave had allowed players to enter his domain with the condition to not surpass a certain number in a given area. They could raid Dungeons and do quests for the NPCs and trade their goods in his city. This led to a lot of money getting taxed from the transaction to go back to their pockets, but Dave had decided that the majority of that income should be handed to the right personnel.

Crops extended to great distances around the capital. NPCs happily worked the land with the aid of untiring undead workers. The Undead carved the ground to help the humans put seeds in the soil. They dug wells and mined ore. Transporting them continuously into the city, rejuvenating all of the activities within it.

This didn't only happen in the capital, it was all over the ten major cities of the Qin Kingdom. Not to mention the increased security and transportation safety of the Qin roads. The Undead had erected watchtowers all over the land. More than 10,000 watchtowers stood in the lands of Qin, overseeing any disturbance in the area.

Villagers worked with renewed hope. The flames of the last war had not harmed them, and in the current run, the Undead who had been their most feared foe were currently helping and aiding them. Villagers traded their hand made materials at the city center, all operated by the ever so greedy Dikenz, yet he had made sure that the NPCs would receive their fair prices for raw material. As for the players… Dave didn't care. Dikenz was free to scam them for every penny they had.

Dave valued NPCs more than the player community, because without these 'pixels' this game would never have a life of its own. And to keep it that way, Dave had opted for the comfort and good life of all NPCs in his domain.

Though the reparations had only just started, Dave could see that NPCs had an incalculable number of quests. This was a stark contrast to the other cities of the world of Conquest where NPCs with an exclamation mark were rare, the ones in Qin were as numerous as the sand. Everyone wanted something done for them. All of it was thanks to Dave's good intentions that aided these people, granting them more hope for the future. To achieve their own goals, they sent players to quest for them, which in return would come with benefit to the kingdom.

Demetri noticed Dave's arrival and came to meet him at the city center.

"Don't tell me you've been here since the last time I saw you," Dave greeted the sleepy-looking player.

"Yes, I have never changed my spot. Like I said there are many things to do and deal with. The NPC's lives are getting better, and as much as I would not like to admit it, you were right. I had my people conduct a study on the current life of these people compared to the other Kingdoms and the result was that in the near future, the tax income should increase exponentially as more players come in and do their quests here. So, I'm making sure everything goes well."

"Great then. But please don't overtax yourself and take a break. If you excuse me, I'll have to go and check out a nasty temple that should be under one of the churches here."

"In the capital? I saw the commotion you caused in Icathia. If something like that Stalwart comes here, it would be a disaster! We don't want to scare the citizens. Many of them haven't overcome the traumas of the last war."

"I know, but I have an idea. Last time I needed to be subtle, but if my hunch turns out to be true, with Undead alongside me, that Stalwart will not stand a sodding chance."

"Sodding?"

"A new word I learned, look it up. Now see ya," Dave turned to the cathedral. Once he arrived he attempted to summon Bud, but instead of his Shadow Ghoul all he got was a notification appearing in front of him.

***

You cannot summon Bud. Your Death Knight is currently undergoing his Doom Knight quest.

***

"Ah, I forgot that my Boyz also ranked up with me. But why do they need to quest?" Since wondering to himself wouldn't bring him any answers he called for Albert.

Once Albert showed up, Dave frowned heavily, the old man's face was not visible, it was heavily pixelated for a second before it returned to normal. Yup, he DEFINETELY would have to contact Emile Kada about these strange occurrences. One time may be a coincidence, but two times sure as hell was more than that!

"Are you okay old man?" Dave asked.

"Yes, never been better. Why?"

"This is the second time you're pixelating."

"Oh, that again? Yeah some players have reported this happening all over Conquest. A few monsters also appear to have been affected briefly. It seems that it is going through all the game. It's most likely stress from the generation of the questlines in this area and some upcoming events. Don't worry about it, every game has its own flaws. And this one is just a minor one and can be dealt with soon. So what have you called me for?"

Dave didn't fully believe the old man. Something was definelly going on, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Only, if Albert didn't tell him, it was either something seriously bad, or Albert himself didn't know, making it even worse than the former possibility.

"Can you tell me why Bud and I assume the rest of my guys, on a quest to become a Doom Knight? Shouldn't he level up with me? Or at most, do the same as the rest and just beat a Doom Knight on their own?"

"Oh, it is only normal, because you have become an Abyssal Knight, and have granted some of your Undead sentience or recruited ones with great minds. They need to be challenged to earn their rank, otherwise if they freely level up, you will have an amazing power that would hardly be fair to the rest of the players." Albert explained.

"Hey, you're pulling an Alfi on me with your 'unfair' reason! Weren't you the one saying that you didn't care if I broke the game as long as it was entertaining and I didn't cheat?"

"And that continues to be the case. However, the quests were the Dev's idea. Worry not, all the quests handed to your Death Knights are relatively easy, slaying monsters, and believe me your Undead have done their fair share of slaying. It's just protocol to shut up salty players."

"Fine, so when can I have my Boyz back?" Dave asked.

"As soon as they finish their quests. According to my calculations, it should take a day at most. By tomorrow when your coronation starts, you will have all of your Undead with you, and they will probably all have managed to rank up."

"Thanks then, I suppose this means that I'll have to fight the Stalwart again by myself."

"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil you, but what you'll be facing isn't a simple Stalwart, and it might be better if you went in alone," Albert smiled at Dave, before he winked and disappeared.

"Damn, what does that mean now?"

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