The shriek pierced through the city, signifying the beginning of the conquest.

"This city is ours now!” shouted Lee Shin-Woo. “Drop your weapons and surrender!"

"Do you really have to say that!?"

[By using Low Rank Shriek of the Dead, the enemies in the entire area have fallen into a state of frenzy and fear.]

Lee Shin-Woo's booming voice echoed throughout the entire city. However, rather than throw away their weapons and surrender, their enemies rampaged about and blindly thrust their weapons at each other's heads. Obviously, Shriek of the Dead always applied the same negative status no matter what he said.

[Kyahaaaaaahk!]

[Kihik, when did so many undead invade the city!?]

[Knights, draw your swords! Teach those undead how heavy a sin it is to trespass upon the Empire's sacred soil!]

"All it took was a scream for what appeared to be a peaceful city to fall into complete chaos…" Jin muttered.

"As I thought, it would be easy for a high-level Treasure Eater to wreck a city like this."

Did Lee Shin-Woo rush into battle right after shrieking? Of course not. Their main objective was to ascertain how many high-level undead there were as well as their location.

He had divided the city into sections accordingly, and had been moving around as he calculated the effective area of Shriek of the Dead.

[I'll engrave the Empire's laws onto your body!]

[How dare you, a mere undead! You wicked black mages; I'll make you kneel before the Emperor!]

"Whoa, the knights here fight well."

Of course, Lee Shin-Woo knew there would be some unaffected by the skill, but that didn't matter. Even level 4 Skeleton Knights had been brainwashed by his level 6 Low Rank Shriek of the Dead.

Normally, it would be difficult to achieve this good of a result with a low rank level 6 skill, but Lee Shin-Woo had Mana Bone, which buffed whatever magic he used and was particularly effective on abilities that channeled pure mana.

"Let's move quickly before the lord intervenes with his Golems and knights!" Lee Shin-Woo shouted.

"I know! We'll arrive at our next position shortly!"

They had traveled incognito around the city for upwards of two hours, and they had already decided where he would use Shriek of the Dead. After checking the perimeter, they immediately got in position, and Lee Shin-Woo used Shriek of the Dead for a second time.

"Ooaaaaaaaaaaahk!"

[Evil puppet!]

[You belong in Hell! Why have you crawled out of the bottomless pit!?]

There weren't any Skeleton Knights around, but there were a great number of soldiers; Lee Shin-Woo was extremely satisfied with the chaos that ensued instantly. From a bird’s eye view, it would seem as if Hell had been brought to the mortal realm.

"Good, let's now go to Zone C!" said Lee Shin-Woo.

"I'm the devil, the devil...!"

The plan was progressing smoothly. Since undead all over the city were fighting amongst themselves, Lee Shin-Woo deactivated Stealth... No, Shadow Sprint, leaving himself exposed for all to see; nevertheless, none had attacked Lee Shin-Woo or Jin thus far.

[Low Rank Shriek of the Dead is now Lv7. Magic has increased by 3.]

"Nice, the skill's leveling up quickly, too."

"...Shin-Woo, I feel like they're on the move now."

"Hm, that’s to be expected."

Jin was referring to the Undead Commander's group atop the hill. No matter how muddle-minded the commander had become after becoming an undead, he was still the lord; Lee Shin-Woo didn't think the lord would sit idle while there was chaos spreading throughout various areas of the city.

In order to postpone the lord’s intervention as much as possible, Lee Shin-Woo had been focusing on stirring trouble along the fringes of the city. Still, it seemed the lord had decided to step in before they could finish.

Not long after Jin’s warning, Lee Shin-Woo heard a screeching sound from afar. The Iron Golems were moving.

How should I deal with them? Will my acid mist melt them?

Lee Shin-Woo briefly pondered his options before shaking his head. Even if he concentrated all the power Melting Bone Double Axe could muster and detonated it, it was unlikely that he would be able to defeat an Iron Golem that way; each and every one of the Golems was an elite monster.

There are four of them, and they’re under the command of a level 5 Elite Skeleton Commander. The commander was guarded by three level 5 Elite Skeleton Elder Knights, as well as twelve level 4 Skeleton Knights...

The lord had some impressive personal guards, which signified its unique status to those who didn’t already know what it was. Rather than fighting them straight head on, it would be safer and more effective to call upon their allies, but...

"It's worth a try."

"Weren't you the one that said we'd give up on fighting the lord?” Jin reprimanded. “You're still out of it, aren't you?"

Jin was ready to move to the next area. Their original plan was to go to as many places as possible and cut down the number of knights and soldiers with Shriek of the Dead before the lord showed up, all the while dodging the swords and arrows that didn’t differentiate between friends and foes.

There were more than 10,000 level 2 or higher-level undead within the city, so it would be foolish to fight them one at a time... Lee Shin-Woo had said so himself, but for some reason, he was now patiently looking towards the direction of the lord's troops.

"You..."

"...Jin, there are times when a person needs to take a risk."

Jin knew Lee Shin-Woo had made up his mind, but he weakly talked back, "You're a skeleton, though."

"And now it’s that time for me!"

"...God."

For some reason, Jin always knew that Lee Shin-Woo would take that risk. The man just couldn't let such an opportunity slip away; facing a higher leveled enemy, an elite one at that, his first instinct was always to fight. Maybe that was the kind of person Lee Shin-Woo was. Nevertheless, this involuntary urge of his seemed to have gotten worse than usual. He was going to face an assorted gift set of level 5 undead!

"You just don't want that girl to steal your experience, do you?" Jin asked quietly.

"Yep." Realizing that he had been way too honest, Lee Shin-Woo belatedly added, "And fighting the skeleton controlling the Golems firsthand may tell me how I should mimic a Golem’s mana."

Lee Shin-Woo took off his lower body armor and summoned the Drake Horn Lance at the same time!

The imposing weapon might as well be advertising their existence to the world like an electric signboard. Its higher rank and the mana contained within drew the attention of even the rampaging undead.

"Hooo..."

Lee Shin-Woo had learned how to wield the weapon through the memories of the knights he'd absorbed, as well as Bursting Thunder, which encompassed all weapon arts. He grabbed the lance in his left hand, firmly positioning it between his arm and armpit.

He called this method 'Couched Lance', and while he would lose the lance upon collision, it wasn't much of a problem for him since he could just make another one.

"Let me get a bit used to it first," Lee Shin-Woo said.

"Kill me now... If you die, it’s totally on you!"

"That's my partner!"

Finally, Jin made up his mind. Taking a sharp turn, he changed direction and ran, plowing through the center of the city like lightning! Some undead had come up to block them, but Jin unceremoniously shattered them with his steel-covered body. Lee Shin-Woo didn’t even have to dirty his Drake Horn Lance with bone powder.

The sharper and sturdier Jin’s body was, the less things there were that could interfere with his running. As a result, he was able to run even faster than before. Jin wasn't so much a Skeleton Horse at this moment but a longer and sharper lance than the Drake Horn Lance!

Learning Steel Body is a good decision, Jin thought. I do love running without anything in my way... Faster... Faster! Must be the fastest in the world!

Jin began to run faster and faster still. In a few blinks, they had reached the heart of the city from its very edge, close enough to see the lord's group on the move!

[The Drake Horn Lance is increasing the effectiveness of all charge related skills by 40%.]

The faster Jin ran, the more intense the red light emitted from Drake Horn Lance became. Its splendid effect of buffing all charge-related skills by 40% catalyzed their mana. Lee Shin-Woo more firmly grasped the spear as his goblin fire blazed.

I must take care of at least one of them with this.

Considering Lee Shin-Woo’s total stats, which were close to the requirement for level 5, Jin’s tremendous agility and the resulting destructive power, and the power of Drake Horn Lance itself as well as its buffing effect, it was unlikely for even a level 5 elite monster to survive this attack.

No, it must not survive. If Lee Shin-Woo and Jin failed to kill their target, they would have to face the rest of the force in its entirety. They must kill at least one of them with the charge attack no matter what.

‘See the biggest Golem in the centermost area? I'm going after that one.’

'Alright.'

Lee Shin-Woo lowered his body as much as possible over Jin’s back, pushing their connection to the limit. They didn’t have to say things out loud at this point. Lee Shin-Woo’s thoughts were conveyed to Jin without trying, and he could roughly figure out what Jin wanted as well.

From the start, one of the reasons Kratia had been interested in them was the synergy that occurred due to their connection, which was so perfect that it was almost strange. Though she didn't know much about the skill itself, she did say that other Horseback Riding skills didn't develop the way theirs did, which was being proven now.

It wasn't just a simple connection between a man and a horse; it was something only possible because they were both undead heroes. The connection was beginning to bear fruit!

[Low Rank Horseback Riding had reached Lv10 and evolved into an Intermediate skill. You have formed a truly deep connection with your riding companion, and surpassed the union between man and horse.]

[Attuning your will with your companion and adding their strength to your own is no longer a skill, but a magical technique. You have learned Intermediate Assimilation. Agility and Magic have increased by 10.]

Lee Shin-Woo felt it when he gained the skill. By pushing the two skills he had gotten during this battle, Shadow Sprint and Assimilation, to the limit, he realized that he and Jin could reach an unknown height!

'Shin-Woo! We’re close!'

'I know!'

Hee Shin-Woo had only just acquired the skill, but the effect of Assimilation was already clear to him. Before Jin had even transmitted his intent, Lee Shin-Woo had figured out what Jin wanted!

They were really close to the lord's group. Obviously, their enemies must have noticed them as well, but they weren’t too worried. At this very moment, there was no one here who could react to their speed in time!

[Hostility detect...]

Lee Shin-Woo and Jin crashed into their target Golem directly, and at that moment, their breathing synced.

Their linked minds conjured the same image. The world ground to a halt like the passage of time itself had become too slow compared to Jin's overwhelming speed; their momentum was pushed into the lance, and the lance would break through the Golem. That was the future they envisioned together!

"Uorayaaaaaahp!"

Lee Shin-Woo let out a strange battle cry and tapped into the mana throughout his entire body. He gripped the spear and instinctually infused it with mana; the power of Bursting Thunder instantly rushed to the tip of his weapon. Blue mana joined and intertwined with red energy, creating a burst of scintillating violet sparks!

[Low Rank Bursting Thunder has reached Lv10 and evolved into an Intermediate skill. Strength and Magic have increased by 10. Low Rank Power Slash is absorbed. It has become possible for you to infuse your weapon with lightning.]

As the saying went, an herring was still an herring even when it was rotten. Realizing Lee Shin-Woo had been faster with his attack, the Iron Golem twisted its body in an attempt to somehow reduce the damage it would sustain. At the same time, it changed form to attack the pair. Its reflex was truly impressive.

However, to Jin—no, to both him and Lee Shin-Woo, who he was assimilating with—the Golem seemed as slow as a snail. They had foreseen its reaction in the future they envisioned, and were able to overcome it.

[Critical Hit!]

[Hieruwakbedakuru][1]

The moment the extended lance struck its target, the Golem made some unintelligible noises he couldn't understand at all before breaking apart, shattering into pieces everywhere.

1. T/L: Gibberish.