Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 480 - 453: Necromancy Book

When news of a possible Alien Race presence spread through the castle, an atmosphere of tension and fear enveloped Gistana Castle.

Some even worried they would be controlled by the Alien Race, just like Jesus had been.

Fortunately, however, Elron conducted round after round of checks but found no signs of anything suspicious on any Knight or servant.

「Time passed quickly, and soon it was late at night.」

Perhaps due to the thin air of the highlands, the stars and the full moon in the sky appeared even brighter and more brilliant.

Even without the aid of Magic Energy Lamps, the starlight and moonlight were bright enough to clearly illuminate the castle grounds.

"Alright, everyone is dismissed!"

Elron waved a weary hand, dismissing the last group of people waiting to be inspected.

He still hadn’t found anything.

"Perhaps there isn’t an Alien Race in the castle after all," he said.

Valgis frowned. He had actually hoped they would find one. That way, he could finally resolve his family’s crisis.

’Now that we’ve found nothing, where could the source be?’

Suppressing his anxiety, he said, "Mr. Elron, it is getting late, and you have expended a great deal of your Mana and Spiritual Power. I think we should stop here for tonight."

Elron sighed. "I suppose that’s all we can do for now."

After so many hours of inspections, he was indeed exhausted.

Accompanied by Valgis, the two walked across the front courtyard toward the quarters that had been arranged for Elron.

But as they passed a flowerbed, Elron stopped dead in his tracks.

He clearly sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation coming from the middle of the flowerbed ahead.

The fluctuation was extremely faint. If not for Elron’s acute sensitivity to Anomalous Energy, he might never have noticed it.

"What is it?" Valgis asked, confused.

Elron didn’t answer. Instead, he cast the Light of Inquiry, and a strange, dark aura immediately materialized in his vision.

The aura seemed to sense the danger and abruptly retracted, leaving everything calm once more.

A slight smile touched Elron’s lips. "Your Grace, I believe I’ve found the source of this so-called Curse!"

Valgis’s spirits soared, his astonishment mixed with delight. "Truly?"

Elron stepped into the flowerbed and pointed to the ground. "That strange, dark aura is coming from the earth beneath our feet."

Valgis looked puzzled. "This flowerbed..."

A memory flashed through his mind. It seemed that the problems with his children and grandchildren had indeed started, one after another, right after this garden was landscaped.

Most importantly, they all loved to come here to play and stroll.

"Damn it!"

Anger flashed across Valgis’s face. "Guards! Have Yulan bring the Knights over. I want this patch of ground dug up!"

’I was planning to get some rest,’ Elron thought, ’but it looks like I’ll have to wait a bit longer.’

’He was very curious. Why did this energy specifically target members of the Gistana Clan and no one else?’

’From Duke Valgis’s wife down to his grandchildren, all of them were core family members.’

’Could someone be targeting them on purpose?’

Soon, the Knight Yulan arrived with a team of men carrying pickaxes, shovels, and other tools. They tore out all the flowers in the bed and began to dig.

One meter, two meters, three meters...

Not until they had dug a full six meters down did a strange, frenzied fluctuation emanate from below.

Valgis let out a low shout as the aura around him erupted.

The sheer might of a Silver Moon Knight instantly quelled the disturbance.

"Keep digging!"

The Knights resumed their digging.

When they reached a depth of ten meters, the strange creature below seemed to realize it couldn’t escape. It let out a piercing shriek, causing all the Knights present to freeze, their expressions slack, the pickaxes in their hands forgotten.

Even the Golden Knight Yulan, who was commanding from above, had a momentary lapse of concentration.

At that very moment, a massive, pale, spectral entity burst from the earth, roaring as it charged toward the edge of the garden.

As if Valgis would let it escape. He took a single, great stride and blocked its path.

"You nearly destroyed my family, and you think you can just run away?"

He thrust out a palm, his Fighting Qi coalescing into a massive handprint that slammed into the spectral entity, blasting it to pieces.

The entity shrieked in pain, only to re-form and attempt an escape in another direction.

"It’s an Undead—a unique creature composed of energy."

Elron cast his Purification Skill. Light enveloped the Undead’s entire body, instantly incinerating it to dust, which then vanished from the world.

"An Undead?"

Valgis asked in surprise, "Is it similar to the Witch Soul Race?"

"Not quite."

Elron explained, "When a Wandering Soul fails to dissipate completely and instead absorbs the world’s dark power, it can form this unique type of creature."

As he spoke, he descended to the bottom of the pit, took a pickaxe, and turned over the earth a few times. Soon, a skeleton was revealed to everyone.

Even though it was only a skeleton, everyone who looked directly at it felt a palpable sense of dread.

Valgis was stunned. "What in the world is this!"

His castle had stood for decades, yet not only had this skeleton not decayed, it was perfectly preserved. It was utterly unbelievable.

More importantly, it could somehow unsettle his very spirit.

Elron said nothing. He bent down and picked up a black book lying beside the skeleton. The skeletal design on its cover was grim and terrifying.

"A Necromancy Book!"

Memories flooded his mind.

"This is the corpse of the Lord of the Undead, Klein, from over a thousand years ago!"

Elron exclaimed in amazement, "He was one of the Demon Kings serving under the Demon God, and his power reached the Sage Level!"

Valgis gasped. "How could he have died here? Didn’t Sophia say he was on the Crescent Continent?"

"The war a thousand years ago spread across both continents long ago."

Elron used Magic to purify the dark aura clinging to the Necromancy Book.

The book contained no text, but rather six pages of Summoning Array Maps. When activated with Necromancy Mana, they could summon Skeleton Warriors of the silver, Gold, Meteor, Silver Moon, Proud Sun, and Legendary Levels, respectively.

These summons were supplementary and wouldn’t count against a Necromancer’s normal summoning limit.

’The Lord’s wedding is coming up, and I still haven’t prepared a gift. This Necromancy Book would be perfect for the future Lady.’

While thinking this, Elron explained to Valgis, "Long ago, there was a Flame Expedition Army whose founder, the Flame War God, came from the Orland Continent. I’ve heard that the Flame War God slew the Master of the Undead. Perhaps this very spot was the site of that battle from a thousand years ago!"

’The Flame War God... that was Ridder’s teacher.’

’The Undead from before was born from inhabiting the Sage’s remains, granting it a degree of intelligence. That’s why it set its sights on the masters of the castle.’

’Its methods of control were simply too crude. It couldn’t handle its Puppets properly, leading to their deaths one after another.’

’As for why Duke Valgis himself was unharmed...’

’The answer was simple: the old man was a Silver Moon Knight, his power and willpower far too formidable.’

’The Undead wouldn’t have dared try to control him; it probably didn’t even dare show its face anywhere near him.’

Valgis was stunned. ’My own castle... was the battlefield of a war between gods? Who would believe it?’

’But looking at the skeleton at his feet, it seemed to be the only possible explanation.’

"Your Excellency, Magic Master, in your opinion, is this place still safe to live in?"

Elron smiled. "I will continue to inspect the entire castle over the next two days. When I leave, I will also take this skeleton back to the Wubei Territory for research. It should be perfectly fine to continue using the castle."

’The remains of a Sage... This is a real treasure.’

’Although Elron’s own research in this area was limited, Sophia’s knowledge was vast. She would surely be able to make use of it.’

’A Necromancy Book and the remains of a Sage Level expert. Ronin sending him to the Gistana Duchy to help had certainly not been a wasted trip.’

’Oh, right.’ A smile spread across Elron’s face.

’That matter Ronin tasked me with—negotiating a partnership with Valgis—should be no problem at all now.’

Elron pondered, his mind drifting to something Ronin had mentioned during their conversation.

Ronin had said, ’If we can find a way to bring the Gistana Duchy into the Wubei Territory’s camp, we’ll have the strength to act as a deterrent against the Ference Duchy.’

Thinking of this, Elron smiled. "Your Grace, regarding young Gano, I have one more piece of advice for you."

When it came to his family, Valgis dared not be dismissive. "Please, go on!"