The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

As if proving the tales of the dark knight’s valor when alive, the sword grasped in the gauntleted right hand spewed forth a pale, ash-colored Aura Blade. Before the Red Dragon Knights stood a death knight—an undead existence that had once been a Transcendence Tier swordsman.

This was just the beginning, as an uncountable number of death knights began to pour forth from Cruella’s magic circle.

“It’s been a long time since you summoned us, witch!”

The leading death knight greeted warmly, and the others who followed muttered their own remarks.

“Is this a Corroded Realm? If it’s anything less than this, it’d be boring.”

“So, this is Nastrond! To think I’d return in death to the place where my life ended. I’ll be able to have my revenge.”

“Stop embarrassing yourselves in front of your descendants, you old relics!”

“And you, pretending to be young—you’ve been dead for over a century, haven’t you?”

The voices of over five hundred death knights filled the air, their psychic waves creating a vortex so intense it materialized.

Each and every death knight was the highest-ranked Undead. Not only had they retained the strength of their former lives, but they were now a group of immortal Swordmasters. Their bodies, reinforced with a Class 9 Grand Magus’s necromancy, were far more durable than before. If not for their inability to wield unique traits, their combat capabilities would have surpassed their living selves.

“By the Oath of the Fallen Guardians, I hereby command you,” Cruella said, her expression devoid of its usual lethargy. “Your task is to delay the Undead Legion and preserve the expeditionary force’s strength. The confrontation with the apostle will be handled by the current Red Dragon Commander. Fight until the Corroded Realm becomes normalized. That is your duty.”

These were beings who, in life, had fought for their houses, bloodlines, and missions. Even in death, they had risen again to continue their fight. Regardless of their rank, they deserved the utmost respect.

Clang!

The death knights answered the command with decorum, raising their swords in acknowledgment. These knights of death, who retained their beliefs and identities even after death, had not forgotten their mission as a Cardenas.

Wielding their swords ablaze with Aura Blades and their resolute sense of duty, the death knights surged forward to face their enemies without hesitation.

“For the unwavering victory of the Cardenas family!”

“Eternal glory to Arcadia!”

Over five hundred death knights collided with the Undead Legion’s forty-thousand-strong vanguard.

Boom!

Despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, the death knights’ strength was even more overwhelming. With one sweep of their ash-colored Aura Blades, dozens of ghouls exploded, creating gaps in the enemy’s ranks. These death knights, veterans in life and tireless warriors in death, exploited these gaps without fail.

The moment the two armies clashed, the Undead Legion began to collapse from the front lines, pushed back in utter disarray.

It was an inevitable outcome.

“Don’t break through! Breaking through is meaningless!”

“Push forward as a front, not as individuals! Keep advancing!”

Even as the death knights advanced in a two-row formation, a single swing of their swords pushed the Undead Legion back several meters. Despite the Undead throwing themselves forward with suicidal desperation, the death knights maintained their overwhelming dominance.

Their bodies, corroded by poison, shattered, with fragments even eating away at their armor. But an Undead had no reason to hold back. The magical energy of the Class 9 Grand Magus would repair their bodies, and mere armor damage was no cause for hesitation.

Cruella’s earlier statement, “The only thing that can defeat Undead is even stronger Undead,” was now an undeniable reality.

This is terrifying.

Even Leonard, a seasoned warrior, found himself awestruck by the death knights’ unstoppable momentum.

Though similar to the Undead Legion, who were also not bound by breath or physical stamina, the death knights advanced relentlessly without pause. The Class 9 Grand Magus’ unceasing supply of mana, combined with external laws permitting the existence of the Undead, granted the death knights even greater advantages than their undead foes.

Though they couldn’t claim more privileges than the Undead Legion bound to this hellish realm, compared to the living, they were indeed formidable.

“What do you think? How does it feel to witness the ancestors of the Cardenas family in action?” Cruella, who had summoned the death knight legion and buffed them all with support magic, descended beside the two.

Wade did not answer, his expression one of detached familiarity. Leonard, on the other hand—whose experience with the Undead was only limited to ghost ships—was overflowing with thoughts.

If he recalled correctly, as Calantha once said: “The Wickeline family—no, the Arcane Society itself—strictly prohibits what you just described. When someone is made into an Undead, there needs to be documentation of them or their family giving consent. But this excludes those who pose a threat to our world, such as Demoniacs.”

Even a Class 9 Grand Magus couldn’t simply raise death knights without proper preparation. The Undead a mage of that caliber could raise from something like a farmer’s corpse would at best be a ghoul.

This implied that Cruella had possessed this legion of death knights even before entering the Corroded Realm.

Noticing Leonard’s gaze, Cruella said, “You guessed correctly. Only those who signed contracts with our school during their lifetimes became death knights. They serve of their own free will.”

It was a pact between the Wickeline family’s necromancy school and the Seven Great Orders of the Cardenas family.

Even in a family overflowing with Transcendence Tier knights—so rare they were hardly seen outside the empire—the casualties incurred each year were staggering.

It was inevitable. The Cardenas stood at the front lines, fighting Celestials, Demoniacs, Void Deities, and Outer Gods. Knight Commanders and Demigod Tier knights often failed to live out their natural lifespans, let alone Transcendence Tier knights.

So, a Wickeline Grand Magus once proposed, “If the individual consents, why not raise them as an Undead after death? Clauses guaranteeing no unjust orders and promising eternal rest upon their wish should be included.”

The ill reputation of dark mages and necromancers stemmed from their tendency to exploit the dead and their graves without consent. If they dig up the grave of an unknown person and try to use their corpse as they please, it would inevitably stir up conflict. On the other hand, if they paid fair compensation and established principles the deceased could agree with, public perception would possibly change.

“The terms of the contract are incredibly generous. They can continue to see their families, lovers, and comrades, with financial support included. Some choose this path just to keep fighting until an era of peace finally dawns.”

The Seven Great Orders’ centuries-long battle was fundamentally a delay. Unless all Celestial and Demoniacs, Void Deities, and Outer Gods were eradicated or the world’s vulnerabilities were mended, the battle could not truly end.

Understanding this, knights at the twilight of their lives chose not to rest but to serve for the sake of the future generation’s peaceful era.

Leonard’s curiosity finally burst forth. “Lord Cruella, may I ask you something?”

Cruella chuckled softly as if expecting Leonard’s inquiry. “I know what you want to ask. Sorry, but I can’t tell you. I hope you understand.”

“…Yes.”

Watching their exchange, Wade growled, “Cruella, I won’t tolerate further breaches of confidentiality.”

“I don’t plan to. You, too, only allowed this much because you thought it was fine. Why blame me for everything?”

“Learn to phrase your words more subtly.”

“At my age, why should I care about what kids think? You’re as stiff as ever.”

Their bickering was childish for beings of their stature. Leonard, however, had no room for amusement or to lament about the situation. He was lost in thought because of Cruella’s response.

I wanted to ask whether there was a Knight Commander who’d turned into an Undead, but the answer I received was that she couldn’t tell me.

If there wasn’t one, she could have simply said so honestly. The very fact that she couldn’t answer truthfully was as good as confirming that an Undead at the Demigod Tier existed.

A death knight who, in life, had once served as the commander of the Seven Great Orders. That being was likely the strongest in Cruella’s arsenal.

“Enough. Let’s end this chatter here,” Wade interjected irritably, casting a sharp glance at Cruella, who’d been prattling beside him.

His gaze shifted to the battlefield, where the two Undead forces clashed.

The death knights and the Undead Legion. At first glance, the death knights seemed overwhelmingly dominant, cutting down their foes as effortlessly as slicing through weeds. Yet, the number of Undead from Nastrond wasn’t diminishing. In fact, what had started as a force of forty thousand had swelled to over fifty thousand.

Perhaps because the expeditionary force had advanced several hundred meters from their initial clash point, the influence of the Corroded Realm had grown stronger, and the level of the Undead from Nastrond had risen.

“The Undead Legion was once just ghouls and zombies, but now they also have specters and ghasts. If this is how it looks at the outskirts, I wouldn’t be surprised if liches and death knights emerge in the deeper parts,” Wade said.

“If that happens, I won’t be able to manage it alone. You’ll have to step in yourself or coordinate with the Red Dragon Knights,” Cruella retorted.

Leonard reinforced his vision to better observe the flow of the battlefield. He observed that the momentum of the Undead Legion was gradually strengthening even though Cruella’s Undead army still held the upper hand.

It looks like the Red Dragon Knights will have their work cut out for them starting tomorrow.

Cruella needed mana to summon and support hundreds of death knights, and her mana was not infinite, even if her Undead had limitless stamina.

Considering her Class 9 mana reserves and the influence of Nastrond, she would still need time to recover. The Red Dragon Knights had to carefully conserve resources while maintaining the frontlines.

Leonard let out a deep sigh as he watched the Red Dragon Knights slowly advance behind the death knights.

…A living hell is about to begin.

Unfortunately, his prediction proved accurate.

* * *

The very next day, the battle between the death knights and the Undead Legion continued without pause, not even for a single second. Being Undead, they knew no fatigue, and their strikes never dulled. Fearless of death, they pressed forward relentlessly.

Cruella, observing the stalemate, spoke up, “I can only hold the line for five more minutes, and then I’ll need thirty minutes to recover. I’ll leave it to you during that time.”

“Mmm,” Wade replied.

Her mana hadn’t yet reached critical levels, but exhausting her reserves would leave no margin to deal with higher-level threats like the apostles. Their side needed to recover and advance at a sustainable pace.

Understanding this, Wade issued orders to the Red Dragon Knights. “Everyone, form squads of four apprentice knights and one formal knight. Deploy in a horizontal formation and maintain the front established by our seniors.”

Though his voice was low, it carried through like a ripple thanks to his energy, functioning like the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission. His voice spurred the Red Dragon Knights into action.

The knights reacted swiftly and adeptly, demonstrating why Wade had stressed the importance of proficiency to Leonard. They had been tangled together in disarray, and now they quickly fell into an orderly formation.

“Advance. Rotate with the frontline as instructed.”

In less than ten seconds, the Red Dragon Knights formed two hundred squads. They took a few steps forward, weaving between the death knights to take up the vanguard.

“Push forward in broad sweeps!”

“Even if you cut them down, they’ll just rise again! Don’t waste effort delivering killing blows—focus on outputting a steady barrage and holding your ground!”

“Maintain spacing so you don’t clash with the squads on your flanks!”

The Transcendence Tier knight advanced two steps ahead, shattering the enemy formation. The four apprentice knights followed, pummeling and kicking the convulsing Undead out of their path.

Even if the Undead shattered, they would reassemble within seconds. Thus, knocking them far away to buy time proved more effective.

The death knights looked on with approval as they retreated to the rear.

“This generation turned out well. Better than the last, wouldn’t you say?”

“Of course! A successor worse than their predecessor is proof of decline!”

“Would it hurt to just praise them outright? Well, let’s take a break.”

True to their status as the highest-ranking Undead, the death knights entered an incorporeal state, exchanging lighthearted banter while easing Cruella’s burden.

Even they needed some rest. Although their stamina was limitless, maintaining their egos needed significant mental energy, which couldn’t be replenished infinitely.

“At this rate, we’ll need to rotate the vanguard every six hours, and the interval will become shorter the closer we get to the heart of the Corroded Realm,” Wade assessed.

Cruella grumbled in agreement, “Judging by how they’re not showing up despite this open brawl, it seems safe to rule out Grabak from the five possible apostles. The remaining four are cowards, so we’ll have to go much deeper to draw them out.”

“So annoying. If only they were some arrogant fool who would attack us head-on,” Wade muttered.

The longer they stayed in the Corroded Realm, the more their side would be worn down.

Unless they were beings at the Demigod Tier whose existence was conceptually elevated, even those at the Transcendence Tier could only delay the inevitable. At most, they had a fortnight. At worst, just a week.

If they failed to defeat the apostles before then, the expedition could end with only Wade and Cruella surviving. Perhaps Leonard, too, given his own abilities.

“Hm?” Cruella, who had been observing the battlefield, tilted her head with an unreadable expression.

Leonard shifted his gaze toward her. Did the Class 9 Grand Magus catch sight of something?

“Wade.”

“What is it?”

“If we could pinpoint the apostles’ locations, would you be able to dive into the deepest parts and make it back alive on your own?”

Wade frowned, puzzled by her sudden question. He replied matter-of-factly, “Of course. If there are three, my chances drop to fifty percent, but I can definitely take on two. But even with the sense of the Cardenas bloodline, we can’t locate the core within the Corroded Realm. You know that.”

“I do. That’s why I’m asking. I think I’ve figured out how to locate the apostles.” A confident smile spread across Cruella’s youthful face. “If I borrow the power of the Dragon Heart, it should be more than possible!”

Startled, Leonard turned to look at her. “Are you talking about me?”

“Exactly! If I connect to your Dragon Heart and temporarily reinforce the world laws eroded by the Corroded Realm, we should get a reaction!”

Within the Corroded Realm, external laws had warped the world, and even a Class 9 Grand Magus couldn’t use their power fully. However, the power source of a dragon existed within its body. Dragons, as the guardians of the world designed to harmonize with the world’s principles, could still resonate with its laws, even in such distorted spaces.

The knowledge tied to dragons had long been forgotten since the disappearance of Ancestor Cardenas.

“But isn’t this an untested method? Can you ensure both your and Leonard’s safety while pulling it off?” Wade asked, remaining skeptical.

“Well, it’ll probably take three days to prepare—I’ll need to rebuild the magic formula from scratch,” Cruella admitted.

“Three days, huh.”

In the Corroded Realm, three days was hardly a trivial amount of time. Even on the premise that they had a week to a fortnight, it was difficult to know the possibility of success.

After a few moments of contemplation, Wade turned to Leonard. “If we go through with this, the apostles will sense your presence and recognize your threat. They might target you first instead of me. What’s your decision?”

“I’ll do it,” Leonard answered without hesitation, knowing full well of the danger ahead.

“Even if they’re Demigod Tier creatures, they’re weaker than you, Commander. I’ll hold out until you take one down and come to assist me.”

“…Hah, you’ve never even seen me fight seriously, yet you’re full of confidence. Fine, it’s your life. Take care of it.”

Despite Wade’s gruff tone, his voice carried an unmistakable hint of amusement—proof that Leonard’s resolve had pleased him.

Turning to Cruella, Wade gave his approval. “Let’s give it a try. If this method works, we might have a lot to follow up on after this expedition.”

“Perfect! I’m being scolded for the lack of research results, so this is a great opportunity. Well then, shall we begin? If you want to back out, now’s your last chance,” Cruella said, clasping Leonard’s hand and locking eyes with him.

Leonard met her gaze without wavering and answered firmly, “Please begin.”