The woman trembled violently, a chill creeping up her spine.
“Are you saying... I've been... marked?!”
“Was it you? Did you do this?!”
Qimeng merely sighed.
“Rest in peace.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the woman witnessed the most shocking and unbelievable sight of her life.
From behind the silver-white female swordsman, countless massive, pure white roots unfurled like a monster spreading its wings!
The roots lunged in all directions, shredding the demon corpses scattered on the ground. Within a few short seconds, even the physical body of that Dominator Rank demon general was reduced to a flurry of ash!
“What... what kind of monster is this...”
Before she could finish, one of the white roots tapped her chest.
The life force, mana, and even the soul inside her body were being forcibly drained away.
The light in the woman's eyes went out.
In the final moment as her strength faded, her arm fell limp. A single tear of regret slipped from the corner of her eye, melting into the dirt.
The pitying gaze of the former king of the Gem Kingdom flashed before her eyes once more.
In this life... perhaps she really had made a mistake.
Her only regret was that she had personally killed the one person in this world who truly loved her.
Her vision faded into eternal darkness.
An unknown amount of time passed.
“Gasp!”
The woman suddenly leapt up, gasping for air!
However, the expected sensation of air rushing into her lungs never came.
No matter how wide she opened her mouth, her chest felt completely empty. Not a single breath of air flowed in or out.
She didn't need... to breathe anymore?
She froze, reflexively raising her hands.
Her skin had taken on an unnatural pallor, and the blood in her veins had stopped flowing. In its place was a surging energy of death!
Her neck felt slightly cold.
Reaching up to touch her throat, she felt a black pattern that felt like a brand.
Was that... the Ring of Death?!
“Am I... dead? Or have I become... a ghost?”
She stared blankly at her hands, her mind completely blank.
“You're awake?”
A pleasing voice reached her ears.
The woman abruptly looked up.
By the flickering campfire not far away sat a petite girl.
In the girl's hands was a black magic book.
The moment she saw that black book, an instinctive will from the depths of her soul shattered her sense of autonomy!
Absolute obedience.
Inviolable authority.
That was her master!
The supreme existence who had granted her a second life!
Without needing her brain to issue a command, the woman's body moved faster than her thoughts.
Her knees slammed onto the ground as she lowered her head respectfully.
“Greetings... Master.”
“Yes.”
Qimeng acknowledged her with a nod and casually closed the magic book in her hands.
After devouring the corpses of the adventurers and demons, the Dominator Rank demon general, and the broken body of the powerful human woman before her, the barrier of the Extraordinary Rank within her finally shattered!
She had officially stepped into the 【Dominator Rank】!
Not only that, but the magic book had also converted this exceptionally talented woman into a brand-new undead vassal.
“An extra Dominator Rank female swordsman... Not a bad harvest at all.”
Qimeng walked over with her hands behind her back, looking down at the newly turned Corpse Princess kneeling before her.
“Tell me about your past.”
The kneeling woman kept her head low and laughed self-deprecatingly.
“My... my past is nothing more than a pile of unsightly filth.”
“Oh? Perhaps... we should start with your name first?”
The woman's eyes, brimming with the energy of death, were filled with disgust for her past.
“My name is... it's...”
“Alright, alright. If it's too painful to say, then there's no need to speak of it. The past you is already dead anyway. This lord shall bestow a new name upon you.”
“Hmm... Let's call you Helena! Your full title will be Undead Sword Princess Helena! Doesn't that sound incredibly imposing?”
“He... Helena. Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Master.”
Helena, the female swordsman, murmured her new name before bowing respectfully.
Qimeng's gaze fell upon the sacred gem sword lying beside Helena.
“But speaking of which, that greatsword of yours is a bit too eye-catching, isn't it? If you carry it around like that, every adventurer in the world will come hunting us down. Is there a way to conceal it?”
Helena bowed her head and replied.
“Please rest assured, Master. This gem greatsword transforms according to its wielder's magic attribute. Since my body is now filled with the energy of death, I only need to channel this death energy to envelop the blade, suppressing its original light.”
“Oh? Give it a try, then!”
Helena complied, and a stream of pitch-black death energy surged from her palm.
As the death energy enveloped the entire greatsword, the brilliant, multicolored divine weapon lost its luster. The gems embedded on the blade turned pitch-black, making it look like a simple piece of black iron ore.
“Wow, that is so cool!”
Qimeng clapped her small hands together.
This effectively rendered that double S-rank bounty useless.
Who could possibly associate this dull, pitch-black iron sword with some legendary national treasure?
Qimeng casually tossed out a set of dark light armor.
“Here, put this on. Black armor with a black sword—a perfect dark female swordsman! Let's see who can recognize you now.”
“As you command.”
Helena donned the black armor and strapped the black stone greatsword to her back.
Qimeng was highly satisfied with both the strength and appearance of her newly recruited undead enforcer.
“Listen closely, Helena. Once we reach the vicinity of the Demon Tower, find a way to secure a slot and slip inside. The tower has many branching paths. In case I take a wrong turn, having you as backup will give us a better chance of success.”
“This subordinate understands!”
Having assigned the task, Qimeng and Helena split up.
Qimeng continued to wander the wild forest around the Demon Tower, searching for her next target to devour.
Unfortunately, powerhouses of the Dominator Rank were simply too rare.
Even if she sensed one or two, they were usually surrounded by heavily guarded escorts, making them difficult to target.
“In this area, probably only those S-rank adventure groups have Dominator Rank experts. Calculating it this way, my superficial strength is roughly equivalent to an S-rank adventurer?”
Unfortunately, in the eyes of others, Qimeng—clad in low-key silver armor with her face covered—was merely a lone, nameless female swordsman.
She carried neither a high-ranking adventurer badge nor a knightly medal, making her look entirely like an unverified pawn.
The closer she got to the Demon Tower, the fewer withered trees there were.
The Demon Tower was situated on a barren expanse of scorched black rock.
The colossal tower loomed in the center, and the open ground below was packed with campsites belonging to various factions.
Everyone maintained a distance of a dozen meters from one another, keeping their guard up.
The Demon Tower would open within the next two days. According to custom, it would randomly spew out a limited number of entry stone plaques when the time came.
Only those who snatched a plaque would be allowed entry, which meant this place would soon turn into a battlefield.
As Qimeng looked around for a rock to sit on, several ill-intentioned adventurers approached her.
“Oh, little sister, all by yourself? Why don't you come over to our camp and sit with us? We'll make sure you're well taken care of~’
“We're a B-rank adventure group, so safety is guaranteed with us~”
The burly man leading them rested a battle-axe on his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with lecherous intent.
Qimeng rolled her eyes.
She had been a guy in her past life, so how could she not know what these fellows were thinking? Seriously, these guys were incredibly bold. Ignorance truly was bliss.
With a cold face, she turned away, casually glancing at Helena sitting in the distance.
She wondered why these pests hadn't gone to bother Helena, but upon closer inspection, she realized that Helena was intentionally emitting death energy, ensuring that no one dared to step within three meters of her.
“Alright, I get it.”
Qimeng sighed inwardly.
Qimeng kept her expression cold and ignored them, expecting them to leave after finding themselves snubbed. However, seeing himself ignored, the burly man's face darkened.
“You brat! Since you refuse to play nice, I'll start by eliminating you as a potential competitor!”
The burly man raised his battle-axe and swung it down ferociously!
“Well, look at that. Someone's delivering themselves to death's door.”
A cold light flashed in Qimeng's eyes.
Rate on N.U.
