Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 95 – Yep, the world is f*cked.

After converting all of his core members to Agents-

Gerhart arrived in the Dungeon Explorer's guild, accompanied by Anthemius. He brought him over since Max or his necromancer sister might know about his weird bloodline.

When he arrived, he requested a guild clerk to meet the Guild Master. Suddenly after, a scholarly middle-aged man wearing merchant clothes walked over.

"Sir Gerhart! A pleasure to be meeting you." Valens, the Deputy Guild Master, warmly said.

"So this is the SS-rank powerhouse who came here on vacation, hah?" Valens thought.

He and other key figures received information about Gerhart and knew of his strength. Even the king had to bow his head to this person, let alone him!

"Hello, Valens. I want to meet the Guild Master." Gerhart said.

"The Guild Master has been eagerly expecting you for some time. Please, this way." Valens walked to the staircase.

Gerhart and Anthemius followed him to the Guild Master's office. Valens knocked on the door.

"Come in." The youthful voice of a young woman sounded.

"Excuse me," Valens said as he opened the door.

What Gerhart saw was the gloomy office/lair of a generic necromancer. Behind a desk sat a petite, black-haired pale girl, no older than 18, wearing black garbs. When Gerhart saw her, he felt slightly uncomfortable, as if seeing an unnatural being.

"Guild Master, this is Gerhart, the Echo Slayer." Valens introduced.

"Hello there, Sir Gerhart. I am Italica, the Guild Master of this modest establishment." Italica gave a pale smile. She had a cute appearance, like a girl next door. However, the unnatural feeling Gerhart had instinctively made him less attracted to her.

On the other hand, Anthemius seemed almost mesmerized. The unnatural feeling had the opposite effect on him, making him more attracted to her. "What a pretty lady..."

"Hello, Guild Master Italica. Max told me to find you." Gerhart said. 

"So he did." Italica nodded and looked at Anthemius, who looked at her absentmindedly. Somehow, she immediately felt goodwill toward the boy. "And this is?"

"This is Athemius, my new servant. I brought him here for another reason. And he is trusted." Gerhart said.

"I see. Valens, please give us privacy and close the door." Italica instructed.

"Yes. I shall take my leave." Valens said and left the room.

When the door closed, Italica snapped her finger, runes lighting all over the office.

"These are heavy-duty isolation runes. With this, even the gods cannot eavesdrop." Italica promptly explained. "Come and have a seat."

"I see." Gerhart nodded and walked to sit on one of the chairs.

However, Anthemius remained standing.

"Boy, that includes you. Please, sit." Italica smiled, gesturing at another seat.

"Y-Yes..." Anthemius felt bashful as he sat on the offered seat.

"Now, onto business." Italica smiled and turned to look at a coffin in the room. "Dear brother. We have a guest of honor."

Clack* Cree*

The coffin opened as a black-armored Doom Lord walked out, its eyes radiating red soul flames.

"Awesome..." Anthemius's eyes looked at the Doom Lord with sparkling eyes.

Max glanced at the strange boy, his soul flames flickering at the unexpected reaction, before looking at Gerhart, revealing a look of astonishment.

"Tyrant Pup, how did you do that?" Max asked.

"Do what? Counter your True Sight?" Gerhart smiled and asked, feeling smug.

"Yes. Few can counter it. Only greater demons and Echos can do this." Max said.

"I have my ways," Gerhart said as he transformed into his genuine look.

He intentionally wore magical clothes from the dungeon on him, growing along with him. From a 1.9m tall strongman, Gerhart grew into a 2.2m tall mountain of muscles. Engraved on him were golden tattoos, showing majesty and grandeur. Gerhart also partially revealed his status.

This scene shook the pair of siblings to the core.

"You... Pure Blooded Noble? No, it is a fabled Golden Noble Tyrant?! Brother, this isn't a pup! It is a grown, thoroughbred divine wolf!" Italica exclaimed.

"Are you favored by a patron? Or did you stumble upon an ancient Elixir?" Max curiously asked, no longer treating Gerhart as a pup to adopt.

He felt Gerhart's energy back then. He wasn't even a Pure Blood. And yet, a short time later, he was a Golden Noble Tyrant, the stuff of legends. They only knew of the Golden Evolution because they saw God's Chosen once and studied about it.

Max vaguely felt that Gerhart had a divine patron or had a stroke of heaven-defying luck. In a way, he wasn't wrong about that.

Gerhart smiled and didn't comment on it. Instead, he asked the undead siblings, "You left me such baiting words as if to whet my appetite for knowledge. I am indeed curious about everything. What is your connection to the Kerus Dynasty, and what can you tell me about it?"

Italica and Max looked at each other, exchanging a tacit look before Italica explained.

"We are the children of a Kerus Dynasty general from over 200 years ago. One day, he visited the Nehan Kingdom and took a fancy to our mother, who became his concubine, and she birthed the two of us. I was born with powerful necromantic talents, while my brother was a true-born warrior, having a Lesser Tyrant Bloodline. While I became a Living Lich, he became a general in the Kerus Dynasty. But alas, he fell in battle when fighting an Echo. I revived him as a Death Knight, but his strength diminished. Even now, becoming a Doom Lord, he is still weaker than his prime. Having fulfilled our duties to the Kerus Dynasty, we decided to return to the Nehan Kingdom and serve as its hidden guardians. The rest is history." Italica briefly explained.

"However, even now, we are still loyal to the Kerus Dynasty. But there is little we can do. I originally planned to mentor you, but I never thought you were more powerful than I am." Max added.

"I see," Gerhart muttered.

"But what about you? Are you not a prince? Why are you here? As a Golden Noble Tyrant, why are you not contacting your royal father?" Italica curiously asked.

"How do I contact him?" Gerhart asked back.

"Were you not given a Bloodline Amulet? It is your heritage. Even I had one." Max said.

"The Bloodline Amulet lets you communicate with the Emperor and serves as proof of status. Even if abandoned, they would give you an amulet." Italica said.

"I am unsure. But I have a feeling I know where it is." Gerhart honestly replied. It was likely what Mother Roysa wanted him to have once he was strong enough.

"No wonder. Otherwise, your royal father would explain everything to you." Italica shook her head. "The Kerus Dynasty is dying, a husk of its former glory. As a bloodline member of the Kerus Dynasty, the Kerus Emperor knows about you, your bloodline status, and your location through an ancient amulet passed down through generations. He likely already knows about you and wants to meet you."

"He knows?!" Gerhart widened his eyes.

"Yes. Most definitely. I don't doubt your father would have gone to fetch you personally if it didn't risk your safety." Max explained.

"Safety? So I am in danger?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"You are in a dangerous position, I am afraid. The Kerus Dynasty has been targeted for the past several decades, killing off most of its bloodline. If they learn about you, a male Golden Noble Tyrant, the enemies in the dark will attack you, wanting nothing more than to destroy you and prevent the Tyrant Bloodline from returning. You are still not strong enough to face their onslaught." Italica said.

"You should know it by now. Your reproductive abilities as a Tyrant Human are monstrous. A single Pure-blooded Tyrant Human can birth many high-purity Tyrant Humans. And you, a Golden Noble Tyrant, can birth an army of Pure Bloods, creating a clan. The ones targeting the Kerus Dynasty would never have that. If the Tyrant Bloodline gets destroyed, the overall power of humanity will decline." Max explained.

"Is that why I got sent away as a baby to an orphanage?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes. You and many others. Less than two decades ago, in a last-ditch effort, the Kerus Emperor sent many pregnant concubines to faraway lands, birthing you and your half-siblings in safer locations. But all the concubines, without fail, eventually died, whether they accomplished or failed their mission. On the entire Griqix continent, there are likely only a handful of your half-siblings alive, and your mother- I am sorry." Italica shook her head.

"... I see. Thank you for telling me this." Gerhart thanked them.

"It is fine. We are glad to help with whatever meager knowledge we have." Max said.

"Hm. Can you tell me about the Echos and the Corrupted? I want to hear more." Gerhart requested.

"It is an open secret. The Echos are a group of crazed and long-living fanatics, living dozens of times longer than the average lifespan and receiving the blessings of their warped diety. The longer they live, the more terrifying they are. The oldest can fight the Main Temple's Chosen and the Kerus Emperor. Even worse, they can produce Corruption Crystals, which convert regular people to the Corrupted. I assume Ma Yang was one such example." Italica said.

"How strong are they?" Gerhart asked.

"The weakest of the Corrupted is level 50 with all their stats reaching A-grade. However, those are disposable cannon fodder. More prized  Corrupted are level 60 with S-grade stats. The most powerful of the Corrupted are SSS-rak level 100 monsters, the thing that killed me in life. Also, they can deactivate their Corrupt state and receive hiding abilities, helping them blend while avoiding detection methods such as True Sight and Analyze Status." Max gravely said.

"Luckily, such high-tier Corrupted can't be mass-produced. Even for the most ancient Echos, creating one takes a long time, and their lifespans are unusually low, lasting for barely a few days to mere seconds after entering their Corrupted state before dying. They are more akin to trump cards. Of course, some rarely receive the blessing of their warped god, becoming the champions of the Echo. Such individuals can last much longer and retain their sanity. But again, each Echo can only have a few Champions. Also, only the most ancient Echos can produce SSS-rank Corrupted." Italica explained.

Gerhart couldn't help but inwardly sweat. Instant SSS-rank death soldiers! If he met that before, he would likely die!

"Good thing I met a young Echo." Gerhart thanked his luck and decided to try avoiding fighting the Echos for now.

It was never too late to fight them after he conquered a few hundred dungeons and evolved all his talents. Yep.

"What about the Echos?" Gerhart asked.

"The Echos are even more terrifying. The youngest reach S-rank, but they train for decades before becoming active. As for the oldest, they can fight Divine-rank powerhouses, such as the God's Chosen of the main temple." Max explained.

"Luckily, there are only a few of them. Furthermore, the older they get, the more they are afraid of death, so even if confident of succeeding in something, they would think thrice before acting personally, and then ten times more. It significantly lowers their danger levels but makes uprooting them impossible. Some might even be the ruler behind the scenes of large nations, ready to plunge the world into chaos." Italica added.

"Sss..." Gerhart took in a deep breath.

"Yep, the world is fucked." Gerhart thought.

"Furthermore, they have a strange mechanism that transmits a message to all surviving Echos, showing their killer. Through this, the Echos are not only careful but also vengeful against the one who killed one of their members. You are already on their kill list. That was how I was targeted and killed. So be careful from now on." Max said.

"And that is all we know. If you want to know more, I advise looking for the Bloodline Amulet." Italica said.

"Thank you for the information." Gerhart nodded in thanks.

"Hm. By the way- Can you tell us now why you brought the child?" Italica smiled and asked, curiously eyeing Anthemius.

"This is Anthemius, and he awakened a rare bloodline called the Shadow Sovereign Bloodline and has the talent of Shadow Monarch," Gerhart said and turned to Anthemius. "Anthemius, remove your hiding abilities."

"Yes, master." Anthemius readily nodded and removed his cloaking abilities, changing into a gothic-looking boy with black tattoos.

When Italica and Max saw him, they shook. Undead rarely felt a kinship with unknown people, but when they saw Anthemius, they instinctively felt close to him.

"The- Shadow Monarch?! The Shadow Sovereign Bloodline?! That's an extinct ancient holy clan of necromancy!" Italica exclaimed, clearly shaken.

"May I ask where did you find him?" Max was calmer and asked.

"In the Shantytown in Xoirora. Do I need to say more?" Gerhart asked back.

The undead siblings shook again, but this time, from anger. However, they quickly calmed down.

"No. Don't say more. I might start a massacre." Italica shook her head.

"The Shadow Sovereign Bloodline is the holy bloodline of us undead. A pure bloodline member is royalty." Max explained.

"This bloodline has rarely awakened these last few thousand years, and due to the undead being unpopular on this continent, they never received support, even shunned. This child is likely the only Pure Bloodline Member in the last five thousand years since the death of Elaulekai the Paleheart, a Tower Master in the Atasheborg Magocracy. After having a scandal with the temples, the necromancers fell out of favor, and the Shadow Sovereign Bloodline slowly died out. To this day, the Pale Tower is still vacant." Italica sighed.

"By any chance, did he have an intimate relationship with the Chosen of the Life Goddes?" Gerhart suddenly asked.

"How did you know?!" Max and Italica exclaimed.

"Just a blind guess," Gerhart said, not mentioning Flora. He guessed they were likely the descendants of those two powerhouses.

"But why did you bring him here? You could have just asked." Italica said, curious and having hidden expectations.

"I want you to take him as an apprentice and teach him necromancy." Gerhart smiled, guessing her feelings.

"I would be happy to!" Italica burst into a smile and looked at Anthemius with a wide grin. "Would you take me as your teacher in the arts of necromancy, young master Anthemius?"

Dazed by this turn of events, Anthemius couldn't react, so Gerhart nudged him.

"Eh? Ah! Yes! I would be happy to! Please accept me as your disciple, teacher!" Anthemius returned a bright smile.

.

.

.

Leaving Anthemius in the guild, Gerhart left after making a short visit to the dungeon, picking five Divine Bloodlines from the dungeon. They were only at 1%, but he didn't need more.

While outside, he felt the presence of the Corrupted around him. There were several of them, but he didn't sense the Echo, likely hiding far away. From what he learned, the Corrupted could activate and deactivate their Corrupted state, so it wasn't a surprise they blended into the population.

"Should I fight them?" Gerhart asked himself.

Since they were audacious enough to monitor him, they were undoubtedly more powerful than the young Echo he killed. Although unlikely to be ancient monsters, they might still be over 200 years old.

With his current strength, killing them isn't difficult. The real problem was the retaliation of the older Echos after that. They were akin to an annoying clan where the older family members would take revenge for the younger members.

"Forget it. I will handle those bastards later." Gerhart thought.

Just then, he received a message through the Agent link.

[Gerhart. A messenger from the Royal Palace came. They found and seized the property of that Echo.] Hope said.

"Ah, just on time." Gerhart thought.

---

Bucket List:

1. Speak with Max in the Guild.
2. Fetch some bloodlines for his core members.
3. Receive the rest of the compensation from the dead Echo's two identities. (Mostly because he was interested in his identities)
4. Receive S-rank Adventurer Cards. (For convenience)
5. Plant a wealthy and influential Agent in Tabarga and leave the servants with him.
6. Create several more Agents to lay a foundation in the Nehan Kingdom and Corrupt Convert it.
7. Set off to the Youvamore Kingdom.