Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 207

"Huff... haah..."

Kalimford entered the central barracks of the encampment, panting heavily.

Inside lay his longtime friend Melberot, barely clinging to life. The sight of bandages tightly wrapped around his body reminded Kalimford of the most brutal battle in his memory—the Noir subjugation.

This was the first time since then that Melberot had pushed his body to such extremes.

With this thought, Kalimford barely managed to support his own emaciated frame before collapsing onto a bed opposite his friend.

Since Phee had fallen into critical condition, Kalimford could gradually feel his own body weakening as well.

It seemed certain that when her power finally faded, Kalimford too would reach the end of his life.

'Though I thought I'd lived long enough, death still terrifies me.'

Leaning against the bed, Kalimford broke into a cold sweat. It might have been reckless to charge onto the battlefield multiple times in this condition.

Perhaps he should have stayed behind at Ravenclaw Academy to witness Sirine's final moments.

Yet strangely, no regret welled up within him. Somehow... he'd always sensed this would be his fate.

"Our era is ending, Melberot."

The encampment stood nearly empty, with only the wounded and a few medics remaining after the troops had marched out.

Sitting in this desolate, eerie space, the Grand Mage with his gaunt appearance hugged his staff and chuckled dryly.

"Then a new era will come."

With that, he tightly gripped his failing body and rose once more.

There was still work left to do.

- Thud, thunk.

Derek drew the staff strapped to his back with one hand while gripping his sword in a reverse grip with the other.

- Thud-thud, thunk

After shaking off his fluttering crimson robe, he focused on the sounds that had been echoing since earlier.

Thud, thunk—the noise of something falling. It was... the sound of corpses leaping down from the castle walls above.

Unwilling to open the gates, the enemy forces were jumping from the walls to eliminate the threat before them.

These troops, transcending even death itself, needed no ladders or secret passages—they simply hurled themselves from the battlements, landing with sickening crunches before rising again.

The sight of dozens, then hundreds of corpses dropping one by one to stand again was horrifying enough to shatter any soldier's morale.

The grotesque noises from their mouths sounded more beast than human.

"Huuuuk... hoo..."

Derek took a deep breath before channeling magic throughout his body to unleash a 4-Star combat spell—Large-Scale Spatial Freeze.

For Derek, now proficient even among 4-Star mages, suppressing a force of this size was entirely possible.

- CRACKLE!

- WHOOSH!

- ZZZZT!

A massive surge of magic visible even from the encampment enveloped the area, freezing every corpse around Derek into blocks of ice.

With a clenched fist, Derek shattered them all to pieces.

- CRUMBLE!

Then silence returned.

The corpses had been wiped out so easily. Yet the true horror of these monsters lay not in individual strength.

- Thud-thud, thunk

- Thud, tat-tat-tat!

The endless stream of corpses leaping from the walls showed no sign of stopping.

Their numbers seemed infinite—impossible to estimate.

No matter how talented the mage, pure numerical superiority would eventually overwhelm them.

- SCREEEECH!

And if numbers alone were the issue, this wouldn't be so difficult.

Phee's most refined creation—the Arch Lich—hovered in the sky, shrieking as it gathered restless spirits.

A skeletal humanoid figure draped in tattered cloth floating midair.

The hellish sight forced all who saw it to tremble in fear. Though merely an undead construct created by a necromancer, this monster could wield magic approaching 4-Star levels.

An overwhelming tide of troops, commanded by a high-level mage.

Knights and mages. Frontline and rear.

These mindless monsters formed battle lines and advanced like human armies, pressing their advantage.

Facing them stood a lone frontier noble—someone who could vanish instantly without seeming out of place.

- BOOM!

Of course, Derek's goal wasn't to break through this impossible horde alone—only to draw their attention.

Lure them out, buy time for Princess Rozelyn to open the gates. Once breached, he could charge straight to where the queen slept.

Ideally, he'd thin their numbers first—especially that Arch Lich at the forefront.

- WHEEEEEEN!

- SCREEEECH!

The Arch Lich hovering above gathered massive magic at its mouth before unleashing a blade-like shriek across the battlefield.

4-Star necromancy—Spirit Convergence.

The countless spirits embroidering the night sky coalesced into one, taking form through the Arch Lich's power.

A spell designed to devastate entire areas by imbuing spirits with physical force. Each spirit carried different transformation magic to destroy everything they touched.

Some exploded, others slashed, pierced, or simply crushed bones with brute force.

Their unique properties made countering the varied attack patterns impossible.

'To think I'd see this outdoors.'

The Arch Lich—normally only found in the White Labyrinth's deepest depths.

This necromantic construct typically lurked in shadowy underground labyrinths.

Aside from Phee, Derek had only seen one once before.

4-Star magic and above reached battlefield-scale destruction.

Undoubtedly, this spell was designed to wipe out entire enemy forces at once.

Now it targeted Derek alone.

- BOOM!

- WHOOSH!

Derek leapt forward, kicking aside several corpses before diving straight into the converging spirits.

- CRASH! KABOOM! KRAK-A-THOOOM!

- SWISH! CRACK! SKREEE!

The area was torn apart—exploding, collapsing, burning, pierced through.

Dodging each lethal strike with precise movements, Derek focused on dragging down the Arch Lich.

4-Star spells placed tremendous strain on the caster.

Even a construct made by a 6-Star necromancer would show openings after such massive magic.

Find that gap and strike the killing blow. With this determination, Derek broke through the spirit swarm.

'That's... the Arch Lich!'

- Wheeze! Thud!

Princess Rozelyn, panting as she barely reached the battlements, gaped at the battle raging near the eastern gate.

Derek had truly engaged this army alone—just to clear her path.

Among their elite forces, the Arch Lich itself had taken the field.

Having only heard reports of this creature, Rozelyn swallowed dryly at the sight of the massive deathly figure floating against the night sky.

'You've been fighting... that thing all this time?'

She viscerally understood why necromancers inspired such terror.

Meanwhile, Derek's fireballs blazed brighter against the night, their explosions growing louder.

'No time to be distracted.'

Rozelyn gritted her teeth and scanned the walls.

The area was eerily quiet. Every corpse nearby must have been drawn to the eastern gate to confront Derek.

As she crept along the empty battlements toward the gate mechanism, something grabbed her ankle.

- Groan, uuugh.

"...!"

A corpse risen from the shadows seized her with a grotesque noise.

Startled, Rozelyn fell but suppressed her scream through sheer willpower.

With Derek risking his life as distraction, she couldn't give them away. It was almost instinctive.

- CRUNCH! SPLAT!

Gritting her teeth, Rozelyn kicked the corpse's arm away before rolling aside.

Gasping as she rose, her trembling eyes saw the corpse missing a leg—likely injured in battle, too slow to reach Derek at the eastern gate.

Her legs shook violently, her chin trembling uncontrollably. Right before her, a monster driven only by bloodlust approached to kill.

Death was terrifying indeed. But could it compare to that frontier noble facing countless corpses alone on the plains?

Rozelyn gnashed her teeth and swung the mace from her back with all her might.

More accurately, its weight dragged her arms along as she strained with both hands.

Yet even this was enough to send the near-dead corpse tumbling along the battlement.

- CLANG!

"Huff... huff... hoo..."

Dropping the mace, Rozelyn wiped blood from her cheek with her elegant dress sleeve.

Her heart pounded wildly, sweat pouring down. Though she played the fearless sovereign at camp, this blood-soaked battlefield reminded her—even royalty was just human here.

She'd made her choice.

Clenching her trembling hands, Princess Rozelyn sprinted madly along the wall.

"Huff... that... that's..."

"The Arch Lich... Captain Revens... my comrade Luke... fell to that thing..."

"The eastern gate... if it's there... the Arch Lich went personally to stop Baron Ravenclaw...!"

At the staging area where Commander Luthein assembled troops under orders.

If the gate was breached, Derek would signal with magic, and the assault force would charge in bravely.

The calm before the storm.

In the tense darkness, soldiers shivered like leaves.

After multiple failed assaults, their fear was inevitable.

And one source of that fear.

The ruler of spirits embroidering the night sky above the count's manor. As the Arch Lich appeared... the faces of fallen comrades flashed before their eyes.

The battlefield remained unclear from here.

Only distant specks visible from camp.

But Derek's magical aftermath and the spreading spirit swarm told enough.

Death.

The heavy, suffocating word spread among the troops. Commander Luthein frowned grimly while assessing the situation.

'Morale is broken before we even advance. Past defeats have eaten at their hearts.'

As commander, he maintained composure. Yet unease grew within him.

'In this state... even if the gate opens... will they charge? And if they do... can they hold the battlefield?'

"Guh... ugh...!"

A glance showed the soldier beside him trembling violently as he gripped his spear.

The fear of death consumed their spirits.

Just as this symbol of death—the Arch Lich—dominated the field with terror.

- KABOOM! CRACK!

Another fireball from Derek lit up the night sky.

This one struck the deathly reaper spewing forth spirits.

- BOOM! WHOOSH! CRASH!

"Good to see you on the ground."

Cutting through corpses, Derek charged toward the falling Arch Lich—Phee.

Smoke and flames engulfed the tattered robe... revealing a skull blackened by fire.

He'd finally knocked the skeletal mage from the sky.

Not wasting this chance, Derek grabbed its ribcage and slammed it down again.

- SCREEEECH!

Stomping on the ribs with crushing force, the Arch Lich blasted Derek back with shockwaves before rising again.

- BOOM! CRACK!

As Derek rose from the dirt, the creature tried fleeing.

Having escaped once at Beltus Ducal Manor, Derek—a seasoned mercenary—never let prey escape twice.

Arch Lich Phee.

Phee's most cherished creation.

True to its nature, this monster had blocked imperial forces multiple times during the siege of Elvester Manor, using confusion magic to dominate the area and slaughter allies mercilessly.

Its head had to be taken here. Otherwise, soldiers remembering this reaper's face would hesitate to charge.

- CRUNCH!

Blood poured from Derek's shoulder after several attacks.

Yet he glared up at the Arch Lich and spoke.

"Leaving?"

- SCREEEEEECH!

"No."

- WHOOSH!

- BOOM!

Mana Resonance Phenomenon.

The technique Kalimford taught Derek blasted the Arch Lich back down as it tried to rise.

Derek always planned several moves ahead. Especially against familiar opponents—he memorized all their habits.

This monster always tried to regain altitude after losing ground.

Derek leapt through his own blood spray, seizing the Arch Lich's ribs again.

With a sickening crunch, Derek leaned in to stare into the skull's face.

Blue flames in empty sockets—no other signs of life remained.

Yet anyone watching would understand.

Its creator's most cherished disciple and teacher—Baron Derek Raidof Ravenclaw.

He would mercilessly shatter every bone to dust. As this realization struck—

- BOOM! CRACK!

- SCREEEECH!

Derek's magic-enhanced strike shattered the ribcage completely.

- WHOOSH!

- CRUMBLE!

On the wind-swept plains.

The mage stood over the fallen Arch Lich, cold gaze fixed downward as he crushed it beneath his boot.

Crimson pupils glowing like embers. Hair white as bone.

Annoyed by his fluttering collar, he shrugged before staring down at the barely twitching monster.

Death comes for all equally.

Even this deathly Arch Lich was no exception.