Chapter 1: The King’s Resurrection

Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

With a population of approximately 80,000, it is a mid-sized city located on the Jade Bight of the German North Sea.

Part of Lower Saxony, Germany’s second-largest federal state, it is governed directly by the state.

Wilhelmshaven is one of the central cities of Lower Saxony and joined the “Bremen-Oldenburg

Metropolitan Region,” an urban alliance in northwestern Germany, in 2006.

The once-prosperous harbor has since been transformed into a modern, ice-free deep-water port.

Across the vast expanse of the sea, no floating ice remains to obstruct the passage of ships.

The harsh weather had turned all of Northern Europe into a world of ice and snow.

Following the Era of Destruction, this place was completely abandoned.

The towns were dismantled and converted into warehouse complexes.

Currently, this port maintains the trade routes between the struggling people of Northern Europe and the United Kingdom.

It continues to hold its vital position among the ports of Europe.

In the heart of the city, the original site of the North Sea Shopping Center had been repurposed.
The Nicolae family, who currently lead Western Europe, converted it into a regional palace.

“This world’s fragility needs to have its limits.”
Touching the frost flowers blooming on the castle window, the young girl sighed.

Recently, tides stirred by marine magic beasts had nearly submerged this city, which sat at an average elevation of only two meters.

Flood barriers were essential to prevent the massive surges from rushing into the harbor.

The importance of the port was self-evident.

For this reason, the Nicolae family was currently overwhelmed, struggling to allocate enough personnel to deal with the marine beasts.

“Miss Rhein, the magic beasts causing trouble in the northern part of the harbor have all been eliminated.”

A guard pushed open the door and placed the report in his hand onto the luxurious desk in the center of the room.

“Thank you for your hard work.”
The girl named Rhein shifted her gaze away from the window.

Her silver-silk hair cascaded down, and her crimson eyes resembled meticulously crafted works of art.

Her white gown complemented her delicate face, making her appear exceptionally elegant.

“There is one more thing, Miss Rhein. Old Brand seems to have found what the family has been yearning for. His carriage has already arrived below.”

“Very well. Have him bring it up.”
Rhein sat back down at her desk and began flipping through the mountain of reports.

“Understood. Miss Rhein, please remember to rest. As the Saint, your health is of the utmost importance.”

“I will.”
Rhein offered a smile to the guard as he closed the door, then put on the round-framed glasses resting by her side.

However, the quiet working environment did not last long.

A middle-aged man with a face full of stubble burst into the room with reckless abandon.

The man looked incredibly rugged, with short-cropped white hair and a long scar running across his unkempt, exposed chest.

As he slammed the door shut, his booming voice echoed through the room.

“Little Rhein! I’ve brought something amazing this time!”

“Uncle Brand, I recall telling you to knock before entering.”

“Eh? Did I disturb your work? My apologies!”

The large man gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Your uncle is getting old and is used to being uncouth, haha!”

“What have you brought this time? I hope it isn’t another nine-headed chimera; I won’t eat that kind of thing again.”

“How could it be? Besides, didn’t you love eating that when you were a child?”

The man puffed out his chest with a proud smile.

Then, he slowly unzipped a sleeping-bag-like object he had placed on the floor.

“I’ve brought you… an incredible monster!”

When the bag was opened, even Rhein knit her brow.

She saw what appeared to be a blood-stained corpse.

It was clearly long dead, bearing numerous marks of cuts, bites, frostbite, and sun exposure.

There wasn’t a single hint of vitality to be felt.

“Are you saying you picked up a mummy that’s been dead for years?”
Rhein looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you go to Egypt and bring back Ramesses II?”

She crossed her arms and looked at Brand helplessly.

But just as she was about to scold him, she instinctively bit her tongue.

Why hadn’t a corpse this badly damaged rotted away to the bone?

“I should say he isn’t quite dead yet~”
Brand stepped forward and peeled back the corpse’s eyelids.

A glaze-like black light suddenly flashed.

The moment Rhein’s eyes met the corpse’s, she felt as if she were witnessing the cycle of life and death, and mountains of corpses amidst a sea of blood.

She collapsed to her knees with a thud, feeling as if the resentment of the entire world was surging toward her.

“Pupil… Magic? What a terrifying… fellow.”
Only when Brand closed the corpse’s eyelids was Rhein liberated from that horrific pressure.

“Give it a try, little girl. The fact that he can release magic proves his ‘heart’ still exists and his flesh has not decayed.”

“Does a deceased Human King truly exist? And he can stay in this state of the living dead?!”

“A thing like a Human King is as mysterious as the Counter Wheel. We should believe in this gift the world has granted to humanity.”

After speaking, Brand gave a chuckle and lay down directly on the guest sofa.

“Are they… like familiars or ghouls?”

“’Ghoul’ is a poor choice of words. The secret records state that a Human King is a species different from humans. Their immense power is something a human body cannot withstand. At the very least, the scale of their ‘heart’ and our ‘core’ are completely different.”

Brand lazily blinked his eyes.

“So, in a sense, they are similar to a type of device. They lead humanity through the generations, and they do not lose their inherent value simply because of the death of an individual.”

“Does the future of humanity still rely on the dead for protection? I really don’t know what the three Grand Marshals of Magic were thinking.”

“The levels that legends in magic can reach are beyond our understanding. Even though you are already a Saint Magician, without enough experience and tempering, you are still far off.”

“I wanted to go see them, but Grandfather refused. He even cut off my connection with the Temple of Magic.”

Rhein rolled up the long sleeves of her gown and drew a magnificent engraving knife.

“I’ll have a word with the Old Ancestor when the time comes. Oh! That’s the Blood-Drawing Engraving Knife.”

Brand sat up, his eyes full of envy.

That was a holy relic of the Nicolae family, a symbol of power used to extract essence blood.

Even he hadn’t seen it for many years; he hadn’t expected it to be in Rhein’s hands.

Rhein ignored Brand’s staring eyes, walked over to the corpse, and knelt down.

Her jade-like hands gently stroked his forehead.

“Then, I shall begin. Though his pupil magic backlash is incredibly strong, I won’t be defeated that easily.”

Rhein forced herself to take a deep breath, psyching herself up.

The sharp tip of the knife cut through her porcelain skin, and a drop of crimson blood emerged.

It looked extremely ordinary, yet seemed to encompass all things in creation.

That drop of blood danced on Rhein’s fingertip like a playful child.

Countless golden lines filled the entire room, and golden symbols leaped through the air.

At this moment, Rhein lost her previous composure.

Her eyes reflected a brilliant golden light.
Her beautiful face turned pale, and beads of crystalline sweat seeped from her skin.

Those were the golden threads that wove together every corner of her magic core!

Rhein shook her slender fingers, guiding the threads onto the corpse’s forehead.

“Headless Knight, wandering the ruined outskirts of an ancient kingdom, I entrust your soul with my body of Saint Magic. Resurrection of the Dead!”

Rhein’s pupils turned gold, and the light projecting from her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Gold and red runes manifested in the surrounding void, eventually forming a massive magic circle that enveloped the corpse.

Not just her eyes, but her entire gown was trimmed with gold light.

Waves of golden magic power coiled around her like a roaring fire.

This was the secret technique of the Nicolae family—The Saint’s Holy Body.

It allowed the user to briefly gain the power of past ancestors to amplify their physical strength and magic core fluctuations.

A massive roar echoed from within the magic circle as countless runes merged into the corpse, suspending it in mid-air.

The gaping wound over the heart made Rhein feel a pang of distress.

She could almost imagine the despair and helplessness this youth faced before his death.

Suddenly, the surrounding space vibrated violently.

Rhein felt as though she were being pierced through by a pair of eyes.

Even without making direct eye contact, she could feel a heart-pounding ocular power.

The corpse before her opened its eyes.

Those terrifying eyes seemed to see through all things in the world, past and present.

In that instant, black blood that had not finished flowing during his life surged out.

For a moment, Rhein felt her world turn grey and white.

She felt as if she were standing in a white world, watching black feathers drift across the sky.

She saw the youth being hunted by magic beasts, pinned to a cross, and watching his loved ones being crushed by a god-like figure, only to die in bitter resentment.

“This is him—the Human King you were destined to meet. Half-breed, your bloodlines will be connected here.”

A majestic yet dry voice rang out from behind.

An old man stood behind Rhein, leaning on a large scythe.

He was watching her silently.

In that moment, it was as if she had locked eyes with Death itself.

It was something even more terrifying than the youth’s pupils.

“Um… excuse me, where is this? And who are you?”
After an awkward silence, Rhein overcame her inner fear and spoke.

“You have no need to know who I am. But compared to that self-righteous god, I and my kind are not your enemies.”

Hearing the old man’s words, Rhein finally breathed a sigh of relief, but she still instinctively stepped back.
After all, everyone prefers to stay as far away from death as possible.

The old man gave a noncommittal cold snort.
“This is the world inside his heart, and the world reflected by his ancestors.”

“’He’? Who are you referring to?”

“The Human King you have chosen—Li Ruoyi Tepes.”

“Li Ruoyi Tepes?”
Rhein repeated the name, deep in thought.
“Could he be a descendant of the family of Vlad Tepes, the Grand Duke of Romania?!”

“Indeed. He will become the key to correcting this world.”
The old man’s voice remained cold, sounding like a funeral bell tolling in the distance.

“Then what should I do…”

The old man smiled and pulled up the scythe, holding it in his hand.
“Little girl, when you awaken him and see me again, I will naturally tell you everything you want to know. Follow the guidance of the bloodline.”
With that, he swung the scythe down at Rhein.

Rhein’s consciousness felt as if it had been struck by a heavy blow.
When her vision refocused, she was back in front of the corpse.

“Your name is Li Ruoyi Tepes! If you have any lingering attachments to this world, then return!”
Rhein formed hand seals.

When she looked into those eyes now, she could no longer feel the terrifying pressure from before.

In its place was only the arrogance of a superior being.

A blurry silhouette appeared behind the corpse.

A blinding black light, accompanied by an explosion, reduced half the castle to ruins.

“May I ask the name of the summoner?”
The voice seemed to come from the void, piercing through everything and making one feel the weight of a superior existence.

“Evette Rhein Nicolae, of the Nicolae family of Germany. Successor of the Saint, one of the twelve Saint Magicians of the Temple of Magic.”

Rhein withdrew her hands.

The magic fluctuations across her body vanished.

Her eyes held only excitement, for this was the first time she had felt a power she could not comprehend—aside from that of the Supreme Magic Sovereigns.

“Li Ruoyi Tepes. Offspring of Vlad Isis, head of the Romanian noble Vlad family, and Li Tianmo, Saintess of the Chinese Senra Palace. Possessor of the Eyes of Life and Death.”

Amidst the smoke and the blizzard outside, a youth in black noble attire named Li Ruoyi appeared before Rhein and a dumbstruck Brand.