pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Bismark was thought to have died while protecting the capital. But Ashton always had his doubts. First, he wasn't a weak opponent that someone would manage to take down so easily.
From his experience, Ashton knew it would take more than a few D-rank undead to kill Bismark. Which led Ashton to believe either the ing had abandoned his kingdom or he had been kidnapped.
That's why when Ashton saw the Undead Bismark standing before him, the surprise only lasted for a moment.
"Huh, you remember me?" Bismark smiled, showing off his rotten tongue, "Ad here I thought everybody had forgotten about me since none of you bastards bothered looking for me-"
"Look for you?" Ashton laughed, "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but we were quite preoccupied fighting for our lives."
The undead once again tried to smash Ashton's head to the floor, but this time he couldn't even make him budge. Our hero didn't see any point in hiding his strength anymore.
Despite the amount of undead piling on him, Ashton got back to his feet with minimal effort. The undead were surprised, but Bismark wasn't and knew Ashton had been acting since the beginning.
After all, Bismark trusted Mera wouldn't have raised a weakling by her side, as she was too canny for that. However, he was unaware of the extent Ashton had grown.
The scrawny kid Bismark had seen years ago had grown to be quite a warrior. As for Bismark, there was something wrong with him.
"Don't you want to know how I ended up like this-"
Bismark mumbled, trying to buy time for his lackeys to capture the rest of Ashton's team. After all, facing Ashton head-on would be foolish as he was much stronger than the last time they crossed swords.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in a dead person's monologue." Ashton immediately cut him off before summoning Balmond to chop the elite undead to pieces.
As rotten blood splattered around them, Ashton grabbed Bismark by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
"Though, I could guess why you abandoned your... 'humanity'. You wanted revenge on Lycanians for 'abandoning' you in your twisted sense of justice.
"You almost succeeded in that as well," Ashton continued, "But thankfully, I returned in time to save the people I care about."
"Return?" Bismark questioned.
"You think I got this strong by remaining on Earth?" Ashton scoffed, "I might be a tribrid, but there are limitations even I can't cross without cheating."
Ashton's words confused Bismark. Bismark's only knowledge about outworlders came from what he had overheard during his days in Nirvana.
That said, he couldn't have possibly known about Ashton's battle with the Xyrans and his journey into space. When Bismark realised the meaning behind Ashton's words, he knew fighting him was a mistake.
No one on the damned backward planet could defeat someone like Ashton. Not only was he genetically gifted, but he was superior to everyone else in ways unimaginable by earthlings.
"Tsk... to think I'm weak even after selling my soul to the demon," Bismark sighed in defeat, "Go ahead, do what you have to. It's not like I could stop you either way."
Bismark meant every word he said, but deep down, he was wasting time. Enough time for his minions to return with the hostages. Only then would he have a chance of defeating Ashton and taking over his body as he had intended before 'dying'.
"For a king, you're not a good actor." Ashton shook his head, "Buying time? Do you think something like that would work? Or do you think so little of me to leave my team unattended?"
Just then, there was a loud bang in the distance. A flaming figure could be seen flying in the sky, shooting flames below. Much like Ashton was connected to his summons, Bismark shared a part of his mind with his soldiers.
Within moments he knew what was happening there, and he didn't like it. His 'elites' were superior to resident earthlings, not the guests from space. It was also that moment when he realised Ashton had played him.
'No, it can't be possible! My soldiers-'
"Thinking about how your soldiers defeated Raven?" Ashton replied as his lips curled to reveal his smile, "I can stage my capture, but I can't fake my subordinate's defeat?"
The look of cluelessness on Bismark's face was quite amusing. Bismark wasn't used to people outsmarting him, but recently, defeat was all he had known.
"Entering the city through conventional battle tactics was a waste of time, not to mention the time it would take me to find you. But thanks to your overconfidence, my job was made easier. So thank you for that."
It was Bismark's fault for thinking he could have won the battle through cheap tricks. But now that he knew he wouldn't win, there was no point in flailing his hands around.
Now that he thought about it, why was he helping those Niravanese bastards? For justice? For revenge? If that is the case, shouldn't he be taking vengeance on those undead bastards instead?
"Now, since distractions have been taken care of, should we discuss business?" Ashton surprisingly offered his hand to the fallen king.
Even Bismark looked a bit taken aback by the strangeness of the situation. One moment, Ashton was set to kill him, and the next, he offered him his hand? What was going on inside the kid's head?
***
A few moments ago, Ashton was about to kill Bismark for the sake of it. But Astaroth had some other idea.
[Killing him would be a waste!]
'What do you mean? I can't raise an undead as my summon-'
[Not that! The other thing!]
'You're serious? Him of all people?'
[Could there be a better candidate than someone who abandoned his soul for the sake of power? I don't know about you, but he fills the criteria. Just think about it!]
***
Back to the present...
"Business? What business?" Bismark asked, confused about Ashton's strange proposition.
"I'll grant you the strength you crave... in exchange for your loyalty." Ashton replied, handing him a strange-looking potion, "So tell me, what do you think about becoming a lich?"
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