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overlord_ Welcome the Birth of the King_chapter_0276
Chapter 325
Chapter 275: The Armlet that Resists "Instant Death" Effects, and Doubt
Fear stems from the unknown.
When something beyond one's comprehension appears, this intangible fear is amplified to its fullest extent.
After Tang Zheng single-handedly and effortlessly ignored all the magic cast by the Magen, Queen Nasurini gave up all resistance.
The entire Magen Tribe of 1,500 was brought under Tang Zheng's control. Though not numerous, the overall strength of the Magen Tribe far surpassed that of the Blue Maggot Tribe and the Pandas Tribe.
The total population of the three tribes now reached 8,500, placing the entire southernmost region of the Abelion Hills under Tang Zheng's control.
On the hill, a crude room had been temporarily constructed. Beside a rough wooden table—hastily assembled from two felled trees and covered in splinters—stood Tang Zheng. He was intently studying an ancient-looking beast hide map of unknown origin.
It was a map of the Abelion Hills, contributed by the Magen, showing the general locations of the various tribes within the hill country.
As expected of one of the top tribes in the region. A map like this was something the two Blue Maggot tribes, hiding deep in their caves with little contact to the outside world, could never have produced.
“If I remember correctly, in the future, after Demiurge swiftly subjugated the hills, he formed a demi-human army of 100,000 to attack the Holy Kingdom.”
Tang Zheng gazed at the map, his eyes flickering with contemplation. “Knowing Demiurge's personality, these demi-humans are nothing more than tools to him. He wouldn’t care about issues like manpower or morale.”
“By that calculation, the total number of all demi-humans in the Abelion Hills probably doesn't exceed 150,000.”
If one were to divide the demi-humans of the hills into two categories, one would be the demi-human races that are inherently bloodthirsty, treat humans as food, and, to use game terms, have an evil-leaning 'Justice Value'.
The other category may not necessarily be fond of humans, but they possess a certain moral standard, such as the Blue Maggot Tribe, the Pandas Tribe, and the Magen Tribe that he currently controlled.
Common ogres, for instance, belong to the evil-leaning races. Fortunately, their low intelligence makes them perfect to use as tools.
Tang Zheng picked up a charred wooden branch and used its burnt tip to mark the tribes of several of the bloodthirsty demi-human races on the map.
“Later, the demi-human tribes that truly need to be purged will be these bloodthirsty ones.”
Tang Zheng raised the charred branch. “I need to weaken the strength of the demi-humans in the hills, but without completely stripping them of their power.”
“This balance is indeed difficult to grasp.”
As Tang Zheng raised his hand, the sleeve of his red robe slid down, revealing a bronze-colored armlet fitted snugly to his wrist.
Black silk thread patterns were inlaid on the bronze armlet, and upon closer inspection, a faint, intermittent glimmer could be seen.
This armlet was the magic item carried by the Magen Queen, Nasurini, and it was called the 'Armlet of Death Protection'.
Although its level was not high, it possessed the ability to grant its wearer complete resistance to the damage from an 'instant death effect' once per day.
This resistance could even withstand the instant death effect caused by the super-tier magic *The Bountiful Sacrifice of Darkness*.
Let alone the Bone King's most frequently used eighth-tier magic, *Death*, and ninth-tier magic, *Grasp Heart*—two spells that inflict 'instant death' damage.
Of course, it was useless against the absolute instant death attached to the Bone King's trump card, *Death Bell*. The only way to counter such an ace was to use resurrection-type magic or possess a resurrection item.
Regardless, before this, Tang Zheng had no means of countering 'instant death' type effects or skills. Now, he finally had one.
This way, even when facing Zesshi Zetsumei in the future, he would have some confidence. He hadn't forgotten that the armament she often wielded was *Charon's Guide*, a divine weapon belonging to the God of Death, one of the Six Great Gods.
That weapon had the eighth-tier spell *Death* built into it.
*Knock—knock—*
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Enter,” Tang Zheng said without looking up.
The lizardman, Crusch Lulu, still wrapped in straw, entered respectfully. Her long, snow-white tail dragged on the floor, its tip twitching upward slightly, a clear sign of nervousness.
“Lord.” Crusch Lulu crossed her white claws over her chest and spoke respectfully to Tang Zheng.
“Have you mastered *Cloud Manipulation*?” Tang Zheng asked, still not looking up.
“N-no.”
Crusch Lulu’s tail tip curled up even higher, and her voice grew more tense.
Tang Zheng lifted his gaze from the map and looked at her. “Then what is it?”
Crusch Lulu took a deep breath. “Lord, the second group of ogres and goblins sent to the Holy Kingdom's border has been killed. The gold ore they were carrying was also taken by the humans.”
After saying this, Crusch Lulu lowered her straw-covered head even further, as if fearing Tang Zheng's anger. She didn't understand why her lord was doing this, but she subconsciously felt this news would displease him.
Unexpectedly, however, the sound of a soft chuckle made Crusch Lulu freeze. The human lord didn't seem angry at all.
“Then send another group of ogres and goblins,” Tang Zheng said.
“Yes, Lord,” Crusch Lulu hurriedly and respectfully replied.
“Wait.”
A faint smile touched Tang Zheng's lips behind his black mask. His gaze remained calm as he continued:
“This time, don't have them carry gold ore. Send them with a basket of herbs. If they are still killed, then switch to Magic Beast pelts, agate, gems, or cave crystals.”
“The hills are not lacking in these things that are of little use to demi-humans.”
“Yes, Lord.” Crusch Lulu bowed deeply and carefully exited the room.
“It’s only January. There’s no rush.” Tang Zheng’s gaze returned to the map as he muttered to himself, “Experience, class…”
***
The border of the Holy Kingdom. Inside the Central Fortress.
In a somewhat dim room, constructed of brick on all four sides, a cool breeze blew through the wide-open window.
Several figures stood around a round table. They were all captains of the Central Fortress's soldier squads. Besides them, two men were seated at the table.
As for these two, one was powerfully built. His thick eyebrows and unkempt beard gave him a rugged wildness, but a pair of beady eyes shattered this heroic impression, adding a touch of comical incongruity.
*Clang! Clang-clang!* Most conspicuously, he carried eight single-edged swords on his person. The slightest movement of his body would cause the blades to scrape against each other with a clattering sound.
The other seated man was also powerfully built, but much leaner than the first, as if he had chiseled away all excess muscle to hone his body for extreme agility.
His sharp, piercing black eyes were terrifying, enough to make one shudder with a single glance. He carried an exquisite and expensive magical bow on his back.
The air in the room was quiet.
The fact that only these two men were seated while everyone else stood was enough to indicate their extremely high status.
And rightly so. These two men were two of the Holy Kingdom's Nine Colors. The one with eight blades was Orlando Campano, and the one with the bow was Pabel Baraha.
The so-called "Nine Colors" were titles of nine different colors bestowed by the Holy King. Those granted a title from the "Nine Colors" were all talents in various fields within the Holy Kingdom.
These two men also held the highest positions in the entire Central Fortress.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on the three head-sized pieces of gold ore placed on the table.
The standing soldier captains were clearly trying to restrain themselves from looking at the gold ore on the table, yet their eyes couldn't help but dart toward it.
A brief silence followed.
“Something isn't right,” Pabel, the one with the bow, was the first to speak. His dark eyes stared at the gold ore on the table, his gaze held no greed, only confusion.
Not long ago, Pabel had heard about a squad that had unexpectedly obtained gold ore. At the time, he had merely remarked that those fellows had good luck.
But now, the ogres had delivered gold ore again, and this time, the gold ore was not only larger but also greater in quantity—three whole head-sized pieces.
Judging by its density, Pabel couldn't determine its exact value if refined, but he knew it would be worth at least several hundred gold coins.
Was this normal? Of course not!
Historically, the demi-humans who attacked the Fortress Wall were either remnants of defeated or exiled tribes from the hills, few in number and posing little threat—hardly qualifying as an attack. Or they were truly large-scale assaults by demi-human forces.
But in either case, there had never been a situation where they attacked the Fortress Wall while carrying gold ore. At least, not once in Pabel’s memory.
No... now it had happened twice.
“Not normal?”
“I don't think so,” Orlando, clad in heavy leather armor, said with a light laugh.
“Don't be so tense all the time, Pabel. What's not normal about a free delivery?”
“In any case, we just have to kill these demi-humans no matter what.”
Pabel gave Orlando a helpless glance, feeling that consulting with him was not a smart decision. However, he did agree with his words. “That is indeed the case.”
With only two such incidents so far, it could indeed be described as a coincidence. After all, the political situation among the demi-humans of the Abelion Hills has always been complex; nothing that happened there was truly surprising.
This matter wasn't major, but it wasn't exactly a trifle either. Reporting it to their superiors, however, would seem like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Pabel still had his doubts, but he couldn't analyze any useful clues from the situation.
The fundamental reason for holding this small meeting was that the value of these three pieces of gold ore was too high, completely different from the first incident.
If it were all given to the squad that handled the corpses, it would… almost certainly cause discontent among the other teams.
“What's the situation now?” Pabel mused for a moment before looking up at the standing captains.
“Your Excellency, my subordinates have done their best to contain the news, but I'm afraid it has already spread,” one of the captains stepped forward and said quietly with an awkward smile.
“Is that so.”
Pabel sighed softly. He knew this wasn't their fault; too many people had witnessed it at the time, so it was already too late to suppress the news.
“In that case, let's discuss a distribution plan,” Pabel said to Orlando, his expression turning serious.
(end of chapter)
Fear stems from the unknown.
When something beyond one's comprehension appears, this intangible fear is amplified to its fullest extent.
After Tang Zheng single-handedly and effortlessly ignored all the magic cast by the Magen, Queen Nasurini gave up all resistance.
The entire Magen Tribe of 1,500 was brought under Tang Zheng's control. Though not numerous, the overall strength of the Magen Tribe far surpassed that of the Blue Maggot Tribe and the Pandas Tribe.
The total population of the three tribes now reached 8,500, placing the entire southernmost region of the Abelion Hills under Tang Zheng's control.
On the hill, a crude room had been temporarily constructed. Beside a rough wooden table—hastily assembled from two felled trees and covered in splinters—stood Tang Zheng. He was intently studying an ancient-looking beast hide map of unknown origin.
It was a map of the Abelion Hills, contributed by the Magen, showing the general locations of the various tribes within the hill country.
As expected of one of the top tribes in the region. A map like this was something the two Blue Maggot tribes, hiding deep in their caves with little contact to the outside world, could never have produced.
“If I remember correctly, in the future, after Demiurge swiftly subjugated the hills, he formed a demi-human army of 100,000 to attack the Holy Kingdom.”
Tang Zheng gazed at the map, his eyes flickering with contemplation. “Knowing Demiurge's personality, these demi-humans are nothing more than tools to him. He wouldn’t care about issues like manpower or morale.”
“By that calculation, the total number of all demi-humans in the Abelion Hills probably doesn't exceed 150,000.”
If one were to divide the demi-humans of the hills into two categories, one would be the demi-human races that are inherently bloodthirsty, treat humans as food, and, to use game terms, have an evil-leaning 'Justice Value'.
The other category may not necessarily be fond of humans, but they possess a certain moral standard, such as the Blue Maggot Tribe, the Pandas Tribe, and the Magen Tribe that he currently controlled.
Common ogres, for instance, belong to the evil-leaning races. Fortunately, their low intelligence makes them perfect to use as tools.
Tang Zheng picked up a charred wooden branch and used its burnt tip to mark the tribes of several of the bloodthirsty demi-human races on the map.
“Later, the demi-human tribes that truly need to be purged will be these bloodthirsty ones.”
Tang Zheng raised the charred branch. “I need to weaken the strength of the demi-humans in the hills, but without completely stripping them of their power.”
“This balance is indeed difficult to grasp.”
As Tang Zheng raised his hand, the sleeve of his red robe slid down, revealing a bronze-colored armlet fitted snugly to his wrist.
Black silk thread patterns were inlaid on the bronze armlet, and upon closer inspection, a faint, intermittent glimmer could be seen.
This armlet was the magic item carried by the Magen Queen, Nasurini, and it was called the 'Armlet of Death Protection'.
Although its level was not high, it possessed the ability to grant its wearer complete resistance to the damage from an 'instant death effect' once per day.
This resistance could even withstand the instant death effect caused by the super-tier magic *The Bountiful Sacrifice of Darkness*.
Let alone the Bone King's most frequently used eighth-tier magic, *Death*, and ninth-tier magic, *Grasp Heart*—two spells that inflict 'instant death' damage.
Of course, it was useless against the absolute instant death attached to the Bone King's trump card, *Death Bell*. The only way to counter such an ace was to use resurrection-type magic or possess a resurrection item.
Regardless, before this, Tang Zheng had no means of countering 'instant death' type effects or skills. Now, he finally had one.
This way, even when facing Zesshi Zetsumei in the future, he would have some confidence. He hadn't forgotten that the armament she often wielded was *Charon's Guide*, a divine weapon belonging to the God of Death, one of the Six Great Gods.
That weapon had the eighth-tier spell *Death* built into it.
*Knock—knock—*
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Enter,” Tang Zheng said without looking up.
The lizardman, Crusch Lulu, still wrapped in straw, entered respectfully. Her long, snow-white tail dragged on the floor, its tip twitching upward slightly, a clear sign of nervousness.
“Lord.” Crusch Lulu crossed her white claws over her chest and spoke respectfully to Tang Zheng.
“Have you mastered *Cloud Manipulation*?” Tang Zheng asked, still not looking up.
“N-no.”
Crusch Lulu’s tail tip curled up even higher, and her voice grew more tense.
Tang Zheng lifted his gaze from the map and looked at her. “Then what is it?”
Crusch Lulu took a deep breath. “Lord, the second group of ogres and goblins sent to the Holy Kingdom's border has been killed. The gold ore they were carrying was also taken by the humans.”
After saying this, Crusch Lulu lowered her straw-covered head even further, as if fearing Tang Zheng's anger. She didn't understand why her lord was doing this, but she subconsciously felt this news would displease him.
Unexpectedly, however, the sound of a soft chuckle made Crusch Lulu freeze. The human lord didn't seem angry at all.
“Then send another group of ogres and goblins,” Tang Zheng said.
“Yes, Lord,” Crusch Lulu hurriedly and respectfully replied.
“Wait.”
A faint smile touched Tang Zheng's lips behind his black mask. His gaze remained calm as he continued:
“This time, don't have them carry gold ore. Send them with a basket of herbs. If they are still killed, then switch to Magic Beast pelts, agate, gems, or cave crystals.”
“The hills are not lacking in these things that are of little use to demi-humans.”
“Yes, Lord.” Crusch Lulu bowed deeply and carefully exited the room.
“It’s only January. There’s no rush.” Tang Zheng’s gaze returned to the map as he muttered to himself, “Experience, class…”
***
The border of the Holy Kingdom. Inside the Central Fortress.
In a somewhat dim room, constructed of brick on all four sides, a cool breeze blew through the wide-open window.
Several figures stood around a round table. They were all captains of the Central Fortress's soldier squads. Besides them, two men were seated at the table.
As for these two, one was powerfully built. His thick eyebrows and unkempt beard gave him a rugged wildness, but a pair of beady eyes shattered this heroic impression, adding a touch of comical incongruity.
*Clang! Clang-clang!* Most conspicuously, he carried eight single-edged swords on his person. The slightest movement of his body would cause the blades to scrape against each other with a clattering sound.
The other seated man was also powerfully built, but much leaner than the first, as if he had chiseled away all excess muscle to hone his body for extreme agility.
His sharp, piercing black eyes were terrifying, enough to make one shudder with a single glance. He carried an exquisite and expensive magical bow on his back.
The air in the room was quiet.
The fact that only these two men were seated while everyone else stood was enough to indicate their extremely high status.
And rightly so. These two men were two of the Holy Kingdom's Nine Colors. The one with eight blades was Orlando Campano, and the one with the bow was Pabel Baraha.
The so-called "Nine Colors" were titles of nine different colors bestowed by the Holy King. Those granted a title from the "Nine Colors" were all talents in various fields within the Holy Kingdom.
These two men also held the highest positions in the entire Central Fortress.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on the three head-sized pieces of gold ore placed on the table.
The standing soldier captains were clearly trying to restrain themselves from looking at the gold ore on the table, yet their eyes couldn't help but dart toward it.
A brief silence followed.
“Something isn't right,” Pabel, the one with the bow, was the first to speak. His dark eyes stared at the gold ore on the table, his gaze held no greed, only confusion.
Not long ago, Pabel had heard about a squad that had unexpectedly obtained gold ore. At the time, he had merely remarked that those fellows had good luck.
But now, the ogres had delivered gold ore again, and this time, the gold ore was not only larger but also greater in quantity—three whole head-sized pieces.
Judging by its density, Pabel couldn't determine its exact value if refined, but he knew it would be worth at least several hundred gold coins.
Was this normal? Of course not!
Historically, the demi-humans who attacked the Fortress Wall were either remnants of defeated or exiled tribes from the hills, few in number and posing little threat—hardly qualifying as an attack. Or they were truly large-scale assaults by demi-human forces.
But in either case, there had never been a situation where they attacked the Fortress Wall while carrying gold ore. At least, not once in Pabel’s memory.
No... now it had happened twice.
“Not normal?”
“I don't think so,” Orlando, clad in heavy leather armor, said with a light laugh.
“Don't be so tense all the time, Pabel. What's not normal about a free delivery?”
“In any case, we just have to kill these demi-humans no matter what.”
Pabel gave Orlando a helpless glance, feeling that consulting with him was not a smart decision. However, he did agree with his words. “That is indeed the case.”
With only two such incidents so far, it could indeed be described as a coincidence. After all, the political situation among the demi-humans of the Abelion Hills has always been complex; nothing that happened there was truly surprising.
This matter wasn't major, but it wasn't exactly a trifle either. Reporting it to their superiors, however, would seem like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Pabel still had his doubts, but he couldn't analyze any useful clues from the situation.
The fundamental reason for holding this small meeting was that the value of these three pieces of gold ore was too high, completely different from the first incident.
If it were all given to the squad that handled the corpses, it would… almost certainly cause discontent among the other teams.
“What's the situation now?” Pabel mused for a moment before looking up at the standing captains.
“Your Excellency, my subordinates have done their best to contain the news, but I'm afraid it has already spread,” one of the captains stepped forward and said quietly with an awkward smile.
“Is that so.”
Pabel sighed softly. He knew this wasn't their fault; too many people had witnessed it at the time, so it was already too late to suppress the news.
“In that case, let's discuss a distribution plan,” Pabel said to Orlando, his expression turning serious.
(end of chapter)
