Eternal Thief

High above the battlefield, the invisible pressure continued spreading as it ignored distance, formations, and cultivation alike.

Within only a few breaths, it had enveloped every corner of the Undead Cradle. The four Battlefronts, the Corpse Mountain Range, the Upper Ancient Battlefield, and the Lower Grave Strata.

Even the forgotten forbidden regions buried beneath countless layers of earth- nothing escaped its reach. It was as though the entire secret realm had become the target of an unseen will.

Across the battlefield, more and more Evernight Marquises began noticing something was wrong.

”My...my Abyssal Qi...”

”It feels...”

”...suppressed.”

An Evernight Earl looked toward his trembling hands as the abyssal Qi circulating through his meridians hadn’t weakened. Yet, it had become sluggish and almost hesitant, as though it refused to continue flowing.

”What is happening?”

”I can’t breathe...”

”My cultivation...”

”No...”

”It isn’t suppression...”

”It’s...”

One Evernight Marquis slowly lifted his head, and his face gradually lost all color.

”...reverence.” The word escaped almost unconsciously.

It wasn’t that their cultivation had become weaker; rather, their Abyssal Laws themselves seemed to be bowing before something infinitely greater.

Meanwhile, inside the thick gray mist, Belfast’s expression grew increasingly ugly as his Abyssal Miasma Ghost was shaking violently. The countless ghost faces within the mist continuously screamed soundlessly. Every strand of mist seemed eager to flee.

”...Impossible...” His voice trembled, ”My Corpse Vessel...is afraid.”

That single sentence caused both remaining Commanders to stiffen. The First Commander immediately understood. If even an Ancient Corpse Vessel feared it, then whatever was descending had already surpassed ordinary understanding.

Suddenly, the Corpse Governor’s calm voice echoed once more throughout every undead soul.

”My children.”

Immediately, every Corpse Clan cultivator fell silent, and even the battlefield itself seemed to stop.

”I know...what all of you wish.” His voice remained calm, ”You wish to witness...the birth of your King.”

Many Corpse Clan members clenched their fists as their corpse flames burned excitedly, some even knelt.

”But...” The Corpse Governor’s next sentence froze everyone. ”...listen carefully.”

His tone suddenly became absolute, ”Corpse Commanders and Belfast, immediately withdraw your split souls.”

The First Commander’s pupils contracted, and the Second Commander became startled.

”Belfast, you will escort them. Return their split souls to their true bodies.”

The First Commander hurriedly asked, ”Governor, what about the battle?”

The answer came without hesitation, ”There is...no more battle.”

Those words exploded inside everyone’s minds.

”The moment the Abyss acknowledged me, this war ended. I have no need for your corpse vessels. I need...your true cultivation for what to come.”

The First Commander’s breathing became hurried, and then understanding slowly dawned as his undead soul violently shook.

”Lord Governor...you!”

The Corpse Governor calmly finished his thoughts, ”You shall all follow my momentum. If destiny permits, perhaps one among you may glimpse the King’s Horizon as well.”

’BOOM!!’

Every Corpse Commander and Belfast felt as though lightning had exploded inside their minds.

The King’s Horizon!

The chance to observe an Abyssal King’s breakthrough firsthand was already an immeasurable fortune.

But following the King’s momentum was something only recorded in ancient legends. If one’s foundation proved sufficient, one might directly comprehend the King’s Path. Although success remained almost impossible, the opportunity itself was priceless.

The First Commander immediately knelt, ”This subordinate obeys!”

The Second Commander no longer hesitated, ”This subordinate obeys!”

Even Belfast’s chaotic mist trembled violently with excitement as his voice echoed toward every surviving Corpse General.

”All Corpse Clan members! Withdraw immediately! Protect your true bodies! The Governor is becoming our Corpse King!”

The announcement spread like wildfire, and cheers instantly erupted across the battlefield.

”The Corpse King!”

”Our King!”

”Our King is finally born!”

The Corpse Clan’s morale completely exploded. Moments earlier, they had been collapsing, but now they looked ready to throw away their lives, smiling.

Yet, the Corpse Governor wasn’t finished.

”My children.”

Immediately, the celebrations quieted, and his next words would forever overturn everything they believed.

”You are forbidden to continue this war.”

Complete silence descended as even Belfast became stunned.

The First Commander couldn’t understand, ”...Governor? If we retreat now the Evernight Council will...”

The Corpse Governor interrupted him, ”I said leave!”

His voice became incomparably firm, ”I shall open the confines of the Undead Cradle.”

Every Commander froze as if they had heard something absurd because they all knew it was impossible for them to leave the Undead Cradle.

”...What?”

The Corpse Governor slowly continued, ”For countless generations you believed this secret realm protected us. It did not. It imprisoned us.”

Every Corpse Clan member felt their minds go blank when they heard that the Undead Cradle, the sacred birthplace of the Corpse Clan, was a prison, while Belfast and Corpse Commanders forgot to breathe when the Corpse Governor openly revealed this taboo truth to everyone, but they remained silent.

”The Undead Boundary was never merely our greatest defense. It was...the lock. And this entire secret realm was...the cage.”

The battlefield became deathly quiet as no one could believe what they had just heard.

The Corpse Governor continued, ”The Sky Stealer might have stolen and robbed us of our greatest protection, but he had also unknowingly broken that lock. He stole our prison, but also gave our race its first opportunity to leave!”

Every Corpse Clan member became completely silent as their greatest disaster had actually become their greatest opportunity.

”So, listen carefully. Do not waste your lives. Gather every surviving clansman. Once I shatter the secret realm...leave. Scatter throughout the Abyss, and preserve our race for as long as one Corpse Clan survives, our inheritance will never disappear!”

The First Commander’s soul trembled; he wanted to object, he wanted to remain to fight beside the Governor. But he understood their Governor had already accepted his own death, for this had always been his final plan.

For the Corpse Governor, becoming an Abyssal King was no longer about the fight, but about surviving, and this was also the Corpse Governor’s final command.

The First Commander slowly lowered his head as tears of corpse flame silently drifted from his eyes.

”This subordinate accepts the Governor’s will!”

But he wasn’t alone, as the next moment, a collective will of every Corpse Clan member reverberated throughout the Undead Cradle...

”WE ACCEPT CORPSE KING’S WILL!”