Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1877: Yggdrasil’s Vampire Family

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From the Abyssal Gate that opened behind Annette, several Vampires stepped out, led by their supreme ruler, the Vampire King.

At that very moment, as their army clashed with Maria’s forces amid the chaotic imperial castle, the sharp eyes of their King, Sirius Dracul, regarded them with calm, almost emotionless detachment.

"So this is the so-called ’ghost’ that has slipped through our fingers all this time?" he mused. "And the one who claimed the lives of Famine and Conquest..."

"Indeed, it’s her," Annette said, her face twisted with fury. "She ruined my plan. I managed to steal the crown, but if she hadn’t interfered, Tear—that Ice Giant—could have joined our family by now."

"Hm, indeed. She would have filled the vacant seat of Conquest... or perhaps Famine," nodded the muscular, masked vampire beside them, Hercules. "A pity she fights for them instead."

"We have prepared more than enough," Sirius Dracul stated. "With the Empire of Light completely fallen, we will spread Blood Miasma and Curses across the entire continent and then the rest of the world. It will become the perfect realm for me to rule. Our ancestors in Umbralheim will be most pleased."

"With so many worshippers dying, Odin and the others will grow deeply weakened," Annette added. "Weak enough for us to strike them with the aid of the Family Heads of Umbralheim!"

"Indeed, a flawless plan," Sirius said. "Of course, we anticipated Maria’s arrival as well." He paused. "But... Hm?"

His eyes widened slightly as he observed Maria’s army and the sheer level of power they displayed. The thousands of powerful Vampiric Chimeras they had prepared were falling rapidly. Even with Annette endlessly reviving them through her formidable Necromancy, the losses mounted far too quickly.

"What is this? There are far more living beings in her army than I expected...!" Annette gritted her teeth, glaring as Maria’s forces tore relentlessly through her defenses. "Just who are they?! They don’t seem to originate from Yggdrasil!"

"Hm, she prepared more thoroughly than we anticipated," Sirius remarked, his face remaining expressionless. "However, this should suffice."

A demonic stigma on his right hand flared to life. Instantly, their entire army surged with demonic power and underwent further grotesque mutations, transforming into powerful Vampiric Demonic Chimera Zombies.

The overwhelming corrupted energy they released spread across the Empire like a thick black fog of nether, while panicked screams rose from the city. The formation relentlessly drained the lifeforce of everyone trapped within.

"H-How can this be...! The Empire! What is happening?! Why...! How did we not see this sooner?!"

The General of the Soldiers groaned in pain as Annette’s foot crushed his back, snapping bones. She laughed coldly at his suffering.

"Because you’re all a bunch of fools! Now stay quiet and enjoy the ride! Hahahaha!"

As she cackled, Hercules crossed his arms and gazed into the distance, his eyes glowing with sharp crimson light.

"Well, with Jonathan betraying the Empire of Light and most of their heroes already dead, they are at their weakest point," Hercules said. "You mortals are nothing but puppets to the gods, you know? You’ve been conditioned to become utterly dependent on their blessings and fortune. The only reason this Empire exists is to regulate mortals and extend Odin’s influence. He never truly cared about any of you."

"This cannot... this cannot be...! It cannot beeeaaagghh!"

The general writhed in agony. Hercules clicked his tongue and glared at Annette.

"Hey, just kill him already. Have at least some mercy," he sighed.

"Hm? I’m not the source of his agony," Annette replied, looking down. "And—"

"You’re completely right, Vampires."

Suddenly, an ominous, grave voice emerged from the general’s mouth.

A second later, Annette felt an iron grip clamp around her knee.

The man’s eyes blazed with divine, thunderous light.

"What...?!"

He rose slowly, radiating an immense aura of divinity and lightning that filled the air.

He fixed the Vampires with a piercing glare, his power surging without limit.

And then he locked eyes with Sirius.

"Mortals are nothing but messengers and vessels to us," the general declared. The Vampires now knew beyond doubt that this was no longer the same man. "However, they remain our property. We cannot allow you Vampires to trample over everything as you please. This is our world, not yours."

"I see. You must be Thor, God of Thunder, hm?" Sirius asked, a faint spark of interest in his gaze. "How amusing. So you do care, at least a little."

And at that precise moment...

RUMBLE!

The heavens roared. Rays of divine light cascaded across the entire city of the Empire of Light.

One by one, the most suitable vessels were suddenly possessed by the Divine Consciousness of the Gods. Over a dozen godly beings rose into the air and flew toward the castle.

The red-haired general smirked, summoning a colossal hammer forged of divine lightning. He swung it toward the Vampires.

"Roar, Mjolnir!"

BOOOMMM!!!

A titanic explosion engulfed everything in a massive radius. The entire castle vanished in blinding light, vaporized along with the surrounding area.

People outside perished even faster from Thor’s strike than from the Vampire formation.

Hundreds died instantly!

However...

"Oh?"

Thor’s eyes widened. He raised an eyebrow in dark amusement. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

In front of Annette, Sirius had stepped forward. Sparks of lightning danced across his body, yet he stood completely unharmed!

"How could this be? What have you little Vampires been scheming right under our noses?" Thor laughed. "Not so long ago you were just a brat we spared out of pity! Now look at you... What trick did you pull to withstand my full attack, Sirius?"

"Hm, none," Sirius replied calmly, meeting Thor’s gaze. "I simply electrocuted myself for one thousand five hundred years and attained the Lightning Immunity Skill."

"...?!" Thor’s eyes widened in genuine disbelief. "What?"

"From the moment you destroyed my home..." Sirius continued. "From the moment you killed my father... I swore that one day I would kill you all. I trained without rest, day and night, pushing myself to the limit. I simply embraced the powers within my bloodline—the ones my father forbade me from using because he deemed them too ’vile.’ Now, Thor. What can you do against someone completely immune to your divine lightning, oh so-called ’God of Thunder’?"

"Hah... Skills, is it? You truly believe a mere Skill can negate the might of the God of Thunder?!" Thor roared, his body blazing with divine thunder. "Let’s see how far your immunity truly reaches!"

RUMBLE!

With a single step, Thor transformed into living lightning and closed the distance.

Sirius remained utterly composed, watching the god approach through sharp crimson eyes.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A relentless barrage of thunderous hammer strikes rained down from every angle. The surrounding Vampires watched in stunned silence.

"Master, do you require our help?!" Hercules called.

"Stay out of this and entertain our other guests, Hercules," Sirius replied, calmly readjusting his tie as he blocked every blow with only his hands and arms.

"What is this bullshit?! H-HOW?!"

Meanwhile, Thor was losing his composure entirely.

It was real.

Lightning Immunity was actually nullifying his power?!

He could hardly believe it, even as he witnessed it with his own eyes.

"How can this be possible?! I am a Divine God!"

Thor bellowed, unleashing a colossal explosion of thunder and lightning that erupted from his body and struck Sirius from every direction.

And yet!

"Hm, well, for someone born after your father conquered this world—such as yourself—I suppose this might come as a surprise," Sirius said evenly. "But this world is merely one of a hundred more within the Tower. The Soul Book every mortal possesses is the Tower’s System. And as you can guess, I have undergone the Player Awakening Tutorial."

"...?!" Thor’s eyes widened again in shock. "The Soul Book my father created is restricted! No mortal should be able to rise beyond their assigned level!"

"Yes, that’s true!" Sirius answered. He drove his fist into Thor’s face. A violent explosion of crimson thunder erupted on impact.

Not only was Sirius immune—he was somehow storing the lightning within himself.

Indeed, it had evolved far beyond mere immunity.

"Lightning Absorption?!" Thor gasped, blood spilling from his mouth.

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