Ranker's Return Chapter 782

“Edward?”

“Was that corpse Edward?”

“By the way… didn’t his body burst to the point where it wasn’t visible at all?”

The Venom Guild members frowned at Edward’s words. They didn’t believe it at all as they had seen Edward die. Although it wasn’t up close, they had seen it happen from a distance. They had also seen the video uploaded on Alley Leader’s A-World channel. Edward had died without leaving an intact corpse behind.

“Go to Alley Leader’s channel and check the video. See if he really looks like this and if he died as we remember,” Rose whispered softly to the Venom Guild member who was standing behind her.

“I understand. I’ll check it out. One minute will do.” The Venom Guild member nodded, immediately turned on A-World, and went to Alley Leader’s channel.

“Are you really Edward? If so, is it okay for me to ask a few questions?” Kalen spoke to Edward calmly.

‘Is it real?’

He never dreamed that the corpse would be Edward. However, if it really was Edward, then Kalen’s question was likely to lead to the main scenario.

‘It is because he was already the final boss in a previous main scenario… It will be the same this time as well.’

Not all NPCs were the same just because they were NPCs. The owner of a general store and the noble of a city clearly had different presences.

“I also have a few questions to ask you too, but… you can ask first. You look several times more urgent than me.” 

Surprisingly, Edward showed favorability to Kalen. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he was certain that the adventurers in front of him had made a great contribution in reviving him. Edward had been taught as a member of the imperial family to reward others for their achievements.

“Thank you. The first question is… It might be unpleasant to hear this, but Prince Edward, you’ve already died once. Did you make arrangements for your resurrection at that time?”

The first thing Kalen checked was the subject of the quest. He asked a question, but he had already decided on what the answer would be to some extent.

‘It is impossible.’

Edward wouldn’t have reacted so much if he’d had a plan in place.

‘Still, I should ask questions like this to help each other… It can’t be helped.’

Nevertheless, the reason for asking such a question was simple. It was because Edward alone had a clue related to the quest. The conversation had to carry on in some way.

“Hmm…” Edward closed his eyes and went into deep thought. Then he opened his eyes and spoke calmly, “I don’t know that. I can only guess one thing. There are all types of people gathered in Alkyl, which I led. There are many people with different talents. Among them are those with a deep knowledge of necromancy. If it is their arrangement… It isn’t too strange that I survived.”

‘In the end, he doesn’t know anything…’ Kalen briefly summed up Edward’s words.

Edward gave a response, but in the end, it meant that he didn’t know about what happened.

‘If he didn’t prepare it himself…’

Kalen’s mind spun. It wasn’t a voluntary resurrection. If so, the person who resurrected Edward might’ve wanted to convey some message to him.

“Prince Edward, can you check if there is anything in your arms?” Kalen asked Edward politely.

“In my arms? Wait a moment.” Edward’s eyes widened as he started searching himself.

“Huh? Why is this in here?” Edward raised an eyebrow and pulled out something. There was a slightly thick roll of white paper in his hand.

“Sure enough, there is something. It is probably a letter from the one who resurrected Your Highness.”

At Kalen’s words, Edward unfurled the paper with a touch of urgency.

“Um… Um…” Edward’s expression changed when he read the paper.

He didn’t express intense emotions, but there were many types of emotions that appeared on his face. A Venom Guild member approached and whispered in Kalen’s ear, “Kalen, that person really is Edward. He looks exactly like the video.”

“Really? Is that right? I understand. Wait a bit. I think it will work out somehow.” Kalen nodded. For the time being, they had avoided the worst situation. From now on, the rewards that Kalen could earn depended on his actions.

“Prince Edward, excuse me. Could you tell me what is written in that letter?” Kalen carefully asked Edward, who had finished reading the white paper.

“Look for yourself if you are curious.” Edward gave Kalen the piece of paper.

Kalen received the paper from Edward and started reading it right away.

-If you are reading my letter, it means that all the plans you prepared have failed. In fact, I actually knew that your plan was reckless. Duke Lebron, Duke Suped, Duke Blake. We didn’t have the power to deal with the empire’s greatest knights and magicians, but I forced myself to carry out the plan. Therefore, I prepared one thing using the resources of Alkyl. I transferred some of Your Highness’ consciousness to an avatar created using ancient magic. I cast the magic on Your Highness and your body fell into a state of apparent death. It is the avatar that died to Lebron.

‘It isn’t long or short.’

There were a total of two letters that Edward gave him. The first letter ended here. The important thing here was that it wasn’t the real Edward who was killed by Lebron. It was ancient magic that made it possible.

‘If there is that type of skill… Can life be prolonged?’

Kalen imagined useless things and immediately read the next letter.

-I earnestly ask you to give up your throne and find your own life. However, if you still can’t give it up, make a sacrifice…

‘Sacrifice…?’

Kalen read the last part of the letter and his eyes widened. Revenge wasn’t recommended, but if it was what Edward wanted, he had to make sacrifices. The only ones here who could be sacrificed were the Venom Guild members.

‘Don’t tell me?’ Kalen raised his head to look at Edward. The figure of Edward with his right hand extended to the sky entered Kalen’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. Still, aren’t you adventurers? Do one more thing for me,” Edward said. Then he swung his hand like a blade. A sharp red light flashed randomly dozens of meters in front of Edward.

“Edward…!” A terrible scream burst from Kalen’s mouth.

It wasn’t just that. The other Venom Guild members also lost their lives in this single attack. Edward dragged the bodies of the Venom Guild members and piled them up in the coffin. The bodies that couldn’t be placed in the coffin were placed on the ice altar.

“Death, come here.”

Just as it was instructed in the letter, Edward changed the spell written on the ice altar. Smoke suddenly rose from the corpses on the altar. The smoke was initially red. Then it turned to the color of natural ash before becoming a dull gray. As the color of the smoke changed, all the corpses disappeared.

They had become smoke. The gray smoke that rose like a mist was sucked into Edward’s body in an instant. A flustered expression flashed across Edward’s face, then he quickly regained his composure. It was due to his trust in the person who taught him the spell.

However, Edward soon looked flustered again. As the gray smoke was absorbed into his body, Edward’s head started to be filled with the image of a knight wearing silver armor.

The knight’s mouth opened, and unfamiliar words poured out. As the knight’s unfamiliar speech continued, Edward’s mind became confused, and his consciousness faded. He had felt this before. However, if he had been warm at that time, he now felt very uncomfortable.

Edward bit his lip to restore his fading consciousness. There was some effect, but it was only for a short time. The knight’s words became faster, and Edward’s consciousness became increasingly blurred.

“I am Edward! The second prince of the Yusma Empire and the one who will become the emperor!” Edward shouted at the iceberg where no one was present.

***

“The promise has been kept,” Hyeonu said. He had immediately gone to visit Nad and the elves the moment he arrived in the city of the different species.

“Already?” Nad had an expression of disbelief.

“I can’t believe it. How is that possible?” Cher, the little person sitting in front of Nad, muttered with the same expression as Nad. He didn’t think that Hyeonu was lying, but it was just too absurd to believe Hyeonu’s words.

“Here it is.” Hyeonu quietly offered the silver badge without being concerned about Nad and Cher’s responses.

Even if he didn’t explain anything, the video on the badge would explain everything. Nad received the silver badge and projected the video stored on the badge onto the wall. The video showed three people—the old emperor, Chen Long, and the emperor. The first one promised to give a kill order, while the last one had already given one.

“I’ve known since you became close to the orc great tribe chief, but… you have really great connections.” Cher marveled when seeing the videos on the badge.

He was seeing it with his own eyes, but it was a sight that was hard to believe. Hyeonu was able to meet and make a request of all those who ruled the two empires that spanned the continent. A human emperor was special even to the different species. It wasn’t a position they treated lightly.

“I couldn’t kill any of them. No one has seen where they fled to. They ran away as quickly as a rat,” Hyeonu spoke with regret.

The Lu Kuan Guild disappeared after the kill order was issued. Only their previously filmed videos were uploaded on the channel. There were no real-time live streams or videos uploaded to show their current location.

“This alone will allow the members of the league and other tribes to fully accept it and move on,” Nad expressed.

He shook his head. He hadn’t expected much in the beginning. If the adventurers who attacked them had any brains, they would naturally hide their traces. It would be impossible to find them in a short period of time unless Hyeonu could see the entire continent. Nad just wanted Hyeonu to show what he was doing for them, but Hyeonu showed much better results.

“I will forget my grudge against the humans. No, I’ll be a bit more favorable in the future.” Nad’s words were sincere.

“That is good to hear. Then I’ll be going. I’m busy.” Hyeonu smiled at Nad and left immediately after. It was time to go to the divine world.

‘Let’s go to the divine world.’