REAPER SCANS

How to Raise Your Skeletons

[Translator –  Dawn]

[Proofreader – BringTheRayn]

Chapter 183: Gotham (1)

"Now that I think about it, yeah! It felt like information was leaking ever since that guy joined!"

"Didn’t our youngest member go missing recently? And that bastard was the only one who came back! Damn, everything makes sense now!"

"So you were Gotham’s informants all along?"

"All fifty of them… spies?"

Murmurs spread through the Aetham members as they surrounded the fifty captured hunters, including Lucky, Blondie, and Silvie. Some cursed at them, while others recalled strange incidents from the past.

And in the center of it all stood Vladimir, the leader of Aetham—the man who hated the mafia more than anyone, and also the man who had become mafia himself in order to destroy them.

—Gulp!

Vladimir swallowed the emotions rising inside him. Then he lowered his head deeply. “…I apologize. As Aetham’s leader, this failure is my responsibility."

"…"

He had been too focused on becoming a ranker. He’d received a golden opportunity, and he wanted to create a better future. But the organization grew too quickly, making it hard for him to manage it. There were plenty of excuses. 

However, he didn’t utter any of them because he didn’t have the right to. To be more precise, he didn’t have the emotional capacity to do so.

—Clench!

Because at this moment, he was angrier than anyone else.

"Boss! That’s not it!"

"…O-One of Gotham’s rankers threatened me!” Blondie sniffled. “They said they’d kill my only little brother!"

"Me too! Those bastards forced me! We’re victims too!"

Realizing they couldn’t escape this, Lucky, Blondie, and Silvie finally admitted they were spies.

Brothers, huh… 

Vladimir scoffed.

How could they have brothers? That was news to him. When they had first met, they had sworn that the mafia had killed their entire families, so they joined for revenge.

Well.

If they were spies from the start, then that was probably a lie too.

"I… I had my reasons too!"

"We didn’t want to do this! You all know what happens to people who betray Gotham in Russia!"

One by one, the spies started pleading their cases.

"…" Vladimir clenched his fists. But at that moment, a thought crept into his mind.

What if they were telling the truth? What if they really had no choice? What if they weren’t acting out of greed but to protect someone they loved?

Should he still hate them? Did he even have the right to judge them?

"They’re all lying."

—Whoosh!

That was when the Spear of Judgment lowered his weapon and stepped forward. He said, "Vladimir. None of the people I picked here were forced into betrayal."

"…!"

Wait… 

Did that mean there were more traitors? Had the Spear of Judgment already filtered out those who had valid reasons?

Zhang Wei turned to face the captured spies. "I can see the intentions behind your betrayal clearly. Greed, arson, drugs, gambling, murder, abandonment, kidnapping, assault… Every single one of you is guilty of something." His voice was calm, but it left no room for argument. "Everyone here deserves judgment. I only chose those who were irredeemable."

"Bullshit!"

"Who do you think you are?!"

"Yeah! What do you think you are, god or something?!"

The resistance was fierce. Of course, it was an expected reaction. A man with a spear had suddenly pointed a finger at them, declaring them criminals—who wouldn’t be outraged?

"I am no god. But I am the Spear of Judgment. And historically, I have never judged wrongly."

"…!"

It wasn’t the traitors who reacted but the Aetham members.

"Wait… Did he just call himself the Spear of Judgment?"

"Isn’t he that hunter who only hunts down criminals? The one who dropped crime rates in China?"

"Yeah! And he just became a ranker! Hold on… Right! He’s Rank 654!"

They were realizing who he was.

"A ranker... And not just any ranker, but the Spear of Judgment? He’s definitely reliable."

"He’s also the disciple of the Spear King."

"That’s right. No way a disciple of the Spear King would lie about something like this."

"Damn. That ability of his is scary. How does he pick them out so well?"

Then the atmosphere shifted completely. There was no escape. Even the traitors themselves had already stopped denying their sins.

—Step.

Vladimir stepped forward. “…Why did you do it?" He didn’t even realize he was muttering, but his gaze was fixed on Lucky.

"…" Lucky hung his head, looking defeated.

"Because of you… my family was slaughtered. And for what? You just sold information? Not even for survival, but with malicious intent?" Vladimir continued.

“…" Lucky’s shoulders twitched as they shook up and down. 

Was he crying?

"Kuh… Kehaha… Kehe."

No. He was laughing. 

"You’re full of shit," he said. 

"What?"

"What did we do that was so wrong?"

—Clink!

Lucky grabbed his staff as if he had lost his mind. "Do you really think everyone wants to fight? Do you think the world is filled with people like you?"

"…"

"We just adapted. Fourteen years ago, the world started running on power. We just followed those who were stronger. Morality? Screw that!" He slammed his staff into the ground. Then he shouted at all the hunters surrounding him, "The ‘crimes’ you’re crying about is the new moral world order! Surviving means adapting! What the hell else were we supposed to do?!"

"What do you think?" Vladimir responded immediately. His eyes had already turned cold. There was no anger or grief left in them—just disgust. He had purged any lingering sentiment. "Spies who get caught die. Simple as that."

—Whoosh! Clang!

The portal Lucky was trying to open slammed shut with just a wave of Vladimir’s hand. They could use the same spatial magic, but the difference in skill was clear.

"Shit!"

"Your opinion doesn’t matter. Aetham exists to stop Gotham. And right now, we’re preparing for war." He nodded. "You are our enemies. That’s all there is to it."

With that signal, Aetham’s executives drew their weapons and charged forward.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Dawn

Proofreader - BringTheRayn

Join our discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/reapercomics

* * *

"Wow, this is brutal." Im Sujin the Asura furrowed her brows with a disgusted look. 

Meanwhile, my other comrades—Gi Soyul, Kwon Soyi, and the rest—were taking their positions, preparing for battle.

"It can't be helped. This is war, after all," I muttered.

Vladimir showed no mercy to the traitors. Those who resisted fiercely met horrific deaths, and the survivors were tortured for information. However, none of them revealed anything useful, either because they were too low-level or because Andrei had truly compartmentalized all information. But in that process, some bit off their own tongues to escape. Others died from the sheer agony of the torture. Vladimir had no intention of letting the traitors live.

[Space Mage: Thanks for giving me time.]

[Space Mage: Should we get ready now?]

It didn’t matter anyway. I had already declared that I’d crush every one of them. Information was irrelevant. The words of the old man by my side held far more value than anything those traitors could have said.

[Space Mage: Understood.]

[Space Mage: We’ll prepare immediately.]

—Rumble… 

—Rumble, rumble!

As thousands of warriors moved in unison, the ground trembled.

About 7,000… 

That was what I roughly estimated Aetham’s combat force to be. It was nearly the same as my skeleton army. 

Vladimir efficiently coordinated the various groups, ensuring discipline and unity.

"Yeaaahhhh!"

"We’ll rip those Gotham bastards to pieces! Let’s avenge our fallen citizens!"

"Fight! Fight to protect your families!"

"Yaaaahhhh!"

Speeches fueled the morale of the troops. Strategic information about which rankers would be assisting was also shared.

[Space Mage: So what’s the plan?]

[Space Mage: Do we charge in immediately?]

[Skeleton King: Of course.]

I smirked.

The traitors were dealt with. Now it was my turn.

Normally…

Before a battle began, you needed a spectacle. Skeletons might not care about theatrics, but humans needed something to get their blood pumping.

—Thunk!

I tapped my staff on the ground and activated my summoning skill. "Boney 1, Sunny, Kaden, Boney 5, Dana, and Boney 8. Come forth."

—Boom!

Dust billowed as six mighty skeletons emerged.

"My lord."

"By your command."

"Master…"

They slammed their weapons onto the ground in perfect synchronization. In response, more skeletons appeared in formation. S-ranks summoned A-ranks. And those A-ranks summoned B-ranks. This chain reaction continued until 6,666 skeletons stood ready.

[Absolute Peerless: Ooooh, here they are!]

[Spring Apostle: This always gives me chills no matter how many times I see it. A skeleton army…]

[Water Witch: And they’re not even regular skeletons! Each one looks like a boss monster!]

[Absolute Peerless: The funniest part? The summoner is the strongest of them all.]

My comrades marveled in chat.

"Wow."

"…This is insane."

Kwon Soyi and Im Sujin stared, dumbfounded.

"Woooaaahhh!"

"Wh-What? What the hell is that?"

"They say it’s the Skeleton King’s skill!"

"Yes! The army just doubled in size!"

"Wait, but they’re just skeletons, right? Are they really that strong?"

"Dumbass, look at them! Do they look like ordinary skeletons? And check out the commanders—they look so powerful!"

"Yeah… Plus, he’s the highest ranked hunter among us. If anything, we should be grateful, not skeptical."

As expected, the Aetham fighters roared in excitement.

I let them enjoy their hype for a moment then summoned my mentor.

[Using skill ‘Teaching of All Techniques’ (SS-rank).]

[Consuming 20 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Master of All Techniques.’]

"Heh, are you prepared?"

I summoned the old man for a reason—he had personally requested to witness this war. He wanted to see me fight Andrei for as long as was possible.

"Yes, Elder."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go!"

Was it just me, or did he look… excited?

* * *

Within the formation that Andrei had crafted in the dungeon’s center, a shadowy figure approached him—it was Zima the Ruthless.

"Andrei."

"Hm? How’s Steel Fist?"

"Oh, that guy? He’s almost broken. Won’t be long now."

"Of course. He’s been fighting non-stop for three days." Andrei nodded. "And the others?"

"That group he brought? About 50% are dead. Some melted in the acid fog while running, and some of the others killed themselves. Kekeke! Idiots."

Steel Fist’s survivors were being kept alive for one reason—to be corrupted by Andrei’s malevolent insects and be turned into his pawns.

"Then it won’t be long now."

The venom’s power only worked when its host was completely broken. It fed on negative energies such as fear, despair, and rage—not resilience.

"Kekeke,” Zima chuckled. "Still, we got quite a haul. There are a few rankers among them, too. Oh, and that Skeleton King guy? It looks like he’s gathered more rankers. Should we be worried?"

"…It’s fine. As long as we don’t leave the formation." 

"You’re sure?"

"Yeah. Just make sure the troops are ready. Once Steel Fist falls, throw him in with the army."

Steel Fist was a ranker. If the malevolent insect consumed him, he would become a monstrous force.

"…Yeah, no problem with that."

"Then that’s it. As for the ones outside? They don’t matter. Just do as usual." Andrei’s voice was calm and confident. "No matter who they are… they’ll all become food for my insects." His gaze shifted to the old man floating above him in a meditative pose—a ghostly presence.

Dang Huipyeong.

That man was the monster among monsters who could make that a reality.

____

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