Building an Empire in Game of Thrones (REWORKED VERSION)-Chapter 65: The Undead King

After a few minutes, he landed lightly on the floating island, Duskfang and Dawnshear at the ready in case of another attack. The island was barren except for the massive, ancient castle in the distance.

All around the island, a massive thunderstorm was raging and strong winds whipped around him. Lightning flashes illuminated the skies, casting shadows across the landscape.

As he began walking towards the castle, he could feel the air around him was filled with magical energy. Lightning had illuminated the path before him as if guiding him along his path.

After several minutes, he reached the castle's entrance, a draw bridge with a bottomless chasm beneath it. As he stepped on it, the wood creaked beneath his weight, but it held firm. He took another cautious step, eyes scanning the towering castle walls. The stone was ancient, dark with age, yet there was an eerie presence holding it together.

The massive iron doors at the entrance slowly opened on their own. Beyond them lay a vast, dimly lit hall lined with towering statues of long-forgotten warriors, their stone eyes seeming to follow Maximus as he moved forward.

Then, the doors slammed shut behind him with a loud boom.

That's when he heard a deep voice that echoed throughout the hall.

"You have come far, mortal... but here, in my domain, your journey ends."

At the far end of the hall, a throne sat atop a dais, shrouded in mist. Upon it rested a figure clad in a blackened cloak and armor, with a black crown resting upon his head. His skull was also dark, and in his bony hands, he held a great sword that pulsed with necrotic energy. The Undead King had awoken.

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Maximus tightened his grip on his swords, his heart pounding. He had fought countless enemies before, but this presence, this raw malice, was unlike anything he had encountered.

The Undead King slowly stood up. With a single step forward, the ground trembled, and from the shadows of the hall, twisted forms began to rise. More than just skeletons, these were abominations of fused bones and rotting flesh, towering over Maximus with weapons integrated into their decayed limbs.

Wanting to get the first strike in, Maximus dashed forward, slashing through the first abomination. His enchanted blades cut through its rotten flesh like butter, but the creature barely staggered. It swung a massive axe downward, forcing Maximus to roll to the side. Before he could counterattack, another abomination lunged from behind, claws targeting his back.

His reflexes kicked in causing him to spin in mid-air, conjuring a barrier to absorb the blow before countering with a double slash. Dawnshear burned with energy as it cut through the monstrosity, reducing it to ash. Duskfang followed immediately after, severing the other abomination's head.

But more were coming.

Dozens of undead horrors walked toward him from all sides, each more grotesque than the last. Maximus fought using as little magic power as he could, dodging, slashing, and countering each of the monstrosities. His swords singing through the air as he carved through the endless wave of undead.

Still, they kept rising.

The Undead King watched from above, unmoving, his fiery eyes glowing with amusement.

"You fight well, warrior. But let us see how you fare against true death."

With a wave of his sword, a surge of dark energy erupted from the throne. The abominations Maximus had slain began to twitch and reassemble, their severed limbs reconnecting as if time itself had reversed.

"Shit" Maximus cursed under his breath. "There's no end to them"

Then, the air grew thick with malice. The temperature plummeted.

A massive force crashed into him, sending him hurtling across the hall. He barely managed to flip to his feet before he saw it, another knight.

Clad in the same tattered black armor as the Undead King, this warrior moved with unnatural speed. Its sword enchanted in blue flames.

The Death Knight.

It struck again, faster than lightning.

Maximus barely managed to block, and the force sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. His arms burned from the impact, but there was no time to recover, the Death Knight was already upon him, swinging its blade in a downward arc.

He rolled to the side, barely avoiding decapitation, and countered with Duskfang, but the knight parried with ease. Their swords clashed, energy from both swords spreading throughout the room with each strike. Maximus had fought many powerful warriors before, but this... this was something else.

The Death Knight moved like a specter, always a step ahead, never slowing, never hesitating. Every attack was relentless, every motion precise.

Maximus gritted his teeth. He needed to end this fast.

Summoning every ounce of magic he had, he channeled more magic energy into his swords, causing them to glow with a blinding mix of light and shadow. Then, with a single powerful thrust, he broke the Death Knight's guard.

Seizing the moment, he unleashed a devastating combination, Dawnshear cut through its chest, while Duskfang severed its legs in a single fluid motion. The knight fell to its knees, its body filled with the remaining arcane energy that it had.

Maximus drove both blades through its skull. The Death Knight let out an ear shattering screech before its body disintegrated into nothingness.

Silence followed. Then, a slow, clap.

The Undead King had finally moved.

"Impressive. But now... it is my turn."

With a single step, he vanished from the throne.

Before Maximus could react, a force struck him in the chest.

The next thing he knew, he was flying through the castle walls, crashing into the storm-ridden skies outside. Lightning flashed all around him as he plummeted toward the floating island below.

But before he could regain his balance, the Undead King appeared above him, sword raised high.

Maximus barely had time to raise his blades before the King's sword came down, shattering the air itself with its power. The real battle had begun.

The impact was cataclysmic. The force of the Undead King's strike sent shockwaves rippling through the storm, distorting the very air around them. Maximus braced with both swords, barely holding his ground as he was driven downward, his feet smashing into the floating island below, leaving a crater beneath him.

The Undead King descended like a phantom; his movements unnatural. Before Maximus could recover, another strike came, a horizontal slash, fast as lightning, infused with pure necrotic energy. Maximus barely dodged in time, ducking beneath the blade as it carved through the air, leaving a dark rift of death magic in its wake.

He retaliated instantly as he aimed for the King's ribs, but the undead king simply disappeared out of existence, reappearing behind him in the blink of an eye.

"Too slow."

A crushing kick sent Maximus soaring backward, slamming through a large rock formation. The pain barely registered as he flipped mid-air, using a burst of magic to stop himself before hitting the ground. He exhaled sharply, his eyes locked onto the Undead King, whose burning gaze never wavered.

Maximus knew he couldn't rely on brute force alone. His opponent was faster, stronger, and commanded death itself. He had to be smarter.

Rushing forward, he unleashed a flurry of strikes, his dual blades switching between offense and defense. The Undead King met him blow for blow, each clash of their weapons igniting the storm around them, sending arcs of energy travelling through the air.

Suddenly, the King switched forms. For a split second, he was like a ghost, Maximus's swords passing harmlessly through his skeletal form. Then pain.

A slash across his chest sent him staggering. His armor held, making the necrotic energy that was meant to eat away at his body had no effect.

"You are resilient," the King grinned. "But even the strongest of warriors succumb to death."

Maximus smirked, wiping blood from his lips. "Guess I'll just have to be the exception."

With that, he charged the king, this time with magic flowing through every inch of his body. He created a magic whip, using it to latch onto the undead king's sword. Using the whip, he began to consume the energy from the king's sword and transfer it to his own swords.

The king noticed this and cut the whip, but not before Maximus managed to consume a lot of the necrotic energy that the sword had. Drawing the king in, Maximus predicted his move and managed to dodge, then counterattacked with one of his swords tearing through the armor of the king and the other slicing through the cursed bone.

The Undead King staggered, but only for a moment.

Then, an explosion of dark energy erupted from his body, blasting Maximus back.

"ENOUGH."

The storm itself seemed to roar in response as the King raised his sword. The sky split open, and from the heavens, a barrage of cursed spears descended toward Maximus. Each one carried enough power to erase entire armies.

Maximus had no time to think, he quickly moved.

He sprinted through the battlefield, dodging, weaving between the falling spears as they detonated around him, leaving gaping voids where reality itself had been erased. He leapt onto a crumbling rock, then higher, using his magic to form platforms in mid-air.

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His target, The Undead King, who hovered above, gathering power for another strike.

Maximus kept leaping upward, propelling himself like a comet. The King swung his sword, but Maximus dodged mid-air at the last second, narrowly evading the deadly swing.

And then, he struck.

Dawnshear and Duskfang pierced the King's chest, the combined force of light and darkness colliding against his necrotic form. The Undead King let out a ghastly roar as cracks formed across his body, his skeletal form struggling to contain the opposing forces tearing through him.

Maximus didn't hesitate as he poured everything, he had into one final push, his blades erupting with pure, unrelenting energy.

With a final, devastating slash, he ripped the Undead King apart.

The explosion that followed shook the floating island to its core. The cursed energy dissipated into the winds. The castle trembled before crumbling entirely, its foundation no longer sustained by the dark power that had held it together.

As the dust settled, Maximus stood amidst the ruins, breathing heavily, his swords still glowing faintly in his hands.

The Undead King was gone.

The third trial was over.

And he won.