Chapter Twenty: The Lich King Prepares to Sacrifice Himself

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In the basement of the antique shop, Roald was fiddling with a newly acquired card.

[The Cheerful Ghoul]
[Ability: During your turn, if a minion is healed, the mana upkeep for the day is 0.]
[Description: Dead friends, friends who aren't dead yet, and those half-dead ones too—everyone, raise your hands with me! Let's work together to help our great Lord Lich King get a new ride. Who cares if we work ourselves to death, as long as we're happy!]

Looking at the effect of this card, a smile crept across Roald’s face—a smile so shrewd that even capitalists would be envious.

From now on, if he gave his employees a daily dose of diluted [Undead Corrosive Elixir] as treatment, he could forgo maintenance costs entirely.

That would save him a whole batch of soul crystals.

How delightful.

As an undead creature, after using [Feign Death], Zazaira was now hiding at the bottom of the Hudson River, running his kingdom with a brood of spiders, awaiting the day Roald would summon him again.

[Feign Death]
[Ability: Fake death once.]
[Description: Ah, I’m dead. Now go and hit someone else!]

The card’s description was succinct, but its effect was formidable.

Roald had prepared one of these for several of his employees; after all, he wasn’t a total demon—he did want his staff to work well.

“Boss, Vikaen used Infection to control those terrorists, and Tony too. I think it’s only a matter of time before he builds his armor, but I don’t quite understand—why him?” Erika voiced her doubts.

Why not Toby? Or Thomas? Why did it have to be Tony Stark?

“Fate has placed two roads before Tony. One road leads him to become Iron Man, and the other… also leads him to become Iron Man. He has no choice. If I want to seize the advantage in the plot, he must become Iron Man!”

“We of the Scourge Legion may not pay salaries, but we must never forget our people-oriented principle. Erika, remember these words—they are the core values for our future development.”

“Every warrior of the Scourge Legion should be a devoted champion, fighting for love and freedom all their lives. As a highly cohesive collective, we must remain attuned to the pulse of humanity. Our development should be centered on people, with human needs as the cornerstone of our company’s growth. Everyone who uses our services should be able to climb out of their graves and sing our praises!”

“We need his knowledge. This… is Tony’s destiny.”

Roald waved his new card as he delivered a lesson in corporate culture, using concise words to express the Scourge Legion’s mission and guiding principles.

Erika didn’t fully understand, but she was deeply moved—even awed, though she couldn’t quite grasp why.

Having weathered the Lich King’s endless speeches alone, she had no intention of pursuing the topic. Whether Tony became Iron Man was none of her concern; all she truly cared about was Roald.

“What about those people watching us outside?” Placing Roald’s dinner nearby—his favorite bacon rolls—she reported another situation.

“Pay them no mind. Overreacting will only provoke a stronger response.” After all, those agents would never uncover anything substantial, and Roald wasn’t worried about what they could do.

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From the start, he had never bothered to conceal his existence, nor did he intend to negotiate with that baldy in black…

He had no interest in joining the Avengers, nor was he keen on S.H.I.E.L.D.—everything he did was actually Erika controlling a duplicate for him. The other side had no solid evidence, and even if they did, Roald wouldn’t be afraid.

He was here to stir things up, collecting energy and forging cards along the way.

Would Thanos be able to snap a dead man to death again?

Unless he encountered someone truly beyond his dimension, Roald had nothing to fear—at least for now.

All his attention was on this new card.

With this successful attempt, he could replicate the process for future card forging.

Eight points of maintenance mana—a sign this card was near the top tier.

And looking at its quality, it was unmistakably a legendary hero card.

But unlike typical legendary cards, even without a special illustration, it not only came with its own weapon and finishing move, but also boasted seven unique traits!

This card’s attributes were utterly broken.

Roald could only chalk it up to luck.

[Frenzy: Listen up, darling, you really don’t want to see me angry! Attack power grows at random when injured.]
[Windfury: Goodness, I was born strong after all; attack speed increases when injured, each hit doubles in power, maximum of four simultaneous attacks, doubled again at low health, and each hit resets the count.]
[Fel Power: After drinking demon blood, there are always a few side effects. Becoming a little bloodthirsty is perfectly normal, boss, don’t dock my bonus for that; attack power and speed grow randomly when injured, intelligence drops by ??]
[Lifesteal: With this, you’ll be as tough and enduring as I am; restores half of maximum health with each attack.]
[Scourge Axe: An axe itself isn’t scary—it’s the wielder that matters. This is the Lich King’s year-end bonus for his top employee; attacks randomly freeze or kill targets, or randomly restore maximum health.]
[Power of Death: I’m dead, but I’ve grown stronger; triggers a deathrattle effect upon fatal damage, reviving with one health left.]
[Lich’s Blessing: Hey, wimps, see the Lich King beside me? Go hit him, so I can get stronger and wipe you all out with a single blow; when a bonded ally is attacked, absorb a random amount of attack power, gain Frenzy, and double the finishing move’s power.]

“Hiss!”

“This is just insane, isn’t it?”

No wonder he’s the Chieftain.

Born to be a berserker.

That intelligence penalty, though, might be a slight issue…

Even if the skill names differed somewhat from Hearthstone’s cards and there was this minor flaw, Roald couldn’t help but marvel at how overpowered it was.

[Frenzy] provided a foundation for ever-increasing attack power—a quintessential trait for any go-getter.

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Even more outrageous was [Windfury], making it the perfect skill for clutch comebacks—combine it with [Frenzy], and the card’s attack power could grow endlessly, growing stronger with every battle.

[Lifesteal] ensured both sustained output and endurance in combat. If you paired [Frenzy] + [Windfury] + [Power of Death] as a combo…

With lifesteal and attack speed, the Chieftain was basically an unkillable cockroach—one that only got stronger the longer he fought.

Roald was thoroughly satisfied.

As for this [Lich’s Blessing], he understood it perfectly—and was astounded.

So if I don’t die, it actually hampers the Chieftain’s output?

In future team battles, should I go up and take the beating first, while the Chieftain munches popcorn on the side, waiting for me to soak enough damage, and then he unleashes his ultimate, cleaving down everyone in a single blow?

Does this mean I’m really supposed to play the sacrificial strategy going forward?

Sacrifice myself first, let the minions go berserk, then revive, sacrifice again, minions go berserk again, and on and on—layer upon layer—until at last the Chieftain’s axe destroys the world?

Brilliant!

Roald stroked his chin, contemplating the possibilities of this trait.

Should he give it a try? After all, he had plenty of [Feign Death] cards.

He shook his head, suppressing the impulse for now, and once more infused the card with soul energy through a dark ritual. A minute later, Grommash Deathfrost, Scourge Lord, axe in hand, appeared in the basement.

Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, clad in the rough, imposing armor of an orc, he radiated might—though his ash-grey skin and the cold aura about him set him apart from the usual green or red-skinned image.

New to this world, Grommash opened his eyes in confusion, bewilderment written all over his face.

Roald barely blinked before Grommash drove his war axe into the floor with a resounding “duang”, then dropped to one knee with an earth-shaking “boom”.

“Scourge Lord Grommash Deathfrost, at your command.”

The floor instantly felt the unbearable weight of existence, cracking beneath Grommash’s kneel.

Erika, calculator in hand at the side, quickly tallied, “Floor repair: $300…”

Grommash: “???”

“Erika, don’t bully the honest ones. He’s our new employee—we’ll be relying on him in the next fight.”

Roald was very pleased with Grommash’s attitude.

Strength could be developed, but attitude was everything.