HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

Along the way, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru hacked and slashed their way through like a buzz saw...

Finally, they arrived at the core region of the third layer.

The Demon Lord's Palace.

An underground palace loomed before them. Yae Sakura checked her watch—thirty minutes remained. Plenty of time.

"We've finally made it!"

"Higokumaru, charge ahead!"

Looking at the seemingly unguarded Demon Lord's Palace, Yae Sakura ordered Higokumaru to rush forward immediately.

Just as Higokumaru was about to dash into the palace, a sudden steel-like brilliance flashed, revealing dozens of knights standing in their path. Each was three meters tall, clad in black steel armor from head to toe, riding fully armed skeleton warhorses, and wielding massive knightly great swords and giant shields.

Every one of them looked incredibly formidable...

At the sight of these unexpected obstacles, Higokumaru halted her charge.

"Death knights..."

As the fully armed death knight materialized before her, Yae Sakura tightened her grip on the hilt of her spiritual blade Sakura Blossom.

Death knights—these were high-ranking demonic undead beings!

By harnessing the power of death, fallen heroes could be awakened from the battlefield, endowing them with near-eternal strength and creating death knights. These former heroes donned even more powerful armor and wielded invincible dark magic.

Unlike ordinary undead knights, each high-ranking death knight had once been a renowned warrior, general, or hero. Only those who were incredibly strong in life qualified to become death knights.

It was akin to the Heroes of Might and Magic or World of Warcraft universes, where death knights represented the pinnacle of the undead race—second only to beings like bone dragons and liches.

They were not the kind of creatures summoned by common necromancers.

Generally, only... powerful liches could transform into formidable death knights. And liches were the ultimate form of necromancers.

The appearance of these undead knights confirmed for Yae Sakura that this Demon Lord... was likely a lich.

-

As the death knights materialized, dozens of them swiftly charged towards Yae Sakura and Higokumaru on their warhorses.

Their onslaught was menacing, striking fear into the hearts of their adversaries.

However... Higokumaru, in her fox form, opened her massive maw and unleashed a torrent of flames upon the advancing death knights.

The fox fire adhered to the death knights' bodies, igniting into a blaze...

Yet, the death knights faltered not a whit, pressing ever closer, oblivious to the pain.

As they closed in, Higokumaru extended her enormous tail, lashing out at the death knights. The first two were sent flying, but the rest nimbly altered their course, charging in from the flanks.

They raised their great swords, imbued with a terrifying dark power, and brought them crashing down.

At that crucial moment, a slender crimson katana intercepted the death knight's blade.

The dark power and the spiritual energy clashed, but with a surge of strength from the fox-eared Shige-miko Yae Sakura, she repelled the death knight.

The Death Knight, horse and all, was forced to retreat continuously.

"Heart of Prajna!"

A strengthening buff was cast upon Yae Sakura as she locked onto the Death Knight ahead. With a swift Shuryu Slash... she appeared behind the Death Knight.

"Fivefold Slash of Falling Blossoms!"

Five swift strikes aimed at the surrounding Death Knights, the powerful spiritual waves causing significant damage to all nearby.

Moments later, another peculiar longsword appeared in Yae Sakura's other hand.

"The Ouroboros!"

Utilizing the Void Blade's ability, Yae Sakura began reaping the heads of surrounding Death Knights.

Meanwhile, Higokumaru wasn't idle; she directly bit down on one of the Death Knights, killed it, and then spat it out.

Her five tails also ignited with foxfire, entangling and killing the surrounding Death Knights.

Having swiftly dispatched the death knights, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru entered the palace... only to find a skeleton dressed in a mage's robe, adorned with an eerie black iron chain, seated upon a throne carved of bone.

Though the skull clearly lacked eyes, the blue flames burning within its sockets seemed to gaze directly at them.

"O mighty adventurer... no, wait... mighty Hero! I joyfully congratulate you on surmounting all my hurdles to reach my presence.

However, your journey ends here. Your life terminates at this very moment!"

"I shall create even more potent undead constructs from your remains."

The Demon King... the Lich King rose to his feet as he observed Yae Sakura and Higokumaru before him, appearing quite satisfied with these two souls.

Their swift arrival in the palace attests to their formidable strength, he mused.

And only such exceptional remains can be used to create the ideal undead beings I envision.

This was one of the reasons the Lich King had established the Underground City:

To let suitable, high-quality materials come to him of their own volition.

Though the Lich King's Underground City comprised only three layers, this did not imply inferiority. His needs were met with ample research materials, rendering three layers sufficient.

"Ugh... talk is cheap," Yae Sakura retorted, eyeing the Demon King before her.

While his power was undeniable, it no longer instilled fear in her.

-

Watching the remaining time, Yae Sakura didn't waste this precious moment. After briefly instructing Higokumaru, she swung her sword directly at the Undead Demon Lord.

An enormous crescent-shaped blade of light instantly slashed through the air.

At that moment, the lich raised its left hand, conjuring a translucent shield of dark elements in front of itself.

The blade of light struck the elemental barrier, completely annihilating it but also dissipating in the process.

"Not bad... Then allow me to introduce my treasures!" As the lich's grating voice spoke, the ground trembled, and a fissure opened in the earth before it.

A colossal thirty-meter-long bone dragon emerged, with the Undead Demon Lord perching atop its skull.

This was only the beginning. Within minutes, five bone dragons had burrowed up from the ground, and their numbers ceased.

"Although bone dragons may be the weakest, you face five that I've modified. Brave Hero below, do you still stand a chance?"

"Garbage remains garbage. Don't just say five; even a hundred more would be trash."

Higokumaru... reveal your true form!

Yae Sakura didn't show the slightest bit of fear; instead, she began taunting.

In an instant, Higokumaru transformed into a hundred-foot-tall flaming fox, with Sakura herself standing atop its head.

"Trash? Is that so... my dears, give this underestimator a taste of your power," commanded the Undead Demon Lord, and the four bone dragons at its side flew directly towards Yae Sakura.

"Sakura... scatter!"

Facing the bone dragon, Yae Sakura immediately transformed without hesitation.