The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 137
There were six high-ranking undead, excluding her, who possessed a clear sense of self.
In addition to the two white commanders and my original golem, I was in a situation where I directly controlled them.
“It’s precarious, indeed.”
It was possible to increase the number of undead safely.
If I created more and sent them under the white commanders, there wouldn’t be a problem.
However, it was impossible to put them directly under my command.
Even now, I was maintaining a precarious balance honestly.
I was seriously considering sending my original golem under the white commanders, but I was concerned about the decreased efficiency of the capable meat shield.
I reset the basic defense and proceeded forward again.
Unlike what I had thought, there was no immediate attack from the group, even though I had entered from the spot with the bloodstains.
However, I didn’t let my guard down.
The front line was defended by the Living Armor, Lavid and Arachad, who held shields, and right behind them was the Living Armor, Flayna, who wielded a spear.
“More accurately, they’re elite Living Armors.”
Kaila and Valdur were positioned similarly to Flayna, ready to intervene at any moment, and Artina was placed behind Kaila to prevent her from entering first.
Using Artina for reconnaissance was also a good strategy, but since the undead were taking the front line, it wasn’t necessary.
In the rear, there were Anelis and I, and we were being escorted by Nelson, Langvink, and Keleo.
Oriene was quietly following behind me, floating in mid-air.
As we entered deeper, I could sense the walls changing.
“The murals are eerily familiar.”
They were similar to the paintings I had seen in the cave behind the waterfall previously.
It was also evidence that the map was accurate.
At the same time, I could feel a faint holy power emanating as well.
And when we entered a certain point deeper…
Thud.
The vanguard stopped, and our party instantly tensed up.
I wasn’t mistaken.
Something was moving from deeper inside.
Thud, thud, thud.
In a state of high alert, our party quickly shifted into combat mode.
“It’s not just one!”
Just from the sound of the footsteps, I could tell that there were more than two.
The thudding sound continued to grow faster and louder.
“Is it a doll? A statue?”
The footsteps were loud and heavy, and it turned out to be a moving statue.
Moreover, each one possessed holy power.
“A moving statue made with holy power… it’s not magic, but a religion.”
The Earth Mother Church, which was neither magic nor religion.
It was clear that it wasn’t an ordinary religion.
“Be cautious during defense.”
Kaila’s words made Valduur nod his head.
It was certain to have weight, and its movement didn’t seem slow, so its power was not ordinary.
With the added holy power…
I quickly used the Death Aura and strengthened my undead subordinates.
“It’s fortunate that the passage isn’t too wide.”
Living Armor Ravid and Arachad, along with Kaila and Valduur, blocked the front, making it impossible for anyone to pass.
Thud, thud, thud!
The speed of the statues increased due to the Death Aura. It was as if they were enraged.
I didn’t expect it, but it seemed like they were only thinking of killing us.
“Is it because of the magic? I got excited too.”
The statues, packed tightly in the passage, were undoubtedly threatening.
The front line prepared for a quick collision.
They lowered their stance, infused their bodies with magic and mana, and held up their shields.
Boom!
The massive explosion shook the passage, making it feel like it would collapse.
The amplified sound inside the passage hit our ears, and Anelis flinched momentarily.
As a half-Dark Elf, her hearing was more sensitive, which was an understandable reaction.
On the other hand, the fact that she quickly regained her composure and fired the first arrow, demonstrating her experience as a former mercenary, was impressive.
Her arrow flew quickly and pierced a statue that was about to collide with Ravid.
“It’s fast.”
The bow itself was an artifact, which was why the arrow’s speed was extraordinary.
The bow was heavily influenced by equipment, and the power of an artifact bow was no joke.
Anelis’s ability to handle it perfectly was worthy of high praise.
Next, the 2nd line’s Plana used her spear to pierce another statue, and the statue that failed to defend itself was pierced and its body shattered.
Plana’s spear had a dark, corrupt aura surrounding it.
“The front line… did well.”
Despite the loud explosion, the front line remained unscathed.
It was a natural result for Kaila, and Valduur was not unstable either.
Rather, Kaila had learned from the basics over the years, making her foundation solid, and in terms of stability, she was honestly comparable to Artina.
Artina had surpassed Valduur with her talent and my support, but in this aspect, Valduur was superior.
It was one of Valduur’s strengths.
Additionally, Ravid and Arachad had become high-ranking undead, increasing in size and ability, and their self-awareness had grown, allowing them to utilize their bodies more effectively, so the front line was not only withstanding the strong attack but also counterattacking.
Swish, thud!
Kaila and Valduur’s swords revealed a thick, dark aura.
They first knocked down the enemies in front of them and then trampled the fallen ones.
Even a single fallen statue continued to move its body parts.
Moreover, the first one Anelis had pierced was still moving despite receiving additional attacks from Ravid.
Artina quickly provided support, dealing with the fallen enemies, and in the process, identified their weaknesses.
“Ah! There’s a core! It’s located in the chest!”
Fortunately, the location was fixed.
The information about Artina changed the atmosphere of the front line.
Each of them had skills that could target the core, and subsequent attacks continued, making it impossible for those who had fallen to get back up.
“Anelis is also doing well.”
Yongke was unaffected by the front line, accurately destroying the core of the enemy.
“Are you not going to come out?”
At that moment, Orie asked me.
“I don’t think I need to. We’re doing well, and the restricted curses aren’t that effective.”
The terrain wasn’t suitable for powerful attacks, and even if they were destroyed, I couldn’t reuse them.
“Then can I come out?”
“Hmm, if you want to.”
In reality, the relationship between Orie, the Race Queen, and the stone statues wasn’t good.
Objectively, their compatibility wasn’t great, and Orie’s attack method was hallucinations and energy drainage.
It could make them lose their minds and even interfere with their dreams, and some physical interference was also possible.
As a superior being to Specter, her power and versatility were vast, but in reality, the hallucinations and curses didn’t work well on the stone statues, which were like golems, and the energy drainage would only harm Orie, who was undead.
So, her physical strength was limited to a certain extent, and I thought it wouldn’t be of much help.
“There are other attack methods, but the opponent isn’t suitable.”
The attack method was toxic to those who moved with divine power.
However, Orie seemed to think differently, and I gave her permission to move as she pleased.
With my permission, Orie immediately flew up to a high position, overlooking the stone statues.
And then she waved her hand.
She exercised her physical strength, showing a much stronger power and range than during her Specter days.
She even did it from a distance.
As a result, the middle-ranked stone statues stumbled, and some of them began to entangle with each other.
An artificial bottleneck.
Orie created it in a limited situation.
Thanks to that, the front line could quickly eliminate the remaining enemies, and then counterattack the entangled ones.
“Counterattack…”
The bottleneck created by the entangled stone statues in the narrow corridor.
Thanks to that, our side could take a breather and simultaneously take away the enemy’s initiative.
She played with the entangled stone statues from a high position, and some of them even recognized her existence and threw their weapons.
The weapons were imbued with divine power, so if they hit, Orie could also be injured.
However, Orie wasn’t a fool, and she wouldn’t be affected by such a simple attack.
Instead, she openly toyed with them from the sky, supporting the battle to make it more advantageous.
After dealing with all the stone statues, not a single person was injured.
It was a clean battle.
After giving a short rest order, I used the undead to clear the remaining stone statue debris from the path.
“It’s definitely better with the diverse support of the rear guard.”
Artina muttered to herself, and Kaila responded.
“It’s because the firepower is increasing. Even with just one master, it was a big help, but if the number increases and various methods are introduced, it’s a fact that it will be even more helpful.”
“Ah, it didn’t mean that Inha’s help was insufficient.”
“I know it’s not that. Initially, the lord didn’t bring out all the undead, after all.”
“That’s right. Initially, Inha’s undead was also among them.”
Atina’s words made Ori slightly lower his head.
“Certainly, having a powerful mage who can deal massive damage is great, but having a supporting archer and auxiliary mage type is also convenient in battle.”
-Thank you for the praise.
Ori wasn’t a mage, but it was true that he had similar aspects.
Anelis also seemed to realize she had received indirect praise and let out a sigh of relief.
It was enough for me to say that I could help myself.
Of course, the artifact’s and magic’s power were immense.
‘Maybe my magic is based on forming power, and it’s slightly affected by the aura of death?’
I didn’t notice it due to tension, but it seemed like I was being influenced to some extent.
Of course, my magic was only used in a tiny amount, and since it wasn’t my own undead, it was hard to notice, but this was significant.
‘Maybe if I do it well, I can receive my own strengthening.’
It was only a possibility.
Moreover, since it wasn’t my undead, if I forced strengthening, it could put a burden on my body.
What was strange was that the magic I provided was fundamentally pure and not something I had processed.
As much as I had an influence through my seal, it was really minuscule….
‘Maybe something changed after receiving the fragment of the dimension….’
It seemed like I needed to verify it a bit.
While I was thinking, Kyle was discussing with Valdure about the direction we should take, along with praise.
After the conversation ended, I declared that our break was over, and we headed deeper into the ruins.
As we went deeper, the space began to expand, and the internal structure of the ruins started to reveal itself.
The things that were guarding this area, which we had defeated earlier, didn’t appear for a while.
The surroundings brightened, and our luminescent stones were no longer necessary.
“…It’s similar to that place.”
Luminescent stones were embedded everywhere, illuminating the surroundings.
From here on, the path diverged, so we had to refer to the map.
“Hmm, this way is the fastest.”
To be safe, we should have gone around the ruins, dealt with the small guardians, and then faced the boss.
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However, in terms of efficiency, this way was correct.
‘I’ll take care of the source of this wretched divine power first.’
Although it was less than the previous ruins behind the waterfall, the overall spread of divine power was unpleasant.
And if I eliminated this divine power, my army, which was resting inside the dimensional fragment, would be able to move freely.
Then….
‘I won’t need to search one by one.’
I could rest, and my army would handle it.
Certainly, the statues weren’t that easy to deal with.