The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 184
With my support added, even that weakening would become meaningless.
The reality was that we had to fight against an immortal army, as holy power didn’t work.
“Let’s go meet them.”
“Meet them?”
There were people from the village, who could be considered prisoners of war, gathered here.
It would be troublesome if they took advantage of the battle to escape or cause a commotion.
Kayla also agreed with my words, and Artina seemed to have imagined the situation, nodding her head.
“Anelis, give me a White Knight commander. Have them manage the villagers.”
“Yes.”
If I took them with me, it would certainly be helpful, but managing the villagers was also an important task.
So, I entrusted her with the management of the prisoners.
I could have asked Eryun to do it, but due to his occasional, lingering affection towards Juterus, I couldn’t entrust him with the task.
After handing over the command of some undead to Anelis, I led the remaining undead and our party to meet the enemy’s main force.
Thanks to that, we were able to meet their main force halfway between Juterus’s base and the front line.
Even though we had come to meet them, they didn’t seem surprised.
After all, they were also an army.
Although they might not have noticed our movement at first, they would have realized we were approaching them from the middle.
Reconnaissance was a basic necessity, so they must have been operating scouts.
In reality, there were occasionally people who appeared to be monitoring our movements from a distance.
I could have dealt with them, but I didn’t.
It didn’t matter whether they were prepared or not, as long as they didn’t flee.
So, when we finally faced their main force head-on, a priest who seemed to be their representative stepped forward.
“Hmm, he seems to have skills rather than just looks… and his confidence is overwhelming.”
The old man, who appeared to be quite aged, wore a priest’s robe with a bishop’s insignia embroidered on it.
“Bolredi Bishop…”
Eryani looked at the priest.
The bishop’s title indicated that he held a significant position.
“What a ridiculous village.”
Even with knights and mercenaries gathered around Juterus, the representative was a priest.
It wasn’t a recruitment, but rather nobles entering the empire’s domain.
Bolredi Bishop seemed to have heard Eryani’s voice and looked at him, saying:
“Eryani, I heard you’ve joined the dark mage’s side? Unbelievable.”
However, Eryani didn’t respond.
He simply gazed at the bishop with contempt.
Their relationship seemed strained.
Bolredi Bishop lost interest when Eryani didn’t respond and looked at me, saying:
“Strong dark mage, what’s your name?”
“Do Inha.”
“Ah, you’re Do Inha? I heard you were in Rinet… You’re far more impressive than I expected. When did you reach 6th class?”
Bolredi Bishop chuckled.
“Amazing, indeed. But your confidence is excessive. You’ve achieved too much at a young age. Do the demons favor you?”
“Hmm.”
Maybe it’s because he’s a priest.
He didn’t properly recognize my abilities.
There were many who tried to gauge my strength, but even a bishop couldn’t see through me… It was a bit disappointing.
“I’ll take care of it before it gets bigger. I didn’t want to come, but… it was an unexpectedly good choice. Thanks to the goddess’s blessing.”
The conversation felt more like the bishop’s monologue, so I didn’t see the value in listening anymore.
They’re all going to die anyway. Let’s just finish the job and collect the corpses.
I immediately brought forth Draug and my original golem.
Hundreds of skeletons followed in an orderly fashion to support them.
“…Tsk.”
The bishop clicked his tongue and joined the group of humans.
“Block them! Hold out as long as you can! They’ll collapse soon! Show the power of the holy army!”
‘The holy army?’
I was baffled.
While there were many priests, mercenaries were the main force. Saying “holy army” made me wonder if he was missing a screw.
I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or using politics to gain control.
But it didn’t matter anyway.
The mercenaries on our side faithfully carried out the bishop’s orders.
“Bind them first!”
“They’re just big brutes! Just bind them for now! The priests will handle it!”
Most of them were mercenaries, so their ability to cope was not light.
They tied stones to ropes and threw them, trying to bind the golem and the dragonewt, and the large mercenaries gathered to focus on binding the dragonewt.
In addition, ordinary mercenaries were scattered around, trying to support the main golem and dragonewt by blocking the skeleton warriors.
Bang! Crash!
It was due to the bishop’s order to hold on.
Instead of defeating or damaging the undead, they focused on binding them, and the priests began to chant a song together.
Hymn. Or, in other words, a chant.
It was not an ordinary song, but one filled with divine power, and although it was a classic method, it was also a type of divine magic.
Simple yet effective, it worked well on the undead.
Just being touched by the divine power would weaken the undead, and if a large group of priests used the chant together, the undead would literally be purified and melt away.
It was certainly effective. As the chant continued, the movement of the undead slowed down, visible to the naked eye.
“Good! The priests…”
But that was it.
Although they weakened a bit, it was not enough for the ordinary mercenaries to guarantee victory against my skeleton warriors.
The charging mercenaries fell, and the ones who had bound the main golem and dragonewt were flustered.
“What, why are they so strong?”
“Doesn’t the chant work?”
The bishop’s face was filled with anxiety.
He misjudged me.
I took advantage of the gap and unleashed the magic I had prepared.
[Death’s Aura]
[Fog of the Battlefield]
The Death’s Aura, which weakened the allied undead, and the Fog of the Battlefield, which hindered the opponent’s movement and drained their health.
The fog’s unique ability to obscure vision was also quite useful.
The undead didn’t care even if they couldn’t see, as they were chasing the living’s energy.
A thick gray fog erupted from Elroset’s staff, slowly engulfing the battlefield.
“Then, I’ll…”
“Don’t go in.”
“Huh?”
I stopped Artina from entering the Fog of the Battlefield.
“Is it because of the escort? The teacher…”
“No, it’s not that.”
It wasn’t just because of that reason.
“It’s too dangerous.”
The Fog of the Battlefield was an enhanced version of the Swamp Fog, a 7-class level magic.
While the Swamp Fog hindered the opponent’s movement and drained their health, the Fog of the Battlefield blocked vision even more strongly and… drained life force.
“…Life force?”
“You can die just from prolonged exposure to the fog.”
It meant they were close to being alone.
However, they weren’t actually alone, so there was no way to dispel the fog.
That wasn’t the end.
[ Cure ]
[ Remove Curse! ]
[ Protection! ]
The priests hastily tried to dispel the fog, but it was no use.
“It won’t lift? What the…!”
The bishop’s flustered voice and the mercenaries’ screams echoed endlessly.
Just then…
Thud! Thud!
Finally, the main golem was released, and a few people rushed to block its path.
“Are they holy knights?”
That wasn’t all.
The knights also stepped forward.
“Tsk. The priests can’t cast dispel magic…”
“Stop it. The holy knights are listening.”
“Listen? I’m not even their loyal subject, what’s the point.”
“But this… it’s not a normal undead.”
“It’s a draugr. I’ve heard of it. It seems to have eaten a lot, so don’t be careless. Depending on the individual, it can be stronger than an expert.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Let’s hold out for now. The holy knights will handle the main golem. We’ll have an easier time if we put them in front.”
“But what if it revives like the other undead?”
“The holy knights will handle it somehow.”
Some holy knights helped the mercenaries fight off the skeleton warriors, while the priests acknowledged that they couldn’t dispel the magic on their own and began to openly cast blessing and recovery magic on their fellow holy knights and mercenaries.
The fog on the battlefield couldn’t block it, so the priests focused on their original task of supporting their allies.
A few scattered mages also started providing support from the rear with their miscellaneous magic.
That’s why…
The battle was getting longer and more grueling.
The fallen undead would revive soon after being devoured by my magic, and the mercenaries, knights, and holy knights would quickly recover from their injuries thanks to the priests.
They were replenishing their stamina and making up for their physical limitations.
Our undead were no match, but they were still showing an impressive fighting spirit and prolonging the battle.
“…Are we just going to watch?”
The enemies that seemed easy to crush were putting up a surprisingly good fight.
However, there was still no sense of crisis.
The longer the battle lasted, the more troublesome it would be for the other side. Our side had infinite stamina, and the fog on the battlefield was still being maintained.
That’s why some holy knights were trying to find a way to target me directly.
Two skeleton knights and the mire priests supporting them were somehow blocking their path.
The mire priests’ support was focused on the skeleton knights.
“Wait and see. Something interesting is about to happen.”
“Huh?”
Artina looked puzzled at my words, and I pointed to the mist on the battlefield with my finger.
The gray mist was gradually turning red.
◈ Support
“Ugh…!”
As the battle dragged on, the mist’s color turned increasingly red.
“What’s going on?”
I chuckled slightly in response to Artina’s question.
“It’s proof that the mist is sucking up life force.”
From noble mtl dot com
“It’s not just sucking it up, though.”
“That’s right. Since it’s gotten that intense, it’s about to start soon.”
“aah!”
“Uaah!”
“What, what’s going on? Has it gone crazy?”
A loud, piercing scream echoed from within the mist, overpowering the sounds of battle.
And then, a human’s dying cry pierced the air.
“What’s happening? I can’t see anything.”