The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 205
Prina had left everyone else behind, and I met her alone.
As soon as I met her, I spoke directly.
“We must accept the Orcs.”
“…So this incident is related to Lord Do-inha, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“If my memory serves me right, Lord Do-inha has never been involved with the Orcs.”
“……”
“Is it a connection from before he became a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
“Then, Lord Do-inha’s past actions are completely unknown, aren’t they?”
They couldn’t be known.
I had lived on the outskirts of society, and I was originally a human who had fallen from the sky.
I had no family, no teacher.
Even the place where I had been active for a while disappeared completely, swept away by the Monster Wave.
The only faint connection I had was with Siglen, to whom I had supplied Orcs, but since it was through a merchant named Kuman, it was an indirect connection at best.
In reality, there was no way to uncover my past.
“I lived in the Monster Forest.”
However, for this matter, I needed to reveal some of the past that had been shrouded in mystery.
“The Monster Forest…?”
“Do you remember the Monster Wave from a few years ago?”
“The Monster Wave from a few years ago… Are you talking about when the pioneering territories were swept away all at once?…Impossible.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m from one of those pioneering territories. You could say I was active in that area for a while.”
“…You survived the Monster Wave.”
“Yes. As a dark mage, I had created a hiding place, which proved effective.”
That’s half a lie.
I did create a dungeon, but it was more like a basement-level feeling.
In reality, I had combined the underground of Kuman’s mansion and the underground of the Owalan noble’s mansion to create my own dungeon. It wasn’t like I had built a dungeon from scratch.
But that wasn’t important.
There was no need to explain it in detail, and Prina wouldn’t be curious about it anyway.
“I had to stay inside the dungeon for a while after the Monster Wave ended.”
“That’s understandable. The human lands must have returned to the monsters.”
“Yes. I couldn’t stay hidden in the underground dungeon forever. I took risks and slowly began to explore the surface, where I encountered surviving humans and Orcs.”
“…The timing is similar, I suppose.”
It seemed like they were calculating the timing of the Orcs’ appearance and their formal entry into the interspecies alliance.
“There was a rumor that I had seen an Orc before the Monster Wave occurred. It was surprising when it turned out to be true.”
I told them about my connections with them, about how we had joined forces to drive out the Orcs and formed a kind of alliance, respecting each other’s territories.
“Life itself was relatively stable, but I couldn’t stay there forever. I had colleagues and my own goals, after all.”
“In other words, you’re talking about a past alliance?”
“That’s right. It wasn’t on the same scale as now, but… I developed while they did too.”
I took a deep breath and continued.
“To be honest, I brought them here to stabilize the barren land and bring additional peace to the land.”
Originally, I had planned to make it seem like they had coincidentally arrived here and naturally settled into the territory.
But since they came in such large numbers all at once, the story changed.
From Prina’s perspective, it was a real threat.
And if it had been on a small scale, Prina might have refused, but I could have still made them settle in the barren land and gradually assimilate into the territory.
It was within my power to make them settle in the barren land, after all.
In reality, I was the one who had been managing the barren land alone, and I could have hired more undead mercenaries to help me without Prina’s interference.
I was in a position similar to the owner of a special territory like the barren land, so it was enough to just mention that I would bring in the Orcs.
The only problem was that there were too many of them.
If it had been a few hundred, I might have been able to handle it, but with around 3,000, it was difficult for me to manage them on my own.
Undead didn’t need a place to live or food, but the Orcs did.
They needed housing, food, and daily necessities, which were hard to come by in the barren land.
I had thought that since I had a share in the Desert Shield, I could handle a few hundred on my own and prepare for them gradually, but with the number increasing by several folds, the story changed.
We had to slowly build trust with Rineta and naturally blend into the territory, but…
“They’ve all come at once.”
The result was that the leader of the Dolgaebaram tribe, Rithild, trusted me too much.
If they brought their overwhelming military power into the territory all at once, Prina would have no choice but to make a decision to expel them.
It would be a huge threat to the territory itself.
So, I revealed that we had an alliance from the past.
I had also brought Artina, and although it didn’t seem to please her, I thought it wouldn’t be a big problem since Prina was my fiancée…
“That’s a correct judgment.”
Honestly, I was surprised, and our plan changed a bit, but it wasn’t a huge problem.
I was confident that I could persuade Prina.
The only downside was that I had to reveal some of our past stories, but since we had grown this much, it didn’t matter.
“Prina couldn’t have gone anywhere and talked about it anyway.”
Moreover, Siglen, who could have been an obstacle, was now…
“Even if they brought Mutter, they couldn’t ask me to return it now, and they would have to release it soon anyway.”
“You should have told me earlier if you knew it from the start.”
“I wasn’t sure if they were still there, and their scale wasn’t as big as it is now, so it was a delicate situation to talk about earlier. I didn’t think they would trust me so much and come right away.”
“…It was hard to predict that they would move like that, relying only on our past relationship.”
It seemed that they thought they could slowly build a relationship with me, talking about this and that.
But they moved all at once…
“As I said, it’s good to accept them.”
“Since we had an alliance, and considering the trust they’ve shown to Do-in nim, it wouldn’t be a problem to accept them right away. But…”
Their power was too great.
Even 3,000 orcs would be a significant threat, and these were 3,000 orcs known for using magic.
It was a threat that couldn’t be ignored.
“Although it would take some time to become a complete resident of the territory, if that happens, the territory can gain strong military power. Moreover, they are excellent mages. It’s like getting a magic tower for free.”
They didn’t even demand research funding. Although they couldn’t produce much, their military power alone was incredibly valuable.
In this world, military power was extremely important.
“Originally, our goal was to stabilize the barren land and continuously interact with people. If we do that, we can definitely make them territory residents.”
Moreover, we had already formed an alliance with the interspecies union.
It wouldn’t be a big problem to accept them as territory residents.
We just needed a little support.
“If we have that many people, we don’t need to tie them down to the barren land alone.”
“…Are you saying we should deploy the orcs to the Forest Shield?”
“Yes. We can’t deploy our entire force, but even with a relatively small number, the Forest Shield will be stabilized if they’re there.”
The effectiveness was certain.
The trust issue would almost be resolved if I was involved.
It meant that my words would carry more weight… Honestly, I was already invincible.
Kayla was under my command, and I was a mage myself. If Prina weren’t my fiancée, she might have become a mere puppet.
The family’s retainers would have also restricted me.
“It wouldn’t have been a good situation anyway.”
“…As Director Do-in-ha said, it’s clear that it would be helpful. Although the situation in Yeongji is improving, the actual military power is significantly lacking, which is a fact.”
Although the regular army was established, they were still fully invested in training, and the knight’s combat power required a long-term investment of over 10 years.
There were mercenaries, but not many.
Many had died in the war between Zhutes and Dollem, and Dollem was in a situation where they had to hold on to their guild’s mercenaries tightly, not wanting to let them go.
Since I had received help, I couldn’t hold onto everything, and even if I provided support, I couldn’t provide many mercenaries.
Moreover, there was still an internal conflict.
Many mercenaries had flocked to that side.
In this difficult situation, if Phulork joined, they could fill the military power gap at once.
However…
“However, if we suddenly become strong like this, the royal family would think…”
It was already a place where they couldn’t take me and Kayla out, and they were anxious about it.
If Rinetta had sufficient military power, they would openly try to take us out.
“It’s a fact that if we’re not there, the territory would collapse, so it would be resolved.”
Of course, Phulork would act according to their own judgment if I wasn’t there, but at least the royal family would see them as a suitable excuse.
However, it was excessive worry.
“Anyway, they’re already in a mess. And if conflicts arise with the empire, eventually Kayla and I would have to support the royal family.”
By then, the possibility of the royal family finding us first was low.
After all, they could call us back legally at that time, so it was easy to let us go this time.
“Of course, the royal family wouldn’t be happy about the local lord’s power growing stronger, but Rinetta had been through a lot, and they were a solid royal family insider, and since they accepted half-breeds, the royal family wouldn’t overreact.”
I felt that my words made sense, and Prina fell silent.
Honestly, Prina would also be tempted.
It was a good opportunity to strengthen the territory’s military power.
Even if it was something I relied on, eventually, it would naturally blend in as time passed.
After a while, Prina spoke to me.
“I want to meet the representative of Phulork.”
◈ Development
Prina’s request was reasonable.
It was clear that we couldn’t just chase them away, so we had to have a conversation with them at least.
Luckily, Prina seemed to be thinking positively, judging from their words.
After saying that we would meet with Rithild again, I ended the conversation with Prina.
Then, Kayla approached me, as if she had been waiting.
“How did it go?”
“Luckily, it seems like they’re thinking positively. There’s no actual loss, anyway. They just didn’t give permission, and they want to talk to Rithild.”
“That’s definitely a positive sign. It’s a relief.”
Kayla, like me, seemed to think that Phulork would be helpful to the territory.
Since accepting Phulork would benefit both me and my friend Prina, she also wanted Phulork to be accepted.
“Where is Rithild?”
“I think they’re controlling their tribe on the Forest Shield side.”
It seemed difficult to call them into the territory without permission.
“How about food?”
“I’ve brought enough,” he said.
The safety of the place itself wasn’t a big issue.
I heard that Artina had set up a forward base in the forest’s shield after being dispatched.
She must be staying there.
Even if it’s the Monster Forest, it’s close to human territory, and with 3,000 Phantom Steeds, which are top-tier predators in the Monster Forest, there’s no way it could be dangerous.
“Let’s call her then.”
“I’ll send Artina.”
“No, I’ll go myself.”
It’s been a while since we last met.
Considering I’ve brought my entire tribe with me, it’s only right that I go to meet her.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Alright then.”
In terms of efficiency, it’s faster for me to go myself since Phantom Steed is with me.
I explained the situation to Artina, and she followed me.
There was no need to say anything about who knew the road best.
From noble mtl dot com
So, the three of us headed towards the forest’s shield together.
“Master, are you two…?”
Meanwhile, Artina was asking Kayla about what had happened while they were apart.
Even though we were moving, both of them were mana users, so the conversation itself wasn’t a problem.
By the way, during the time I met Prina, Kayla had listened to Artina’s story.
As Artina listened to Kayla’s story, she would sometimes be amazed, sometimes feel envious, and occasionally show admiration.
“Master… I want to become strong quickly too.”
“I’ve told you many times, don’t be impatient.”