The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 265

It was not I who responded to Kayla’s words, but Atnina.

“Still, the Empire is the Empire. It’s certain.”

Even in the midst of the chaos, the troops they had brought were not to be underestimated.

Their numbers exceeded 3,000, and the level of the priests and holy knights visible around them was also impressive.

There were over 500 expert-level knights, and the number of priests was similar.

They all looked like formal priests, and most of them seemed to be mid-level or higher.

With that many, they could be compared to the entire strength of a medium-sized temple, but these people had appeared as support troops without a care.

The 2,000 or so soldiers excluding the priests and holy knights also looked like elite forces, and their equipment seemed to be more than twice that of an ordinary army.

If we had not occupied the fortress and had to face them from both sides, it would have been extremely dangerous.

It seemed that the fortress’s forces were not to be underestimated either.

The old man, who seemed to be leading them, contorted his face and gave some instructions to the priests around him.

“…Is that a cardinal?”

Even a rough glance revealed that the amount of divine power he possessed was not ordinary.

“Then, he must be Rinin.”

Rinin, the bishop who oversaw the diocese surrounding the interspecies union, was also responsible for the neutral zone.

This meant that the old man was in charge of the frontline troops, and it was clear that the number and quality of his troops were not ordinary.

The fact that he was leading such a large force alone indicated that his influence was considerable.

Given the empire’s stance on the interspecies union, it was not surprising that the cardinal in charge of this area had significant authority and power.

As I thought this, Kylla spoke up again.

“…One of them seems to be a master.”

“A master?”

Kylla pointed to one of the old man’s knights and said, “That person.”

“…Really?”

Artina also nodded in agreement with Kylla’s words.

“…A holy knight is a master….”

It was not something to be taken lightly.

Holy knights received full support from the priests. The priests protected the holy knights, and the holy knights received support from the priests, making it their most basic tactic. This was why the empire’s holy knights were called “iron walls.”

Especially, master-level holy knights were even more powerful, with exclusive priests dedicated to supporting them. Holy knights who received their support could even hold their own against master sets.

Of course, this was an exceptional case, and usually, they could only handle two or three opponents.

Such a powerful force was not on the frontline but was instead guarding Rinin.

This meant that he was an important person.

“I must kill him.”

Of course, Artina or Kylla could easily take on the empire’s master.

While it was true that master-level holy knights were special, Artina and Kylla were also exceptional individuals.

Kylla possessed a momentary speed that even masters could barely react to, thanks to her right leg, which had been enhanced with artifact-grade artifacts. Artina, on the other hand, had a physical ability surpassing Kylla’s, thanks to the treasure of the dragon’s fang, a relic of the dragon tribe.

Excluding Kylla’s momentary acceleration, Artina’s physical ability far surpassed hers.

So, even if the empire’s master was exceptional, I thought we could at least hold our own.

It meant that we were relatively less threatened, but if we could kill him, it would be better to do so.

If we could eliminate Rinin, the bishop in charge of the area, the neutral zone would be finished.

The frontline would be isolated, and the interspecies union would annihilate them.

By the time the empire realized the situation, they would no longer be able to target the neutral zone.

One of their routes would be completely blocked.

That was exactly what I wanted.

Next, I planned to support the 6 Kingdoms Alliance and push back the 2 Kingdoms.

The empire’s cardinal, Rinin, gazed at us for a while before slowly retreating.

It seemed he had judged that, with his current forces, he couldn’t take us on.

“A correct judgment, indeed.”

Initially, they must have brought such a large force, assuming that this fortress was still intact.

However, after discovering that the fortress had been taken over and that we had even built a new one, they had no choice but to retreat.

I watched them retreat.

I could have attacked them through Tinus, but…

“If possible, I’ll kill them all.”

There was no need to do that from the start.

Tinus had something else to do.

“Lord Bert.”

“Yes.”

“Please send a Dark Elf to pursue them. We’ll definitely build a base nearby.”

“Understood.”

We had prepared a separate force in case they tried to ignore us or block the fortress while sending supplies.

The capacity of this fortress wasn’t that great from the start.

It was unavoidable, as most of my undead were elite troops based on the Red Ogre.

Although they didn’t have souls, their physical abilities were excellent, and their bodies were enormous.

If they were all human-sized, we could have accommodated thousands, but their massive size forced us to leave some outside.

Forcing them in would only cause trouble.

So, I decided to send some back to my dimensional fragments as needed and leave many outside.

And the ones leading them were Entin and Tanak.

I entrusted Tanak with the task because he was originally from the Red Ogre clan and could lead my current main force, the Ogre undead, better than anyone.

So, I gave him command authority and temporarily assigned him under Entin. Although they were undead and couldn’t betray us, it was a fact that Entin was more trustworthy.

These people were hiding their bodies in a slightly distant place.

To be exact, they were in a location far from the fortress. Since one side was all ocean, there were limited places to hide, and they had to settle in a distant location.

Since our goal was to ambush the supply unit that might be moving separately, it wasn’t a problem even if they were far away.

So, we had to send someone ahead of time.

“As soon as possible.”

Our goal was to leave not a single survivor.

So, we allowed them to retreat and quietly waited, observing our prey.

***

“How…how did they…?”

It had been a few hours since the fortress was occupied, but Rinin still couldn’t understand the situation.

“How did those dark mage bastards break through the sanctified fortress…how…?”

It was a futile, echoing murmur, but it was a point that couldn’t be ignored.

We had to know what they did.

If not, they would also lose their lives.

The Holy Knight, who had been silently listening to Rinin’s words, opened his mouth.

“It doesn’t seem like everyone is a dark mage.”

“What do you mean, Lord Lierd?”

Lierd, the Imperial Holy Knight Commander and one of the Forest’s disciples, who controlled the Inquisitors, was a renowned Master-level Holy Knight in the Empire.

He was known not only for his abilities but also for his loyalty, having proven his faith by actively serving as an Inquisitor in the past.

“I saw a few humans on top of the fortress. They were with the Dark Elves.”

Perhaps due to the unbelievable situation, Rinin was self-reproachful for not grasping the situation correctly, but he didn’t show it outwardly.

“I saw two women… both seemed to be master-level warriors. Since I didn’t sense any evil energy, I think they’re based on mana.”

“A female master… wait, you said there were two?”

“That’s right. They’re quite young.”

Schupert’s eyes widened. He had received reports of a female master being by his side, but there was no mention of two.

“Kyle… didn’t she have a disciple?”

Rinin muttered to himself when a priest approached them.

“Your Excellency, the temporary base is complete.”

“…Good work. Has there been no contact from the harbor?”

“We’ve finished preparations and will soon load the supplies. We’ll send another messenger when we depart.”

“Was there no resistance?”

“There was some minor resistance, but after we executed a few as an example, they quieted down.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t give them a chance to atone. Considering the current situation, even the goddess would understand.”

“Of course. Also, a separate supply unit has departed from our side.”

“Is that so…?”

Rinin’s expression solidified into a worried look.

Although supplies were coming their way, he had a feeling it would be impossible to send them to the front lines.

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He didn’t even know how they had occupied the fortress in the first place.

In this situation, the chances of their operation succeeding were too low.

Rinin thought they might have to become bait.

As bait, his value was sufficient. He was the Empire’s archbishop, responsible for this area.

Since they had sent word to the Empire, support would surely arrive.

If they could just send supplies to the front lines once, they could hold out until the Empire’s support arrived.

He believed that if the Empire’s support came, they would ultimately emerge victorious.

Rinin made up his mind in an instant.

On the day he received news of the ship’s departure, he would sacrifice himself as bait.

He prayed to the goddess, hoping the ships would successfully deliver their supplies.

As he prayed…

An enormous number of undead approached their base.

◈ Neutral Zone

The Empire’s support troops had set up camp at a considerable distance from the fortress.

They had chosen a location far from the fortress, anticipating our caution, and thus they didn’t let their guard down.

They had deployed guards around the base and surveillance personnel to monitor the fortress, taking thorough precautions.

However, they seemed to think it was unlikely we would emerge from the fortress.

It wasn’t an unfounded assumption. There was no reason to abandon the fortress, a terrain with many advantages.

Despite deploying surveillance personnel, their efforts ultimately proved insufficient.

As night fell, the separately summoned undead blocked their retreat.

Then, the dark elf warriors and Ahtina quietly infiltrated the darkness, assassinating the guards one by one.

The dark elf warriors, who had previously protected two elders and Yeriya, possessed sufficient skills, and with Ahtina’s mastery of assassination techniques, they had the most outstanding assassination skills among them.

Although Ahtina had learned assassination techniques, she rarely had the opportunity to use them in actual combat.

Instead of using a surprise attack, I mainly employed ambush tactics, playing a role similar to that of a messenger, and never carried out assassinations.

When I was still developing my skills, I didn’t have the ability to do so, and after I honed my skills, the risk was too great, making it impossible for me to attempt it.

It was known that there was an exceptional assassin under the Black Mage’s command, and when they actually succeeded in their mission, suspicions began to arise, making it impossible to respond.

Especially for someone in a position of influence, I didn’t even think about assassinating them.

So, Artina had almost no experience in assassinations, yet she demonstrated exceptional physical abilities and mastery, surpassing even the Dark Elves.

After the sentries disappeared, we quietly left the fortress and slowly approached their encampment.

Under the cover of darkness, we managed to get close without being detected, even within a certain distance.

They only discovered our attack when we were about to launch it.

There were six mages, including me, two Dark Elf elders, Yeriya and Tinus, who were under my command.

The six mages simultaneously prepared their magic, and with the massive flow of magical energy, they finally detected our attack.

“Ambush!”

The knight in charge, who seemed to be the leader, noticed the magic preparation process and immediately lit up the surroundings.

The holy light filled the area, but some parts remained shrouded in darkness.

If it were daytime, our disguise would have been exposed, but thanks to the night environment, we managed to remain hidden until now.

Even magic below a certain level could be concealed.

However, the magic prepared by the six mages couldn’t be hidden, and we were eventually discovered.

But that was enough.

I was the first to complete my magic.

Of course, it was only natural. My speed in using magic was different from that of other mages.

Without any chanting, I could use magic almost instantly, as long as I had a bit of preparation.

Even that brief preparation was only necessary for arranging the magical energy, and it didn’t take long unless it was an extremely powerful magic.

Whoosh.

A small fireball appeared in the air.

It wasn’t very large, similar to the low-level magic “Fireball,” but with a different color – black.

However, this wasn’t just a simple low-level magic.

The imperial priests also sensed it, quickly deploying a defense barrier.

But the fireball easily broke through the barrier and exploded in the air.

Boom!

A massive explosion, unmatched in scale, scattered numerous flames across the enemy’s formation.