The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 266

The entire area suddenly ignited.

“It’s usable.”

Inferno.

To be precise, a transformed Inferno.

Since I had mastered it, it was essentially a 7th-class magic, and the first magic in the “fire” system that I had controlled.

The flames, optimized for massacring civilians, wouldn’t extinguish until all the magical energy was depleted.

I had greatly increased its power and made it closer to pure magical energy, giving it considerable resistance to holy power.

“Ahhhh!”

The tragedy was that there weren’t enough priests to respond to the surprise attack.

The soldiers in charge of defense were certainly elite, but they had no ability to resist the mages’ magic.

The divine power-filled equipment was blazing, burning fiercely.

The soldier inside the armor was human, and the armor itself had a limited resistance.

The human inside was burning, screaming, and melting away.

The surviving knights’ eyes turned gloomy at the horrific sight.

“Brutal…!”

What kind of war was this?

I continued to use the death aura and began to strengthen the undead.

The darkness surrounding us was swept away in an instant.

There was no meaning to the chaos.

The sudden appearance of an enormous number of undead left them frozen in shock.

However, that was not enough.

The mage who was preparing magic was not alone.

A ominous fog spread across the enemy’s formation.

Those who couldn’t escape my magic’s aftermath couldn’t respond properly, and the priests who arrived hastily focused on removing the visible fog.

There were two types of fog.

Red fog and gray fog.

The red fog sucked the life force out of the dying, and the gray fog drove those whose life force was absorbed to madness.

The priests trying to put out the fog were attacked by those who had gone mad.

Some priests were sacrificed, and other soldiers rushed to subdue the mad ones.

The undead didn’t even enter, and instead, they started fighting each other, with other mages’ magic following suit.

The earth turned black, invading their territory, and Bert’s hand was buried in the ground as if connected to it.

The earth twisted, and a massive explosion erupted throughout the chaotic territory.

Boom!

They were fighting among themselves, and the earth exploded, leaving no room for response.

Blood and flesh scattered everywhere, and the horrific chaos engulfed them.

Some holy knights tried to calm the situation, but it was meaningless.

It wasn’t the end. A massive black sphere slowly descended from the sky.

The sixth and, in fact, the longest-prepared final magic.

As it was Richtem’s magic, some of my magic was consumed, but it didn’t matter.

In the end, the holy knights had to make a choice.

“…Fall back! Protect the priests!”

Those who were trapped in the chaos and couldn’t escape were abandoned.

It was a cold but correct decision.

The faces of the soldiers who arrived at the scene the fastest upon hearing the word “raid” were filled with despair.

Just before the black sphere fell.

Swoosh.

The sphere was cut in half, and a powerful divine power swept across the area.

The two types of fog dispersed, and even the shattered black sphere was rapidly destroyed by the pure and powerful divine power’s storm.

“Come to your senses!”

The ones who revealed themselves were, of course, Archbishop Rinin and Master-level holy knights.

Here is the translated excerpt:

The archmage suddenly cut off Langtem’s magic, and it seemed like Rinne erased the severed magic.

At the same time, the two fog banks were also erased, which was a bonus.

“…The three mages’ magic…”

Indeed, the archbishop was not an opponent to be underestimated.

Of course, he didn’t do it alone.

Behind him, over 200 priests were gathered, supporting him.

The remaining priests were scattered, assisting the holy knights or supporting the frontline soldiers.

In reality, the main force seemed to be Rinne and his subordinate priests.

“…You abandoned the fortress and came out. Did you think we were that weak?”

I responded to Rinne’s words.

“Well, there’s a reason we came out.”

In reality, the difference in military strength was clear.

Our absolute superiority. And we even succeeded in a surprise attack.

Although the priests and Rinne, a master-level holy knight, appeared late and erased the three magics, the two fog banks had already fulfilled their roles.

The number of soldiers who died or were injured in the initial attack was estimated to be around 500.

Even if we combined the priests and holy knights, their total number was only around 3,000. For them, the loss of that many soldiers was a critical blow.

“You should have felt the difference in military strength and retreated. What confidence did you have to establish a stronghold here? It seems like you underestimated us, not the other way around.”

“…….”

Rinne didn’t respond.

Perhaps they didn’t think we would attack so quickly, abandoning the fortress’s advantage.

“Are you waiting for reinforcements to arrive?”

Something in my words seemed to affect Rinne’s face, which contorted.

“Perhaps…if it’s around this time, they should have arrived once…”

Even as he spoke, he didn’t seem confident.

The unit blocking the retreat route was tasked with cutting off reinforcements, but that wasn’t their main mission.

They didn’t receive a direct order to move, and they would only act when they got close.

Entin’s knights would directly move, and if there were no other archbishops or master-level holy knights, they would never join forces.

Rinne’s eyes rapidly scanned our formation.

At the same time, I could confirm that his pupils were shaking.

“It seems like they have a rough idea of our information.”

After all, the empire wouldn’t be that incompetent.

He seemed to have noticed that Entin’s knights and our numbers were fewer than expected.

However, at the same time, he seemed to feel some hope.

I had certainly divided my troops.

So, the number of troops under my command was slightly higher than theirs.

However, the difference in troop quality was overwhelming.

They had over half of their troops as elite soldiers, while our side had mostly mid-to-large-sized undead.

Even so, they seemed to feel hope.

“Do they believe in themselves, the archbishop, and the priests, as well as the master-level holy knights?”

It would be better for them to divide their forces and fight on equal grounds rather than trying to hold onto the fortress.

But it was a futile hope.

I spoke calmly to Rinin.

“Do you know how we took over the fortress so quickly?”

He paused.

Rinin’s movements, which seemed to be gathering divine power, came to a halt, as if he was about to bestow a blessing.

His gaze turned back to me, and I opened my mouth calmly.

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“It’s simple. We poured attacks from the sky.”

“…The sky?”

His gaze turned to the empty air.

But Tinus was not there.

Did he feel ridiculed, Rinin glared at me.

“Yes, the sky. But as you can see, it’s not here now. So, where is the undead who played a crucial role in taking over the fortress?”

Why did I say that, Rinin’s expression showed that he couldn’t understand.

But soon, his face twisted in anger.

My hand was pointing towards the sea.

“We cut off two supply lines. Did you think we wouldn’t know?”

The sea.

Tinus was not here.

He was currently monitoring the sea from above.

◈ Neutral Zone

At first, they denied that the undead who played a crucial role in taking over the fortress was monitoring the sea.

However, they couldn’t completely hide the anxiety on their faces, and their actions became subtly urgent, which was noticeable.

This was not only true for Archbishop Rinin but also for the master-level paladin beside him, and I could sense that they were anxious.

And thanks to that, I realized that they were planning to use ships for supply.

Of course, I had already suspected as much. That’s why Tinus had gone. It was just that using the sea was too dangerous, so I had some doubts.

“It means they’re that desperate.”

In reality, it was a last resort. They had no other choice but to break through us.

Similarly, their eyes became resolute.

From the beginning, they had to break through us to survive. They had additional motivation now.

Of course, it was close to a futile hope.

He didn’t say anything more.

He suddenly spread blessings widely and healed the wounds of the surviving soldiers.

“Is he really an archbishop?”

The injuries were rapidly recovering, and even the serious wounds were almost healed.

However, that was only true for those who were injured by their own allies, and those who were wounded by my attack, ‘Black Flame’, couldn’t be healed.

They were only treated for external wounds, which was essentially a half-hearted treatment.

But that was an event that happened on their side, and it was undeniable that the archbishop’s abilities were exceptional.

Bestowing blessings on thousands of soldiers and simultaneously healing them was an incredible feat.

Even that blessing seemed to be extremely powerful, as the ordinary soldiers’ equipment was emitting divine power that was much stronger than before.

“‘Their physical abilities have improved.’”

When considering the general role of priests as healers, supporters, and protectors, Rinne, the archbishop, seemed to be a high-achieving priest who didn’t fall short in any aspect.

A nearly perfect priest.

It was true that the quality of our undead troops was one level higher, making them difficult opponents, but I could also do the same.

While the empire’s soldiers received the blessings of the priests and archbishop and struggled to regain control of the chaotic battlefield, our undead troops surrounded the temporary encampment and severely limited their movement radius.

In effect, we isolated our opponents, but there was still a risk of being breached. However, even if they broke through, it wouldn’t mean much.

Entin and Tanak, who were set apart, couldn’t escape, and even if they did, it wouldn’t change the outcome. Initially, they couldn’t defeat us strategically unless they could crush us.

After completely cornering them, I ordered my undead troops to advance.

The empire’s priests unleashed holy power-filled attacks, but our Miria priests’ counterattacks minimized the damage.

While priests’ basic roles include support, healing, and protection, they can also demonstrate powerful attack capabilities against undead or dark mages.

However, as I mentioned earlier, the opponents were not favorable.

Miria priests’ appearances enraged Rinne’s face.

It was the most gruesome expression I had seen so far, and the reason was easily understandable.

“It seems that most of my Miria priests were from the Goddess Sect.”

No, it’s better to say they all were.

You could tell by their attire, so it wasn’t strange that they were angry.

Like Volredi, they didn’t corrupt themselves, but they utilized their original souls, making them useful.

Rinne’s blessed soldiers and my undead, created from the red ogre’s corpse, clashed.

Two soldiers blocked the undead’s attack, but the outcome was brutal.

“Aaagh!”

Some soldiers screamed.

Despite having good equipment and receiving Rinne and the priestly blessings, the difference in physical abilities was severe.

My undead were created from the red ogre’s corpse and had death’s aura and my direct enhancements, making them extremely powerful.

These undead could fight against living red ogres without being pushed back, and even with blessings and the power of magic and holy power, they were unbeatable monsters for ordinary soldiers.

With such monsters scattered across the battlefield, it was impossible to win from the start. It wasn’t just a matter of being overconfident.

However, they didn’t just sit back and take it.

Kuung!