The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 295

‘…As expected.’

The priests were withering away in real-time.

◈ Empire

Priests, holy knights, soldiers.

The fact that the empire’s humans were withering away in real-time was already familiar.

Honestly, sometimes it felt like they were more than the dark mages, but of course, dark mages were those who sacrificed others for their own desires, whereas these people sacrificed themselves for their faith, which made a difference.

‘The problem is that their faith threatens the entire continent.’

They might think they’re an exception, but from the perspective of the many people on the opposite side, they could be seen as fanatics worse than dark mages.

Of course, very few people knew this fact accurately.

‘It doesn’t matter anyway, since we recognize them as enemies.’

I and the interspecies union, especially the upper echelons, knew this fact and had already pushed the empire to the brink, so it was even more acceptable.

‘Anyway, they’re withering away too quickly.’

‘The priests’ level isn’t that low, so it must be due to the number of soldiers.’

Indeed, the number of soldiers was enormous.

The fact that the empire, a massive nation, was using conscripted soldiers showed just how desperate they were….

One possibility that came to mind was that the stronghold on the mainland required more divine power due to its immense strength.

It was a story with sufficient possibilities, especially considering the significant increase in the physical abilities of the soldiers.

The gate was almost breached, and signals of success in occupying the castle walls were being sent out from various locations.

Originally, it would have taken at least a few days, or even weeks or months, to break through the entrance to the mainland, but the high-level warriors were barely visible, and the attempt to make up for it with numbers was futile, leading to the country’s borders being breached in no time.

Of course, there were sacrifices from the elves, and the humans and orcs also suffered significant losses, but compared to what was expected, it was relatively minor.

Perhaps that’s why a glimmer of hope could be seen on the elves’ faces.

“Hold on! We have to hold on! Reinforcements are coming!”

Even in such a situation, the knight commanders were trying to encourage the soldiers, but they couldn’t stop the crumbling situation.

“…Amazing.”

At that moment, Kaila spoke up.

“What’s amazing?”

“There’s no one running away. Despite the situation being so clearly unfavorable.”

The knights could understand. However, among the conscripted soldiers, there were no signs of anyone trying to flee.

“Usually, conscripted soldiers would collapse in a situation like this. Their mindset is different from the start…”

Perhaps that’s why. Even in a one-sidedly advantageous situation, our losses continued to mount.

The only difference was that it was delayed slightly, but the situation didn’t change.

The siege engines were destroyed, and the elves’ attacks began to reach the priests in the rear.

Most of the soldiers were lying on the ground, and more than half of the castle walls had been occupied.

In reality, the outcome was decided from the moment the gate was breached.

The allied forces continued to advance, and the number of imperial soldiers and knights continued to dwindle.

As a result, the power of the holy land began to weaken, and the strength of the imperial soldiers, which had been strong, began to decline.

Therefore, the speed of occupation accelerated, and the imperial soldiers began to flee belatedly.

To be exact, the number of fleeing soldiers increased as the power of the holy land weakened.

“Was it the influence of the holy land?”

Did the increase in physical abilities also greatly benefit their mental state, or did the holy land itself have the power to stabilize humans?

Since I wasn’t affected by the holy land, I could only judge based on what I saw.

After a while, a loud cheer erupted from the occupied castle.

It was easier than expected, and we had overcome the greatest hurdle.

Is the empire really nothing?

No, that can’t be.

“This is strange…”

Even in a good situation, the unease couldn’t be hidden.

It wasn’t just me who felt it; even Artina, Kaila, and the dark elf and dragonian elders, as well as the regent Adias, didn’t seem entirely pleased.

They didn’t pour cold water on the celebration, though.

The fact that we had won and their borders had been breached was undeniable.

Moreover, the damage wasn’t as great as expected.

The battle that was initially expected to take at least a few days had ended in just one day, so the damage was relatively minimal.

Of course, the elves couldn’t retreat to the rear just because we had occupied this place.

After some time passed, Adias ordered the cleanup of the battlefield and commanded a separate team to explore the surroundings.

Meanwhile, the corpses that had been cleaned up were transported to our side in large numbers.

The undead rose, and the corpses were recovered.

Most of the enemy’s corpses were left, and only a few imperial soldiers survived.

Those who fled were mostly caught, and those who resisted were mostly killed.

From the union’s perspective, their corpses were troublesome to handle, but as a necromancer, I saw them as resources.

The corpses of the elves who had made a promise with me also came into my possession.

These would be used separately, as promised, for the dark elves.

“It’s just storage for now.”

Seeing this, the elves’ pupils trembled, but they soon turned away.

It was a consequence of their own mistakes in the past.

There was nothing they could do about it now.

Some of them glared at me, their bodies shaking with anger, but when I met their gaze, the other elves pulled them away.

The dark elves didn’t seem to like that either.

But it wasn’t like they could say anything to those who had just fought on the front lines.

Meanwhile, the elves who had gone on reconnaissance returned, bringing unbelievable news.

“Is the village… empty?”

“Yes.”

The news that came through Adias was astonishing.

The information brought back by the reconnaissance elves was shocking.

The village was empty.

And massive beast tracks were found everywhere.

Only the tracks remained, but the owners of those tracks were nowhere to be found.

“For now, we have no choice but to advance.”

Adias agreed with my words.

“We’ve occupied the border in just one day, so we should do that.”

But considering that the surrounding villages were all empty, it seemed like the border was bound to be breached from the start….

“We can’t just stand still, anyway.”

We lacked information, but we couldn’t afford to hesitate either.

Objectively, our military power was superior.

The strongest problem, the bastion of those guys, was indeed powerful but wasn’t utilized properly.

The Pope, the Grand Knight, and even the Cardinals didn’t show up, which made it easier than expected to occupy the border.

We couldn’t be too hasty, but we didn’t need to be overly cautious either.

“Our target is their capital.”

The capital. The possibility of abandoning the capital was low.

It was the place where the empire’s longest history remained, and simultaneously, it was their most important stronghold.

It wasn’t a place that could be abandoned carelessly. Even if they did abandon it, it was worth occupying.

Of course, we wouldn’t just rush in.

We needed to divide our forces to gather information.

At the same time, we had to secure our supply lines and ensure safety. We would also identify potential dangers beforehand.

“There are many uncertain factors.”

Adias, the elder council, and even the elven regent, Atalicia, shared this sentiment.

From the beginning, Atalicia had demanded it to the extent of sacrificing some of them, as it was necessary to reduce the number of sacrifices.

Information gathering.

The dispatch of elves for him.

This was executed quickly, and the next day, the main army marched towards the capital.

There was no rough terrain.

Even if the national border was filled with numerical superiority, the quality of the troops was not at an extremely low level.

Of course, the conscripted soldiers were below par, but the priests, knights, and soldiers were of high quality, and so, the current state of the empire, having lost them all, was close to the worst.

The national border was not just one place, and although the empire had many troops, they were insufficient to block our path.

‘Even if we fill the numbers, we can’t match 10,000, but our opponent is not that.’

The empire, which had lost even with the stronghold of the sacred land, would only increase in numbers.

However, such a bold step was shaken by the sense of unease as time passed.

It was empty.

It was not a lie. There was not a single ant in the vast empire, and there were no people in the visible forts.

The soldiers, too, could not help but feel uneasy, seeing it with their own eyes.

“What is this…?”

It was not just the soldiers who were uneasy.

The high-ranking officials also could not hide their unease, as they had not anticipated such a situation.

“…There’s no sign of large-scale movement.”

“It seems the prisoners don’t know about the current situation either.”

It felt like being possessed by a ghost.

Moreover, from a certain point on, as we headed deeper into the empire, the divine power was gradually weakening.

It was an environment completely different from the information we had gathered and expected.

The empty villages and temples inside the forts were so devoid of divine power that it was hard to believe they were temples, and instead of feeling sacred, they felt ominous.

As we approached the capital gradually.

“We’ve found it!”

New information came from the elves who had gone on reconnaissance.

*****

“…The Sacred Beast?”

“That’s right!”

The elves who had gone on reconnaissance had discovered the owners of the massive footprints.

The Sacred Beast.

A holy animal.

To be exact, they were animals that possessed immense divine power.

“There aren’t just one or two. There are dozens….”

Dozens of animals with immense divine power were moving towards the empire’s capital, the same place we were heading.

What the elves who had gone on reconnaissance first discovered was the same desolate scene as what the main army had seen.

Empty villages and forts.

A landscape devoid of even a single ant, feeling ominous.

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Therefore, setting up a supply route was not that difficult.

There was no way to track down the people who disappeared.

“It’s clear that there were remnants of their daily lives, but…”

It seemed as if people had vanished simultaneously at some point.

Up until now, it was the same for us.

That’s why the elves changed their target from humans to the giant beast’s footprints.

“There were at least one or two remnants left in the village or near the castle.”

By tracking those remnants, we were able to discover the pack of sacred beasts, and we immediately reported it.

“The sacred beasts…”

Adias immediately summoned the elves who had witnessed it and demanded a detailed report.

The shape of the beasts was varied, resembling real animals like wolves, deer, and lions, but their size was extraordinary.

“They’re much larger than ordinary buildings, even bigger than ogres…”

The giant beasts, exceeding 10 meters in length.

Furthermore, the immense divine power each individual possessed was impossible to measure.

“…It’s fortunate we didn’t notice.”

“It seemed like they didn’t use their divine power at all.”

The humans who disappeared and the sudden appearance of the sacred beast pack.

Moreover, the sacred beasts’ destination was estimated to be the imperial capital, the same as our empire.

“…….”

My companions and I fell into silence.

◈ Empire

Obtaining new information didn’t change our actions.

The capital was right in front of us, and an additional enemy had appeared.

Even if they were beasts, they were sacred beasts with immense divine power. Since they were discovered on imperial land, it was natural to consider them enemies.

“Should we be grateful to have discovered them early?”