The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 50

The lord thought for a long time and said to me.

“Is there no answer other than Giant Ents…”

It’s possible to hunt beasts, but looking at the situation, we can’t keep up with the speed.

We needed food for more than a thousand people, not just one or two.

“I’d like to ask you a favor.”

“I’d like to request the subjugation of one Giant Ent’s lair, or two if one is not enough.”

“I know it’s not an easy request. But the territory is not in good shape right now. I have to fight those wicked bandits too. But Sir Rainbank is not fully recovered yet. If we wait for that, we’ll be defeated before We even fight. That’s why there’s no one else to ask but you.”

The lord was surprisingly humble because of the situation.

“I’ll give you a generous reward.”

‘Well, do you have anything to give?’

To be honest, I didn’t really need a reward.

Because I plan to eat this territory slowly.

‘Refuse… Well, I don’t want the territory to collapse unilaterally.’

My interests were at stake too.

‘Well, I kind of expected this.’

However, I expressed my reluctance for the time being.

“…It’s too dangerous.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“I thought I would be mobilized for war.”

“This is also war.”

‘He never intended to let me go in the first place.’

I knew it, but I couldn’t help but feel annoyed when he denied it so nonchalantly.

Surely I was exempt from conscription for the next few years.

However, I continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“If I participate in this, I won’t be able to participate in combat. It’s unlikely that I’ll be okay.”

“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Even so, isn’t it better than being defeated without even fighting?”

“Can’t I get help from the mercenaries?”

“It’s already a big drain on us just to have you, and we can’t spare them too.”

It means that he intends to shift all the risk to me.

Perhaps he had calculated that even if he gave me some mercenary support, he would be defeated if he tried to get food.

From noble mtl dot com

‘The Merchant Alliance’s forces can’t be weak.’

This was where the merchants who were active in Daeyoungji had gathered. It wouldn’t be easy.

If I failed, the people of Youngji wouldn’t go hungry, would they?

The current me and my party wouldn’t be threatened by an ant cave.

However, they didn’t know my true power at all.

In other words, from their perspective, this was a dangerous mission with a high chance of me dying.

And yet, they were going to send me into the ant cave without any support as if it was nothing.

“…Then please lend me some of the Youngji people.”

“The Youngji people?”

“Even if we succeed in the subjugation, there are too many of them for us to move on our own.”

This was true. In addition, the location of the ant cave wasn’t that great, so there would be some clashes with monsters during the moving process, and there was a high chance that some people would die in the process.

Even after I explained that, the lord said as if it was nothing.

“If that’s the case, I can lend you as many as you want. I will give you the right to mobilize the Youngji people. You can even mobilize some for combat.”

‘Disgusting.’

It was nothing new. After all, this was normal.

I have seen many selfish humans. The nobles were even more so, and there was no reason for them to be any less.

‘I treated them well because they were useful, but now is not the time to worry about such things.’

“It’s a dangerous job, but considering what I’ve received so far, I can’t bring myself to refuse. I understand. I will accept the request.”

Of course, it was lip service.

If I had refused, he would have persuaded me in a different way.

He would emphasize the crisis of the territory, appeal to what he had done for me in the past, and try to persuade me by saying that he would appoint me as a knight in the future. If that didn’t work, he would have most likely used a coercive method in the end.

That’s why I just acted the way he wanted me to.

‘The ultimate winner will be me anyway.’

“You’ve made a good choice. I will support you with whatever you need.”

“I have enough equipment, so that’s fine.”

Looking at his face, it seemed that even if I asked for something because we were on the verge of war, he would most likely make excuses and not give it to me.

I didn’t expect it in the first place.

I decided to think that his true nature had simply come out when the moment of crisis came.

‘Well, it’s true that he has done things for me in the past.’

At least he didn’t sponge off me.

He was better than most nobles, so I decided to just think of it that way.

After all, I had almost lost everything I had to someone else’s scheme, so the life of a single honorary soldier who had just settled down from the outside would be something he could easily bet for his own fortune.

Whether it was a pitiful voice or a coercive method, he would force the other party to suffer losses for his own benefit.

It was just my life, so it was actually common.

‘Well, it’s not really that dangerous anyway.’

“I will not forget your contribution to the territory.”

I had heard that before. This was the result.

“Depending on the outcome, I will also consider promoting you to a knight.”

I thought that was what he would say, and it finally came out.

“Oh, right. If you get the chance, please hunt the beast as well. It’s okay if it’s a little less. There won’t be many people to eat it anyway.”

It seemed that he didn’t like to eat monster meat.

“If I have some free time, I will.”

With that, I left Youngju’s office.

I was thinking about which ant cave would be the safest as I returned to my party.

“Jimnis-nim?”

Before I could leave the mansion, I heard a familiar voice and turned my head. A man was looking at me with a surprised expression.

“Isn’t it Rikinri-nim?”

The man’s identity was Rikinri, one of the two seeds of Langbank.

Now the only seed, I heard that the other seed, Cabas, was dead.

‘They said he lost an arm… ‘

At least it wasn’t his right arm.

I approached him and said,

“Long time no see, Rikinri-nim.”

“…Long time no see, Jimnis-nim.”

His face was cast in shadow.

“…I’m glad you’re alive.”

“I don’t know if I should call this fortunate.”

Rikinri said, holding his empty left arm.

“Still, aren’t you the one who saved Lord Langbank? You’ve done a great service to Youngju.”

“Yes, that’s true. That’s true.”

Although he agreed with me, Rikinri’s face was still cast in shadow.

“I wanted to see you sooner, but I’m meeting you like this. How is your health?”

“I’m fine except for my arm. Master, Lord Langbank is also recovering quickly.”

If there had been a proper priest in Youngju, he would have recovered sooner.

“But why are you at the Lord’s mansion, Jimnis-nim?”

“I received a new order.”

“What is it…?”

“The food situation in Youngju is not good, so I was ordered to solve it.”

“How can an individual solve that?”

“There are monsters among them that are edible.”

“…I’ve heard of it. Huh. Are you saying that our Youngju now has to eat monsters? Damn merchants…. Can I ask you what monster you’re targeting?”

He is the seed of Langbank. In fact, he is an upper class in Youngju, so I didn’t feel the need to hide it.

“It’s a Giant Ent.”

“…A Giant Ent? Do you have any support personnel?”

“I have two in my party. I’m going to do it with them. I have the right to mobilize the Youngju people, but I’m going to use them when the subjugation is successful. As porters, that is.”

“Why would you do something so dangerous…!”

“I can’t help it because of the situation. I have to do my best. Still, I know quite a bit about Giant Ents, so it’s not impossible.”

“…Damn it. I never thought I’d feel so powerless in a place like this….”

Rikinri sighed again.

“But your complexion is not good.”

“Hoo… How can it be good? …I don’t know if I should say this….”

After a moment of hesitation, Likinli spoke.

“Honestly, the chances of winning are slim. Even if Lord Lingbank were to make a full recovery, it’s doubtful that we could emerge victorious.”

“… Is it that dire?”

“Even after combining forces with the mercenaries hired by Kuman, our chances of winning amount to a mere 30%.”

‘Even so, I did kill some of their men… .’

They must have heard that news by now.

After all, it had been quite a while since he had arrived.

“That estimate assumes that Master will make a full recovery. While his body is healing quickly, he says that his mana usage isn’t as natural as before.”

It’s rare, but it does happen. In such cases, recovery usually takes several months, and in the worst cases, recovery never happens, and the body simply adapts to its new state.

Of course, in the latter case, one’s abilities inevitably decline somewhat compared to before.

Growth also becomes several times more difficult, so if there are any aftereffects, it’s typical for one’s realm to stagnate.

The fact that things are as they are means that the outcome is practically set in stone.

“Of course, I have no intention of giving up… but I wonder how much help I can be in this state… .”

Likinli and I fell silent for a while.

“Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t thanked you yet. I heard that you slaughtered some of the enemy and brought the prince and the dwarf into the territory alive. Thank you. Thanks to you, our actions weren’t in vain. Caberus must be smiling down on us from the afterlife.”

“I was only doing what needed to be done. “I should be the one thanking you for returning alive.”

With that brief exchange, we parted ways, wishing each other safety.

When I told the party about the new request, Atina frowned and said,

“That’s just plain cruel. It’s like they’re just telling us to go die.”

“Our abilities are more than enough to handle it.”

“But, Master. You know that the Lord doesn’t know the extent of our abilities. This is just a way for him to get food, even if it means sacrificing some of us. What’s more, with a request like this, they won’t take any responsibility if we die.”

“That’s just how nobles are. Most of them, anyway. It’s rare to find one who isn’t like that. And it gets worse the higher you go. Can’t do anything about the way things are. If you’re weak, get stronger.”

“Dammit… .”

Atina bit her lip as if she were furious.

When the two of them stopped talking, I spoke up at once.

“For now, we have a job to do. “I’m thinking of targeting the ant cave near the Greenwood Village.”

“Greenwood Village? “The place we went to?”

“No. “The place we scouted isn’t it, but there’s an ant cave in that area.”

“Isn’t there also one near the orc village that we wiped out? Distance-wise, that one would be closer… .”

“Judging by the surrounding territories, I’m guessing that one is a bit smaller. There’s no point in going after something too small and having to do the job twice.”

I planned to pick a big one, deal with it all at once, and then just leave it alone as a countermeasure against the monster wave.

“But, what if we really do lose the war and the territory falls?”

“We’ll run away.”

“Where to? “The territory’s blocked.”

“Into the monsters’ territory. “I have a map of the area.”

Nenson had started the map of the area around the outpost, and I had finished it. I also had a general idea of the distribution of monsters around Greenwood Village.

There were also areas that we had scouted deeper inside.

“It’s not easy to blockade a territory. After a while, it’ll be lifted, and we can escape to a different area then. Once the territory falls, there’ll be no reason to keep it blocked, so if we just hold out for a month, it should be lifted on its own, right?”

Holding out for that long won’t be a problem.

‘Of course, it won’t come to that.’

If we do that, there is a possibility that we will get caught in the monster wave that may occur at any time.

No matter the country, it cannot survive in the middle of a monster wave.

If such a thing were to really happen, it would be better to take the party and escape through the secret passage, and flee in the direction of another territory, not towards Count Siglen’s territory.

We could be caught by the guys hired by the Merchant Alliance, but it would be better than being in the middle of a monster wave.

Well, in the first place, the territory does not collapse so easily. Even if we lose the battle, the pioneer’s wooden fence would still remain.

‘The monster wave will occur before it completely collapses.’

So, it could be said that it was an unnecessary worry.

“Is that so? “I see.”