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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Bone Golem continued the simple construction work under my direction.
After delegating tasks to everyone except Kayla, who would be my escort, I focused on creating undead.
Kayla, knowing I was at a crucial juncture, didn’t interrupt me.
She occasionally left, returning with the scent of blood clinging to her.
It seemed she was dealing with monsters that occasionally wandered near.
I primarily created Skeleton Warriors and Specters.
I enhanced the Centurions when they returned at night, and whenever I had enough control capacity, I created Skeleton Warriors and assigned them to the Centurions.
Perhaps due to being made from orc bones, their performance wasn’t bad.
I assigned the Specters to Orie.
As a high-ranking Wraith Queen, she had the ability to control lesser undead, and she had a high aptitude for it.
Furthermore, as a Wraith Queen, she could control a larger number of spectral undead more efficiently.
She looked delighted when the first Specter was assigned to her.
-I have direct subordinates…
However, their performance was somewhat underwhelming.
Perhaps because they were created from orc souls, their physical abilities were better than expected, but their energy drain and intelligence were lacking.
However, Orie maintained her cheerful demeanor, claiming it made them easier to control.
However, even for me, mass-producing Specters was difficult, and it took a considerable amount of time to create them.
About a month passed.
There were no more threats to Desert Shield, and I contacted Cross Fortress.
They had been considering sending a search party after a month of silence, so contacting them was the right decision.
They were quite surprised to hear that we had restored Desert Shield and defended it for a month, but that was all.
They could have easily restored it themselves.
While the orc tribe occupying it wasn’t small, the forces at Cross Fortress were more than capable of handling them.
However, defending it was the problem.
Restoring Desert Shield meant another location to defend. While Cross Fortress had the strength to restore it, they couldn’t defend both locations simultaneously.
Regular resupply was also an issue.
‘And we hadn’t held it for very long.’
However, they didn’t dismiss our accomplishments.
We were a small group, and we had defended and cleared the surrounding area for a month.
Since we were small, we didn’t require significant resupply, and we could procure food ourselves, so they seemed to have calculated that they could hold Desert Shield for a considerable amount of time thanks to our efforts.
Indeed, our clearing of the surrounding area seemed to have reduced their burden, as they asked if we needed anything.
They offered to resupply us if we periodically contacted them.
We accepted their offer.
We secured additional equipment for the newly created Skeleton Warriors, spices, and tools for equipment maintenance.
There was no news from Athena.
A month wasn’t a long time, so I wasn’t worried.
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Two months passed, then three, and finally, Athena returned.
“It’s been a while, brother.”
“It has.”
I had estimated it would take at most two years.
However, it took less than a year for us to reunite.
Even so, Thea looked quite different.
“Did you grow taller?”
“A little.”
Her expression was firmer, and there was a newfound confidence in her demeanor.
“Ahem. Am I invisible? It’s been a while for me as well.”
“Of course not.”
“I’m glad. I thought you had forgotten me.”
“It seems you weren’t discovered.”
“I modified the underside of the carriage. It was quite a struggle.”
Mutre said with a laugh.
While he said it lightheartedly, the past three months must have been quite arduous.
Especially the constant anxiety.
However, I had some unfortunate news for him.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find your family. I’m sorry.”
“I’ve already heard. I didn’t expect to find them in such a short time anyway.”
Mutre said there was no need to apologize, as there was still plenty of time.
However, he seemed slightly disheartened.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried.
I simply hadn’t had the time due to various incidents.
While I could have attempted to find them using the royal family’s resources, my possession of a dwarf was a secret.
Dwarves were so rare that they were usually owned by large merchant guilds or high-ranking nobles, and the royal intelligence would likely know that Mutre was Count Siglen’s dwarf.
Asking the royal family to find Mutre’s family would be like revealing my weakness.
Of course, I told him I hadn’t given up, and Mutre nodded, saying he would wait.
After greeting them, I looked at Athena.
Perhaps because she had successfully retrieved her sister, her expression was much brighter.
She handed me a pouch of coins.
“I used most of it, but there’s still some left. Having so much money is definitely convenient.”
“You could have used it all.”
I didn’t mind if she kept the remaining amount.
Athena shook her head.
“I have to be meticulous with money. And I wouldn’t have anywhere to use it anyway. The county is in a terrible state. I didn’t expect to be attacked the moment we entered.”
It seemed they were attacked by monsters as soon as they crossed from Doriem into Lineta.
“Hiring mercenaries was a stroke of genius.”
Colmail had suggested it.
Since they had plenty of money, she followed his advice.
Being from a neighboring county, he likely had some basic information about Lineta.
They parted ways with the mercenaries at Cross Fortress.
“I heard the news. You’ve become quite famous for restoring and defending Desert Shield for three months.”
It was a hot topic even at the main castle.
She added that the lord seemed quite hopeful about our accomplishments.
“And I brought these back.”
Athena retrieved two coffins and a pouch from the large carriage.
“They said this is what you wanted.”
Coffins and a pouch.
‘…They’ve finally arrived.’
It was the payment for the Earth Mother Religion’s sacred relic.
The royal family had accepted my terms.
However, they had warned me it would take some time, and I had received that message last month.
‘I thought it would take at least another month…’
“Wait, these aren’t from back then, are they? The sacred relic…”
“…They’re just now giving you payment for something that happened months ago? Aren’t they too slow?”
“They must have deliberated. It’s fine as long as we received it.”
They were likely preoccupied with the Earth Mother Religion matters. Their efforts and achievements benefited me as well, so I didn’t complain about the delay.
‘It’s fine as long as I have them.’
The pouch contained twenty substantial Soul Shadows, and each coffin held a corpse.
‘Their level is…’
One seemed to be a high-ranking Expert, and the other, a peak Expert.
A peak Expert was a being on the verge of becoming a Master.
However, very few took that final step, most remained peak Experts for their entire lives.
Of course, being a peak Expert was an achievement in itself.
Countless people couldn’t even reach that level.
Even most knight orders didn’t have a peak Expert.
And the corpse of such a being was before me.
‘It must have been difficult to obtain.’
While it felt slightly insufficient for a sacred relic, considering the other support I had received, and the fact that the corpses were relatively fresh, it was a decent offer.
‘No, wait.’
Each coffin also contained a Soul Shadow.
It seemed they had extracted and preserved the Soul Shadows of these corpses as well.
‘How…?’
The two individuals in the coffins seemed to have died relatively recently.
Yet, they had extracted and delivered their Soul Shadows…
It suggested the possibility of another warlock, a necromancer, cooperating with the royal family.
‘Or… they have an artifact related to Soul Shadow extraction.’
That would be quite valuable.
While it might become easier at higher levels, creating Soul Shadows at my current level required a troublesome preparation process.
Furthermore, creating Specters and assigning them to Orie was more time-consuming than I had anticipated.
‘At least I’ve created ten of them.’
While I could enhance the Specters with Soul Shadows, I wasn’t inclined to do so.
Unlike Orie, these Specters were heavily influenced by their orc souls.
I felt it was a waste to invest resources in them.
‘While they have the advantage of flight and not being critically harmed by mana depletion, it’s better to increase the number of Skeleton Warriors.’
I felt they would be more useful in other ways.
‘Then…’
Setting aside the Soul Shadows, the question was what to create with these two corpses.
‘If I play my cards right, I might break through this time…’
For the past three months, I had been on the verge of a breakthrough.
I wasn’t impatient.
Impatience would only hinder my progress.
Having already reached this stage once, I had enough self-control.
However, these corpses could serve as a catalyst, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.
‘The best approach would be to attempt something slightly beyond my current level.’
This was different from Orie’s case.
Back then, it was like giving a potion to an already existing undead. This time, I was creating an undead that was inherently difficult to create at my current level.
‘I’ll need to use the peak Expert’s corpse for that…’
The most suitable choice was a Skeleton Knight Banneret.
A high-ranking knight, its combat abilities surpassed even a Skeleton Knight, and it could command Skeleton Knights as a high-ranking undead.
‘If I provide skeletal steeds, I can create a knight order.’
An undead knight order capable of surpassing most knight orders, depending on the equipment and my level.
However, they consumed a tremendous amount of demonic energy in battle, and Skeleton Knights were difficult to create, making it challenging to increase their numbers…
‘Skeletons are manageable, unlike Specters.’
Among the mana-wielding orc warriors, there were some suitable for becoming Skeleton Knights.
While it was slightly more complicated than using human knights, it wasn’t impossible.
‘This is the way.’
Having made my decision, I informed my companions that I would begin the process immediately.
“You’ve barely seen me after months, and you’re more interested in those?”
“Master is at a crucial moment. Be understanding.”
Kayla interrupted Athena, who sounded slightly hurt.
“I’ll explain the situation.”
Kayla, understanding my current state, took Mutre, Thea, and Athena and left.
“I’ll also assess your skills while you’re at it. See if you’ve been slacking off.”
“You’ll be surprised this time.”
“You’ve reached high-ranking, I presume.”
“…Can you tell?”
“I’ve also reached a new level.”
I could hear them chatting as they walked away, but I didn’t mind.
‘I hope I succeed in one go…’
I had plans for the high-ranking Expert’s corpse, and I wanted to make the most of this opportunity.
I moved all the coffins to the warehouse where the undead were stored.
Then, I filled the coffin containing the peak Expert’s corpse with the black water.
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