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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Entin, keep up the good work.”
“Yes, Master!”
Entin replied energetically, mounted on his Skeletal Steed alongside Nenson and Lengvin, who were lined up behind him.
I had prepared the steeds specifically for them, and they were overjoyed, much like Orie when she received her domain.
With Entin and Thea seeing us off, we departed from the castle.
For safety and speed, I had the Bone Golem and Mutre enter the dimensional fragment, allowing us to return to the oasis at a similar pace as before.
There were no problems at the oasis during our absence.
They had repelled several monster attacks without difficulty.
Few attackers survived, most becoming fodder for the Underground Tomb.
Thanks to this, the Underground Tomb was already producing nearly two hundred Skeletons.
‘…Interesting.’
While most of the summoned Skeletons were low-ranking, some Warriors and even Archers occasionally appeared.
However, their abilities were subpar.
The Archers, in particular, had terrible accuracy, sometimes even hitting their allies.
‘I was going to retrieve any promising ones…’
I was slightly disappointed, as I wanted an Archer unit.
However, there was no need to command such incompetent undead, so I decided to leave them as they were.
“This is the place. An oasis… Where and how should I build it? The ground might be a problem, so please avoid areas with deep sand.”
“As close to the oasis as possible.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s enough.”
“Simple enough. I’ll find a suitable location.”
Mutre quickly found a suitable spot and began construction.
Gagar provided fifty Skeleton Warriors as laborers, and the Bone Golem also joined the construction work. The commotion drew monsters to the oasis.
“I was getting bored. This is perfect.”
The slain monsters all became fodder for the Underground Tomb.
The number of monsters attacking us increased over time.
“It’s good that we won’t be short on corpses.”
We were even attacked by two Desert Orc tribes simultaneously, and on another occasion, several smaller monster groups attacked us at once.
And during one such attack, a monster that had been lurking underground finally revealed itself.
It was quite troublesome, forcing us to halt the oasis occupation and tower construction.
It was a Giant Scorpion, its carapace resistant even to Aura attacks, and its venomous tail so potent that I had to keep Baldur away.
While Athena managed to damage it by targeting gaps in its armor, she couldn’t inflict a fatal blow and had to retreat under Kayla’s orders.
When it approached the tower under construction, I was forced to use Temporary Base Construction, and unable to avoid the enhanced curse, it was swiftly dispatched by Kayla, its tail and head severed.
“A high-ranking monster… even higher, considering the poison.”
That was Kayla’s assessment.
Indeed, it wasn’t a place to be taken lightly.
I didn’t know how many more such creatures lurked beneath the surface.
However, that was the only major crisis. Despite Kayla’s concerns, the initial construction of the tower was completed without further incident, and I began transforming the area around the oasis into a Land of Death.
While the Barren Lands were a domain of monsters, they weren’t inherently attuned to demonic energy.
Monsters naturally attuned to demonic energy were classified as Demonic Beasts or Demonic Creatures, distinct from the monsters of the Barren Lands, which, while averse to demonic energy, weren’t particularly vulnerable to it.
I saturated about half of the land around the oasis with demonic energy, creating a safe zone.
I infused the demonic energy deep into the ground, creating a barrier against monster attacks.
However, I didn’t saturate the entire oasis or its surrounding area with demonic energy.
My primary objective was to establish a safe zone, and completely contaminating the area would deter any living creatures from approaching.
If I could create a boundary encompassing the entire area, it would be a different story, but without that, my plan to lure monsters to this location would be impossible.
Perhaps displeased by the demonic contamination, or perhaps driven by their instinct to prevent monopolization of the oasis, the monsters attacked with increasing frequency, resulting in daily, bloody clashes.
During this period, I realized the need for the Bone Golem and a Draugr, and I used the stored Soul Shadows to upgrade the Bone Golem to a high-ranking undead.
However, something unexpected happened; it didn’t develop a proper ego.
Unlike other undead, the Bone Golem wasn’t created from a single corpse, and imbuing a Golem with sentience was a difficult process requiring a large number of Soul Shadows.
However, for some reason, my Bone Golem, despite consuming twenty Soul Shadows, didn’t develop a proper ego.
While it functioned as a high-ranking undead, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling and investigated the cause.
I eventually found a possible explanation; it seemed the problem stemmed from using a corpse that had been excessively saturated with divine power.
I distinctly remembered purging all traces of divine power.
It wouldn’t have been possible to turn it undead otherwise.
However, simply removing the divine power from the body wasn’t enough.
‘There was a… compatibility issue.’
And it wasn’t efficient either.
It was like trying to create a Skeleton Archer from an orc corpse.
Of course, the actual incompatibility was far worse.
Even the Mummy Priests weren’t this bad, so it seemed the prolonged exposure to the sacred relic’s divine power had permanently altered the Minotaur’s remains.
If I had known, I would have created a new Bone Golem and upgraded that.
However, it wasn’t without its merits. Due to the excessive resources invested and its history of prolonged exposure to divine power, it was expected to be less susceptible to divine magic.
This was a significant advantage.
While it would still take less damage from divine magic than ordinary undead due to being created from pure demonic energy, its undead nature made it inherently vulnerable to it.
However, the Bone Golem seemed to be more resistant.
‘If properly developed, divine magic might be treated as ordinary magic against it.’
Having such a card would be a significant advantage in the future.
I was destined to clash with the Holy Empire eventually.
One of the reasons I was striving to grow stronger and gain recognition was for my own safety, but it was also in preparation for the inevitable conflict with the Holy Empire.
I hadn’t aligned myself with the Six-Kingdom Alliance for nothing.
Furthermore, unlike the previous iteration, the relationship between the Six-Kingdom Alliance and the Holy Empire was bound to become much more strained.
‘I didn’t make those concessions and support the Earth Mother Religion’s revival for nothing.’
It would bring the conflict between the Six-Kingdom Alliance and the Holy Empire to the surface, and with the future war between the Demihuman Alliance and the Holy Empire, the Holy Empire would be further cornered.
‘While directly destroying them is difficult, this method is different.’
The problem was that even cornered, the Holy Empire wouldn’t necessarily fall.
They were an empire for a reason. With two kingdoms under their control, even a combined force of the Six-Kingdom and Demihuman Alliances couldn’t guarantee victory.
Furthermore, both alliances were, as their names suggested, alliances.
Even if they joined forces, they would have to dedicate all their resources to completely crush the Empire, which was unlikely.
And I didn’t want to destroy the Empire indirectly.
If possible, I wanted to play a major role in their downfall directly.
Of course, it wasn’t my top priority.
My survival and safety always came first.
While I had made significant progress recently, there were no guarantees it would last.
The royal family’s favor could change with a new king, the newly revived Earth Mother Religion might view me with suspicion even with the Goddess Religion’s influence diminished, and people’s perception of a powerful warlock was unpredictable.
Therefore, I couldn’t afford to be complacent.
Considering the future, even the currently inefficient Bone Golem wasn’t entirely useless.
And it was undoubtedly a high-ranking undead, albeit an imperfect one.
-D-drove them away.
“Good work, Golun.”
-F-following, Master’s orders.
While lacking in intelligence, it was a powerful high-ranking undead.
Despite growing from four to six meters tall, it was faster than before, possessed more demonic energy due to its size, and was so durable that even Baldur couldn’t harm it without exerting himself.
Furthermore, it coated itself in Unholy Aura during combat, further increasing its defenses, making it an unstoppable force against weaker opponents, a true instrument of slaughter.
‘Though Baldur isn’t exactly a weak opponent.’
While its attack patterns were simple, it possessed immense power.
Its attacks, utilizing its sturdy body, massive size, and heavy weight, could crush opponents instantly.
Even Athena admitted she couldn’t defeat it alone due to stamina limitations.
Or rather, they were a bad matchup for each other.
Even if injured, Golun would regenerate thanks to its undead nature, and Athena couldn’t destroy it in a single blow. While Golun was fast, it wasn’t fast enough to catch Athena, so their sparring matches usually ended with Athena tiring out after being pummeled relentlessly.
Its command abilities were also intact, controlling additional Bone Golems and Draugrs I created and placed under its command without any issues.
“Continue guarding the territory.”
-U-understood.
With no current construction projects, its primary task was patrolling the demonic energy-infused land and crushing any approaching monsters.
Occasionally, monsters would wander into the contaminated area, but most fled after experiencing Golun’s overwhelming power.
‘Well made.’
Kayla commented that if Golun had been present during the Giant Scorpion incident, it could have handled it alone.
It would have been difficult for Athena or Kayla, but Golun was immune to poison and larger than the scorpion, making it a favorable matchup.
Thanks to Golun, I could focus on hunting and clearing the area without worry, and with the vast number of acquired corpses, I was able to complete the Tower of Ghosts.
-Kyahahaha!
I still remembered Orie’s uncharacteristic laughter, a burst of pure joy at finally having her own domain.
Of course, this was limited to the above-ground structure.
The underground construction was still ongoing.
I even created specialized artifacts and Skeletons for Mutre to assist him.
Perhaps because they were his personal undead workforce, Mutre smiled, saying they were tireless and incredibly helpful.
I didn’t stop at the Tower of Ghosts.
I planned to create a Lake of Blood next, which would also be constructed at the other two oases.
Just then, Kayla, who had been away, approached me.
“They’ve succeeded.”
“So we’ve claimed all three oases?”
It had been over six months since we first set out to conquer this place.
I had reached 6th circle and achieved my primary objective of claiming the three oases.
“Stabilizing them won’t be easy, but…”
“We can send Golun.”
“While it would be better if you went, Master…”
“I can’t.”
“I figured.”
I had suggested it several times.
However, her answer was always the same.
“Golun lacks the intelligence to be your personal guard, Master.”
Orie practically lived in the tower and, as a spectral undead, wasn’t suited for escort duty.
Therefore, Kayla insisted on staying by my side.
Gagar was stationed at the second oasis we claimed, and Baldur at the third, which we had just secured.
Athena had just returned after assisting Baldur with the conquest.
Currently, Athena was the busiest, as she was also responsible for resupply runs.
While the subspace artifact was practically hers at this point, with the dimensional fragment, I wasn’t concerned.
Even now, after a short rest, she would have to return to Desert Shield.
‘Though she seems to enjoy seeing Thea.’
“I’ll have to go with you at least once. Orie.”
-Yes, Master.
“How are our black water reserves?”
-We have enough for the minimum requirement, considering the amount we used to contaminate the area around the previous oasis.
“That’s a relief.”
-Are you planning to create another Underground Tomb?
“I think so. It’s surprisingly effective and the most cost-efficient option. We’re a bit short on corpses, though…”
I had used most of the corpses for the Tower of Ghosts. While I had replenished some, it wasn’t a significant amount.
Especially since the number of monsters attacking the tower had recently decreased.
“They’ve collected the corpses from this conquest, so it should be enough.”
We had also built an Underground Tomb at the oasis where Gagar was stationed.
I hadn’t originally planned to, but the one here had proven so effective that I decided to build another.
“Then there shouldn’t be any problems. We’ll go immediately.”
I met with Athena, offered her some words of encouragement, and then set off for the third oasis with Golun, where Baldur was waiting.
I commended Baldur and the others, including Annelise, for their efforts, and then used the collected corpses to create an Underground Tomb.
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