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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Specifically, they were created from the unusable remnants of the wall’s construction.
While they were made from leftovers, their power and danger were significant.
Orie would be pleased.
-Then my authority will…
“Increase significantly.”
And that would make things easier for him.
There was no reason for him to personally manage such a vast domain.
Just like the dragon’s Necropolis would effectively be his, Orie’s tower was also his.
And since he was directly involved in its creation, it was even more so.
‘As long as I can use it when needed, that’s all that matters.’
-You trust me that much…
Of course. Who else would he trust but his own minions?
‘6th circle and 7th circle are truly different.’
He had just broken through and recreated a single spell, and this was the result.
He had sensed it when he first broke through, but mages and Archmages were fundamentally different.
He also realized he was a rather unique Archmage.
An ordinary Archmage wouldn’t be able to create or control this much demonic energy.
“As I said, I’ll leave this place to you.”
-Yes. Don’t worry. No unauthorized beings will be able to set foot in your domain.
He briefly informed Untinia and Annelise, who were observing the transformed landscape, that he would be leaving.
Untinia shook her head in disbelief when he said he would be leaving immediately, despite having just cast such a powerful spell, while Annelise, seemingly accustomed to his eccentricities, simply bowed and wished him well.
He passed through the mist-shrouded walls and sensed the location of his undead.
Fortunately, they weren’t too far away, and he rode his Skeletal Steed across the Barren Lands.
He encountered a group of monsters along the way, but they weren’t a significant threat.
He cast a wide-area curse and eliminated one of the monsters with a Dark Ball, effectively ending the fight.
The slain monster rose as an undead, its body strengthened by his magic, and quickly dispatched the remaining monsters.
The cycle continued—slain monsters rising as undead—until the undead outnumbered the living.
That was the true terror of a necromancer.
‘Well, even with just the strengthened Skeletal Steed, I could have handled them.’
Sensing his approach, his companions began to move towards him.
As his directly connected undead, they could sense each other’s locations, just like him.
-Look, Master has arrived!
“Indeed. Thank you.”
-It was nothing!
Golun sounded boastful, and Kayla praised him.
She had been doing what he usually did.
-Master, you’ve become stronger. I felt something was different, but seeing you in person… I can tell.
Not just Golun, but all his directly connected undead would have sensed the change.
And Kayla seemed to have noticed as well.
“Master, could you have…?”
“I broke through. I’m 7th circle now.”
“Really?”
Athena interjected, and Baldur offered his congratulations.
“Is that even possible? Master, you said I was talented? Was I just average after all?”
“As I’ve said many times, you are talented. It’s just that Master is exceptional.”
Kayla corrected Athena’s misconception.
“Thank you for buying time. Now we’ll reclaim what we’ve lost and seal the gate.”
“Hmm… is that possible?”
He nodded at Athena’s question.
“It is. I’ve fortified the tower so they can defend it without me. I can do the same for the other oases.”
Athena still seemed doubtful.
“Reclaiming them is one thing, but defending them with our limited numbers… and we lost Gagar.”
She had been thinking about this throughout their battles with the monsters.
He understood her concern.
Athena had never seen an Archmage in action and couldn’t comprehend the difference between 6th and 7th circle.
Kayla, however, didn’t seem to doubt him at all.
She was on the verge of becoming a Master herself.
She would have some understanding of the power an Archmage, comparable to a Master, could wield.
Even if she didn’t, she would have heard stories about them during her time with the noble house.
Athena, despite her initial doubts, didn’t press the issue after his reassurance.
“Let’s head to… the oasis Gagar was defending first.”
It was closer.
The oasis was in a state of chaos.
As he had heard, the land tainted with demonic energy had been completely ravaged, and the naturally spawned undead had been trampled by the monsters.
While they weren’t fighting when they arrived, the atmosphere was tense, a battle waiting to happen.
“About five groups?”
“There are more lurking around the edges. A few groups nearly managed to completely occupy the oasis, but after we weakened them a few times, the other groups took care of them.”
The Blue Mane Lions and Desert Orcs formed one faction, but the other three were composed of monsters he hadn’t seen in the Barren Lands before.
‘Golden Furred Noles, and those are… Trolls? Pack-hunting Trolls…’
The last group was a familiar sight, though he hadn’t seen them in a while.
“Hippogriffs… they were summoned as well?”
They were rare creatures, usually found in the Great Forest.
“They’re quite troublesome.”
“I tried to tame them, but it was impossible.”
It seemed Athena had tried to tame them after seeing House Siglen do so.
Come to think of it, they had been the ones who captured and delivered the Orcs to House Siglen.
With the Desert Orcs present, she had probably tried to replicate their success, but it was a futile effort.
“There are Wyverns at the other oasis. It would be nice to have one.”
“I see.”
A Wyvern would indeed be a valuable asset.
And being able to fly would make scouting much easier, so Athena was understandably interested.
But there was no need to tame them.
‘Well, maybe one wouldn’t hurt.’
The situation in his territory was delicate, and he would eventually need to make his presence known to the central authorities.
Having a Hippogriff would enhance his reputation.
House Siglen had become famous for their Hippogriffs.
‘I’ll just follow their example.’
It was a decent strategy.
But he had other plans for the Hippogriffs.
“There’s no need to tame them.”
“Huh?”
“We can create flying steeds.”
Phantom Steeds.
“A Hippogriff should be sufficient.”
He smiled faintly.
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His companions launched an all-out assault on the oasis.
Unlike before, where they had selectively targeted their opponents, this was a relentless, indiscriminate attack.
He instructed Kayla and Athena to prioritize killing the Hippogriffs and preserving their corpses. After that, they were to join the others in the general slaughter.
‘Do they sense danger? That’s interesting.’
He observed the Desert Orcs and Blue Mane Lions, a strange expression on his face.
They had formed groups based on their species, but the groups were unnatural.
There were more than five male lions in a single pride, and the Orc tribes seemed to be composed of individuals from different clans.
Normally, both Desert Orcs and Blue Mane Lions would view members of other tribes or prides as rivals, not allies.
The sudden mass summoning was a disaster even for them.
‘They’re not completely mindless.’
If they had been this organized when he first arrived, it would have been troublesome, but now, it was different.
And not all members of the same species had joined forces.
There were likely similar groups at the other oases.
Unless they combined their forces, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Instead of strengthening his existing undead, he raised all the slain monsters.
While he hadn’t recreated the spells, his increased number of circuits and transformed body had drastically increased the power of his existing magic.
As a result, the newly risen undead could remain active indefinitely as long as he supplied them with demonic energy, allowing him to fully utilize the necromancer’s greatest advantage—growing stronger with every battle.
And these undead didn’t consume much of his control capacity.
However, their demonic energy efficiency was low, so it was best to discard them after the battle.
While he could maintain them indefinitely thanks to his unlimited demonic energy, it was rather tiresome.
‘They’re useful in battle, though.’
The number of undead he was creating and maintaining had easily surpassed a thousand.
Athena and Kayla, having returned from their earlier task, simply watched as the horde of undead overwhelmed the monsters with sheer numbers.
“He’s a true one-man army.”
“He’s insane…”
While he had done similar things before, it had never been on this scale, this fast, or this overwhelming.
He was summoning undead on the spot, without any preparation.
The risen monsters were all Zombies, but they weren’t ordinary Zombies.
They were fast and resilient.
He was confident they were comparable to Skeleton Knights.
It was the result of pouring massive amounts of demonic energy into their creation, a luxury he could afford thanks to his unique ability.
However, they were facing monsters summoned from the Great Forest, and the existing monsters had also survived in this harsh environment.
While they could be killed, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
Surrounded and relentlessly pushed back, they eventually fell.
And those who fell joined his ranks, creating an endless cycle.
“What about the Hippogriffs?”
“Here.”
Athena tapped her wrist casually.
She had stored them in a subspace artifact.
“How many did you secure?”
“Ten, I think?”
“Nine.”
Kayla corrected Athena.
‘That’s a lot.’
They were rare creatures, and the Great Forest was truly a unique environment.
“Can you really create flying steeds with these?”
“I can.”
“Phantom Steeds?”
Kayla asked, as if she had expected this, and he nodded.
“Yes.”
“Phantom Steeds?”
“Think of them as flying horses. A stronger version of the Skeletal Steeds we ride. You’ve heard of Death Knights, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Think of them as the steeds they ride. If created properly, they can fly, as Master said.”
However, creating them at that level of quality was difficult.
But with Hippogriff corpses, it was a different story.
‘I’ll need to do some research.’
He didn’t think it would be too difficult.
Perhaps the dragon knew something about it.
-Master! It’s over! We’ve won!
The monsters occupying the oasis had either been slain or driven away, and they had reclaimed the oasis without much difficulty.
“That was surprisingly easy…”
“A necromancer’s specialty is overwhelming numbers and large-scale battles.”
Kayla replied to Athena’s bewildered comment.
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