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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Eternal Resting Places were functioning well, with many new tombstones added.
‘Their numbers have increased significantly.’
It was proof of this place’s increased safety.
Satisfied, I returned and immediately entered the dimensional fragment.
There, facing a mountain of corpses, I prepared for my next task.
“Mutre.”
“Yes.”
“Can you make some armor?”
“Armor… you say?”
“Yes.”
Armor.
I intended for Thea’s escort to have a relatively normal appearance.
For that, I needed armor.
Not ordinary armor. I needed full plate mail, covering the entire body.
“I’ll provide you with ample materials.”
Of course, I didn’t intend to use them as they were.
I would enhance the finished armor myself.
“The size doesn’t matter too much, as long as they’re not too small. I can adjust that.”
It also meant I wanted him to mass-produce them, as long as the quality wasn’t compromised.
“…I’ll be working myself to death if I do this alone.”
“Please. It’s essential.”
Even aside from Thea’s escort, this was a necessary task.
Especially for creating Death Knights, one of the higher-ranking undead.
It was also necessary for completing and strengthening Entin’s Skeleton Knight legion.
There were many ways to increase power, including improving one’s own abilities and utilizing external items, like equipment.
‘Creating undead-specific artifacts… might be worth attempting.’
While they would be magical items, they wouldn’t be particularly powerful.
However, they would still be better than nothing, and if I specifically tailored multiple artifacts for a single purpose, they wouldn’t be insignificant.
Moreover, dwarven-made equipment was valuable, even without magical enhancements.
A knight order equipped with dwarven gear… honestly, that alone was a formidable force.
“…It will be difficult, but I’ll do my best.”
“The outside world is in turmoil.”
At my sudden words, Mutre looked at me quizzically.
“The nobles aligned with the Goddess Religion and the royal families are in a fierce conflict. The tension has escalated to open confrontation, and actual clashes are occurring.”
“Is… that so?”
“And the Demihuman Alliance is involved as well. I’ve sided with the royal family from the beginning, and as a warlock, I’ve gained their trust and become a significant force, essentially a hidden card for them.”
While it might sound like boasting, I wasn’t finished.
“However, I still find this power insufficient. With the conflict escalating to open warfare, direct confrontation with the Empire is inevitable. Sooner or later, the royal family will come to me for help.”
Just as I had assisted Doriem, they would request my aid in other territories as well.
“I don’t intend to refuse. I can’t. The Empire despises warlocks, so I have no other choice.”
That’s why I needed more power.
“Many nobles aligned with the Goddess Religion will be swept away. The royal family will want to minimize casualties, but they won’t escape unscathed.”
The royal family and their allied nobles would also suffer losses.
They would want to quell the internal unrest before the Empire intervened.
The war between Doriem and Jutus was just the beginning.
“And in the process, I intend to fulfill my promise to you.”
“……!”
Promise.
Finally understanding my intentions, Mutre stared at me in surprise.
“Just wait and see. Whether it’s money or military power, they’ll have no choice but to come to me. And when they do, I’ll demand the dwarves they own as a condition for my assistance.”
I would also demand corpses. I still lacked power.
Or rather, I was relatively weak.
“I’ll use my influence to ensure your family is among them.”
Honestly, it was too late. I felt guilty about that.
So, this time, I would succeed.
With the entire kingdom in turmoil, they couldn’t afford to hoard dwarves, no matter how valuable they were.
A powerful yearning flickered in Mutre’s eyes.
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-This is taking a while.
I chuckled at the dragon’s grumbling.
“I’ve been busy.”
-So, when are you bringing that talented warlock?
The talented warlock. He was referring to my former master.
“Soon, perhaps?”
I planned to contact my former master when Kayla went to receive her knighthood.
Of course, I needed sufficient power first.
While I had reached the same level as my master, our experience as warlocks differed significantly.
Moreover, she resided within a dungeon, her domain.
I could be easily defeated if I entered recklessly.
I needed enough power to defend myself, even if I couldn’t subdue her.
For that, I needed Entin and his knight order.
With their support, combined with Kayla’s and mine, we should be able to hold our own.
‘Subduing her would be ideal, though.’
Honestly, turning the dragon into a Legion Commander and then contacting her would be the best course of action.
I could then sweep the entire dungeon and retrieve my master.
However, it was impossible to achieve that in such a short time.
-I’ve formulated a general plan, but it will take time. That talented warlock should be able to expedite the process, since she’s at your level.
So he said.
While I was busy, the dragon, having nothing else to do, had been researching methods to transform his body into an undead.
While it was just a mental simulation, the dragon’s intellect was so formidable that he had made some progress.
‘It sounds absurd…’
But what could I say? He was a dragon, a member of the race known as the originators of magic.
As a human, I needed to experiment and refine the process myself.
Regardless, the dragon had shared his findings, and as he said, it was a time-consuming process.
“Hmm… I don’t see what’s different from the existing methods… Ah, he’s maximizing the utilization of the living body. But even then, I won’t be able to fully utilize it, being only 7th circle.”
-That’s why you need to grow stronger, quickly. And I’ll place restrictions, even while maximizing the utilization of my living body. You wouldn’t be able to handle my full power at your current level. You might even die.
“Should I thank you for your consideration?”
I bickered with the dragon as I began preparing to transform his body into an undead, following his instructions.
As he said, it would take time. The most basic step was the problem.
Burning away all the mana in his body and replacing it with demonic energy…
While my demonic energy was unlimited, my output was finite.
Trying to saturate the dragon’s body with my current output was like trying to fill a dam with a single faucet.
It would eventually be done, but it would take an absurd amount of time.
While it would be faster than the analogy suggested, it was still a time-consuming process.
Moreover, I wasn’t a machine. I needed to rest.
“…Huu. Let’s stop here for today.”
After working until I was exhausted, I told the dragon,
“I’m planning to turn a priest into a Lich.”
-Hmm? There’s no need… No, wait. A priest, you say. They were certainly troublesome.
“I’m going to turn him into a Lich while he’s still alive.”
-That is the most efficient method for creating a Lich. And judging by your tone, he agreed to it…
“Indeed.”
-Then it shouldn’t be too difficult. Especially if you’re the one creating it. If you create it, it means it’s yours… I understand what you want, but you’ll have to create the Life Vessel yourself. I can’t help you with that.
While I was disappointed, he was adamant, so I didn’t press the issue.
-By the way, you said this is your first time creating a Lich? May he rest in peace.
As the dragon said, and as I had anticipated, turning Bishop Boledi into a Lich wasn’t a simple task.
It was my first attempt, so there were many failures.
Nothing was ever achieved on the first try. Success was built upon accumulated failures and constant improvements.
Boledi himself suffered the most during this process.
He screamed constantly, and even attempted suicide several times.
The immense mental strain had reduced him to a skeletal figure.
He almost looked like a Lich already.
Of course, I wasn’t solely focused on creating the Lich.
I had also begun creating Skeleton Knights from the collected corpses.
Entin seemed pleased with his growing forces, and he diligently trained them daily to improve their coordination.
He seemed to believe I had high expectations for him, especially after I provided all of them with Skeletal Steeds, and he trained relentlessly.
Undead and effort. A strange combination of words.
The undead, forced to mingle with humans as Thea’s escort, could finally be utilized in the way they were intended.
Mutre started the newly built forge and began crafting armor according to my specifications, using the available materials.
I would leave that for now and return to it later.
Nearly a month passed, and I finally succeeded in transforming Boledi into a Lich.
-This is a strange feeling. Just a moment ago, I was in excruciating pain…
He no longer felt pain.
Moreover, his connection to his goddess had been severed, replaced by a new connection to me.
He was bound to me, an eternally loyal slave.
I took Boledi’s Life Vessel and stored it within the dimensional fragment.
His heart had been used as the material, a relatively common practice.
Entin’s knight order was also complete.
Including Nenson, Rangvink, and the two I had used in Doriem, there were now forty-one Skeleton Knights.
Forty-two, including Entin himself. I wanted to create more, but unfortunately, I lacked suitable corpses.
Moreover, they weren’t ordinary Skeleton Knights.
I had inscribed each one with permanent strengthening magic, they were to receive custom-made equipment, and their Skeletal Steeds were also magically enhanced.
If I cast strengthening magic on them again, the buffs would stack.
As I was about to begin working on the other collected corpses, I received news.
Athena, who had returned from Desert Shield after resupplying, reported that someone sent by the crown prince was on their way to the territory.
I immediately stopped what I was doing and headed back to Desert Shield with my companions.
“So, Master is finally becoming a real knight?”
“Indeed.”
“…….”
While Kayla appeared calm, she couldn’t completely hide her anticipation.
Having spent so much time together, both Athena and I could sense her excitement, and we exchanged smiles.
Kayla seemed slightly embarrassed, but that was all.
Currently, our party consisted of myself, Kayla, and Athena.
I hadn’t brought Thea.
If it was just the knighting ceremony, I would have brought her, but I was planning to contact my former master afterward.
Therefore, I had stationed Entin and his undead knight order within the dimensional fragment.
While I hadn’t been able to provide them with artifacts yet, and only Entin, Nenson, and Rangvink had received the equipment crafted by Mutre, they were still a formidable force.
With them, I wouldn’t be easily captured by my former master.
That’s why I was contacting her in the first place.
Moreover, I was familiar with the layout of my master’s dungeon.
I could escape if necessary.
Upon arriving at Desert Shield, a guide sent by Prina was already waiting for us.
We passed through Cross Fortress and headed towards the main castle, where Prina and the royal envoy awaited us.
“Oh my, this is…?”
“…….”
‘Should I call this mischievous…?’
The royal envoy was a woman.
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