The Necromancer Who Was Despised – Chapter 196

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
Bang! Boom!

However, my Mummy Priests weren’t idle, so while the undead were injured, none were destroyed.

And those injuries quickly healed, infused with my demonic energy.

“Keep attacking! Don’t stop!”

However, it wasn’t a wise decision.

The undead that had reached the rear of the civilians began to slaughter them.

The civilians caught in the middle screamed as they heard the cries of terror from behind,

“Help! Please! We’re not the enemy! Spare us!”

Their desperate pleas sounded as if the ducal house had abandoned and attacked them.

The terror spread to the front, and the civilians at the vanguard, being crushed to death, began to curse, insult, and even attack the soldiers.

Their attacks were weak.

However, the soldiers couldn’t ignore the unexpected assault, and one of them finally retaliated, striking a civilian who had scratched his helmet.

It was a purely defensive action.

The head was a vulnerable area, so he couldn’t just stand there and be attacked.

However, it marked the beginning of a riot.

With undead behind them and even their fellow humans attacking them from the front, the civilians turned into a mob, and the commander, leading the army in Luces’ absence, couldn’t ignore them.

“Push them back! Mercenaries, clear them out!”

“Are you sure?”

“That’s an order!”

The apparent leader of the mercenaries questioned the order, and the commander simply repeated it.

The mercenaries began to cut down the rioting civilians.

When over half of the civilians were dead, slain by the soldiers, mercenaries, and undead…

They rose as undead, seeking revenge on those who had trampled them.

And that wasn’t all.

A 5th circle curse that hindered movement, drained stamina, and obscured vision.

I wanted to use Battlefield Mist, its upgraded version, but it required constant maintenance.

Of course, the priests weren’t just watching.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

A swift response.

While it wasn’t easily dispelled, being cast by an Archmage wielding Elosette’s Staff, the sheer number of priests was significant.

They weakened Death’s Domain and began to dispel Swamp Mist.

However, it was enough.

The mercenaries’ response was delayed, and they were caught between the undead and the rioting civilians.

The chaotic melee I had hoped for had begun.

Moreover, even the heavily armored infantry couldn’t maintain their formation against the Bone Golems and Draugr.

I had used the civilians to create an opening.

‘As expected, they’re crumbling quickly.’

However, as anticipated, the undead that clashed with the mercenaries, not the civilians, were quickly destroyed before they could even attack properly.

The mercenaries were momentarily pleased when they realized the undead were individually weak, but their expressions quickly turned grim as they witnessed their endless regeneration.

And the approaching Bone Golems and Draugr were the real problem.

While Priogaha’s mages tried their best, they couldn’t destroy them, only injure them, thanks to the support of the Mummy Priests and Skeleton Mages, and the situation was turning in our favor.

My numerically superior army was holding its own against their elite forces, even gaining an advantage in some areas.

And I sent them one last gift.

Boom!

The slain civilians, risen as undead, fell once more, and instead of resurrecting them, I turned them into bombs.

While it didn’t consume much demonic energy, it was a powerful spell.

While it was indiscriminate and I had to abandon the severely damaged undead, it created even more chaos.

This was enough for now.

Moreover, I hadn’t even summoned my trump card, Yeria.

She was currently within the dimensional fragment. However, there seemed to be no need to summon her.

‘There’s no need to reveal her existence yet.’

I wanted to keep her hidden, if possible, until the Death Dragon was complete.

“Master!”

It seemed Luces and Kayla had clashed.

“Hiding a Master… does the royal family truly desire my death?!”

A large gash marred Luces’ left arm.

Kayla and Luces stood facing each other, having abandoned their mounts.

The remaining knights were circling around them.

Kayla had launched a surprise attack during their initial clash, and Luces, realizing she was a Master, had managed to defend himself.

Several knights, cavalrymen, and Skeleton Knights lay dead on the ground.

However, there was a significant difference between them.

The Skeleton Knights began to rise.

And they charged towards the battlefield to rejoin the undead knight order.

“…Damn it, is that warlock’s magic unlimited?!”

A flicker of anxiety crossed Luces’ face.

He would have realized it through their clash.

The undead knight order was comparable to his own Priogaha knights.

Without him, a Master, even with the cavalry’s support, it would be impossible to defeat them without suffering heavy losses, and even warhorses couldn’t maintain a full gallop indefinitely.

Their combat strength would plummet after just three clashes.

Therefore, he would be thinking he needed to eliminate Kayla quickly and then kill me.

A faint flow of mana, and Luces’ wound closed.

‘An artifact.’

“A female Master. Working with a warlock… aren’t you ashamed?”

Kayla didn’t answer.

“Has the royal family forgotten honor? Disgusting…”

Despite the perfect opportunity, he hadn’t been able to assassinate her in one blow.

Therefore, Kayla seemed to have decided to focus solely on defense, staring at Luces without revealing any openings.

I had told her to prioritize defense if she felt overwhelmed, and it seemed she had learned much from their first exchange.

She had chosen practicality over pride.

Luces realized her intentions.

Prolonging the fight would only put him at a disadvantage.

Therefore, he had no choice but to attack aggressively.

“…I’ll kill you.”

Luces charged towards Kayla.

I reached out towards him.

*Swish.

Luces swiftly cut through my magic.

Sensing the opening, Kayla swung her sword, but Luces effortlessly parried the attack and counterattacked.

Clang!

Kayla calmly blocked his attack with her shield and returned to her defensive stance.

“Interfering in an honorable duel?!”

Luces shouted at me, and I calmly replied,

“You scorned me for lacking honor, yet you cling to it when it suits you?”

And besides, I didn’t value honor that much.

It was meaningless for me.

No matter how honorable I acted, the stigma of being a warlock would never disappear.

I would pretend to care if necessary, but there were only enemies here, so there was no reason to bother.

Therefore, his words about interference and duels didn’t bother me at all.

I calmly prepared my next spell, and Luces, gritting his teeth, tried to defeat Kayla.

Judging by his gaze, his primary target was me, but with Kayla blocking his path, he had no choice but to focus on her first.

I primarily used curses that hindered his movements and drained his stamina and life force.

As expected of a Master, he resisted most of the curses and cut through the spells he could, relentlessly attacking Kayla.

However, he was clearly annoyed, occasionally glaring at me.

While most of my magic was ineffective, I had no intention of giving up.

If one attempt failed, I would simply try again.

He couldn’t defeat Kayla with those attacks anyway.

He couldn’t resist the curses indefinitely, so time was on my side.

‘I just need one to land, and it’s over.’

Even if none landed, if the fight dragged on, the undead knight order would defeat Priogaha’s knights and cavalry and join us.

He would then have to face both the curses and the undead knight order. Luces was trapped.

I hadn’t planned to conquer House Priogaha with just the two of us without reason. I had that much confidence.

As time passed, Luces grew increasingly agitated, glancing around nervously, worn down by the constant curses and Kayla’s impenetrable defense.

His main force had finally lost their formation, and the chaotic melee I had hoped for had begun.

Slain mercenaries and heavily armored infantry rose as zombies, attacking their former allies, and my weaker, but endlessly regenerating, undead relentlessly charged at the enemy.

The mages, having exhausted their mana, could no longer restrain the Bone Golems and Draugr, so the Skeleton Mages protecting them occasionally cast spells at the heavily armored infantry.

The priests, seemingly still possessing some divine power, continued to support their allies with blessings and tried to hold back the undead.

The paladins, who had been holding back, were also now fighting the encroaching undead.

The clash between the knight orders was also turning in our favor.

While the first clash had resulted in minimal casualties on both sides, due to Kayla’s surprise attack and Luces’ focus on evasion, the subsequent clashes were different.

Each clash resulted in dozens of human casualties and over half of the undead knight order falling.

The difference was that most of the humans didn’t get back up, while the Skeleton Knights, infused with my demonic energy, rose again.

Moreover, their mounts were visibly tiring.

Cavalrymen didn’t charge at full speed constantly. They controlled their pace and often dismounted to conserve their horses’ stamina, even when not facing immediate combat.

And in actual battles, they didn’t charge at full gallop from the start. They gradually increased their speed, only charging at full force when the enemy was within a certain range.

However, our mounts were undead, with unlimited stamina.

They constantly charged at full speed, disrupting the enemy’s timing and draining their horses’ stamina even faster.

We had already finished turning and were charging again, while they were still turning.

By the third or fourth clash, it would become a massacre.

Therefore, Luces was forced to attack more aggressively, taking greater risks, and Kayla, calmly observing his attacks, was looking for an opening.

Luces was undoubtedly more skilled and experienced than the newly ascended Kayla.

He pressured Kayla, wielding both sword and shield, with a single sword.

His relentless attacks were seamless, and he preemptively blocked Kayla’s counterattacks.

His movements were extraordinary.

He moved around Kayla with blurring speed, his movements unpredictable, launching bold attacks while preventing her from counterattacking.

And yet, he reacted instantly to my curses and spells.

Despite his anxiety, he fought mechanically, relying on his experience.

However, he couldn’t maintain it forever.

‘His reactions are… slowing down.’

Moreover, Kayla seemed to be adapting, occasionally disrupting his flow.

Swish!

As if reading my timing as well, a hand emerged from the shadows, grazing Luces’ ankle, just as Kayla disrupted his attack.

It was a spell Luces would have normally parried.

However, thanks to Kayla’s interference, he hadn’t been able to react in time.

‘I need to be careful as well.’

She had completely read my spellcasting timing.

If it weren’t for Kayla, my reliable vanguard, I would have been caught by Luces already.

Of course, my main force was the undead, and my magic was primarily for support.

However, I couldn’t neglect my magic.

Though, it was something to worry about later.

For now, with Kayla disrupting Luces and coordinating with my spells, there was no need to change my tactics.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

[Your Text Here]