Chapter 148: Clash with the Death Knights
Orcs marching along with bright, cheerful faces.
In stark contrast, the elves came rushing over in a panic, trying to stop them.
“Over ten thousand orcs have died in the conquest so far! And now you're marching straight to the center where the witch is?!”
“This is suicide!”
―Chiiik! As expected, all you pointy-ears are cowards!
―Cowards don't have to follow! We're more than enough on our own!
―We're gonna smash the witch's head!
Reactions split into extremes.
‘In truth, the elves are the normal ones.’
The orcs left after the conquest totaled twenty thousand. Mixed in with about a hundred elves—that was the entire subjugation army.
The situation had even worsened compared to before.
A witch and an ice dragon.
Two great evils dominating the continent.
And the possibility that an even higher existence had come to the continent.
Any normal commander wouldn't head straight for the center.
The north had warmed up nicely, so they'd buy time, build up the orc forces by three times, then capture some fortresses in the east and west.
Sow discord between the witch and the ice dragon, make them fight each other.
That kind of miscellaneous maneuvering would be normal.
But taking the long way around like that…
‘It's because they're ultimately weak.’
The northern fortress conquest had been the same.
Throwing a festival and causing a huge commotion to gather the orc horde—looking at it coldly, it was because his own forces were that lacking.
Without the orcs' numbers to back them up, they couldn't break through.
But now, there was no need for that.
Instead of responding to the elves' clamor, he turned to Merhen, who was dutifully following behind.
“Merhen.”
―Yeah.
“Have you ever fought the witch?”
―I have.
“How'd it go?”
―They're all idiots. Well, except for exactly seven.
“Seven?”
―Yeah. The archwitches.
Ho.
Beings that weren't idiots by Merhen's standards.
Archwitches.
The name alone sounded brutal.
Most likely the upper echelons of the Witch Society.
He asked casually.
“Do those archwitches use magic better than you, Merhen?”
At that, Merhen puffed out her cheeks.
―Minwoo, you don't trust me?
“I do. I was just curious since you said they're not idiots.”
―They can't use magic better than me. Cedric?
―You called?
―Back me up quick.
―It's true. At his peak, the Lord handled three archwitches on his own.
“Oh, that good?”
Kim Minwoo looked at Merhen with a slightly surprised expression.
Of course, he knew her magical abilities were outstanding.
Even so.
He hadn't expected her to be at a level where she could toy with the executives of the Eastern Witch Society, who hopped dimensions at will.
At that admiring gaze.
―Ahem!
Merhen cleared her throat fake-coughingly.
Her nose stuck up high, as if declaring, This is how good I am!
“But why'd you fight?”
―The Witch Society and the Dragon Legion. They advanced into our dimension. The initial goal was trade.
“Trade?”
―Think of it like a merchant caravan.
Kim Minwoo nodded as if he understood.
If witches and dragons could move between dimensions, it wasn't strange for them to enter a dimension with a Death Lord for bartering goods.
―Both factions made offers. They'd sell things the Lord might lack. Barter style.
“And?”
―But the owner knows by now what the early Death Lord was like.
“Uh… that was still the early days?”
―Roughly. The Lord thought that way back then. Why bother with petty trades when he could start from their caravans and wipe out their main base in one go?
Kim Minwoo nodded in understanding.
‘That personality hasn't changed a bit.’
Back in his academy days, the Death Lord had been the epitome of an evil lich.
Facing the Witch Society and Dragon Legion with that same temperament—what would happen? Instead of the hassle of trading, wouldn't he think of exterminating them and looting everything at once?
‘The witches wouldn't have stood a chance.’
Merhen had handled three archwitches. No need to mention the even stronger Death Lord.
Even if all seven archwitches came at once, it wouldn't have been a fight.
He could've slaughtered them all, looted the spoils, and felt no burden at all.
“With that level of power gap, the Eastern Witch Society going extinct wouldn't have been surprising.”
―Five archwitches died clashing with the Lord. Then they hid.
“Hid?”
―Yeah. Like a sort of seclusion seal. Even the Lord couldn't break that seal. So they bided their time for a rematch… but by then, we were the ones destroyed.
“So the witches are out and about now because the seal's broken?”
―Probably. A ton of time has passed since then.
“What about the Dragon Legion?”
―They sealed themselves too. Four ancient dragons died. They became my new bodies and comrades.
It was a tale that freshly illustrated just how much of a thug the Death Lord had been.
Also.
One fact became clear…
“If that's the case, they'll really have it out for me.”
―The surviving previous archwitches will remember that nightmare vividly. If they learn you're the successor, they won't stay quiet. Same for the Dragon Legion.
―Hmph, Minwoo has nothing to worry about. I'll protect you.
―Isn't this far from your peak? Blocking even one archwitch in your current state would be tough.
―Doesn't matter, right? It's not like an archwitch is here now anyway.
―If they detect our presence, it would.
―Is Cedric an idiot? Those cowards wouldn't move right away even if they found out. They'd be shitting bricks.
“Now, now, enough.”
He mediated between them appropriately.
There was merit to both Cedric's concern and Merhen's confidence.
Especially Merhen—she wasn't limited to death magic like before; she could use all four elements now. Even if not yet, once her level rose and the seal kept loosening, she could probably toy with several archwitches.
Still, caution was warranted for now.
Archwitches, ancient dragons.
They didn't look easy at all—names that screamed they'd require nuking right from the start.
In any case.
Boiling it down to the conclusion.
“…”
It was tantamount to explaining to the elves, who were blankly listening to the conversation, why he was advancing so confidently.
Witches, ice dragons—nothing special anymore. That was the core.
Of course, from the elves' perspective, it was like they'd captured the fortress and then, minutes later, this side suddenly went berserk.
What could he do?
No time or inclination to grab each one and persuade them individually.
The orcs pushed forward relentlessly.
In the end, the elves began cautiously following behind.
* * *
The warm north.
Crossing it to enter the continent's center, winter winds howled once more.
And not just that.
―Hiiiing!
An undead horde mounted on pitch-black phantom horses blocked the way.
Over five hundred in number, their armament was leagues above ordinary wraith knights.
“Th-the Death Knight Order!”
The elves cried out in terror.
Learned fear was etched into their eyes.
The direct knights who obeyed only the witch's command. Everywhere they swept left no proper corpses behind—that was their infamous reputation.
Elise's ears trembled too.
Kim Minwoo had been a reliable leader so far.
Just one human.
Yet he'd united the north's heteromorphs and toppled a fortress that seemed eternally unbreakable.
The reckless plan to sweep past the center all the way to the ice dragon's southern stronghold. She'd joined that mad scheme because of him.
At least he wasn't acting without thought.
Plus, if the resistance and Kim Minwoo fell here, even the reclaimed north would lose meaning in an instant.
But even accounting for that.
Gulp.
She couldn't hide her terror at the Death Knight Order blocking the path. Just five hundred, but each one's strength defied imagination.
Twenty thousand orcs and a hundred elves?
Sometimes numbers meant nothing.
‘We'll be shattered to pieces…’
This was exactly that moment.
Even desperate resistance would be lucky to take down a hundred knights. The quality gap was that violent. The only thing to trust was Kim Minwoo.
Please.
Let him have something up his sleeve.
It was then.
One being stepped forward from the Death Knight Order.
Unlike the other wraith knights, an undead wearing a crown atop its head.
The Death Knight Order Captain, Mederan.
The undead most notorious as the witch's limb.
―I shall pronounce a merciful judgment. Turn back. I will let you live.
A gloomy voice echoed around them.
The orcs and elves shuddered, chills running down their spines.
Only Urkan and the great chieftains glared with renewed battle spirit. Even battle-mad orcs flinched at the unimaginable pressure.
Kim Minwoo, however, lit up.
The witch's undead.
Each one a precious source of experience.
And this Death Knight Order before them had average levels far beyond the northern undead.
Rough estimate: 600 to 700?
Considering the northern undead were mid-200s to 300s, this was a massive leap.
And about five hundred of them.
It was easy to see why the Death Knight Order was infamous.
Five hundred such monsters charging on phantom horses—what could the heteromorphs do against that?
The foremost undead also sported ornate armament unlike the rest.
At a glance.
‘Power-leveling jackpot?’
No way he was passing this up.
He looked at Merhen.
“Let's take 'em.”
Nod.
Flutter!
Wings sprouted from her back. Merhen shot into the sky in an instant.
[Overdrive activates!]
[All magic power increases by 30% for 10 minutes!]
[Magic can be stacked up to five times!]
Mana surged into Merhen's hands like blue flames, as if stacking magic.
“…?!”
Mederan gawked at the sight.
As the witch's limb, he'd seen countless spells.
Yet he could say with certainty.
Even his master, the witch Iris, couldn't emit such a wave with a single spell.
‘I have to block it!’
If he couldn't stop the cast, who knew what would happen. He hastily drew his sword to fire sword energy at Merhen when—
Swoosh!
Something approached at high speed.
Boom!
Mederan's eyes widened as he urgently blocked in front.
A massive bone spear clashed against his sword.
‘Skeleton?’
And one whose head eerily resembled a dragon. Mounted on a large phantom horse, but no height difference.
Like the mage floating in the sky, wings flapped on this bizarre skeleton's back too.
Dragon-like wings, at that.
Mederan began retreating nonstop under the relentless spear assault.
Doubts filled his murky pupils.
Did the northern resistance have such a being?
No.
If monsters like this existed, the fortress wouldn't have taken half a day to fall.
Only one possibility came to mind.
―You lot… have you allied with the Dragon Legion?
Immense strength.
Wings mimicking a dragon.
If the Dragon Legion had provided something to the northern resistance?
The motive was more than sufficient.
Hadn't the northern fortress fallen precisely because the witches had stood by? The skeleton pressed on without answering the urgent question.
Growing pushed back, Mederan shouted desperately.
―Disperse!
The magic aura from the sky now asserted its presence like the sun.
Taking it bunched up meant the end.
The Death Knight Order scattered in an instant.
It was then.
A single gust of wind blew.
By the time the phantom horses sensed it, everything was too late.
―Hiiiing!
Ethereal bodies lifted into the air.
As if caught in a massive vortex, the entire Death Knight Order got sucked in. Mederan couldn't escape the disaster either.
Flailing midair, he witnessed a bizarre sight.
Despite the storm raging around them, everything on the ground remained untouched.
Dirt, insignificant twigs, small flora and fauna.
Utterly unaffected, not even twitching.
He was aghast.
‘Controlled the wind?’
The stronger the spell, the greater the shockwave. Even mages couldn't easily control that wave.
Let alone a typhoon-scale one that engulfed the entire Death Knight Order while perfectly adjusting the surrounding wave…
‘What level is this realm?’
That was Mederan's final thought. Cedric's spear unleashed Dragon Blood Slash. Combined with Merhen's five-stack Great Explosion.
The two attacks overlapped, sweeping away the wind-trapped Death Knight Order entirely.
[Level increases by 23!]
“Whoa.”
Kim Minwoo whistled at the message.
Just breathing had shot him from 270 to 293. He wasn't the only one riding comfortably on the legion commanders' bus.
Skeletons.
Skeleton mages.
Specters.
And even the dullahan.
A true power-leveling party.
[Skeleton Mage Unit's average level reaches 101!]
[Skeleton Mage Unit grows!]
[Special magic has been learned!]
[Title, 'Master of the Dragon Knight' effect activates!]
[Class change system activates!]
The class change window popping up for the mages was a bonus.
“You guys really hit the jackpot with your master. Got it?”
Clack!
Miley nodded vigorously and gave a thumbs-up.
^_^.
The cute emoticon face learned from Merhen was extra.