The Power of an 8th Circle Black Mage - Part 3
The leaders of the Black Magic Association had all been killed by Jae-hyun, and even though more than half the black mages had perished, enough of them were still hiding out there.
And with a decade of time passing, the black mages who had quickly gathered their demonic energy to grow at a rapid pace now numbered many. They had survived by toiling in the land that humans refused to tread, steadily building their strength.
'Still, this power is thanks to Lord Jae-hyun.'
Even now, as the black mages' forces rapidly recovered and grew overwhelmingly strong, it was thanks to Jae-hyun's very existence. He had once been a 5th Circle black mage, but now he was an 8th Circle Grand Black Mage. Every black mage gathered here had contracted with the demonic races that had appeared in the Intermediate World because of Lord Jae-hyun's arrival, rapidly gaining power.
These men had been low-ranking black mages back during the war ten years ago, so they had not shone in battle.
Jae-hyun, as the Demon King, held the power to instantly elevate his subordinates to high-ranking mages. But ordinary demons could only manage a 1st Circle black mage at best.
For the strongest of their respective races like Selina and Lucien, a jump to 3rd Circle in an instant was possible, but most began at 1st Circle. That was how it should start. Once at 1st Circle, after a month they would be promoted to 2nd Circle. Half a year to a year later, more demonic energy would be infused to reach 3rd Circle.
In the meantime, they would repeat exercises in handling demonic energy and practice various spells, steadily building up their experience.
They could also learn from senior black mages, gather demonic energy through sheer effort, and the process was quicker than normal magic.
The only exception was when demons had directly arrived in the Intermediate World, which dramatically shortened the time required.
But over the past decade, hiding in the shadows had made it difficult for black mages to gather together. As the dark underbelly was under constant surveillance, they had scattered and lived in isolation. Most had simply hidden deep within the caves of remote lands, just like Ron and Rin.
That's why they were all excited now.
'I get to wield such power!'
'I get to summon these undead!'
The thrill of having obtained such strength and being able to use it.
The 501st Legion wanted to launch an immediate assault to display their power, but their commander Ron's orders had not come through. They could only advance slowly while summoning undead.
'This is nerve-wracking.'
And Ron himself was feeling tense. He had to keep an eye on the formation of the undead army as well.
The undead army numbered nearly 190,000 in total. Of those, more than 180,000 were merely low-to-mid tier undead.
If human soldiers had gathered, mobilizing such a force of nearly 200,000 would not have been impossible. But a massive army always had one major issue: supplies.
Even soldiers needed to eat and drink to fight. They also needed to rest and recover from wounds while staying together. But the undead army of black mages was already made of the dead. They did not need to sleep, eat, or tire themselves out to battle.
As commanders, they had a ridiculously convenient army. But since Ron had no battle experience, the tension of his first war could not be avoided.
Still, low-tier undead like skeletons, ghouls, and zombies were mixed with a few mid-tier ones—Dullahans. Death mages and Death Knights were also positioned to counter mana cannons fired from the walls.
If fire or wind cannons struck the undead army's ranks, the damage would be catastrophic. So Death Knights and Death mages were spread out to intercept them.
Because the undead were immune to distraction or carelessness and focused with absolute concentration, this made the undead army all the more useful.
From the walls, mana cannons began firing toward them.
Both fire and wind cannons were 5th Circle attack spells. Since these were mana cannons, the spells themselves could not be dispelled.
But that was all they could do—dispel the spells. Nothing more.
"Dispel!"
"Dispel!"
Although each spell could only dispel one magic at a time, hundreds of black mages unleashed dispel magic toward the barrage of mana cannon shells. A significant portion of the fire and wind cannons detonated in the air before reaching the ground, and the remaining projectiles were met with attacks from Death mages and black mages.
"Dark Cannon!"
"Dark Cannon!"
"Fire Spear."
Black mages of 5th Circle or higher fired their own attacks, and Death mages unleashed spells as well. Thanks to all this, the fire and wind cannons exploded in mid-air. Shortly after, the sky was filled only with smoke—the mana cannons that had been fired had been completely destroyed.
Among the Dark Cannons fired by the black mages, some were loaded with demonic energy and aimed directly at the walls or the soldiers atop them.
'They're coming.'
Ron sensed it at that moment.
Aaaaaah!
Accompanied by a clear singing voice, a massive barrier of holy power coalesced and spread before the holy city.
Crack!
The cannons fired by the black mages slammed into the barrier and exploded, but they were completely blocked by the firm holy power shield.
Soon, figures of a thousand angels rose into the sky, and tension appeared on even the black mages' faces.
Each of them was a knight-level warrior at the minimum Sword Expert rank, and some could even wield holy magic. Angels were an unbeatable force.
Among the pure white-winged angels, several had four wings, like the sky-blue-haired woman angel standing beside Ron now.
Against humans, that might be tolerable. But against this angelic army, the 180,000 low-tier undead would be swept away like fallen leaves.
Still, Ron was confident in the outcome.
"Come on out!"
Because of Jae-hyun, the Holy Sword had granted him protection, and on the occasion of Ron giving birth to his daughter—the true daughter of the Demon King—Jae-hyun had granted him additional forces.
Ka-aaah!
In response to the clear angelic song, a eerie and chilling melody rang out. Then, with a sharp crack!, the air tore open and a vast pitch-black void appeared.
From it emerged 5,000 humanoid figures with wings. When the angels realized their true nature, shock and horror erupted in their eyes.
"What is that?"
"No way!"
At first the angels had been bewildered, but soon their faces twisted with rage—regardless of gender.
Because those 5,000 figures were undead created from the corpses of holy angels who had recently passed.
Undead known as Death Angels!
They forced recently deceased holy angels into undeath, made them serve, and used them to fight honorably for the world in life before dying. Now they humiliated those same fallen angels with cruel mockery.
Kraaaang!
Following that, a massive roar that sent chills down spines echoed out. From a wider pitch-black void appearing high above, two existences revealed themselves.
Bones alone remained, yet they were called the ultimate undead—the Bone Dragon.
Only their souls remained, translucent and radiating an unmistakably sinister aura—the Ghost Dragon, the ultimate summoning-type undead.
Undead using bodies. Undead using souls.
The two undead who had reached the peak in their respective fields revealed themselves and roared.
Ron felt a light sense of victory. Those Bone Dragon and Ghost Dragon possessed powers that no 10,000 angels could possibly match.
"As expected, I made the right choice!"
"No!"
"We made the right choice!"
Three angels suddenly descended from the sky. Two of them charged straight at the Ghost Dragon and Bone Dragon, while the third rushed toward Ron.
"Hellfire!"
Ron had memorized the 8th Circle magic Hellfire in advance. Summoning hellish flames, he unleashed it at the approaching angel while using demonic energy to swiftly move his body backward.
But the angel was astonishing. She poured an enormous amount of holy power into her sword, creating an aura blade that glowed with pure white sacred energy, then cleaved the Hellfire apart in one strike.
Kwaaaang!
Hellfire split into two, and a massive explosion erupted in the air. The angel sheathed her sword, soared into the sky, and looked completely unharmed.
"Hoo, 8th Circle magic is truly terrifying. It was quite dangerous."
That was the mutter of a superior angel, her six pure white wings fluttering.
The two angels who had charged at the Bone Dragon and Ghost Dragon were also superior angels with six wings.
'This isn't as easy as I thought.'
Ron stepped back, putting distance between them, and realized the situation he had assumed would be easy had grown more difficult. He frowned.
This was a crucial moment for revenge.
But who were these people, and why had they appeared to disrupt his revenge?
Of course, the excuse was that they wanted to prevent innocent humans from being slaughtered by the demonic undead army. But to Ron, a black mage, that was irrelevant.
As a vengeful spirit, the most important thing now was the revenge of his parents. The endless pain he had endured as a child also filled most of his heart with hatred.
"Sophiel."
Ron called out the name of the sky-blue-haired woman angel standing beside him.
"Yes, my lord."
And Ron had received clear ownership of her from Jae-hyun, so he was dominating her. She was loyal enough to even commit suicide if he ordered it.
"We will handle that one. And black mages, report to me! Command is left to Philoni. If Philoni falls, then hand it to Dave."
Philoni and Dave were 7th Circle master black mages. After Ron, they were the strongest present.
Ron immediately entrusted the 501st Legion to Philoni, then unfolded translucent demonic wings with the Ether Wing magic and ascended into the sky.
And Ron faced the superior angel directly.
"It seems the leader himself came out. Lucky for us."
The superior angel, Sharokel, smiled at Ron. She had believed that defeating him would bring victory in this war.
As a superior angel, she possessed power on the level of a Grand Master, and she was a strong opponent comparable to a Grand Mage like Ron.
Moreover, unlike Ron, she had lived in this realm for a much longer time. In comparison, Ron had only recently reached 8th Circle, and even that had been thanks to Jae-hyun's rapid assistance.
But Sharokel's smile vanished at once. Because she had seen Sophiel hovering protectively beside Ron.
"Sophiel! What did you do to this man... Sophiel?"
Sharokel glared at Ron with hatred, asking because Sophiel stood protectively beside him.
Ron chuckled, swept his blood-red hair back, and taunted her.
"I don't know what you're talking about? That damn girl has been such a pain in the ass."