Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Fragment of the Immortal King (3)
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Having finished my revenge, I began cleaning up.
First, I summoned the undead under my command and checked for casualties.
The undead who had fought alongside Malcolm were nearly wiped out, and those who clashed with the black mages resisting in the village had taken heavy losses in the fierce battle.
[...There were about five hundred of them, right? And this is all that's left?]
Of the vast horde of undead, fewer than thirty remained.
We had only faced a little over forty enemies, yet the damage was immense.
If it had just been zombies and skeletons, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but there were mid-to-high-tier undead mixed in too.
If Malcolm hadn't used the black mages as sacrificial pawns, the undead sent to the village would have been annihilated.
'Well, in that case, I could've taken out Malcolm faster and come to help.'
After roughly assessing the damage, I examined Malcolm's corpse.
If my forces had thinned out, I could just replenish them.
As long as they weren't completely destroyed beyond resurrection, I could recover some numbers.
Above all, turning the corpses of fallen enemies into new troops mid-battle was the true charm of being a necromancer.
'Hmm... not sure if it'll work out well.'
I had seen Malcolm summon undead a few times, but that was just mass-producing low-tier ones.
Of course, all the higher-tier undead he'd gathered were taken by me, so he had no choice.
In the end, I had no experience creating undead from corpses.
If I botched it and ruined the bodies, I'd be crying tears of blood.
These were high-quality corpses, and it wasn't like I'd easily find ones this good again.
As I inspected it, I noticed something odd.
Malcolm's corpse had no soul.
This was my first time examining a corpse like this since becoming a Demi-Lich, so I wondered if this was normal and investigated further, soon discovering the cause.
A red magic circle was engraved on Malcolm's heart, and it had forcibly extracted his soul.
'Did he lose his soul to some demon contract? Or maybe his backers did it as a security measure.'
It was a shame; I could've gleaned some info from his soul.
I'd never tried it before, but tinkering around might've yielded something.
'At least the body looks usable. That's a relief.'
I shifted my gaze from Malcolm and looked around, soon spotting what I wanted.
The kindly black mage who had first taught me.
Pushed aside by the battle's aftermath, he was crumpled in a corner, ragged but somehow still maintaining his form.
'His soul's been extracted too. Still, this should be workable.'
Not only personal tutoring, but even providing practice material.
With gratitude, I attempted to create an undead.
Using the knowledge from the "Black Magic" skill I'd acquired so far, my experience observing undead, and the undead-related info I'd gained from resonating with the 'Fragment of the Immortal King', I channeled black mana.
'Connect the corpse to black mana and synchronize... corrupt the residual mana in the body and warp the physical data... gather the fragments of lingering thoughts... like this?']
Soon, black flames enveloped the corpse, burning away everything but the bones.
It seemed to be going well at first.
Crack—! Crumble...
Suddenly, cracks spread across the remaining bones, and they began crumbling to dust.
[Uh... sorry?]
I tossed out a light apology.
Still, thanks to it, I got a feel for it.
I immediately ordered an undead to fetch Jeraph's corpse from the warehouse and sat before it, trying undead creation again.
Thanks to the ever-helpful 'Zephyr Chance', it succeeded this time.
A Skull Mage, a Skeleton Mage, was complete.
Emboldened by the success, it was still too soon to risk it on Malcolm's body.
I needed a few more tries to be confident.
'Well, with materials everywhere, I can practice plenty and save him for last.'
I had a nearby undead carry Malcolm's corpse, then stood to survey the village.
Wobble—
My body tilted for a moment.
Without one arm, balancing was tricky.
'Guess I should fix this first.'
I sent undead to retrieve my right arm that flew off in battle.
They searched thoroughly and found it quickly, but its condition wasn't great.
'The upper arm's completely gone? Can't use this.'
I couldn't attach an elbow to my shoulder.
If I were a true lich with immortality derived from separately extracting and storing my origin, I could've gathered the bone dust and regenerated it, but that was impossible for me.
As I pondered, my eyes fell on the Death Knight's remains, which had flown in and shattered just before the fight with Malcolm.
It was totally wrecked, beyond recycling.
But upon closer look, its right arm was intact, and the build matched mine.
'This'll do as a replacement!'
I snatched the Death Knight's right arm, pressed the cut end to my shoulder, and connected it like I'd synchronized fragments with black mana. Black flames flared, burning away the mummy-like flesh clinging to the arm, leaving only bone.
Then "Super Recovery" activated, fusing it with my body.
[Hmm... feels a bit off?]
I swung the new arm around, then fine-tuned its size by manipulating the bones with black magic, adjusting the balance.
[Perfect now! Seamless!]
The bone color was slightly different, but I was very satisfied.
Using high-quality bone made channeling black mana feel no different from my old arm.
[Now, shall we collect the spoils?]
I was the only one left in this village, and there were countless things still to gather.
Gazing at the village, I smiled contentedly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Unfortunately, most of the undead lost to Malcolm were beyond resurrection.
I revived what I could and toured the ruined village.
Undead lay shattered everywhere, along with a few corpses that looked like minions.
They must have been caught out after the undead assault, before linking up with their group.
I recovered salvageable undead and turned the minions into new ones.
[Skeleton Warrior this time, huh.]
Leading the fresh undead, I ransacked nearby buildings for useful items as we moved.
Whenever I found a new corpse, I made it an undead, but there weren't as many as expected.
I realized why upon reaching the village center.
[They all gathered here.]
A massive battle had taken place between the two sides.
Hundreds of undead remains littered the area, alongside a cluster of black mages massacred together.
I'd been focused on Malcolm and hadn't grasped the details, but it seemed they'd banded together after the assault, fighting back-to-back in the alleys.
The black mages were all equipped with robes and staves.
The minions had weapons too, suggesting they'd armed up and assembled right after the attack.
[Huh... but the undead numbers seem off. Why so many?]
There were also quite a few undead that seemed to have fought defending the center.
[Ah, these must be the ones the black mages summoned separately.]
Upon closer inspection, higher-tier undead weren't that numerous. Still, their numbers must've helped them hold out.
Looking further, I confirmed some minions had been particularly strong.
Especially the middle-aged man who'd guarded the village entrance—he'd inflicted the most damage.
[I sensed he was formidable when scanning the village, but I didn't expect this much.]
Most of the higher-tier undead from the assault had been destroyed by him.
As a warrior unlike the mages, his black mana reserves and combat power must've differed.
[Can't let my guard down just by mana amount... gotta be careful from now on.]
Fortunately, he'd performed well, but once Malcolm killed off the black mages en masse, he hadn't lasted much longer.
[But now, he's my offering.]
I started with the weaker ones, turning them into undead one by one.
Black mages became Skeleton Mages, minions Elite Skeletons or Skeleton Warriors.
A few standout minions became Skeleton Knights.
In the process, I realized the weakest among them was still an Elite Skeleton.
I'd been the weakest in this village.
'Fine, I'm the strongest now. Time to put these guys to good use.'
There was no special reason they were all skeletons.
I'd used info from the fragment to create them, and whether it was Malcolm's preference, skeletons were the most common offerings, making them the most efficient.
Plus, coming from a skeleton myself, that lineage felt the most natural.
'A bit lacking in variety, but can't be helped.'
Still, the village gatekeeper deserved better than a mere Skeleton Knight, so I put in extra effort.
Malcolm planned stronger ones anyway, so drawing on my experience, I aimed for the pinnacle.
[Grrrk...]
A gurgling sound came from the fallen corpse, and its sunken, dangling head snapped off.
The body rose smoothly, picked up the severed head, and tucked it under its arm.
[Oh, success!]
A headless knight, a Dullahan, was born.
With most higher-tier undead gone, this Dullahan was now my strongest asset.
I had a few more Dullahans, but they were in poor shape.
Of course, that was only for now—the rankings would shift soon.
Next up was the star: Malcolm.
But first, a moment to think.
Among my info, mage-compatible undead weren't plentiful.
Malcolm was too good for a mere Skeleton Mage.
Ghosts needed souls from the start, and liches too.
'No, normal liches are mages who corrupt voluntarily into undead. I don't even have the info for that.'
Malcolm hadn't bitched about me being half-baked for nothing.
As I pondered options, my right arm caught my eye.
A proper Death Knight was top-tier among undead, retaining ego and rivaling liches in combat.
The ones I'd briefly had were weakened from long exposure to the fragment, lacking ego.
'Can't make mage Malcolm a Death Knight, but I could mimic it somehow...'
The 'Fragment of the Immortal King' had Death Knight info, I'd studied it post-Demi-Lich evolution, and my right arm was from one.
[Alright, let's try.]
I sat, placed my right hand on Malcolm's corpse, and focused.
"Wicked Wisdom" whispered methods from my accumulated knowledge. The fragment in my heart lent power.
Black flames erupted over Malcolm's body.
Unlike before, it didn't strip to bones; it just withered like a mummy, moisture evaporating.
Success.
I hastily gathered his fragmented lingering thoughts and implanted an ego.
The shards held no info value, but this would give basic judgment intelligence.
Soon, Malcolm floated up smoothly and stood before me.
His eyes flickered with blue soulfire as he looked at me, then bowed his head.
[Orders.]
'Whoa... he talks!'
First talking undead besides myself—momentarily moved.
'Has ego and speech, so he needs a name...'
I pondered briefly, then realized it was pointless.
[Your name is Malcolm. Nice to work with. Obey well from now on, got it?]
No point inventing a new name—it'd just confuse, and it was probably fake like Zephyr's anyway.
Nod
Fresh ego meant choppy responses now, but it'd improve with time.
Thwack!
Or else it'd get smacked.
[Answer me, punk.]
[...Yes.]
Thus, I achieved full revenge, and the Malcolm who killed me became a 'Death Wizard' under my command.