Reinforcing the Tempest Knights

The way to strengthen your forces is extremely simple.

Make a whole lot of strong undead!

“Wow. It’s so easy I can’t help but admire it.”

Sir Isra replied while yawning widely.

This brat.

This is my secret weapon that I haven’t told a soul about.

My current crafting recipes are as follows.

Looking at how I’ve sorted them into three categories, you get the idea, right?

“Heavily skewed toward the melee line.”

“Magic types are rare to begin with, though.”

Still, this is a bit extreme.

Tigris is B+.

Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier is C+.

Meanwhile the highest magic type, Dark Hood, is only C-grade.

And even that costs so much to produce that I haven’t made a single one.

“How much does it run, exactly?”

“Around four hundred million, I think.”

Every last material was ridiculously expensive.

For the Revenant, aside from Banshee’s Lament, it only needed common materials and could be finished under a hundred million.

But mass-producing mere D-grade Skeleton Mages felt unsatisfying.

After consulting my two subordinates and pondering between hammer swings, I settled on this plan:

- 30 Tigris

- 15 Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers

- 5 Dark Hoods under the Witch Coven’s direct command

- 20 Skeleton Mages

“You yourself said the Dark Hood’s cost is far too high for its performance.”

“I don’t have a choice.”

The Dark Hood was a classic chicken rib—neither worth keeping nor throwing away.

Roughly four hundred million per unit.

Considering a Tigris runs about fifty million, the sum was truly staggering.

But what else could I do?

The firepower of warrior-type undead is fixed.

The number of enemies they can drop in one go is limited.

Ranged attacks, on the other hand, can pour out one-sided damage so long as mana and stability are secured.

“Why craft so many Skeleton Mages?”

“As support for Ingrid.”

Skeleton Mages are mere D-grade monsters.

The spells they can learn top out at D-grade.

In a B-grade gate they can barely create variables.

However.

Ingrid can combine even low-level magics to maximize destructive power.

“Dark Hoods as main force and checks. The rest of the Skeleton Mages will all support Ingrid.”

A bold investment that trusted Ingrid’s unique formula!

“I’ll definitely repay the trust you’ve placed in me!”

This was the fruit of five days spent gripping the hammer, sleep and meals excluded.

Phew.

I’m exhausted.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t even tell whether I was human or panda.

Have I ever been this tired since inheriting the Heavenly Martial Body?

“You feel less fatigue, but it is not complete liberation.”

“I know. Just venting.”

No one held a sword to my throat and ordered me to craft undead.

I was the one who got greedy before entering the Tower of Chaos.

What can I do?

I’ll just have to suffer a little more.

“But something seems missing.”

“Preparations are almost finished, though?”

“The Tempest Knight Order is completely understaffed!”

“Caught me.”

I had excluded every Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier from the Tempest Knight Order.

I reassigned them to personal guard duty.

“Shall I make you Skeleton Knights? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It’s a recipe I used a great deal when modifying you, Sir.”

“That alone will not suffice.”

【Words. Too. Harsh.】

“Ignoring your master’s feelings like that. Knights these days are something else.”

【I believe the young master is the one in the wrong here.】

“I am merely speaking frankly. If my lord’s sword loses its edge, of what use is it!”

Sir Isra declared boldly.

Oh.

Not backing down even three against one.

When her convictions stand firm, she does not bend.

“Then how about this fellow?”

Thud—

The remains of a dead man summoned into the Death Blacksmith dropped before my subordinates.

Abyss Revenant.

A formidable foe that gave us hell in the trap gate created by the Black Sky Society.

“You know how to craft this undead as well?”

“I’m about to find out.”

I projected mana and learned the structure of the Abyss Revenant.

I obtained the Ghoul and Skeleton Knight recipes the same way.

A B+ grade undead.

A monster that can even use Aura, albeit in a limited fashion.

Wouldn’t it make a perfect new knight order member?

“As expected, my lord had a plan all along!”

Sir Isra’s voice trembled softly.

Don’t get moved already.

“It might fail.”

I possess zero background knowledge on the Abyss Revenant.

Even if I learn the recipe, whether I can craft it immediately is unknown.

First, proficiency is an issue.

Second, whether I can even obtain the materials the craft ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠consumes.

“If it is my lord, you will surely succeed.”

“To repay that trust, I’ll have to work hard.”

I smiled lightly and analyzed the next Abyss Revenant corpse.

……

“Every last one of these materials is no joke.”

Ingrid crossed her arms.

Banshee’s Lament is at least somewhat familiar.

It’s the core catalyst for Revenant crafting.

About sixty million each, so let’s cleanly call it three hundred million.

Obtaining a large-species corpse is also a hassle.

For it to function properly as an undead, the limbs must be intact.

But is an intact large-species corpse easy to come by?

Large species like ogres or trolls receive stat corrections and are far stronger than their grade suggests.

You have to use any means necessary during the hunt.

Intact corpses are hard to find.

“This is a big problem.”

“Actually, it isn’t a big problem.”

What was the B-grade gate we cleared before?

It was one full of trolls.

The corpses obtained during that clear—I asked President Baek to freeze-store them!

“This girl has no idea how far Master can see ahead.”

“As expected of my lord. There was a reason you did not dispose of the large species!”

【Great Master! You’re amazing!】

【As expected. My. Master.】

If their plan was to kill me with embarrassment, they’ve succeeded about halfway.

“Let’s place an order with President Baek.”

I had already used up most of the byproducts piled in the large trailer as well.

Suddenly.

A wave of anxiety swept through my chest.

“Money… is it okay?”

Ugh.

I should discuss this with the president too.

“What will you do if military funds run short?”

I’ll try within the allowable limits.

If I win, I can pay it back!

“That seems a bit dangerous, Master.”

“A ruler of a nation must not manage affairs with a gambler’s heart.”

【How about stealing?】

【Holy. Purification.】

Ugh.

I’ll handle it myself, so don’t worry.

“There will be a bit of a loss, but it is possible.”

President Baek’s hearty reply.

Planning five units means I need thirty Banshee’s Laments alone.

Factoring in possible failures, I should buy a comfortable forty to fifty?

That’s already three billion.

The word “billion” just slips out on its own.

“Hahaha. This is truly fun.”

I’m sorry, President.

I didn’t mean to put you through this kind of social life.

“It’s fine. I feel younger, so my mood is quite refreshing.”

So it’s not actually fun, huh.

Drip.

“You’re not touching the agency operating funds, right?”

“It will be covered from the money Hunter Park has earned.”

Shit. At least that’s a relief.

I left the magic stones with President Baek to dispose of.

Since there is no fixed market price, he said he would sell at the right timing and transfer the proceeds.

“I think I’ve already spent over five billion.”

“Didn’t you haul in a mountain of C-grade magic stones?”

Still, buying the Abyss Revenant materials will use up most of the money I’ve saved, he says.

At least the money isn’t short, so that’s good.

“For Banshee’s Lament, the initial stock is twelve, and the rest should be possible by tomorrow morning.”

Twelve left in the domestic hunter market.

The rest will be purchased with GGG’s cooperation.

“Wow.”

The contract I signed with Sophie and the managing director.

They will relay it through the global network so we can obtain them as quickly as possible.

Krrr.

Reliable. GGG!

Second only to President Baek in trustworthiness.

The moment the materials arrived I immediately attempted to craft an Abyss Revenant.

“Open your eyes.”

First try: clean failure.

I carefully analyzed the collapsed troll corpse.

“I’m going to focus a bit.”

I rolled up my sleeves and raised the hammer.

Clang!

Clang!

A high-difficulty job that demanded every Necrosmith skill I had learned so far.

The troll corpse had collapsed on the first try because it could not handle the mana circulation.

I made the bones that would serve as pathways for Spirit Circuit Opening even harder.

And opened the circuits more densely.

“Open your eyes.”

Success on the second try.

Not perfect, but it functioned.

“Master. Serve.”

“That’s right. That’s right. Be good.”

“Master has. Blood smell. Enemy?”

Look at this guy.

The blue ghost fire in his eye sockets flared fiercely.

Because it had been made by stuffing deep grudges inside, control was not perfect.

“Blood smell. Breath of the living.”

“A mere guard dog with a big liver.”

In one bound Sir Isra climbed onto the Abyss Revenant’s shoulder and growled low.

“Do not bark at your master.”

“Dead one. No. Living one?”

“From ancient times, for those who cannot communicate, this has been the medicine.”

Thwack!

Sir Isra firmly established discipline with a new-recruit welcome.

Oof.

It hurts just watching.

After succeeding on the second attempt, everything went smoothly.

With the catalysts and materials President Baek brought, I proceeded with additional crafting.

The remaining four were completed without a single failure.

During the process I experimented with various things, so their stats varied,

but the most important skill set was fixed, so the combat-power difference was not large.

“Hwaaaaaah.”

Around the time Ingrid’s blacksmith residency period had about five hours left,

I was able to fill the knight order completely with Abyss Revenants.

Preparations for climbing the Tower of Chaos were essentially finished.

“Look forward to it. Now that the members are reinforced, we shall show you activity beyond your expectations.”

“Before the real battle, let’s loosen up a bit.”

I need to check just how strong the reinforced undead army’s power is before we go.

“President Baek. Can we take on a gate commission?”