Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: New Sovereignty (4)
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For a long time, the undead soldiers had sustained themselves on Jamie's black mana within the Gate of Defying Heaven.
That alone was a blessing and the driving force for their growth.
But the undead soldiers—
Especially Azad and Raiza, who possessed intelligence—didn't just sit idle. They trained the undead soldiers within the limits of their abilities. They established command structures and routines, drilling the tireless soldiers relentlessly.
As a result, the army of Defying Heaven could now move in perfect unison without a single error.
Just like right now.
"First platoon, intercept the enemy head-on! Second platoon, spread out to the flanks and support the first! Third platoon, loose arrows in unison the moment there's a breath of respite!"
At Azad's command, the undead soldiers moved with crisp efficiency.
Their movements were utterly mechanical.
The close-quarters infantry of the first platoon charged headlong at the serpent, bone swords in hand, without a backward glance.
The second platoon followed, leaving just enough space to fan out left and right.
The third platoon nocked black mana arrows onto bowstrings made of black mana, bows carved from bone at the ready.
They moved as if facing an army of equal caliber, despite the enemy being just one man.
'This is on a whole other level compared to before.'
The last time he'd summoned the undead was at Abton.
They'd fought alongside him against the holy knights of the Seven Knights guarding the demon-sealed egg, and the demon's progeny.
Even then, their coordination had been decent, but now it felt at least two stages more advanced.
Jamie glanced at Azad. The face he hadn't seen in quite a while brimmed with strong confidence.
'I neglected these guys too much, but they've done well on their own.'
Black magic, especially necromancy, was too conspicuous, so he hadn't summoned them for months.
He felt a twinge of guilt toward Azad and Raiza. They were the only undead in his possession with true intelligence.
What must it have been like, cooped up in that gate with nothing to do?
Come to think of it, Raiza was nowhere to be seen.
Nor was the lich, Nebro.
"Azad."
"You called, Master?"
Azad, who had been issuing detailed orders, turned to Jamie and dropped to one knee.
"...What are you doing?"
"We've finally shaped up into a proper army, so shouldn't we observe basic etiquette?"
Now that he looked closely, even Azad's speech had changed a bit.
Not so much changed as... off.
Like someone wearing ill-fitting clothes.
Awkward, unpleasant to the ear.
Azad was a thug at heart. An executive in one of Highs' major gangs, no less.
How casually he'd spoken back when they first conversed.
It was only natural to feel awkward seeing that guy act like this.
"Cut the act and go back to normal."
"...Yes, sir."
With Jamie not playing along, Azad made a sullen face and stood.
"Where the hell did you learn that dogshit nonsense?"
"...Nebro taught me."
"The lich? He shouldn't have any intelligence."
"He does now, though?"
"...What?"
What nonsense was this?
When turning him into a lich, the first step had been stripping away his reason. He should only manage the bare minimum thinking required for combat.
"At some point, he started talking to us, sharing bits of this and that. He's a pretty entertaining fellow."
Jamie couldn't even imagine what made him entertaining.
"I'll have to meet with him separately later."
He wanted to summon Nebro right then, but with the battle raging, it didn't seem feasible.
The serpent was unleashing madness, literally erasing the undead soldiers from existence.
The undead soldiers flowed around the attacks as best they could, pressing the fight.
'Whatever it is, if they rebel, I'd end up with two enemies. No need for that headache.'
The chance of mutiny was extremely low, but you never knew.
Of course, even if they did rebel, he was confident he could crush them easily.
Unlike before, he had already surpassed Nebro's human-era power.
They'd been evenly matched back then, but now the gap was insurmountable.
'It's intriguing.'
Sudden emergence of intelligence where there was none.
A thought suddenly crossed Jamie's mind.
"Did he achieve enlightenment?"
"Pardon?"
"Never mind."
Jamie shook his head at Azad's puzzled reply.
If his hunch was right...
Jamie curled his lips into a grin.
Azad, who had been watching quietly, spoke in a displeased tone.
"That smile looks really creepy."
"Wanna die?"
"Your smile looks incredibly dashing, Master."
Azad was exactly like this.
A loyal servant who retained his unique personality.
And there was another like him, curiously absent.
"So where's Raiza?"
"You shoved some weirdo in there, Master. He's training him."
"Ah, Ashtar Rarna?"
"Why'd you suddenly stick a living guy in the gate? Do you know how flustered we were?"
"And who are you to complain to?"
"I-it was just a figure of speech. Haha."
As Jamie's expression hardened, Azad burst into his usual brazen laugh as if nothing had happened.
What a shameless face.
Jamie decided to let it slide this once, since he did bear some fault.
"That Ashtar guy's got some decent skills. Raiza okay on his own?"
"He's getting pummeled by Big Brother Raiza right now."
Jamie scratched his forehead at that.
"You've all gotten pretty strong."
"While you treated us like abandoned kids, we all made a lot of progress."
"Wh-when did I abandon you?"
"Pretty much. Do you have any idea how boring it is inside the Gate of Defying Heaven? Look at those guys. They started off useless, but with nothing else to do, they trained all day and now fight like that."
Sure enough, the undead soldiers were holding their own admirably against a 6th-class wall-breaking mage.
Despite the vast skill gap, their unyielding coordination proved the training wasn't in vain.
But they weren't winning, either.
'Particle magic. Great matchup against groups.'
Every time the serpent's magic touched them, the soldiers scattered like dust.
Disintegration magic was powerful on its own, but the serpent's particle variety was destructively thorough, allowing not even a shred of regeneration.
At this rate, no amount of coordination would let the undead soldiers alone take him down.
"Azad. Join the fray."
"Yes, sir."
Azad drew his sword from his belt without a hint of his earlier grumbling.
Then he leaped straight toward the serpent. His body looked incredibly light.
In an instant, he closed the distance, kicked off the ceiling, and dove straight down.
"You damned corpse bastards!!"
The serpent roared in fury, blocking Azad's sword with his staff. He extended his hand to disintegrate Azad at the particle level.
"Disintegrate!"
But the disintegration spell merely passed through empty air, turning the ceiling to dust. Azad had used the staff as leverage to twist his blade leftward, flipping his body midair to evade.
Landing on the shoulders and heads of his soldiers, Azad sprang forward, targeting the serpent's neck.
Lightning-fast movements. He too had trained ceaselessly in the Gate of Defying Heaven.
"Tch!"
The serpent leaped back to create distance.
But Azad pursued effortlessly, bounding across the soldiers' heads and shoulders like it was second nature.
Along the way, he ordered the soldiers to restrain the enemy's movements as much as possible.
"Don't... piss me off!!"
Unable to endure, the serpent unleashed his aura with full force.
Disintegration energy spread outward in a spherical wave from his position.
Azad halted mid-charge, stomped on a skeleton's skull, and tumbled backward dramatically.
"You little shit!! I'll slaughter every last one of your slaves!"
"Aren't you focusing too much on that?"
At that moment, Jamie's voice came from behind the serpent.
He'd clearly been cowering behind the undead soldiers until just now...
The serpent whipped around with a panicked look.
"What, like you've seen a ghost? Oh, wait—there are plenty of ghosts around right now."
Jamie quipped pointlessly as he slipped into the serpent's guard.
"H-how?!"
The serpent felt his common sense shatter.
This guy was commanding an enormous undead horde right now.
He'd fought necromancers before. They just swarmed with vermin-like undead. Why not fight alongside them for better effect?
Simple reason: maintaining the undead consumed all their mana. Without undead, they were little more than ordinary humans.
When Jamie Welton unleashed this undead legion, he'd been shocked, but figured it would drain an immense amount of mana.
Once he wiped them out, Jamie would be mana-dry and crawling like vermin—which was why he'd targeted the undead indiscriminately.
"So why the hell are you here?!"
"Because I'm a genius."
As Jamie smirked his reply, veins writhed grotesquely across the serpent's face.
"You little shit!"
Puuk!!
With the serpent's shout, Jamie's sword pierced his heart.
Darkness flowed along the blade.
In black magic, darkness embodied disintegration. Could the serpent's particle magic truly surpass the disintegration of darkness?
"Kuhuk!"
The serpent vomited blood.
The footsteps of the approaching undead soldiers echoed.
Once their weapons riddled his back, death was certain.
The serpent had no intention of dying. How had he survived this long just to die here?!
"The ones dying..."
His eyes turned fully crimson.
"Are you!!"
At the same time, he released the staff and gripped the darkness-clad sword blade tightly.
The edge bit into his palm, blood streaming down.
Jamie raised an eyebrow at the sudden move.
"Heh. Try blocking this."
"Self-destruct?"
"I'll kill you all, then hand my soul to the Demon King to live on."
Jamie snickered at his desperate hope.
"Give it your best shot."
Disintegration light erupted.
Lennon sat quietly in Jamie's lodging.
They were supposed to come right after class, but no one had shown up even now.
Night had long since fallen.
Had something urgent come up?
Even if Teacher Jamie had business, what was keeping Ann?
"Wasn't that guy supposed to be here quick?"
Ann had gone off somewhere with Finn.
He didn't know where. He hadn't cared much, figuring the diligent guy would arrive on time.
Lennon drummed his fingers on the desk with a bored expression.
In the silent house, only the tapping sound echoed.
"Ugh! What the hell's going on?!"
Tired of waiting, Lennon kicked back his chair and shot to his feet.
He was hungry, and waiting was getting old.
Lennon stepped out onto the veranda. The cold spring breeze made him shiver.
He stood on tiptoe and peered over the railing. The bustling central street was visible at a glance.
Maybe Teacher Jamie and Ann would appear? No such luck.
As he sighed deeply and lowered himself,
"...Huh?"
His necklace trembled.
Magic was equivalent exchange.
Jamie had woven danger alerts into all three necklaces when he made them.
If Ann or Lennon were in danger, Jamie's would ring; if Jamie was, theirs would.
So Lennon's necklace activating meant Jamie was in danger.
The problem was, Lennon didn't know why it rang—Jamie hadn't told him.
Even so, Lennon clutched the necklace and leaped into the air.
His instincts screamed it.
'Teacher's in danger!'
The one person at the forefront of his mind.
Lennon flew straight toward his father, the Crimson Lotus Mage and Simon Count.