Chapter 126
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Spear and Shield (2)
“Aaah!”
“Save me!”
“It’s hooot—!”
The Flame Sphere magic plummeted onto the battlefield.
In its wake, the area turned into a living hell.
The black mages at the epicenter of the spell died without even a chance to scream, while those caught on the fringes suffered grievous wounds and writhed in agony.
The freaks and monsters fared no better.
Still, the result felt just a bit unsatisfying to me.
If not for that final barrier the black mages had conjured, I could have inflicted far greater damage on the enemy.
‘Where’s the combat team?’
After confirming the enemy’s losses like that.
I checked on the combat team, worried that someone from our side might have gotten caught in my spell.
Fortunately, they were all fine.
Just as we’d planned, they had pulled back from the battlefield right as the Flame Spheres rained down, then returned.
Once I confirmed no casualties, the tension drained from my body.
‘That was close.’
My remaining mana was down to 17.
After the Fire Rain, I’d fired off four Flame Spheres, and now my mana had hit rock bottom.
I hadn’t expected their barrier to withstand three of them.
If I’d encountered the black mages before acquiring the Listener Grimoire and the Speaker Grimoire, mana shortage would have left me unable to conjure that fourth fireball.
And the battle would have turned against us.
‘Let’s see...’
The Flame Spheres had killed dozens of enemies.
Dozens more were wounded.
Only three black mages remained.
They were casting spells to fend off the combat team and struggling valiantly, but their skills weren’t anything special.
They’d fall or get captured soon enough.
So what I needed to focus on were the freaks and monsters.
‘Stick to the original plan. Let the combat team handle the monsters and black mages, while the remaining troops deal with the freaks.’
The only member of the combat team still by my side was Giant.
I planned to have him draw the freaks’ attention, then face them with the eleven soldiers left here.
With my mana depleted and no spells available, this was how I intended to support the combat team up front.
‘Might as well give the soldiers some real battle experience.’
The sturdy men who’d been with me since Rabbit Farm had plenty of combat experience, but the three big guys’ squires and the youths who’d joined from Evergreen weren’t as seasoned.
So this was a good chance to let them get some live practice.
“Just stay calm and keep formation. As long as you don’t break ranks, you won’t die. Absolutely do not act alone.”
Cedric, shield in his left hand and mace in his right.
He addressed the group like that.
Even in this chaotic battlefield, the veteran mercenary kept his cool.
It was a far cry from his usual carefree demeanor.
“Graaah!”
While the soldiers formed up.
The freaks spotted Giant at the front and let out monstrous roars.
They charged him, swinging weapons and fists wildly.
Of course, it did little to the golem.
With Giant holding their attention like that, the rest of the troops began attacking the freaks.
“Aim for the heads, everyone!”
Cedric bashed one freak’s skull with his mace, dispatching it.
He shouted to the group.
Strictly speaking, the freaks were undead, but unlike those crafted with necromancy, they weren’t particularly tough.
Destroy the head, and they stopped moving.
“Uwaaah!”
At that moment, one soldier screamed.
A youth from Evergreen.
A freak had grabbed his shield with both hands and was gnawing viciously at the top edge.
The kid had freaked out at the gruesome sight.
‘Should I help?’
I wondered if I should step in.
But in that instant, the youth smashed his mace down on the freak’s head.
The creature’s crown caved in; it shuddered violently, then collapsed limply forward.
Even as he panted, the youth kept his posture straight and faced the next foe.
He was fighting way better than I’d expected.
‘Ah, I want to join the fight too.’
Was it just from watching the soldiers battle?
A urge to jump in welled up.
But I couldn’t.
No mana.
‘Feels like the old days.’
Back when I’d only recently become a mage.
I’d constantly struggled with mana shortages then.
After reading over thirty grimoires, I’d stopped worrying about it day to day.
But today, bottoming out had brought back that uneasy, frustrating feeling in full force.
‘I’m still not good enough.’
Lately, I’d been compulsively craving more grimoires out of habit.
Now, after this, I truly yearned for them.
I’d finally realized my shortcomings for real.
Not a bad thing.
The battle ended in our victory.
The Flame Spheres wiping out so many black mages had been the decisive blow.
With their leaders gone, the freaks and monsters rampaged wildly, making it easy for the combat team to clean them up.
Plus, we’d captured two black mages in good condition, so interrogation was on the table.
A solid gain.
Of course, we had losses too, but all three wounded were light injuries—nothing serious.
“Lord Heros, I’ve brought the prisoners.”
While I was assessing our casualties.
Bear arrived with the captives.
Two black mages.
One looked terrified; the other scowled like he hated this situation.
Thud.
The prisoners dropped to their knees before me.
I looked down at them and asked my first question.
“Did you know we were coming here ahead of time?”
I started with something easy to answer.
To gauge their attitudes.
“Ptoo. Just kill me.”
The scowling black mage spat his response.
The glob landed right in front of my foot.
He clearly had no intention of cooperating.
Our response was immediate.
Thwack!
Connell, who’d been glaring at the prisoners with his sharp eyes, drove a hard kick into the black mage’s gut.
The man toppled backward.
“Guhk...”
The impact must have been brutal.
The black mage writhed on the dirt, cheek pressed to the ground, groaning.
Watching his comrade, the other black mage trembled even harder and answered me.
“Yes!”
“And you were waiting to kill me?”
The black mage glanced at me cautiously before replying softly.
“Yes...”
This one was cooperating fully.
Seemed like the interrogation would go smoothly.
“Any more forces targeting me?”
“Not that I know of.”
His answer put my mind at ease.
No major battles for a while, probably.
Next up... Nicholas’s location.
“Good. Now for the next question. Is Nicholas still at Ultan’s Tomb?”
“How did you...?”
The black mage’s eyes widened at my words.
Then the one on the ground, gasping for breath, yelled at his comrade.
“You idiot! Why admit that?!”
As he bellowed blame, he ate another kick from Connell and went quiet.
Looked knocked out.
“Strange. Making undead doesn’t take that long, so why’s he still at Ultan’s Tomb? What’s Nicholas doing there?”
Nicholas, Eremus’s Northern Branch Chief.
I’d heard he was at Ultan’s Tomb nearly a month ago.
Plenty of time to turn Ultan’s corpse into an undead by now.
Yet he was still there?
Didn’t make sense.
“I’ll answer any question honestly. Just promise me one thing.”
While I waited for his reply.
The black mage suddenly looked up at me.
An unexpected demand.
“What?”
“Kill me painlessly once the interrogation’s over.”
“Promise. But that’s an odd request. Most beg to live in a spot like this.”
“Going back defeated to Lord Nicholas... I don’t know what he’d do. Better to die quick and painless here.”
He shuddered as he said it.
Real fear of Nicholas.
But that was his problem; I wanted answers to my questions.
“Promise made. Now answer. Why’s Nicholas still at Ultan’s Tomb?”
“From what I know, fierce resistance from the barbarians has kept them from finishing the tomb exploration.”
“Fierce barbarian resistance?”
The moment I asked.
Pergal, who’d been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Ultan’s Tomb is sacred to us. Our warriors must be holding the line against the black mages. They’re the ones who unleashed the plague up north, so they’re probably fighting tooth and nail to stop them.”
The picture came together in my head.
But the barbarians wouldn’t hold out forever.
The black mages commanded freaks, monsters, undead—and they could cast spells too.
Holding this long was impressive enough.
“Is Nicholas good in a fight?”
“I’ve never seen the Branch Chief fight, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Why?”
“He always solves problems with his familiars. The undead he makes are truly powerful.”
“A necromancer through and through, huh.”
Many of Eremus’s black mages used necromancy.
Few specialized in it as their main focus.
They had preferred spells and used undead mainly to buy time for those.
Nicholas sounded different.
“How many familiars does Nicholas command?”
“I’ve seen five.”
Five.
Not a huge number.
Which made me acknowledge him as a proper necromancer.
Elite few over mass quantity was more efficient.
Now I needed to learn just how strong those familiars were.
“How strong are they?”
“Uh... very strong.”
“Stronger than the knights who attacked you today?”
I referenced the combat team, fresh from frontline action.
The black mage pondered briefly.
Then spoke.
“About on par.”
“Oh.”
The three big guys plus six undead knights.
They weren’t weak by any stretch.
On par with those nine?
Impressive.
‘We’ve got numbers on our side, but no room for complacency.’
If Nicholas turned Ultan’s body into an undead?
It’d be one hell of a familiar.
I couldn’t predict exactly how strong, but given Ultan’s fame, at least on the level of the three big guys.
No slacking off.
“Alright, then...”
I kept firing questions after that.
And he answered each one dutifully.
A smooth interrogation.
Interrogation wrapped up, battlefield cleared.
Dusk had fallen.
But my work wasn’t done.
‘Mana’s recovered enough.’
Time had passed; mana partially restored.
Enough for Advanced Personnel Cultivation magic.
Why not use it now?
Crunch crunch.
I tasked Bear and Connell with setting up camp, then headed to a secluded spot with Gilbert.
There, I regarded the remains we’d set aside.
‘Bertram, was it?’
Bones shattered by the explosion, charred black.
Belonged to the mage who’d made the barrier.
According to the interrogated black mage, this guy had led the army targeting us and was an Eremus Northern Branch executive.
In other words, the strongest of the thirteen black mages waiting for us.
More than qualified as my first mage undead.
‘Looking forward to working with you, Bertram.’
With that thought, I cast Advanced Personnel Cultivation magic.
Mana drained from my body, and soon Bertram’s remains began to twitch and stir.