Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Chapter 38: Necromancy War
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Beyond the ridgeline, a massive wave surges forward.
Skeletons, rotten corpses, gigantic lumps of flesh patched together like rags.
All of them are the army of the dead known as the necromantic legion.
“How hideous. Even from this far away, I can see them so clearly. I shouldn’t have eaten the essence of the Golden Condor Eagle.”
Tolari, perched in the sky, frowned as he spoke in his native tongue for the first time in ages.
The scale of the necromantic legion invading the Elstone Earldom was beyond counting.
-There are too many enemies. Please thin them out with magic first, Tolari-nim.
At Davi’s request, he had taken the vanguard. Of course, being vanguard just meant firing off spells nonstop from the safety of the sky.
“I have six Tempests ready to fire. I could squeeze out more if I push it, but I need to conserve some strength. Who knows how the battle will turn.”
Tolari coldly scanned for the optimal spot.
Of course, anywhere would do. The necromantic legion was that vast and densely packed.
The key was to launch the six Tempests without overlap for maximum effect.
That way, he could neatly carve six circles into that sprawling enemy formation. Tolari muttered to himself as he calculated in his head.
“That’ll take out three-tenths... Four-tenths if things go perfectly. Focus. The better I perform, the less damage they’ll take.”
Far in the rear, the Elstone defense force, the Guardian Knight Order, and the Claude Knight Order were holding the left flank, right flank, and center, forming a defensive line.
He had to thin out as many enemies as possible here to ease their burden.
With his resolve set, Tolari began conjuring Tempests and raining them down on the enemy lines.
One shot at a time, with utmost care.
Soon, raging whirlwinds began grinding up the legions of the dead trapped inside them.
It was a relief that his hearing wasn’t as sharp as his eyesight. Tolari let out a light sigh as he watched the six tornadoes rise from the ground.
“My part is done. Of course, tens of thousands of enemies still remain... Huh?”
In the spots where the Tempests dissipated, something was wriggling.
The momentarily stunned creatures began charging forward, shoving aside the piled-up corpses of the dead on all sides.
“...This is a blunder.”
Tolari frowned.
Flesh monsters.
The most dangerous ones in the necromantic legion had survived inside the Tempests.
“I packed too many enemies into each Tempest. That’s why a strong one endured.”
But regretting it now was pointless.
At least he had pulverized skeletons and zombies by the ten-thousands. The surviving flesh monsters didn’t look particularly intact either.
“Right. My job ends here. I’ll leave the rest to them...”
But then, a thick fog rolled in at the rearmost enemy lines.
“Fog out of nowhere?”
And beyond that fog, something enormous was dragging its feet as it moved.
A giant.
A gray giant even larger than the “Zectbaya” corpse he had seen before.
“Ugh... What?”
Tolari, who had been staring intently, narrowed his eyes and muttered.
“It’s like a walking tomb... How could such an abomination exist in this world? I’ll have to deal with it myself somehow.”
* * *
“Mm...”
When I came to, I had been drooling in my sleep on the Golden Condor Eagle’s back. No wonder my body felt wrecked after barely surviving death.
“You’re awake. You slept a full day straight.”
At Teus’s words, I nodded while pulling some food from my pack.
“No wonder I’m starving. Where are we now?”
“Above the skies of the nation humans call Albius.”
“Already? We’ve come a long way.”
“I picked up speed while you slept. Perfect timing too—my mana was running low. Feed me something.”
“Sorry. I didn’t think of you.”
I blasted wind magic straight into the guy who’d gone a full day without food. Teus shuddered repeatedly as he absorbed it.
“O, oh... I can taste strong minerals in the mana. It’s like licking a freshly quarried rock from the mountains—such a stimulating flavor.”
“You’re exaggerating. Even with your contract with Terajik, your mana taste couldn’t have changed that much, right? Just your imagination?”
“No, it’s real.”
Terajik shook his head gravely.
“My palate is quite sensitive, you see. Back when I fed on the mana of those Ancient Eagle bastards, I could precisely detect differences in flavor based on what they’d eaten that day or their condition.”
What a talent...
“Speaking of which, separate from the mana’s taste, your vibe seems a bit down. You okay?”
“Me? Why wouldn’t I be?”
Had my mood changed? I didn’t feel any different from usual.
“Maybe it’s the near-death experience? I hear those can change your personality. Not that I know.”
“I thought it might be from contracting with the Earth Spirit King. Anyway, that was a close call. When your heart stopped, mine nearly did too.”
“Should’ve warned you ahead of time? Truth is, I didn’t think I’d actually die. Even after shunting 90% of the damage to the dryad.”
It had been risky, but it let me contract with the Earth Spirit King— the first ever. Maybe I should test-talk to him?
“Terajik? Can you hear me? Terajik?”
-I hear you, Claude.
A low, heavy yet resonant voice echoed in my mind.
“Just checking if there are any summoning precautions. I call, and you handle the fighting on your own?”
-Yes. I will crush your foes. But don’t summon me where enemies and allies are tangled. You risk dragging your own side into the earth’s wrath.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Also, we should talk about spirit possession.”
-I’ve already discussed that with my kin.
“Lukkar, you mean?”
-Yes. The forest spirits are my kin too, of course, but she’s recovering and couldn’t exchange thoughts.
Convey my thanks and apologies to the shattered dryad in my stead. Terajik continued in a solemn tone.
-I’ve heard about the battles you’ve fought and the possessions you’ve done. Your possession with the Fire Spirit Queen Ignis sounds like it was razor-thin.
“It was basically patchwork. I used the body strengthened by Lukkar’s possession to extend the time with Ignis, and...”
-Claude, you must understand two things first.
“Yeah?”
-Spirit possession isn’t just temporary body enhancement at the cost of strain. It’s more than that.
What’s this now? There’s something else?
-Depending on the spirit, it has entirely different effects. You’ve never possessed with my kin, the dryad, have you?
“Nope. Felt like summoning her separately for a Life Link was more useful.”
-Possessing with a dryad turns you into a tree-like existence yourself.
“...What?”
-The possession lasts long, with almost no strain on the body. No shock when releasing it either.
“Okay, but what’s the upside to becoming tree-like?”
-It won’t help much in combat. But you’ll gain life force rivaling a dryad’s own.
“So...”
I pondered for a moment, then frowned.
“Better to possess directly than summon and Life Link?”
-There are pros and cons. Life Link is more efficient, sure. But there’ll be situations where summoning for a link isn’t feasible.
True enough. In a melee, the dryad would take hits and shunt damage back to me.
“I’ll know for sure once I try possessing. If there’s no strain, I could even patchwork it. What about you? Just body enhancement? Or some special effect?”
Like how possessing with Ignis turns you into flame itself—maybe possessing with him makes you the earth itself?
-I’m a mix.
“A mix?”
-Yes, it strengthens the body, far more than Lukkar. But not to the level befitting a Spirit King. Claude, you’ve possessed with Ignis, the Fire Spirit King, right?
“Yeah.”
-I can’t give that kind of dramatic change. Just greater strength and durability.
“Got it. But there’s more, right?”
-Yes.
Terajik declared solemnly.
-I am the pinnacle of all that belongs to the earth. As long as my feet touch this land, I am nearly invincible.
“Huh?”
-So, Claude, when you take me in, you’ll be able to shunt much of the damage dealt to you into the earth.
And then he went quiet. I mulled it over and rephrased it simply.
“So... it’s like casting a Life Link on the ground? But I have to keep my feet planted?”
-Exactly.
“That’s busted. How much damage can it shunt?”
-Depends on the type. But the earth absorbs at least half, no matter what. Won’t work flying like this, though.
“Oho... So if we possess right now, how long? 20 seconds? 30?”
-30 minutes.
My jaw dropped.
“30 minutes? Ignis was 2 minutes—even with Lukkar patchwork!”
-The earth absorbs the possession’s strain on your body too.
“Oh...”
-But you must periodically touch the ground. If you fly nonstop right after possessing, 30 minutes shrinks to 30 seconds.
A bit of a penalty...
Still, beggars can’t be choosers.
Under the condition of fighting with feet on the ground, it’s a possession stronger than Lukkar’s, lasting 30 minutes.
-And second, know that this 30 minutes was originally 10.
“10? Why’d it increase?”
-Because you contracted with two of my kin.
“Lukkar and the dryad?”
So each earth spirit adds 10 minutes to the Earth Spirit King possession?
“No way? Synergy between spirits like that?”
-Only the pinnacle feels it. Spirit Kings like me.
“What about Ignis? Collect her lower fire spirits, and her possession time increases too?”
-We’ll see when it happens. I only learned of this effect after contracting with you.
“Oh...”
This is pure honey.
Never imagined contracting more spirits would create synergies like this.
Guess I’ll have to force time for more contracts.
-Accounting for these two factors, you can reach greater heights. Claude, you need to grow stronger now, with the earth’s rift already forming.
“Obviously. But what’s this ‘earth’s rift’?”
Come to think of it, he’d said something similar before I got punched.
“An earthquake? Did one hit somewhere?”
-A mere quake is natural law—no need to mention.
“Then?”
-A force from another dimension, not our nature, has artificially shaken the earth.
“Another dimension? The Psyche dimension up to something again?”
-I don’t know the details. I just sensed the anomaly far to the east.
Cold sweat suddenly trickled down my back. I glared at the Albius Kingdom sprawling below and asked.
“East from here? Payud Empire?”
-Further east than that.
“Further than the Empire? Then... the Land of Death?”