Chapter 54
Soon, the color of the dagger changed.
The magic circle engraved with the sacred script vanished, replaced by new lettering written atop it.
“Iredem, do you know that language?”
—It belonged to the summoner Sigrun, who once fought beside me. A man of fluent words and a smooth tongue. You could say the language I speak also originates from him.
The language Iredem inscribed onto the dagger matched the four books I was in the midst of deciphering.
“Will you teach it to me someday?”
—Gladly.
With a whisper that faded like a heat haze, Iredem charged into the group of quokkas. His entire body was a weapon. Any quokka touched by the death energy had its fur and flesh rot instantly, its eyes turning murky.
‘He’s incredible… if only his swordsmanship weren’t so lacking.’
Iredem swung the dagger like a club.
Though the death energy infused in the dagger was enough to kill quokkas in a single blow, if Iredem could learn proper sword techniques, his efficiency would skyrocket.
The quokkas split into three groups, charging in formation like wings of an assault squad.
“Dimes, cast darkness upon them.”
A dark shadow descended over the quokkas' heads.
With their sense of direction lost, their furious charge slowed noticeably.
They scattered momentarily, but quickly rallied and surged toward a single point.
There was no doubt, the leader was commanding the group from behind.
I gripped my sword and imbued it with aura.
Click! Click! Clank clank clank!
Iron oozed from the hilt of the sword and wrapped around my forearms.
It was a strange kind of metal, strong yet unrestrictive to movement.
“Bloodie, let’s begin.”
As Bloodie amplified my ability, I collided with the group of quokkas. Every swing of the sword cleaved through two or three of them.
There was no time to stop swinging. Even a brief hesitation or a sloppy move would cost me a limb to those beasts.
Sssshhhh!
The sword blocked my front.
It felt less like a line and more like a wall, none of the quokkas could sink their teeth or claws into me.
To keep from being surrounded, I deployed my footwork and began striking at the edges of the group.
Unlike me, Iredem did not fear death. No, he reveled in it. He dove into the enemy group, swinging wildly. The quokkas that tried to bite him had their jaws rot away and died.
Of course, each time he used his power, my aura drained rapidly.
‘This is inefficient.’
I moved closer to Iredem.
He had nothing to lose, but each time he unleashed his strength, I was the one paying the price in aura. The thirsty must dig their own well.
“That’s not how you swing a sword. Watch me and follow.”
I began teaching Iredem swordsmanship. Though he was no longer human, his body followed the form stored in Durahan’s skull.
He hadn’t recalled any sword techniques, but his proportions and joint movements weren’t much different from any other knight.
—…Your sword beckons death. I will gladly follow that.
Iredem mimicked my swordplay. Even with just slightly smoother motions, his hunting efficiency drastically improved.
“Inferno, guard my rear.”
—Shall I go all out?
“Only so long as they don’t break through behind me.”
—Hmph!
Inferno ignited flames. A burst of yellow fire flared up and scorched the monsters charging toward my back.
BOOM!
Inferno went all in, launching fireballs in rapid succession. Amazed by his own near high-tier abilities, he fought even harder. Realizing that helping me hunt monsters accelerated his growth, he committed fully to slaying the quokkas.
The first strike had been a success. Thanks to Dimes blinding the enemy’s vision, Iredem, Inferno, and I had slaughtered them mercilessly. Nearly 200 corpses were piled up.
The rest surged past us, running forward. Behind them were the 200 slave soldiers.
At their head was the centurion, Bernie. He had awakened his aura and, having orc blood in his veins, wielded monstrous strength.
“Iron Wall!”
The soldiers were in formation. Three lines thick, they blocked the retreat, but not every path was sealed.
Behind us stood the regular army of Hebron.
Bernie ordered the slave soldiers to raise their shields. They moved in lockstep, maintaining formation, intending to lure the quokkas.
“Fighting on favorable terrain is the basic strategy. Draw them in! Inferno!”
Inferno dashed across the air, charging into the quokka group. To the blinded quokkas, he became a wall of fire. Alarmed, the monsters changed course.
He had guided them in the exact direction the slave soldiers had intended.
“Dimes!”
Just casting darkness over a thousand Quokkas consumed a considerable amount of aura. Dimes withdrew his power and absorbed the light from both sides of the space. A straight path emerged.
The moment they veered off that path, they lost their sight, so the Quokka group charged forward along it.
BOOOOM!
Inferno bombarded the Quokkas with fireballs. With each fiery explosion, several Quokkas either died instantly or suffered severe burns.
“Remember I raised you to be strong. You are my masterpieces. Do not die here. Survive. Kill those who bare their fangs at Hebron!”
“Waaaahhhh!”
The soldiers, just moments before from battle, roared with rising morale. As their spirits surged, the pace of the charging group slowed. The Quokkas had sensed a shift among the enemy formations.
The slave soldiers and Quokkas clashed. The slave soldiers fought from elevated ground, while the Quokkas climbed the wooded slope, scattered with trees. They tried to leap between the trees, but failed due to the gusts that swept through the sky.
‘O wind, my spirit! Watch over our army!’
The wind spirit summoned by El disrupted the Quokkas’ leaps. With their jumps thwarted, they had no choice but to stick to the ground and run.
The slave soldiers maintained distance using the Sardia Maneuvering Footwork. Whenever a soldier in the rear lunged, a sword between the shields came out.
Quokkas’ throats and jaws were pierced.
Their numbers quickly decreased.
“Iredem, in the name of Louis de Hebron, I command you. O primordial death, blessing of the dead, fulfill your duty. Raise the dead and defy the natural order. Arunastafiraldiem!”
It was a basic undead spell found in <Introduction to Necromancy>. It could create zombies, one class lower than ghouls, by reviving corpses that had been dead for less than a day.
‘The aura consumption is brutal…’
Nearly half of my aura was depleted. But in return, around 200 Quokkas were revived. With dull, ashen eyes gazing into the void, the staggering zombies turned their heads toward me.
“Kill the living Quokkas.”
As soon as I gave the command, the zombie Quokkas began to move. They didn’t consume aura continuously, only as long as their remaining living energy held out. To move longer, they would need to steal living energy from the living.
According to <Introduction to Necromancy>, those attacked by zombies could also turn into zombies, but this required more advanced necromantic spells.
Quokka now fought Quokka—the living against the dead.
‘Maybe because they're zombies, but they’re kind of weak.’
At first, the living Quokkas faltered under the surprise attack, but they quickly regained control and overwhelmed the zombie Quokkas. Once a zombie’s neck was sliced and its head severed, it no longer moved.
However, cutting off limbs or putting a hole in their torso wasn’t enough to stop them.
“Iredem, in the name of Louis de Hebron, I command you. O primordial death, blessing of the dead, fulfill your duty. Raise the dead and defy the natural order. Arunastafiraldiem!”
It was impossible to revive a zombie that had died again, but freshly killed corpses could still be revived.
This time, about a hundred Quokkas were brought back.
My aura was nearly depleted, and fatigue began to set in.
‘If basic necromancy magic is this powerful… just how terrifying is advanced magic?’
Once the Quokka count had fallen from 1,200 to about 600, I ordered the slave soldiers to retreat.
“Slave soldiers, fall back and join the Hebron army.”
“Yes, sir!”
The slave soldiers had proven their worth.
They had held the high ground and used Sardian swordsmanship to hunt down about 200 Quokkas.
There were around ten wounded, but no deaths.
“Let the zombie Quokkas fight to the end, then disappear.”
The zombie Quokkas snapped their teeth together and threw themselves at their living Quokkas.
Necromancy was powerful, but it had to be used in secret. The moment it became known that I was controlling the undead, the royal knights of Xenon would march on Hebron.
“All soldiers, advance!”
The retreating slave soldiers turned and rejoined the formation. Behind them stood six hundred regular soldiers of Hebron.
It was a battle of 800 versus 600. In both numbers and individual strength, Hebron had the upper hand.
Even the Hebron army maintained perfect formation. Like a solid fortress, they pressed in on the Quokkas.
“El, track the red Quokkas.”
I had spotted only two. Those two were orchestrating the group from the back. Even after losing their sight, the Quokkas didn’t lose their sense of direction because of them.
They were individually powerful, but the red Quokkas were hesitant to step forward.
“There are four in total. Over there, and there… there, and…”
El lifted her head.
The wind spirit stirred up a whirlwind. With a rising whoooosh, a swirling gust soared into the sky, blasting down on the Quokkas like spiked chestnuts falling from above.
Among them, one stood out—blood red in color.
My right hand held a sword, hanging below my waist. The best way to deal with a sudden draw luckily came to mind.
Reinhardt Sword Style, First Form: Draw Slash.
The swordsmanship of Count Reinhardt was never held in high regard.
It was considered a style focused on special circumstances, relying more on technique than power, and some even criticized it as dishonorable for exploiting an opponent’s carelessness.
The Draw Slash was a form where a sword was rapidly pulled from its sheath and slashed in a single motion.
I adapted that move into a technique. A flash of light streaked along the arc of my sword.
Swoosh!
The Quokka’s foreleg got caught in the arc of my blade. Its sharp claw had been just about to stab my eye.
Its right foreleg hit the ground with a thud, and the red Quokka tumbled with it.
It tried to stand, but its upper body wobbled. At that moment, I kicked off Syang’s back and charged in, swinging my sword.
Slaaash!
This time, the red Quokka’s head flew off. There had been plenty of terrifying rumors about this one, but its end was anticlimactically swift.
As soon as the red Quokka died, a chilling scream erupted from the group.
Kiiieeeeeek!
It sounded like the scream of its mate. That one charged at me. At the same time, the two other red Quokkas who had been commanding the group from the rear rushed at me as well.
Dududududududu!
A cavalry unit thundered in from behind me, it was Hebron’s cavalry, led by Ambrod. Knight Solon rode beside him, offering support.
Claaang!
Ambrod struck down the charging red Quokka. It tried to block with its claws, but Ambrod’s aura-infused sword severed them cleanly.
The Red Quokka was flung back by the force of the collision, and in that instant, the cavalry charged over it.
Solon was the first.
Leaning far forward like a jouster, he slashed down at the sprawled red Quokka.
Claang!
Even on the ground, the red Quokka managed to block Solon’s blow.
But it couldn’t escape the hooves of the charging cavalry that followed.
Dudududududu!
The cavalry trampled over the red Quokka as they thundered past.
“Inferno!”
