Damn Necromancer - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Wasteful Necromancer (30)
Resistance Army
After finishing my conversation with Turon.
I gathered the orcs in one place.
Facing them as they stood vacant-eyed, as if listening to a headmaster’s address, I spoke.
“We’re going to join hands with the dwarves.”
―Squawk! Why! Orc strong! Dwarf weak!
Fierce objections erupted.
But this was a reaction I’d already anticipated.
I continued matter-of-factly.
“We’ll protect them and give them food besides.”
―Squawk! Big brother’s lost his mind!
―He must be sick!
―Squawk! Orc hungry! We have nothing to eat ourselves!
Thud!
I stamped my foot against the ground.
“Orcs have no equipment. Orcs are weak. Two hundred already dead.”
―Squawk! Dying in battle is a blessing!
“No! It’s not a blessing!”
―……?
I addressed the confused orcs.
“Is dying while fighting a weaker enemy a blessing? That’s just weakness! A truly brave warrior dies fighting a truly strong enemy!”
I pressed on to the silent orcs.
“The Apostles and the Witch who tormented you—to bury your axes in their skulls and die doing so, that’s what a real blessing is!”
―……!
“Dwarves give equipment! Orcs grow strong! Apostles and Witch, we kill them!”
―Squawk! Kill the Apostles and Witch?
―Squawk! Dwarf equipment good! Possible!
Even with Dwarf Steel Armor, I doubted we could crack open the Witch’s skull, much less cleave through an Apostle’s body.
But that wasn’t the point.
‘Dreams and illusions.’
In other words, vision.
Planting that was the true goal of this speech.
“Join hands with the dwarves and you can become truly brave warriors! Is there still a coward among you who opposes?”
―Squawk! Orc not coward! Get equipment!
―Orc grow strong! Smash Apostle’s skull!
―Squawk! Big brother is a genius!
From the chieftain to the common warriors.
The orcs’ fervent response poured forth.
And so the dwarves slipped smoothly into the midst of the meat feast.
―Squawk! Dwarf, eat meat here! And give us equipment!
“Ha ha, that we will. Ouch! Mind your mouth a bit!”
The dwarves, perhaps owing to their open-hearted nature, blended in with the orcs in an instant.
The atmosphere heated rapidly.
Soon after…….
[532 dwarves have joined the Resistance Army!]
A message appeared.
It had to be a sign that the orcs had finally opened their hearts and accepted the dwarves as one of their own.
I gazed at the message with satisfaction. Turon sidled up and tapped my arm.
“Your way with words is impressive, not just your combat skill. I think I understand why the orcs follow you. They’re simple, but far from stupid…….”
“You’re too kind.”
“But why did you suddenly switch to formal speech? It doesn’t suit you.”
“We’re on the same side now.”
I smiled slightly.
There was much I could learn from the dwarves.
Moreover, they weren’t completely reckless like the orcs—just bold in their own measured way.
As long as they weren’t enemies, there was no need to constantly force casual speech.
Kim Min-woo could change his way of speaking a hundred times over if it served the conquest.
“Ha ha. A young friend who knows his manners.”
“Not at all.”
I shared some Cockatrice meat with Turon over a meal.
“So what’s the scale of the forces coming to the Black Rock Clan?”
“……It’ll be a difficult fight. According to the refugees, there are ten Spectral Knights and twenty Corpse Collectors.”
Spectral Knights—fallen souls coalesced and made manifest. Each one was a monster stronger than the Chimeras.
‘Troublesome opponents.’
Since their bodies were spirit, conventional weapons barely bit into them. Unless you coated a weapon with Holy Water or applied Silver Plating, damage would be cut by at least thirty percent.
And twenty Chimeras on top of that.
‘That’s quite a lot.’
But it made sense.
Dwarves weren’t as skilled at combat as Orcs, it was true.
But they possessed superior construction techniques and weapons-crafting expertise.
They were masters at building fortified settlements and establishing robust defensive infrastructure.
So it wasn’t strange that they’d dispatch significantly more troops than the Orcs would.
“We need equipment.”
“That we do. Come to our settlement.”
After clearing away the remains of our meal, I followed Turon.
* * *
An entrance descending underground.
Inside revealed an enormous cavern, and within it stood a substantial Fortress.
“Bring out the equipment!”
At Turon’s command, the gates opened and several carts rolled in laden with gear.
Armor, gauntlets, boots, leggings, helms.
I examined the steel equipment spread before me.
[Dwarf Steel Armor]
[Grade: Magic+]
[Level Requirement: 110]
[Armor forged through meticulous hammer-work. Crude in appearance, yet its performance is nothing short of exceptional.]
[Effect 1. Impact Damage Reduced 20%.]
[Effect 2. Strength +20, Vitality +20]
[Dwarf Steel Axe]
[Level Requirement: 110]
[Grade: Magic+]
[A vicious blade. It looks capable of cleaving a skull clean through.]
[Effect 1. Overhead Strike Damage Increased 20%.]
[Effect 2. Strength +30]
Kim Min-woo’s eyes brightened as he examined the gear.
‘Plus Items. Dwarves truly live up to their reputation.’
Plus Items.
A special property typically attached to crafted goods, allowing them to produce superior effects even within the same grade as ordinary items.
Of course, such a property rarely appeared in ordinary craftsmanship, manifesting only occasionally when an item was made with exceptional skill.
But for a Dwarf, producing such items was nothing remarkable.
“Ahem! Well, what do you think?”
“The Dwarves’ skill lives up to the name. Truly impressive. Though I must say, the quantity seems a bit limited. Two hundred Orcs armed with this should be enough, wouldn’t you say?”
Turon nodded.
“I know. But this is all we currently have. From the equipment the refugees brought to everything stored in our settlement—we’ve pulled it all out.”
Kim Min-woo nodded in understanding.
‘Of course.’
Five hundred Dwarves had joined their ranks, and among them were the elderly, women, and children. When accounting for those capable of fighting, there might not even be two hundred.
The fact that they possessed this much equipment at all was remarkable.
“How many sets of arms and armor like these can you produce in a day?”
“……Even counting the refugees, we have perhaps fifty armorers at most. Materials are plentiful, but…… even running the forges all day, I doubt we could exceed a hundred sets. Such pieces require us to pour skill and care into each one.”
“You’ve seen it yourself, Turon. More and more stray Orcs have been joining our ranks as we travel.”
“……Yes, they have.”
“The more of the Witch’s forces we crush, the more will come. A hundred sets won’t be nearly enough.”
“Sigh…… what can be done? We lack hands. If we had enough apprentices to handle the foundational work, it might be different, but now…… we simply don’t have enough workers.”
Turon sighed and gazed at the Orcs.
“And if I entrusted apprentice work to those Orcs over there…… well, I trust you understand the results.”
Kim Min-woo smiled wryly.
He’d anticipated the conversation would drift in this direction.
“But if you had a sufficient supply of excellent apprentices—how much could you then produce?”
“…If the apprentices truly were that abundant, two hundred sets a day wouldn’t be impossible. We’d work ourselves to the bone doing it, but that’s not the priority right now….”
“There are such apprentices.”
“…There are?”
“Yes. Friends who work twenty-four hours a day without a single complaint, who’d leap into fire for their loyalty, and who possess the will to learn. That kind of friends.”
“If you know friends like that, please introduce them to me! Back in my day we had apprentices like that in droves, but these kids nowadays….”
That was when it happened.
A scout came rushing in and spoke urgently to Turon.
“Chieftain! They’re coming! They should arrive in about an hour!”
“…They’ve already closed in this far?”
Turon’s gaze turned toward Kim Min-woo.
The latter smiled slightly and nodded.
“I’ll introduce those apprentices to you in a moment.”
But first came battle.
* * *
A swarm of Spectral Knights and Corpse Collectors approached the Dwarf Fortress.
Fortress walls and superior equipment meant little if you couldn’t fight—you’d die just the same.
They had already annihilated three clans.
Their advance was relentless.
Then.
A strange sight appeared before the fortress.
Seething masses of orcs!
Their numbers easily exceeded a thousand.
The faces of the Spectral Knights hardened. One or two orcs were nothing. But if their numbers surpassed a thousand, the situation changed entirely.
—Orc! Orc!
Their fierce war cry echoed and reverberated through the cavern.
—…So the dwarves managed to draw the orcs in….
But that wasn’t the only problem.
Scattered orcs, living in fragments across scattered settlements, had gathered together.
An exceptional individual capable of serving as a focal point had surely been born.
One cunning enough to forge an alliance with dwarves, no less!
The orcs—a race that once dominated this continent. The Witch had invested tremendous power in fragmenting their strength.
Precisely because their force was devastating once they began to unite.
‘To think they’d stir in such a remote place….’
Left unchecked, their numbers would swell from thousands to tens of thousands in mere moments. And an orc commander grew explosively stronger with each addition to their ranks.
‘Dangerous. Another creature like Mutak must not be allowed to emerge.’
—…Aldren. I’m assigning you five Corpse Collectors. Break through and escape. This news must reach the surface.
The Spectral Knight called Aldren nodded.
He began moving toward the exit of the cavern along with the Corpse Collectors.
—Brothers! Your second commander Urkan commands it! Slay them all!
—Kraaaaaaah!
A massive orc at the vanguard led the charge, followed by orc warriors clad in steel. The Spectral Knights drew blades forged of spectral energy.
Only the messenger needed to escape.
Their role was to buy time.
They had steeled themselves for death.
Yet before that resolve could prove its worth, just as Aldren and five Chimeras were about to break free through the underground passage—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
—…A human?
A lone human stood blocking the exit.
Behind him, nearly a hundred orcs emerged from the darkness.
—Squeak! The elder is a true genius after all.
—Squeak! I’ll kill those bastards!
And this wasn’t even the end of the forces arrayed against them. Hundreds upon hundreds of skeletons marched alongside.
‘…An ambush was set.’
Aldren and the Corpse Collectors’ faces went rigid.
The human smiled lazily.
“Trying to spread the word? I can’t allow that.”
—…We break through.
“Welcome to the grave.”
—Orc! Orc!
Six monstrosities sank into the morass of bone.
* * *
[Level increased by 3!]
.
.
The battle ended amid a cascade of notifications. Every Spectral Knight and Corpse Collector who had come to this place lay dead. By contrast, the orcs’ losses barely reached a hundred.
The armed orcs had held the front line steady, their shields bearing the brunt of the assault.
‘Life really does come down to equipment.’
I gazed at their corpses.
A force of this size would command the Fortress’s attention.
If word went silent for a few days, they would certainly investigate what had happened.
From now on, this is a race against time.
I gathered the clan chiefs.
“Pick the fastest runners and spread the word. Tell them we’re recruiting brave warriors to stand against the Witch.”
―Chirp! Understood!
Before they could mobilize in earnest.
I had to seize this golden window—recruiting as many troops as possible, building up strength. After sending the orcs out on their mission.
I found Turon.
“You’ve worked hard!”
Perhaps because we’d weathered one crisis together.
There was genuine warmth in the way his hand patted my shoulder—stronger than before.
“I promised to introduce you to my apprentices, remember?”
“That’s right.”
“Let me show you now.”
I downed a Mana Potion.
Feeling the mana surge back, I extended my hand.
“Come forth, my apprentices.”
[1,064 Skeletons are summoned!]
The bone servants consumed half the mana of my Mages, so over a thousand answered the call.
“…?”
Turon’s gaze shifted back and forth between the skeleton horde and my face.
“These skeletons—you’re saying they’re your apprentices?”
“Yes. Perfect apprentices, truly. Trust me—use them once and you’ll see. Well? Why aren’t you greeting your master?”
Clatter!
The skeleton horde snapped to attention, saluting their teacher.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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