Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 677
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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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Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School, Chapter 677
The deepest, darkest place in the Northern Region.
In the black chasm where gravel and dust rained down like hail, Commander Romario was descending with ragged breath.
“Gasp! Wheeze! Get out of my way!”
As he swung his sword violently, the zombie’s head flew off.
His body bore the scars of fierce battle—there was scarcely a place left untouched. His armor lay shattered, his blade dulled. Blood streamed relentlessly from his forehead where his helmet had cracked.
Romario was descending into the basement alone. Chronos, his comrade, Count Boldmont, and the other soldiers were nowhere to be found.
He lifted his head, gasping for breath.
This was the Abyss.
The dwelling place of the North God, who ruled the Frost Field. He couldn’t tell how deep he’d come, but a chill kept running down his spine.
Romario felt as though he had entered the very edge of the world.
‘It’s not too late yet.’
With grim resolve, he gripped the hilt of his sword with all his strength.
‘If I can just fell the North God, I can make up for everything.’
The North God was formidable because through Mental Communication he could control vast numbers of undead.
But his actual combat ability was nonexistent.
All he had to do was find the creature and drive his blade through it—victory would be theirs. As Romario continued hacking through undead without hesitation, he realized he had finally reached his destination, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
‘Here it is.’
The bottom of the Abyss.
The place toward which countless blood vessels converged. Romario pressed forward without hesitation, cutting through undead, when—
Snap!
It was a blow he hadn’t anticipated.
A zombie crawling along the ground suddenly sank its teeth into Romario’s leg.
“Ugh!”
His knee buckled sharply, but he immediately crushed the zombie’s skull with his elbow.
Though the bite was severe enough to tear flesh and expose bone, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, pressing on.
‘The North God is right in front of me!’
The deeper he penetrated, the more undead guarded the North God—and to Romario, this only strengthened his conviction.
After eliminating countless enemies, he reached the place where the blood vessels converged, the deepest point of the Abyss. He pushed through the crimson membrane that hung like a curtain and stepped inside.
And then.
“……Ah.”
Despair flooded through him.
The tip of the sword in his hand trembled, then clattered to the ground with a metallic ring.
All strength drained from his body.
-SCREEEEEECH!
The horde of zombies that followed tore at his throat.
* * *
Early dawn.
“Forward march!”
The day of departure had finally arrived.
The sound of war horns echoed as all forces from the Northern Region advanced toward the Frost Field.
The Northern Army, the Grand Duke’s 2nd Legion, and Simon’s 7th Legion.
All their strength was gathering to sever the last breath of the North God, who had lost the Three Siblings.
“Are you nervous?”
At the head of the column.
The Grand Duke, mounted on horseback, asked this. Simon, positioned to her right, scratched the side of his head.
“It would be a lie to say I’m not nervous.”
The final battle upon which the fate of the Northern Region hung.
With a lingering sense of doubt, Simon had contacted Kizen to postpone his return date slightly. Right now, the battle before them was what mattered most.
“By the time we arrive, all the fighting may already be over, Grand Duke.”
Still burdened by regret, General Ganiron spoke with a troubled expression.
“When I think of those Kingdom soldiers lingering about, planting the Kallos Flag on the North God’s corpse and gloating……”
“General.”
The Grand Duke’s sharp, hawk-like eyes narrowed.
“It seems you have something more important than the North God’s death. If the North God dies, you should rejoice. Is your petty pride and glory more important than that?”
Ganiron flinched and averted his gaze.
“Your Grace, what I meant to say was only that it should be one of us from the North who brings centuries of conflict to an end!”
“Of course I too am desperate to pierce the North God’s throat with my own blade. But do not confuse what matters most. General, whenever Commander Romario is involved, you are especially prone to this confusion.”
Ganiron’s face flushed red, and Simon quietly laughed to himself.
It was curious to Simon how even the fearless Northern warriors, who seemed afraid of nothing in that realm, would falter and stumble when facing the Grand Duke.
Simon spoke.
“Has the Grand Duke ever seen the North God directly?”
“No.”
She replied.
“Though I’ve heard that among the Grand Dukes of old, a few did reach the North God’s presence. Through their accounts, information about the North God’s appearance and abilities has been passed down through the generations.”
“……I see.”
“Of course, while there have been Grand Dukes who reached the North God’s presence, there has never been one who cut short its life.”
She clenched her fist tightly.
“But this time will be different.”
Simon answered with renewed vigor.
“Yes!”
“Hmph.”
She suddenly turned her head away.
They’d exchanged words enough times by now, but occasionally she still reacted like this. Simon tilted his head in puzzlement, and he noticed several generals following behind glaring at him with eyes burning like flame.
“From here on, conserve your words and replenish your water.”
The Grand Duke instructed.
“We have mountains to cross.”
Steep, snow-capped peaks stretched before them in countless numbers.
* * *
Climbing the snowy mountains was not easy.
The temperature dropped sharply, and as the blizzard grew more ferocious, visibility narrowed. Worse still, a single misstep on the steep slopes meant tumbling with whoever was behind you straight into a ravine from which there was no return.
“Aaaaahhhhh!”
Just then, Simon watched two warriors plummet from the dizzying heights of the snowy peaks. A chill ran down his spine, and he gripped the rocks around him even harder for no particular reason.
“Move faster!”
The Grand Duke raised her voice to rally the soldiers.
“The Legion’s undead are already pressing far ahead—should the Northern warriors fall behind?”
“Yes!”
In the Northern Region, the Grand Duke was a figure of faith itself.
At every word of her cry, the warriors drew strength and moved in perfect unison.
[Should I pull you up?]
“It’s fine, Erzsebet.”
Simon was ascending the cliff face swiftly, channeling Dark Element through his limbs. While Simon was confident in mountaineering, Erzsebet had made such a fuss about the danger that they’d connected their bodies with webs of shadow.
As they moved forward together, her silhouette kept entering his field of vision, making him hesitate. Each time, Erzsebet, reading him with uncanny perception, giggled softly.
Suspecting he’d fallen for some deliberate ploy, Simon nonetheless pressed on earnestly.
[I’ll give you a push!]
Though Simon had told Herseba to wait in the Subspace, she emerged anyway and flew behind him, pressing her body against his back.
Soon, an arm made of sand sprouted from her staff and pushed against Simon’s back. Certainly, he felt lighter.
“Thanks, Herseba.”
[This much is nothing!]
He thought their bond had grown even closer since he’d awakened Herseba’s Geheim back then. Erzsebet complained from ahead, audible even from where he climbed.
[Krkrk! Don’t all go weak in the knees now.]
Pier, who’d climbed ahead, spoke. He wore armor, perhaps to avoid drawing attention.
While Simon had the support of his companions, the ordinary soldiers were suffering terribly. Several desertions had already occurred.
-Don’t be broken by this bitter cold!
-Move your legs!
Even so, in such extreme circumstances, “Northern pride” proved invaluable.
Everyone climbed with the strength of the dying.
-The Grand Duke presses forward—what are you doing?
-The Grand Duke has stopped to wait for the rear! Quicken your pace!
Whenever the Grand Duke’s name was mentioned, fire rekindled in the eyes of soldiers who’d begun to lose hope.
Such was the might of the Northern Army. Simon couldn’t imagine any force in the Dark Alliance possessing such cohesion.
After days of arduous travel and struggle.
“It seems we’ve all made it.”
The Grand Duke, who’d been walking ahead, raised her chin and looked back down. Simon and General Ganiron came closer to behold the sight with her.
“Ah.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
Below the mountain range stretched a region the color of blood. It was teeming with countless nests of the undead—the very place from which these creatures had been endlessly supplied to torment the North.
“Fortunate!”
Ganiron clenched his fists tight.
“The Kingdom Army is nowhere to be seen! They must have gotten lost after all!”
The Grand Duke rested her chin on her hand and swept her gaze across the Abyss.
“That’s unlikely. The nests are collapsed all over this place—the Kingdom Army has reached here.”
“Pardon? Do you mean…?”
“Aaaaahhh!”
A scream suddenly erupted from behind. The Grand Duke and Simon froze, then hurried toward the sound.
“What’s happened?”
The Grand Duke demanded. A soldier sat hard on the snow, his fingertips trembling as he pointed just ahead of himself.
“A, a person!”
A face buried in the snow became visible. Walking along, someone had stepped on something soft and, upon checking, discovered it was a human face.
The Grand Duke’s brow furrowed.
“Kingdom Army.”
The soldier seemed greatly shaken by the sudden discovery.
Some of his comrades approached and began giggling mockingly.
“You screamed like a girl.”
“Startled by just that much—”
Twitch!
The buried face in the snow moved. The soldiers who had come to mock recoiled in far greater shock, throwing themselves flat on the ground.
Twitch, twitch!
The head began to move. Soon an arm rose from the snow with a dull thwack.
“Undead conversion is beginning.”
Slash!
The Grand Duke drew her blade.
“A Kingdom soldier, yes, but a young life dragged into war in this desolate land. Rest in peace.”
Thud!
Her blade pierced the heart, and the soldier undergoing undead conversion went limp.
She withdrew her sword and surveyed her commanders.
“Prepare yourselves.”
“Sir?”
“They’re coming.”
Whiiiiiiiing—!
Through the blinding snowstorm, a dark mass moved toward them.
“A, an army!”
“The North God’s undead forces! Take positions!”
The Northern warriors and the Legion’s undead moved swiftly to form ranks. The Grand Duke, Simon, and the Northern generals stepped forward as well.
“No need to fear! This is the North God’s last desperate gambit, now that he’s lost the Three Siblings!”
“Whatever comes, we sweep them away!”
“Ooooooh!”
On the cusp of the long-awaited push into the Abyss, morale in the Northern Army burned high.
Everyone roared, stoking the fervor higher, when the snowstorm broke and the North God’s soldiers finally came into view.
“Wait.”
“Surely not…”
A chilling silence fell over them all.
Flutter—
A tattered Kingdom Banner fluttered in the bitter cold.
Screech— screech—
Rusted armor, dead cavalry mounts, bones laid bare in terrible wounds, frozen entrails—all visible.
Screech— screech—
Broken legs, shattered joints, crawling on elbows.
Moving in grotesque, chaotic ways as they crept forward.
The Northern Army stood frozen, as if they’d forgotten how to breathe.
‘Ah.’
Simon’s pupils trembled. Pier walked up beside him, letting out a low, rumbling chuckle.
[This is like watching the Rose Retreat all over again.]
The army blocking the Northern forces was none other than—
“The, the Kingdom Army…!”
Before their eyes stood the Kingdom soldiers who had marched out to deal with the North God two days before.
Every one of them had been transformed into undead.
“What in the world is this…”
While everyone else stood frozen in shock at the gruesome, nightmarish spectacle before them, the Grand Duke’s expression remained unmoved.
“The North God’s Undead Conversion Ability was naturally accounted for. But converting such numbers in merely days—even the North God himself shouldn’t be capable of that.”
“Damn it!”
The red-bearded general broke into a cold sweat.
“Useless Kingdom Army dogs! They schemed their way to march out first, and now they obstruct us like this?”
“No matter.”
Steel sang against leather.
Supreme Commander Ganiron drew his sword from his belt.
“Though controlled by the North God, these undead haven’t been converted long. Small fry like that can be dispatched easily enough——”
[Is that truly the case?]
A chilling voice rang out. The sky of the Northern Region twisted crimson, and an undead dropped from above.
“!”
[Ahhh.]
An undead with a savage, bone-covered visage stumbled forward to stand before the Kingdom Army.
He was none other than——
“Chronos!”
[A flawless form!]
The undead spread both arms wide.
A piercing shriek tore through the air.
Without so much as a spoken incantation, Dark Magic erupted, applying Curse effects to every undead in the vicinity. Their bodies blazed with ominous crimson and azure light, growing stronger in cascading waves.
[Great North God!]
The undead laughed with abandon.
[The North God has granted me an infinite body, an ocean of Dark Element, and an army of the deceased. At last, I have reached the Ultimate State!]
Each time he raised a Magic Circle, the undead grew stronger still.
“What are you doing, you fool!”
Ganiron strode forward, his face flushed with rage.
“If you fell in battle, go quietly to your grave! Have you lost all reason, all pride as a man? Do you feel no shame?”
[Shame? Why would I?]
Chronos laughed shrilly, his form trembling.
[This is it! This is it! The power I’ve yearned for my entire life! By the North God’s strength, I have become the equal of a Legion Commander! Beyond numbers, I shall command all undead according to the North God’s will!]
He spread his arms wide.
[Behold the North God’s new Three Siblings!]
Thud.
Thud.
All eyes turned. A knight riding a Skeleton Horse approached, only a quarter of his body intact, with marks of being torn apart while still alive scattered across what remained.
Multiple arms sprouted from various points on his torso. Where his brain should have been was nothing but void, and his face existed only below the eyebrows.
Ganiron’s eyes burned a bloodshot red.
“No. Surely not. Romario!”
[Kill……]
The dead frontline Commander’s mouth opened.
[Kill me…… it hurts……. Kill me……! Kill…… gwuaaaack!]
A hand slick with drool pulled free from his throat. That grotesque hand drew the sword at his waist.
[Second brother, you’re still so dramatic.]
Chronos chuckled darkly. Romario swayed as he looked toward Chronos.
[Chro…… nos…… traitor……. Kill…….]
[Ah, I merely encountered a true master in the midst of battle. Why can you not understand my will? And where is my youngest brother? He’s so late……]
Chronos’s expression, which had been twisted in a drooling smile, suddenly hardened, and he thrust his arms forward.
A piercing wail split the sky.
A line of shadow streaked across the battlefield.
The Grand Duke sent her long hair flying as she released an Arrow of Gale Wind.
Chronos raised both arms and deployed a Defensive Magic Circle. The Grand Duke’s arrow struck it, and a noise like eardrums bursting tore through the air.
Chronos clenched his eyes shut, then opened them.
He stared in disbelief at what he’d blocked, his eyes widening, before laughing with overwhelming exultation.
[Ha! Ha ha! I stopped it! I blocked a strike from humanity’s hero in a single defense! There is nothing impossible for me!]
Chronos cried out in rapture at his newfound power.
[Everyone, witness! I am…… what?]
Bang!
Light from the Grand Duke’s arrow flashed and swelled once more.
A two-stage enhancement. The arrow, shattering the Magic Circle, pierced Chronos’s body perfectly. The corpse began to crumble in an instant.
[Wai……!]
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The jet-black arrow pulled Chronos along with it, cleaving the Undead Kingdom Army in two as it continued its unstoppable flight.
Everyone stood frozen, eyes wide, staring at the scene unfolding before them.
The Grand Duke’s arrow pierced through Chronos’s body and flew past. His form split vertically, the severed halves tumbling across the ground.
“All troops, do not falter.”
Clang.
With a single strike, she had obliterated one of the Three Siblings. Now she lifted the black helmet to her head and secured it.
Her dark eyes blazed with lethal intensity.
[I am here.]
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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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