The Necromancer Who Was Despised

‘…Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem so bad, does it?’

There’s no external pressure, after all.

It’s just monsters and dark wizards….

‘The monsters will be okay as long as we can hold out until the undead numbers increase and the fortress is established….

In reality, the barren land also grew by holding out.

‘The dark wizards aren’t a problem unless they’re at the level of a black star….

The small fries aren’t that scary. The problem is the black star.

The black star….

They’re the biggest obstacle.

The biggest problem is that their power is unknown.

Tinus, who seemed to have figured out what I was thinking, opened his mouth.

“I know you hate taking risks, but there’s no other chance now. And sooner or later, we’ll have to face the black star anyway.”

That’s true.

Although we’ve been pushed back to third place, the black star is also one of the forces that Tinus is hostile towards.

“If we can complete it, we can build a force that’s not afraid of the black star. Considering your connections and background, there’s no need to fear the black star in the future.”

I don’t think our current force is weak.

However, if we succeed, we’ll gain an incomparable power, which is a fact.

The four of them were looking at me.

The four of them… seemed to think it was worth a try.

But if I refuse, they’ll give up on the plan.

In the end, I’m the one who has the final say.

I made a decision after careful consideration.

“…Alright, let’s do it.”

If we fail, we can always go back to the original plan. …The problem is whether we can get another chance….

‘No. No way.’

If we’re going to do it, we’ll make it a success no matter what.

We’ll invest everything we have right now.

Tinus, who saw my expression, had a satisfied look on his face.

◈ Development

While the construction was progressing, our group, including me, scoured the monster forest around the road.

“This place looks good too.”

“Then, let’s mark this place as well.”

“The central lake should be a bit farther away from the road.”

“If possible, it would be good to make the water flow underground.”

“There’s not enough time right now. But it seems like a good method.”

“If we do it from the start, it’s fine, but if we do it later, it’ll only make the boundaries more difficult to defend, won’t it?”

“If they’re going to aim for the black water from the start, there’s a possibility they’ll aim for the underground as well. It’s not like we can do anything about it right now, so let’s worry about it later.”

Everyone is working hard to create a better environment while exploring.

It’s not just because everyone has something they want, but also because this place, which is based on magic, can provide us with our own opportunities.

At the very least, if this plan is completed, it will be maintained until I die, and with this environment and time, it will be a true revival for the Dark Elves and a foundation for Tinus to achieve his goals.

“I’m good with that.”

Of course, I’m the one who will benefit the most.

That’s why I’m taking the risk.

“In fact, I’m staking everything I have.”

The situation is like this, so I’ll try it.

No matter how good my relationship is with the royal family and how essential I am to the Linate territory and the inter-species union, I would never have given the Necromancer such a large piece of land if it weren’t for the circumstances.

If Linate weren’t in such a situation, and if the royal family’s favor and my gifts hadn’t been given, I would never have handed over such land to the Necromancer.

Of course, Linate truly revived, and the royal family gained more benefits, so it wasn’t a one-sided deal.

Moreover, I didn’t turn the entire barren land into magic-infused land. I only made some areas that way out of necessity, and what I’m doing now is on a completely different scale.

“When the land is infused with magic, even ordinary plants can’t survive.”

Only things that have adapted to magic can survive, and those plants that have survived become poisonous to ordinary humans.

And monsters become even more ferocious, and the undead start to appear randomly… The people living nearby have to abandon their land and flee.

“And the Dark Mages will flock to it.”

Except for me and the Dark Elves, most Dark Mages are avoided. Are those guys going to go crazy and flock to it? Ordinary people would have to run away immediately, and it would be a frustrating situation for the country.

Those crazy guys have at least a minimum level of ability.

Dark magic is easy to learn, and its power increases rapidly in the early stages.

Therefore, Dark Mages are all beings with a certain level of power.

Those guys who flock to it will not only use magic to increase their power but also try to summon contracted demons.

If things go wrong, it could lead to a disaster, which is why countries would hate it even more.

It’s enough to make me want to create a pioneering road that stabilizes the pioneering road…

Both unions would have a headache.

“Considering the value of the pioneering road, they can’t just say anything.”

“A supply network needs to be created to supply magic before the lake is created, so you’ll have to suffer, Do In-ha.”

“I don’t know. If we follow the design, we can stall for time until the supply network is formed.”

“It depends on the monsters’ behavior. And who knows when the Dark Mages will catch on?”

Thinking about these variables and calculating the risks, I realize that I’ll be the one who suffers the most when things go wrong.

“…You’re too calm.”

Artina tilts her head, looking at us.

It’s as if she’s not feeling any sense of crisis, but with one Master and five Mages, it’s not like we’re in a bad situation.

Tinus is learning hand-to-hand combat, but for now, his skills are lacking, so it’s correct to call him a Mage.

“Will he become a Magic Swordsman when he reaches the pinnacle?”

And as my army commander, I can possess a large army of undead if needed.

It may be unfair, but that’s my power, so the story is a bit different.

I comforted Artina, who was throwing a short tantrum, and received Kailla’s escort while marking the locations for the gray buildings on the map.

“Five…”

It was the number of castles, or rather, fortresses, that we had agreed to build.

If you combine this lake and the river….

“It’s quite large, isn’t it?”

There was no particular concern.

The ash-colored architecture didn’t require many people from the start.

The conditions were limited by the terrain, understanding, design, and a considerable amount of magic.

Anyway, the road was just being paved, and the intermediate checkpoints would reuse the existing monsters’, and since magic was infinite, there was no need to worry.

Incidentally, during this process, I briefly stopped by the interspecies union to check on the pioneering road they had started and learned some external news as well.

“A head-on collision, it seems….”

There had been a head-on collision between the interspecies union and the Holy Empire.

This time, the interspecies union was the one that attacked first.

“It’s understandable.”

They were sanctifying the neutral zone, and it was impossible to just stand by and watch.

Only the interspecies union, who had fought with them for a long time, knew how much power a semi-permanent stronghold could exert.

Therefore, they couldn’t help but intervene.

“They’re aiming for a long-term battle, it seems.”

“That’s likely.”

A certain victory. It seemed that was what they desired.

“Then, they won’t just leave the 6 Kingdoms Union alone….”

If they had a long-term battle in mind, the intervention of other forces would be unwelcome. Especially considering the recent relationship between the interspecies union and the 6 Kingdoms Union, it was even more so.

“I wonder if they’ve received some kind of order from the 2 Kingdoms side?”

Stalling for time was their specialty, after all….

“Can you gather some information about that?”

Atina’s words, I shook my head.

“I’m curious, but our side takes priority for now.”

“Tsk.”

It seemed she was trying to use information as an excuse to meet Tia.

“After all, Tia is always busy.”

Using me as a background, she had received the consideration of merchants and Prina, and had grown constantly while helping Prina with her work and even establishing and operating a trading company.

She was bound to be busy, and her meetings with Atina were becoming increasingly scarce.

That seemed to be regrettable.

It wasn’t that Atina was being deceitful, but rather she was just taking advantage of these opportunities.

“In the end, the value of this place will increase even more.”

“That’s likely.”

The interspecies union had failed to infiltrate the Holy Empire.

They knew the danger of the stronghold and launched a preemptive attack, but it was still the case.

Of course, the obstruction itself had achieved some results, but in the end, it only delayed the sanctification of the stronghold.

“It’s not like it can be done in a short time, but….”

The certain method of invasion was clear.

“It’s laughable from the interspecies union’s perspective.”

“What’s going on.”

“One side is using divine power to dye the land and invade, while the other side is using magic to dye the land and help.”

*Snort.*

It was indeed an ironic situation.

“What, in the end, we’re doing this for our own benefit, aren’t we?”

That’s the truth.

“Then, let’s move quickly to make them welcome us.”

The first place to use the ash-colored architecture was already under construction near the entrance.

Five fortresses.

And a massive lake to maintain them.

“I wish we could install it on the other side as well, but…”

“For now, this is enough. The fortresses’ domain will extend to the trade route area.”

As the land absorbs magic, the fortresses’ domain will expand, and monsters won’t be able to approach, so we just need to hold out for that long.

“Then, will you create the lake at the center of the fortress?”

“That’s better.”

It was a decision made after careful consideration.

One fortress would become especially strong….

“It’s the heart of the monster forest, after all.”

It would be even harder to approach, and since this area is near the midpoint, it could provide solid protection.

“Let’s start.”

The five dark mages gathered to create the first fortress.

I was the center, with Tinus assisting me.

The three dark elves would create each part of the fortress and hand over control to me.

Each person would implement their magic in their own way.

Bert chanted a spell, and Preté and Yeriya formed a contract.

The surroundings, however, didn’t look good.

The numerous monster corpses we had prepared for this purpose were piled up around us, and the massive bone tomb and the large amount of blood on the ground reminded me of the brutal dark mages in the stories.

And on top of that, magic was endlessly pouring out, filling the surroundings.

From the monsters’ perspective, we were no different from devils. No, we were worse than devils.

We had slaughtered countless monsters living in the monster forest to create the trade route and the fortress.

Even if they were monsters, killing living beings to this extent would be mentally exhausting, but none of us felt that way.

The first to manifest their magic was Bert.

He dyed the ground and began to corrode the area.

Next, Preté’s magic manifested.

The surrounding trees turned black and began to twist and contort, their bodies swelling grotesquely.

Then, massive tree roots burst out of the ground, absorbing the blood on the ground wildly.

And finally, they intertwined to form a massive circular fortress wall.

Last was Yeriya.

She created a semi-transparent spire using the souls extracted from the scattered magic and monster corpses, and an ominous, mournful sound flowed from the towering spire.

Only then did I raise my hand.

My magic is entangled with the magic of three people.

The three did not resist.

With the solid ground and black trees forming the castle walls, and the tower created by extracting souls, they controlled these structures and completed the massive architecture.