The Necromancer Who Was Despised

The dark elf warriors. They were a formidable force, not inferior to any knight order.

They were experienced and familiar with activities in forest-like areas, so they were helpful, but they would only play a protective role.

The front line would be handled by my undead, Tinus, and the two who became Rich this time, Sold and Langtem.

This time, Valdur wouldn’t act separately either.

He would receive orders from Kaila along with Entin.

Kyle wanted to be by my side, but this time, I couldn’t let him have his way.

So, my guardian this time was Atina.

Kyle was one of the people I trusted, but in a large-scale war, an individual’s capabilities were limited, which is why she was chosen as my guardian.

Atina didn’t complain. She couldn’t… It was a crucial role, after all.

It was a natural reaction.

“If I die… it’s over.”

This war effort wouldn’t be sustained.

The entire undead army would collapse, and even Tinus couldn’t maintain himself for long.

80% of our total war effort.

Tinus said that was the value of my life.

We advanced into the Black Star’s domain, our formation in order.

As Tinus said, we hardly saw any monsters like before.

They sensed our magic and fled, and the forest was filled with tension.

When we reached the boundary, which could be considered the real domain, I couldn’t help but shut my mouth.

“What is… this?”

The boundary marker was extremely clear.

The color of the earth itself was different.

It was dyed dark, and some sort of golden thread marked the boundary.

And behind that golden thread… the heads of all sorts of living beings were on display.

Most were just bones, but some were half-rotten, and it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

-It was as if…

“…What is that?”

When I turned to look, one of the heads opened its mouth, and Atina frowned at the grotesque sight.

-It was a war between the same kind. Something that happened in the past was happening in my generation.

“…Rochis?”

The leader of the Black Star, Rochis.

It was inferred to be him.

-Sold and Langtem told me. Hm.

The head that had paused speaking opened its mouth again.

-I heard the news through the demon tribe, but it seems Rochis really did become a Lich. Sold, that’s unfortunate. He was so desperate to live.

Sold and Langtem didn’t answer.

No, to be exact, Tinus didn’t permit them to answer.

I stepped forward and spoke towards the head.

“Did you make a deal with the Red Ogre?”

-……Yes.

“Do you know what kind of people they are?”

-I know. I know well. They’re the descendants of giants, claiming to be the successors of the invading species. I know they’re the successors of the invading species.

“…And yet, you made a deal with them?”

-What’s strange about that? From the continent’s perspective, our Black Star is no different from them.

…When you think about it, it was a reasonable statement.

Having transcended the demon tribe and attempted to summon the Demon King, the black star, which was no different from the red ogre, was a being that existed beyond the realm of good and evil.

The giants and demon tribes were also invaders who coveted this continent.

-Perhaps we’ll conflict with them in the distant future. But not now. For now, it’s worth joining hands with them. We…

“Let’s cross the great forest and head towards the continent.”

“…….”

A sudden voice echoed.

I turned my head, and there, I saw a gigantic ogre for the first time.

The massive monster, ogre. Unlike the ogres that relied solely on their innate physical abilities, this ogre had a body that showed signs of training.

Its eyes, which coexisted with the ferocity of a beast and intelligence, had a reddish hue, unlike the greenish tone.

The red ogre was gazing at us from the black star’s domain.

“Nice to meet you, human. No, I should say thank you first.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I heard you executed the opposing faction. Thanks to that, the black star has joined hands with us.”

“…….”

It was only natural. They had refused to join hands with the red ogre, but they had joined hands with the empire instead.

“I originally planned to take the time to persuade them, but thanks to you, things have become easier. I’ve also heard an interesting story.”

The red ogre smiled ominously.

“Are you guys in the middle of a war with each other?”

“…….”

“How fascinating. It seems even the fleeing dogs have been caught up in it.”

The red ogre’s eyes swept over the furious faces of the orcs.

“It’s really fascinating.”

The giants seemed to be protecting themselves, and the red ogre’s lips curled up.

◈ Black Star

“But, you pitiful orcs. Is that all you’ve got?”

“…….”

Ritheel didn’t respond.

“You’re lacking in both quality and quantity, and now you’re even scared?”

“…Shut up!”

“You, who once relied solely on numbers as your weapon, have now lost even that. Does that make you guys any better?”

The ogre ridiculed the orcs.

“You, who were once our enemies, have become like that. It’s amusing to see. You’re still worth looking at, I suppose.”

The ogre’s smile didn’t seem to be fading away.

“It seems you still have eyes that can see, even if you’re parasitic on someone else.”

At that moment, the ogre’s gaze turned towards me.

“Human, you’re someone I need to keep alive and bring with me. It was one of the conditions of our alliance.”

The ogre was delighted, saying it made the conversation easier.

I had expected as much.

From the moment Akachi recognized my value, I knew the black star would covet me.

So, it wasn’t new to me anymore.

Since I didn’t react, the guy seemed bored and started talking again.

“You’re human, but in many ways, you’re helping our giant descendants. Isn’t that right? The Black Star said it’s not time yet and planned to head to the continent for a while.”

That’s true.

I’ve heard a lot from Sold and Langtem.

To be precise, the leader of the Black Star thought that way, but the leaders had different opinions.

There were those who accepted the Red Ogre’s proposal and those who opposed it, saying it wasn’t right. The opposing side consisted of Akachi, Sold, and Langtem.

Meanwhile, Akachi discovered me, and around the same time, the Empire’s proposal was added, so they took action first.

The side that wanted an alliance with the Red Ogre couldn’t act first because if they formed an alliance, the Red Ogre would enter their land.

In the end, Akachi failed, and the scales tipped to the other side.

“I expected as much.”

So, we also hastened our pace.

“But, thanks to you, we were able to form an alliance, and the external situation is also helping our continent expansion. I want to express my gratitude to you.”

He said he wanted to express gratitude, but his attitude was far from it.

Instead, it was closer to mocking or ridiculing.

Of course, I wasn’t shaken by such behavior.

Moreover, what he said was something I already knew, so I didn’t feel anything new when I heard it again.

Instead, I asked him a question that I was curious about.

“Was there a reason to expand to the continent?”

The guy was taken aback by my sudden question and then burst out laughing.

“Ah, yes. Since we erased the dragon’s remnants that the Orcs worshiped, it’s time to move on to the next step.”

He said they erased the dragon’s remnants.

The Orcs’ expressions turned gruesome at that.

“We will show the power of the giant descendants on the continent and offer this land to them.”

“Are you not calling the giants instead?”

I was puzzled by the Red Ogre’s goal, which was slightly different from what I thought, but I didn’t open my mouth unnecessarily.

“By the way, can you guys just stand there like that? Have you forgotten where this place is?”

The Red Ogre’s sudden words made my vigilance spike to the maximum.

But it was a little too late.

“Ah…!”

Tinus exclaimed in shock and immediately cast a massive black barrier around us.

Rumble.

The ground shook, and a black fog started spreading wildly around us.

“…Curse!”

Yeriyah cried out urgently and quickly began to form a seal.

I also quickly released my magic, spreading a high-density death aura over the widest possible range.

I could feel the Divine Power bursting out from behind.

My power clashed with it, but it was an unavoidable choice to stop the curse.

Although the difficulty was high in the urgent situation, I adjusted the range to minimize the death aura from reaching that side.

The demon hunters were seen moving rapidly towards the priest’s direction.

“If only we had a little more time…”

Unlike the Red Ogre’s words, we weren’t particularly vigilant.

While I was talking to the guy, Tinus and the Dark Elf mage faction were secretly exploring the Black Star’s domain.

Tinus took the lead, and since they operated magic so discreetly, even the Red Ogre didn’t notice.

If we had just worked a bit more, we could have launched a preemptive attack on the guy….

“It’s indeed their territory, after all.”

Magic users need to prepare a lot to wield power beyond their capabilities.

It’s not for nothing that dungeons are created, and it’s risky to enter their research lab carelessly.

Setting up a temporary stronghold wasn’t done in vain.

“Still, I thought we were a bit better since there were no other guys on the scene….”

Of course, even if it’s their territory, it doesn’t mean much if the owner isn’t there.

We could prepare for when they’re not around, but without an AI and the creator of that environment, what can we do?

Although Rochis, the leader of the Black Star, showed off his magic that could communicate with us from a distance, there are limits to what can be done in such a bad situation.

Despite these unfavorable conditions, they managed to get the better of us.

This means they had prepared for a long time, which wasn’t good news for us.

“Do-in-ha!”

Tinus had somehow transformed into a Dragonian form, and Yeriya was focusing her mind to block the widespread curses. The two elders, Bert and Pret, were also concentrating to stop the shaking and splitting ground.

I hastily opened a dimensional fragment and used a large number of corpses and black bones to set up a temporary stronghold.

Quaaddduk.

The bones under my influence dug into the ground.

I planned to take over their territory, lay the foundation, and even undo the heavenly curse.

But it wasn’t easy, given their long preparation.

“Kkeu….”

An enormous amount of concentration and magic was being consumed.

Since Tinus was using magic as well, my magic reserves were dwindling rapidly.

If I didn’t continue to supply magic, I wouldn’t even be able to try.

“Indeed, the Black Star. It was worth forming an alliance with.”

Of course, the Ogre wouldn’t just watch us and do nothing.

“Comrades!”

Rithild hastily commanded the Orcs to cast various magic spells, but…

“Ha.”

The Red Ogre didn’t even defend himself.

The magic that touched his body simply disappeared.