Chapter 165

Chapter 165

Spendthrift Necromancer (165)

Gulp.

Han Younggil swallowed.

Kim Minwoo's group of summons looked vastly different from before.

The Dullahans alone made that obvious.

What Dullahan in the world rode around on a horse made of blood like that?

Even the lowliest Skeletons had changed.

The swords, shields, and other weapons they each held were red as blood.‘And they're powerful too.’Griff's Magic Knight Order.

Han Younggil had naturally heard the name before.

Mages who used swords.

But it wasn't something you could dismiss as mere eccentricity.‘Because they're strong.’Normally, people thought all you had to do against a Mage was close the distance.

And that was actually true.

Once you got in close, of course they'd be weak.

The Griff family had overcome that weakness through swordsmanship training.

They weren't true Magic Swordsmen, but they were something like magical knights.

And they were genuinely strong.

Even if you closed the distance, they weren't easy to kill.

They stubbornly survived and kept using magic.

Yet now, mere Skeletons were hunting down that Magic Knight Order.

The Skeleton unit moved with absolute precision and discipline.

When only five Skeletons slowly cornered one elite Mage, Han Younggil nearly fainted from shock.

“What the hell is that…….”

“……

Team Leader. At this point, don't they not even need our help?”

“……

Looks that way.”

Han Younggil nodded blankly. He'd been planning to help when the Griff forces started forming Magic Formations.

Before he could even do anything, the battle was already half over.

By now, instead of feeling tense about the fight, he was watching more out of pure curiosity and morbid fascination.

The advantage looked that overwhelming. To capture roughly a hundred Griff personnel, Kim Minwoo's side had lost only a few hundred summons.

Strictly speaking, that wasn't even a real loss.

As long as he spent Mana, couldn't he simply resummon them?

“People over there are recording…….”

“Leave them. Think we could stop them even if we tried?”

“True…….”

Airports had enormous foot traffic. And Griff had been moving around blasting wind everywhere just to clear a path. There was no way they could avoid public attention.

Videos were probably already flooding the internet from every direction. Awakened fighting in reality was an extremely rare spectacle.

“But do you think we'd win if we fought them?”

“You mean those Skeletons?”

“Yes. I never imagined I'd feel sorry for the Griff bastards…… and it suddenly made me wonder.”

Han Younggil smiled bitterly.

His subordinate was right.

Who would've imagined the infamous Griff bastards could look pitiful?

From the visuals alone, it looked exactly like a Demon King's army fighting humanity's final resistance force.

That was how desperately the Mages were struggling. Though whenever Skeletons struck them from behind, they dropped like flies.

“……

Hard to say. Honestly, they're a little scary. I always thought I was fairly elite myself…… never imagined I'd feel threatened by Skeletons.”

“You, Team Leader?”

Han Younggil nodded.

Level 9

0

0.

Among Korean Awakened, he stood close to the very top.

That was how he'd become a team leader in the Gate Management Department and received a Grade 3 civil-service appointment.

Yet even he found those Skeletons threatening.

Their coordinated formations were that precise.

He couldn't understand how mere bottom-tier summons could move like that.

“Of course, we should remember that the Griff Magic Knights are really Mages first…….”

It was like chocolate milk without the chocolate.

Just bland milk.

Of course they'd get beaten helplessly like this.

If they could use magic, Kim Minwoo's summons would've been the ones swept away.

The problem was.

Kim Minwoo possessed a summon superior to almost anything else when it came to magic.

She was practically a Mage's worst nightmare.

“Only one left now.”

Han Younggil's gaze shifted somewhere.

As time passed and every other Griff member was subdued.

Only one person remained standing.

Knight Order Commander Jonas.

But even he wasn't in a good situation. Cedric, the Skeleton called the Bone Knight. Every time that summon swung his spear, Jonas blocked with cold sweat pouring down his face.‘This should end without much trouble.’Cedric had changed since before too. Not only had he grown Dragon wings like Merhen, his body looked much larger.

That transformation was probably why he could handle Jonas without much trouble.

Either way.

The cleanup was nearly complete. Han Younggil called someone.

“Mr. President. This is Team Leader Han Younggil of Team 3. An armed clash has occurred.”―Ah, yes. I know. A video already went up on NewTube.

“Oh, you're watching?”―It's live. Those Griff bastards are truly arrogant. Even I was getting angry watching them. Just how little must they think of Korea to…….

“……

They've probably learned a harsh lesson by now. Mr. President, all the Mages have been taken prisoner. Only one remains, and that should be over soon too. What should we do?”―What does he want?

“He suggested taking them prisoner. However, this could become a diplomatic problem…….”―Do as he says. Remember this. His will is Korea's will. Treat him as you would me. No, I'm an old man leaving office in a year anyway. He's far more important than I am. For Korea's future.

President Lee Kanghoon's firm voice came through the phone.

Perhaps because he'd spent so many years leading a weak Awakened nation, the current President showed Kim Minwoo considerable favor.

And it made sense.

“Understood. Then we'll take all of them prisoner…….”

That was when.

“……

Huh?”

Han Younggil's eyes widened.―……

Huh?

President Lee Kanghoon probably had the same expression on the other end of the phone.

The sight before them was that shocking.

Jonas.

The man fighting Cedric.

His appearance had begun changing strangely.* * *The battle that began when the summons charged in had been pure hell.

“L-Lord Jonas!”

“What do we do?”

“The situation is terrible…… cough!”

Mages shouting urgently all around him were being surrounded by Skeletons and dropping one by one.

There were simply too many enemies.

And without magic, they were being butchered like an undisciplined mob.

Jonas couldn't spare attention for them.

Cedric flew toward him at high speed and collided with his spear.

BOOM!

Jonas's sword and Cedric's spear smashed together violently.

“You insect…….”―Your skill looks more insect-like.

He was being completely tied down by a single summon.

And Kim Minwoo hadn't even joined the fight yet.‘At this rate, we'll all be captured.’They might truly end up prisoners.

The force gathered here represented close to ten percent of the family's strength.Ten percent might sound small.

It wasn't.

Losing it would be painful.

Worse, they could even become leverage against the family.

Jonas's eyes hardened as though he'd reached a decision.‘To think I'd actually have to use this power…….’He was one of the family's senior leaders.

That came with benefits.

That was exactly why he'd been able to Level so rapidly.

And those benefits didn't stop at faster Level growth.

He'd received a secret power.

A power that normally must never be exposed.

Put another way.

If things became serious enough, revealing it was permitted. Getting captured helplessly while trying to preserve it would be the worst possible judgment.

“……

I'll show you. What real ‘power’ looks like.”

Pitch-black energy rose over Jonas's body.

Like something alive, shadows crawled across his skin, growing darker and darker until they wrapped his entire body.

His eyes sharpened like awls, and his pupils turned black, reminiscent of an abyss.

Even the air seemed heavier.

A sinister, ominous aura filled the surroundings.[Jonas uses the Authority of the ‘Shadow Apostle’!]

Hiss, hiss.

Jonas's breathing grew rough. His muscles convulsed as overwhelming power surged through him.

Vast Mana unlike anything he'd ever felt before stormed through his body.[The Power of Shadow dwells within you!]‘So this is the power of ‘Him.’’A sinister smile appeared on his lips.

Euphoria spread.

Everything became clear.

His vision.

His hearing.

The world fell deathly silent.

Only his own breathing and heartbeat remained vivid.

The next instant.

Thud!

Jonas disappeared.

No.

He had moved faster than the eye could follow.

Appearing behind Cedric in an instant, he swung his blade.

CLANG!

Sword and spear collided with a piercing ring.

Cedric barely reacted in time to block the strike.‘What is this?’Kim Minwoo frowned as he watched.

Jonas had turned pitch-black.

He was far sharper and more elusive than before. This mediocre bastard suddenly jumped into the realm of a top-tier expert?

And his stats looked massively inflated too.

Something was going on.

The answer was obvious.

Cedric would have trouble winning one-on-one.‘Unless he awakens to SSS like last time.’Kim Minwoo drew his sword.

Looks like he needed to join in.

“Merhen.”―Yeah.

“We're doing it that way.”―Got it.

Merhen and Kim Minwoo.

Summon and human approached Jonas.

Jonas leaped backward.

Cedric was still trembling slightly from the force of the previous clash.

“Hey. One-on-one's a little rough, huh?”―……

Given enough time, I would win. Of course, if you assist, it'll end faster.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm joining too, so let's go. Like last time.”

Heart of the Legion.

It had the advantage of allowing him to control his summons in detail.

That advantage shone brightest when crushing weak enemies.

But.

When facing a powerhouse ordinary summons couldn't handle.

Heart of the Legion was useful then too.

After a moment of silence.

Jonas's eyes flashed.‘Idiot.’Kill the Necromancer and every summon would be forcibly unsummoned.

Instead of closing the distance, that bastard should've kept throwing summons at him and dragged the fight out.

Shadow's power didn't last forever, so if he'd done that, Jonas would've been forced to gamble.

But now?

The idiot had closed the distance himself.

Sure, he had two powerful summons beside him…… but.‘Nothing I can't handle.’He just needed to accept taking flesh to break bone and kill him.

One thread of reversal.

Jonas could see it.

Then all that remained was to move.

“Die, you rabble.”

His body slid forward.

His target?

Kim Minwoo, obviously.

That was when.

“Snowy.”

At Kim Minwoo's call.―Coo.[The Divine Beast assimilates with you!]

Assimilation completed.

Whoooosh…….

Bitter cold rose over the sword.

Absolute Zero.

One hit and Jonas wouldn't know what struck him.

Jonas appeared behind him in an instant.[Death Web(SS)

activates…….]

Splat!

Sticky webs spread from every direction and bound Jonas's body.[Slippery Shadow(SS)

activates…….]

As though his flesh had been coated in oil, the webs slid away.

Cedric thrust his spear.

Clang!

Kim Minwoo drove his sword into the exact same point.[You struck the same location! Damage increases by 11%…….]

He'd used this once while sparring with Isabella.

But there was one decisive difference between then and now.‘We're sharing thoughts.’No words needed.

They knew.

Where to strike.

What to break first.

The difficulty of coordinating stacked attacks had dropped exponentially.

Jonas's stats had risen.

But theirs were now high enough to fight him too.

At minimum, he was much weaker than Isabella with all her equipment activated.[You struck the same location! Damage increases by 22%…….][You struck the same location! Damage increases by 33%…….]‘Huh?’Jonas's pupils trembled.

During the first exchange, the impact hadn't been anything like this.

But the longer the fight continued, the force striking his sword increased at a ridiculous rate. He realized they were using stacked attacks.

The problem was that no matter how he twisted the trajectory, the stack kept continuing.

Two summons receiving his attacks with terrifying precision.

And Kim Minwoo fighting Jonas with their support.[Shadow Blade(SS)

activates…….]

Jonas hurriedly wrapped shadow around his sword.

He was trying to reinforce its durability.

The clash continued after the emergency reinforcement.

By the twentieth exchange.

A hairline crack appeared in Jonas's sword.

A Legendary-grade weapon.

It was about to break.‘N-No.’Jonas panicked.

He was over Level 1,500.

Naturally, his sword was a high-Level-requirement Legendary weapon.

In other words.

It was incredibly difficult to obtain and obscenely expensive.

Even Jonas, a senior member of the family, would feel serious pressure trying to replace it.

Naturally, having it break would be a disaster.

Just as instinct made him hurriedly retreat.[Underwater Adhesive(SS)

activates…….]

Smack!

Slippery Shadow.

He had clearly used that Skill, yet the adhesive stuck to his leg.

Kim Minwoo's sword slammed into Jonas's blade.

CRASH!

With a sound like shattering glass, the sword exploded into pieces.

Jonas's eyes went blank at the completely unexpected loss.

“Already? That's no good. You've still got plenty left.”

Kim Minwoo looked at the equipment covering Jonas's body.

Every piece was expensive, high-Level gear.

There was still plenty to break.