Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Spendthrift Necromancer (28)

Winter Kingdom (3)

The Chimeras' gazes turned vicious.―Necromancer. You have made a foolish choice. You too shall be disposed of.

Their pincers clacked.

Then.[The Orcs behold a hero!][The Orcs are deeply moved by your courage!][They break free from their learned fear!][Resistance takes root in their hearts!]―Gruk! Urkan not abandon brother!

Urkan was the first to move beside him.

The edge of his heavy axe gleamed coldly.

One by one, the Orcs raised their axes.

Before long, every Orc in the village was glaring fiercely at the Chimeras.―Gruk! Great warrior! We follow!―We not insects!―Wicked monsters! Kill!―Kill.

The Chimeras clacked their massive pincers.

Their long spider legs stepped across the snow-covered earth.

The Chimeras began charging.

“Let's go! Brothers!”―Orc! Orc!

Kim Minwoo and the Orcs charged as well.

Just before the distance closed, he summoned Skeletons beneath the Chimeras' feet.

White hands grabbed wildly at dozens of spider legs.

Their charging speed slowed slightly.‘Take out the commander first.’He summoned Cedric and the Mage corps.

The largest Chimera.

Its pincer swept out violently.

Minwoo dove low as though sliding along the ground.

His body skidded beneath the creature's torso.

Eight legs messily attached to its body.

He raised his sword with all his strength.[Title, ‘Strong One Hunter,’ activates!][Damage increases by 10%!]Increased damage against monsters over 200 levels higher.

The effect activated, and his sword dug deep into the vulnerable underside.

Then carved a straight line across the creature's body.

Purple fluid burst outward.―Graaagh!

The Chimera screamed in pain from beneath.

Before it could recover, Cedric stabbed with his spear.[Using Dragon Strike(S)

!]

Enormous force gathered around the spear and struck the Chimera's arm.

Booom!

Its suffering didn't end there.―Gruk! Die!

Urkan's eyes burned red as he slammed his axe down again and again.

A B-rank Chimera.

A D-rank Orc.

Normally, there should've been no situation where the Chimera was pushed back.

But Urkan was different.

He was a boss monster.

Even against the Chimera, he displayed that might clearly.

Every brutal swing of his axe dented its pincer.

Cedric and Urkan attacking together.

Kim Minwoo cutting apart its underside.

And then the Mage corps positioned behind them, pouring out magic.

It took only moments for the commander's body to become a mangled wreck.

Kim Minwoo slipped out from underneath and stepped onto the Chimera's torso.

He leaped hard and landed on its back.

Then drove his sword deep into its neck.

Kweeegh!

The Chimera staggered while clutching its neck, blood spraying like a fountain.

Boom.

It collapsed to the ground.[Level increases!][Skeletons gain combat experience…….][Skeleton Mages gain combat experience…….]

Minwoo looked toward the remaining Chimeras.

Orcs and Skeletons clung to them from every direction, attacking.

The Chimera group didn't remain passive either.

Orcs and Skeletons caught in their massive pincers were cleanly snapped in half.

Thanks to Death Lord, the Skeletons revived.

The Orcs did not.

But even the revived Skeletons weren't in good condition.

One Chimera leg kicked one away, canceling its summon.

“Urkan! Cedric!”―Coming.―Gruk! Kill!

Human, undead, and Orc entered battle together once more.* * *“Whew.”

The Chimera group lay collapsed with limbs destroyed.

Even though Minwoo had used Skeletons as meat shields, the Orc casualties were heavy.

Nearly thirty Orcs had been ground down in a single battle.‘Three levels from one fight.’And that was despite sharing the experience with the Orcs fighting alongside him.

It showed just how strong the Chimeras had been.

Then.

Urkan approached.

Scratching his head, he said.―……

Hyung. Thank you. Without you, all of us die. Because of you, only this many died.

“Same here. Urkan, we survived because you found the courage to fight.”

If the Orcs hadn't found that courage, Minwoo would've needed to gulp doping potions like water.

Stack that up enough times and addiction would follow.

They had prevented that from happening.

The Orcs had played a major role.

He patted Urkan's shoulder.

Then.[Urkan's favorability greatly increases!][Urkan begins regarding you as a ‘True Brother’!][Urkan will now leap into fire if you command it!]

Loyalty test passed.

Minwoo looked at the message with satisfaction.

Then the Orcs began moving the Chimera corpses over the fire.―Gruk! Delicious meat! Meat!―Want eat fast! Hungry!

Drooling heavily, they began roasting the Chimeras.

They were omnivorous enough that even Chimera counted as a meal.

Sizzle!

After roasting it like ordinary meat.

Urkan chopped off the commander's head with his axe.―Gruk! Hyung! This part tastes best! I give to Hyung!

His eyes practically dripped with regret as he handed it over, clearly believing that sincerely.

“……

Eat plenty. Hyung isn't hungry.”

―……

Gruk! Then I eat this!

The Orcs began devouring Chimera meat ravenously.

For some reason, it was a pitiful sight.‘But I can't exactly pull out my food either.’He could probably solve things that way for around a month.

He had brought a considerable amount of food inside his Spatial Ring.

But that wasn't a fundamental solution.

Eventually, he'd end up starving alongside them.

Unless things became truly desperate, it was better to save it for now.

Fortunately, the Chimeras were huge.

More than enough meat for around a hundred Orcs to eat their fill.

That should keep them going for a day or two.

Meanwhile, Minwoo checked the titles he'd obtained.[New Title List][1. Brother of the Ice Forest Orcs][Became a brother to the Ice Forest Orcs.][Effect: Orc favorability rises slightly faster.][2. One Who Walks the Hero's Path][Chose the path filled with trials. If you succeed, its true effect may reveal itself.][Effect: ???]‘Pretty good.’A title that increased Orc favorability faster was useful while moving with Orcs.

And One Who Walks the Hero's Path looked like a title guaranteed to pay off big if he succeeded.

Next, he checked the Gate's changed difficulty.‘B-rank…….’It had jumped two whole ranks from D to B.

Average monster level inside a B-rank Gate ranged from 251 to 350.

A difficulty where creatures like the Orc Guards he'd seen during Death Lord's Trial appeared in packs.

Choosing the Orcs had probably changed the clear objective itself.

That was likely what made it so difficult.‘At least it's not S-rank.’In S-rank Gates, average monster levels began at 500.

Even being the world's number-one gamer couldn't make the impossible possible.

You had to know the difference between confidence and recklessness.

If it had become S-rank, he would've immediately searched for the midway zone.

Then leaving first and thinking later would've been correct.

But B-rank was different.

Difficult, certainly.

Yet not so impossible that he couldn't twist his way through somehow.

Doable.‘Now I need to decide where to go.’Fortunately, there was a sage who could point the way at times like this.

Minwoo approached the old Orc whose mouth was slick with grease.

“Bektar. At this rate, we'll starve to death. Is there any way to find food?”

Bektar crunched on a spider leg and answered.―Gruk. Two methods come to mind.

“Tell me.”

―First is hunting. There are monsters that survived even this cold. If we hunt them, we won't starve for a while. However, it is dangerous.

Minwoo nodded.

If they were easy to hunt, these Orcs would've already eaten them.

They were probably much stronger than the Orcs.

A temporary solution, but still one option.

“What about the second?”

―……

Gruk. Resolve the cause of this cold.

“The cause? What is it?”

―The Ice Dragon gave the Witch the Essence of Winter. The Witch split it apart and planted pieces throughout the continent. Then she built fortresses over them.[You have acquired the keyword, ‘Essence of Winter’.][You have acquired the keyword, ‘Fortress’.]

“If we deal with the Essence inside the fortress, the weather could improve?”

―Gruk, correct. At least the cold of this northern region would be resolved. The land would once again become a place where life flourishes.

“Tell me everything you know about the fortress.”

―The fortress is guarded by one of the Witch's Apostles. An Apostle's power is terrifying. This northern region…… belongs to Apostle Belitas.[You have acquired the keyword, ‘Apostle Belitas’.]

“Besides the Apostle, are there lots of underlings?”

―Many. Corpse Collectors, Black Mages, Necromancers, Wraith Warriors…… The fortress is filled with the aura of death.

Minwoo felt like he was starting to understand.‘Those Apostles are probably something like mid-bosses.’Break through a fortress packed with underlings.

Then extract or destroy the Essence hidden deep inside.

Do that, and the weather would improve.

Maybe that would satisfy the Gate's clear condition.

Then.

Bektar picked his teeth with a spider claw and spoke.―Gruk. Great warrior. The Corpse Collectors died. Before long, the Apostle's subordinates will realize something is wrong and come here.

“You're pretty calm considering that.”

―From the moment we stood against them, we were prepared for death. And…….

Bektar's eyes grew serious.―I do not believe a great warrior like you will die easily in a place like this. We will follow you and resist the Witch. Until these lives are spent and we fall![You have acquired the keyword, ‘Resistance Army Established’!][From now on, you may develop the Resistance Army.][The Resistance Army will fight alongside you against the Witch and Ice Dragon.][However, beware.][As the Resistance Army grows in strength, the Witch and Ice Dragon will pay increasingly greater attention to you.][Current Resistance Army Strength][Leader: Kim Minwoo][Members: Human 1, Orcs 102][Level: Clumsy Primitives][Average Level: 121][Food Situation: Not Very Good][Morale: Burning with Fighting Spirit][Enemy Alert Level: 0 (They do not yet know the Resistance Army exists)]

Only now did the method for clearing this Gate become obvious.‘A faction war?’Increase the Resistance Army's numbers and average level.

Raise them up, then smash directly into the Apostle.

That was the structure.

Bektar had said the Apostle's underlings would occasionally come after them, so Minwoo would have to overcome that too.

One thing was certain.‘One hundred and two Orcs can't do anything.’Numbers were power for a reason.

They needed to bulk up.

“Are there other Orcs nearby besides you?”

―Gruk. Several small tribes. We compete for food every time.

Minwoo looked at the Orcs finishing their meal.

They were sucking on bones regretfully.

He shouted.

“If you're done eating, grab your tools! We're raiding the Orcs next door!”―Gruk? A fight?―Gruk! I'm joining too!

The Orcs' eyes gleamed as they grabbed their axes.