Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Spendthrift Necromancer (9)

Dragons were strong.

An impossibly tough hide.

Not only did they possess strength backed by their enormous bodies, they could also wield countless spells.

They could even fly.

Even high-ranking Awakened wouldn't dare hunt one lightly unless they gathered several people for a raid.

And Cedric was relentlessly driving back a dragon that powerful.‘Not a bad strategy.’Knights were ground-bound.

Once they reached a high enough level, they gained a few ways to remain suspended in the air, but never for very long.

Unless they resorted to something crude like bombarding it with thrown spears, there weren't many ways to catch a flying dragon.

The Bone Dragon was making up for that lack of mobility.

It clung desperately to the dragon's body.

It might have been made of bone, but its weight was nothing to scoff at.

And while the Bone Dragon pinned down its mobility…….

Stab!

Cedric's spear tore through the dragon's hide.‘And he fights well.’A breathtaking display of skill unfolded in midair. One misplaced foot meant falling to his death.

Yet Cedric stabbed all over the dragon's body as though walking a tightrope.

Perhaps because he was undead, he was utterly fearless.

Maybe it was trying to shake Cedric off.

The dragon desperately climbed higher. While the two undead and the dragon fought their bloody battle.

The monsters watching from behind the Orc lines began to move.

Kodos, whose charging power ranked near the top even among monsters of the same class.

They hurled themselves toward the castle gate.

Woooo!

Bam!

Bam!

The distant gate shook violently.

Mage classes, including the Liches, cast spells, but after exhausting their mana against the endless Orcs, their firepower was weaker than expected.

The giants didn't remain idle either.

Their massive weapons smashed into the gate already battered by the Kodos.

Wyverns swooped down from the sky and snatched away spellcasting undead, while Death Witches cast spells that bound the feet of Dullahans and Death Knights.‘It's going to break.’They had somehow managed against ordinary Orcs, but these high-ranking monsters were different.

The difference in raw specs was simply too great.

There was nothing they could do.

And perhaps because Commander-in-Chief Cedric had flown into the sky, the undead were no longer moving with their earlier precision.

They seemed more flustered than before.

They needed to unite as one just to buy time. Acting like that left them no chance.‘First, retreat.’The gate looked ready to give way.

Once it broke, monsters would flood through like a pack of wild dogs.

If he stayed on the wall, he'd clearly end up dying like a dog between Orcs pouring in from above and below.

But he couldn't retreat with only his own forces either. What could he possibly accomplish while fleeing with just one Lich and one Death Knight?

And if he ran merely to save himself, there was a high chance the entire wall would quickly be overrun by the surging Orcs.

“Hey! Hans!”―Yes, Commander.

“You don't have something like a crystal ball? Something you can use to contact the other commanders!”

―I do.

“Bring it out, hurry!”

He grabbed the crystal ball Hans produced.

When he fed it a little mana, it began glowing.

“This is Commander Sixteen! All commanders, leave only a portion of your Skeletons behind and retreat from the walls! Gather at the inner fortress! This is a direct order from the Commander-in-Chief!”―……!

Hans's eyes rolled.‘Commander Cedric definitely flew off without saying a word, though?’But he couldn't exactly ruin things by pointing that out now.

The human before him had, if only temporarily, become his direct superior, and even Hans believed that if they were going to retreat, now was their only chance.

Murmuring came through the crystal ball.

Soon, one of them spoke for the others.―……Commander One speaking. Is that true? Commander Cedric gave me no separate orders.

“It is! When he saved me from the dragon earlier, he mentioned it personally!”

Yeah, your Commander-in-Chief ‘personally’ saved me.

Whether Cedric had truly saved him because he considered Minwoo special, or simply because letting a dragon crash into the wall would've been troublesome, was uncertain.

Either way, at times like this, acting like you had a special relationship with the boss was best.―……Commander Fifteen speaking. When the dragon came, Commander Cedric did protect that man. There is a high chance it's true.

A commander who had suddenly parachuted in.

And Cedric had even personally protected him.

His relationship with the Commander-in-Chief didn't seem ordinary.

Moreover, the order itself was reasonable. The walls were on the verge of falling.

Had they been Commander-in-Chief, they would've issued a retreat order too.―……

Very well. We will comply.‘Yes!’This way, they could hold out at least a little longer.

Leaving strike teams behind, the undead withdrew from the walls.

Not even three minutes later, the castle gate collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The Orc horde surged in like a tidal wave and looked around.

Clatter.

Clack.

There were only pathetic undead everywhere. Not a single one of the powerful foes they'd secretly wanted to fight was in sight.

Rooooar!

The Skeletons guarding the entrance had their skulls shattered into pieces.

Grrrr.

The Orcs' gazes turned toward the small inner fortress in the distance.* * *He looked at the undead gathered atop the inner fortress wall. Ten Liches and nine Death Knights.

Around a hundred mid-ranking undead, along with a thousand Skeletons.

Compared to the numbers he'd seen when the battle first began, their forces had shrunk pathetically.

Worse still, the enemy's true force hadn't even moved yet.

The Orc Hero and his Orc Royal Guard. And the large number of high-ranking monsters that still remained.

The inner fortress was much smaller than the outer walls. The walls were lower and the gates much weaker.‘If only the Orcs charge like before, maybe we can hold for around thirty minutes…….’If the high-ranking monsters moved too, ten minutes at best.

And it looked like they would.‘These bastards were waiting for us to run out of mana.’If they'd sent the high-ranking monsters in from the beginning, the losses would've been huge.

The defenders would've still had plenty of mana.

But now?

Only around twenty Kodos and giants had died while breaking through the outer fortress. That was practically no loss at all.

They were completely surrounded.

If there was one piece of good news.

“Prepare for battle! We go exactly as discussed!”

It was that, using Cedric's authority, he'd managed to get the Death Knight commanders to hand overall command to him.

Woooo!

The Kodos charged.

“Grease! Use Grease!”

The Liches and Skeleton Mages gathered mana.[Lich ‘Edmond’ activates Grease(D)

!][Lich ‘Hans’ activates Grease(D)

!]..A basic spell that made the ground slippery. The Kodos and giants were layered in defensive magic.

Their magic resistance was also high, so direct attack spells wouldn't do much.

But a spell like Grease…….

Slip!

Woooah!

One Kodo magnificently lost its footing. The Kodos and giants behind it began falling one after another.

The monsters crashed into each other in a chaotic pile.

Screeeech!

“Stop the Wyverns! Protect the Liches no matter what!”

Drawing his sword, Minwoo blocked a diving Wyvern.

Clang!‘Kgh!’The tremendous force didn't merely push him back—it sent him flying.

His wrist throbbed, probably twisted.

He hurriedly pulled out a potion and poured it over his hand. Ladders hooked onto the walls and Orcs rushed up.

In the middle of the continuous melee, messages appeared.[Skeleton 1 hunts an Orc Warrior! Combat experience greatly…….][Skeleton 223 hunts an Orc Fighter…….]

Before, the Skeletons had only managed to make Orcs fall to their deaths. Now they were occasionally killing them outright. Perhaps because of Death Lord's effect, the Skeletons were gaining experience and improving in real time.

The problem was that it still wasn't enough to reverse the battle.

Bit by bit.

They were pushed back.

The inner gate broke.

The top of the wall filled with Orcs.

One Death Knight was helplessly snapped apart in a giant's grip.

The Orc encirclement gradually tightened.

A hopeless situation.

Then.

A dragon plummeted from the sky.

The giants and Kodos beneath it were crushed to pulp.

The dragon breathed raggedly.

Its body was covered in wounds.

And then, in front of the undead.

Boom.

The Bone Dragon landed like a mountain.‘You're here! My love!’Cedric!

Time suddenly froze.[You have endured on the battlefield for a certain amount of time!][You have fulfilled the basic condition for escape!][You may leave the battlefield!][Would you like to escape now?][If you refuse, escape will be disabled again.]

Only the messages remained visible.

His first guess had been partly right.

The battlefield was structured so that surviving for a certain amount of time allowed you to escape. Of course, even that alone had been hellishly difficult, but not completely impossible.‘But this message feels off.’This battlefield had been created from Cedric's regret.

Was simply surviving long enough and escaping really how he was supposed to obtain the authority Death Lord had spoken of?‘No way.’He still didn't know what Cedric regretted.

He hadn't resolved that regret either.

There was no way this was the full clear condition.‘If I leave now, it's probably like turning in a thirty-point answer out of a hundred.’That was probably why the message specifically said he'd fulfilled only the basic condition for escape.‘Judging by the whole regret thing, the undead probably lose this war.’And somewhere in that process, Cedric was left with some deep regret.‘We just haven't reached that part yet.’He would probably have to continue a little further before he learned what Cedric regretted.

Staying was undeniably dangerous.

Which meant the reward would be that much greater.

Conclusion.‘Yeah, absolutely not leaving.’He would risk it and see more.

This couldn't be a stage designed with death as the only possible outcome.

There was always a way to clear it.

Absolutely.[You refuse to escape!][Time begins flowing again!]

Cedric looked at him.

Perhaps the battle with the dragon had been fierce.

Gouges marked his golden bones all over.―Why are you still here? You should have been able to leave.

“I still don't know what you regret.”

―……

You would risk your life merely to learn that?

“Not merely. That's exactly why it's worth risking it.”

―……

The Lord must have told you. Being trapped for eternity was not a joke.

“I didn't stay as a joke either.”

He cut off the head of an approaching Orc.

Foul green blood splashed over him.

“I'm always serious. When it comes to clearing something.”

―……

Very well. I respect your choice.

With those words, Cedric and the Bone Dragon moved.

Orc hordes and high-ranking monsters were swept away with a single attack.

Gwooo!

Boom, boom!

The Orc Hero pounded its chest like a drum.

The eyes staring at Cedric began filling with delight.

Orcs were an extremely warlike race. Their blood boiled hottest when they faced a powerful opponent.

The Orc Hero began moving toward Cedric in earnest.‘Oh, fuck.’The problem was that the Orc Royal Guards around him began moving as well.

Roooar!

Two Orc Guards engaged a single Death Knight. The blade that had been slicing ordinary Orcs apart like radishes instantly lost its edge.

The Death Knight was driven onto the defensive.

The problem was…….‘……

One's coming for me too?’An Orc Guard charged toward him, snorting heavily.

They usually gravitated toward strong opponents.

It had probably been impressed by watching Minwoo cut down lower Orcs like vegetables.[The Orc Guard designates you as ‘Prey’!][The Orc Guard's attack power against you increases by 20%!][You are struck directly by the Orc Guard's roar! All stats decrease by 10%!]

There was no way he could beat it in his current state.

The nearby Death Knights and Liches were all locked in desperate battles.‘Then I guess I'll go all in too.’He decided to use the final trump card he'd been saving.[You consume Strength Enhancement Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Strength increases by 50 for one hour!][You consume Agility Enhancement Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Agility increases by 50 for one hour!][You consume Stamina Enhancement Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Stamina increases by 50 for one hour!][You consume Magic Enhancement Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Magic increases by 50 for one hour!][You consume Stamina Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Wounds are rapidly healing!][You consume Mana Potion(Highest-Grade)

!][Mana is rapidly recovering!]

He guzzled highest-grade potions worth hundreds of millions each as though they were water.[Warning!][You have consumed too many potions in a short period of time! You are becoming addicted to potions!][Potion effects will be greatly reduced from now on!][You have acquired the title, ‘Live for Today!’]

Potion addiction.

A phenomenon where the body became unable to forget the recovery and doping effects of potions and began suffering withdrawal.

And those withdrawal symptoms were pretty damn severe.‘It's dangerous, but…….’Still much better than dying because he refused to drink them now.

Besides, this wasn't even his real body. It was a Virtual Body. Once he returned, things would probably work themselves out somehow.

“Or maybe not!”

First, he had to survive.