The Necromancer Who Was Despised

‘… He’s quite strong.’

But in the end, he blocked it.

The gap that had been opened was filled again, and the orc chieftain and his guards, who had fought their way in, were isolated inside our formation.

Although their positions had changed, the horned orcs could still use magic.

“… That one seems to be their leader. Shouldn’t we take him out first?”

I shook my head at Rithild’s words.

“Reduce the number of orcs. I’ll take care of that one.”

“… Understood.”

I’m the one in command.

I can’t watch over the entire battlefield alone, and it’s hard to act as a meat shield and command the attack.

I thought that Leetheld would be more suitable than me to command the horned orcs and use magic, so I let him lead, but he also had to follow my instructions according to the agreement.

The horned orcs seemed concerned about their chieftain, but they ultimately ignored him and focused on reducing the number of orcs.

We had the advantage in both the battle formations and the superior forces.

If I could just deal with him…

‘We will be victorious.’

I could take care of it directly if there was an opening, and if that didn’t work, I just had to endure until the battle of the superior forces ended.

I showed a relaxed smile, and the orc chieftain’s face was filled with anger and despair.

The endless waves of orcs could not overcome the wall of the undead.

When the orc warriors were defeated and even the orc chieftain was captured, the fierce orcs were so discouraged that their momentum was broken.

Even so, they did not give up.

I don’t know if their goal was to rescue their chieftain or to avenge their comrades.

As a result, they attacked us until the end, and as a result, the surroundings were filled with orc corpses.

“… Phew, it’s finally over.”

The chieftain of the horned orcs, Leetheld, muttered with a sigh full of fatigue.

I was also exhausted.

It has been hard enough.

It had been a war against over a thousand orcs.

The horned orcs had used up all their mana, and I was also running out of magical energy.

I could recover quickly, but they couldn’t.

They must have felt an incredible sense of powerlessness.

‘The undead… There’s almost none left.’

Of the hundreds of undead, less than twenty were still standing.

The magical energy that the Land of Death had absorbed had run out, and the magical energy that I had been supplying was now being used for my recovery, so if those undead collapsed now, they would not be able to regenerate.

‘But there are no enemies left.’

At some point, Artina and Kyla were standing next to me as if escorting me.

“You’ve worked hard, master.”

“You too, Kyla. “I’m alive thanks to you.”

I had captured the orc chieftain with Kyla’s help.

I didn’t mind killing him, but I thought it would be better to provoke the orcs by keeping him alive, so I ordered her to capture him.

“Hey, can I kill him now?”

“Not yet. “Their territory is still there.”

I nodded at Artina’s words.

Although their main force had been wiped out, it didn’t mean that their territory had completely collapsed.

‘Anyway, they’re done for without their main force.’

Even if I couldn’t take the undead here, if I destroyed their stronghold, the orc tribe would be effectively torn apart.

‘I don’t need to kill them all. If they are torn into several tribes, they won’t even dream of revenge, and it will be difficult enough for them to maintain their own new communities.’

If a great power collapses, other monsters in the area will become active in order to pick up the pieces.

If that happened, they wouldn’t dare to touch us.

While I and the horned orcs were resting, Artina and Kyla also rested, but they never left my side.

‘They’re wary of the horned orcs.’

Well, I understand.

It’s hard to believe so easily. After all, we haven’t known each other for very long. And now we’re in possession of your treasure… .

‘I also have to receive the horns of our kin.’

The battle just ended, and they’re exhausted, but there are a lot of them.

This was a perfect time to betray us, as our common enemy had disappeared. That’s why I didn’t try to stop them.

When Athena and Kayla had recovered some of their stamina, and most of my magic had also recovered, I approached Lithild.

“I kept my promise. Their main camp still remains, but it shouldn’t be difficult, as their main force is dead.”

“…I agree.”

Lithild nodded and soon took out several horns and handed them to me.

“These are the horns of our kin as promised. They’re mostly ones we recovered, so there aren’t many… but they should help.”

He said there weren’t many, but there were over twenty. Not only the ones from those killed by Hautur, but also the ones they had acquired while escaping.

“Is there any meaning to these horns?”

“Of course there is. They’re useful tools to others, but we believe the souls of our kin reside there. That’s why we usually hold funerals in our own way.”

There was a reason why they didn’t give up the bodies of their kin easily.

“That’s why I’m asking, but can I return the horns once I’ve used up all the mana inside? A horn without mana is useless. It’s not like a jewel; it can’t be recovered.”

It wasn’t that difficult, so I nodded.

“Thank you. I understand that our kin would understand, as it’s an emergency for our tribe, but it’s a relief that my mind is at ease.”

“Does returning this mean you plan on settling down around here?”

“I think so. It’s too dangerous to travel any farther with so many children. The greatest force is gone, and I don’t have a bad relationship with you, who could be considered the next strongest, so I don’t think it’s “a bad idea to settle down in this area.”

Of course, he said that if I refused, there was nothing he could do.

It was a statement that seemed to acknowledge that we had the upper hand.

‘Fortunately, it seems like he doesn’t plan on hitting us from behind.’

At least I think his actions so far have been good.

‘If you exclude the fact that he brought us this annoying task.’

However, there was one obstacle to him settling down here.

“There’s human territory past here.”

“…Are you saying there’s a human domain nearby?”

Lithild’s expression hardened at my words.

“I don’t want to clash with humans….”

Horn orcs weren’t known to humans, but it seemed like humans were well-known to horn orcs.

‘Because they can be considered the best among the single races.’

There is an interracial alliance, but that’s literally just a country formed when several races came together.

Although humans are divided into the Holy Empire and the kingdoms, there was no force that surpassed humans when considering only one race.

The power of the interracial alliance is formidable. However, even that was barely on par with the Holy Empire, the strongest human force, and if you added the power of the Six Kingdoms Alliance, even the interracial alliance wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Of course, the Six Kingdoms Alliance wasn’t on good terms with the Holy Empire, so it would be fortunate if they didn’t hinder each other, let alone join forces.

‘If there were monsters like dragons, that would be different, but they’ve disappeared.’

In reality, it could be said that humans had the largest territory on the continent.

That’s why it wasn’t strange for horn orcs to know about humans, even if they only lived in the deep forest.

“I never would have thought that you, a dark mage, would make your nest near human territory. I thought you had made this place to avoid humans, since you made a dungeon underground….”

“This land originally belonged to humans. It fell with the recent monster wave, and I was able to obtain it because of that.”

“… “I thought that the Terrans on the surface were strange, but they are.”

After thinking for a moment, Lithild opened his mouth.

“If you permit it, I would like to build a nest in the place where the old Orc tribe was. If it’s too close, it will be a burden. If you permit it, we will help you with all our might whenever you need it.”

“In return, we will help you if you are in danger?”

“You mean make an alliance.”

“Yes. You don’t need a big territory anyway. You’re settling down in this place… Does that mean you plan on returning to human lands someday?”

“Even if I do, I’ll maintain the dungeon.”

“That doesn’t matter. No, rather, I’m thankful. It means we will have allies in this dangerous place.”

Lithild smiled in satisfaction.

“As you can see, we are quite helpful.”

I nodded at his words.

Objectively, that was true. I had no intention of ignoring them with their power at the level of a magic corps.

“They will be useful to have around.”

‘If they don’t betray me, there’s nothing bad about it.’

The Horned Orcs, who would later become part of the Heterogeneous Species Alliance. It wouldn’t be bad to have a good relationship with them.

Even if the Whirlwind tribe didn’t join the Heterogeneous Species Alliance, it would be the same.

The Horned Orcs had enough power to become a mainstream race in the Heterogeneous Species Alliance, so the Whirlwind tribe was qualified to belong to the Heterogeneous Species Alliance and receive their protection whenever they wanted as long as they wished for it.

‘It would be a different story if we were to become enemies first though.’

The attitude they were showing now didn’t seem false at all.

Lithild went a step further.

“However, in that case, I would have to entrust the children to you for the time being… .”

Since the location they wanted to settle in was where the old Orc tribe had been, there was no way to avoid a period of chaos for the time being.

So it seemed like they wanted to entrust their children to us until they could get properly settled in.

I felt a sense of wonder at their excessive trust.

“I understand that.”

“But what makes you trust me this much?”

“The attitude you have shown so far.”

Lithild smiled slightly and said.

“The lower level the black magicians are, the more they tend to reveal themselves.”

His slightly crude human language continued.

“Your level is by no means high. I can tell just by looking at the summoned undead. Of course, that doesn’t mean you’re ordinary.”

Lithild’s eyes sparkled.

“This land, this is by no means magic that you could achieve with your level. And those specters. The same goes for them. Your level is low right now, but you have the skill to effortlessly surpass what you can do with that level.”

That’s why he said that even though his level was low, he was by no means ordinary.

“The Staff of Nothingness is the same. Honestly, I suspect you… aren’t you a descendant of a dragon?”

“… “A descendant of a dragon?”

“That staff. Isn’t it made from the body of a dragon?”

But Lithild continued as if it was nothing.

“In other words, it’s a divine object like the treasure our tribe had, no, even greater than that. On top of that, you don’t use magic power. You use magic directly.”

“… “How can you be sure of that?”

“Even so, I am the chieftain of the Gale Tribe. The chieftain’s position isn’t given to just anyone after the previous one is gone. My senses have been praised as the best in the history of the Gale Tribe. “I am just as pleading as you.”

This came as a surprise. I thought he wouldn’t know about something like this…

“In addition to the treasure made from a dragon’s body, a dark magician who uses magic directly… You don’t use incantations or hand signs either. It’s just like ‘dragon language.’”

“It’s rare, but there are some without incantations.”

“That’s true. But considering the things before that… Honestly, it’s hard to think that all of these coincidences overlapped. Also… It seems like your magic is infinite.”

Since this was the situation, there was no way my infinite magic wouldn’t be discovered.

“Even more… It’s pure magic. It’s pure magic without any of the Demonic Tribe’s unique smell… ”

A dragon’s descendant? Obviously, that’s a ridiculous misunderstanding.

“That’s nonsense.”

I had no intention of accepting such a useless misunderstanding.

“That may be true. But it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s just my misunderstanding, it’s true that you’re not like other dark magicians.”

Although the other things were nonsense, it was true that dark magicians with low levels tend to have poor self-control.

He phrased it nicely, saying that I showed my true self, but that’s just because I have poor self-control.

“Even if you have potential, it’s true that your current level is low. Furthermore, even though you handle magic directly, you’re rational. Honestly, when we first found out that you were a danger to us, ordinary dark magicians would have been attacked without thinking. But you didn’t do that.”

“It’s the same now. You’ve almost recovered your strength. It’s an unbelievable recovery rate. You could kill us all right now and take our horns if you wanted to. But you’re not doing that.”

That’s why I’m reliable. Rithild said that she wanted to make a new nest where she could have reliable allies.

“Our power has diminished so much. It’s hard to recover on our own without outside help.”

I understand. Furthermore, since they’re close to the humans’ territory, there aren’t many places left to go.

But if they go back to the forest… They must be afraid of the Red Ogres.

“Also, you’re a dark magician with a high chance of great growth. It’s very appealing to have a reliable ally who can buy our tribe time to recover and is sure to become powerful in the future.”

Even if I’m not a dragon’s descendant, Rithild said that just the conditions that were revealed are enough.

That’s why she revealed her weaknesses first and showed me strong trust.

She must have thought that it was worth it to bend over backward even though they’d basically be treated like subordinates instead of allies.

“Will you accept us as your allies?”

Survivor

I slowly nodded at his words.

It was an alliance in name only, but it was no different from being subordinates. No, I could have refused to even call it an alliance, but I decided to just accept it.

Just as they had looked at my present and future and made a choice, I looked at their future and made a choice.

It could be a little bothersome, but it was worth it.