Chapter 7:《Night of the Oath》 (1)
(I)
“There are other guests as well.”
I muttered as I scanned the people gathered in the square in front of the royal palace. I initially thought it was just a group of soldiers and knights from the Kingdom of Avilia, but that wasn’t the case.
Among them were people in unique attire, exuding a presence far stronger than anyone else in the square. Their numbers only seemed to be in the hundreds, but the aura they radiated was overwhelming.
“Holy knights and shamans, huh.”
Judging by their outfits, they seemed to be holy knights from the papal state of Serion and shamans from the city of Tenma, a monastic nation.
“Smart move.”
I wasn’t sure whether the Kingdom of Avilia had directly requested their support or if the hero Varius Vellius had summoned them personally, but it was a wise choice to call them in to face me.
The holy magic of Serion’s holy knights and the exorcism magic of Tenma’s shamans were both highly effective against the undead.
While it might be a different story in a war between humans, the combination of “holy knights” and “shamans” had a relatively high win rate against necromancers who summoned demons or undead.
Especially the woman in the black saint’s robe and the brown-haired boy leading their respective forces, both seemed unfazed by the upcoming battle, as if they were confident they could easily defeat a necromancer.
“…Should’ve brought ten times as many.”
But I only scoffed at the sight of them.
While holy knights and shamans were effective against necromancers, that only applied in player-versus-player combat, with opponents of similar levels.
As the number one ranked necromancer, Elzerba, who held overwhelming dominance even over top-tier players, a few hundred holy knights and shamans led by NPCs wouldn’t be able to do anything.
— “Elzerba! Do you realize what you’ve done?!”
The commander of about 80,000 soldiers, the hero, Vellius Varius, shouted at me. He must have used amplification magic, as his voice rang clear despite the distance between us.
— “You’ve not only assassinated the princess, but you’ve also killed the knights sent to arrest you. This is a high treason, akin to conspiracy against the throne!”
“What nonsense.”
It was laughable.
How could he shout so confidently in front of all these people without feeling any guilt?
I couldn’t understand his mindset.
— “…Therefore, I, Vellius Varius, in the name of the hero who protects the Kingdom of Avilia, hereby declare that I will now exterminate the vampire, Elzerba!”
“….”
A clear declaration of war.
The hero and the Kingdom of Avilia had now crossed the point of no return with me. They were willing to destroy the hard-won peace after the war with the demons with their own hands.
“…If that’s what you want, I’ll accept.”
I had no intention of running or surrendering. If someone sought a fight, I would meet them head-on. I prepared myself, bracing for the imminent battle.
— “Wait, stop!”
“…?!”
— “That’s….”
Just as the situation was on the verge of exploding, someone stepped between me and the Avilian army. Fully armed with a bow and sword, she called out desperately to Varius in a heartfelt voice.
-“Stop, Varius! This isn’t the solution! Surely, there must be a more peaceful way! We need to at least hear what Elzerba has to say!”
“Lilianel…”
The one passionately defending me in front of the humans was none other than my friend, the elf Lilianel Greenfield. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded, desperate to stop the battle.
-“It hasn’t even been a year since the war with the demons ended! And now you’re dragging Serion and Tenma into this to ‘exterminate’ Elzerba, who was once your ally? Something is clearly wrong! We need to find another way!”
— “Lilianel, are you seriously siding with that vampire?!”
-“I’m not siding with her! I just want to prevent meaningless sacrifices… Kyaa!”
Varius, having heard Lilianel’s plea, fired a fireball at her feet. The hot flame exploded upon impact with the ground, causing Lilianel to stumble and fall in my direction.
Varius, who had just attacked his own comrade, glared fiercely at Lilianel as he shouted.
— “If you continue to defend the vampire, I’ll consider you an enemy as well.”
-“Varius…”
The look of shock on Lilianel’s face was clear. Someone like her, who valued friendship above all else, was stunned by the hero’s readiness to turn even her into an enemy.
“Hah…”
I sighed at the sight of this pitiful display and walked over to help Lilianel to her feet.
“Get up.”
-“Elzerba…”
“Go to the back.”
-“B-but…”
“It’s over. There’s no chance for reconciliation or negotiation anymore.”
-“This can’t be…”
“Go to the back and stay safe.”
-“N-no, I’ll fight too…!”
“I said, go to the back!”
-“…Okay.”
There was no avoiding conflict with the humans now.
Despite Lilianel’s noble efforts, there was nothing she could do to change the situation alone. To keep her safe from the impending battle, I forcibly sent her to the rear.
…I was the only one who could protect her from being caught in the chaos now that even the hero had turned against her.
“I guess their intelligence score is zero, as expected.”
I sighed again. That was truly their last chance, but they foolishly threw it away, deluded into thinking they could win against me.
I turned to the human coalition of Avilia knights, Serion’s holy knights, and Tenma’s shamans, and shouted at them.
“…Listen! First of all, I didn’t kill the princess!”
—What? How dare you lie when there’s evidence!
—Shut up, you vile vampire!
I had only said one sentence, but already angry rebukes were flying from all directions. Although I was slightly irritated, I continued speaking, ignoring their reactions.
“The evidence could be fabricated! I was even willing to cooperate fully with an investigation, as long as it was a peaceful solution.”
—Silence! Only blood and the hammer of judgment await you!
—We will deliver justice!
“…But since you’ve come at me like this, I’m really not in the mood anymore.”
I smiled.
“My patience is not infinite. I’m just an ordinary person who got pulled into a game, not a hero, not a god, and certainly not on the side of justice.”
I stepped forward, my foot hovering over a massive, black magic circle that began to unfurl beneath me. Dark energy began seeping from it, emanating an oppressive and ominous aura.
—”A magic circle?!”
—”Impossible! A magic circle of that size?!”
Seeing the enormous spell I had just cast, my enemies couldn’t hide their shock. I gazed at them with an expression twisted in irritation and spoke.
“…You didn’t really think I was too ‘nice’ to kill you, did you?”
As I spoke, the magic circle expanded further, and a massive surge of dark energy erupted from it.
<Mid-Tier Skill: Summon Wraith of Bones>
“SCREEEEEEECH!!”
From the obsidian magic circle, an endless horde of skeleton soldiers began to rise, their empty eye sockets glowing with a menacing light.
“…Shall we begin, Tina?”
“Yes, everything for my master.”
Tina, the zombie maid, and Alfred, my vampire butler, swiftly moved to the frontlines, guiding the army of skeletons forward.
—”They summoned reinforcements! Everyone, get ready for battle!”
—”They’re just skeletons! Don’t lose your nerve!”
—”Hmph.”
The enemy forces moved quickly to face my undead army. They clearly underestimated my skeleton soldiers, thinking them no more than lowly monsters commonly found in the wild. What they failed to realize was a grave error on their part.
The strength of skeletons summoned by a Necromancer Lord like me was directly proportional to my own power. While these skeletons might appear unimpressive, each one was already as strong as an A-rank monster, or even stronger.
But there was no way the enemy could have known that.
In war, a lack of information leads to defeat.
They had come without preparation, and now, they would pay for that mistake.
******************
(II)
-“This… can’t be….”
Vellius Varius, the hero, looked out at the battlefield in disbelief. What lay before him was a massacre. A one-sided slaughter, where one side mercilessly crushed and exterminated the other. His side. His soldiers.
To make matters worse, the ones being massacred were his allies—the elite knights and royal guards of the kingdom, being cut down by mere skeletons. Vellius couldn’t believe his eyes.
—”Their bones are too hard!”
—”Why do skeletons have legendary swords?!”
The powerful wraiths of bones I summoned were overwhelming Vellius’s soldiers, slicing through them with ease. Vellius had expected Elzerba to be strong, but he had never imagined that the skeletons she summoned would outclass even his trained knights.
-“Wooow! Those skeletons are really strong!”
“-A skeleton defeating trained knights… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Marina Bergard, the saint of Serion, and Jacks, the young shaman from Tenma, watched the battle with fascination.
“…It’s about time you two joined the fight,” Vellius said, calling on the saint and the shaman to join the fray. His final trump card was risky and unlikely to succeed, but the only way to turn the tide was by sending in stronger forces.
-“Alright, let’s go!”
-“…I shall assist.”
Marina and Jacks readied their weapons and prepared to jump into the chaos, but a deafening roar suddenly stopped them in their tracks.
“GRAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
Bursting through the roof of the royal palace and into the sky was a massive, undead creature. It resembled a dragon, but its entire body was made of bones, with eyes and a heart burning with crimson flames.
-“Th-That’s….”
It was a dragon, an undead dragon, a creature unlike anything Vellius had ever seen. As soon as he laid eyes on it, he knew instinctively—this dragon was powerful, far stronger than any normal dragon.
-“Elzerba….”
Vellius clenched his fists, his gaze locking onto Elzerba, who stood at the center of the undead army, smiling with those crimson eyes glowing ominously.
“If you start a fight, you’d better be ready to face the consequences.”
She smiled, her eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement.
-“Damn her….”
Vellius forced a grin, but beads of cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead.
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