The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

[V49C06] The Sorcerer of Darkness (part 1)

"Undead …"

"What the heck…? Their number is huge!"

The users of the Fifth Legion were appalled by the size of the Immortal Legion that had been raised by Bar Khan.

The undead rushed in frantically as soon as they spotted the humans.

"Kwehehehe!"

"Death to the living!"

"I will end your worthless lives!"

Bar Khan and the undead!

Once the humans caught their eyes during their chase after Weed, they didn't even attempt to communicate.

"Humans. I am Ulloombo, a Knight from Hell. I welcome you into our ranks."

"Begin the assault of destruction."

The phantom steeds on which the Doom Knights were riding spread out and began their soundless charge into the enemy camp. Following behind them were a great number of Death Knights and skeleton soldiers, as well as large undead demonic creatures which were once part of the Shadow Army of Palma, shaking the ground in great rush.

Karstein, the Commander of the Doom Knights, raised his broken sword and cried out.

"Immortal Legion! Charge!"

*Koohoowaaa!*

A cursed purple aura covered the Immortal Legion. This effect alone was enough to grant the undead army improved speed and the ability to steal life force.

"What?! You mean Weed has appeared here?"

At that moment, Legion Commander Bucking was contacting the heads of the guild.

As they didn't receive the news about the Shadow Army of Palma until late, he had only realized now that the lich who had just passed through their camp was in fact Weed.

"Unbelievable. And we just let him go?"

Bucking was groaning with regret, but the assaulting Immortal Legion was already right in front of him.

"It's too late to avoid the fight. We'll just have to fend them off with all we've got. Place the shieldbearers in front and divert the knights."

The infantry force attempted to stand their ground, blocking the frontal charge of the undead. Since there were so many undead mounted troops like the Doom Knights, not to mention the Bone Dragons, they had decided that it would be impossible to flee from them.

"Damn it. Why do we have to fight against those… things…?"

"They say in the Guild Channel that this is the Immortal Legion, is that true?"

"What? Surely not! No way!"

The Hermes Guild's members were also preparing for combat, their expressions grim.

"Bring forth the day, when everything you believe in collapses into nothingness. You shall be betrayed by your own kin, and die in pain and suffering. The Rhapsody of Destruction[1] !"

Bar Khan waved his bone wand and chanted an incantation of Black Magic, which caused the specters to scream from all directions. Horrible, nerve-grating sounds resonated far and wide as if a well-trained orchestra was playing them[JO2] . In addition to being ear-splittingly loud, the sounds also made a listener feel heavy-limbed and sick.

< You hear the Rhapsody of Destruction.

Extremely weakened state!

Physical abilities will be diminished.

Attack and defense abilities will be weakened.

Resistance against mind-affecting magic spells will be lowered, and all stats will be reduced by 22% or more.

6,492 points of life force will be lost per second.>

A curse of Black Magic using the undead! The Imperial soldiers could not bear it and were quickly succumbing to death, their bodies collapsing like a surging wave.

"We shall grant you the glory of Immortality!"

"It is the order of Bar Khan-nim. Be grateful, you living things."

The Doom Knights pierced through the barriers set up by the shieldbearers of the Fifth Legion with sheer force. The soldiers who were crushed by the powerful charge flew all over the place and lost their lives.

"The shieldbearers have been neutralized!"

"Stand closer together! Use whatever skills you have to stop them! We were in the middle of a march: if they manage to reach our base, they'll ruin everything!"

The Doom Knights penetrated the camp of the Imperial army. Even when they were interrupted by spearmen and shieldbearers, they pushed forward to the last of their strength. They drove their swords into the opponent's chests even after losing their heads. Due to the fact that they had an infinite supply of life force and mana provided by Bar Khan, in the end this only increased the number of undead.

"The, the undead!"

The soldiers who had lost their lives were revived as undead. Without any blessing or cleansing spells, the Doom Knights regained their life force as well, climbing back on their phantom steeds.

The situation was already beyond chaotic, but Bar Khan started to utter yet another incantation.

"Offer your feeble life to me, the eternal being. I shall reward you all with an immortal life. The Reaper's Gift. "

About one third of the soldiers in the Fifth Legion were branded with a vivid shape of a ghost holding a black scythe on their foreheads.

<You have received the Reaper's Gift.

A portion of your total life force and mana will be drained every second.

The damage you take will increase when you are wounded.

When your remaining life force gets below 20% of the maximum amount, there is a high chance of a sudden death.>

"Urrgh. Using this sort of Necromancy…!"

"We need divine spells! Get rid of these brands first, quickly!"

The users of the Hermes Guild in the Fifth Legion could not repress their shock and thrills of terror. They had all defeated numerous boss-level monsters before, but they had never experienced such an unparalleled powerful presence like that of Bar Khan. Worst of all were his unprecedented ability to cast curses over a wide area as well as his absolute dominance over the undead. The streams of life force and mana concentrated on Bar Khan were divided again, strengthening his entire undead army.

With the black and purple aura hanging around their bodies, the undead soldiers were demonstrating deadly combat strength as they fought on, even if they were mere Death Knights. The Doom Knights were absolute overlords of battle, rampaging through the enemy lines mercilessly.

'Weed really defeated this thing before?'

'There's just no way. He is hideously strong.'

'It is impossible to win against these undead. Even if we kill them, they just get revived again, stronger than before. The only solution is to get rid of Bar Khan.'

Some of the Hermes Guild users realized that Bar Khan was the key to this battle and quickly launched an attack against him.

"Kill him!"

"The Hermes Guild is the strongest of all!"

The Hermes guild users jumped into the fray, shouting dramatically in case they would appear on a broadcast. The undead tried to stop them but they broke through, throwing every skill they had at them; the Fifth Legion had many users who were quite famous in their own way.

"Fortress of Howling Corpses."

Upon seeing the Hermes Guild users' bold attempt at attacking him, Bar Khan cast another spell.

The land on which Bar Khan had been standing started shaking, and pillars that were made of countless tangled bones began to shoot upwards, tens of meters high.

Soon, a magnificent hill of bones was formed.

<A Fortress of Howling Corpses has been created.

The Black Magic spell that can only take effect through great blood sacrifice is corrupting this land with a deathly curse.

The physical and magical attack abilities of every living creature will be decreased by 74%.

Wailing spirits are roaming about the battlefield, increasing the defense of the undead.

The life force of the undead will be increased by 30%.

A deadly plague outbreak!

An unknown contagion will begin to spread, causing symptoms including itching, vertigo, disorientation, headaches, rashes, decay and weakened joints.>

Bar Khan stood on top of the hill of bones about 90 meters high.

"This is just ridiculous. It's just…"

"Even Weed has hunted down this monster before, but now…"

The users of the Hermes Guild were beginning to despair! In order to get close to Bar Khan, they had to fight their way through the horde of skeletons and Death Knights, while climbing up to reach the lofty height of the hill of bones. On top of all that, there were the demonic creatures of the Shadow Army of Palma which had all become undead, currently rushing in to fight them. They could even see that the Bone Dragons, which had been soaring majestically in the sky, were descending to the ground.

"There's just no hope in this."

"Let's get out of here."

Having made a quick decision, the Hermes Guild users tried to flee the battlefield. There were still the remaining forces of the Fifth Legion to manage, but Bucking was the one who was in charge of those troops, not them. It was a relatively reasonable choice, except for the fact that Bar Khan's magic wasn't going to let them escape so easily.

"There is no place for you to run. Accept the fate of the dead!"

With Bar Khan at the center, every living creature standing near him was branded with a mark.

< Mark of Death!

Bar Khan Demoph, the Sorcerer of Darkness!

He has sacrificed living creatures and dead bodies to complete a spell of Black Magic.

If you escape without killing Bar Khan, your life will end in three hours.>

Although there were records of this spell written in some books about Black Magic, none of the Hermes Guild members had actually experienced it in person. The spell cast by such a powerful sorcerer as Bar Khan would be impossible to cleanse without the help of at least high-priest level divine magic.

"Oh, this is just… okay, now we have nothing to lose."

"Kill him!"

The Hermes Guild users struck at him again.

"Fight. We can win this."

Keeping up the momentum, Bucking also encouraged his troops to fight more aggressively. However, more than 15% of the Imperial Army had already become undead. They chose to fight because it was impossible to escape, but it only led to a constant loss of lives on the Imperial Army's side. Their despair deepened each time Bar Khan cast another spell on top of his Fortress of Bones.

"Ever-changing flow of mana, hear me! This end to countless lives shall be my offering to you; now move and realize the principles of extinction and opposition!"

Absolute magical defense! Even divine powers and attack spells were now blocked by Bar Khan. The undead were increasing their numbers even more by devouring the Fifth Legion. Skeletons swinging their rusty swords and corrupted zombies were slowly taking control of the battlefield.

* * *

Weed returned to Morata through Yurin's Painting Teleportation skill.

"Can I order some fried chicken, Mister?"

"Of course. Just take a seat."

- The Immortal Army. Bar Khan Demoph! They are incredibly strong!

- A raid from the undead… this is absolutely overwhelming. They cannot win.

Having a cold glass of beer with fried chicken while watching the broadcast through a crystal ball!

"This is the reason for my life, right here."

Weed took a big bite off a drumstick.

Quite naturally, every broadcasting station on every channel was either live streaming the Immortal Legion or reporting in news bulletins.

- Even so, Bar Kahn's strength is just beyond imagination. He absolutely overwhelmed the Fifth Legion without even giving them any chance to properly fight back.

- I think he will easily qualify as the greatest monster that has ever appeared on broadcast.

- It is also not overly strange, considering that Bar Khan has been one of the few forces in history that had the capacity to bring the Versailles Continent to ruin.

- The Embinyu Church was a remarkable force, too, but the difference between them is that Embinyu was an incredibly vast organization, while Bar Khan is but one man. Of course, this is all based on historical records, so the accuracy is limited.

- It looks like the influence of that holy sword that had been stuck in his chest was very great in the past.

- The holy sword?

- Yes. That seems to be the only plausible explanation. Bar Khan is much stronger than before.

Weed was simply amazed to see Bar Khan smash the Fifth Legion into pieces through the broadcast.

"Necromancers sure are powerful."

Even between two masters of the same skill, there existed a gap in their capabilities. For instance, two swordmasters would not have the same strength due to difference in their level, stats, and flair for combat. And Bar Khan was not just an ordinary Necromancer master: he was the best of the best.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to defeat that thing again. I must avoid fighting him, whatever happens."

Before Bar Khan and his undead encountered the Fifth Legion, their main strength had been their number. They had already had Doom Knights, specters and the Bone Dragons, but the majority of their forces had consisted of skeletons and zombies.

Currently, as the knights of the Imperial Army were turning into undead and even the users of the Hermes Guild were falling to their power, the number of high-class units was increasing rapidly.

'They can grow into a terrible force if left alone. Something that can threaten the fate of the whole nation…'

A danger level that could potentially surpass that of the Embinuy Cult; it seemed Bar Khan was able to manufacture those boss-level monsters like Doom Knights as easily as canned food, given enough corpses. Without the Holy Sword of Lugh stuck in his chest, it was impossible to estimate the limits to his capabilities in undead summoning or Black Magic.

'There's still a chance if we can ram that sword into him again, but who could do that?'

Unless they could start a very, very confused fight, it would be difficult to even approach Bar Khan close enough to put the holy sword into his chest. Even Weed at his prime as the Great King of the Desert with all of the Desert warriors under his command wouldn't have been able to manage that task easily.

An endless stream of undead, curses, and Black Magic. On top of that, putting down a lich for good was a problem in itself due to its gigantic life force and recuperative power; a truly horrible being.

'Bar Khan has been revived. Now what will happen?'

He might choose to hunker down in one region, but it was always possible that he would start a campaign for domination over the continent.

While Weed gnawed at chicken wings, the broadcast program was showing the Fifth Legion being crushed hopelessly and fleeing. They were, of course, heading towards the south where the Haven Empire was. Bar Khan and the undead also started to march towards the south in pursuit of the survivors.

"Well. Since things have turned out like this, I don't even have to worry anymore. The Hermes Guild will take care of the situation from now on."

This mayhem was all of his own doing, but he was quite relieved to see that others were now going to clean up his mess.

* * *

Bar Khan and the undead, engaged in a battle against the Fifth Legion.

The number of Doom Knights alone reached several thousands; it was hard to even count the Death Knights and skeletons occupying the whole plain, and there were no less than thirty Bone Dragons flying in the sky.

"Wow. This is just huge."

"Amazing. I don't even know what to say."

"So we are witnessing the first stage of the destruction of the Versailles Continent."

There were more users gathering to watch the scene from the distance.

The Agoltha Region was at the northern end of the Haven Empire, and crossing a narrow sea from here, one could reach the borders of the Arpen Kingdom. To the east, there were other regions such as Harpan and Ritten which were ruled by the Arpen Kingdom as well. The urgent question now was where Bar Khan and his undead army would head next.

"Do you think they'll go to the Arpen Kingdom?"

"Surely not… there's a sea blocking their path."

"Even so… wouldn't the undead simply cross it? And the Bone Dragons can always just fly."

"Hmm. Come to think of it, the skeletons could walk under the sea; they don't even have to breathe."

"That's a bit scary."

Bar Khan and the undead would keep moving to somewhere, wherever that would be. And the survivors were desperately fleeing towards the south, so the undead were naturally following them.

The crowd was watching them, forgetting to even breathe. The Bone Dragons were soaring in the sky, and the skeletons were continuing their limping march after them.

"Well. There will be chaos in the Hermes Guild."

"Yeah. They are doomed, pretty much."

(To be continued…)