Necromancer Of The Black Bible (174)

Balthazar stood up from his seat.

Because he sensed someone outside the door.

‘Who is it?’

He immediately threw on his coat and opened the door, where he could face the figure standing there.

Damian.

Startled by the unexpected encounter, Balthazar looked blank, and Damian smiled at him.

“I wasn’t trying to wake you.”

“Ah… yes.”

Once again, Damian’s presence felt heavy.

The body of Sanchez, in which Balthazar resided, had not yet awakened magical power, but it was sensitive to mana.

That was why he could feel the heavy necromancy mana flowing from Damian.

‘It’s not just that.’

Damian had changed a great deal from the one he had known in his previous life.

Unlike the days when he steadily built up his basics under Balthazar, he has now fully awakened and grown.

He was on par even with Balthazar in his prime.

‘No. No, that’s wrong. He has become a far greater figure than I am.’

Looking at such a disciple, he even felt a sense of pride.

Balthazar opened his mouth with a pleased expression.

“What brings you here so suddenly?”

“I wanted to see you before I leave.”

“You’re leaving?”

Balthazar quickly guessed the situation.

Damian came here to form an alliance with Silvarna.

And that purpose had been achieved early on.

After that, he stayed here and made some preparations.

Making weapons and gear for the coming war, and preparing consumables such as potions.

With Damian’s help, those tasks were progressing smoothly.

However, it would take about another month for the preparations to be complete.

Even so, leaving already meant something had definitely happened.

Remembering the celestial omen he had read the previous night, Balthazar spoke.

“A red star appeared last night. It carried an intensity I have never seen before. Are you leaving because of that?”

“Yes.”

Damian nodded and continued.

“Illinas has descended with his legion. He will soon take over Edelmund and head for Graneum Castle.”

“Then…”

“Before that, we need to set the board.”

Set the board first.

These were words Balthazar himself habitually used whenever he stood before battle.

A smile touched Balthazar’s lips.

Seeing him like this kept overlapping with the days they spent together in his previous life.

Damian looked at him and asked.

“Do you have a good idea?”

“Ah. Yes.”

In fact, Balthazar already had a strategy in mind.

A strategy like a gift to give to the disciple who had come here by going against time itself.

He had devised a plan that would ensure victory no matter what happened.

Balthazar spoke with a cautious expression.

“Illinas knows our forces in detail. He must have seen everything with Ten Thousand Eyes. So he will devise countermeasures and advance.”

“If it’s him, what kind of countermeasure could he set up?”

Damian asked gently, and Balthazar lowered his head and answered.

“If it were me, I would use explosives.”

“Explosives?”

“Yes. If explosives are used, the corpse itself is badly damaged, so it can’t be used as a vessel for the soul.”

“That makes sense. But…”

Damian slowly continued.

“Even if they use explosives, doesn’t it end as long as the attack doesn’t reach us?”

It was a valid rebuttal.

No matter how powerful a weapon was, if it didn’t reach its target, that was the end of it.

If they launched bombs with explosives, they could simply put up a barrier.

But Balthazar slowly shook his head.

“Lord Damian, that is not what I meant. What they fear is that after their soldiers die, they will rise again as our soldiers.”

“Ah!”

Damian understood quickly.

He slowly nodded and began to repeat exactly what Balthazar had pointed out.

“Then they will use explosives on their soldiers.”

“Exactly. They will attack us with suicide bomb soldiers.”

“What’s the countermeasure?”

At Damian’s question, Balthazar answered with a faint smile.

“Fire can be answered with water. I heard there is an Elementalist under your command, Lord Damian. If you have them summon rain, you will be able to hold back the enemy for a while. But it won’t last very long. Illinas will see through it.”

Damian slowly nodded and replied.

“If it’s him, he’ll find Laerin. Then…”

Damian thought for a moment and then came up with a countermeasure.

“There’s a river between Graneum Castle and Edelmund. We can settle it there.”

“That’s right.”

Balthazar marveled inwardly.

He had only thrown out a hint, and yet he had reached that conclusion from it alone.

“I will make arrangements at that river. So…”

“No.”

Damian shook his head and continued.

“Don’t do that, Sanchez. You stay here.”

“…What?”

“You have a child, don’t you? Stay here and take care of your family. That is your mission.”

“But…”

Balthazar could not continue.

Because of the nameless emotion swelling in his chest.

Damian looked at him and continued.

“Sanchez. The battlefield is dangerous. Especially this fight; we don’t know how great the sacrifice will be.”

“E-even so, I should step in…”

“No. Among my subordinates, there is no one weaker than you. So stay here. That’s an order.”

When he finished speaking, Damian patted Sanchez on the shoulder.

“I’ll be going now. Silvarna will take care of the rest here. So don’t worry about anything. That Demon King will not reach here.”

Leaving those words behind, Damian opened a dimensional gate.

He smiled softly, gave a single wave, and disappeared through it.

After the dimensional gate closed, Balthazar, left alone, stared blankly at the spot where Damian had vanished.

All this time, he had thought that he was the one who had to look after Damian.

But in truth, it was different. Damian had been taking care of him.

“What am I supposed to do about this?”

As he muttered that to himself, he heard Equinox’s voice in his mind.

-You should do what you have to do.

“But Damian doesn’t want me to do anything.”

-What do you think your task is?

“That is…”

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Balthazar spoke.

“It’s to help Damian in this fight. So I thought I would provide strategic support.”

-Tsk, tsk… That is not what you have to do.

At Equinox’s words, Balthazar was startled.

If it wasn’t this or that, then what exactly was he supposed to do at this point?

Equinox chuckled softly and told him.

-Just exist. Until your existence is needed. For now, that is enough.

With those words, Equinox disappeared from Balthazar’s mind.

‘Just exist?’

He couldn’t understand what it meant, but one thing was clear.

What he needed to protect now was none other than himself.

Having sorted out Damian’s and Equinox’s intentions, Balthazar went back inside the house.

In the bedroom, his heavily pregnant wife was in deep slumber.

Imperial Capital Edelmund.

Receiving the report at the Imperial Palace, Emperor Sigmund VIII stroked his mustache as usual.

“So… monsters are coming down from the north?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The messenger lowered his head with a pale face.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a sight. Truly, monsters of a form so horrific it’s hard to even put into words are surging down like a flood.”

The Emperor closed his eyes for a moment.

The appearance of monsters.

This was not a situation that had been entirely unforeseen.

Because previously, the new Towermaster Hyro had made this proposal.

-If we are to win, we must join hands with the Demon King. If we do so, we will surely be able to defeat the Necromancer.

‘What if the monsters’ appearance is Hyro’s achievement?’

What should he do?

Should he open the gates and receive them?

But there were far too many risks to do so blindly.

More than anything, he was curious about the Demon King’s purpose.

‘There’s no guarantee they aren’t targeting the Empire.’

From ancient times, the Empire had been the target of countless forces.

A thousand years ago, there had been the invasion of the Great Demon King Belzemon.

Even after that, large and small factions had continued to threaten the Empire’s safety.

In the meantime, the Empire had defeated them by fielding skilled Swordmasters and powerful mages, and had seized control of the continent.

Now, he wondered whether allowing the Demon King to set foot on Imperial land was truly acceptable.

Yet the only one who could answer this was Towermaster Hyro.

Coincidentally, contact with Hyro had been severed for several days.

This was an ominous sign.

‘The Demon King was summoned, but the mage who summoned him disappeared. Then I should assume Hyro failed, yes?’

If he had succeeded, Hyro would have come here immediately to report.

To tell him to join hands with the Demon King.

The reason Hyro had not appeared was one of two things.

‘He has either died or the contract failed.’

The Emperor also had some knowledge of black magic.

He knew at least that dealing with the Demon King was very dangerous, and that a wrong bargain with them could cost one everything.

Of course, if he became an ally of the Empire, there would be no better news than that, but the current situation was not so optimistic.

Sensing danger, the Emperor spoke.

“Close the gate to the north of Edelmund and gather the troops there.”

Then the chamberlain asked.

“How many should we gather?”

“All forces.”

At the Emperor’s words, the expressions of the ministers on both sides hardened.

At that moment, one minister spoke up.

“If we gather the entire army at the northern gate, the southern defenses will become weak. Then we must worry about an attack from the Necromancer.”

“That’s right. Gathering the entire army while in confrontation with the Necromancer is dangerous.”

Several others sided with that minister.

There were even those who said this.

“The Demon King’s army may actually be those mobilized by the Towermaster. Didn’t the Towermaster declare that he would make a contract to eliminate the Demon King and the Necromancer?”

“The minister is right. It would be best to wait a little longer for the Towermaster’s message.”

“If it’s the Towermaster, he will be able to persuade the Demon King.”

This time, even more ministers agreed.

But the Emperor shook his head.

“It has already been three days since contact with Hyro has been lost. And the Demon King’s army is at our doorstep. This means he failed.”

At the Emperor’s words, everyone fell silent.

His insight was that persuasive.

The Emperor looked left and right and continued.

“Though we are confronting the Necromancer in the south, they are not advancing from the castle. But the Demon King in the north keeps drawing closer. That means the Demon King is the greater threat to us. They are coming specifically to seize the Empire. Since contact with Hyro has been lost, I judge this situation to be an emergency. Does anyone still object?”

At the Emperor’s question, a clear voice was heard from one side.

“Your Majesty. May I state my opinion?”

Turning his head, he saw Crown Prince Eric.

Freshly graduated from the academy, he was the Emperor’s most beloved son.

Born with unmatched martial prowess and a mana core, he had been highly expected since childhood, and thus he surpassed the princes above him to become Crown Prince.

The Emperor looked at Eric and nodded, and Eric replied in a clear voice.