Chapter 2: The Sage Becomes the Demon Lord of the Land of the Undeads (part 1)
I walked down the highway and soon reached the capital.\nThe main gate was blockaded.\nSoldiers lay in wait on top of the wall surrounding the city.
They must have sensed our approach and decided to sustain the siege.\nThey must plan to exterminate me using magic and bows.\nIt wasnât a bad plan.\nI was an Undead.\nIt could be said that a one-sided attack from a distance was the ideal solution.
As I thought of such things, the soldiers began their offence.\nIt was a barrage of arrows.\nA rain of arrows poured on me, taking a parabolic trajectory.
ââŠâŠâ
I remembered the scene when I was executed.\nThe peopleâs sneers.\nThe arrows that ran through my heart and eye.\nThe overwhelming despair.\nShe, who fell to the bottom of the valley.
When I came back to my senses, the skeletons and ghouls following me were skewered.\nTheir hands and feet were nailed to the ground by arrows, restricting their movements.\nAt this moment, countless undead had received damage.\nIt seems like the other side has some capable archers.\nIf I left them alone, the second wave of arrows would fall.
But I was not in a hurry.\nTheir miscalculation was, assuming that this attack was simply a raid of the undead.\nThey didnât seem to have received a communication from the fort besides the Valley of the Dead.\nAlthough they werenât negligent, the fact that they underestimated me was indisputable.\nThe fact that they were conserving magic was clear evidence.\nLet me make them face the truth here.
ââObserve.â
I held my hand to the front.\nA small fireball grew in the palm of my hand.\nAs I poured in magic, it rapidly swelled, quickly growing large enough to engulf a house.
When willed to push it, the fireball vigorously shot out.\nFlying in a straight line, the fireball smashed the main gate to smithereens.\nAccompanying that was an explosion and a wave of hot air that trampled upon the soldiers atop the wall.
âUgyaaaa!â
âEeeeek!? â
âW-Water! Bring water! â
The ones near the gate bore severe burns.\nThere were also ones who screamed as they fell from the wall.\nThe soldiers with minor injuries ran about, hoping to receive treatment.\nThis one blow caused enormous damage.
âHmâŠâ
I looked hard at my bony hand.\nIt would have nice if it had burst open a hole through the gate. But the results were far better than my expectations.\nThe strength of this magic could not be compared to anything from when I was alive.\nThere was a wide difference in output.\nIt must be because I absorbed the magic in the Valley of the Dead.
While the soldiers were in disorder, I advanced, taking along the undead.\nPassing through the remains of the main gate, I infiltrated the capital.
The residents of the town ran about trying to escape.\nThey seemed to have delayed taking shelter.\nThey didnât think that I would break through the main gate at such an early stage.
They used to gleefully show us contempt in the past, but they now showed a pitiful appearance.\nThey pushed each other, trying to get away from me just a little more.\nSome fell and continue to be trampled by others.\nThe scene evoked pity.
For them, I was now nothing but a demon that threatened their everyday lives.\nAmongst the abuses that accompanied the pelting of stones, there were a few voices that had called us such.\nI had clearly become the very thing they wished for.
âNow! Attack with all youâve got! â
âThe Ghoul is a fire mage! Call in more mages! â
âDonât stop between incantations! Itâs fine even if you use up your magic here! â
I heard a shout from behind.\nAlong with the arrows, there were now sporadic bursts of spells.\nThe undead following me received the attacks.\nThey were the actions of the soldiers on top of the wall.\nThey tried to desperately hinder our invasion.
âItâs uselessâŠâ
As I gloomily thought, I glanced at the top of the wall.\nAs I did that, hundreds of undead began climbing the wall.\nSupporting each otherâs bodies, they reached the top at a surprising speed.
The undead on top of the wall slaughtered the soldiers by sheer number.\nThe skeletons snatched away the soldiersâ weapons and brandished them.\nThe ghouls pushed down the soldiers and ate them.\nHands full dealing with them, the soldiers had no leeway to attack me.\nThey were annihilated in no time.
Glancing at the soldiers who rose up as ghouls from the side, I strode along the main street.\nI ignored the townsfolk as I walked forth.\nI had something much more important to aim for.\nIâll leave the small fry for later.
After walking for a while, I saw a row of soldiers blocking my path in the front.\nThey had made a formation on top of the roofs.\nUnder the orders of their commander, they set up their bows.
They werenât ordinary arrows.\nThe arrowheads shone white.\nThey seemed to have been bestowed with Holy magic.\nIt was the easiest and best way to eliminate undead.
Were the soldiers at the main gate buying time for them�
It was difficult to avoid arrows on the street, seeing it was sandwiched between buildings left and right.\nJudging so, I stood upright, waiting for my chance.\nI had thought of something I wanted to try.\nI only protected the bundle of cloth that carried that personâs bones, using magic.\nI couldnât let her be hurt.
Immediately, a holy arrow was fired.\nDozens of white lights drew a splendid path as they approached.\nI, who was the vanguard, was completely crushed.\nI felt the pain of my bones being pulverised in rapid succession as I was purified.
The moment I realised I had lost my form, my vision turned black.\nAnd then, it changed completely.
A myriad of collapsed skeletons were scattered in front of me.\nThe arrows pierced without a gap.
I looked behind me.\nThere, the skeletons and ghouls that were out of the range of the volley of arrows lay in wait.
Then, I looked down at my body.\nThe white bones became jet black in an instant.\nThe miasma permeated through my body and leapt out like a flame.
ââŠAs expected, thereâs no problem.â
I revived with a skeleton as a medium.\nA part of me dwelled inside each undead I controlled.\nEven if my body was destroyed, I could be revived from any individual.
This was one of the powers I gained in the Valley of the Dead.\nAs long as I have undead subordinates, I will not be destroyed.
In the first place, the holy arrows did not have much effect.\nMy soul wasnât one bit damaged.\nI only had to endure the pain of purification.\nEven if I received thousands of them, Iâd revive just fine.
âHe revivedâŠ!? â
âThe undead are supposed to be weak to Holy magic! Why did this happen!? â
âDonât just stand there! Shoot the arrows! â\nUneasiness ran through the soldiers.\nThey seemed to have mistakenly thought they defeated me.\nIn a panic, they prepared for the second wave of arrows, launching it simultaneously.
I felt sorry for them, but I was already done inspecting my abilities.\nI didnât have to receive them on purpose this time.
I obstructed them with a sudden gust of magic.\nThe rain of arrows veered from their trajectories, piercing through the building one after another.\nOf course, my camp wasnât damaged one bit.
I held my hand over the wreckage of skeletons scattered in front.\nThe miasma that flowed out, polluted the wreckage.\nThe bone fragments squirmed and combined to form a shape.
The results were dozens of bone wolves.\nAs they were originally humanoid, their shape was distorted and of large build.\nThe soldiers made a stir.\nWhile listening to them, I issued a command.
ââDevour them.â
The bone wolves made a rickety sound as they dashed.\nTheir nimble movements made them seem unlike any undead.\nThe wolved jumped at the soldiers who were not yet ready to attack, quickly making them break formation.\nThey even attacked the soldiers on top of the roofs with astounding jump strength.\nCatching the neck of all things living in their sturdy jaws, they chewed them off with rough movements.
The dead soldiers became ghouls and fell under my control.\nThey then began to move to increase their allies.
Gazing at the ghastly spectacle, I walked.\nOn the way, I picked up my precious bundle of cloth.\nI patted off the dust with my hands.\nIt didnât seem to be damaged.\nIt seemed like my defence magic to was stronger than when I was alive.
I passed through the soldiers I had annihilated.\nMerging the bone wolves and the ghouls, I once again began inching forward.\nI took care not to step upon the blood-drenched stone pavement.
I continued to raid the capital.\nThe soldiers counterattacked countless times, but they were crushed just like their predecessors.\nWith each battle, my subordinates increased exponentially.\nThat was because I could turn the corpses into an undead.\nEven those who were damaged to the point they were immobile, I could collect a mishmash of their remains and recompose them into a new undead.\nThe battles along the way, served as good practice to check my strength.\nHasr: Welp, my laptop just died. Hopefully, Iâll get it back from the repairs tomorrow.
Iâll be posting advance chapters for this on Patreon starting August. Posting schedule is tentatively around 1.5 characters a week (that should be 1/2 chapter for the first arc).