Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner

Chapter 590: Episode 590

The full-scale battle had begun.

In a fortress siege, where monsters invaded a human castle, humans almost always won. Monsters, with their limited intelligence, lacked siege weapons and tactics. Any attempt to swarm the walls would be met with a hail of arrows, their bodies piling up at the base.

A fortress was a surprisingly sturdy defense, one of the main reasons humanity could hold its territory against creatures that were superior in strength, size, and speed.

Monsters could plunder villages and lay waste to the countryside, but it was rare for an entire territory to fall under their control. The border between monster and human lands was often defined by a line of such fortresses.

However.

"What the hell is that!"

This time’s opponents, the ’Mimics’, were unique. They operated captured battering rams and scaled the walls with wooden ladders, moving with the discipline of a human army.

"That’s to be expected," Lorraine muttered. "This is a horde that has conquered thirty-nine of forty fortresses. Of course they’ve learned human siege methods."

"This is kind of scary... Ugh! There’s a ladder here, too! They’re coming up!"

"Leave it to me!"

Eshe bravely swung her arm. Her cute little curse dolls scurried down the ladder, stopping in the middle.

’Decay’

The curse engraved within the dolls activated, and the rungs of the ladder rotted away, causing it to collapse.

"Nice, Eshe!"

Simon was also fighting as he ran along the wall.

With a flurry of dazzling kicks, Simon sent newly-arrived Mimics tumbling from the ramparts, the impacts echoing with sickening cracks. At his gesture, a swarm of bones danced down, skewering Mimics and severing the ropes that held their ladders.

Since it was still early in the battle, Simon refrained from using powerful techniques like his Royal Guard or Chaos, fighting mainly with martial arts and Bone Armor.

"Corpse Explosion."

Simon muttered and clenched his fist. A series of explosions rocked the wall as he detonated the zombies he had sent over the side.

Nodding, Simon looked to his side.

"Lorraine! I’m leaving the left wall to you!"

"Got it."

Lorraine was mounted on a Skull Horse. Holding reins of pure Jet-Black, she galloped across the wall, swinging a long spear coated in the same dark energy. Each sweep of her spear left a black trail in its wake, decapitating the Mimics on the ladders or piercing their hearts. The Skull Horse showed perfect coordination, kicking at monsters or repositioning to give Lorraine a better angle for her strikes.

"Hah!"

Toto wasn’t falling behind either. He drew a magic circle on the ground and summoned several small Death Worms. From their fixed positions, they spat corrosive fluid, repelling the Mimics.

"Ðⴆŀº!"

"ⴆŀⴘⴝ!"

The Gahalic warriors cheered at the Kizen students’ unexpected prowess. Their morale boosted, they thrust their spears and loosed their arrows with renewed ferocity. While not on the level of knights using aura, many were strong fighters who enhanced their bodies with mana.

’Our defenses seem to be holding up.’

At Simon’s gesture, a volley of sharp bone fragments pierced a line of monsters.

—1-A needs support!

—3-B is in danger too!

Listening to the communication crystal, Simon realized the other squads were in trouble. The monsters weren’t attacking with uniform force; some sections of the wall were under heavy assault, while others were relatively quiet.

—6-D! There are eleven ladders up, it’s chaos!

The defenders, however, had spread their forces evenly. To mount an effective defense, they needed to adapt.

—From now on, the people I call are the support squad. Leave your designated areas and prioritize helping the sectors requesting aid.

As if reading his mind, Hector’s voice came through.

—Simon Polentia, Aseraz Mikel, Guinevere Venners, Cendra Glivice.

Hector had reorganized the students most skilled in combat into a mobile support squad.

Simon looked back, and Lorraine nodded.

"Don’t worry. Leave this to us."

He knew she could protect Toto and Eshe. Simon nodded and took off running, his winter robe fluttering behind him.

’The closest one first!’

He moved toward Squad 4’s position and was shocked by what he saw. The position was on the verge of collapse.

"AHHH!"

The leader of Squad 4, with whom he had played cards just last night, was struggling against a flood of Mimics. The Gahalic warriors were being overwhelmed, and one squad member was lying unconscious on the ground.

’The fastest ones!’

Simon simultaneously summoned four ghouls from his subspace and sent them charging. He saw the Mimics raising their swords over the fallen student.

’Focus!’

Simon’s eyes widened. His perception sharpened, the world slowing to a crawl around him. Four magic circles shimmered before his eyes like a heat haze. The moment his concentration peaked, his eyes hardened.

’Rino’s Golden Line!’

He pictured the four floating magic circles being cleanly split in half. The ghouls’ eyes and the holes in their bodies spewed Jet-Black like steam engines as they shot across the ground at impossible speeds.

Just before the raised swords could fall, Simon clenched his fist.

’Corpse Venom Explosion!’

The ghouls, having crossed a hundred meters in an instant, detonated in a series of thunderous blasts. This wasn’t the same poison he had used during the performance evaluation. The initial blast of corpse gas sent the surrounding Mimics reeling.

"Hmph!"

Simon slid into the clearing, his arms pulled back, and then violently swung them wide as if hanging laundry.

With a sharp swish, dozens of white fragments shot out like rays of light, latching onto the attacked Gahalic warriors and the fallen student. The newly formed Bone Armor moved their bodies, breaking through the encirclement and carrying them to safety.

"Wow!"

The Squad 4 leader turned his head belatedly.

"President! President Simon is here!"

The arrival of one person had instantly turned the tide. Simon took a deep breath and shouted loudly.

"Ðⴆŀº!"

The Gahalic warriors’ eyes widened in surprise, then they raised their spears high in response.

"Ðⴆŀº!!!"

With a unified war cry, the warriors charged forward with renewed courage, clearing the Mimics from the wall. Simon pulled at the air, opening a massive subspace.

"Fire!"

’Dark Blaze’

A torrent of black flames poured from the subspace, reducing the Mimics to ash.

Having finally bought them a moment’s respite, Simon strode over to the Squad 4 leader.

"What, Simon? You know their language?"

At his question, Simon shrugged.

"Nah, I just winged it. From watching them, it sounded like their word for ’fight’."

"...Ugh, ugh."

Just then, the unconscious student grimaced and lifted his head.

"Are you okay?"

Simon asked, even as he swiped his left hand horizontally. The scattered bones instantly reassembled into a Bone Spear that pierced a line of monsters.

The student chuckled weakly.

"...D-damn flashy. Anyway, I owe you one."

"Can you guys hold on your own?"

"Of course."

Having pushed back the monsters, this section of the wall was now stable. Simon received a call from the communication crystal and moved to the next location.

---

Outside the walls.

"They’re fighting well. Very well," the Butcher muttered, shouldering two large cleavers. He stood motionless, staring at the wall. "They bend, but they don’t break. It’s uncanny how well they’re holding out. Are you sure they’re just kids?"

"I told you," his partner, the One-Eyed Gentleman, approached. "Even with our help, the monsters alone cannot defeat them."

"So."

The Butcher turned around.

"You’re going to lend another hand. Is that it?"

Behind them, a group of masked assassins in black crouched in the shadows. The Butcher whistled and readjusted his grip on his cleavers.

"But, didn’t you say it was just going to be the two of us?"

"That was the initial plan."

"We don’t need these guys. Skill aside, they scream ’assassin’ to anyone who looks at them. If we bring them in and cause a bigger commotion..."

"There’s no need for such worries."

The one-eyed man nodded. The assassins took out a potion from their pockets.

"For the Union."

"For the Union."

Then they uncapped the vials and unhesitatingly downed the contents.

"Guh!"

Dropping the empty vials with a clatter, they began to writhe in agony, clutching their throats. They drooled and thrashed violently.

The sound of cracking and crunching filled the air as their bodies convulsed, as if something was trying to burst out from within.

"G-gaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

With sickening pops and splatters, skin sloughed off, faces contorted, and bodies withered, limbs shrinking and twisting into new, horrifying shapes.

"Hah, for God’s sake."

The Butcher laughed in disbelief.

"Well then."

The One-Eyed Gentleman adjusted his hat and continued.

"I will explain the plan."

---

"Hahahaha! How refreshing!"

Grelion landed with a heavy thud, having run rampant outside the fortress in his Chimera form and significantly thinned the monster ranks.

Landing on a rooftop, he pulled a handle protruding from his abdomen, and the chimera’s flesh peeled away with a gurgling sound, reforming into its original briefcase shape.

"Have my muscles atrophied this much already? I’ll have to build myself up again."

Grelion smacked his lips. He was noticeably thinner than he had been before.

"You’ve worked hard, Professor Grelion."

Aaron approached him.

"You’re the same as ever."

"Hahahaha! Of course! Is everything alright inside the fortress?"

"Yes, but something is strange," Aaron said, running a hand through his messy hair. "Monsters from other fortresses are flocking here. We’ve also observed Mimics exhibiting unnatural behaviors. This is definitely..."

"What have you really seen during your time as a professor?"

"Pardon?"

Grelion sat down on the roof and chuckled.

"Back in my day, we went to the beach for an outdoor class, and a sixty-five-foot-high tsunami came out of nowhere."

"Uh..."

"It was when the Kalos and Baldwin Kingdoms were on bad terms. Kalos mobilized its mages to eliminate the crown prince of Baldwin. He was the leader of the anti-Kalos faction, and they wanted to get rid of him before he could graduate and become a key figure."

"Disguised as a natural disaster."

"They also sent one hundred assassins to the students’ off-campus housing once. That’s Kizen for you. It’s peaceful these days, but it would take more than one night to tell you all the stories."

Grelion beckoned with his finger.

"Remember this. Kizen is strong, but it’s not perfect. There are countless factions within it. The organization only functions because they all bow before the power of Lady Nephthys, but their goals, interests, and desires are all different."

Aaron nodded in agreement.

"The four great kingdoms and the seventeen powers, all forcibly bound together in the Dark Alliance. They’re all sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. The whole system is inherently unstable."

"The Pope who built the Holy Federation on the foundation of religion was clever. Of course, they have their own problems with heresy trials and what not... but my point is."

Grelion put a hand on his chin.

"It wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen to the students. A natural disaster could strike, someone could incite the monsters to head this way, or assassins could come directly."

"Hm..."

"We have to prepare for that and overcome it."

Aaron nodded.

"I will contact headquarters. It will be difficult for the Gahalic tribe, but I’ll request permission for a teleportation magic circle to return to Kizen..."

"Back when Kalos sent those one hundred assassins," Grelion said with a grin. "I killed seventy of them, some students wandering nearby killed ten, and the crown prince killed the remaining twenty by himself."

"Ah..."

"Act like you’re from Kizen. We came here under its banner, which means we can’t just abandon these civilians. If you want to keep your job, don’t take your eyes off the students. And."

Grelion took out a new briefcase and attached it to his body.

"Trust the students you’ve taught."

---

Panting, Simon ran frantically along the wall. He had already reinforced two more critical areas.

—President! Sorry, but can you come to Squad 11 too?

"On my way!"

Simon said into the communication crystal, then switched to another and shouted.

"Toto!"

—Yeah! You can jump now!

Hearing that, Simon kicked off the wall and leaped toward the inside of the fortress. His body plummeted toward the ground.

With a great rumble, Toto’s Death Worm burst from the earth and swallowed Simon whole. The worm then shot through the ground at high speed.

—I can get you to the other side of the wall in five minutes.

"Thanks."

Toto’s summon was useful in many ways. Except for the slight smell.

Simon erected a Jet-Black barrier to keep the saliva off him and prepared for the next fight.

But as he rode inside the Death Worm, Simon’s expression froze. "What was that?"

’That wasn’t the Death Worm. I felt a strange vibration deep underground.’