Karnak, Monarch of Death

There was more than one village where the serfs had escaped from. The stationed undead were being attacked in multiple locations across the Zestrad Barony.

Upon receiving the reports, Maloka frowned in confusion. ”If they’re prioritizing rescuing the villagers, why haven’t we detected any movement from their army?”

”It’s because they split off into small rescue teams of about twenty people each. Their numbers were too small to stand out.”

That only made things more perplexing.

”They deliberately divided their forces and infiltrated enemy territory? Even if they’re trying to save people, would they really take such a reckless risk?”

It was sheer folly. What would they do if he simply stationed more undead forces in each village? At this rate, they were walking straight into the lion’s den.

Maloka pondered for a moment before shrugging. ”Well, it’s not my problem.”

Taking such risks was their concern. His job was simply to wipe them out.

”Send our own special units to each village. Kill the rescuers first, then raise them as undead. No need to sacrifice valuable serfs.”

”Understood.”

The necromancers bowed their heads. They were just about to carry out the order before hesitating.

Wait. Each village?

Only then did the necromancers realize that this was an impossible command to fulfill. The undead army had a critical weakness. Zestrad’s territory lay in the harsh northern lands. The population was sparse compared to the size of the land, with most of the serfs scattered across vast distances.

Including the main town below the lord’s estate, there were four large villages and as many as eleven smaller settlements.

”But at most, we can only divide into two separate units.”

***

”What’s the use of having thousands of undead soldiers?” Karnak scoffed. ”They only have four or five necromancers to command them.”

A human army had a complex command structure. There were commanders, then battalion commanders, then company commanders, and squad leaders beneath them. This hierarchy allowed for seamless division of troops into special units as needed.

But Maloka’s undead army was different. At the top was Maloka himself, followed by his necromancers. Below them were the undead soldiers.

There were just two levels of command. And due to the nature of necromantic magic, zombies and skeletons could not properly function in battle without direct control from a necromancer.

”That’s why an undead army can’t split its forces as easily as a human army can.”

Everything depended on the number of necromancers in charge. Even if they had thousands of soldiers, one necromancer meant one effective army. Two necromancers meant two separate groups.

”They can’t break their troops into ten units of a few hundred soldiers like a human army can.”

And even that was a theoretical consideration. The reality was far more restrictive. Even with five necromancers, they couldn’t actually form five separate units.

”The risk is too great. If even one necromancer is killed, an entire unit collapses instantly.”

For an undead force to be stable, each unit needed at least two, ideally three, necromancers in charge.

”Right now, Maloka can only deploy at most two special units. If he tries to divide them any further, he’ll leave too many gaps in his defenses.”

”I see,” Serati nodded in understanding. Then, she hesitated. ”But some of their undead soldiers seem capable of moving on their own, don’t they?”

After all, the zombies and skeletons stationed throughout Zestrad weren’t actively controlled by necromancers. They simply followed pre-given commands.

”Can’t they just increase their numbers?” she asked him.

At the moment, only about twenty undead soldiers were stationed per village, making them easy prey for the rescue teams. But what if each village had over a hundred undead instead? Even without necromancers controlling them, wouldn’t sheer numbers be enough to overwhelm the rescue teams?

”I used to think that way too.” Karnak let out a bitter smile. ”That was before I fell for Lapicel’s trick.”

Pre-programming undead soldiers with orders and letting them fight automatically? Simply increasing their numbers? It was certainly possible.

”But that’s where the second major weakness of an undead army comes into play.”

***

There was a small village on the western outskirts of the Zestrad Barony, consisting of about ten households. A member of the rescue team observed the situation in the village while hiding in the nearby forest.

He clicked his tongue in disbelief. ”The numbers are overwhelming.”

Fully armed zombies and skeleton soldiers patrolled the area. Their numbers reached nearly a hundred. Even if there weren’t necromancers directly controlling the necromancer, leading to simple movements, the sheer difference in numbers made victory impossible. Under normal circumstances, the logical decision would have been to abandon the attempt and retreat/

”I see.” Instead, Sir Boel, the leader of the rescue team, smiled. ”It’s just as Lord Karnak predicted.”

Before they had even set out, they had been warned that something like this might happen. They had also prepared a countermeasure for precisely this situation.

”In that case, this tactic should work just fine.” Boel signaled to his men. ”Move out!”

Twenty rescue team members emerged from the forest, charging straight at the group of zombies guarding the outskirts of the village. The zombies, having detected outsiders, immediately raised their spears and blades. Their orders were simple: prevent the locals from leaving and kill any outsiders on sight.

As commanded, the zombies rushed forward, but it was the rescue team that dominated the battlefield.

”Where do you think you’re going?!”

”You think we’d lose to these sluggish brutes?”

”Haah!”

The zombies fought with nothing but rigid, predictable movements, mindlessly swinging their weapons. The rescue team, on the other hand, fought with seasoned skill. They dodged, attacked, and retreated with precision.

Before long, most of the nearby zombies had been smashed apart, their remains scattered across the ground. But that alone didn’t mean they had won. The commotion had drawn the attention of the other undead soldiers patrolling the village.

”Grrrr...”

”Krrraaah...”

Ghouls and skeleton soldiers began pouring in from all directions, forming a tightening encirclement.

Boel quickly assessed the situation.

Is it time to fall back?

If they were completely surrounded, they would be doomed. They needed to retreat while they still had the chance.

Boel shouted, ”Fall back, now!”

As if they had been waiting for the order, the soldiers immediately dashed in a single direction. But it wasn’t toward the forest. Instead, they ran deeper into Tievaux Village, straight into enemy territory.

To any experienced tactician, it would have looked like they had lost their minds. What kind of soldiers would charge directly into the enemy stronghold when ordered to flee? Naturally, the undead pursued them.

”Graaaah!”

The rescue team barreled into a shabby barn, breaking down the door and rushing inside. The undead soldiers encircled the structure, preparing for the final strike. Two skeleton soldiers at the front raised their shields and charged into the barn.

And then, they stopped. The rescue team’s appearance had changed. Their weapons had been hidden away somewhere. Their armor had been concealed beneath ragged robes. They now looked like nothing more than ordinary peasants. The disguised soldiers stared at the skeletons.

Will this really work?

Is this actually going to fool them?

Cold sweat ran down Boel’s back. Then, a bizarre scene unfolded before his eyes. After scanning their surroundings, the skeleton soldiers slowly lowered their shields. Then, without another glance, they turned around and walked back outside.

The same thing happened with the other undead. After a brief moment of vigilance, they all returned to their original patrol positions. Their orders had been clear: prevent the locals from leaving, and kill outsiders.

But now, there were no outsiders in sight. The humans in the barn were unarmed, dressed like peasants, and standing inside the village. By all logic, they were now locals.

The rescue team waited patiently until all the undead had returned to their posts. Then, they stepped out of the barn.

And next? They drew their hidden weapons and launched another ambush.

”Crush them all!”

”Haaaah!”

The battle played out like a broken record. They could take down about twenty undead before the rest came rushing back. Before they could suffer losses, they would retreat, hide, and disguise themselves again.

And each time, the undead, failing to recognize them, would return to their original patrol routes. After repeating this process a few times, they had completely wiped out over a hundred undead soldiers.

As he stared at the piles of shattered undead remains, Boel muttered in disbelief. ”Unbelievable... I can’t believe that actually worked.”

***

For a necromancer to indirectly control undead soldiers, they had to pre-program their orders in advance. And for Karnak, figuring out what those orders were wasn’t difficult in the slightest. Just observing how they moved from a distance was enough to make a guess.

Even the future Lapicel had been able to do this, so for the former Monarch of Death, it was practically child’s play. After deciphering the commands, he passed on countermeasures to each of the reclamation army’s rescue teams.

If they sensed danger, they were to throw on their robes and disguise themselves as locals. Of course, in a battle between humans, such a trick would have been completely useless. No human in their right mind would fail to recognize an enemy just because they had changed clothes.

But undead were different. They had no reasoning ability. They were merely puppets, acting according to the instructions they had been given.

Recalling the past, Karnak shook his head. ”This is exactly why I used to go out of my way to recruit undead creatures with free will. Zombies and skeletons alone have too many limitations.”

Take Serati, for example. If he had turned her into a mindless puppet that obeyed without question, she wouldn’t be standing next to him now, offering him advice.

”Thanks to that, I’ve grown into such a well-adjusted person.” Karnak sounded pleased with himself.

Serati and Varos, however, exchanged rather complicated expressions.

—Does he actually think he’s living like a normal person?

—Just let him enjoy the moment.

”You know I can hear you even if you say that magically, right?”

Regardless, Karnak’s attempt at following in Lapicel’s footsteps had produced impressive results. In just three days, they had rescued nearly half of the serfs.

Glancing toward the barracks where the freed villagers were gathered, Leven asked, ”So what happens now? Will Maloka become enraged and charge out of his stronghold?”

”This much won’t be enough.”

Everything up to this point had been about shaking Maloka’s base of operations. To lure him out, they needed a different approach.

”So far, all we’ve done is imitate what Lapicel did.” Karnak turned to Leven with a look of anticipation. ”Now, we’re going to do something Lapicel would actually do.”