Chapter 209: The Owner of Tecas (3)

The air was thick with heat, smoke, and flames. Acrid fumes soon consumed the fog and spread like a black cloud. Amidst the rising infernos, panicked citizens burst out onto the streets.

"Fi-fire!"

A city of Harthol's size naturally had some level of fire response measures in place. Moreover, with numerous merchant guilds gathering there for trade, the city housed plenty of seasoned warriors and mages.

"Cover your mouths with damp cloths!"

"Fetch water, quickly!"

The scrambling townsfolk rushed toward the wells. Meanwhile, warriors desperately hacked apart burning buildings to stop the fire from spreading.

"Bring it down! We can't let it reach the other blocks!"

The mages, too, lent their strength through destructive spells. Their initial plan was to use water magic to snuff out the fires, but the dry air made it impossible.

One of the townsfolk shouted, "Can't you make it rain, mage?!"

The exasperated mage snapped back, "If I could do that, do you think I'd still be living here?!"

A large-scale climate manipulation spell required an eighth circle mage or higher, and such an overwhelmingly powerful spell was far beyond their capabilities. Most of the mages present were third or fourth circle, nowhere strong near enough to pull off such a feat. Despite their frantic efforts, the fire was spreading faster than they could control it.

A merchant scowled.

Damn it. There's no way this fire started by accident.

A normal fire wouldn't have spread this quickly across multiple locations.

I’m certain of it. Someone did this on purpose.

Even so, if they kept fighting the flames, they could eventually suppress the fire, that is, if not for the horrifying creatures that were emerging from the smoke-filled alleys. A horde of zombies, ghouls, and skeletons spilled out from every direction.

The townspeople gasped in horror.

"Un-undead!"

"Why are the undead here...?!"

Even as the fires raged around them, the undead showed no hesitation. Whether their rotting bodies caught fire or not, they didn't care. They simply charged forward, overwhelming the warriors and mages who were desperately trying to contain the flames.

"Shit!"

"Was this the work of a necromancer?!"

The people of Harthol were battle-hardened, many having seen their fair share of conflict. Had they been given time to prepare, they might have stood a chance. But this was the dead of night. They had no weapons in hand, and they were barely even dressed. Choking on thick smoke and suffocated by the searing heat, there was no way they could put up a proper fight. Agonized screams echoed through the burning streets.

***

Several blocks away from the Tecas manor, atop the roof of a two-story building, a group of necromancers observed the unfolding chaos.

Watching the crimson-stained night, Waraine, a bishop of the Black God, smirked with satisfaction. "

Heh heh

... It's going well."

The city had become a blazing hellscape, and countless innocents were dying in the flames. But that wasn't the true objective. This horrific disaster had one primary purpose: To keep Karnak and his group trapped inside the Tecas manor.

They already knew that Karnak was exceptionally adept at countering dark magic. Through their investigations, they had even discovered that he was responsible for the dissemination of magic specialized in countering necromancy, including Redeemer of Necromancy. Thus, Jedex had given specific orders.

—Don’t use any necromantic domains. Start a fire instead to serve the same purpose.

—As for the undead forces, only deploy zombies and ghouls, creatures that overwhelm with sheer numbers. Do not use high-level spirits or demons. He might turn one or two strong summons against us, but he won’t be able to take control of hundreds of mindless corpses.

At a glance, unleashing an undead army amidst a raging inferno might seem counterproductive. After all, it was commonly believed that undead were weak to fire. In fact, adventurers often used flames to dispose of them. However, that was a misconception.

But in truth, the undead weren't weak to fire. They were weak to the sun. Fire itself wasn't a natural weakness of the undead. A living person burned just as easily in the flames, didn't they? Fire was equally effective and terrifying for all creatures.

In truth, the undead actually had the advantage in the midst of an inferno. Unlike the living, they didn't need to breathe, so they wouldn't choke on smoke. They also felt no pain, meaning they could continue moving even while on fire.

This was the perfect battlefield for the necromancers, and indeed, historically, burning down villages and driving in hordes of undead had always been a classic necromancer strategy.

"But I fail to see why we need to be this cautious," Waraine remarked, his tone laced with skepticism. "Genius or not, he's still just a young man in his twenties, barely a seventh circle mage."

One of his subordinate necromancers hesitated before speaking cautiously. "But we can't be certain, sir. There are rumors that he defeated archlich Maloka..."

Waraine snorted. "That wasn't his doing alone, was it?"

At the time, Maloka had faced the Zestrad Reclamation Army, and Karnak had hardly been the only powerhouse among them. There was Erantel, a purple-tier aura user, Theoderic, an eighth circle mage, and even Alius, a high inquisitor of Hatoba.

It was obvious that Karnak had relied on their strength to scrape out a victory. Still, whether or not the caution was warranted didn't matter. As long as the results were good, there was no reason to complain.

"They will be good," one of the subordinates said with certainty.

"Those self-righteous dogs of the Kings' Order won't have any choice."

The other necromancers chuckled darkly. They could already picture Karnak's party floundering in the inferno, struggling through the flames. Of course, there were countless innocent lives being lost in the process, but that was irrelevant.

"They were never blessed by Tesranach."

"Whether they die later or now, what difference does it make?"

Not a single one of them flinched at the atrocities they were committing. Calmly, methodically, they continued their necromantic rites.

"Go forth, slaves of death."

A dark aura seeped into the black smoke, spreading unseen through the night.

"Drown the living in chaos, and make them kneel before our god."

***

The corridor burned red with fire. Through the searing flames, a blue aura burst forth. Once the chain blade shattered the thick wooden door into splinters, a violent surge of flames exploded outward and swallowed Karnak’s group.

Karnak instantly threw up a shielding spell and protected his companions.He clicked his tongue in irritation. "Be more careful, Varos!"

The moment the door had been broken, a backdraft had kicked in, intensifying the fire.

Varos wiped sweat from his brow as he took a step back. "

Uh

... so just cutting through isn't enough, huh?"

The fire itself wasn't the real problem. Every single one of them—Karnak's entire party—was a powerful mage or aura user. With their magic and aura shielding, they could simply hold their breath and bulldoze their way through, smashing everything in their path until they reached safety. That is—if they weren't carrying two or three grown men each.

By the time the fire had broken out, ten unconscious guards had already been lying sprawled across the second-floor corridor. And Lapicel simply couldn't leave them behind.

—We have to save them!

Karnak had been completely baffled.

—If we try to save them, we'll just end up in danger ourselves.

But Lapicel—who trusted Karnak completely—only smiled.

—You don't have to test me, Karnak. I may be young, but I do know what's important.

Her eyes gleamed with unwavering conviction. It was clear from her gaze that she never, not for a moment, believed that Karnak would abandon innocent people in the fire. Even Karnak, as brazen as he was, couldn't meet those eyes and say, "Who cares if they live or die? I'll just leave them behind and save myself."

And so, they ended up carrying every single guard as they made their escape.

So that's why they left ten guards behind...

Scanning the burning halls, Karnak sighed internally.

The guards weren't placed there to protect the mansion. They were meant to be deadweight. It was a sensible plan for the Black God’s Cult. Karnak was known as a righteous hero to the world, so they must have judged he wouldn’t ignore innocent people dying before his eyes. Naturally, it was a ludicrous miscalculation, but in the end, it had worked.

The world truly is full of irony.

Even the cultists themselves probably hadn't expected the guards to be this effective at fulfilling their role. At most, they had likely assumed Karnak's group would rescue a few survivors while escaping through the flames.

But instead, every single one of the guards had ended up with a magic needle in their skulls, turning them into actual dead weight.

Damn it. I should be more careful about when I use those needles...

Meanwhile, the Tecas manor continued to burn uncontrollably. Surveying the growing flames, Karnak narrowed his eyes. Since they had to carry the mansion guards with them, charging through the flames was impossible. In the end, they had to read the heat and find an appropriate route...

"Where do we go?"

There was no way to tell.

Serati looked puzzled.

—Wait, why are you acting like this is your first time? Didn't you say this kind of thing happened often?

Varos frowned.

—Well, it did happen often, but we were the ones setting the fires.

They had never actually been caught in one themselves.

Serati understood immediately.

Right, they were the villains, weren’t they?

If they had been Karnak's enemies, they would have been humanity's heroes. And heroes wouldn't have come up with the monstrous idea of setting an entire city ablaze.

Leven took a steady breath and also frowned. "This is troublesome. This is my first time dealing with a fire too..."

Leven and Serati had their fair share of experience, but at the end of the day, they were only in their early to mid-twenties. Fires weren't exactly a frequent occurrence in life. Just as the group was caught in confusion, an unexpected savior appeared.

"This way!" Lapicel, who had been calmly scanning their surroundings, suddenly pointed down a hallway.

Despite her small frame, she carried two grown men on her back, leaping swiftly over debris. Even as she weaved through the searing heat, the flames didn't spread to those she carried.

Right... Karnak had indeed set countless fires in his time. And the victims of his fires were usually none other than Lapicel herself. Even if she didn't consciously remember, her body instinctively memorized how she had dealt with such fires.

"Well done, Lapicel!"

"We're alive!"

Overjoyed, the others followed her lead, throwing themselves forward.

Through the flickering flames, Lapicel kept guiding the way. "This way!"

At last, the entire group made it out of the Tecas manor. Behind them, a deafening roar erupted as the building collapsed, scattering embers in all directions.

But it wasn't over yet. Before they could even catch their breath, an overwhelming sight filled their vision. A massive army of the undead had appeared before them.

The streets and alleyways outside the mansion were already crawling with zombies and ghouls. Carrying people on their backs while fighting wasn't an option, so Karnak's group carefully set the unconscious guards down.

But leaving them behind would mean serving them up as zombie food after all the trouble they went through to save them.

Lapicel drew her sword, determination burning in her eyes. "We'll have to wipe them all out."

The others followed suit, unsheathing their blades.

Leven turned to Karnak. "When will these guards wake up?"

"In about ten minutes," answered Karnak.

"Then we just have to hold out until they can run on their own."

A swarm of zombies locked onto them, closing in from all sides.

Varos murmured as he infused his blade with aura.

—This feels awkward. It's not something I usually do.

Karnak replied through telepathy, letting out a bitter smirk.

—Same here. Who would've thought I'd see the day where I protected humans that had nothing to do with me?