Rise of the Supreme Necromancer-Chapter 58: They Are Just Meat

"We have killed all whom we could reach before they ran away, Master Fenn," Samuel reported half an hour later. "A large part of the crowd had run away and spread over the city. Should we search for these people?"

His armor was almost entirely painted with red blood.

The entire street was painted with it. When Aleric walked, it squished under his boots. The blood poured into the ditches and dripped off the corpses that zombies were putting into corpse carts.

If any citizen was there to look at the site of the massacre, they would’ve vomited immediately just from the thick stench of blood alone. However, after the countless human sacrifices he made, Aleric barely noticed it.

"No, let them be," Aleric said. "I’m sure this day will be a good enough lesson for them. And if not, they are just giving me more opportunities for corpse-gathering by attacking me."

"So merciful of you, Master Fenn," Danit said, shaking his head. "A riot against their lord! I know people who would’ve hanged them all for this."

Aleric shrugged.

"All of them are just... Meat. I need more powerful servants, ones like Samuel and my ghost. Maybe you, Danit..."

Danit stood straighter. Like Samuel’s, his armor was bloody all over. But it wasn’t a full plate: besides cuirass, helmet, boots, and a few other parts, most of his body was covered only by mail armor.

"...Why aren’t you wearing plate armor, too?"

Danit’s shoulders fell. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"The knights of house Arstain have all fallen in battle against the barbarians during the Orchards War, and their armor was taken... And since then, my father and I have always had other things to spend money on."

Aleric scowled.

"Just clean up the street. And then wash it. And make heralds bring everybody in this city that this is what happens when someone goes against me."

***

Back in Castle Arstain, Aleric secluded himself in the dungeons. Not only was this the quietest place, it was also near all the human sacrifices. The ambient Dark energy here also made it the most comfortable place for Aleric. He would even move his bedroom here if these rooms weren’t so small.

His ghost was floating in front of him. Despite a hole in its chest, the spells binding its soul were still holding.

Aleric raised the Spine Staff and channeled Dark energy through the leash. Slowly and carefully, he weaved it just as when he first bound the ghost to his will.

Little by little, the hole in the ghost’s chest decreased in size. Ten minutes later, the ghost’s entire body was glowing evenly with Dark energy, the same as before.

Aleric let out a long breath.

The process took only a small part of his mana, but he had to be extremely careful not to let go of the leash while also fixing it.

"There really are a lot of downsides to keeping ghosts bound to myself," Aleric mused. "Not only do I share its pain, but fixing it is like trying to stitch my own wound."

"You have dealt with both problems, master. I’m sure you can find an item that will fit the ghost’s soul, too!"

"But where? Artifacts of this power don’t grow on trees! Even holy water and the Holy Star amulets aren’t owned by every templar, and they are one-use items." Aleric paused. "Hm. Holy Star amulets became Tarnished Star amulets... Oh, I just had an idea where to get the artifact I need!"

***

It took an entire hour to find the storage where the item was lying and deliver it to the dungeons. Not because it was far away, but because it was buried so deep among all the supplies.

"I can’t believe I have almost forgotten that I had this thing in the first place," Aleric muttered to himself, carefully unwrapping the cloth around Samuel’s blessed sword. "Even if it was useless to me."

The sword was long, with a straight and silvered edge as sharp as a razor. Its handle was decorated with a holy star symbol and golden embellishments. Holy runes were engraved down the sword’s length.

But more important was the magic coming from inside. The power of Light inside the sword was so strong that Aleric’s hands hurt if he just touched the handle. If an undead tried to hold it, even in gloves, its hands would gradually melt. If an undead was struck by it, a single strike would destroy the Dark magic within.

Looking at the sword, Aleric remembered how he asked Samuel about it and similar artifacts in the hands of his enemies...

***

"The blessed sword is a second rank permanent artifact. Unlike one-use artifacts, if it spends a part of its power, it can recover it through the faith and prayer of its owner. A sword like this one costs like a fourth of Oakdale. Artifacts like this are usually given names, but mine doesn’t have it—its smith, Master Irvain, considers naming artifacts too frivolous, and I respected his wishes."

"Are these artifacts so hard to make, Samuel? Tarnished Star amulets only require certain ingredients..."

"The knowledge of making permanent artifacts is extremely rare. Master Irvain is the only artifact smith who can make these blessed swords in the entire Aleshat, for example. Although many more people can enchant one-use artifacts."

"I see... So the knowledge of Spine Staff is an even larger advantage than I thought."

"Yes. If the things it brags about are true, then it’s truly invaluable, master."

***

Returning to the present, Aleric turned toward Spine Staff, which was currently carried by a zombie slave standing nearby to free Aleric’s hands.

"Spine Staff... Look at this. You have taught me already that magical items can be cleansed of their original magic and put to different uses. Do you think even this magic can be cleansed?"

"Definitely, master. But... Forgive me, this isn’t my area of knowledge! To turn an item full of Light to Dark—this sounds like something from the school of Curses."

"Then I will have to manage on my own. Well, except for just a bit of your help..."