Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 222 Power Struggles Under the Haze: The Fury of the Molten City Lord

The sky over the land of exile seems to be forever shrouded in an indelible haze.

According to legend, the magic arrays deep in the valley that draw on dark energy, or negative energy, are naturally designed to dispel light and create mist, protecting this paradise of the dead and a forbidden zone for the living.

This is similar to the legendary holy land of necromancers from long ago, which also possesses the legendary technology of the "Dark Curtain" that blocks all prying eyes.

When Chen Mo first heard about it, he was quite curious and wondered if radar could penetrate it!

Now, because of this earth-shattering accident, everyone in the Exile is shrouded in a thick gloom.

With their own agendas, the mages of the "Witch's Ring" had to face reality. They summoned a large number of undead creatures to begin clearing the ruins of the council hall.

Unfortunately, despite turning the entire building upside down, not a single trace of the "tomb keeper" could be found, and even his attendants and followers had vanished without a trace.

In theory, this situation cannot be considered death, but only "missing"!
This constitutes a new and big problem.

The Land of Exile cannot be considered a standard official institution. Compared to Earth, it is at best a spontaneously formed small industry association, or an unsupervised mountain temple.

Its main management model relies heavily on "rule by man" rather than "rule of law"!
Not to mention that there is no "law" in many fields at all. Even if there is, if a subordinate holds the "law", he can't even control a temple manager who doesn't know martial arts. How can he be expected to control a powerful first-class professional?
So, when there is no law to follow, the person is gone, and there is no superior management department to consult, the internal situation will inevitably descend into chaos.

The die-hards, conservatives, neutrals, radicals, collaborators, open-mindeds... each has their own opinions and ideas.

In this situation, interests become the core bond between certain factions.

The staunch supporters of the original "gravekeeper" can be roughly seen as a group of "royalists" who, together with other die-hard conservatives, formed the largest group in terms of influence.

This group, led by a sorcerer named "Bone Shatterer," appointed the grandson of the original "grave keeper" as the new "temporary grave keeper," raising the banner of investigating the real culprit in an attempt to seize full control of power.

The mage, 【Bonebreaker】, cried out from the magic tower that served as a makeshift meeting place: "This is murder by the enemy, a shameless attack, and an evil provocation against the Land of Exile!"

"We must investigate this thoroughly and never let the murderer get away with it!"

"Let the blood of the attackers wash away the shame of my land of exile!"

The slogans were shouted so loudly they shook the heavens!
While having a loud voice isn't always useful, at this stage, other factions have chosen to remain silent or speak out less for various reasons, allowing these vocal individuals to gain a degree of control over public opinion.

Soon, an investigation team led by several of the most senior assessment mages began a comprehensive search from outside the valley to inside. They used all available means, including but not limited to interviewing witnesses, detecting traces of magic, interrogating guards at each level, and interviewing undead creatures that patrolled at night.

Of these, the most useful and the least useful is visiting undead creatures. They are useful because these creatures neither sleep nor lie, and the surveillance range is not only completely uninterrupted but also entirely reliable.

It was useless because the undead sentinels stationed around the council hall of the "Witch's Ring" didn't see anything.

There were none of the physical movements, footprints, climbing marks, spatial fluctuations from magical teleportation, remnants of flying creatures, or elemental anomalies.

Seeing that the investigation was yielding no results, the [Bone-Shattering] mage steeled himself and decided to abandon the evidence and focus on suspicion!
"The absence of evidence is itself a form of evidence, demonstrating that the enemy's strength is greater than we imagined."

"In all this time, who else, besides that lord, has been the powerful force that has visited our land of exile?"

"What a coincidence! Right after the 'Gravekeeper' rejected his absurd request, an accident occurred in the Land of Exile, which had been peaceful for hundreds of years. Who else could it be but him?"

Facing the bewildered council members, the [Bone Crusher] mage let out a roar, beginning to reinforce his logical chain with speculation.

"He has a high-level summoner with him, perhaps summoning a monster we can't detect from some powerful evil god!"

"He also has a high-ranking swordsman follower, who might possess some kind of stealth technique or tool that allows him to disappear and return, embedding himself in the valley!"

“Yes!” [Bone Shatterer] became more and more certain as he spoke, feeling that he was almost convinced by himself: “Items, he has many expensive items, among which there may be some high-level fire-type scrolls that can be used secretly, which his subordinates secretly delivered to the residence of the ‘Gravekeeper’ Venerable!”

"It must be like this!"

Faced with this guy's wildly imagined conclusions, Night Whisper, as the last vestige of rationality, couldn't stand it any longer and stood up to say, "Without real evidence, one shouldn't suspect a lord like this."

【Bone Shatterer】quickly and cleverly pinned a big label on 【Night Whisperer】.

In terms of talent, he might not be able to compare with [Night Whisper], but in terms of power struggles, [Night Whisper] couldn't catch up with him even riding a nightmare.

"I regret to inform you, [Night Whisper], that as someone who has consistently disobeyed the instructions of the 'Gravekeeper' and maintained overly close ties with that lord, you are also a suspect."

"We suspect that it was because of an inside agent that the enemy was able to deceive all the guards and successfully infiltrate the valley to carry out the sneak attack!"

"Therefore, during this period, not only you, but also other mages who have had close contact with that lord, must return to their mage towers or manors and are prohibited from going out, pending the investigation results!"

As she spoke, [Bonebreaker] gently pinched the young boy who had been forcibly placed on the throne of the "temporary gravedigger." The child burst into tears, instantly silencing any voices that tried to defend [Night Whisper].

However, [Rotten Sac], because he initially strongly opposed the cooperation, and later complained to [Night Whisper] several times in private, became one of the people [Broken Bones] tried to win over.

Of course, while [Rotten Sac] expressed its loyalty to the young leader, it immediately sent a secret letter to Lord Chen Mo overnight.

After all, in this greedy fat man's mind, even when the "gravekeeper" was alive, he might not have been able to defeat this young lord. Now that the "gravekeeper" has become a baby, what can you old fogies do?

Stop it!
In private, [Rotten Bag] talked to his close friend: "Ha, these guys have really lost their minds. The lord has already left, but they are still not letting it go. Let me tell you, they are really courting death."

"If divine punishment can punish the 'gravekeeper,' why can't it punish you with 'shattered bones'?"

"Let him do whatever he wants, we'll just wait!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The neutral and cooperative mages returned to their respective magic towers and closed their doors to visitors. The die-hards took complete control of the situation. However, that was how things were. Since they had come to power under the pretext of avenging the Venerable One, they had to push this matter forward and give an explanation.

Driven by self-interest, the diehards dispatched a team led by [Bonebreaker] to Molten City to demand an explanation. Of course, the Exiles remained extremely respectful to the Lord of Silver City.

Offering generous gifts, recounting the whole story, and clarifying their position, [Bonebreaker] made a earnest request.

"Your Excellency Lord Baroque, the Land of Exile has served the Duchy diligently for so many years, yet it is now being so humiliated by an outsider. We beg Your Excellency to uphold justice for us!"

Upon hearing this, the Baroque City Lord's face darkened to the point of being dripping with gloom.

In contrast to that desolate land bathed in the sky yet shrouded in mist year-round, the main hall of this city, located deep within a volcanic lava field, truly deserves the description of magnificence, its brightness dazzling.

The brightly lit wall lamps, from the outside to the inside, surround the hall. The slowly flowing river of lava and the dome covered with shimmering fluorite, like a curtain of light, are enough to make everyone forget that they are in the dark belly of a mountain and feel as if they are in a world of light.

There are several huge supporting pillars in the hall, each requiring at least three people to encircle. It's understandable that the pillars are thick, given that they also serve to prevent collapse, since they are located inside a pit in the mountain.

These supporting pillars look like stone, but they are actually cast metal. The surface is deliberately decorated to resemble stone pillars, and the pillars are carved with intricate reliefs, telling the glorious legend of the Molten City and the Baroque family as always.

On the high platform between the two supporting pillars, the city lord's throne was placed, and the dazzling light around it made everyone who looked up at the throne feel like they couldn't open their eyes.

The officials of all ranks in the Molten City, seated on the left and right flanks, kept their heads bowed, not daring to look at their city lord's face. After all, just two days ago, this man had loudly proclaimed at the grand ceremony: "This is one of the kindest and most generous lords I have ever met. You should treat him as my own brother!"

Now, the city lord's "brother" has been accused of being a "despicable attacker" and a "shameless murderer"!
After a long, deathly silence, the Lord of Baroque City finally spoke, asking, "What kind of justice do you want?"

"We implore you, Lord City Lord, to hand over this criminal to us. We want to put him to trial before the wise men of the Land of Exile!"

"What evidence do you have for your accusations against Lord Chen Mo?"

"Of course, we would never dare to slander a lord so easily!"

[Bone Shatterer] was clearly well-prepared. He vividly recounted the series of events that had occurred in the Land of Exile, providing a thorough analysis and reasoning regarding Chen Mo's obstructed cooperation, assassination attempt, and intentional revenge.

Finally, he even produced a piece of solid evidence.

“This guard of mine saw that swordsman under this lord’s command outside the valley the day before the attack on the ‘Gravekeeper’s’ experimental field!”

That's right, they just found someone to give false testimony.

[Bone Shatterer] and the mages around him studied it for a long time. If they relied solely on guesswork without any evidence, they would probably find it difficult to gain the support of the Lord of Baroque City.

However, they were hesitant to directly implicate Chen Mo, as there were significant loopholes in the plot. After much discussion, they decided to target the young girl next to Chen Mo instead.

Given the distance from Molten City to the Land of Exile, it makes perfect sense that a greatswordsman could make a round trip in a single night!

Then, [Bone Shatterer] heard the Baroque City Lord turn to Chen Mo, who was sitting next to him, and utter a title that made Chen Mo's face turn pale.

"My brother!"

"You were also assassinated in the Valley of Exile? Why didn't you tell me about that?"

Chen Mo smiled shyly: "It's nothing serious, I couldn't possibly bother you."

"Besides, I think it's not easy for them to maintain the necromancer tradition for so many years..."

"You're just too kind!"

Lord Baroque slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne, letting out a deep sigh. He then glanced sideways at the now bloodless [Bonebreaker], turned to face a knight in gleaming armor on his left, and squeezed out a question through gritted teeth.

“General Hansen, from what they’ve said, just a few days ago, my brother’s entourage left Molten City without prior notice to assassinate the ‘Gravekeeper’ of the Exile, and you didn’t report it at all.”

"Were your subordinates too stupid to notice, or did you deliberately conceal the fact and fail to report it?"

The knight, known as Hansen, had a broad face that was now contorted in pain.

The army of Molten City was directly appointed by the Silver Duke, so this general was theoretically free to disobey the orders of the Lord of Baroque City, but that did not mean he could remain indifferent to such a serious crime.

Hansen quickly exchanged a few words with his lieutenant, then stood up, walked to the center of the hall, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a booming voice.

"Your Excellency, I swear in the name of the Silver King that my troops have always guarded the safety of Molten City without the slightest slackening!"

"These damned skeleton mages are a blatant slander against my loyal Silver Soldiers!"

"The gods bear witness!"

Hansen was so certain because the City of Molten Fire was truly unique. There was only one main road spiraling upwards from the city. Once the entrance to the outer city was blocked, no one inside could leave, and no one outside could enter.

Not to mention that the Silver Duchy has always spent lavishly on city defense arrays and items.

General Hansen just confirmed with his deputy that on the very evening the exiled mage accused them, Lord Chen Mo and all his followers attended the city lord's banquet, and by the time the banquet ended, the city would have been locked down.

Let alone a fifth-tier greatswordsman, even a seventh-tier assassin of the stealth class wouldn't be able to leave this Molten City without causing a massive earthquake.

General Hansen was already exuding a murderous aura.

It's one thing to slander others, but to slander me is to ruin my future!

In some cases, this is an act even worse than cutting off someone's livelihood or killing their parents!

The officers of the Molten City's defense forces narrowed their eyes.

(End of this chapter)