Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 506 Each Returns Home: The Battle of the Eternal Swamp is in Full Swing

As the countdown gradually began, the expeditionary force from the Starry World withdrew one by one, and the Dongxia delegation's trip finally came to an end.

Anthony stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel arranged for him by the Science and Technology Research Institute, gazing at the lights of Dongxia City in the distance, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold in his hand.

Outside the window, on the overpass, the traffic flowed like a long, colorful river—a sight he could never see from the tower of the Magic Academy.

He didn't want to go back.

I really don't want to.

Anthony was a highly respected master in the Magic Academy, but there, status and strength were an insurmountable boundary.

To put it bluntly, although everyone in the association respects him as a five-ring scholar, they will not and cannot show him more respect than they would to a six-ring scholar.

However, the Eastern Xia was different.

The gap in status still exists, but here, as long as you are highly skilled and make significant contributions, you are truly above all social classes.

What makes Anthony Herik stand here? Because he created the original device for amplifying psionic energy with electrical power. For this one achievement, he ascended to a position of immense power, rising from a complete outsider with no connection to Dongxia to a senior academician in Dongxia.

Engineers of all ages surrounded him, their eyes shining with admiration, not because of his title or his professional rank, but because of what was in his mind.

This feeling was incredibly comfortable for Anthony, who had a strong confidence in his skills.

However, there's no way around it; the passage between the two realms isn't truly open. Any living being left in a dimension that doesn't belong to them risks being rejected, severely injured, or even killed.

Therefore, Anthony could only leave sadly after a group of people bid him farewell with reluctance and repeated farewells, saying "Teacher, come again next time."

Like Anthony, there was also the old dwarf Norton.

The sheer variety of equipment that Dongxia brought over and placed in a large hall was actually a rather pointless act.

These devices are not interconnected upstream and downstream; many are designed for completely different processing and usage scenarios, and each has its own environmental requirements—some require constant temperature, some require vibration protection, and some require a dust-free environment…

As a result, the technical department had to spend a lot of money to isolate these dozen or so areas with transparent, heat-insulating, and dustproof packaging to distinguish different operating scenarios.

The reason for going to such lengths is solely to minimize Norton Ironbrow's walking and time expenditure.

Of course, this is absolutely not meant to mock the old man for having short legs.

The old man lived up to expectations, demonstrating his incredible "mechanical sensing".

A completely illogical mechanical sensor!
He can be described as an Iron Druid, a mechanical psychic.

Unsurprisingly, Norton was revered as a god by the engineers of Dongxia. In their eyes, the old dwarf felt a tingling sensation all over his body and even forgot how to walk.

In the Starry World, he was not without admirers; even the city lord of the Silver Duchy treated him with great respect. But things were different here.

In the starry world, others admire him because of the superior effects of the equipment he created.

On Blue Star East Xia, these engineers didn't care at all what he made or whether it was finished.

They were simply amazed by Norton's skill and technique; a single comment or gesture from him could elicit gasps of astonishment.

This feeling is absolutely intoxicating.

In the end, the old man was carried back with great reluctance.

Dongxia's exceptionally strong affability made most of the visiting group reluctant to leave and linger.

Well, Liushuang is an exception.

She felt good about everything here, very good, but she didn't care.

She just wanted to go back.

Go back and stay by Chen Mo's side.

The sooner the better!

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.

In the Starry World, although the "Ploughing Court" battle with the orcs has entered its final stage, another "fierce" battle is raging on Mount Qingfeng.

The war between the spirits of the underworld and the vast ocean is far from over.

The underworld, to be precise, is not a separate world, but rather includes the legendary upper and lower underworlds.

The army of undead that entered the Starry World this time came from the Upper Underworld, the Tower of Silence, the Plains of Bones, and the Forgotten Castle.

The reason, of course, is that the signpost leading to the underworld left behind by the Valley of Exile is located at the entrance of the Forgotten Castle.

It is said that the Valley of Exile's other name, "The Forgotten Land," is intricately connected to the Forgotten Castle.

To put it more clearly, it was the predecessors of the Valley of Exile who had established a cooperative relationship with the Underworld, which granted them the qualification to guide the army from the Underworld into the Stars. This was clearly explained by Martha, the necromancer who was brought to the scene.

Martha felt incredibly unlucky.

She was a renowned young genius in the Valley of Exile, exceptionally intelligent and skilled in magic, and was once known as "Little Night Whisper." She could be considered one of the few shining stars in this otherwise bleak organization.

Following the normal trajectory of development, it was a foregone conclusion and a natural progression for Martha to become a high-ranking summoner and enter the Ring of Wizards.

Unfortunately, before she had grown up enough to decide her own destiny, she encountered the unprecedented upheaval of the Valley of Exile.

Even more unfortunately, Martha's father, the tower master in charge of the family's mage tower, was a confidant of the "gravekeeper" and had an extremely bad relationship with that damned "rotten sac".

How bad was it? "Rotten Bag," also known as Lin Xiangming, repeatedly came to the Valley of Oblivion to poach people for the high "transfer" commission offered by Chen Mo, but never approached their family.

That naturally made the relationship even worse.

Whenever Martha's father mentioned this name, his big face would turn bright red.

"That guy is greedy and treacherous; he'll get his comeuppance sooner or later!"

"What kind of good place could such greedy and shameless scum go to? Just wait and see, in a few years, they will be completely abandoned by the stars and the underworld, and face their tragic fate!"

As we all know, what happened next was not the return to the cemetery, but the Valley of Exile, which was abandoned by the times.

Lacking the nourishment of fresh blood, knowledgeable and insightful mages were lost one after another, and the entire land of exile fell into a vicious cycle, gradually withering away.

This time, when summoning the "Eternal Swamp" in the heart of Qingfeng Mountain, even the young Masa had to take on the main role.

They succeeded. The passage between the two worlds opened up in the heart of Qingfeng Mountain, and a massive number of undead poured out from it, causing the cursed land to expand outwards at a visible speed.

Then, the people of the Vast Ocean, wielding the authority of the Lord of Twilight, commanded the guards of the Twilight Tower to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

As the presiding priest of the "Eternal Silence Swamp," Masha was escorted to the White Deer Plain.

She thought she was going to die, but to her great surprise, Lin Xiangming, her father's mortal enemy, did not kick her while she was down. Instead, he comforted her in front of Chen Mo.

"This child is very talented, but it's a pity that she's been dragged down by her family. If it weren't for her reactionary father, and if she had come to my cemetery to return to the Ninth Spring Army long ago, she would be at least a second lieutenant by now!"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lin Xiangming met Martha's astonished gaze and sighed, "I have a deep-seated grudge against your father. He swindled a large sum of money from me back then, and even now, thinking about it still makes my chest ache!"

“If we met in private, I would not be polite to your family members, but now I am an officer of the Alliance and a subject of the lord, so naturally everything is for the benefit of the Han Hai.”

"I, Lin, can distinguish between public and private matters!"

"Confess properly. Han Hai's policy is: leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist!"

Martha was moved, or at least it seemed so.

She explained the situation clearly and completely, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

The "Eternal Silence Swamp" may seem to connect two worlds, be filled with the dead, and be extremely ferocious, but in reality, it has many problems.

"Although the lords of the underworld are undead, high-ranking undead are not stupid. Without enough benefits, they cannot attract the warriors of the lords."

As the actual facilitator of the operation, Martha clearly possessed far more detailed inside information. According to Martha's explanation, several conditions were indispensable for opening a passage to the "Swamp of Eternal Silence." First and foremost, there needed to be a basic level of trust.

According to Martha, when the summoning was initiated, a mage from the Gravekeeper family secretly recorded a message, the kind that no one else was allowed to see. This was an agreement between the three founders of the Valley of Exile and the undead leader of the Forgotten Castle.

Without this password, even if you open the "Eternal Swamp" portal, the undead on the other side will not respond.

This is entirely understandable. The cross-dimensional punishment mechanism is one important factor, while the greed of various forces is another core consideration. After all, the Starry World has a notorious history of luring elemental creatures in, killing them, and building elemental pools.

After listening to this basic information, Chen Mo pondered for a moment and then asked, "So, can anyone use this secret code, or must it be used by someone from the 'Gravekeeper' family to gain the trust of the undead leader?"

"In reply to your question, my lord, it seems that in addition to the secret language, some special spellcasting techniques should also be added!"

Martha was particularly obedient at this moment, and answered honestly, "The Lord of the Undead is like a deity to us necromancers. Ordinary summoning only requires offerings, but special summoning requires the summoning charm stored in the gods..."

This is easy to understand. Just like the divine grace of the Seven-Eyed God, without divine grace, you cannot invoke miracles.

"What is this 'Summoning Charm'? How did they get it? How many of these guys have?"

"Replying to your question, my lord, I've only heard that sacrifices can be made using a magic tower that connects to the underworld. As for anything else, I truly know nothing..."

Chen Mo frowned deeply.

As soon as the Twilight Tower incident came to light, he sent people to the Silver Duchy, but the tomb keeper family of the Valley of Exile and the members of the Wizard's Environmental Assessment Council had already disappeared, leaving behind only a group of newbies who had been swindled out of most of their remaining wealth and were starving.

The ringleader wasn't caught, which only added to his burden!
Although Chen Mo has no immediate idea of ​​using the "Eternal Swamp" by sacrificing a large number of lives, the fact that some things were not in his own hands but instead in the hands of the enemy has given him the habitual anxiety typical of the Eastern Xia.

Just because the enemy can't use it now doesn't mean they'll never be able to; just because the enemy used it but failed doesn't mean we'll be safe in the future...

We still have to do everything we can to dig them out!

Besides issuing warrants and arresting those guys, Chen Mo's other main task was to maintain order at Qingfeng Mountain.

Indeed, when he was planning the battle, he not only had to consider his own situation, but also the undead on the other side.

Don't attack too quickly. If the undead realize they've suffered too many losses in a short time, they might become discouraged and decide to close the gates and run away.

Don't attack too hard. If the undead realize that the input is greater than the output, it may trigger loss aversion and cause the opponent to stop the operation of the Eternal Swamp.

However, we cannot afford not to fight. After all, the area surrounding Qingfeng Mountain is the territory of Dingshan County of Hanhai. If we do not control it, the towns will suffer huge losses if these skeletons break through.

This battle was fought with even more caution than a full-scale war against the orcs.

Fortunately, the Eastern Xia's staff was on site.

Based on existing data and on-site investigations, Dongxia has formulated a complete set of flexible combat plans.

Thus, a battle of "tacit understanding" ensued between the two sides around the Qingfeng Mountain site.

The overall benefit to the undead must be positive in order to ensure that the lord of the underworld has the motivation to withstand this psionic barrier.

The Chief of Staff of the Joint Command provided a detailed explanation of this.

"We should thank the undead for their emotional stability. It is precisely because they are stable enough that they almost never act out or throw tantrums. Their behavior is highly predictable."

"As long as we follow the rules, most of the undead's behavior patterns can be predicted, and the variations usually do not exceed three."

"The investment in the Underworld is divided into three parts. The first part is the consumption of the Underworld Lords' ability to withstand the psychic barrier. This part has already been paid in advance by the soul fire sacrificed by the Tower of Twilight."

"The second part is the resource consumption for spreading the cursed land outwards, and the third part is the battle losses of undead creatures in the Starry World."

"As for the undead army's gains, the most important thing is to absorb psionic energy from the Starry World! However, information from multiple sources confirms that the psionic energy absorbed by undead creatures cannot be taken away; it can only be used to strengthen themselves!"

"In other words, the value of the 'Eternal Silence Swamp' to the Underworld is realized through the growth of undead creatures in the Starry World, with lower-level creatures entering and higher-level creatures returning."

"Therefore, our strategy is clear: deal with the larger number of low-level undead, and ensure that the relatively smaller number of high-level undead stay in the Starry Sky for a sufficient period of time to return smoothly to the Underworld, so that the other side can settle this score!"

When it comes to accounting, this is one of Dongxia's specialties.

Thus, a rather bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield.

Dongxia completely abandoned the use of firearms, and those on the front lines were all muscular men and women. At the same time, in the region where they were confronting the Underworld, they launched a full-scale campaign to destroy the terrain.

In short, it's a landscape of ravines and gullies, crisscrossed by paths, with steep inclines and declines, and every step a hurdle...

In this way, the lower-level skeletons and zombies are effectively distinguished from the relatively higher-level Dark Knights and Death Knights.

Then came the numerous traps laid out.

Pitholes were dug everywhere, with small openings and large bottoms, smooth walls, and movable covers on top, with automatic triggers installed.

When the number of undead above the trap reaches a certain level, the cover opens, the undead creature is thrown in, and after a dozen seconds, the cover springs back to its original position.

Why can't the opening in the cover be too big? It's to prevent large creatures like flesh giants from falling in and blocking traffic.

Why wait another ten seconds? It's to allow the relatively higher-ranking undead to jump out.

This ensures that only low-level undead units such as skeletons or zombies fall into the trap.

After a while, the top of the cover is crowded with newly arrived low-level skeletons again, so they do it again, and so on.

These caves connect to a narrow tunnel, only half a meter wide and just wide enough for a single undead creature to pass through. A large group of undead creatures scrambled around in the caves before finally emerging through this tunnel and entering the underground warehouse area that Dongxia had prepared for them.

The place is brightly lit.

A large number of professional warriors from the Vast Ocean were stationed here, lined up in two rows with a passage left in the middle, waiting for the undead creatures to appear.

If one comes out, we'll catch one; if two come out, we'll catch both.

Once caught, bring the skeleton or zombie's hands and feet together, pull out a finger-thick white nylon cable tie from the work box next to you—the standard name is "self-locking polyamide cable tie"—wrap it around, thread it through, pull it, and with a "click," it's locked tight.

This thing is extremely strong. Let alone skeletons, even a professional below the second tier who has achieved mastery cannot break free without a sharp weapon.

Beside the warriors of the Vast Ocean, there were several conveyor belts hanging from the top of the underground warehouse, circulating back and forth, covered with hooks.

The soldiers hung the bound skeletons or zombies on hooks, and like roast ducks turning in an open oven, they were swayed and transported to the back of the warehouse by the conveyor belt.

This is the quality inspection workshop of Dongxia. Many Dongxia quality inspectors, wearing work clothes and name tags, scan, classify, label, and store the transmitted undead.

Those that are intact are good products and are labeled with a white label; those that are partially damaged but do not affect their combat function are defective products and are labeled with a yellow label; of course, there are also those that are severely damaged, which are defective or even scrap products and are labeled with black labels of varying degrees...

The skeletons and zombies bared their teeth, swayed left and right, their minds filled with questions, but no one paid them any attention.

Han Hai has arranged these one-stop, fully automated traps in several concentric circles around the location of the "Eternal Swamp," achieving comprehensive coverage without any blind spots.

Each time troops depart from the underworld, these traps filter them out, leaving only high-ranking undead on the ground.

Without a doubt, these Black Knights, Death Knights, or Flesh Giants who pass through the trap zone will encounter a brutal mob attack from the Eastern Xia outside the defensive line.

The undead follow a standard attack procedure. Once this army of undead has stayed in the Starry World long enough to absorb sufficient spiritual energy, it will withdraw.

The undead army sounded the retreat horn, and upon hearing the call, all the undead still capable of movement on the battlefield resolutely obeyed the order and began to retreat.

Then, Dongxia will release the high-level undead that have been injured and crippled on the spot.

At the same time, those low-grade defective products that had just been labeled with black tags would be taken out of the warehouse, the cable ties cut open, and returned to the warehouse.

After the battle, although the undead side suffered a defeat on the battlefield, a headcount revealed that the high-ranking troops were mostly intact, and many of the low-ranking troops returned. They also completed the spiritual energy nourishment of another batch of troops in the Starry World, so they clearly still came out ahead.

As for Han Hai, digging pits to send out troops was costly and laborious, and also consumed a lot of "precious" "self-locking polyamide cable ties," only to get back a batch of unruly, struggling skeletons and zombies. It should be considered a huge loss.

The two sides fought fiercely, with the battle lines remaining unchanged and the war continuing every day.

However, the leader of the Forgotten Castle, far away in the underworld, looked at the batches of men returning with missing limbs, broken ribs, and even headless bodies. Although he knew that the battle was fierce and injuries were inevitable, he still had a vague feeling that something was not quite right.

(End of this chapter)