Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 342: Episode

[The Outer Wall’s North Gate has been breached.]

[Outer Castle Fall event has occurred.]

[All troops of the Aon Kingdom will retreat to the Inner Castle.]

"Run! The Khan Kingdom bastards are coming!"

"Squeak squeak!"

The routed soldiers of the Aon Kingdom shrieked as they fled, many of them bleeding profusely or riddled with arrows. Simon and Dick weaved through the chaotic scene.

"To the inner castle! Retreat to the inner castle!" Simon yelled.

"The south gate is still open!" Dick added.

The situation was dire. When her siege had stalled, Elisa, the Commander-in-Chief of the Khan Kingdom, had led her core forces to smash through the outer wall’s north gate. But she wasn’t satisfied with a simple breach. She deployed a massive cavalry force to press the assault, pushing all the way to the inner castle’s north gate.

The inner castle had only two gates, north and south. With the north gate under direct threat from Elisa, every Aon Kingdom soldier trying to retreat was now flooding toward the south gate, causing a severe bottleneck.

"No, seriously! The more I think about it, the less sense it makes!" Dick exclaimed, scratching his head furiously. "The north gate had four of our students! And it’s way more fortified than the south gate we’re defending! How did they break through before a messenger could even get here?"

Simon, who had been quietly mulling over Dick’s question, finally spoke. "I think she has more top-tier students on her side."

As the daughter of a political family, Elisa was the type to plan every move. It was highly likely she had already assembled a team of Kizen’s strongest.

"Ugh, that’s a headache, but it makes sense," Dick conceded. "If two or three other special admission students showed up at the north gate, then yeah, that’d do it."

Just then, a squad of Khan Kingdom soldiers appeared before them, hot on the heels of their fleeing allies.

"Sssit!’ Kill every last one of them!"

"Ssit! Ssit!’ Don’t let them reach the inner castle!"

With their forces so drastically outnumbered, every soldier was precious. Simon and Dick exchanged a nod and rushed to the rescue.

"Hey, Simon! You need to conserve your jet-black," Dick said, offering his own enchanted sword. "Wanna use this?"

"I’m fine with just martial arts."

"Come on, martial arts use up a surprising amount of jet-black, too."

Simon relented and took the sword. He gave it a few test swings. The grip was decent, but it felt like something crucial was missing.

"Do you happen to have a greatsword?"

"I do, but do you even know how to use one?" Dick asked, surprised. "They’re a total pain."

"To some extent."

With a dubious expression, Dick produced a greatsword from his subspace. It was the smallest of its kind, but Simon liked its hefty weight.

"Alright, let’s go!"

"You got it!"

They simultaneously stomped on the ground, jet-black flaring under their feet, and charged into the enemy soldiers slaughtering their allies.

"Ssit ssit!’ Some weirdos are coming!"

"They’re Aon’s Guardians!"

A glint flashed in Simon’s eyes as he led the charge. He plowed into the enemy lines like an accelerating chariot, swinging the greatsword with all his might. With a thunderous crash, several Khan Kingdom soldiers were sent flying like bowling pins.

"Hah!"

Dick, following close behind, vaulted through the air and plunged his sword into the gap in a soldier’s helmet. He planted a foot on the man’s chest to wrench the blade free, then moved with a deadly flair, his swordsmanship focused on swift, precise thrusts.

In contrast, Simon’s greatsword style was spectacular, the massive blade whistling through the air. He moved through the enemy ranks as if the weapon were an extension of his own body, his movements both domineering and fluid. The Khan Kingdom soldiers hesitated, not daring to face him head-on.

"Ssit ssit!’ Don’t fall back!" a Khan Kingdom lieutenant roared, charging at Simon.

Simon raised his greatsword to block the attack, then took a bold step forward.

’SCREEECH!’

The lieutenant’s sword slid up the flat of the greatsword. In that instant, Simon closed the distance and brought his weapon down with crushing force. With a sickening tear, the black blade sliced a line straight down the man’s body.

"Whoa, Simon! What was that?!" Dick yelled, having just dispatched an enemy soldier with some difficulty. "That’s not just handling it ‘to some extent’! Did your dad teach you that back home, too?"

"No. The greatsword—" Simon skillfully parried an incoming spear and cut down another soldier. "—is just something I taught myself."

"Oh, come on, give me a break! I’ve never seen you use a greatsword in my life!"

"It’s true."

Soldiers fell like autumn leaves before Simon’s swinging blade. Dick, a regular sword user, kept pace.

"Hup!"

"Haaah!"

Seeing enemies rushing at each other’s backs, they charged. They crossed paths in a blur of motion, their swords flashing, and two more soldiers collapsed, spraying blood.

"Th-they’re strong! ’Ssit!"

"Fall back! We need a Guardian over here!"

Finally, the pursuit squad broke and fled. Simon and Dick gave chase, securing a retreat path for their allies.

"To the inner castle! Retreat! The south gate is open!" Simon directed.

"Please hurry!" Dick urged.

As Simon was directing the retreat while pursuing the enemy, Dick’s warning cry cut through the chaos.

"Simon! Get down!"

Simon dropped instantly. A black flash of energy flew over his head and slammed into a wall.

’A curse!’

He looked up, startled, to see a male Kizen student wearing a skull necklace standing on the castle wall. A volley of curses shot from his fingertips.

"It’s a Cursologist! Dodge!"

Simon and Dick ducked low, scrambling for cover. The curses, each glowing with a different malevolent light, crashed against their hiding place.

"How annoying!" Dick growled, extending his own finger.

’Exhaust’

Black smoke shot from his fingertip, but the Cursologist ducked behind the ramparts. Dick’s curse dissipated against the stone, and the enemy mage peeked out to fire again.

"Ugh!"

Dick cried out as the curse hit him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Dick!"

"Argh! Dammit! What is this?!" Dick began to scratch his body frantically as angry red welts broke out across his skin.

"Got one," the Cursologist sneered, then turned his gaze to Simon.

At that moment, Simon was also tracing a curse onto the palm of his free hand. They completed their spells at almost the same time.

’Tickling’

’Sickness’

The moment they extended their arms, their curses streaked through the air, crossing paths. Simon dodged with a simple tilt of his head.

’How is he so fast?!’ the Cursologist thought in alarm.

’Sickness’, flying at a speed that made Dick’s ’Exhaust’ look like it was standing still, grazed the Cursologist’s shoulder.

’Tch!’

As the Cursologist staggered and dropped to one knee, Simon quickly slung Dick over his shoulder and ran.

"I won’t let you get away!" the Cursologist yelled, giving chase while preparing another curse.

He stopped short.

But he hadn’t run more than a few steps before his vision started to spin, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground. Seeing their Guardian fall, Khan Kingdom soldiers rushed to his side.

"Ssit!’ Guardian!"

"Are you alright! ’Ssit!"

The Cursologist shivered but waved them off, trying to get back up. But it was no use.

He retched, vomiting onto the cobblestones. The soldiers quickly backed away.

---

"Dick, just hold on," Simon said, laying his friend down in an empty house and beginning to draw a magic circle.

"Ughhhhh...!"

Dick was clawing at his skin so frantically that he was covered in bloody scratches. Simon calmly completed the magic circle, pressed it against Dick’s body, and activated it.

’Cancellation’

A dark blue light washed over Dick, and his frantic movements gradually ceased. As the hives rapidly subsided, his arms went limp.

"...Wow, I really thought I was going to die," Dick breathed. "That was a two-stack curse."

Simon offered his hand. "Can you keep fighting?"

"Of course." Dick took his hand and stood.

When they stepped outside again, the situation had stabilized somewhat. Other Kizen students were busy helping the remaining soldiers retreat. Simon issued an order through his Commander-in-Chief nameplate.

"Keep the inner castle’s south gate open as wide as possible and let the retreating soldiers in! Meirin, don’t stay at the outer wall too long, you might get surrounded. The rest of you, focus on defending the breach!"

Simon and Dick now headed for the inner castle. Beyond the residential district, another wall loomed—incomparably taller and thicker than the outer one.

"We have to protect the inner castle, even if it means our entire army gets wiped out," Dick said grimly. "The moment the Khan Kingdom breaks through, they’ll have a straight shot up the stairs to the royal castle. If the ‘Guardian Stone’ aerial barrier gets destroyed, Elisa will attack from the sky with her ghost ship. There’s no worse scenario for us."

They talked as they walked. The bottleneck at the south gate was still severe, so defenders on the inner wall were lowering ladders only along the safest sections to help their soldiers up. It was a decent solution. Simon and Dick got in line to wait.

"Dick, you go first."

"Yeah, okay. I’ll see you up there."

As Dick started to climb, Simon turned to watch their rear. He planned to buy time for the others if a pursuit squad arrived.

"Squeak!’ Hold them back!"

Aon Kingdom soldiers were forming a last-ditch suicide squad, hastily erecting a stockade and other defenses before the wall. The Khan Kingdom had a large cavalry force, so they dug trenches and set up obstacles to stop the charge.

"Squeak!’ Who goes there!"

Someone was walking toward their defensive line.

"Stop! ’Squeak!’ Move and we shoot!"

The suicide squad drew their bows, but the figure didn’t stop. They saw him place a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

’What’s going on?’ Simon wondered, stepping forward for a better look.

The sight that followed made Simon doubt his own eyes. The numerous stockades, the obstacles, and the suicide squad soldiers themselves were all split cleanly in half.

’The entire defensive line... in a single blow?’

Simon stared ahead, his body tense.

The figure drew closer with heavy footfalls. It was a boy with an eyepatch.

"Whoa! He was on the sieging team?" Dick yelled down from the wall. "Simon! Elisa wasn’t the problem! That guy is...!"

With a piercing shriek of displaced air, a long, deep gash was carved into the inner castle’s wall. The ladder Dick was on split in two, and all the soldiers climbing it plummeted to the ground.

"Ugh!"

Dick fell with them. Simon’s eyes were locked on the boy’s movements.

The boy vanished in a blur. On high alert, Simon snapped the greatsword up in front of him.

Almost simultaneously, a longsword materialized from thin air and collided with Simon’s greatsword in an explosive clang that shook the battlefield.

’Ngh!’

Feeling a shock that threatened to shatter his wrist, Simon found himself face to face with the boy who had appeared out of nowhere.

"We’ve met before, haven’t we?" Simon asked.

"We have," the boy replied. He was Special Admission No. 5, Jull Vinchere.

"How are you feeling today—"

Strangely, Jull had swung the weapon while it was still in its scabbard. He took a step back, clipped the sheathed longsword to his belt, and tilted the hilt forward.

"Not bad."

Simon reacted instantly.

Simon immediately threw himself backward. A massive sword strike, powerful enough to cleave the entire inner castle, descended at an angle, leaving a long scar across the wall.

’Wow.’

Cold sweat beaded on Simon’s forehead. This guy was on a completely different level from anyone he had faced so far.