The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 326

So he thought it was easy duty, huh? Turns out it wasn’t.

Wait—ten thousand soldiers suddenly appeared?

At that moment, Baron Kalgmir wondered if they’d come from a neighboring territory.

But that didn’t make sense either.

None of the nearby domains used undead forces, and their numbers barely exceeded a few thousand, let alone ten thousand.

Even if the nearby baronies gathered their forces, they were still just baron-level holdings.

It made no sense.

The nobles stationed at this remote border were bottom of the barrel at best.

So then...

“Could ten thousand really come through the rat hole?”

No way.

Anyone crossing through it would need several hours before the next group could follow.

And the number of people who could pass at once was extremely limited.

It was a clever limitation—part of what made the Grand Duke’s strategy so reliable.

But Kalgmir didn’t know that.

He could only be confused.

His tiny brain wasn’t going to figure it out.

Maybe he realized that—

Or maybe he just decided to deal with the situation head-on.

Since it was already happening.

He stepped outside.

“Tch.”

And let out a short scoff.

Even as a baron, he couldn’t imagine commanding this many undead.

An overwhelming horde swarmed toward the walls, clinging to them like insects.

Kalgmir scowled.

Each of them looked reasonably capable.

Ten of those undead could easily take on a low-grade demon.

And there were only about 2,000 low-grade demons here.

So naturally, the low-ranks alone couldn’t hold the line.

Two high-grade demons were summoned to the field.

Along with 200 mid-grade demons.

The fortress had essentially thrown out its full force to stop the undead.

At that moment, Kalgmir noticed something odd.

“...A feint?”

Were they just pretending to attack here, while aiming for somewhere else?

But no.

Who the hell uses ten thousand undead for a diversion?

Anyone would look at this and assume this was the main force.

With even high-grade demons out, Kalgmir figured he didn’t need to step in.

He turned to leave.

But—

He froze.

He felt it.

A grotesque, unnatural power surging.

He turned back—

The ten thousand undead clinging to the walls were starting to emit a thick green mist.

And sparks spread around them—igniting.

“W-Wait—”

He tried to shout—

But the explosion struck first.

BOOOOOOMMMMMM——!

The earth trembled.

A scorching wave of heat ripped through the sky.

Kalgmir, standing at a distance, was barely spared—

But half the low-grade demons, and all the mid-grade demons near the wall, were annihilated.

And worse—

The flames crackled across the field, and when the smoke cleared...

The place where the wall should have been—was now a gaping hole.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!”

His precious fortress—granted by the Grand Duke!

Breached so pathetically?!

Over half the low-grade demons were gone, the mid-grade ones completely wiped out.

But more than that, Kalgmir stared at the shattered wall and screamed.

If he’d had any brains left, he might’ve gone to protect the Essence immediately.

But overcome by demonic greed—

He spread his wings and shot into the sky.

He began searching for the owner of these undead.

And he found him.

“High-grade demons!!! With me!!! I’ll rip that bastard to pieces myself!!!”

“Yes, my lord!”

“We stand ready!”

With that, the two high-grade demons followed him.

They shot across the field toward the figure not far from the fortress.

Kalgmir, soaring toward his target, caught a glimpse—

Seong was smiling up at him.

And in that moment, Kalgmir’s thoughts kicked in.

He reached toward the two demons beside him—

And suddenly shoved them away.

The demons were flung aside.

It looked like a surprise attack—

But then—

A gray barrier shimmered around them like a dome.

If Kalgmir hadn’t thrown the others back, they would’ve been trapped inside.

Seong clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.

“Tch. Almost had them.”

Still, his job was done.

Two high-grade demons left behind—he could handle them.

He stared up at Kalgmir, still floating in midair.

Kalgmir’s veins bulged with fury.

“I’ll tear you to pieces.”

“Wooo, scary.”

Seong grinned.

Kalgmir bared his teeth.

He tried to command the demons from outside the barrier—

But it was clear the barrier couldn’t be broken quickly.

The two high-grade demons vanished on their own, realizing that.

Seong watched them go with faint regret.

But oh well.

No plan is ever perfect.

Then—

“Well, shall we play?”

He drew his sword.

Kalgmir, fuming, growled—

“You better stop playing games.”

And then—

He vanished.

Reappeared right in front of Seong.

A shockwave exploded outward from the sheer speed of his movement, shattering the ground and scorching the terrain.

At the center—

Seong stood, his sword vibrating under the impact.

He tilted his head and muttered,

“...This is...”

That voice—followed by Helena appearing beside him with a sweet smile.

“Seems more doable than you expected, right?”

“Yeah... now that I think about Serumagra, it’s not that different after all...”

As those two exchanged comments casually, Baron Kalgmir burst out, demonic energy exploding from his body.

“I’LL RIP YOU TO PIECES!!!”

“Try it. If you can.”

“You probably can’t.”

Seong and Helena shouted back like they were taunting him, and Kalgmir’s demonic energy surged, seizing the area in an instant.

5.

A fairly massive fortress.

But with one side of the wall collapsed, it had become noticeably pathetic.

The remaining undead were still pouring in through the breach, and the surviving low-grade demons were scrambling to hold the line.

“Hold them back!!!”

“Damn it!!!”

“These undead are too strong!!!”

“Wh-what the hell?! Why are they so powerful?!”

Some of the undead even used techniques—something they shouldn’t be capable of—which made them all the more dangerous.

The low-grade demons couldn’t keep up.

They were vastly outnumbered, and completely outmatched tactically.

And through that chaos—

Four shadows infiltrated the fortress.

Instead of breaching through the ruined wall, they leapt up the opposite side and infiltrated from there.

As they moved, they whispered among themselves.

“Hoo... they really did chase him.”

“Good thing that baron’s an idiot.”

“Doesn’t exactly seem like the smart type.”

“Small °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° mercy, at least.”

All the demonkin had already been drawn out of the fortress.

So no matter how loudly they whispered, no one was left to hear.

As they moved through the fortress together—

“Then let’s move fast, destroy it, and rejoin him.”

At Babaros’s suggestion, they all nodded in agreement.

Seong had volunteered to act as bait.

But destroying the Essence was the real mission.

So when they broke in—

Everything went incredibly smoothly.

The 200 mid-grade demons they’d been worried about had all been obliterated in the earlier explosion.

And no one had expected the two high-grade demons to accompany Kalgmir to confront Seong.

Of course, they were a little worried about Seong.

But if they moved quickly, it should be fine.

The plan was: destroy the Essence while Seong drew the baron and his escorts away, then Seong would escape.

He’d said himself—he was confident in escaping.

So they had to destroy it as fast as possible.

They moved swiftly toward the fortress center where the Essence was likely kept.

But then—

From afar, they sensed something flying their way.

And just as they sped up toward the center in response—

Something burst through the wall.

“...It’s real.”

“Huh. They really underestimated us.”

Two figures emerged—

A towering demonkin with a massive build, and a slender one that looked female in shape.

Feeling their presence, the party muttered.

“...No wonder it felt too easy.”

“Yeah...”

“Two of them, huh...”

“Hmm...”

Brishia and Stoneheart frowned in discomfort.

Will and Babaros were the same.

Judging by their auras—these two weren’t ordinary high-grades.

It felt like the mission might fail.

Fighting high-grade demons one-on-one was already a tall order, let alone two.

And more than anything—

Time was the problem.

The longer they stalled, the more likely Seong would die first.

They had to end this fast.

Then Will stepped forward.

“I’ll hold one down. The three of you—take out the other, then help me.”

He said it clearly.

Brishia and Stoneheart started to protest.

But before they could—

Thousands of undead burst from Will’s chest, surrounding the area.

Some of the undead began fusing into singular entities, each radiating overwhelming power.

Seeing that, the rest of the group had no choice but to believe in him.

Will turned to them.

“...It’s not ten thousand like Seong’s army, but this much I can do...”

Thousands of undead merged into three main bodies, each one emitting unnatural, overwhelming force.

Even the high-grade demons frowned at the sight.

They moved quickly, trying to intercept.

But the three merged undead lunged toward the massive one faster.

They flew straight at the towering demon.

The shredded claws of the ghost-lord slashed toward it.

The battle began.

The slimmer high-grade demon drew her sword—

And Stoneheart stepped forward, blocking her path with a massive stone-forged shield.

The demon sneered and raised her sword, swinging to cleave through it.

Kka-ga-ga-ga-gang—!!!

“...!!!”

It didn’t cut.

The shield was so dense that the blade bounced back.

A tremor shot through the demon’s hand.

At the same time—

The other high-grade demon, the one facing the three ghost amalgamations, was thinking the same thing.

This... won’t be easy.

While that was happening—

Babaros’s eyes gleamed, and he began to chant.