episode_0188

I shook my head at the sight of the crown prince looking at the erythronium weapon as if it were some sort of elixir.

“If you use an elixir when quenching, no matter how much I am, I can’t sell it for that price… … .”

“Well. I guess that’s true too.”

No matter how much I say I don’t incur labor costs, I can’t cover the cost if I use elixir instead of oil when quenching. I thought that I would have to sell it for dozens of times more expensive than now to avoid losses.

I wouldn’t have known it if the elves were growing a lot of firewood flowers. In a way, the fruit of the firewood flower is also a type of elixir.

Anyway, I felt the need to explain to the Crown Prince, who seemed constantly surprised.

“The soldiers from earlier, and even that knight. These are all phenomena that occur due to the special properties of erythronium.”

“Special properties?”

“Erytronium can store mana. Rather than naturally accumulating mana, it is more like absorbing the mana naturally emitted by a person when it touches the person.”

“Is it still okay? I’m not one to believe in legends, but why do they exist? One legend says that the magic sword absorbs all of the wearer’s mana and kills them.”

The Crown Prince suddenly looked a little suspicious. It wasn’t that it was because I was a warlock, but it just seemed like the idea of absorbing mana was uncomfortable.

Of course, the misunderstanding had to be corrected, so I immediately threw up my hand.

“Not to that extent. There is mana that is naturally exhaled just like a person breathes, and you can think of it as absorbing it. It will disperse into the air anyway and be absorbed by erythronium.”

“Ah, I see. So, is it true that there is absolutely no harm to the wearer?”

“Rather, it’s okay if it helps, there’s no harm.”

He said there was no harm and gave examples of the soldiers from earlier and the knight who radiated mana from his entire body.

It was explained that the sword helps to categorize mana because it absorbs mana and that the mana accumulated in the armor covering the entire body spreads out at once, providing a one-time shield.

” Spread mana to defend… … . I’d like to ask if it’s possible, but I can’t because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“If you are an expert and have a good handle on mana, you unconsciously use mana for defense. Your bodyguards here will be fully aware of this.”

The crown prince’s eyes turned to the guard knights, and their heads immediately nodded.

“Deterioration. In fact, it is the realm of instinct. As if strengthening the body in preparation for impact, mana is concentrated. You have expert-level skills, but I don’t think you could feel it because we were thoroughly guarding you and you wouldn’t get hurt.”

I thought it was great to see the knights appealing their abilities while explaining, and then continued the explanation when the crown prince’s gaze returned to me.

“Unconsciously, when mana moves to protect the body according to instinct, mana with the same properties moves. To be precise, it is the mana that permeates the armor, and when the two meet, a synergistic effect occurs. For this reason, it becomes possible to protect the body as mana spreads strongly around the surroundings.”

It was my first time seeing it in person, but it was theoretical knowledge I gained while studying mana and dark magic as a black magician. If you actually dig into it, there may be other reasons, but on the surface, that was the reason.

Anyway, the crown prince nodded as if he fully understood.

“Erytronium armor will literally be an extra life.”

“Ah, but you shouldn’t trust it too blindly. When the same mana meets and creates a synergistic effect… … . It is certain that the mana in your body will drain in an instant. Unless you have a ridiculous amount of mana, you can retire quickly.”

It was not easy to find something as good as this in this world. It was natural that if there was an advantage, there would also be a disadvantage.

And, among the knights below, the body of the knight Muteni, who was emitting mana from all over, was seen staggering. Still, I don’t know if it was because he was a knight, but he didn’t kneel in the end. It looked like he was somehow holding on while stabbing the long sword into the floor.

“… … Is that what happens when you get hurt?”

Of course, the crown prince began to worry very much when he saw that. The drivers are high-quality personnel, but if they retire every time they get injured to protect themselves, their utilization will be extremely low, so there is nothing they can do about it.

“Isn’t instinct not something that comes out so easily and can be controlled to some extent? And, in order to achieve that level of synergy, it would really have to be at the moment of death.”

‘For example, right before you are hit by a flame flying towards you to set your whole body on fire-’ he trailed off, and the Crown Prince no longer showed any signs of concern.

Rather, he seemed more satisfied. It was natural, since it was the same as providing a chance to be revived at the moment when one was on the verge of death.

Becoming a knight required an enormous amount of money to be trained and maintained. Losing such a knight in any situation, whether in battle or subjugation, was a huge loss. Being able to avoid that loss once was a huge advantage.

“It may be a waste for an article to be retired, but it is clearly dozens of times better than losing it.”

The crown prince’s head kept bobbing, as if he was so happy that it was like giving the knight another life.

However, at the same time, he gave me a look that seemed like it was a waste.

“… … Please manage it thoroughly so that large quantities of goods do not fall into the hands of aristocratic factions or other countries.”

The crown prince’s gaze was nothing special. He wanted to designate it as a strategic item and thoroughly manage the erythronium armor in the royal family, but he said he would not do so.

If he were the next king, the crown prince, he wouldn’t mind reversing something like this, but he didn’t dare to change it, perhaps because he thought he could get into trouble with me if he did so.

If I was taken over by an aristocratic faction or a foreign country just because I was in a bad mood, the royal family would be in trouble.

Of course, I didn’t intend to do that. In the first place, the crown prince was openly indicating that he would not make such a choice out of consideration for me.

‘I, the crown prince, care so much about you, so let’s stay on good terms in the future. Haha.’

Although he was speaking with his eyes in this way, it was not a good choice for the Crown Prince to throw away his outstretched hand first.

“You don’t have to worry.”

When I spoke with a light smile, the crown prince smiled as if he was fully satisfied and turned his attention to the ground where the subjugation battle was taking place again.

Knight Muteni, who was almost half-exhausted as he had used up most of his mana, was supported by the soldiers and fell to the rear, but it had no significant impact on the subjugation battle.

Since he cut off the head of a shaman who was an important member of the tribe, he only had a positive effect on the subjugation battle and then left.

Thanks to this, the subjugation war progressed to its end at a very fast pace. Many orcs died and their homes burned down.

In some ways, it seems to show the vicious nature of humans, but as humans, this was something that could not be helped. For humans, orcs were not objects of coexistence. Even for orcs, humans were not objects of coexistence.

Since orcs sometimes attack villages and cities where humans live and commit similar acts, this was half a war between races.

Anyway, as they were making such impressions, the orcs also seemed to sense their own demise.

“All the orcs are gathered in one place.”

Immediately, the orcs began to gather in one place. Because the Orc colony was so large, the number of Orcs gathered alone was well over a hundred. This was because non-combatant Orcs in the rear also joined in.

Of course, that action wasn’t ‘We’ll gather you all in one place to make it easier for you to kill us!’ Rather, it was closer to ‘Let’s die together!’

“Ma, stop it! Stop that thing quickly!”

I immediately sensed a crisis and shouted to the knights on the ground. There was no time to take care of etiquette or anything.

I shouted from above the zombie wyvern, but the knights heard my shout, and the knights, who knew that I was not just an outsider, began to move. As I, a warlock and not an ordinary noble, shouted urgently, the knights seemed to sense that the situation was not good.

“Viscount Steel. Why do you do that?”

“That is, a spell to create a kind of death knight.”

According to the history of black magic I learned from my grandmother, the first Death Knight was created based on the magic of an orc shaman. And, that was the same spell the orcs were trying to use now.

It was a sacrificial spell and a strengthening spell that sacrificed all of the orcs to give all their strength and vitality, as well as their souls, to a single warrior.

Of course, a warrior created in that way is worthy of being called a great warrior and has very strong power. Although the spell is not permanent and the warrior dies after a short period of time.

“… … Is it strong?”

“For about ten minutes, you will have the same strength as a great warrior.”

Orc warriors are called great warriors if they can overcome the wall and produce master-level strength that is stronger than that of an expert. The crown prince’s expression hardened at the thought of being able to use the power of such a great warrior even for ten minutes.

The crown prince also shouted at the knights to stop them, but unfortunately they were unable to stop the orcs’ magic.

An orc shaman who was so old that it wouldn’t be surprising if he died soon stabbed his own heart with a long dagger, and the spell was activated, and all the orcs present collapsed. Then, the souls came out of well over a hundred orcs and flocked to a single orc warrior standing next to the shaman.

But, fortunately, the knights were not stupid. Even though what they thought was an extremely bizarre situation was unfolding, they did not hesitate to attack the Orc warriors.

Thanks to this, the Orc warrior, who should have gained strength worthy of a great warrior, did not gain strength properly and only received large and small wounds all over his body.

Still, as if the sacrifice of over a hundred orcs had not been in vain, three knights flew through the air. With mana pouring out from all over my body.

Of course, that was the end of the knights’ damage.

Although the three were sent away, the Orc great warrior, whose entire body was hacked to pieces by other knights, fell to the ground. No, looking at it almost disintegrated, it seemed like it had collapsed.

“Your mug is making a great debut.”

I don’t know if it was because the subjugation battle ended without any damage even though there was an orc with power close to that of a great warrior, but the crown prince looked at me as if he was congratulating me.

Not only was it not enough to turn someone who was on the verge of becoming an expert into an expert, but the erythronium weapon was given a modifier that allowed it to subdue master-level orc fighters without harm.