Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 336

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of marching military boots reverberated through the dirt. The defenders on the castle walls murmured in fear as weapons were gripped tighter until furry knuckles turned white.

There were 20,000 troops from the Khan Kingdom, and fifteen Kizen students were among them.

The troops moved swiftly and surrounded the entire castle. Soon, they would attack all four gates simultaneously.

"Squeak! Squeak! Don't be afraid!"

"Fight till the end! Squeak!"

Rat-human adjutants roamed around, encouraging the soldiers on the battlements. Simon watched the scene in silence, then turned to Meilyn.

"You alright?"

Her face was completely frozen.

"Ehehe!"

Suddenly popping out beside Meilyn, Rick let out a mocking laugh.

"Meilyn, are you scared? You are scared, aren'tcha!! Hah, you little scaredy-cat!"

"Ugh! I think you need to learn how to tense up a little!"

Meilyn immediately retaliated with a slap across his back, but Rick laughed sullenly, not even retaliating like normal.

"Feeling nervous is something you can only let yourself do now. When the war starts, you won't be able to pull yourself together. Simply put…"

Rick leaned in, opening his eyes wide like a maniac.

"It will be absolute madness."

Grab.

Meilyn held Rick's face, her eyes frozen daggers.

"Your face is absolute madness, you crazy bastard."

"Awwworuaghra!"

Rick let out an agonized scream as he struggled in Meilyn's reinforced grip.

Simon laughed quietly as he watched him. He knew it was Rick's way of easing his companion's tension.

And perhaps it worked. Meilyn gracefully pulled out a handkerchief, wiped her hands with it, and stared straight ahead.

Her eyes were full of focus, and the slight trembling was nowhere to be seen.

Stooooooomp! Stoooooooomp!

Just then, everyone was forced to look back at the battlefield.

The Khan soldiers' formation split in half, making way for a carriage pulled by a huge elephant.

On top of the carriage was a girl with twin-tails, her white, navy coat draped over her shoulders. She waved a fan as she arrogantly sat cross-legged.

"Ah, damn."

Meilyn frowned.

"She's on the attacking team?"

"This game's gonna be tough."

Leaning against the battlements, Rick stroked his chin with a serious face.

"S.A.7, Elissa Seline of the Phantom Ships. We have never had a known name like her join the siege until now."

Stomp!

The elephant stopped walking.

Elissa, on the carriage, uncrossed her legs. A knight of the Khan Kingdom, stationed next to her, politely took her hand and helped her to her feet.

Then, she cast an amplification spell on her throat.

"Ahem."

The girl's clear voice echoed across the tense battlefield of metal and blood.

Meilyn grimaced.

"Well, I guess there's no way she's not going to make use of her specialty."

"…Specialty?"

"Did you forget? Her dad's an active prime minister. She's from a notorious political family."

Elissa began,

"My name is Elissa Seline, supreme commander of the Khan Kingdom. As a guardian sent by the creator, I am here to ensure the victory of the Khan kingdom."

At those words, an uproar erupted from the beast-humans on the defending side, the Aeon Kingdom.

"Squeak! Squeak! I thought we were the only ones with guardians?!"

"Why are guardians in the Khan Kingdom, too…?!"

Elissa stared at the panicking battlements for a moment, then continued,

"Hear me, people of Aeon!"

Her words rang out loud and clear.

"This will be a meaningless death."

"!"

With just a single sentence, the entire castle wall fell silent.

"If you have eyes, look. If you have brains, think for yourself. Do you really think that this…"

She spread her arms, gesturing to the 20,000 armed soldiers around her.

"…is a force that you can overcome?"

The silence that fell on Simon's allies grew heavier. On the other hand, Khan's soldiers shouted and jeered menacingly.

"The fear you feel is the answer. That fear is real. It is your instincts screaming at you that this is hopeless. The outcome of this massacre was decided the moment it was declared. Your old, rusty fortress cannot protect you, and the treacherous tongue of patriotism will guide you to your deaths. You people have been…"

This student…

"Deceived."

…was a monster who fed on fear.

"Is it your patriotism that keeps you standing there like that? Patriotism is a tyrant's tool, a hypocrite's tongue! Why should the citizens die for their king's failures in diplomacy? Why should the citizens be expected to give their lives for their country in a pointless war?"

Her voice became stronger.

"Surrender. Bring me those who have driven you to the field of death, and I will slay those who have deceived you into a false sense of patriotism and guarantee that you and your family's lives will be spared. I, Elissa Selene, who has come down by the creator's will, declare this true!"

Elissa's voice reached its climax.

"No creator wants the blood of their creatures. Surrender, and open the gates! For that is the only way to spare blood. The only other road is annihilation."

As expected from a politician's daughter.

She was eloquent.

Her speech disturbed the defending soldiers. Most of all, it was frightening how she turned the soldiers' hostility to their own side, not onto the Khan Kingdom, and subtly caused a crack between allies.

"Woah, this is pretty dangerous."

Reading the mood of the soldiers, Rick clicked his tongue.

"Until now, no student gave a speech or anything! Only the captain of the beast-humans came to the front, saying stuff like 'Glory to the kingdom!', and then the fighting began!"

"Meilyn."

Simon turned his head.

"Do you happen to be able to use amplification magic?"

"Hm? Oh, well, yeah, I do. I learned it in the Pure Magic Club, but… what do you plan to do with it?"

Simon flashed a faint smile.

"Speeches are an important factor in war, are they not?"

* * *

* * *

Since the supreme commander of the other side utilized her tongue, Simon would fight back with his tongue as well.

"Rick, are there any unique greetings or famous phrases from the Aeon Kingdom?"

"Ah, there's one! The King of the Aeon Kingdom said this before his death when they were defeated."

Rick whispered it in his ear, and Meilyn created an amplification magic circle floating in the air in front of Simon.

Simon observed the circle, then placed his hand on it, sending a pinch of jet-black through it.

Meilyn jumped up in surprise.

"Hey, wait! This spell only runs on mana, so if you do that—!"

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

An annoying noise suddenly rang out, causing the bustling crowd to cover their ears and turn their heads to the source of the noise.

"Hmph."

Simon stepped in front, his mouth right in front of the amplification circle.

"My name is Simon Polentia, supreme commander of the Aeon Kingdom."

All eyes naturally turned toward Simon.

"The creator sent me down to defend the Aeon Kingdom."

This time, the soldiers of the Khan Kingdom were the ones clamoring. They probably also thought they were the only ones with guardians aiding them.

"Eh?!"

Sitting in the carriage and waving her fan contentedly, Elissa looked up in surprise.

'Simon Polentia! As expected, he joined the siege, too! But how dare he challenge me in a war of words!'

She quickly stood up from her seat as Simon continued,

"You demand our surrender, saying that patriotism is the tool of tyrants??"

Simon's voice grew heavy.

"You insult us."

Elissa wasn't the only one able to turn the tide and get people's attention instantly.

Her face stiffened, and she cast the amplification spell on herself again, saying,

"Can you really say I am wrong? This whole situation, you sending your people to their deaths under the deceptive guise of patriotism? All for your own—"

"The will to protect."

Simon cut her off.

"Fear of war is natural. No one is immune to emotion. However, why do you think we are holding on and standing right here, right now?"

Simon's voice grew stronger. He turned to face his own allied forces.

"It is to protect our families."

Word by word, with force.

"Our friends."

The emotions that had welled up inside of him surged forth.

"Our homes, our possessions, and our daily lives. We are not fools enough to lay down our arms and leave all we hold dear in the hands of the enemy!! To us, the Aeon Kingdom, your words are nothing but…"

Simon turned back to face Elissa, looking her dead in the eyes.

"…an insult!!!"

Stomp!

Someone on the battlements stepped down hard, letting their resolution to fight sound out.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

Soon, all the soldiers on the battlements began to stomp their feet as a unified one. They stared straight at their enemies with maddened faces and bloodshot eyes.

"How dare you Khans, who have plundered all in your way to the palace, speak the word 'guarantee' from your liar's lips!!"

Stomp!

"We shall not be deceived!!"

Stomp!

"We shall defend what is ours with our own might!!"

Stomp!

Simon raised his arm and shouted,

"Aeum Aeon!!!"

The soldiers were confused that a guardian from another world knew their rallying cry, but it was only for a moment before their confusion turned to inspiration.

Every soldier raised their spears and shouted at the top of their lungs,

"Aeum Aeon!!!!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A thunderous roar erupted.

The soldiers cried out, laughed, and shouted wildly. Their hostility toward the enemy had never been stronger, and neither had their will to fight.

"Asssss expected from the Simon-ster!"

Cheered Rick, smiling broadly.

"Instead of hurting morale, the speeches ended up making us more unified than ever!"

Meilyn's eyes were fixed on Simon. She saw Simon putting his arm down and touching his reddened neck. Then, when he made eye contact with Meilyn, he smiled sheepishly.

"Mm, that's a little embarrassing. Did I go too far?"

"No."

Meilyn took a light breath, and smiled at Simon.

"It was cool, Simon."

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

The cheering was still going on.

"You little… Ugh!"

Elissa shouted something with a reddened face from anger and humiliation, but the soldiers of the Aeon Kingdom weren't listening.

"Aeum Aeon! Aeum Aeon!"

The only thing that happened was their morale rising in real-time.

"Elissa."

Just then, a male student with an eye patch and a large longsword strapped to his waist came down to Elissa's carriage.

"Stop throwing a tantrum and come back. That guy is very angry."

"Ugh, honestly!"

Elissa hit her chest in frustration.

"I bet all those beast-humans have the brains of rats, too! Aren't they stupid? Nothing is more precious than their lives! How can their morales rise from that?! In the end, what Simon Polentia did was a pathos attack based on nothing!!"

"I don't know much about politics, but…"

Jule sighed heavily.

"When it comes to risking their lives, humans follow their emotions, not their rationality. You lost by appealing to logic in your war speech."

With that, Jule grabbed Elissa's collar. She was lifted with ease.

"Wh-What are you doing!"

"I will retrieve you before the image of our supreme commander grows even more unsightly."

"Aghh! Let go of me! I haven't lost yet!!"

* * *

The war had begun.

The Khan Kingdom also knew they didn't have much time to spare. They divided their forces and simultaneously launched an all-out attack on all four gates.

"They're coming!"

Shouted Rick.

The south gate, which Simon was in charge of, was also swarming with enemies. The sight of the Khan Kingdom's beast-human army clad in black was quite intimidating.

Still, the south gate had a pretty good defense point. Although it had dried up probably years ago, it appeared that there was a moat here before.

Since there was still the pit from the moat beneath the castle wall, enemies had to climb the wall using a huge ladder, and there was only one way up to the gate.

And Simon, right now, was more confident than anyone else in his ability to defend a narrow hill.

"Let's start."

Standing on the battlements, Simon raised his arms like a pianist about to play a beautiful melody.

Simultaneously, eight skeleton mages raised their staffs to the sky.

——