Since they were too far away, Michael couldn’t use Detect on the eagle-like creatures.
But from the aura they gave off, he could tell they were all still Rank 1 monsters—none were close to Rank 2.
Individually, they didn’t seem difficult to kill, but with hundreds of them in the sky, the sight was terrifying.
Like they say, even ants can kill a lion—let alone a swarm of magical beasts.
At that moment, Michael made his decision.
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Wasn’t it just about keeping most of them alive while ensuring his own survival?
Then he’d do it—but that was as far as he was willing to go.
However, if he truly wanted to save these people, there was one thing he needed to do.
And that was to summon part of his undead for assistance.
Alone, he’d only be putting himself at risk.
But with his undead?
He wouldn’t have to take direct action.
Still, a question lingered
What would be the reaction of the people around him when they saw his undead?
Michael only hesitated for a moment before making his decision.
If their reaction was bad, it was better to find out now while he was still on the outskirts of civilization rather than later—when he was deep inside it.
If he ever found himself surrounded by powerful figures and forced to use Necromancy, which was forbidden in this region, then Michael knew he’d be looking at a permanent 10% reduction in his stats in the future.
Since he had made the decision to show a bit more about himself while taking the effort to make this group of people feel something—at least even if it was just gratitude towards him—Michael went all out at the start and summoned Lucky, his strongest undead.
A magic circle appeared in front of Michael, and the huge appearance of Lucky emerged from it.
Following its appearance, several huge green vines erupted from the ground, charging at the black eagles descending from the air.
With the instructions given by its master upon summoning, Lucky made sure to avoid any harm reaching the group of people around it—including its master.
The sudden appearance of the green vines erupting from the ground shocked the group of twenty knights who still had their consciousness, including Mage Lian.
Immediately, they all turned to look at Michael’s location.
No—rather, they all turned to stare at the monster closer to Michael, whose presence made their hearts squeeze in fear.
Mage Lian, who had worn an expression of extreme seriousness on his face earlier, now had it replaced with shock.
As the Grand Mage of the kingdom, though he knew there were existences stronger than him in this world—like the Great Knights and Mages of the kingdom—he had never considered himself weak. Or rather, only a few beings were capable of making him feel weak.
However, he never thought that he would encounter such an existence again.
When he had called for help from Michael, it was because he had acknowledged him as someone with a certain level of power worthy of respect.
At the very least, the fact that the young man could contain such power at his age was something to respect.
However, even though Michael gave him the feeling that they could be equally matched in battle, Mage Lian still thought very highly of himself.
After all, he was an individual who had lived for more than a hundred and fifty years—the experience that came with several decades of battle wasn’t something that talent could always override.
However, now, in front of Mage Lian’s very eyes, was the sight of someone he had barely considered an equal showing his fangs for the first time.
“An undead? No… He didn’t have any other person with him before.”
This was the thought that ran through the minds of the more knowledgeable people around.
Though Lucky gave them a feeling of immense strength, the ones with better sensitivity felt a heavy lack of life from its presence.
It was dead.
Creatures like this were called undead, and those who controlled them were called necromancers.
In the kingdom and the empire as a whole, the use of undead was not banned, merely frowned upon—but necromancers were still discriminated against due to their nature.
However, what all necromancers had in common was that they always kept their undead close.
That was the issue.
Michael had always been alone, so where did the undead come from?
“He’s a summoner!”
Was the second thought that ran through their minds.
There was no better way to explain this, nor was there time to consider it, as they were all currently in the midst of danger.
The first side to suffer a loss at the start were the monsters.
The black eagles that were at the front were the first to die from Lucky’s vines.
However, to Michael’s surprise—who had expected the black eagles to continue charging forward even at the sight of their fellow monsters’ deaths, just like the monsters that emerged from the cracks in the real world—all of these ones actually stopped and flew upward.
Though not all of them were able to escape from the range of Lucky’s skill, a good number of them still managed to.
For a moment, both monsters and humans stayed still and did nothing.
That was until Michael spoke, snapping the people on his side out of their shock.
“Are you going to stay there and do nothing?!”
The loudness and tone of his voice jolted the knight group and Mage Lian out of their daze.
Finally recovering, Mage Lian immediately took control again.
“For the ones that are able to walk and have strength, carry those that cannot or have fallen unconscious! We leave no comrade behind—we leave!”
The commanding voice seemed to ignite a new surge of strength within the group of knights, who immediately followed the order.
All of this played out under the watchful eyes of Michael, who still had his attention locked on the monsters in the sky.
“Those are black eagles. Advanced-level monsters whose attacks are purely physical. They live in large groups. If your summon can hold them off, we should be able to escape the forest.”
At some point, Mage Lian had appeared close to Michael and started speaking to him about the characteristics of the monsters above.
Advanced level? Summon?
Michael was unable to fully grasp the implication of these two terms until a moment later.
“Advanced level… Is this a way of classifying the strength of creatures in this part of the world? And summon… They think Lucky is a summon?”
This much was what Michael could gather from the two words Mage Lian had just spoken.
However, he was uncertain whether his assumptions were correct.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to ponder these things, so after giving a nod and a hmm to Mage Lian’s words, Michael continued keeping his eyes on the monsters above.
Strangely, after their first loss, the group of monsters didn’t immediately attack—they just hovered in the sky, glaring at the group of people below.
They also did nothing, even when Michael and the group of twenty knights, plus Mage Lian, began to retreat.
They simply maintained their stance in the sky.However, what made Michael nervous was that he could constantly feel some sort of gaze on him—one that made him feel very uncomfortable.
He felt he was being paranoid, but something told him that “that” monster was probably staring at him right now, even though there was no sign of its body in the environment.
All of this made Michael want to leave the forest quickly.
Fortunately, this was the same feeling the others had, as they all hurried their retreat.
Like before, the group of beings in the sky did nothing but stare at them as they retreated.
It wasn’t until the group had moved a little further away that the monsters dived down again.
However, this time, it wasn’t for Michael and the people around him—but for the monster corpses on the ground.
Using their claws, they swooped down, grabbed the bodies of their fallen companions, and then flew back into the sky, retreating deeper into the forest.
All of this played out before the eyes of Michael, who was retreating with the group of knights and Mage Lian, with Lucky beside him.
Though there was no evidence, Michael was certain these monsters were taking the bodies of their fallen companions to “that” monster.
In a way, it proved that the mysterious monster seemed to be in need of bodies.
For what reason, they did not know.
However, regardless of what it was, at least they were able to escape—and that was what mattered most.
The moment the group emerged from the forest, Michael unsummoned Lucky, sending him back into the Netherworld.
However, no one stopped, and they continued moving toward the walled settlement.
Michael could have separated from the group, but wouldn’t that defeat the entire purpose of “saving” them?
With an attitude like he was one of them, Michael simply tagged along.
