Dungeon (5)

With a slight incline, Zoukar scrutinized the chamber from the entrance. He squinted his eyes and then said, "We can attract the whole ant army if we can somehow blaze this chamber filled with their beloved offspring."

An intense gaze and a smile crept onto Zoukar's face as he glanced at Kazuma and the ants. He was ready to cut the corners on this strategy. Even Kazuma had shivers down his spine.

Zoukar snorted and commanded, "Astroth, you have to smolder this chamber into ashes and bits while I'll distract the soldiers and worker ants with my magic."

"Huh! At last, he'll show me something worthwhile. Let me see what magic he can display to distract those monsters," Kazuma hummed and chuckled.

Zoukar pointed to the eggs and said, "Swiftly go and do the deed when you find the opening."

He closed his eyes and concentrated the mana around his skulled staff. Don't know how, but Kazuma could also feel the mana concentration increasing around Zoukar, maybe due to him being a beast or whether that was the cause of his recent emergence in the said field of mana.

Zoukar invoked his magic and a deadly aura shrouded him to the deepest, most threatening extent. That was way different from what Kazuma felt from his magic. Zoukar's magic was dark and deadly, but the one Kazuma usually invoked until now had warmth and destruction.

Zoukar chanted something and invoked, "[Summon Undead]."

Suddenly, a lot of undead skeleton soldiers rose from the ground with rusty weapons and cheap armor in their hands. They had the same dark aura as Zoukar invoked, but Kazuma never felt a bit of living energy from them.

The skeletons were aloof and dead. Nothing else!

"Are these the skeleton soldiers I saw and read about in novels? Necromancers summon these creatures a lot and reign havoc on the living. I thought he was just a boasting freak. If he can summon an undead army, then he could be a threat to everyone else. How are black magicians living in this world? Do they stay hidden or maybe people don't care?'' Kazuma mulled it over.

Zoukar resumed to his skeletons, "Go and cause havoc in the chamber, fight and destroy all you see before you!"

Those skeletons turned to face the chamber and marched slowly as Zoukar directed. Cackling their bony jaws and peculiar limbs, they moved forward towards the ants. The lot of noise they make refers to their impractical use in sneak attacks.

"That must be why he said he could attract attention and grant me an opening. However, if he can use this type of magic, then why does he need me? Aren't skeleton soldiers enough of an army to fight the numerous ants," Kazuma contemplated?

Even with all these thoughts jumbling and striking his head, Kazuma still paid attention to the fight between the skeleton soldiers and the ants. As the undead marched toward the ants, their loud noises startled the ants.

Those ants turned towards the incoming barrage of bony soldiers conjured by Zoukar. The ants' crackled from their mouths with many sharp teeth. Anyone could notice their rage and anger towards the invading enemies.

Those ants crackled with red blood and red eyes. with frenzy and animosity. The whole bunch of ants in attendance roared. The black worker ants backed off to defend the eggs while the red ones raised their pointy tentacles and limbs to pierce through the enemies.

Meanwhile, Zoukar began his blabbering once again, "With [summon undead], you can conjure a small army of undead soldiers. The more you summon and control simultaneously, the more energy must be spent. You do not need corpses to summon this undead, which is conjured by our magic."

"Oh! Sounds like some astonishing magic! I ponder whether I could even one day use a different type of element. He never mentions what different elements are there in this world," Kazuma speculated.

He even contemplated Zoukar's habit of blurting out the necessary details whenever he needed them. Kazuma considered the fact maybe Zoukar knew about his consciousness stuck in the beast he named Astroth, but given Zoukar's personality, he would be dead if his identity was revealed.

Zoukar resumed his blabber, "If you ask why I need a flame element companion even after having such a compelling undead element, then you may realize that fact after watching the fight between my soldiers and ants."

Kazuma stared at Zoukar for a moment since he had the same arguments striking his head. However, Zoukar blurted out whatever Kazuma wanted to know. With a slight chuckle, he glanced back at the chamber and turned in the same direction.

The ants clashed with the skeleton soldiers, crackling and rattling their way through them. That was a clash between monsters, one living, and the other undead. Zoukar's skeleton summons raised their weapons to strike at the ants, but their attempt got interrupted by the red ant appendages.

Even though skeleton soldiers had enough numbers on their side, the ants had tough exoskeletons and sharp weapons. The skeleton soldiers struck hard and repeatedly, but all in vain since their rusty and weak weapons couldn't pierce the ants' natural armor.

Sensing this weakness of the skeleton soldiers, all the ants crackled as if chortling with their hearts and mocking their enemies. They grabbed the skeleton soldiers with their firm and sharp jaws, gradually ripping the undead.

With a frenzy of anger, these ants crushed and dismantled the undead skeleton before them. That fight turned into a lost cause within a few moments. Even with the number of undead, ants' might and strength reign over them.

That scenario was something Kazuma never expected when Zoukar summoned his undead, although one could tell the skeletons apart and their endurance was nothing more than a glance.

Only their aura was threatening, not their body or skeleton!

"I think I know now, that even if Zoukar tried to summon the undead, his mana would be exhausted before he even reached the queen. Is this what Zoukar meant by watching and learning why he had to summon me?'' Kazuma sighed in disappointment.

He believed the undead element could reign over the living, but that wasn't the case all the time. Some environments could be tougher than one expects. That is another reason why people need a tank in fantasy games.

"Your time has come, Astroth. Go!" Zoukar snickered with a slight gaze on Kazuma.