The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

22 During the aftermath of war, the number of followers increases

The woman lay on the bed like a living corpse, staring at the ceiling.

『I suppose it should be over now?』

To say that she was like a living corpse is not merely a simile, but reality. This woman was something known as a Live-Dead, a freshly-deceased corpse that had vitality forcibly poured into it to restart its heartbeat and respiration.

It was the familiar of the【Degenerate*】adventurer Luciliano, who had made use of the Orcs' strong urge to reproduce to keep an eye on the Noble Orcs' movements.

TLN*: I made a translating error in chapter 19 regarding this title; Luciliano actually has this title (It was hard to tell because Japanese sentences often omit the subject). I've gone and fixed the mistranslation if you are curious enough to check (and even remember what my original translation was).

The Live-Dead's five senses were not very sensitive, so its sense of hearing was primarily used for gathering information. The sounds of swords clashing, war cries and dying screams coming from outside had stopped.

『The Ghouls put up more of a fight than I would have imagined. Doesn't this mean that we don't have to gather a large group to exterminate them?』

There had been a group of over five hundred monsters living in this village. That was why Luciliano's employer, Viscount Balchesse, needed to put himself at the mercy of Earl Palpapek, a marshal of the Mirg nation, to gather a large-scale extermination force.

However, if the battle with the Ghouls reduced the Orcs' numbers by a third, hiring ten C-class adventurer parties would be enough. The Orc messenger had brought the news that all of Bugogan's sons and most of the higher-ranked leaders like the Orc Generals and Orc Mages had been defeated, and his ridiculously loud voice had reached the ears of the Live-Dead.

If that's the case, the only enemy that would pose a threat to C-class adventurers would be Bugogan, and even he was only Rank 7. That was the same Rank as an Earth Dragon, but he was still a foe that could be defeated if C-class adventurers formed a party and fought him together.

Hiring those C-class adventurers wouldn't be cheap, but far more affordable than gathering an extermination force of hundreds. Even if they suffered casualties, losing a few hired hands wouldn't be a problem, unlike losing soldiers and knights.

That was what Luciliano was thinking, but his thoughts were interrupted as something entered the house that had been destroyed by its owner in rage.

The footsteps were too quiet for it to be Bugogan returning after his victory, and there were multiple of them. Were they Goblins who had become lost in the confusion of the battle?

「There it is, it's a human.」

「... Is this thing alive?」

But the creatures that appeared were the lion-headed Ghouls. Luciliano opened his eyes wide in surprise.

『It can't be, the Ghouls won against the Noble Orcs?!』

Luciliano had heard that there were no superior Ghouls like Ghoul Tyrants or Ghoul Elder Mages in this Devil's Nest. The Ghouls defeating the Noble Orcs was a result that he had never expected.

No, Luciliano wasn't the only one. Nobody would have thought it possible for a group of several hundred monsters ruled by a Noble Orc to be annihilated in an internal conflict within the Devil's Nest.

However, no matter how hard it was to believe, the Ghouls did not disappear from Luciliano's sight.

「It moved a little just now. It's alive.」(Male Ghoul)