[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-black-dragon-necromancer":3,"chapter-black-dragon-necromancer-black-dragon-necromancer-chapter-52":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Black Dragon Necromancer",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2312812,4521,"Chapter 52","black-dragon-necromancer-chapter-52",52,"\u003Cp>Prague: “Have the legion’s casualties been tallied?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugru: “Tallied. The spear unit lost 1,524 men—killed or rendered combat-ineffective. After basic treatment by healing priests, the rest can still fight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy cavalry: 5,138 killed or combat-ineffective; the remainder are all wounded to varying degrees, with only 3,548 still able to fight—no longer capable of large-scale operations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light cavalry and aerial scouts lost 1,241 and 2,317 men respectively; due to severe injuries, 123 and 54 were permanently combat-ineffective. Archers and sorcerers lost a combined 1,133, with 4,215 rendered combat-ineffective.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Total combat losses amount to this; all survivors are wounded. Only the twenty-thousand-strong reserve garrison left behind at camp remain fit for combat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prague: “I understand. Have we tallied the total number of demons slain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugru: “Tallied. Imps: only a few; Winged Devils: 3,142; Rage Demons: 1,371; Soul Judges: 630; Bagura Demons: 570; Succubi: 460; Plague Toads: 437; Minotaurs: 412; Huntspiders: 350; Abyssal Armored Demons: 304; Gargantuan Gutworms: 206; Earth Giants: 113; Blood Drainers: 106; Glaez: 8. Also, thirty tons of insect demons and twenty tons of dwarf demons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These are only what remained on the battlefield. Had we ordered pursuit, our kills would have been greater. Demons’ bodies are highly sought after—every kind of magical material and weapon depends on them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prague: “You must understand: this campaign was for training, not to fight to the death, nor to make profit. We don’t know if this demon lord answers to some even stronger being, nor can anyone predict whether we’ll encounter other demon lords on the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our legion has lost combat capability. Our task now is to hold the camp until the portal reopens in a month. Now go tally those who were promoted and those deserving rewards—this is what Sakavi the Grand Duke cares about most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugru: “Already tallied. Two were promoted to Master Rank: Sharut and Gisk. Over fifty reached High Rank, over a hundred and twenty reached Mid Rank. I must say, these two lads from Agrik Academy are far superior to us old men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rewards are needed for many: besides the three standard-bearers and fifteen company commanders who died on the field, all other senior officers earned merit. Standard-bearer Aweil performed exceptionally in command—the potential of this academy-trained ogre is astonishing. All others’ deeds are documented in detailed reports. The Grand Duke’s requested combat summary is already being written.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prague: “Brother, I heard you fiercely resisted the Grand Duke’s administrative reforms, refused outright to study at the academy, preferred coming here to train ogres rather than help develop the territory. True?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugru: “Hah! That was youth’s ignorance. Back then, I thought the Grand Duke was bullying us. For ten thousand years we lived as we did—how could one evil five-colored dragon come and demand we change everything? For over a decade in the legion, I watched these clumsy, stumbling idiots gradually become disciplined, unyielding elite troops.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I saw ogre graduates replacing drow as commanders, I finally understood—the Grand Duke’s wisdom is beyond our imagining.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within a month, the camp had become an unshakable steel rivet on demon territory. Despite relentless day-and-night raids and assaults, it stood firm. Bloodstains on the walls were cleaned, breaches repaired and reinforced. The air still bristled with martial dread, yet now carried a steadiness of the ordered world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crooked Mouth, tell me—how bored must our Grand Duke be to send us here? All we do is stand guard and kill. Not that we’re afraid of those bastards, but I just don’t get why we came all this way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why so many questions, Big Tooth? We eat the Grand Duke’s food, take his pay—even if he ordered us to cut off our own heads, we’d do it. What he does is his business. Poor our squad leader—he got dragged off the wall two nights ago by those demon hounds. Terrible. You weren’t on duty, but you’d have heard the screams—you wouldn’t have dared climb the wall. I watched them dismember him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re full of shit! Don’t think I’m bragging—I once fought a minotaur single-handedly on the wall. My guts spilled out—I didn’t even look, just shoved them back in, kept fighting. The flag officer came over to praise me. And you’re scared of a few demon hounds?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I bet the flag officer called you a lump! Hahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rook, look over there!” At the shout from the watchtower, the two turned to where Gom pointed. A solemn silver light suddenly flared in the center of the square—not blinding, but pure, alien to the Abyss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the light, countless arcane runes flowed and spun like living things, weaving into a vast, perfect circle. At its center, space rippled like water, revealing a clear, blue sky they had nearly forgotten.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Arcane… that’s arcane power!” Crooked Mouth perked up instantly, eyes wide as bells. “Reinforcements! Fresh troops are finally here! The Grand Duke remembered us! Hahaha, wonderful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing reinforcements had arrived, Big Tooth’s heart pounded. A long-absent warmth surged through him. He remembered the bloody battle a month ago, the fallen comrades, the unceasing demon assaults of the past month—now, finally, the demons would pay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gripped his spear shaft tightly. His weary, hunched back snapped straight. His voice, hoarse with emotion, turned to Crooked Mouth: “I see it—I see it, brother! It’s the portal! Our reinforcements are here! When these fresh troops arrive, we’ll follow Commander Prague and charge out—wipe every last damn demon from the earth! Avenge our fallen brothers!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He already saw countless new armors and weapons pouring from the gate, merging with the veterans into an unstoppable steel tide, crushing every demon in sight. Passion surged in his chest; even the blood-red sky above seemed brighter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they saw line after line of gleaming, well-dressed soldiers marching out of the portal. Immediately, the assembly horn sounded across their camp. Big Tooth knew—the counterattack had come. The Black Dragon Grand Duke’s army would finally crush these vile demons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All units, assemble! Prepare for relief!” The battalion commander’s gruff bellow echoed through the camp.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relief?” Big Tooth and Crooked Mouth stared at each other, their passion frozen, replaced by stunned confusion. Soon, word spread like wildfire through the ranks, piercing their ears with perfect clarity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We… we’re going home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relief rotation! The new legion takes over—we can go home!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back to the Material Plane! Back… home!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Home…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I won’t go! I’m staying here to kill every last demon—I’m going nowhere!” A furious shout rang through the entire ogre camp. A one-tusked, one-legged ogre tore off his leather armor and hurled it to the ground, baring his muscular chest as he roared at the battalion commander.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take your anger out on me, not your battalion commander—he’s just carrying out my orders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet but piercing voice rang out. The entire camp fell silent. All turned to the rooftop, where a colossal, skeletal lizard stared down. Its simple black scales shimmered with the deep luster of polished obsidian under the Abyss’s crimson sky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pair of molten-gold vertical pupils scanned below, their gaze piercing souls, seeing every warrior’s Rexue  and exhaustion. Upon its head, two backward-curving black dragon horns were not wild and knotted, but like carved black jade crowns, radiating ancient power and wisdom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two massive black dragon wings, folded behind its back, gleamed with metallic coldness—even in repose, they cast a comforting shadow. A long, muscular dragon tail swayed unconsciously behind it, its tip slicing the air with the grace and power of a predator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No aura of slaughter radiated from him—only the deep, calm stillness of one who had endured eons and witnessed countless deaths. That stillness itself was a mighty declaration of power. To the Black Dragon, every soldier here was his junior.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“G…Grand Duke?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, all resentment, anger, and agitation dissolved into pure excitement and loyalty. Whether ogre, minotaur, or harpy, every soldier, regardless of unit, instinctively saluted the figure on the roof with their race’s highest reverence. Fist-on-chest thuds, weapon-strike-ground clanks, wing-folded salutes merged into one unified wave—like the most devout pilgrimage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes no longer burned with vengeance, but with fervent trust—their core found. The first ogre who had shouted loudest now clenched his lips, his massive hand pressed to his chest, eyes filled with worship for the Black Dragon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Black Dragon Grand Duke spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet clear to every soldier’s ear—deep, resonant, magnetic, carrying the dragon’s innate vibration, like the earth’s own whisper: “I have heard your defiance and courage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused. In his molten-gold pupils flickered a touch of almost paternal warmth. “But now, I will take my children home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many warriors, moments ago furious, now finally released their burdens. Joy surged again—but this time, not because they were returning home, but because their deepest longing had been acknowledged by the Black Dragon Grand Duke they most revered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Iron Fist Legion stood in formation, bristling with fresh battlefield edge and faint excitement. But when they saw the Tooth Legion—silent, emerging from barracks, watchtowers, and walls—their excitement froze, shattering into invisible cold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They saw an army risen from hell. Shattered shields scarred with claw marks and corrosion; blunted weapons whispering of countless clashes with bone and chitin; armor stained with dried, blackened blood, now its new coating. Faces bore indelible exhaustion; eyes, still smoldering with unextinguished killing intent, held something deeper… numbness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly—their numbers. Iron Fist soldiers instinctively scanned the ranks, silently counting the staggering, horrifying gaps. The “bloody” reports they’d heard now became empty spaces on the ground, wooden boxes holding ashes. The horror of the Abyss was no longer a word—it was etched onto every survivor’s body, branded into their eyes. Their earlier bravado now seemed pale, hollow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire relief process unfolded in silence. Flags, defense maps, fortress keys—all passed wordlessly. The Tooth Legion’s survivors moved, forming sparse but still orderly lines, trudging heavily toward the portal home. Their footsteps on the square’s stone slabs did not echo with joy—they rang like funeral drums.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron Fist soldiers parted automatically, standing at attention, watching. Their gazes were complex, filled with awe. They were not bidding farewell to heroes—they were witnessing living history, a grim preview of the brutal future they themselves would soon face.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, Ugru, Blackfeather, and Lei En have requested to remain, aiming to break through to Master Rank before returning. I find their request reasonable—may I approve it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Agreed. You’re the acting commander here—I won’t interfere in legion affairs. I plan to form a fifth legion, with Sharut as its commander. What do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our strength still needs bolstering, but the cost of Abyss training is too high. I suggest we also train the Rapid Response Division of the Security Bureau and the Garrison Forces. Should our next move be clearing the Underworld?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Decide that yourself. I must focus on developing new necromantic arts—I have no spare energy for this. You must return. Gisk will hold the line here. We must give the young enough room to grow.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1827,"2026-06-20T13:10:04.638Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fe3451d833e6c3a605f80c943aa5170bd51c07ea661222d98d7f26f750b6eb43","black-dragon-necromancer-chapter-53","black-dragon-necromancer-chapter-51",145,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fblack-dragon-necromancer-cover.jpg"]