Chapter 205
Creak- Creak creak-.
Clatter-.
The sound of bones colliding filled the surroundings.
Gulp-.
Kiel and the other members of the subjugation force swallowed dry saliva.
The skeletons narrowing the encirclement every moment.
The closer the dark purple lights in their eye sockets approached, the more frequently they swallowed saliva.
They were feeling fear.
The undead. Beings that do not die. Those who cannot be killed.
The subjugation force had realized their terror as soon as they fought against them once.
"Kiel."
"Lindbergh, what about the injured?"
"I moved them to the least visible place."
"What's our current number?"
"...You have eyes, don't you? Now it's few enough to count."
Lindbergh showed a self-deprecating smile.
Only then did Kiel become aware of reality once again.
'Thirteen...'
That's right. The personnel they could see were the entire subjugation force and their strength.
That was including Lucia's nanny, and if she weren't there, they would only be twelve.
The problem wasn't just that.
'Now Adonis is gone too.'
Boom-!
Thunder and lightning struck the palace behind them incessantly.
It would be Adonis's doing.
'If he were here... he could easily subdue this battlefield, right?'
Adonis's overwhelming martial might.
If he were here, the skeletons in front of them would be nothing more than rolling skulls.
Should he have held onto Adonis?
Then he might have been able to allocate troops to transport the injured to a safe place.
"..."
Kiel shook his head, desperately trying to shake off that thought.
That's not the path to victory. It's just a path to preserve his own life.
'From the beginning, he's a child who should have played the role of a spear in this subjugation. We shouldn't use him as a shield trying to protect us.'
It was when Kiel was organizing his thoughts. Lindbergh, who had been hesitating, opened his mouth.
"So, what are you going to do now? Retreat with the injured?"
"No, we can't back down. We have to defend this place."
"Why?"
"It's been 3 minutes since Lord Adonis went inside. The fact that he's still fighting when he's someone who can clean up these skeletons in the blink of an eye? Something must have happened."
It's not just about Adonis.
Elester and Lucia are also there.
A fierce battle must be unfolding.
A fierce battle where even those called monsters can't easily gain the upper hand.
'Although they could shatter these skeletons just by flicking their fingers...'
It's also an act that consumes stamina and mana.
The constantly resurrecting skeletons would be a great burden.
"So we have to defend this place. Not letting a single one of them inside. That will be our... last mission."
"...Okay, I understand. I'll tell the others."
Lindbergh left to go to the others.
Kiel, who was watching his back, hit his own head hard.
Saying 'last mission'. He had uttered ominous words.
Lindbergh was a bright person, so he would probably leave that part out when conveying the message.
'Planting the seeds of anxiety in Lindbergh... Stupid bastard!'
It was when Kiel was self-deprecating while holding his head.
Boom-!
The thunder echoing from the palace didn't stop.
Although the palace had collapsed a lot, the view wasn't completely clear.
He squinted slightly and examined that side, but all he could see were golden lightning and magic.
'Is Lady Lucia alright?'
Kiel had wanted to show a good side while being active on this battlefield and imprint his existence on Lucia.
Suddenly, he couldn't help but recall.
The image of his friend Edwin, who had given him the opportunity to talk to Lucia.
Edwin, who was always cheerful. It was when he recalled his smile.
Edwin turned into a skeleton and aimed his bow at him.
That was the last image of him that Kiel remembered.
'Damn it!'
It was when Kiel was about to hit his head again. Someone grabbed his hand.
"Kiel, are you okay?"
"Lady Sylvia..."
It was Sylvia, Lucia's friend.
"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that those children ended up like that."
"I should have been more careful. If I had thought a little more..."
Hug-.
A warm and pleasant scent. A small vibration was felt on his back.
Sensations and smells that could never be felt on the battlefield.
Kiel soon realized. Sylvia was tightly hugging him and patting his back.
In the faintly secured view, Kiel saw.
The ribbon tied to Sylvia's scabbard.
'A black ribbon...'
Kiel knew the meaning of that ribbon.
The war with the Doron Kingdom that broke out about 19 years ago.
It was an item used as a symbol to commemorate the soldiers who died there.
A ribbon with such meaning that hardly anyone remembers now.
Only then could Kiel recall.
Sylvia was one of the war heroes.
And a person who had lost more friends and comrades than him.
'To laugh at such a person... Kiel, are you even human after doing that?'
He had to apologize.
For the fact that he had forgotten their deaths.
For not understanding Sylvia, who couldn't overcome the pain of war.
He had to apologize.
"Lady Sylvia, actually..."
"It's alright. I understand everything."
"Huh?"
"It's a good thing that people forget the pain of war. It means there are so many happy things."
There are many ways to overcome pain, but the best is to overwrite it with other memories.
To overwrite it with happy memories. Memories happy enough to forget the sadness.
"Commemoration is once a year. That's enough. So you don't need to apologize. Suffering... is enough with just us."
"..."
"So don't blame yourself. They wouldn't want you to be in pain either. Right?"
Kiel could tell. What Sylvia was saying now was her own experience.
The sleeves torn from the battle. The scars all over her wrists that could be seen through the gap.
Kiel quietly closed his eyes in Sylvia's arms. And slowly took a deep breath.
Kiel, who had regained his composure, broke free from Sylvia's embrace.
"Thank you for worrying about me. I won't do anything foolish, so don't worry."
"Yes. I believe you can do well. Let's do our best. It seems the end of this battle is also approaching."
Watching Sylvia's back as she headed towards the others, Kiel became lost in thought.
'The inclusiveness of a married woman...'
Asteon immediately came to mind. Asteon, who would be lying down with the other injured.
How envious would he be if he knew this fact?
"There's one more reason to defend this place..."
He must survive no matter what.
To brag that Lady Sylvia had tightly hugged him.
"So hurry up and get up, you stupid bastard..."
He wanted to check on Asteon's condition, but he couldn't.
Because the skeletons had already approached within reach.
Since there were only thirteen people left, the area each person had to cover was also quite large.
The biggest problem was...
Clack- Clack clack-.
The skeletal knights who had completed their recovery.
Although they had been eliminated first using holy power potions, about twenty of them still remained.
'With Asteon lying down, there's no way to stop their charge. The formation will collapse, it's just a matter of time.'
Did they also have memories of cavalry tactics?
Twenty skeletal knights lined up in a row.
'We have to stop them before they charge.'
But if he told someone to stop that, it would be the same as telling them to go die.
If he commanded someone, they would gladly follow. But he didn't want to shift the responsibility.
'I have no choice but to do it myself.'
It was when Kiel was gritting his teeth and filling his calves with mana.
"Hoho, there's no choice. I'll have to go. Tsk tsk, you're all so frail..."
An absurdly strange way of speaking.
Soon, Kiel saw. Nanny standing in front of him, stretching her body back and forth.
"Please take care of my position. You can at least do that much, right?"
"...Huh?"
Thud!
Before Kiel could even question her, Nanny kicked the ground.
Nanny instantly reached the skeletal knights. And then.
"Hyaaaaaah!!"
She pushed the skeletal knight at the end with her back.
A powerful blow filled with mana.
The skeletal knights lined up in a row had no choice but to collapse like dominoes.
Boom!!
Nanny took a big step.
Her figure had already reached the skeletal knight on the opposite side.
Amazingly, the heads of all twenty skeletal knights were completely shattered.
Everyone, including Kiel, gaped.
'They say all the nannies of the Lucid family are monsters... was that true?'
Nanny's current rank was late 7-star. She was stuck at 7-star without gaining enlightenment.
Most of the subjugation force had just reached 7-star.
So it was natural for them to be surprised.
'Of course, I did process it flashily on purpose.'
Because she had to plant 'hope' in the subjugation force and raise their morale.
Nanny glanced at the palace. The place where Lucia, whom she had to protect, was.
'...It doesn't seem like they have a plan to summon demons.'
Should she say it's fortunate? Although there's the Legion Commander's corpse, there are no demons.
The demon's curse hanging over the Lucid family.
If the conditions are met, Lucia will face death.
An 8-star knight will die without being able to resist at all.
'It's really infuriating.'
But what made Nanny even angrier was a different reason.
That was none other than...
'Making her wrestle with Black Mages at this point when she's busy shooting party invitations all day long!'
Lucia, who had succeeded in dieting for the first time in a few years.
Although Zero was to her liking, if she kept shooting party invitations, there might be someone with better conditions.
While she was busy searching for party members, the order to subjugate the fallen Black Mages came!
It was enough to make Nanny angry.
"Anything that interferes with the Young Lady's marriage..."
I'll! Destroy! It! All!
Nanny began to rampage on the battlefield.
The skeletons scattered not only as bone fragments but also as powder in the air.
"...Hmm?"
Volkan, who was observing the battlefield from his hiding place, thought.
He should.
Never go there.
*
Boom-!
Adonis, who had been searching various parts of the palace, stopped for a moment.
It was because Crowley's energy was getting stronger.
'The demonic energy is getting thicker.'
The magic circle surrounding Crowley.
If he used the sacred sword, he might be able to break it. However.
'I have to save it. That's the best trump card we have.'
Even he could only use the sacred sword for a short time.
Above all, there was no guarantee that he could break that magic circle with the sacred sword.
'From here on, I'll have to trust Elester.'
Boom-!
As Adonis moved to the opposite side, something caught his eye.
A person wearing a robe.
As if trying to use magic, he was reaching out his hand towards where Elester was.
'Volkan...!'
Although he was wearing a robe, he had the same physique as the Volkan he had first seen.
'I can also feel mana. It's the mana of a Black Mage.'
Adonis flew to the opposite side.
He pretended not to see to lure him into letting his guard down.
About 300m distance.
But for Adonis, who was called the Lightning Emperor, this level of distance was.
Not a distance that could be called far.
Boom-!
Literally in a split second, Adonis reached in front of Volkan.
He immediately thrust his spear.
The fifth secret technique of the Kassel family.
Twin Spear Abyss.
Adonis's spear split into two.
Two thrusts so fast that one spear felt like two.
His attacks were precisely aimed at Volkan's head and neck, and they hit perfectly.
Crunch-!
"...!?"
But Adonis couldn't help but be surprised. The feeling in his hand was strange.
There was no sound of tearing through flesh and muscle, and there was no blood that should have flowed if it were human.
That's right. It was as if...
'It's like I stabbed a skeleton?'
Clatter-.
As if to prove that fact, a skull fell off with a thud.
It was something that couldn't happen under common sense.
'He even had the mana of a Black Mage. Then...'
After thinking for a moment, Adonis could come up with a plausible deduction.
'Does it mean he can control any skeleton?'
Clatter- Clatter-.
Skeletons began to rise here and there.
Just the ones visible now were dozens. And...
Crunch-!
Spears made of bones were created in some skeletons and shot towards Elester.
Clack! Crack!
Lucia was guarding, so they couldn't reach Elester.
"..."
Adonis looked at the sky.
The fog had cleared considerably. Probably because the power of the magic circle floating in the sky had weakened.
Crackle-!
Adonis, who had risen into the sky, looked down at the battlefield.
It was white.
Snow had fallen? No. Because snow isn't the only white thing in this world.
"...It's the worst battlefield. No, is it the best battlefield for him?"
Adonis could see.
The sight of the land where hundreds of thousands, no, millions of skeletons were strewn.
That's right. The white things were none other than skeletons.
'Volkan... Was this also part of your scheme?'
This was the battlefield chosen by Volkan.
A place full of death, a place full of skeletons that Volkan could use as hosts.
'...It might turn into a battle of attrition.'
Adonis thought.
Perhaps this fight.
It might not end until all the skeletons on that land were shattered.
--TL Notes--
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