NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Monster Stampede and First Battle
Hano Ryuusei POV
The surrounding is filled with chaos.
The battle against the army of undead had started some time ago.
It was a few moments ago when Victor went to assist the Guild Master of the Altus' Adventurers guild to face the Undead Dragon.
I slashed my sword toward an undead monster called a ghoul.
If I were to explain what a ghoul is, it was an upgraded version of a zombie.
This undead has an aura protecting its body from all kinds of attacks.
To defeat one, I must exert more effort into my attacks, or else it would not be enough to defeat it in one go.
"Rahhh" <Hano>
I placed more spirit into my attack with a roar and swing my sword toward the Ghoul.
My sword managed to cleave through the neck of the ghoul, decapitating it.
All around me was the scene of soldiers and adventurers fighting against the various undead.
All of the soldiers and adventurers here were on par with our party’s fighting ability and maybe even higher.
"Fireball" <Eiko>
Eiko cast magic at the charging skeletons.
"This is getting annoying, although they are not that strong there are too many of them" <Eiko>
She said after seeing the fireball turn the skeleton into cinders.
Despite her complaints, her attacks succeeded to decrease the number of undead in the area.
"Oh my, look at you~ not long ago, you said that this is going to be easy." <Mizuko>
Mizuko replied to Eiko's complaints with a grin.
While doing so, she was also slashing down the undead that comes close to her using her Rapier.
She was swinging her sword with no wasted movement.
Her movement is similar to the movements of seasoned fighters that I have encountered in this world.
I could not help to appreciate her polished swordplay which is levels above that of my own.
Despite training in the castle with the soldiers for the past month.
My swordsmanship looks like that of an amateur compared to hers.
Her class as the "Sword Princess" was not just for the show.
"Brave" <Chiho>
Chiho cast support magic at Eiko.
"Eh? why did you cast brave on me all of the sudden?" <Eiko>
"Ah, I thought you were getting scared so I cast it on you." <Chiho>
"I AM NOT!" <Eiko>
I looked at Chiho's face and I could immediately tell that she was just teasing Eiko.
I am amazed at how Chiho was able to joke around this situation we are in right now.
Honestly just being with her gives our party a sense of security.
I wondered if it was the effect of her unique skill (Soothing).
A Unique skill that keeps her allies levels headed when around her.
I was not sure since she had always been like that even before we came into this world.
"Holy Spear!" <Chiho>
Chiho cast holy magic on the undead who are marching forward and with that, she was able to decrease their numbers.
As a saint, a monster like the undead is weak against her skills.
As an example, her skill "Life Aura", weakens the undead near her at the same time continuously heals allies around her.
Her ability to give her allies a status buff was just a bonus.
I am thankful for her presence on this battlefield right now.
Suddenly, I notice a ray of light pass by behind me.
The ray of light managed to hit an undead hound between its eyes as it was about to pounce from behind me.
"Hano-sama~ do not let your guard down." <Levethy>
The one who shot the ray of light, an arrow made of mana was Princess Levethy Pau Artesia, the third princess of the Artesia Empire.
"Sorry I have troubled you again Princess Levethy." <Hano>
"t-t-That's nothing!" <Levethy>
She hesitantly replied while averting her eyes away from me
Her cheeks have a tint of redness as she said those words.
She instead shook her head and close her eyes as if concentrating on something else.
She started talking once again, the hesitant tone she had from moments ago was gone and her tone now was serious.
"More importantly, it seems that the Undead Dragon is going to be a huge problem. Although Sir Victor and Sir David have the upper hand against it, I feel that they would need a lot of time before they would be able to defeat the Undead Dragon." <Levethy>
Levethy is using her skill (Spirit Eyes) to survey the surrounding.
Princess Levethy has the job class Spirit Archer, with it she could control spirits around her to help her in battle.
The skill (Spirit Eyes) enables her to share the vision with her summoned spirits.
She’s watching the battle with the Undead Dragon from far away.
"Then we should do our best to hold down the undead in the area. We must not let them reach the City!" <Hano>
"All right!" <Other Girls>
The Hero Party roared to pump themself up.
The battles continued.
It had been an hour since the Undead Dragon appeared.
We are unable to completely neutralize the advance of the undead.
Their sheer number was just too overwhelming that we could not kill them all as they advance.
500 Elite soldiers together with 200 adventurers who are C-rank and above are fighting in this chaotic battle right now.
With the speed of their advance, the army of undead would be able to reach the city in 2 days if they are kept unchecked.
Although most of them are low-level monsters we could not manage to completely block their advance.
About half of the monster has slipped through the frontline.
But it was to be expected.
"I see so their sheer number is just too much huh... tsk." <Hano>
I voiced out my frustration after realizing that a lot of undead have advanced beyond the frontline's formation.
Although knowing that this would be the case, I feel bad since I wanted to completely stop them.
"Sir. Hano, No one expect us to stop all of that 100,000 undead. The best we could do is to reduce their numbers so that the rear group would be able to defeat them." <Levethy>
"I know... but..." <Hano>
"Sir. Hano, you may be the hero but you can't shoulder all of this by yourself. You must learn to trust the adventurers and the soldier to protect the city. Our job as members of the front line is to eliminate the monster that is beyond their capabilities." <Levethy>
"-sigh- Your habit to shoulder all the responsibility is amazing but I must say that Levethy is right on this one, Hano." <Chiho>
Chiho said as she positioned herself beside me so I could hear her.
"Well, we may call ourselves the hero party but compared to those two we are just children." <Mizuko>
Mizuko suddenly intruded on the conversation while leaping backward to stay close to me a Chiho.
She was also looking in the direction of the 2 people fighting the Undead Dragon.
The Knight Master and the Guild Master.
The two are on a whole other level.
I must admit that compared to those two we are indeed weak.
"Hey, hey, hey~ don't leave me out of that conversation. Well, those two might be stronger than us right now but I am sure in the future we can become as strong as them." <Eiko>
A lightning bolt fell from the sky.
It fell from the sky in the shape of a dragon and struck the body of the Undead Dragon.
I felt the shockwave of that lightning bolt through my body.
"Uwawawa~ what the hell is that? Is that Magic?" <Eiko>
"wow..." <Hano>
"Amazing" <Levethy>
"Hoooo~" <Mizuko>
"Now, that's magic..." <Chiho>
"Eiko... When can you manage to cast magic like that?" <Mizuko>
Mizuko was looking at Eiko with a doubting eye.
It was like her face was telling Eiko "Can you really get to that level?"
"Aha. Ahaha. Well, soon! Just wait" <Eiko>
Eiko replied but her eyes were rolling around trying not to make eye contact with any of us.
"So that is the power of an A-Rank Adventurer huh..." <Mizuko>
"Hahaha, we still have a long way to go..." <Chiho>
"Yeah, this battle has been an eye-opener for us." <Hano>
"Hmpf~ we just have to gain experience, Level up and soon enough we can be as strong as them." <Eiko>
"Well if it's about increasing our level, I wonder how much our level would increase after this battle." <Mizuko>
Mizuko stared at the army of undead that continuously moved forward as if there was no end to them.
I must say, I realized after this battle that we might be exceptionally stronger than that a normal citizen of this world but compared to the people like Sir. Victor and Sir. David, we are still babies.
I realized that we must get a lot stronger than we are now.
When Sir. Victor has suggested that we must set our journey without rushing and increase our level on the way.
I honestly felt frustrated, I wanted to end this as fast as possible.
I wanted to finish this mission to defeat the Demon Lord so that we can already return to our world.
But I was naive, as I realized after seeing this battle.
I have realized that we indeed have a long way to go.
It was a shame but the way we are now, we are just on the level of a weaker B-rank Adventurer.
If I wanted a chance to defeat the demon lord I must aim to be at least as strong as sir Victor.
I held the sword in my hand tightly and focus on the task at hand.
"I shall do my best." <Hano>
I roared and charged at the incoming wave of undead monsters in front of me.
**************************
Kazue POV*
"aaaaaaahaaawuu" <Kazue>
I let out a yawn.
It was our party's shift to be the lookout while the rest of our unit is resting.
It was probably 3 AM and it was my shift and was on the lookout.
Although the rear group is expecting to see the undead coming from the forest later today, we could not let our guards down.
"The main force should be fighting the enemy at this moment." <Kazue>
I said to myself looking up into the sky.
I tried to form the image of the constellation that we have in our world but the arrangement of the stars in this world was different than that of our world.
We have been in this world for exactly 39 days now.
I am now looking in the direction of where the main force is fighting the army of undead.
From time to time I could perceive faint lights in the sky from that direction.
Those are probably magic attacks from either our troupe or the undead.
Then it came to me.
"They are definitely there right now… right?" <Kazue>
I remember the face of my close friends, Sakata Chiho, Muto Eiko, and Haga Mizuko.
It has been quite a long time since the last time I saw their faces.
To think that they are now fighting in the front line with the main force.
"Those guys are amazing" <Kazue>
I muttered into the air.
I smiled as I pictured them fighting the horde of undead on the front line.
I am feeling amazed by the fact that my close friends are now fighting with the strongest soldiers of Altus and elite adventurers.
My smile faded and I looked down at the grassy floor of the forest.
"As expected, ... I am still worried," <Kazue>
Worrying about them is a waste of time.
After all, there is nothing, I could do to help them.
All I could do was pray.
I clasped my hand together and prayed to the god who had favored me to protect my friends.
I was not the type of person who believed in god in our world but since I was favored by a god from this one, I took the opportunity to pray to it hoping that it would grant me my wish.
This became a habit I started when I was informed of the fact that the hero party left the castle 9 days ago and I have not missed a day praying since then.
I mean… there’s nothing for me to lose right? After all, God seems to exist in this world.
After experiencing a bit of despair not too long ago.
I have realized how dangerous this world could be.
One wrong move could cost you your life.
I knew it was dangerous from the start, but when I got into that situation, it was then registered to me.
When I left the castle more than a month ago, I said to myself.
"I'll make sure that I would keep myself away from danger as I venture into the world and see it with my own eyes. huh..." <Kazue>
I find those words to be funny now.
I said softly into the air as I remember what happened to me 2 days ago.
I almost died.
If not for the help of Argent-Senpai, I am sure by this time I might have...
I shook my head to remove such thoughts from my mind.
But.
I place my hands over my chest.
My heart was pounding hard while I recall what happened in that dungeon.
"Funny..." <Kazue>
I crumpled my hand into a fist firmly over my heart.
It was certainly a life-or-death situation.
But what is this feeling?
Is it fear?... No.
At that time, I was fighting for my life.
My senses were at their peak.
My heart was beating so fast that I can even hear it in my ears.
"Was I...” <Kazue>
"Mizusawa-san!"
A voice called for my name.
I became startled and looked for the source of the call.
"Eh? what?" <Kazue>
"Oh sorry, I did not expect to startle you?" <Charlotte>
I looked behind me and saw Charlotte.
"Char?... Oh~ no, no I was just thinking of something... what is it?" <Kazue>
"Uhm. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit." <Charlotte>
"Sure... sit down." <Kazue>
"Thanks" <Charlotte>
Charlotte walked to the space I offered her beside me and sat down.
"Uh... so? what do you want to talk about?" <Kazue>
"Sorry..." <Charlotte>
"Eh? Sorry? For what?" <Kazue>
I wondered why she would say sorry to me.
I tried to remember if something happened.
Before I could even dig from my memories she continued to talk.
"Uhmm… You know... about what happened in the dungeon?" <Charlotte>
"Uwaa~... it still bothers you? move on already it's not as if I died or something..." <Kazue>
"But if that Argent guy did not appear! by now I am sure... you'd probably be..." <Charlotte>
Charlotte was looking down so I spoke in a hurry to cut her from talking any further.
"BUT~~, in the end, I am alright!" <Kazue>
I lifted my hand as if flexing my biceps.
I have thought to show Charlotte a lively expression.
Charlotte on the other hand had her eyes wide open after I suddenly interrupted her talk.
She must have been thinking about what happened in that dungeon.
I admit that I was just lucky back then, but still, It's not something to blame her or my party member.
“In the first place, I think that it's that's portals fault.” <Kazue>
"Kazue, you're really a nice person..." <Charlotte>
"Eh? what's with that all of a sudden? Look? I am like this?" <Kazue>
I showed her a mean face.
"Even right now I might look like I am glaring at you. How can you call me a nice person?" <Kazue>
I tried to deny it by pointing out my face and my sharp eyes that had their natural glare.
"fufufu” <Charlotte>
She chuckled as if finding my reaction to being funny.
“You act as if it's nothing. But I know that you had a hard time in that dungeon, right?" <Charlotte>
Charlotte said with a forced smile on her face.
"No~ I am not Acting?" <Kazue>
I tilted my head at Charlotte continuing to deny her.
"Hahaha, see? that, that is what I mean." <Charlotte>
Charlotte scratched her head after seeing my reaction.
She might think that I am acting.
What? does she think I would hate her because she accidentally left me in the dungeon?
No matter how you think of it, it's not their fault, right?
Is this how it is in this world?
"Hmmm, OK then... would you like to listen to my honest thought?" <Kazue>
I gave up and I thought that saying my honest thoughts would help her feel better.
"Kay" <Charlotte>
Charlotte looks down and is prepared to hear something about me, blaming her for what happened.
"You heard my report back in the guild, right?" <Kazue>
"Yeah..." <Charlotte>
"If Argent-senpai did not appear there I am sure I would be dead by now." <Kazue>
"Yeah..." <Charlotte>
Charlotte just nods but I could see that she had begun to bite on her lips.
"Sure, I think I was just lucky that I survived that..." <Kazue>
"That is why you should blame me..." <Charlotte>
Charlotte suddenly talked.
But I ignored what she said and spoke in a louder voice than the one she made.
"BUT~~, To be honest, I am thankful." <Kazue>
"Thankful?" <Charlotte>
Her eyes widen.
"Yep, I am thankful." <Kazue>
"BUT WE LEFT YOU TO DIE THERE?! HOW CAN YOU BE THANKFUL?!" <Charlotte>
I stood up and pulled the katana sheathed on my waist.
"Because of that, I think I have learned a lot of things." <Kazue>
"huh?" <Charlotte>
"If not for that, I would not have learned this." <Kazue>
I showed Charlotte the new skill that I learned from Argent.
A faint aura enveloped my entire body and weapon.
I walked toward a huge rock sitting nearby.
I swung my sword toward it and split it in half.
"Huaa~" <Charlotte>
Charlotte let out a weird voice from her amazement.
"Amazing right?" <Kazue>
"You're really amazing... Kazue..." <Charlotte>
She smiled at me but her eyes had tears flowing down from them.
Eh? what?
Charlotte looked more down now.
Eh? this is why I am bad with this kind of thing...
[uu~ this is a little bit problematic.]
"WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS~ Just forget what happened there OK?" <Kazue>
Since my attempt on cheering her up failed and made her tear up instead.
I quickly change the topic and approach it differently.
Seriously I am bad at this kind of stuff.
"But-" <Charlotte>
"NO, BUT! If you keep on blaming yourself then I will get angry at you. -sigh- stand-up" <Kazue>
"Huh?" <Charlotte>
"Just stand up." <Kazue>
Slap.
I slapped Charlotte on the face.
There was no strength behind it but I made sure it was hard enough to make a slapping sound.
It may have stung a little bit but I think this was enough, you may call it a wake-up slap from yours truly.
I immediately pulled my hands and was smiling teasingly.
Charlotte was shocked at my sudden action and did not know what just happened.
She just had a confused look, stunned.
"There, I had my revenge for leaving me behind in the dungeon. We're EVEN NOW, NO MORE BLAMING OK?" <Kazue>
Charlotte stared at me for a few moments, her eyes wide open.
"hmpf... fufu... hahaha... Ok..." <Charlotte>
She began laughing and wiped the little tears in her eyes.
Wait for what? She was happy with this instead?
"Ok…?” <Kazue>
Uwah, this is the first time I slapped a person in the face...
But well... since she’s smiling now, I think this is fine… Right?
Morning came and nothing notable came up all night.
There were a few monsters like Giant mantis and all but there was no undead or at the least, our unit did not encounter one.
We have gathered right now in front of the unit's camp once again.
It seems that the townspeople made food for us for free.
They gave us a bowl of some kind of meat soup.
Food was served to each adventurer and soldier guarding the city gates.
It tastes good.
"Ane-san, Is the food alright?" <Shunsho>
"Ah, It's good..." <Kazue>
"OH! if you like it that much, you can have my share!" <Hyoube>
I glared at Hyoube.
He took a step back.
When it was in the past when we are still in our world.
Whenever I glared at my classmate like this, they would turn around and avoid me.
But these four boys who had been following me in the capital are not doing that.
This was because they knew that this glare was intended to make them stop whatever they are doing since it was bothering me and not because I hated them.
"Oh~ by the way, Ane-san, I was surprised to see you here in Altus! no wonder we could not find you in the capital!" <Hyoube>
"I joined the scale atelier caravan as a guard for Reno, Emika, and Akemi." <Kazue>
"Reno, Emika, and Akemi...? AH! they are one of our classmates, right? So, they became affiliated with the Scale atelier?" <Hyoube>
"They are working for Shai; they are selling her crafts" <Kazue>
"Oh~~~" <Hyoube>
Since the four boys had been following me around the capital before, they knew that I was close to one of the shop owners in the Scale Atelier building.
Naturally, I knew that they would ask her so I asked her to hide the fact that I came here with the merchant girls that she hired.
"But we asked her when we are looking for you. She said she had no idea where you are right now. So... she was lying after all. I knew that if it was her, she definitely knows where you are Ane-san." <Shunsho>
"I told her to lie." <Kazue>
"Eh why?" <Shunsho>
"Isn’t that obvious? because I knew that you would look for me. You guys have been bothersome lately so I decided to leave the capital for a while." <Kazue>
"Achaa~~ Ane-san you're cold as always~~" <Michio>
"And you have a problem with that?" <Kazue>
I said in a cold voice together with a glare at the four boys.
They just shake their heads in denial.
"<Sigh> In the first place, I told you to stop calling me Ane-san. We are former classmates you know? It feels awkward. It is like I became a leader of some gang or something." <Kazue>
"Oh~ I knew that you have met these guys but to think you are friends~"
A voice joined in our conversation.
I looked at the origin of that voice and I saw a girl with brown hair.
"Yanase-san... No, we are not friends." <Kazue>
I refused the fact that I am friends with these 4 boys.
"yeah~ we are her underlings!" <Shunsho>
Michio, Hyoube, and Eisuke nodded at Shunsho's declaration of them being my underlings.
I glared at them once again while thinking "Who's an underling of who?".
When they saw me glare at them, they instinctively take a step back.
"I do not remember making you my underlings." <Kazue>
"That's interesting. what happened with you guys?" <Yanase>
"You see, Kazue ane-san has saved our party twice back in the capital." <Shunsho>
"Yeah, we owe our lives to Kazue ane-san." <Eisuke>
"Oh~ so something like that happened?" <Yanase>
"Yep~ Kazue ane-san is amazing you see~ her Katana moves are so cool." <Eisuke>
Eisuke said while imitating me with an imaginary sword in his hands.
"Oh, ~~ I would like to see that!" <Yanase>
"<Sigh> haa~~ don't listen to them they are just exaggerating things..." <Kazue>
I was staring at Yanase's hair.
In the past I remember black, right now it was changed into the color brown, the color of the earth.
Yanase's eyes twitched as she realized that I was staring at her hair.
"Oh?? are you perhaps wondering about this?" <Yanase>
She said while touching her hair dangling on her shoulder.
When she realized that I was staring at her hair she immediately asked if I was interested.
"Yeah, I can't help but notice it. After all, you look very different from what I remember." <Kazue>
Since she already noticed me, I did not hold back and asked.
"you see..." <Yanase>
Yanase explained to me the reason her hair had turned into color brown.
Since the four boys also remember that Yanase had black hair they also listened to her explanation.
Apparently, it was caused by her mana which has good synergy with the earth elemental.
She explained that it was common for job classes that depend mostly on mana.
I thought it might also be the reason why Amy has green hair.
The hair's color will change according to the elemental magic your mana specialized in.
In Yanase's situation, her mana has good synergy with earth elemental magic so her hair changed color to brown.
This must be the reason why Amy has green hair, I wonder.
Incidentally in our class, Sakata Chiho, Muto Eiko, and Haga Mizuko are also undergoing the same change, although theirs were much less apparent.
As expected of an Isekai~
"Enough about me! I wanted to hear about Kazue." <Yanase>
"Huh me?" <Kazue>
"Yep! you are now an E-rank Adventurer, right?" <Yanase>
"Oh, that. I just ranked up a few days ago." <Kazue>
"hoho~ you've been doing well being an adventurer ever since you left the castle, I see~ I envy you." <Yanase>
Envy?
With me?
Why?
"Hah???" <Kazue>
I could not understand what she meant.
"How do I say this... Ever since I left the castle I also registered as an adventurer you see and I am having the time of my life." <Yanase>
"Being an adventurer is dangerous work you know, that right?" <Kazue>
"True, true but still it's fun... Was it not fun for you?" <Yanase>
Was it fun for me?
I asked myself.
I recalled the things that happened after I left the castle.
Was it fun? I asked myself.
And so, I honestly answered what I think of myself being an adventurer.
"Yep... It had been fun." <Kazue>
““"!!!"”””
Yanase, Shunsho, Michio, Hyoube, and Eisuke let out an amazed gasp.
The faces of the four boys suddenly turned red.
Yanase's eyes glittered like she saw something nice.
All of their mouths were open wide.
“What?” <Kazue>
I noticed this so I asked.
"OH!!! KAZUE!!! It's the first time I saw you smile!!!" <Yanase>
Yanase voices out her excitement.
I touched my face with my palm to feel the expression on my face.
"W-What?" <Kazue>
I realized that the expression I was making was that of a happy face.
"What, what? did I hear that Mizusawa Kazue is smiling?! I want to see it!" <Girl>
A girl wearing a tank top shirt and shorts revealing a lot of her skin joined the conversation.
"Hee, ~ the always cool and serious Kazue did what?" <Boy>
The boy who has slime on his shoulder also joined.
The girl was Uesaka Shino and the boy was Ishibashi Minato.
They are looking intently at my face.
I tried to cover my face by crossing my two arms in front of my face.
"WOW! Now she's showing a shy face! This is also a first!!" <Shino>
Before I knew it all of my classmates have gathered near me.
It seems that all of them gathered to see my face.
What the hell? what's so interesting about my face?
"C-C-Cute..."
Said another one of my male classmates.
My face turned hot so I knew I was blushing.
When I heard that, I pulled up the hood of my coat to hide my face.
"s-sss-STOP"
Rio jumped in front of me to help me cover my face.
"The only one who has the right to see that expression is me!" <Rio>
Unexpectedly the timid Rio was the one who helped me.
I gladly took Rio’s help and hid behind her.
Rio, I am glad but what you are doing right now is the same as theirs.
Well, Since you are my friend, I will forgive you for now.
-TANG TANG TANG TANG-
When the sun was at its highest peak of the day a bell rang.
It was the bell that signifies that many undead was in sight.
***********************
Hano Ryuusei POV
The Knight Master and the Guild Master teamed up to engage in battle with the Undead Dragon.
The battle was so intense that we could not join to help them in the fight.
I felt that even if we helped our attacks would not be able to inflict damage on the very sturdy Undead Dragon.
It had the same kind of aura that the ghoul uses to protect its body.
Although Sir Victor and Sir David seemed to be enough to deal with the Undead Dragon, the time it took to take it down was extremely long.
Sir David and Sir Victor managed to defeat the dragon but It took them more than 8 hours to completely defeat it.
It could not be helped since the Undead Dragon boasted having the highest defensive capabilities and highest health amongst all undead monsters.
Despite being a Mini-boss monster, the Undead Dragon had significantly more HP than the Undead King itself.
Thankfully that was it, its offensive capabilities were not impressive so they managed it somehow.
In the end Sir. Victor and Sir. David successfully defeated it and retreated to the main force.
I slashed my sword and defeated another undead.
I feel that my weapon feels so much heavier compared to the time when the battle started.
"Whew~ This is as expected but ... fighting all this monster all night is exhausting..." <Hano>
"KAKAKA~ Hero? you're tired already? I can still go all day!!!" <Victor>
Victor, the Knight Master said while laughing at me.
There was no sign of exhaustion on his face.
"Don't be ridiculous Sir Victor... I am reaching my limit here..." <Hano>
"KAKAKA~ well I must say you have done well considering this is your first real battle." <Victor>
I did not realize this but we have been fighting for quite a long time.
When the battle started it was noon, right now I could see the light of the sun emerging behind us.
I can feel exhaustion for the first time since I came into this world.
I looked at my comrade and saw that they are also exhausted.
It was particularly true for Eiko and Chiho who are looking very tired.
I have seen them drink several mana potions already.
Their physical stats are not that high after all so there is no wonder why they are exhausted.
Mizuko and Levethy are almost on their limit as well.
"KAKAKA~ you guys did well, for now, we should fall back into the camp and rest for a bit." <Victor>
"Wait~ I can still!" <Eiko>
Eiko staggered and almost fell.
There were black circles under her eyes now.
It seems that the repeated depletion and restoration of her mana have taken some toll on her mental stamina.
This was also the same with Chiho who is visibly tired just by looking at her face.
"KAKAKA~ No, no, this is part of the plan. Right now, the adventurers have created a camp. They are planning a strategy to fight the Undead King. For now, rest there and build up all your strength. The real battle will start again once the battle with the Undead King starts. I'll wake you up when it's time." <Victor>
We retreated and left the battlefield to the soldiers.
I, together with my party members took refuge at the camp made by soldiers and adventurers.
It was an area protected by a barrier that is being cast by the guild master.
When Sir Victor and Sir David defeated the Undead Dragon a few hours before dawn Sir David and Sir Victor had come back.
Since after Sir Victor returned, I wondered what Sir David was up to.
“So Sir David was the one who created that barrier? Amazing…” <Hano>
I looked back and saw a transparent sphere that extends up to the sky
The sphere covered up to the size of a stadium.
Inside this barrier were camps that were built after the barrier was set up.
"Amazing." <Hano>
To think that they would be able to set up such a base in a short period.
"Heroes, thanks for your hard work." <Soldier>
A soldier greeted us as we enter the barrier.
He led us to a large tent, which was right in the middle of the barrier.
A lot of adventurers and soldiers were resting within the dome.
There are also injured adventurer that is getting themselves healed.
All of the people here are elites.
Most of the people who are here right now are mostly adventurers and Soldiers.
They are at least as strong as the members of the heroes’ party or even stronger.
In fact, when you consider the experience and raw skill of the adventurers and the soldiers here into account the heroes’ party looked average amongst the people on the front line.
But considering they are still inexperienced and had the lowest level amongst all of the people here, they did great.
The Adventurers and the soldiers were impressed after knowing the fact that this was their first major battle and the fact that all of them are still below level 10.
A glimmer of hope rose in their heart after seeing that the young heroes would just get stronger from here on.
Of course, It could not be helped that there are some of them also looked down on them.
"Good job Heroes" <Adventurer>
"Ah... thanks..." <Hano>
An adventurer came to us and gave us glasses of water.
As I remember right, He was one of the guild master's closest Aides.
I saw him near the Guild Master before.
"So, what is the plan?" <Victor>
Victor asked.
The adventurer nodded at Victor as I listen to their conversation.
"We will start our charge and subjugate the Undead King in 2 hours. Now that the Undead Dragon is defeated the only monster to defeat now is the Undead King." <Adventurer>
"How about its movement" <Victor>
"The scouts report that the Undead King has not moved from its spot ever since the undead started marching forward. In turn, All the Undead King is doing right now is summon undead monsters." <Adventurer>
"I was hoping that He would join the battle... It can't be helped, If that is the case then we should go to its location and subjugate it now." <Victor>
"Yes, we could not do it before since the Undead King is surrounded by the army of undead. Now that we successfully lured and defeated the Undead Dragon It's our time to counter-attack." <Adventurer>
The Undead King.
A boss monster capable of summoning armies of undead.
The limit of the undead it could summon was about 100,000.
Thankfully, the Undead King could not move in place when summoning his army.
As a result, it has not moved from its original place.
Also, the monster the Undead King could summon is E-rank and below.
The problem was that even if we tried to rout all of the summoned undead the battle will not end unless the Undead king is defeated.
Several plans are depending on the scenario.
Right now, we can successfully achieve our objectives.
All are moving according to plan.
The objectives were:
First, we defeated as many undead monsters as possible when the frontline encounters the undead army.
With this, the Undead king will have to stay in place to replenish his army.
This will also reduce the amount of undead reaching the city.
We already did this after the battle started.
Second, as the battle continues, we will start to focus on defeating the stronger undead monsters and allow the rear forces to defeat the weaker ones.
We were able to fulfill this also.
Third, was to lure and defeat the Undead Dragon who imposes the same level of threat the Undead King had.
No one here except Sir Victor and Sir David could damage that monster.
It was a monster who is as powerful as the Undead King, we had to defeat it first before defeating the Undead King.
For this reason, the main force is tasked to defeat the Undead King joined the soldiers on the frontline until the Undead Dragon is defeated.
We cannot fight the Undead Dragon and Undead King at the same time, our fighting power is not enough to manage to defeat them both at the same time.
We had to hold the frontline until we defeat the Undead Dragon.
Thankfully we were able to do that as well although it took the entire night to do so.
Now, since the Undead Dragon is already defeated.
The adventurers who are tasked to defeat the Undead king together with us are gathered here to discuss the plan in detail.
Currently, we are gathering more information so that our plan would not crumble.
Once we have all the information we need, we would charge to where the Undead King is.
The army of undead that is composed of D-rank and lower undead is on its way to the city.
It is the rear's job to defeat them.
They are expecting this wave of monsters to reach the rear force by around noon.
And at that time, we would start the battle with the Undead King as well.
Then the elite soldiers would have to clear out the remaining forces of undead and join the rear to annihilate the remaining undead.
The Adventurers had withdrawn from battle and were starting to prepare to fight the Undead King.
Right now, only the army of elite soldiers led by a General is fighting the army of undead.
Meanwhile.
We entered the temporary camp the adventurers created for us.
Inside were tents for the adventurers to rest while all of us prepared for the next phase of the plan.
"Amazing." <Hano>
"The guild master is doing this?" <Chiho>
"I heard he is using a magical Item to keep this dome barrier." <Hano>
"I wonder how much mana is needed to keep this up?" <Eiko>
"Truly, this is amazing" <Mizuko>
We talked about the guild master who is maintaining the barrier.
We are amazed by his ability to maintain such grand magic.
-Slap- -Slap- -Slap- -Slap- -Slap-
"KAKAKA~ Good job everyone!" <Victor>
Victor gave each one of us a slap on our back.
"Haa~~ I’m beat~ I want to sleep." <Eiko>
Eiko fell to her knees while supporting her body with her wooden staff.
"KAKAKA~ Rest, for now, I will have to confirm the plan with David. You have 2-3 hours to rest before the operation to defeat the Undead King starts." <Victor>
"Yes, I would do that I am at my limit..." <Chiho>
Chiho lay down on the makeshift bed on the floor
She immediately fell asleep like it was the most natural thing to do.
She must have been so exhausted to fall asleep in an instant.
Me, Levethy, and Mizuko looked at each other.
"I think we should also rest." <Hano>
"Agreed~" <Levethy>
"ha~~" <Mizuko>
We all lay down to rest.
***********************
-TANG TANG TANG TANG -
When the sun was at its highest peak of the day a bell rang.
It was the bell that signifies that Many undead was in sight.
"It's time" <Luna>
"Yep, Time for us to join the fun as well." <Stella>
Luna and Stella who had been watching the events happening in the frontline inside their tent from one of Luna's portals started to move.
"fuuuU~~ I’m soooo hyped!" <Luna>
“I bet you are.” <Stella>
The space around the portal where the two are watching the battle in the frontline crumbled like broken mirrors.
The crystal ball disappeared as space returned to normal.
“Well, it’s been a while since I moved my body around.” <Luna>
“Come to think of it, all we do for the past month was travel in the carriage non-stop.” <Stella>
Luna stretched her body and heard a healthy crack from her body.
“Umpp~~” <Luna>
Aside from hiding the fact that Luna and Stella are gods.
They are also adventurers.
Luna is a Magic Knight and Stella is a Ninja.
Since both of them are still level 12 and are E-ranks, they have to join the rear force to stop the advance of the undead monsters who are trying to swarm the city.
Luna picked up a sword lying near their tent and started swinging it skillfully in the air.
Meanwhile.
Stella is preparing throwing weapons such as throwing stars and the two daggers on both sides of her hips.
In this battle, they must act as Luna and Stella Nightfall, E-rank Adventurers.
The two walked out of the tent after hearing the sound of the bell ringing outside signifying the arrival of the undead.
“Shall we go?” <Stella>
“Sure~ I’ve been waiting for this for quite a while now…” <Luna>
********************
Author Note:
Hi there Again~
I'm back to weekly update once again and I will try my best to give it at least 1 illustration per chapter~
Anyway~ Thanks for reading