chapter_0135

“Ride! If we get trapped, it will be a dishonorable death!”

I urged the ghost horse forward as Dullahan’s voice urged us on. I swung the Dragon Tooth Sword again, releasing a wave of white flames.

The slash of the Demon Sword Technique spread the flames, and the white flames raining down like a meteor shower purified the rotten flesh that covered the ground. The desolate wasteland beneath was revealed.

But that alone wasn’t enough to be a threat. The ghost horse ran without hesitation over the ground purified by the white flames. The speed was so fast that the surrounding landscape looked like an afterimage.

“Human! Behind you!”

“Your recovery is disgustingly fast!”

I swung the Dragon Tooth Sword towards the very back of our formation, sending a wave of white flames to incinerate the dozens of arms that were trying to grab the ghost cavalry. Despite their speed, the undead were still slowly catching up.

It was extremely inconvenient to be swinging my sword and casting magic while riding a horse. If it weren’t for the ghost horse’s ability to run without me needing to control it, I might have accidentally burned my allies or fallen off the horse.

“Can’t you go any faster?”

“I know! Everyone! Charge for honor!”

I swung the Dragon Tooth Sword, the white flames cleared the way, and the ghost cavalry rode through. This repeated for a while, and then the Elder Lich changed his strategy, as the rotten swamp seemed to hesitate.

Instead, the flesh began to clump together, forming giants.

The rotten flesh was covered with armor, and the arms grew endlessly, surrounding us as if to block our path. The wasteland was literally plowed under by the arms.

“Do you think you can stop us with such petty tricks, traitor!”

Dullahan’s roar echoed like thunder as he threw his spear. The spear flew in a straight line and hit the giant’s head.

-Kurururung!

A thunderous sound reverberated across the plain. The spot where the spear hit exploded. The giant swayed and then regained its balance.

The exploded head regrew, and Dullahan, who had retrieved his spear, threw it again. The second thunderous sound echoed.

This time, the giant’s torso exploded, but it stubbornly regenerated, even as it staggered. The arms were plowing through the wasteland, getting closer and closer.

“Should we take a detour? It seems possible now.”

Giants of the same size were growing on both sides, but the encirclement wasn’t complete yet. If I drew the white flames in a different direction, we could easily take a detour.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to both deal with the giants and create a path at the same time. I was already busy swinging my sword to prevent the thousands of cavalry from being surrounded.

“No! You’re already doing a great job! I can’t hold you back as a knight! Ride straight! I’ll take care of that!”

Dullahan rejected my suggestion and stored his spear in the ghost horse’s body. Instead, he drew his sword, which gleamed with a dull gray light.

“Behold, traitor! Your disloyalty shall melt away before my honorable strike!”

The sword was slashed diagonally, and a large incision appeared on the distant giant’s body. From the incision, an endless waterfall of evil spirits poured out and devoured the giant’s body.

The undead, a combination of undead flesh and undead spirits, went berserk as they fought for dominance.

But the winner was ultimately the evil spirits. They greedily tore at the flesh in their hands and disappeared as they had come, leaving no trace.

Soon, the incision disappeared, and the upper half of the giant, including its arms, evaporated. The rotten flesh, which had been wall-like, returned to its formless state.

“It doesn’t seem like a very honorable technique.”

“I gave cowards who died dishonorably a chance to atone! It’s an honorable strike!”

“…’

Later, he’d probably start talking about honorable punches and honorable kicks. I ignored him and moved on, as this wasn’t the time to argue.

“Death Knights!”

Now that his other methods had failed, the Elder Lich was resorting to a more straightforward approach by using numbers. Countless Death Knights emerged from the swamp of rotten flesh, their armor completely decayed.

I swung the Dragon Tooth Sword, covering the Death Knights in white flames. Three Death Knights stubbornly charged forward but were incinerated within five steps, their armor and bodies turning to ash. Nine Death Knights took their place.

“Are those all Death Knights?”

“That’s what it looks like! Unless my eyes are deceiving me!”

Behind them were thousands of armored undead. If ordinary humans had seen this, they would have cried out in despair, believing it to be a sign of their impending doom.

But not here.

Dullahan threw his spear with all his might, and four upper bodies exploded simultaneously. The shattered pieces tried to merge but were too damaged and ended up dissolving into the swamp.

“First Legion! Battle stations!”

The ghost cavalry, which had been following us from behind, raised their spears. Their charge was getting faster and faster.

“Don’t hold back! An honorable death awaits! For the Demon King!”

I hesitated for a moment, then suggested a different battle cry. Dullahan was half-convinced.

“Is that really an honorable battle cry? We’re ghosts, so we don’t eat.”

“When have I ever lied to you? I thought I’d earned your trust by now.”

“Very well.”

The helmet nodded up and down, and Dullahan raised his spear and shouted.

“Dinner is in hell! Charge!”

Soon, we collided head-on with the Death Knights.

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The mace was swung. Despite being covered in wounds, the Death Knight’s momentum was still undiminished.

“Kuhk?!”

Even though he had blocked with his shield, the Royal Guard was sent flying, spitting blood, along with his mangled shield. The moment he touched the ground, the Master Healer used healing magic on him.

The Royal Guard rolled on the ground, regained his balance, and charged again. Along the way, he effortlessly slashed through dozens of undead that the regular soldiers were struggling against.

But the situation didn’t improve. The sheer number of Death Knights, far more than just a vanguard, was the problem. The regular soldiers were of no help against the undead horde.

“Everyone, fall back.”

The tide turned when the hero arrived. A heavenly chorus rang out, and countless undead were instantly annihilated in the golden light that illuminated the sky. Cheers erupted.

“The hero has come! The hero fights alongside us!”

The Royal Guard, who had been struggling against the Death Knights’ pincer attack, and even the Master Healers, politely bowed to express their gratitude for the rescue, but Leona, who received the salute, remained impassive.

‘Mira is really strong.’

Her mind was occupied with thoughts of Mira.

The Royal Guard was an elite group of knights, and only the Empire’s best knights could be selected. Each member of this elite unit was said to be worth a hundred or even a thousand soldiers.

However, against the Death Knights, who were overwhelming them despite the lack of the holy light of the Holy Sword, the Royal Guard was struggling, which frustrated Leona, who was used to overwhelming battles.

If Leona Brynhild, who couldn’t even properly exchange blows with Mira, was reigning over the battlefield like a god of war, how strong was Mira himself? And what about Rachel, the Sword Saint who taught her?

To Leona, they were both beyond her comprehension.

‘It’s just increasing the scope of what I have to protect. Maybe it would be better to just leave.’

After that, Leona traversed the battlefield, and she thought. It was a thought that the hero in the original story would never have had, but it was a natural consequence since the one who made the current hero was Mira, not Aria.

Thanks to Leona, the humans’ army was able to rest a little earlier than expected, as she had repelled the subsequent waves of undead.

And a meeting was held, as the quality of the undead army far exceeded expectations.

“The regular soldiers are just getting in the way. Send them back.”

“But, Your Highness, these soldiers are the best we could find. There are quite a few knights among them, not just regular soldiers. If we send them back, we’ll be even more outnumbered……”

“If you’re going to add their numbers to the enemy’s forces, then by all means, do so. Are you saying my performance wasn’t good enough? Are you planning to make me kill our own soldiers with my own hands?”

It was a harsh statement, but no one in the meeting could deny it. In the end, it was decided to send back most of the forces, leaving only the very best.

‘I miss Mira and Aria.’

After that, when the discussion turned to strategy and tactics, Leona, who didn’t know much about those things, just sat there blankly. And no one dared to disturb the hero.

As the meeting drew to a close, Leona, who had been assigned a task for the next battle, returned to her large, spacious personal tent. Perfect silence descended as she leaned the Holy Sword against the bed.

-Hero.

Even if the Holy Sword hadn’t spoken, it would have been the same. Leona wasn’t surprised, as she had already been surprised enough the last time.

“My Lady.”

She answered absently, tidying her hair. In the past, she would have knelt before the Holy Sword with a reverent attitude, but not now.

“Before speaking to me, isn’t there someone you should have spoken to first?”

-That…… I know. But it couldn’t be helped.

“How couldn’t it be helped?”

The goddess remained silent. Leona’s distrust of the goddess grew as she waited for an answer.

As a hero, it was an attitude she shouldn’t have shown, but after seeing Mira’s suspicious behavior, Leona couldn’t help but doubt even the goddess’s name.

If she dug a little deeper, she would have realized that Mira’s presence in her mind was far greater than the goddess’s, but Leona’s self-awareness was slightly lacking for that.

-…… I can’t tell you now. But when you come to the heavenly realm, you will know everything. I can promise you that with all my being.

“You’re just putting it off again, just like you did with Mira.”

-……

“Just like you did with Mira.”

-……

She considered emphasizing it once more but decided against it. If she inadvertently provoked her and she took away the Holy Sword, it would be a problem for her.

As the Holy Sword remained silent, Leona was about to kneel before the Holy Sword when she heard a loud cry from outside the tent.

“Enemy attack!!!!!!!”

Leona rushed out of the tent, holding the Holy Sword.

“Ma…… King……?”

And she locked eyes with Elysier, who was standing in the darkness, holding the Demon Sword and glowing pink pupils, exactly as she remembered her.

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With the counter-attack plan canceled, Rosalia, who was free, and Laura, who was banned from participating in the battle despite being an Academy student, were sitting in the club room.

Priscilla and Aria were training with Karna, who had taken the place of the absent Sword Saint, so they weren’t in the club room. Without Aria, everyone was more relaxed, and Elysier suddenly frowned.

“What’s wrong? Why the face?”

“…… The feeling is not good.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying someone’s going to die?”

Rosalia made a boxing stance with her soft, inexperienced hands, but her elbows were pushed back by her chest, resulting in an awkward pose.

“That’s not it.”

Elysier firmly denied it, and Rosalia relaxed her stance.

“Then what is it?”

“…… I don’t know.”

“Hey! Are you joking?”

Rosalia charged in, only to be knocked down by one finger, and Elysier thought hard about the cause.

But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out the source of her unease, and the uncomfortable feeling didn’t go away.

“Hey…… I’m sorry…… Would you come out with me……? My chest is feeling stuffy……”

‘…… I don’t know. I don’t know. I wish I was stupid and this was just unnecessary worry.’

Her head was in a mess. Since Elysier couldn’t open a dimensional door, all she could do was stay in the Academy and pray for the safety of the two who had left earlier.

“Hey…… Miss. Elysier……? I was just eating, and if you sit like that, my stomach will be on the floooooor?!