Ch.191The Jewel of the West Sea. Zirconia (4)

“Hmm…?”

Something felt ominously off.

If it were the life force of a dying patient, I’d have nothing to say, but in such a state, wouldn’t it be impossible to wear armor, ride a horse, and come all the way here?

As I was thinking this, the envoy continued speaking.

“Aren’t you ashamed? You eat the meat… milk… grain… fruits produced by the villagers under your command, but when plague strikes, you shut your mouths tight and try to drive them away…”

“Ugh…”

At those words, the inspector couldn’t bring himself to speak.

In truth, this was a problem with no clear answer. Whether “sacrificing the few for the many” is justified or not has been an unresolved philosophical question since ancient Earth times.

But I wasn’t particularly a philosopher, and I had never once been in the position of the sacrificed.

So my answer was… ‘yes.’

“Unfortunately, we’re adventurers. We’re not the type to be swayed by sentiment. We set up this blockade to prevent anyone from entering. Not to let you people in.”

“Oh… judging by your attire, you seem to be a knight… a wandering knight? The Relief Knights would weep… Wasn’t protecting the common people your reason for existence…”

“To protect the people, sometimes sacrifices must be made. That’s rich coming from mercenaries like you. People who would rape even infants if paid enough.”

“Hehehehe…..”

The envoy laughed sinisterly as he pulled his white-flagged spear from the ground and gripped it.

Since we refused to ‘open up,’ the process would inevitably have to be carried out by force.

“Having kicked away your last chance, all that remains is to settle this with fire and steel. You seem to have brought quite a large force… I’ll show you the power of the people.”

“Then we too shall make the common folk aware of the cold fact that this world is ruled by the superhuman.”

“…”

The envoy left with narrowed eyes.

I ordered Lucia and Casia to release their drawn bowstrings, then commanded the soldiers to prepare for the siege defense.

“The enemy will soon arrive! Prepare thoroughly!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And launch the airship! We need to track the enemy’s approach!”

“Understood! Sky Warden, prepare for takeoff!”

I climbed atop the barricade wall and looked at my companions standing beside me.

Simon, Raisha, Lucia, Casia, Berkman, Hawkman. Six companions plus myself made a party of seven.

“Simon. I’m counting on you to handle their magic.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Lucia. Casia. Your priority is to snipe their cavalry and commanders.”

“Okay.”

“Berkman, Hawkman. Blast them indiscriminately, make the survivors jump at the mere sound of firecrackers or sight of a bonfire.”

“Hahaha! Finally time to use our strength!”

“Raisha.”

“Yes.”

“You protect Simon.”

“Yes!”

No sooner had I given my orders than the Sky Warden began to rise into the sky again.

Now, we would surround the enemy from both air and ground.

*

“Lord Victor! We’ve received a transmission from the airship!”

“Is that so! What’s the content?”

“About 30,000 enemies moving toward the blockade…! But… most of the enemies are all undead!”

“Ah… I see…”

In normal circumstances, this would have been shocking, but both the inspector and the soldiers accepted this fact calmly.

The situation was already so bizarre, and only cursed necromancers or black mages would plot using a plague.

“Then Hawkman and Berkman will play crucial roles. Even undead won’t stand a chance if their limbs are torn off or their bodies burned.”

“Damn right. Corpses emit gas, so they’ll burn even better!”

The dwarf brothers chuckled as they began preparing their grenade launchers and flamethrowers.

The elf twins made disgusted expressions at the sight, but against enemies without reason or intellect, overwhelming firepower was literally the only answer.

“When will they arrive?”

“At the earliest, tonight… at the latest, tomorrow dawn.”

“The enemy’s movement route…?”

“They’re moving quickly from villages in this area. At least 20 villages, it seems…”

Hearing this, I turned to look at the inspector.

The inspector wore a face as if the sky had fallen, and shortly after, he sat in a nearby chair covering his face with both hands.

“Damn it… if only the airship had cannons…!”

I sincerely regretted this.

Even if not the 203mm extended guns mounted on battleships, if there were just holes to throw grenades through, we could buy time somehow, but the Sky Warden, a perfect non-combat vessel, could only stare blankly at the enemies.

“It would have been good to have cavalry… but unfortunately, we have none!”

Simon seemed to lament the absence of cavalry more.

He wasn’t wrong.

With cavalry possessing overwhelming mobility, we could use hit-and-run tactics to reduce the enemy’s numbers and greatly slow their advance.

But what could we do? With no artillery support and no cavalry support, we had to conduct a siege defense with 1,000 infantry.

As they say, ‘if you don’t have teeth, use your gums.’

“Distribute meals to the soldiers and let them sleep. We’ll fight at night, so they need to deal with fatigue and hunger now.”

“Understood, Lord Victor.”

I ordered the soldiers to rest, and they gathered in front of the quartermaster to fill their stomachs with bread and soup.

We received the same diet as the soldiers, and perhaps because I had paid special attention to food supplies, it tasted quite good.

“Well? Is the food to your liking?”

“When I heard we’d be eating military rations, I was a bit reluctant… but the military food in Lord Victor’s army is excellent. With some exaggeration, it’s like eating at an inn.”

“Hahaha.”

“There’s a saying that an army marches on its stomach. I hope that proves true tonight and tomorrow dawn.”

I nodded.

The inspector was non-combat personnel dispatched by the city government and had to be protected, and knowing this well, as soon as the brief meal ended, he went to the deepest part of the fortification and didn’t come out.

Soon the airship arrived above us again, landed, and opened its exit.

When we could no longer hold out, I and the surviving troops would escape through that exit.

Of course, I had no intention of being defeated.

*

“Lord Victor! Lord Victor!”

“Mmm…”

How much time had passed?

Awakened by a soldier urgently calling me, I held my head and asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“The enemy cavalry has arrived. They’re calling for Lord Victor…”

“Alright. I’ll go out soon.”

I dressed properly and climbed back up to the top of the barricade wall.

There were easily thirty cavalrymen there, all emitting an eerie aura that suggested they were not quite human.

“Neither living nor dead, riding horses and pretending to be cavalry. It seems your descendants have many grievances against you? Resurrected as corpses without proper burials.”

“Hehehehe…. You boast in vain. We’ve seen your airship too. You must realize by now. We have forces exceeding 50,000.”

“Ho. I thought it was about 30,000, but 50,000? This is interesting. More corpses to burn.”

“The arrogance of the living! Soon your earthy walls will crumble… and His army will overtake Zirconia, turning it into a city of the dead.”

“That’s why we’re here to stop it. Why don’t you try breaking through first and then talk?”

Thinking this, I signaled to the elves on the watchtower.

Thwack!

Whoosh!

As I expected, the cavalrymen resurrected as ghouls or zombies took arrows directly to their heads, severing their spiritual connections and meeting eternal death. Seeing this, the other cavalrymen drew their weapons.

“Corpse, zombie, ghoul—what does it matter? One arrow to the head ends it all.”

“When you see the army of corpses, your arrogant thoughts will be corrected!”

“No, send them first, then talk! Are your muscles connected by Bluetooth and your bones by data? You collapse when muscles are cut and crumble when bones are crushed, just like humans—if anything, you’re the ones putting on airs!”

As I said this, the elf twins shot arrows in succession, sending all but one of the remaining cavalrymen back to death.

“Go and tell your master that as long as I, Victor Walker, am here, you cannot pass this place.”

“…I will convey that. We shall meet again soon, wandering knight!”

“Hmph. A corpse has no right to talk.”

With the sound of clattering hooves, the cavalryman departed, and I woke the entire force and entered combat readiness.

Not long after, torches appeared in the distance, and the stench of rotting corpses began to assault our noses.