Ch.69Seed (4)

For Pierre the Squire, and indeed for rural villages across this world, undead hordes were not particularly unfamiliar entities.

These undead groups, which appear regardless of time or season (though they do emerge more frequently during winter when deaths are common), are often the cause behind the sudden destruction of remote rural villages.

With considerable frequency, these undead—who covet and jealously seek to steal life—typically launch invasions at least five to six times a year….

In truth, however, a significant number of these invading undead hordes are rather unremarkable.

The vast majority of undead hordes consist merely of gangs of corpses made up of the lowest-tier undead known as “moving corpses,” slightly stronger regular zombies and skeletons, and the somewhat more dangerous undead animals.

Although ghost-type undead occasionally attach themselves to these groups, making them quite troublesome, even farmers can sufficiently beat down these hordes of 40-50 undead.

From the slow, dull, and weak “moving corpses,” to skeletons that are fast but fragile due to being nothing but bones, to sluggish zombies that are dangerous if caught but mere punching bags if avoided.

Considering that ghost types and animal undead, while dangerous, can be somewhat countered by holy water and hunters, it naturally becomes possible for villages to respond adequately in combat.

Of course, simply leaving an undead horde alone is by no means a wise choice.

If left alone, the high concentration of necromantic energy formed by their gathering causes low-level undead like “moving corpses” to continuously emerge, and as these undead accumulate, even stronger undead begin to appear.

Worse still, existing undead evolve into higher species within this high concentration of necromantic energy, resulting in hordes of at least several hundred powerful undead swarming together.

As a result, undead hordes are objects of terror for the people of this world, and Pierre was no exception, having once engaged in fierce battles against undead hordes in his former home farming village.

‘….What should I do.’

Thus, Pierre could not bring himself to stop his lord, who was advancing on horseback toward that mighty undead horde in the distance.

Of course, he had some confidence that his lord would at least not be defeated against those enemies, but nevertheless, the battlefield was a cauldron of chaos where any variable could emerge.

Moreover, the undead figures flickering in Pierre’s eyes were absolutely extraordinary in reality.

Their numbers were at least 400 to 500. And this wasn’t a horde composed of pathetic creatures like “moving corpses”—each one was a powerful low-tier undead surpassing zombies or skeletons at minimum.

Especially considering all sorts of unrecognizable undead mixed among them, Pierre, with his kind heart, couldn’t help but worry.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Pierre’s concerns to prove unnecessary.

※ ※ ※

The battle began when Camille de Alzar boldly stepped forward and let out a shout infused with aura.

[Over here!!!]

This voice, which had reached the level of exerting slight physical force by infusing aura into it, spread in all directions, and the undead horde, sensing it, finally felt the powerful life force rushing toward them.

[[[[[■■■■■■—!!!]]]]]

For the undead horde, the vast majority of which possessed neither reason nor even animal-level intelligence, this was an irresistible provocation and temptation they could not ignore.

Of course, the purpose of this action was also exceedingly clear.

To focus the undead horde’s target solely on himself, ensuring that Squire Pierre would not be targeted by them.

Having already noticed that there was no special commander or highly intelligent individual among the undead horde, Camille had maintained his composure and reached this conclusion.

And in the midst of this, as the distance between Camille and the undead horde gradually closed, they finally clashed—

—KWAGAGAGAGAK!!!

Naturally, Camille, an intermediate-level knight, demonstrated why knights were regarded as humanity’s spear and shield.

When he swung the white zweihander in his hand, wrapped in purple aura, dozens were swept away, and with another swing, dozens more were cut to pieces and crumbled to the ground.

With the addition of the “Slash Extension” technique to the already wide blade of the greatsword, this weapon, which could instantly sweep an area beyond what was visible, could not simply be described as a cold weapon.

Skeletons? Zombies? Such distinctions were unnecessary.

When the sword swept through the air, the slash carved into the void along its path cut through the rotting corpses, and those that still moved were crushed under the hooves of the warhorse Gus that followed.

And amid this one-sided slaughter, the “Sword Demon” was laughing madly as he cut through corpses without even trying to hide his demonic aura.

“Ah, hahahahahahaha—!!!”

Intending to release his accumulated desire and craving for slaughter upon these corpses that could be cut without issue, he repeatedly sliced through the endlessly approaching undead, welcoming them with joy.

No exceptions existed for the ghoul with paralyzing claws and exceptional speed, the skeleton warrior capable of infusing magic into weapons, or the undead grizzly bear.

Cut, cut, cut again. Acidic liquid seeping from bone blades dissolved corpses, but the purple slash extending ahead severed their flesh first.

Rotten flesh and vile fluids repeatedly scattered, and bone fragments exploded like a storm, yet Camille remained immaculate throughout.

While the original purpose was actually to test the practical operation of the “Basilisk Zweihander” rather than to set an example for his squire, the zweihander made from basilisk bone had become largely irrelevant in the current situation.

‘Amazing….’

Even in the midst of this, Pierre, recognizing undead he knew—indeed, undead he had faced before—among the horde, could not close his gaping mouth.

In this world, among that undead horde, exists an undead called the “Skeleton Warrior.”

While it might sound like a very mob-like, unimpressive low-tier undead, the reality is completely different.

The Skeleton Warrior is considered the strongest among the low-tier melee-type skeletons.

Born from the corpses of warriors who were adept at manipulating magic power in life and reached considerable heights, these undead are rightfully considered powerful beings who inherited not only their lifetime skills but also their magical operation techniques.

Although their appearance is hardly different from ordinary skeletons, like all skeleton types, their combat prowess was… in Pierre’s memory, truly terrifying.

A monster that cut down a villager who approached thinking it was just an ordinary skeleton with a weapon, and despite its bouncy movements, its strength was not particularly lacking—it took 20 casualties before it was finally subjugated.

And now Camille was easily sweeping away dozens of these powerful Skeleton Warriors as they charged at him?

“….Hmm.”

Until now, Pierre had only vaguely recognized his lord as hundreds of times stronger than himself, as he had been facing enemies with such extreme differences that comparison was impossible. But seeing Camille so easily dispatch creatures that Pierre himself had faced gave him a certain psychological stimulus.

And regardless of Pierre’s psychology, the battle, having proceeded almost one-sidedly, reached its final stage.

He dismembered a giant undead colossus formed from dozens of corpses and shot some beast-like black shadow at a ghost floating in the sky.

After displaying a fight that truly embodied the term “unrivaled,” Camille appeared… for some reason holding something struggling in his hand?

“…My lord? What about that undead… the Skeleton Warrior?”

“Oh, good that you know about it.”

—KWAJIK!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Camille snatched the sword from the Skeleton Warrior’s hand and crushed its blade, and furthermore, proceeded to meticulously beat its entire body as if trying to drain its power.

As Pierre watched the Skeleton Warrior with an uneasy heart, his lord, who had been firmly gripping it, began fiddling with the Skeleton Warrior and then….

“Pierre, dismount. And take up your weapon.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Yes, your thought is correct. I’ll be watching, so try fighting it once.”

With a face that looked utterly wicked in Pierre’s eyes, Camille was holding this undead and shaking it while saying so.

As if he were trying to test him.