episode_0046

The midnight battle had finally commenced.

Explosive chants erupted across the undead horde, tearing them apart within the range of the bursting holy barrier. The living and the dead clashed, baring their sharp fangs at each other.

“Arghhh!”

“You damned creature! Die! Just die!”

A revenant, wielding a greatsword, was engulfed in flames and burned like a torch as it charged forward, while a skeleton struck by the “Invisible Hammer” shattered into pieces like a Lego in the hands of a child.

“Spawn of wickedness, face the retribution of the divine!”

“Kiaaaa…raah…!”

A wight, struck by the arrows of retribution, contorted horrifically, resembling a twisted SpongeBob, before collapsing, and arrows and daggers densely pierced the bodies of half-rotten wolves.

“Grrrroo?!”

“Gwaaarg…!”

A decaying bear, roaring, fell into a grand pit, and a revenant ensnared in a trap convulsed with its face pressed against the ground, where a holy anvil lay.

An all-out assault, combining the firepower of paladins, priests, mages, and archers, along with traps meticulously prepared by the adventurers.

Most of the undead that advanced were unable to take more than a few steps before gasping for breath and falling.

It was a one-sided slaughter, a result of thorough preparation.

…Of course, if the situation were to end so simply, adventurers would not have been called upon in the first place.

With the full might of the clergy alone, they could have exterminated the fiends long ago.

Not long after the repeated one-sided battles, new facets began to emerge from within the undead horde.

“A corruption host has appeared to the southwest!”

A paladin, engaged in combat somewhere in the distance, shouted so loudly that it reverberated throughout the entire fortress.

They braced themselves for the onslaught of new foes approaching.

“They’re coming from the east too!”

“Arghhh!”

An undead figure slightly over 2 meters tall emitted a fierce roar, charging like a rabid werewolf afflicted with madness.

Abnormally elongated arms with reverse-jointed legs. Sharp, beast-like teeth and a spine elongated like a tail.

Half-rotten, with holes like a net pierced all over the skin, covered in mold and fungus, the chest exposed, flesh and internal organs oozing out, revealing the ribs entirely.

Decay Spawn.

Undead that parasitize on knight-level physical abilities, spreading decay by scattering the spores of the mushrooms they host in all directions. As dungeon adventurers, they were monsters impossible to deal with.

◆◆

“Arghhh!”

“They’re coming! Prepare for close combat!”

Starting with the popping Decay Spawns, the undead horde began to rush even more fiercely, finally reaching our vicinity.

“Kyaaa!”

“Kreee!”

Though rare were those with intact limbs due to their charge through the onslaught of magic and miracles.

“Order of Holy Knights, advance! Eliminate the Decay Spawns!”

The commanding holy knight leaped towards the Decay Spawns, shouting. In his left hand, a miraculous holy lance, in his right, a mace reinforced with blessings.

“The rest, block the ones crossing the line! Not a single one should breach our formation!”

Followed by orders.

Adventurer warriors wielding axes, maces, swords, and spears roared as they displayed their honed killing techniques against the monsters crossing the line.

“Die! Die! Die!”

“My fist is steel!”

“Hahaha! Look at this one. It’s biting a sword with no arms!”

“Get lost! This gear belongs to me!”

…In truth, it was closer to a fierce battle hardened through real combat than refined martial arts.

Well, what could you expect from mostly crawling insects, starting from small fry to knife-wielding thugs, if you could call them that? When would they have had the chance to learn sophisticated swordsmanship?

They probably didn’t need it in the first place.

Unless they were intelligent humanoid monsters, experience and capability were several times more important than refined martial arts when facing simple monsters.

Anyway, the warriors indiscriminately wielded their weapons, effortlessly harvesting the undead’s necks.

Since they had become half-defenseless while crossing the line, severing the heads of those few was an all too easy task for them.

Thus, several minutes passed.

“…Wait, these things. Just how many are there?”

The adventurers, who had been energetically bounding through, now cast weary glances at the forest, beginning to breathe heavily.

Undead creatures surged relentlessly, no respite in sight.

What was once a temporary campsite had long turned into a simple hill covered with undead corpses.

As if sliding down a hill of bodies, the revenants and skeletons began brandishing their weapons with ferocious intent.

“Ugh! This one’s quite strong…!”

An adventurer, clad in metal armor, grimaced as they deflected an axe swing with their shield.

“Arghhh!”

The revenant roared as it swung its axe once more, seemingly aiming for a finishing blow.

“Step back!”

I intervened, parrying the revenant’s axe with my sword, twisting my wrist to drive the blade into the creature’s skull with the pommel.

“Aaargh!”

“Where are you going!”

The skeleton’s sword lunged, but I deflected it with a kick, then smashed its skull with my fist, sending bone fragments flying.

“Haaah!”

Twisting at the waist, I swung my longsword, deeply cleaving the revenant’s neck as its skull crumpled under the blade.

The skeleton and revenant collapsed.

“Th-thank you…!”

“If you can’t stop them, deflect them!”

After advising the grateful adventurer on shield usage, I leaped back into the fray, plunging fearlessly into the mass of monsters.

“Aaargh!”

“Grrrooar!”

Left, right, front, below—every kind of weapon aimed for my entire body.

Taking a deep breath, I observed every blade, recalling the memories of swordsmanship, envisioning the optimal path to defend and counterattack.

“Haaaah!”

Lifting my left foot to deflect an approaching spear with my greave, I stepped forward, crushing the spearhead beneath my boot.

“Kraaang!”

Receiving a downward strike, I intercepted it between the guard and crossguard, then thrust my longsword through the enemy’s neck, severing the spine.

“Kreeeek!”

“Haaap!”

Twisting my body, I swung the longsword horizontally, tearing through one foe’s throat and slicing into the next.

Rolling on the ground, drenched in blood, I kicked the Levernant, knocking him down with a high swing of my axe, then drove the blade into his neck before he could rise.

Thunk!

At that moment, an adventurer’s undead mace swung fiercely at my back.

I dodged, but the mace grazed my breastplate and shoved me forward.

“Ugh…!”

Bent over as if bowing, I found the enemy’s blade right before my eyes.

Twisting my head, I deflected the spear tip against my helmet’s side, then sprung up, slashing diagonally across his waist.

His rotted innards writhed like crushed worms, spattering black fluid.

The stench was real.

After disposing of him, I grabbed the upper body by the collar, flinging it backward.

“Urgh!?”

Levernant, confused, eyes wide, swung his mace again, only to cleave through his own kin’s upper body instead of my back.

My blood-soaked sword, now dull, traced a curve, extending, bisecting his head horizontally like a split watermelon.

◆◆

Thus, the endless melee continued.

Adventurers pushed and were pushed by the undead horde, maintaining their defensive line, while paladins and priests endured the corruption with miraculous purifications, engaging in fierce combat.

“Hah… hah…”

As the still-vigorous adventurers held the line, I stepped back briefly to catch my breath, checking my armor and sword.

The armor seemed fine aside from some minor marks, but the helmet’s locking mechanism was broken, causing the visor to wobble.

The sword, caked with putrid blood and grease, lay half-dead.

Though not losing its edge due to the mixed black iron, it still needed a good cleaning to be of any use.

“Healde, are you… tired?”

Freide, dragging her greatsword, approached me, looking at the ruined weapon while gulping down water amidst the scattered undead remains.

In the large greatsword, entrails and flesh were entwined like thick vines, resembling a demonic sword ripped straight from hell.

“No, it’s not exhaustion, the blade has just dulled a bit.”

I pointed at the longsword I was holding and replied, then tore a piece of cloth from the garments strewn around and wiped the blood and grease off the greatsword.

“Freide, are you really okay? You’ve been swinging that massive sword around constantly.”

“Oh, um… are you worried about me? Hehe… I’m fine! For now, at least!”

Freide beamed brightly as she hoisted the greatsword like a feather.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

I nodded, suppressing a cough.

Her expression was incredibly cheerful, but with her clothes and cheeks splattered with blood, and with each swing of the greatsword, entrails and flesh spilled out, it was a gruesome sight. If children had seen it, they’d likely faint in shock and wet themselves.