episode_0066

“Welcome to our country.”

A friendly smile and a grand welcome.

The first impression of those who came out of the Kingdom of Carrion was completely different from what was expected.

I imagined a bunch of squeaky-mouthed, squeaky-mouthed beasts, but they’re surprisingly friendly.

“Yes··· Well··· Nice to meet you too.”

It is not uncommon for diplomatic envoys to receive a grand welcome.

But in their case, something was a little different.

There’s nothing really to find fault with, but it felt uncomfortable.

“Please wait a moment, His Majesty will be here soon.”

This gets even weirder.

Even if it was an important diplomatic matter, you came to me in person? And the king at that?

Even if I am welcomed with great fanfare and called a warrior, this is excessive.

In practical terms, I am a noble of a foreign country.

“Are you okay?”

Karin had a worried expression on her face, perhaps seeing my distorted expression.

“I’m worried about what to do now.”

Should I just run away from here?

But if you do that, problems will definitely arise.

“Ready to run away?”

“No··· Let’s see how it turns out.”

Honestly, if it were before, I might have run away following my instincts.

But now it’s different.

Even if things go wrong, it would probably be possible to run away.

A man wearing fancy clothes came in after a while.

A sharp atmosphere reminiscent of a wolf.

Strong, yellow-tinged eyes.

His overflowing majesty and the ministers flanking him made it known that he was the king of this country.

“Nice to meet you. I am Ullen, the king of this country.”

“ ··· Nice to meet you.”

The expression on Woolen’s face was not at all that of a man who had received a grand welcome.

His serious gaze and stiff expression seemed full of worry and concern.

“Everyone, step back.”

As soon as he gestured, his subjects left the room quickly and quietly, as if they had already discussed it in advance.

A silence that permeates a space filled with luxurious food.

In the uncomfortable atmosphere, it was Uhlen who spoke first.

“I have not called you here simply for diplomatic reasons.”

As expected… bad feelings never go wrong.

This time, it was so much more certain than any other time.

He even nominated me directly, even though I have no diplomatic qualities.

“I kind of expected it. You didn’t have to call me.”

“···The story will be fast. The reason I called you was to ask if you could help with the current problem in Carrion.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I’m sorry to say this to you, but the moment you hear about this story, I’m going to have to detain you for a while, even if you don’t help us. Is that okay?”

Is this a secret that would be embarrassing if it leaked out?

It’s a matter that even the king of a country would ask for, so it’s probably a headache without having to think about it too much.

This may be your last chance to get out.

But his serious, earnest expression touched my heart.

“Since we’re here, let’s listen.”

Woolen’s stiff expression relaxes a little and a small smile appears.

Honestly, I don’t think he expected much from that perspective.

No one wants to get involved in other people’s complicated problems.

Especially in other countries.

“Thank you. There’s a reason why the world calls you a warrior.”

“What on earth is the problem that His Majesty is so worried about?”

“Right now, the Lich army is running rampant in our country.”

A powerful undead wizard, the Lich is a rare high-level monster.

So much so that there has been no record of its discovery for decades.

However, there is only one reason why they suddenly appeared and acted so actively.

Adversary.

That kid’s always the problem.

“I can guess why you called me.”

“To be honest, Carrion is currently facing the greatest crisis of its history. It’s just on the defensive.”

“Are you able to hold on without any problems?”

“Even that won’t work because of food. If this becomes a long-term war, we’ll definitely lose. The undead don’t eat. ”

The gloomy expression of Ullen.

He was sighing deeply.

It seems like the situation is worse than I imagined.

“I apologize for calling you in this worst situation without any explanation. But can you help me?”

I kind of expected it, but it’s more of a headache than I imagined.

The worst-case scenario where a country could collapse.

But you can’t back out here.

If we leave it like this, Lich’s forces will grow out of control.

And the ever-increasing volume will become increasingly difficult to control.

If the Kingdom of Carrion falls, then the Kingdom of Lumis or another nearby country will be next.

If an entire country becomes undead, then there is truly no answer.

Just as it is important to recognize disease early, it is also important to defeat the undead as quickly as possible.

“I’ll be happy to help you.”

“···You’re a little different from the people I knew. ”

“Although it is a title given to me by others, I am wearing the shameful sign that says warrior.”

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try being a warrior once in a while.

******

The cities where the fighting was most intense were in extremely poor conditions.

The crude walls were crumbling in places, and the soldiers’ faces were filled with deep fatigue.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if it were to fall tomorrow.

“I guess I’ll have to find a way.”

While I was observing the surroundings from the top of the castle wall, a middle-aged man wearing luxurious clothes approached me.

A neat uniform that seems to indicate that one is a soldier.

The decorations that looked like medals indicated that he was a man of considerable rank.

“Are you the Eugene whom His Majesty the King has called?”

He looked at me with a displeased expression, reminiscent of an old cat.

From his point of view, I probably wouldn’t be very appealing to him.

But what can we do?

Their situation now is like a candle in the wind.

Whether you like it or not, you probably want to believe it once.

“That’s right.”

“I am Munchi, the commander here.”

“What’s the situation?”

“Not so good.”

“If you tell me exactly, I can help you a little.”

“···The morale of the soldiers is at rock bottom and they are outnumbered. Unlike the undead who cannot feel pain, our soldiers are enduring extreme fatigue and pain. ”

There is no problem using the undead for 24 hours.

But living creatures need to eat and rest.

That difference will make a huge difference as the war goes on for a long time.

Carrion’s soldiers are getting weaker and fewer in number.

On the other hand, the undead never weakened and their numbers increased with each slaughter of allies.

“It’ll be difficult to overcome this in a normal way.”

I don’t know what the tactical system of this world is like, but there probably isn’t a tactic suited to this situation.

Enemy forces grow in number as more allies are killed.

He is literally the worst opponent.

“I know you are trusted by the King and are known as a warrior in the world. But what can you do in this situation?”

He looked down at the walls with a sigh.

The faces of the exhausted soldiers.

People lying helplessly on the floor, almost rolling around.

There was no sign of hope on his face either.

Just standing on the front lines would be a great help, but that alone wouldn’t give me peace of mind.

There is a saying that you can’t handle a fight when many people gather together and fight.

I’m also concerned about that guy named Richie.

“In situations like this, a clever plan is needed.”

Any tactical advice or planning would be useless.

Because he has more experience, he will be much better.

Then, what I can do is something that is difficult for him, the commander, to think of, but effective.

“I saw a temple on my way here. What kind of god do you believe in in Carrion?”

There are two main types of religion on the continent.

Lienne, the sun goddess, and René, the moon goddess.

The people mainly believed in the sun goddess Lienne, but there were differences depending on the region.

“There aren’t many people who worship God, but here, they mainly worship Rene.”

“How are the priests fighting?”

The undead’s natural enemy is the grace of God.

The divine power that governs life and death is fatal to the undead.

It is the law of the world that a corpse lies still and peacefully.

“The priests are struggling, but they are so outnumbered··· ”

“Hmm··· I guess numbers are the problem even if I try to do something.”

The numbers are not enough… Then let’s increase them.

There are people bustling inside the castle walls right now.

If we could make even some of them priests, the situation would change greatly.

Being a priest is not a common profession as it requires deep religious beliefs.

But things are different now than usual.

We can often find cases where humans seek God when they are in desperate situations.

Of course, most people are just lamenting, but if we can turn that desperation into faith, wouldn’t we be able to mass-produce priests?

“I think I found a way surprisingly easily.”

As I looked at him with a deep smile, he had a puzzled expression on his face.

“Is there a way to solve this situation?!”

“Please gather as many people as possible in the square. Please prepare what I said.”

There is a saying that is said jokingly on Earth.

It is said that during the World Wars, many countries developed technology by grinding stones to win.

So, wouldn’t the only way to win the war against the undead be to just replace the priests?