episode_0261

“Increase the speed of the advance.”

“Yes!”

Ort Fein, a vassal of Lord Harpen and the greatest knight, moved his troops even faster due to the anxiety he felt from the destination.

Due to the sudden necromancer disturbance, all available troops were mobilized. In addition, he received support from adventurers from the Adventurer’s Guild as well as priests from the church.

In other words, it was a situation that could be seen as the moment of commanding the largest army in Ort’s life.

Ort’s personal inaction was so outstanding that it was impossible for him to be defeated except by a dragon blinded by anger or a demon lord who descended to end the world.

However, despite this, the anxiety and fear tightening around Ort’s neck did not subside.

‘Defeat and death are two different things…’

Even if you win, you can still die. This is natural when leading troops into battle.

Whether it was the deaths of the soldiers or his own death, Ort was anxious because of that, so he tried to calm his mind and headed toward his destination.

“This is a report from the scouts! Discover an unidentified giant tree at your destination! The surrounding environment is all pitch black, and two adventurers are currently facing off!”

“I see…! It may be unfamiliar, but the fact that all living things around are dead seems to indicate that a necromancer is involved. What is the condition of those adventurers?”

“It looks like a huge deal!”

While listening, Ort felt the anxiety that had been constricting his chest eased at the welcome sound. It was a great blessing that there were people fighting locally. This is especially true if the battle is tense.

If the two adventurers were strong, it could be seen as an additional boost to their power, and if the necromancer was weak, needless to say, it was a good thing.

Kwaaang!

A loud roar erupted from a distance that could no longer be said to be far away. It was a noise so powerful that it overwhelmed the energy of nearly a thousand people.

“I guess it’s the electron.”

“Yes?”

“I’m just talking to myself. Hearing it up close, it’s truly an explosive sound.”

It was the identity of that explosion that initially brought together the soldiers, adventurers, and priests who were searching various places to track down the necromancer.

Since such loud noises were continuously heard not far from Harpen, it was natural that it would attract everyone’s attention.

“With this ominous energy, it must be the work of the necromancer who disturbed Harpen. Come on, let’s go!”

Ort, who hastened the movement of his troops, was soon able to witness the huge tree. Although I was aware of the situation through the scout’s report, the sight I saw was shocking.

Never had grass and trees died so gruesomely from any poison Ort had ever seen in his life. In the middle of the forest, which had literally become a land of death, there were only three living things.

One of them is a naked blond man radiating an eerie aura that I have never experienced anything similar to in my life.

He was seen as the culprit without any need for further analysis.

And on the other side, there is a confrontation between two men and women who look surprisingly similar. Although there were no trees, contrary to the scouts’ report, it was clear what to do.

“All troops halt. Entry into the contaminated area is prohibited until there is a special order.”

“All troops stop!”

The following is a retelling of the name. A group of adventurers and priests of the church who were unfamiliar with military control also followed Ort’s orders.

Of course, even if it wasn’t Ort’s order, the black magic energy was clearly visible even with the naked eye, so no one would hastily approach it.

“Lord Oker. Is it possible to clean up this area?”

Ort asked Oker Buxton, Harpen’s only Temple Knight, who was right behind him. The general manager was Ort himself, but as necromancers were not his specialty, he sought advice from experts.

Oker, who has the nationality of Plane and is a paladin directly under the Holy See, answered with a face that did not hide his nervousness.

“This… is not the level of hex magic that a typical necromancer is capable of. It seems fundamentally different. Rather than considering whether it is possible or impossible, there is a need to purify at all costs.”

Ocher noticed that the divine power in his body reacted very sensitively to the magical energy in front of him. This was the same for other priests.

Contact with demonic energy, the original antithesis of divine power, which now exists only as a record in books, caused revulsion at the speed of a spinal reflex in those belonging to the church.

“In that case, please clean it up quickly. Soldiers cannot enter like this.”

“Please leave it to me. Brothers and sisters who have received the grace of Goddess Stella. The time has come to do what we must.”

A vague order that is quite distant from the military command system. However, the priests began the purification at the same time without any deviation.

The concept of purification defined by the denomination is extremely simple. All we can do is to return something that goes against the will of God and the providence of nature to how it never was.

Necromancers’ necromancy was an object of purification because it was an act of mocking death, the fate of mortals arranged by God.

The ‘altar’ incident committed by Akasha was a subject of purification because it insulted faith in God and dishonored God.

And the ‘existence itself’ of the demons is also subject to purification. Before Prinia split the demon world across space, demons were the target of extermination for all living creatures in this land.

Considering that the original purpose of the Holy Sword was to defeat the Demon King, who can be said to be the head of the Demon World, this is a passage that shows why the priests of today’s religious orders who know nothing reflexively loathe the Demon and regard it as an object of purification.

And of course, the collective purification of up to a hundred priests began to eat up Yuglan’s territory.

“Humans…!”

Yuglan frowned. Even Asha and Adel, who trusted only Argen’s shield and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, were in a tense situation.

In such a situation, it was not a very pleasant situation for him to see his energy starting to be attacked by something.

“…! Things that will fly away when the wind blows!”

Yuglan quickly flew away. Not only has the deadly aspect of Magi been highlighted, but his original physical abilities are at a level that cannot be ignored.

It was obvious what would happen if a force strong enough to leave obvious scars on Adele’s body, which did not display dragon scales, was wielded among humans.

Asha, who was dealing with Yuglan, was worried that the reinforcements that had arrived at the earliest could suffer damage, so she chased after him late, but Yuglan’s timing of the surprise attack was very good.

“It’s late…!”

Kaang!

An unexpected trend continued for both Yuglan, who attacked, and Asha, who had to watch.

Ort, who was at the head of the army, drew his sword and blocked Yuglan’s outstretched hand.

Ort, who held the sword calmly, was surprised in his own way.

“Your bare body is this strong… After all, you are no ordinary guy.”

“Huh!”

Yuglan was not embarrassed by the unexpected counterattack and unleashed his magical energy. Even though the man in front of me was a bit outside the standard of human strength that I had established in my head, I thought that no matter what, he couldn’t directly withstand demonic energy.

“Divine Force!”

But this time too, it was beyond Yuglan’s expectations. The holy magic of Oker, a capable paladin, drove away Yuglan’s magical energy.

“What?”

Even so, Yuglan let out a sound of genuine confusion, as if he didn’t know that even the demon energy would be blocked. Before he could react further, a large mace was inserted into his side.

“Ugh!?”

Elunas, a senior adventurer who was temporarily in charge of commanding the adventurers, stepped forward. Elunas complained as he watched Yuglan fly away from the dull impact.

“I thought I could break it with a blunt object because it doesn’t cut, but it feels even worse than hitting plate armor. Hey, kids! Are you okay?”

In Eleunas’ eyes, it was surprising that Asha and Adele, who were just rookie adventurers, had survived so far.

Of course, experience as an adventurer did not necessarily directly lead to strength, but Yuglan was generally seen as nothing more than a monster that could not be dealt with.

“Someone called someone a child…”

“Yes. It was a car that was in trouble because there was no way to take it down. Thanks to you, I survived.”

Asha covered Adele’s mouth and simply bowed her head. About 100 priests and 100 adventurers. And just by looking at it, the number of soldiers appears to be over a thousand.

For Asha, the reinforcement of human forces, which not only filled the number of people in the small-scale skirmish just now, but also proved to be capable of actually dealing with Yuglan, was literally like rain in a drought.

This was because, unlike himself, who had nothing other than being strong in his current state, the reinforcements were equipped with all means, including hand-to-hand combat, magic, and divine power.

“I’d like to ask what that guy’s identity is and whether he’s a necromancer, but can you give me some information?”

Asha nodded to Ort’s question.

“Okay. Before that, we must first calm down that demon energy. The elves say that if you let it spread, something big will happen.”

“The priests are doing their best to purify it right now, so we can just deal with that guy in the meantime.”

“Lord Ocher, I will be playing around with you appropriately, so in the meantime, listen to the report from the brat. Kkeulkeul…”

Elunas and Ocher took a step forward. Yuglan collected his blown body and reorganized its condition.

Asha, who decided that the two of them could hold out for a while, quickly explained to Ort what had happened so far.