Chapter 440

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Chapter 440: Collapse (5)

An alleyway where not a single speck of light entered.

Space split open, and reinforcements from the White Tower, including Oscar, revealed themselves.

“So this is Pervache.”

Sniff, sniff.

Maxim's expression turned grave as he caught the scent of the city.

“The smell of burning flesh, and the stench of blood. A battle is already in full swing, it seems.”

“Most likely. It was a touch-and-go situation even up until I departed.”

“We move immediately.”

“Just a moment before that.”

Oscar opened the door to the secret safehouse.

He felt the gaze of the commander, who was sitting on the sofa, turn toward him.

―Chester.

Without even looking back, he sent Chester a message spell.

Chester, taken aback, hid his reaction and replied.

―Yes, speak.

―Protect that man.

―Understood.

He did not ask at all who he was or why he had to protect him.

If it was Oscar’s order, there had to be an absolute reason for it.

“Let’s go.”

“Hm? Wait, Chester is…….”

“I have asked him to attend to something separately.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Closing the safehouse door, the three men promptly slipped out of the alleyway.

Throughout the streets, citizens could be seen lighting fires to boil water and oil.

Then, no sooner had they arrived beneath the northern ramparts—

Kwwaaaaaang—!

Following an ear-splitting bombardment, roars and shouts erupted from here and there.

“Pour down more! Whether it’s magic, arrows, or boiling oil! Pour it all down!”

“Don’t let the bastards climb up! The moment they come up, it’s over!”

“Spearmen, keep thrusting! Don't worry about breaking a shoulder, just stab them with all your might!”

“Oil! Bring more boiling oil! Quick!”

The undead on the plains were climbing the ramparts by piling their bodies together like ladders.

The soldiers of Pervache were mobilizing every possible measure to block them, preventing them from ascending.

“Huuuum, the situation is certainly not good.”

Maxim, having glanced around the battlefield, muttered.

“Let us deal with those things first. Conveniently…….”

Taking a large stride forward, scorching heat began to billow from his body.

“The weather happens to be a bit chilly, anyway.”

At first, it was a faint breeze.

However, the moment that wind swept over the ramparts and plunged onto the plains—

Fwaaaaaak—!

A wind so searing and dry that one could hardly breathe enveloped the undead legion.

『Breath of the Desert』

The very first change occurred on their skin.

Cr-crack, crackle!

The flesh of the corpses dried up in an instant, splitting apart like a tortoise's shell.

As the scorching wind swept over them once more—

Crumble, cr-crumble.

The skin and muscle of the undead withered away to dust, and the ladder of corpses collapsed like a sandcastle.

“Sir Oscar!”

Just in time, Gerud spotted them, and a voice brimming with delight spilled from his lips.

Though it had only been a mere thirteen minutes since they last saw each other, affection dripped from his eyes as if he were seeing long-lost family.

“You have returned! I believed in you!”

“Didn't I say I would?”

With a smirk, Oscar introduced those who accompanied him.

“This is Sir Gerud, the Knight Commander of Pervache. And here is Elder Maxim Visk of the White Tower, and…….”

Hm.

Glancing sideways at the Mad Fiend, Oscar opened his mouth after a brief deliberation.

“A secret agent of the Imperial family.”

“From the Imperial family?”

“Yes. I cannot disclose his identity, but he is at the late 7th level, so he fights exceptionally well.”

“In that case, I shall ask for no further details.”

Since he was a figure connected to the Imperial family anyway, there was no likelihood of receiving an answer even if he asked.

After quickly exchanging greetings with Maxim, he explained the situation.

“We are holding them off well for now, but to be frank, the tide of battle is disadvantageous.”

“Hmm, in the end, is it a difference in numbers?”

“That is correct. As Elder Maxim can see, the disparity in fighting strength is stark.”

The forces of Silgrim, which had crossed over after devouring Starfall, numbered close to seven thousand at a glance.

No matter how fortified the fortress was, it was woefully insufficient for Pervache to fully hold them back.

“We are defending well at the moment, but…….”

“Our side is human, and that side is not.”

“You are right. They will neither tire nor sleep. Conversely, as time passes, we will be exhausted.”

“You need not worry about that.”

Oscar hurriedly sent a message spell.

―Show no reaction whatsoever. If we hold out for just three hours, the Central Army will arrive.

Gerud showed no outward reaction, just as instructed.

However, his slightly wavering pupils seemed to ask back if that was true.

―This is what His Majesty the Emperor said to me directly when I informed him of Pervache’s situation.

Gerud's fists clenched tightly.

He had thought there was no hope at all, but three hours was something they could easily endure.

No, rather, if they cooperated with the arriving Central Army, even that old monster was worth taking down.

“Ahem, cough.”

Gerud cleared his throat lightly and spoke up.

“Considering that the battle will become prolonged, we will need to pace the soldiers’ stamina.”

“Indeed.”

Naturally, the present reality was the complete opposite.

Considering the Central Army arriving in three hours, pacing their stamina was entirely unnecessary.

However, if they were to push back recklessly, Silgrim would begin to harbor suspicions.

―In other words, we only need to look as though we are desperately focused solely on defense. For just three hours.

Gerud nodded slightly as if he understood.

Maxim, who had been listening to the conversation alongside them, asked.

―Oscar, is this extreme caution perhaps because of Silgrim?

―That is correct. Just as we can see him, he should be able to see this side as well, and…….

Turning his head, Oscar thought for a fleeting instant that his eyes met Silgrim's.

―……Perhaps even now, he might be eavesdropping on our conversation.

―Haha, isn’t that going a bit too far? The distance being what it is, not to mention this is a conversation through a message spell.

―From the 8th level onward, you must not consider them within the realm of humanity.

All the more so if it was a monster who had spent decades even after ascending to the 8th level.

It was at that moment.

“Khk! Block them!”

“Push harder! More!”

“I-it won't budge! Over here is……!”

At the sudden scream, the gaze of the three men shifted to one side.

Gerud, his face hardening, hurriedly moved in that direction and shouted.

“What is the matter!”

“T-the corpses are climbing up!”

Just as a soldier said, several corpses were climbing onto the ramparts.

Slash!

Swinging his sword to cut them down in a single stroke, Gerud looked down below the ramparts and furrowed his brow.

“This is…….”

The ladders formed by the corpses cooperating could be sufficiently held off by the soldiers' might alone.

However, as those ladders fell and fell again, corpses began to pile underneath them.

Other corpses were stepping on them, climbing up with greater and greater ease.

Now, rather than a ladder, it was practically a mountain of corpses.

“Sir Oscar, can you not blast that away?”

“I can.”

Kwwaaaaaaaaaa!

A violent storm swept across the plains, literally blowing away the mountain of corpses piled beneath the ramparts.

“Haha! Refreshing!”

“The real thing will begin from here on out.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Because there is no way the enemy will just sit on their hands, either.”

Above all, he was certain.

A certainty that a mage of Silgrim's caliber would undoubtedly employ a countermeasure.

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And that premonition hit the mark.

“……Sir Gerud, please fire a flare one more time.”

“Hm? Did you spot something? Hey! Fire a flare!”

Pshyuuuuuuu!

As the third flare was launched into the dawn sky, the plains became as bright as broad daylight for a single moment.

And what was revealed was a shocking spectacle.

“M-my god.”

“What in the world is that…….”

An endlessly unfurling army of corpses.

On either side of Silgrim, who stood at the very rear, enormous entities were rising.

‘……Abomination Golems.’

Having seen them in his past life, Oscar’s eyes narrowed.

“They appear to be golems made by stitching corpses together.”

“Four in total, is it? Worry not. The moment they draw near, I shall slice them apart in a single strike.”

Contrary to Gerud’s solemn resolve, the four Abomination Golems did not approach.

Having been pieced together from dozens of blended corpses, they began looking around their surroundings.

Then, stretching out their massive hands, they grabbed three or four corpses at a time and rolled them together like balls.

“……Could it be? Did he create siege weapons?”

At the same time that Gerud imagined ominous possibilities in his head—

Swoooooosh!

The mass of corpses they hurled flew straight toward the ramparts.

Crack-crunch! Thud!

A chilling sound of crushing bone and flesh echoed in their ears.

“…….”

“…….”

Knights, soldiers, and mages alike swallowed their spit and stared at the place where it had landed.

However, what they threw was, at best, a ball formed by clumping corpses together.

The stone ramparts remained perfectly intact without a single scratch.

“Ha, haha. I tensed up for nothing.”

“What, it’s nothing much, is it?”

“Except for the sound being a bit foul…… it'll be fine.”

It was the moment people began to let down their guard one by one in relief.

“Something is strange.”

Furrowing his brow, Oscar tightened the tension that was beginning to slacken among them.

At this, Maxim asked:

“Strange, what do you mean?”

“There is no way throwing a clump of a few corpses could crush the ramparts, could it?”

Unless infused with magic, it was impossible—and Silgrim had not lifted so much as a finger in the process.

Then what was he aiming for?

Oscar paid close attention to the way the beings that had formed the clump of corpses began to stagger to their feet.

“……What if he isn’t doing that to break the ramparts in the first place?”

At that instant.

A new mass of corpses hurled by the Abomination Golems traced a long arc and plummeted into the interior of the city.

“The inside.”

The clump of corpses that crashed onto the street untangled, and three or four corpses staggered onto their feet.

Seeing this, Gerud shouted.

“Mages! Intercept the flying clumps of corpses! Under no circumstances must you allow them into the city! And the 2nd and 3rd Knighthoods, pull back to the urban area and eliminate the corpses inside the city!”

If the ramparts could not be breached, breach the city from within.

That was the solution Silgrim had presented.

Thump! Thuuump!

Following that, the Abomination Golems continuously began launching masses of corpses.

At times toward the roofs of the city's buildings, and at other times toward the West Gate or the East Gate.

“Damn it!”

“He intends to paralyze the entire city.”

Flares were fired ceaselessly even just to read the trajectory of the corpse balls.

“There are only six flares remaining!”

“……Keep firing! There is no choice!”

Furthermore, problems continued to erupt even in the locations where the corpse balls fell.

The knights who arrived at the crash sites cut down the corpses in a single blow, but—

Kwwaaaaang—!

Secondary damage utilizing black magic, 『Corpse Explosion』, was accumulating throughout the city.

In that process, the number of knights was also rapidly dwindling.

‘This is bad.’

Oscar bit his lip at the battle situation that was turning disadvantageous by the minute.

Of course, the mages were intercepting the flying balls of corpses, but that was merely a makeshift measure.

Unlike the corpses with limitless stamina, mana was a finite resource.

‘In other words, if this state persists, only the mages' mana will be depleted.’

And that was without solving a single fundamental issue.

Oscar turned his head and glared at Silgrim beyond the legion of corpses.

“Elder Maxim.”

“Oh.”

Maxim, letting out a smirk, took off his coat and muttered.

“Amusing. If I am not mistaken, it seems we have just reached the very same conclusion.”

“What are you both talking about right now?”

To Commander Gerud's words, Oscar responded.

“Unless we deal with those Abomination Golems, this city will fall.”

Far from holding out for three hours, even one hour would be tight.

Because they would not be able to withstand thousands of corpses swarming from both front and back.

“……So you are saying we should kill those things right now? Beyond an army of thousands of corpses?”

“Even if it is difficult, it must be done.”

Approaching them would be easy if spatial teleportation was used.

The problem was the crucial matter of whether they could pull out without getting caught by Silgrim after eliminating the Abomination Golems.

Gerud swallowed hard.

“That monster will not let us return kindly.”

“The choice is yours. What will you do?”

Oscar looked at him and asked:

“Will you stand idly atop the ramparts and watch the city be destroyed? Or…….”

His head turned toward Silgrim Fonerth.

And toward the Abomination Golems.

“Will you eliminate those behemoths and cast yourself upon a sliver of possibility?”

“……Damn it all.”

Gerud looked around, then gestured toward someone.

The approaching mage bowed his head.

“I am Rodri, a 7th-level mage who wields earth and land.”

“Three 7th-level mages, plus myself and the Imperial agent, making five. Will it suffice if we go like this?”

“Yes.”

With that much, they would not compromise mobility while still being able to hold out briefly against Silgrim.

“Without dragging this out, we go right away.”

Oscar quickly calculated the destination points in his mind.

The distance to the Abomination Golems was roughly three kilometers.

If they got too close, they would be exposed to Silgrim's attacks, and if they were too far, they would be trapped in the legion of corpses.

‘While maintaining an appropriate distance, we must end it in one strike.’

The final calculated location was a spot two hundred meters away from the Abomination Golems.

Scattering the five people across five different points, they would eliminate only the Abomination Golems and return here.

When he explained the operation via a message spell, Maxim raised a question.

“Wait, is there really a need for all five of us to go then?”

“I will drop as close to Silgrim as possible to draw his attention.”

“……Wait, Oscar. Isn’t that far too dangerous?”

“If we don’t, there is a possibility of total annihilation.”

Despite Maxim’s opposition, Oscar did not bend his resolve.

Because that was not a mere worry, but a certainty.

For a mage of Silgrim's stature, it would not be strange for him to kill everyone in that split second.

“Even so…….”

“We are going.”

Before the conversation could drag on, Oscar pulled on the thread of space just as he was.

The space around the five people warped.

Zzzzzzziiiiiing—!

Their vision inverted.

The screams and shouts that filled the ramparts vanished, and—

Ooooogh.

The resentful wails of the corpses began piercing their ears.

‘Now!’

Slash!

The Spatial Slash Oscar unleashed cut down one Abomination Golem in a single blow.

Hastily looking toward the other spots next, he saw all the Abomination Golems collapsing.

‘Hurry.’

Along with the portal to send the others back, he quickly opened a portal for himself as well.

In a situation where all he needed to do now was step inside—

Chills.

A gaze was felt.

A pitch-black robe fluttering in the dawn wind, and four eyes flashing from within it.

―How amusing.

Along with a thick, murky voice, a freezing chill ran down his spine.

The moment he tried his best to ignore it and take a step forward, Silgrim Fonerth spoke,

―Oscar Sage.

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