[Proofreader - Gun]
Peering at the frantically moving soldiers, the captain whispered quietly.
“Looks like slipping out quietly is out of the question.”
“...Seems so.”
Within his spinning head, a few escape routes quickly came to mind.
Naturally, the most convenient method would be spatial teleportation using a portal, but...
‘The captain’s condition is far too severe.’
If he were placed into sub-space just once more, regardless of the distance, it would result in fatal, critical injuries.
Carrying him along while moving to the rendezvous point with the Public Security Bureau was not something he felt confident doing.
‘In other words, minimizing spatial magic as much as possible is the best course of action.’
Yet for that to work, the gates of Pervache were already sealed.
After pondering for a long time, Oscar nodded.
“All right, follow me.”
“What are you planning... Hey.”
As Oscar slipped out of the alley where they had been hiding, the flustered captain followed behind him.
A moment later, several soldiers who spotted them approached.
“Citizens, please return to your homes! This is a military drill conducted by imperial decree!”
“Wait a moment.”
Oscar gracefully raised a hand to halt their words and presented something.
“I’d like to speak with your superior.”
“What kind of token is this... Professor of the White Tower, Oscar Crucian?”
“Oscar? No way....”
Seeing the soldiers’ eyes widen into circles, Oscar placed an index finger over his lips.
“I am also carrying out a covert operation, so please refrain from causing a commotion.”
“Ah, th-then please come this way.”
Straightening his combat cap, the soldier guided the two toward the northern ramparts.
“Raise more torches!”
“Keep your eyes peeled for anything approaching!”
Shouts erupted from all directions beneath the wall.
The soldier approached a middle-aged knight issuing commands amidst the clattering of metal armor.
“Lord Gerud. This person is....”
When the soldier whispered something, the knight’s eyes gleamed with a keen light as he looked over.
“I am Gerud Moa, Knight Commander of Pervache.”
“Pleased to meet you. I am Oscar Crucian, a 7th-Circle Mage of the White Tower.”
“If my memory serves me correctly... aren’t you the developer of the airship?”
“That is correct.”
When Oscar answered while pulling back his hood, Gerud waved the soldiers away.
“A distinguished personage was staying in our city. But what brings you here?”
“I was merely stopping by while conducting a covert operation of my own, but as you know, the walls were suddenly sealed.”
“The person behind you is....”
As Gerud eyed the captain with a suspicious expression, Oscar hurriedly lowered his voice.
“A collaborator recruited from the Violet Brigade.”
“A collaborator?”
“Yes, the mission handed down to me is to apprehend their leader.”
“I see... Before the communication lines went down, I did hear news regarding that matter.”
He nodded without much suspicion.
It seemed he couldn't even conceive that someone of the stature of a representative mage from the White Tower would be moving alongside a criminal.
“What is it you desire?”
“A tip has come in regarding the captain's whereabouts, so I must move right this instant.”
“...However, if you are Sir Oscar, I understand you possess the ability to travel through space.”
“Of course I can.”
When Oscar snapped his fingers lightly, his figure appeared behind Gerud.
Startled by this, Gerud hurriedly turned around.
“However, there is a reason I cannot make use of that either, so I ask for your understanding.”
“...I will not pry into the details.”
Gerud nodded slowly.
In any case, that was not an area he needed to know about.
Gazing at the tightly shut city gates, he spoke.
“Opening the city gates is impossible without authorization from higher-ups. However, if it is merely allowing a small number of personnel to cross over the wall, I can grant permission under my own authority.”
“That will be more than enough.”
After all, he only needed to get out of Pervache and arrive at the rendezvous point.
It was just as Oscar was nodding in agreement to that proposal.
“What in the world... is that?”
“Commander! L-Look over there!”
Short exclamations of shock burst out continuously from atop the ramparts.
In an instant, that emotion spread like a wave among the surrounding soldiers.
“What is all this commotion?”
Frowning, Gerud climbed the stairs and headed up onto the wall.
Oscar and the captain followed after him.
“Just what are you telling me to look at?”
“O-Over that way.”
A 4th-Circle Mage hurriedly pointed toward the plains submerged in darkness.
At this, the three channeled mana into their eyes and stared into that direction.
The pitch-black darkness of dawn was swallowing the northern plains of Pervache.
‘Hm?’
Clank, clank.
Across that vast, dark plain, a lone soldier was trudging forward with great difficulty.
Cradling one arm that appeared to be broken, he dragged one leg behind him.
Engraved across the breastplate of the armor the soldier wore was an all-too-familiar emblem.
“It’s the crest of Starfall!”
“Hm, a messenger dispatched from there?”
Gerud nodded as he spoke.
“Once it is confirmed that he is a survivor of Starfall, inquire with the superiors whether we may open the gates.”
“Understood!”
The moment a soldier scrambled frantically down the stairs.
Oscar’s eyes narrowed.
‘Wait, that person looks....’
Strange.
It was an inexplicable feeling he couldn't put into words.
“Hmph, did he suffer severe injuries? He’s far too slow.”
Gerud raised a hand and called over a knight.
“Go down and bring him in yourself.”
“Yes, understood.”
The knight immediately leapt over the ramparts and landed on the ground below.
Taking long strides as he approached the soldier, the knight opened his mouth.
“I am Jin Nebga, a 6th-Circle Knight belonging to Pervache. State your affiliation and name.”
The soldier mumbled softly.
“What was that? I can't hear you well.”
At that moment, just as the knight frowned and leaned his head in slightly.
Crunch!
Without warning, the soldier bit down and tore at his ear.
“Aaargh! Wh-What in the!”
Simultaneously, as the knight clutched his severed earlobe and recoiled backward.
Slash!
A blade of wind flying from the ramparts cleanly severed the soldier’s neck.
Watching this sequence of events unfold, Gerud turned his head.
[Proofreader - Gun]
“While I thank you for the aid, wasn't that hand far too heavy-handed...?”
“Sir Gerud, that thing is not human.”
At Oscar’s resolute tone, Gerud knitted his brows.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look closely over that way.”
As he pointed toward the plains with the tip of his chin, Gerud looked out.
The plains submerged in darkness were deathly silent.
“Didn't you see wrong? To my eyes, there is nothing....”
Gerud’s voice trailed off.
Twitch.
Far in the distance, the darkness-cloaked field rippled ever so slightly.
Twitch, squirm.
It was as if a pitch-black wave was engulfing the plains, slowly surging forward.
“Just what on earth is that grotesque... Ready the flares!”
Snapping back to their senses at Gerud’s roar, the soldiers hurriedly fired the flares into the sky.
Wheeeeee-bang!
A cluster of pure white light soared high into the night sky, illuminating the plains brilliantly, and.
“H-Hiiiek!”
“What in the world... is that....”
From atop the ramparts, only the repeated sounds of people gasping for breath could be heard.
Gerud, too, was unable to utter a single word.
A soldier dragging half-shattered armor along could be seen walking.
Beside him, there was also one advancing with a neck twisted at a grotesque angle.
Such bizarre abominations were filling the plains, surging forward toward Pervache.
“J-Just how many of them are there....”
Dozens?
Hundreds?
It was not merely a number of that scale.
It was a figure far beyond thousands.
“Undead....”
Someone muttered, completely dazed.
The moment those words dropped.
The air atop the ramparts froze solid.
“Get a grip!”
Barking at the soldiers, Gerud gritted his teeth.
“Mages, have you grasped the scale of their forces?”
“W-We do not know yet.”
“Even an estimate is fine, so count them!”
“B-But the end....”
The mage replied with a deathly pale face.
“There is no end in sight.”
“Dammit.”
Gerud gripped the rampart.
He hurriedly turned his head and looked at Oscar.
“What in the world are those things?”
“They are undead, as you can see.”
However, that was not the extent of the problem.
Oscar’s gaze shifted toward the vanguard of the army.
Distorted, shattered armors and shields, and the familiar star emblem carved upon them.
Such corpses were not just one or two.
“...Sir Gerud. Those individuals.”
Oscar bit his lip tightly.
“They are all wearing armor bearing the emblem of Starfall.”
There was no way he could fail to understand the implications of those words.
Swallowing a grim groan, Gerud spoke.
“Even if it were Starfall, the number of soldiers wouldn't be this high.”
No one followed up with words.
Yet everyone’s eyes instinctively drifted toward the undead who were not wearing armor.
Undead wearing everyday civilian clothes, the kind easily seen in any ordinary city.
The residents of the city once called Starfall were no longer among the living.
Crack!
“Dammit.”
Gripping the rampart, Gerud trembled with rage.
“Just who could commit such an atrocious deed!”
At that furious shout, someone flashed through his mind.
Undead, and what is more, a necromancer capable of commanding such an immense host.
‘Could it be?’
Having clashed with that horrifying army time and time again, he was a figure Oscar could never forget.
Oscar rapidly scanned the entire legion.
Before long, his gaze locked onto a single spot.
At the absolute rear of the undead legion.
Standing motionless on the desolate plains was an old mage draped in a black robe.
—Ho-oh.
Swish.
As he slightly pulled back the robe that had covered him down to the crown of his head, a haggard, aged face was revealed.
An old man beneath whose eyes rested another pair of eyes.
Locking eyes with him, Oscar let out a low groan.
“...Silgrim Fonerth.”
The worst traitor in human history, and the 13th Tower Master of the Black Tower.
Hearing that name, Gerud turned back toward him with a look of disbelief.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Oscar replied without taking his eyes off the bastard for even a single second.
“Every single characteristic matches. Above all else... in this modern era, there is no one capable of commanding necromancy on such a scale.”
“Mmh.”
Yet even if the opponent was an extraordinary giant, this was not a battle they could retreat from.
Gerud hurriedly raised his voice.
“Contact every city gate to leave only the minimum personnel and assemble all forces at the North Gate!”
“Yes, sir!”
In an instant, the ramparts turned into utter pandemonium.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The footsteps of the undead filling the plains overlapped into a single rhythm, shaking the ground.
“What do you plan to do?”
At the captain’s quiet question, Oscar shut his eyes tightly.
He knew.
If they were to leave the city, now was the final chance.
Since he had already received permission from Gerud, he only needed to leap over the wall and move to the point as quickly as possible.
That was the plan promised to the Emperor, and the most rational choice for saving the captain's life as well.
‘However....’
The opponent was Silgrim Fonerth, who had brought down even that impregnable Starfall.
He could not bring himself to believe that Pervache, with fewer troops and smaller scale than that place, could hold out.
‘Left like this, just how long could they possibly endure?’
A day?
Two days?
No, he could say with certainty that within a few hours, Pervache would be reduced to ashes.
“...I am changing the plan.”
Oscar’s mind raced rapidly.
Extremely realistically, yet in a direction that would minimize everyone's casualties.
“In any case, if Pervache falls, the undead army will head straight south.”
In fact, their numbers would swell far beyond what was visible now.
Because the forces of Pervache would also be absorbed entirely into that undead legion.
“In that situation, evading even the imperial forces marching north while trying to rendezvous at the point would be exceptionally difficult.”
They would fall into a configuration of being pincer-attacked from front and back by both the imperial army and the undead legion.
“On the other hand, if we hold out here until the imperial forces link up... the story changes.”
Because after handing the battlefield over to the imperial forces, it would be far easier to rendezvous at the point.
“However, even if you join the fray, you won't be able to turn the tide of the battlefield.”
“I know.”
Crack, crack.
Loosening his fingers, Oscar murmured.
“I never said I’d hold out all by myself from the start, did I?”
The one who couldn't use portals was only this fellow, not himself.
‘Now, where are some bastards fit for immediate combat deployment....’
A few figures came to mind.
[Proofreader - Gun]

Comments

Loading...