Taking his hand off the speaker, Lloyd looked down below the ramparts.
The horrific battlefield unfolded before his eyes all at once.
Corpses were strewn everywhere across the blackened castle walls, and most of those still alive were in terrible shape.
Among them, finding familiar faces was not difficult.
'Maxim, Chester....'
Having spotted the two, his pupils darted around urgently.
Like a child who had lost hold of their parents' hands in a crowded street.
Fortunately, his fretful expression soon calmed down.
'...Master.'
The once-white robe was drenched in blood, which was why it took longer to find him.
He swiftly checked over Oscar's body first.
Two arms, two legs, and his neck was still meticulously, firmly attached.
That was enough.
The moment Lloyd let out a covert sigh of relief.
His eyes met with a blonde-haired man sitting leaned against a fragment of the collapsed wall.
"...Gilly."
Unconsciously gripping the airship's railing tight, Lloyd bit his lip.
He had heard the story through letters.
That the fellow had lost his memories and sanity, living under the name of the Mad Fiend.
Yet the moment their gazes met in midair, he could tell.
For complex emotions flashed swiftly across the eyes directed his way.
'Your memories have returned.'
However, there was no time to rejoice over that fact.
Black energy was gathering around Silgrim.
With a hardened expression, Lloyd turned his head and spoke.
"I leave the corpses to you."
"Leave that part to me."
Upon hearing the answer, Lloyd leaped from the airship without any lingering hesitation.
Staring intently at the sight, the man exhaled a plume of white smoke from his mouth.
"You all heard, right?"
"Yes!"
Dozens of people shouted in perfect unison, as if a single person had answered.
At that, the man scattered his cigarette into dust with magic power and opened his mouth.
"Security Bureau, prepare to drop."
Hwooooosh!
The fluttering wind stirred blood-stained hair.
Riding along that wind, a white robe descended smoothly between the Masters and Silgrim.
—Full of confidence, aren't you? But just because one more bastard like you is added....
As if he saw no reason to even listen to those words, Lloyd bloomed a flower.
Kwoaaaaaar!
A gigantic Venus flytrap surged up from the ground and swallowed Silgrim whole in a single bite.
—Insolent.
Silgrim, his brow twitching, tore through the flytrap and fired black chains toward Lloyd.
Rotating his body to deflect them lightly, Lloyd snapped his fingers, and flowers whose petals spun like blades rushed toward Silgrim.
"Ooh...."
"Sir Lloyd is pushing him back!"
The Masters, including Gerud, clenched their fists tightly and cheered for Lloyd.
It truly painted a picture where Lloyd, who had intruded upon this place, was pressing Silgrim, exhausted from prolonged combat.
'But it won't last long.'
Oscar judged coldly.
Though they were both at Level 8, the opponent was a mage who had reached the realm of Level 8 several decades ago.
Moreover, having drunk the Blood of the Great Emperor since then, his power had been pushed to its absolute limits as a demon.
On the other hand, it had not been long since Lloyd reached Level 8.
Of course, he seemed to have undergone quite rigorous training in the Yan Empire, but....
'That alone isn't enough to defeat that monster.'
If it became a prolonged battle, Lloyd would inevitably be pushed back.
Only, looking strictly at the present moment, an equal exchange of offense and defense was unfolding.
'In that case....'
He could not let this golden time Lloyd had bought go to waste.
Hurriedly turning his head, Oscar spoke to Maxim.
"Let us retreat inside the fortress."
"What? But Lloyd is fighting for everyone."
"I apologize, but right now we cannot offer any help whatsoever. At best, we would only hold him back."
At those truly cold words, Maxim swallowed a groan.
In truth, his desire to jump into the fray and help was immense, but....
'I can see no opening.'
The relentless clashes of battle unfolding second by second were too overwhelming for him to keep up with.
With a darkened expression, Maxim asked.
"Still, running away to a safe place is just too...."
"No, that is not what I mean."
Oscar scanned the surrounding Masters.
"The Masters here are completely exhausted. While it is difficult to kill Silgrim even once in our current state, against the corpses outside the fortress, it is a different story."
With a single sword strike, a single spell, dozens of corpses could be wiped out.
Understanding those words, Maxim's eyes widened.
"Which means...?"
"Yes, rather, we must open the castle gates, advance onto the plain, and subjugate the army of corpses."
In order to conquer this fortress all by himself, Silgrim had pulled the corpse army back as far as possible.
Currently, where the corpses stood was at the very edge of the range of All Dead Reversion.
"Without a doubt, those corpses cannot retreat any further."
"Indeed. If they flee outside the range of All Death Return to Sovereign...."
"Silgrim's lives will decrease all the same."
In other words, all they had to do was clash their forces against corpses that could not flee.
Next, Oscar lifted his head and looked at the airship.
"And if my prediction is not mistaken... that airship will also target the corpse army."
As proof, the airship was picking up speed again, heading toward the plains.
Above all, a familiar magical aura could be felt from above.
'Superintendent General Walker.'
The elites of the Security Bureau, whom the Emperor had said he would dispatch, were likely aboard that ship.
They, too, would have settled on thinning out the corpses rather than fighting Silgrim.
Hearing Oscar's words, the surrounding Masters nodded.
"That sounds good. Though we have little stamina left, against mere corpses like those, we can fight."
"We shouldn't just stand here, let's move right away!"
"First, let us attend to the wounded!"
Excluding Lloyd, the Masters hurriedly moved into the fortress.
Seeing this, Silgrim furrowed his brow and tried to block them, but.
Kwoooom!
A massive vine erected itself like a wall, safely shielding them.
—Hmph.
Silgrim's four eyes turned toward different places.
The Masters retreating into the fortress.
And the airship passing over his head, heading toward the plain.
'Targeting the army, not me.'
The intention was not difficult to read.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
While the brat in front of him pinned him down, they intended to eliminate the corpses that served as his spare lives.
Silgrim counted the remaining corpses.
'6,852....'
There was still some leeway.
However, Silgrim saw no reason to fight here any longer.
His target, the elder brother of the Great Emperor, was already hovering at death's door.
Moreover, the combat strength of the corpse army without his direct command was not particularly high.
'In other words, as time passes, the one who will be in danger is me.'
Above all else, the most important thing was his own life.
Having finished his calculations to that point, Silgrim intentionally wore a leisurely expression.
—Obvious. While you keep me tied down, you intend to eliminate my army?
"...."
Lloyd did not respond.
Instead, as he opened his palm, small flower buds formed within every crevice along the ramparts.
—Fine, do it if you can.
At the tip of his index finger, faint purple demonic energy condensed.
First, targeting that ship flying in the sky came before anything else.
If it crashed, good, even if the opponent tried to protect it, it did not matter.
The fleeting instant he averted his eyes from him would be enough.
『Death Ray』
Ssssshh!
The ray he shot out extended in a straight line, aiming for the stern of the airship.
However, it never reached the hull.
『Inherent Magic, Four Gentlemen. Secluded Orchid Fragrance』
A subtle scent of orchid blanketed the battlefield, and long leaves scattered across the sky.
Meeting the shooting ray at an angle, the leaves curved one after another.
When one layer tore apart, the next layer received it; when even that was pierced through, yet another leaf gently embraced it.
Kwoaaaaaar!
Passing through the layered flows, the ray, its direction gradually deflected, bypassed the airship and split the clouds.
—...Tsk.
Silgrim clicked his tongue shortly.
Because even while deflecting the ray, Lloyd's gaze had not shifted away from him.
'You have no intention of letting me go easily?'
Then he simply had to break away by force.
Behind Silgrim, dozens of black spears formed.
Some aimed once more at the airship, while the rest pointed toward the interior of the fortress where the Masters had retreated.
However, this time, there was not even time to fire.
"Full Bloom."
Fsssshh!
The flower buds formed in the crevices of the ramparts bloomed all at once.
The instant the layered petals unfolded, sharp sonic booms burst out from within.
Petals flying from all directions cut past Silgrim's body like blades.
—Troublesome...!
Demonic energy erupted like an explosion, scattering the petals like dust.
Silgrim ran toward the ramparts, taking advantage of the opening while his vision was obscured by the aftermath.
Yet at that moment.
"World Release."
Bright, vivid flowers bloomed across the blackened ground.
The colorful flowers adorned the desolate battlefield brightly and gorgeously.
"Secret Garden."
Showing one's back to a Level 8 mage who had even released their World was an act of suicide.
In other words, until he settled the score with that thing, he could not leave this place.
—How dare a mere brat like you....
The moment Silgrim's face, trembling as he gritted his teeth, crumpled like a sheet of paper.
Along with a vibration as if the entire canyon fortress was shaking.
Bwooooooo!
The castle gates opened, and the sound of a horn announcing an advance echoed out.
"They read our plan."
Superintendent General Walker nodded as he watched the Imperial Central Army pouring out from the fortress.
No matter how formidable the Security Bureau's elites were, their numbers barely reached several dozen.
Charging into thousands of corpses swarming on that plain was an ordeal.
Yet fortunately, the fortress side had voluntarily grasped their intention and advanced accordingly.
"There are sickeningly many corpses. Shall we drop immediately?"
At the question from his subordinate, Doran, Walker, who had been gauging the position of the advancing Central Army, shook his head.
"Not yet. Once the battle begins, we strike from the flank."
That did not mean they would idle around until then.
When Walker raised his hand, the mages lined up along the railing prepared their magic in unison.
"Fire."
Kwoooom!
Explosions occurred throughout the corpse army.
Soaring flames instantly swallowed the entangled corpses.
Watching that scene, the Central Army clashed with the corpses, carried forward by soaring morale.
"Mages and the personnel aboard the ship will continue to support from here. The rest follow me."
"Yes!"
Dozens of figures leaped from the airship without the slightest hesitation.
Just before their falling bodies struck near the ground.
As they tore scrolls, a soft wind blew, drastically reducing their velocity.
"Grrrrr?"
Kwoooom!
Having plunged directly into the flank of the battlefield, Walker commanded his subordinates.
"Sweep them all away."
"Yes!"
The numbers of the corpse army dwindled rapidly.
Though a few strong corpses were mixed among them, on this side were over a dozen Masters of Level 7 or higher.
Above all, an army not directly manipulated by a necromancer was utterly foolish.
—Urgh!
That aftermath was immediately reflected in the duel between Silgrim and Lloyd.
Just before a petal grazed the nape of his neck, Silgrim threw his body to the side.
Lloyd looked down expressionlessly at him rolling across the ground, having abandoned all dignity.
"Suits you well."
Silgrim did not reply.
Because on the plain, even now, his lives were dwindling away at a rapid pace.
Grit!
His own death was becoming just as heavy as the deaths of the humans he had regarded like insects.

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