༺ The Return ༻
The stench of corruption was carried through the wind into the city.
“Guooooo…!”
“Duduk, duduk!”
[Kyaaarrggg!]
The sound of rotten vocal cords colliding with a skeletal jawbone, and the ghastly wails of evil spirits merged into one, echoing like a march.
As if everything up until now had been merely a taste, the sight of an innumerable horde of undead marching towards the city was reminiscent of a massive tsunami. It was similar in the way a fierce tide obliterates everything in its path, leaving nothing behind.
It was unstoppable and unavoidable.
Whether a skilled soldier, an experienced adventurer, or a master class individual, surviving against those numbers was impossible. At this moment, everyone watching the scene was reminded of death at the same time.
However, Elizabeth was not one of them.
Even as others fell into despair, she alone coldly analyzed the situation.
“…If survival was our top priority, it should take roughly half a day.”
Even that was an assumption based on giving up everything except survival.
If soldiers and adventurers were used as meat shields for buying time, and all the citizens of the city were thrown as bait, and if a suitable building was found to hold out, then perhaps they could last that long. After all, it would take time to reduce the city to ashes.
What if they just fought? Well, they would probably be annihilated within an hour.
The concept of a monarch for all people exists only in fairy tales. Since her youth, Elizabeth had learned not to cherish and love all her subjects, but rather to ruthlessly discard the lesser for the sake of the greater.
In this case, the ‘greater’ refers to the students of the academy, who will eventually become talents of the empire, more precisely, the students of the Opal Black class. The ‘lesser’, of course, are the tens of thousands of citizens living in Shubaltsheim.
Talent differs, status differs, and the weight of life differs. According to Elizabeth’s original values, it would be wrong to endanger the students for the sake of the citizens. The balance on the scale is clearly not equal.
However, the outcome is this. Before she knows it, she and just seven others are engaged in a gamble that’s almost like a suicide mission to save the city.
Why? Because they believe it’s possible?
…Perhaps it’s because there’s a slight hope.
People always cling to hope when it exists.
Elizabeth found herself inappropriately drifting into another thought amidst the chaos. She recalled the image of a man who had timely come to her rescue on a burning airship.
If she expected the same this time… that would surely be greed.
Yet, despite this, the scene that man, who had been through numerous wars and deaths, should see upon his arrival in the city was not to be one of blood and death, but rather of people who were, against all odds, still holding on. And since she had to ensure that none of his students died, Elizabeth’s burden grew even heavier.
What choice did she have? She must do her best to hold out.
“Oznia. Can you hear me?”
[Yes.]
“How many more times can you use the same magic as before?”
[Two times. If I pace myself, three.]
“Is that so? I’ll try to buy us as much time as possible.”
It’s a regrettable fact, but in this city, the most critical force was not the remaining force of 10,000 soldiers, nor the master class, but Oznia alone.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Oznia was stronger than the master class. It’s merely the difference between a mage and a warrior.
Unless one is an entity beyond the standard, like a Grand Master, a mage inherently has much more to offer in a large-scale war than a swordsman.
‘…No, is she actually stronger, right?’
Even if there was an imperial palace mage corps here, could they cast magic as quickly as Oznia did just now? The fact that she accomplished this alone suggested that Oznia’s skills had already surpassed the level of a student.
However, the opponent was the Immortal Corps commander. To properly draw out the time, all manpower must be deployed without a single gap, in exactly the right places.
She was accustomed to devising strategies. With Oznia’s help, she connected everyone with telepathy, one by one.
“Everyone, will you do as I say from now on?”
***
It is common sense that defense has the advantage over offense. However, when the difference in troops exceeds by hundred times, such wisdom becomes meaningless.
The walls of Shubaltsheim were breached in an instant, and the battle quickly shifted to urban warfare.
Gwyn and Louis successfully led the soldiers in a retreat. Batar took charge of the remaining grassland tribe adventurers, leading them as a guerrilla force. Schultz and Saladin guided the evacuation of the civilians.
Marian’s golems deliberately collapsed several buildings to block the roads, funneling the undead into narrow choke points. Wherever there was a bottleneck, Oznia’s magic rained down into those bottlenecks.
The soldiers used the sturdy stone buildings as fortresses, blocking the entrances to hold their ground. Sometimes, they would draw as many undead as possible into a building and then set it on fire.
Even though it was a tactic akin to a suicide mission, there was no shortage of people willing to support such a desperate strategy.
Elizabeth knew why the adventurers had not left the city.
It was because they were begrudgingly aware that they were seen as grave robbers who ate corpses, scavengers living off the tragedies of foreign lands, yet Shubaltsheim was a place built by the hands of adventurers from scratch.
It was not without reason that it was called the city of adventurers. Although it received support from the imperial family, it was the adventurers who had rebuilt the land devastated by war with their own hands, and the city was like a second home to them. Elizabeth exploited this psychology thoroughly.
Countless people laid down their lives like fighting dogs in the face of despair. They were but pawns on a chessboard to her, but to someone else, they were sons and daughters, parents and children.
As a result, they held out three times longer than expected. They managed to mount a meaningful resistance for nearly three hours.
And now, with half the city aflame.
The Immortal Corps commander had eventually reached the city hall building.
At his feet were the miserable bodies of adventurers who had resisted until the end. There were some survivors, but most were completely subdued, having lost their will to fight and were now rolling on the ground.
The students of the Opal Black class were no different. They had fought nonstop and had barely made it to the city hall for refuge. Gwyn was barely supporting herself with a broken sword, Batar was pinned against the wall with a hole in his abdomen. Schultz and Saladin had lost consciousness side by side, and although Marian was okay, her golems were torn apart and reduced to mere rocks.
The most critical condition was Oznia’s. Having used her magic beyond her limits, blood streamed from every orifice on her face, yet she remained conscious, her eyes clear and sharply focused on the Immortal Corps commander, even though she was beyond the point of being able to cast any more spells.
There were no more troops to fight.
Instructor Eon had not yet arrived.
The only option left was to try and buy time in some other way.
Elizabeth walked toward the Immortal Corps commander. Everyone was shocked to see the princess of the empire approaching the enemy leader so fearlessly, but no one could stop her.
The Immortal Corps commander, his hands nothing but bone, stroked his jaw and spoke.
[That hair, those eyes… Are you a member of the royal family?]
“Yes. Are you the Immortal Corps commander?”
[Even a mere insect should know by whom it is killed. Yes, I am the Immortal Corps commander.]
He opened his mouth, clearly expressing his disgust.
[Take it as a compliment. This city has held out better than any other I have destroyed so far. For a place of such size, with such a force, it was significant enough that I had to intervene personally.]
“Congratulations. Shubaltsheim will now be added to the list of many cities your undead corps has destroyed. But don’t you think it was too reckless?”
[Ha, reckless you say…? Is it lacking intelligence because half of you are lizard-brained? Do you not understand to whom you dared speaking?]
Dark black magic began to ominously rise within the hands of the Immortal Corps commander. Elizabeth understood that with a mere gesture, she would be killed immediately. Even though she knew this, she did not stop and continued to speak.
“You may be able to conquer this city. But the war is over. The imperial army is rushing on its way to provide support, and the other seven heroes are also unoccupied. Can you, the Immortal Corps commander, really handle the united continent by yourself? Especially now that the Demon King is no more.”
Elizabeth’s words seemed plausible but were close to a lie. Ironically, because the war had ended, it was less likely that other nations would lend a hand. The empire’s power was too formidable, and its authority had already become a threat and a check to other countries.
However, there was no need to inform the newly revived Immortal Corps commander of that fact. Yet, the Immortal Corps commander seemed somewhat confident.
[Ha ha! No Demon King? Humans always speak of things they do not know with their shallow knowledge.]
“What do you mean…?”
[Is that all you had? It doesn’t matter. As long as the ritual is successful, it’s all good. The seven heroes? The continental alliance? Let them come if they want to. Having become an Elder Lich ruling over a dimension, I now possess power that even surpasses the Demon King!]
The confidence in the Immortal Corps commander’s voice was not understood by most. However, Oznia seemed to comprehend the significance of the word ‘Elder Lich,’ her expression turning chillingly stern.
“Elder Lich…? I thought it was a fictitious entity from legends… You intend to become such a being?”
[Yes! I have prepared for this moment for decades! Had that bastard not interfered at the final stage of the ritual, I would have already become an Elder Lich…. Hehe, it’s all good now. There are very few sacrifices left. There are plenty of high-quality souls here, including yours. I can feel many desirable talents. If I offer all the humans of this city as living sacrifices, there will be no being in the human realm that can handle me. That includes the Malevolent Star!]
The narcissistic mad laughter of the Immortal Corps commander resonated loudly.
In that moment, Elizabeth’s pupils elongated like a serpent’s, emitting a vivid red glow.
“Leave.”
[What…!?]
“From this city, right now, leave.”
Dragon Tongue has the greatest effect when eyes meet and when the opponent is caught off-guard. Elizabeth sensed that he was looking at her, yet not considering her a threat at all.
She wanted to command him to take his own life, but the more a command induced a feeling of repulsion, the greater the likelihood of provoking resistance.
The Immortal Corps commander, affected by Elizabeth’s draconic speech, clutched his head and staggered, clearly resisting mental domination.
Eventually, the Immortal Corps commander broke free from the influence of the dragon tongue and grabbed Elizabeth’s throat with a voice filled with anger. His skeletal arm was enough to lift her delicate body.
“Choke, gasp…!”
[How dare you! A half-breed lizard thinking you can overpower me! Not even the dragon tongue of the Black Demon Dragon Kainax could subdue me!]
Within her blurring consciousness, Elizabeth thought to herself.
…Well, it was worth a try.
She had done all she could. If this was still insufficient, then perhaps it was just her fate to end here.
It was at that moment that the grip of the Immortal Corps commander on Elizabeth’s throat loosened.
“Cough, cough!”
Had he shown her mercy? As she coughed and lifted her head, she caught sight of the Immortal Corps commander’s expression hidden beneath his robe.
He had a look of utter shock.
[Titania…?]
In front of the city hall, Titania leaned on Instructor Lirya as she walked forward. Titania looked helpless but she cried out in a clear voice.
“I’m back.”
At first, Elizabeth couldn’t understand what she was saying.
But then, the roar from a distance made it clear.
“He has returned!”
The sound, as if breaking through buildings, grew closer and louder, until a piercing noise like an arrow being shot rang out.
[Malevolent Star! You damn bastard!!]
A man clad in black armor fell from the sky, engulfed in flames.
The red spear in his hand pierced through the head of the Immortal Corps commander.
