Chapter 266: 140. A Protective Shield -1 (Part Two)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
**
“Push them back! Other than their large numbers, they are nothing more than measly zombies!”
Ronia’s armed forces made their move.
Count Jenald analysed the unfolding situation while continuously commanding them.
The scattered zombies had discovered the army of the living and had begun congregating here. The convicts raised their shields and got into a tight formation, then proceeded to systematically kill off the incoming zombies.
These undead didn’t know any combat skills, nor did they boast some form of armament. So, subduing them should not pose much problem.
Except that… “There are a lot more than I thought.”
The zombies spread throughout the Land of the Dead Spirits were far too numerous to even count. Which was unsurprising, since these undead had come from all corners of the continent.
As a result, Ronia’s troops had fallen behind schedule, much more so then what had been initially planned.
Count Jenald looked up at the sky.
The amber lights of the setting sun had dyed the heavens, and the night was steadily closing in.
‘What should we do now?’
In only a few hours it would be the twenty-fifth of December. Ronia’s convict soldiers would be in grave danger when the Tide of Death arrived in full force.
As their commander, it was Jenald’s duty to think about the well-being of his subordinates, but His Highness was literally right in front of their noses, right over there in the ice castle.
They just couldn’t abandon him, either!
“What a relief that we haven’t spotted any vampires trying to run away from there.”
Indeed, they hadn’t discovered any vampires fleeing from the ice castle so far. If some had tried, then the human troops wouldn’t have a way to capture them, thanks to all these zombies blocking the way.
“We shall march forward a little faster!”
Jenald issued a new command, and the convicts began roaring out in unison, “Advance! Forward!”
“For the glory of His Majesty the Holy King-!” The shield soldiers let out a spirited roar and shoved aside all the zombies blocking their path. Spears came flying in from behind them to accurately stab the undead’s heads.
Alice’s job was to provide support to the convict soldiers pushing themselves beyond their normal limits. She was currently riding on an altar being pulled along by a two-horse carriage.
She was on her knees and praying ardently while staring at the symbol of the Theocratic Empire, which roughly resembled a Chinese symbol for ‘wood’.
The beautiful melodies of a sacred hymn continued to drift from her lips. Her Spirit Speech contained divinity, and invigorated and strengthened the soldiers.
“This is far more amazing than I thought. If someone told me that I was witnessing the actual Theocratic Empire’s army in action, then I’d have believed that person, that’s for sure. Not only that, these folks seem to be extremely devoted to His Highness, as well.”
Belrog was riding on one of the carriages, and spoke of his honest impressions so far to Charlotte, who was escorting him.
She was riding on her Unira, while her new shield was slung over her back diagonally.
The thing was, her mount Unira seemed to be staggering somewhat. Even though it was a descendent of the legendary Unicorn, Belrog had this sneaking suspicion that the poor creature might need quite a bit of time to get used to the shield’s great weight.
The dwarf blacksmith could only break out in a wry grin, while glancing at Unira struggling to cope with all the extra weight.
“They have all received His Highness’s grace. This is an obvious result.”
Charlotte’s expression didn’t even change a little while she said that. However, at least her voice indicated how buoyant her mood was at the moment.
She probably felt happy that her master was being praised here. Belrog smiled faintly at the thought and carried on.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a giant! A freaking giant! B-but, what is up with that size?!”
The convicts grew agitated and pointed at the ice castle.
“…A Jötunn?” the gravekeeper travelling with Sir Harman, Shuppel, dazedly muttered to himself.
Charlotte flinched and quickly shifted her gaze over to the ice castle. She could see a huge mud giant beyond the tall castle walls.
Belrog also witnessed the towering creature and his expression hardened in an instant.
“Oh my gods… Isn’t that Mist Calf?!”
How was an ancient Jötunn even standing over there…?!
A legendary creature described in the pages of the ancient records was standing tall before their very eyes!
That mud giant was supposedly created by one of the countless kings of the giants: the king ruling over ice, the king ruling over fire, the king ruling over earth, etc.
That creature was nature itself, capable of controlling the Element of Earth. It was a rather different existence from the Elemental spirits, but somewhat similar at the same time.
That unbelievable existence was standing near the ice castle right now!
“Your Highness…?” Charlotte muttered in stupefaction, just as the ice castle suddenly began collapsing. Her expression sharpened considerably in an instant.
She pulled out the shield on her back and equipped it on her left hand. While holding the reins tightly with her right hand, she pressed her forehead to Unira’s neck and whispered quietly, “I’m sorry. I know it’s difficult, but… Please, run for me.”
Unira reared up and neighed loudly in response to her request.
Its hooves slammed down hard on the frozen terrain, and the horse accelerated. It easily leapt over the close formation the convict soldiers had been maintaining diligently.
“Lady Paladin?!”
“I’ll go ahead first. His Highness is in danger!” She roared out as she and her mount utterly trampled and shield-bashed any zombies in their way.
Convicts watching her receding back froze in their spots.
“…His Highness is in danger?”
“Wait, Lord Saint is in danger, you say?!”
Their words spread out to everyone else at a breakneck speed.
‘Lord Saint is in danger.’
‘The one blessed by Goddess Gaia is in danger!’
The more those words got engraved in their heads, the greater their agitation became.
The same applied to Count Jenald, as well.
“What are you all doing?!” The convicts turned their heads to stare at their commander.
The mounted Count Jenald yanked his sword out.
With a distorted expression, he shouted loudly enough for the veins in his throat to bulge visibly, “The Lord Saint is waiting for our arrival! Are you still going to stand around in a daze like this?!”
The convicts all snapped their heads back forward.
Weren’t they issued with an important mission, to lay siege to that ice castle? Yet these measly zombies were hindering their path!
Convicts began shooting enraged glares at the undead.
“We are all blessed believers.”
They began marching forward again, one step at a time. Their emotions were surging higher and higher.
They shoved the zombies aside with their shields, and used their spears and swords to cut down any undead before them.
The formation gradually broke down. Even if a zombie began biting into their fellow convicts, they ignored it and continued to swing their weapons.
“We are all believers in the Lord Saint, Allen Olfolse!”
They clenched their teeth and glared at the collapsed ice castle with their bloodshot eyes.
“We shall serve him, and we shall protect him-!”
A loud roar that contained a trace of madness exploded forth from the believers and reverberated throughout the land.
Their marching speed increased, and they gradually closed the distance to the ice castle.
**
(TL: In 1st person POV.)
“Give me a freaking break.”
I regained consciousness within the debris of the ice castle.
The icy frost had turned into a dense fog. It was so cold here that my whole body was shivering away uncontrollably.
After successfully creating the magic barrier, Nasus was crushed under the large debris of ice and extinguished from the world. As for Kasim, he was still holding onto me, but several ice shards had penetrated his back and he was currently lying on his side, unmoving.
I figured that it’d be quite some time before I could summon them again.
I staggered unsteadily while getting back up. I touched my head and discovered trickles of blood there.
‘So dizzy…’
It could’ve been really bad if I hadn’t Summoned Nasus and Kasim ahead of time. Still, what a relief it was.
Ronia’s army had arrived, so all that was left to do now was to go home and…
BOOM-!
A chill ran down my spine.
BOOOOOM-!
The debris of the ice castle bucked and tumbled all around me.
Goosebumps broke out all over my skin and I urgently turned my head in the direction of the commotion.
Rumble, tumble, craaaash-!
The mud giant was lifting its body up from under the ruins of the ice castle. It stood within the dense dust spreading out and stared down at me.
Even after getting crushed flat by an ice castle at least 120 metres tall, this guy walked away without a scratch. It just shook its head around a bit, and some mud drooped out of its open mouth, that’s all.
After seeing that reaction, I understood why it chose to destroy the ice castle despite standing right next to it. To this monster called Mist Calf, such an impact was nothing more than some kid’s play.
-I won’t let you go!- Its bassy, scratchy and cracked voice reverberated all around me, as the creature reached out with its massive hand.
However, my situational awareness had been dulled by the injury to my head.
Bloody hell…?!
Mud shot out from Mist Calf’s palm. It was the same ‘technique’ it used to impale the zombies to drag them in and absorb them.
Dozens of mud spikes extended like snakes as they flew towards me. I tried to retreat, but couldn’t maintain my balance and lost my footing, instead.
My leg muscles didn’t seem to have any strength left, and it was really hard to dodge.
‘But I need to stop this somehow!’
Even as the dizzy spell took over me, I still summoned my undead. They stood in front of me to act as protective shields, but the mud spikes easily shattered through all of them, as if they weren’t even there in the first place.
The mud spike flew in at a frightening speed in order to impale me.
‘Dammit-!’
At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to avoid a grievous injury.
Right at that moment, I heard the sounds of a horse’s hooves. Something or someone was leaping down, followed by urgent panting.
Just as I turned my head towards those sounds, a white cape flapped past my eyes.
That something or someone grabbed me tightly next. At the same time, a large shadow stood before us.
It belonged to a shield.
BANG-!
The mud spike was deflected away.
The large shield trembled once. I turned my head and saw the girl embracing my shoulders.
Her silver hair and crimson eyes, as cold as ice, yet her beauty was as ethereal as her demeanour.
“Charlotte?”
She was holding me tightly.
< 140. A Protective Shield -1 (Part One and Two) > Fin.
