Chapter : 57

“Undead-!”

No wonder there was a strange and sinister energy swirling around; the ones who had returned from death were here.

“Drat, it seems the forest really was cursed. That must be why people who entered the forest never came back, huh-!”

“Magician Agpiel! Step back.”

I quickly assessed the situation and shouted. No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to imagine that those evil undead would be friendly to us.

“Prepare for battle-! Get a hold of yourselves-!”

-Tiriring!

[Enraged Shout!]

[Powerful Combat Power Correction!]

[The panic status of the subordinate soldiers is resolved.]

[The morale of the subordinate soldiers is boosted.]

“Do not waver. God protects us!”

I shouted, gripping my sword tightly.

An army of the dead in a variety of attire. It was clear that this forest had devoured many people over the years. If we were to die here, we would surely share their fate.

“W-we must flee, Your Excellency-! We cannot win against them….”

“Silence-! Knight!”

“I-it’s true.”

Despite the knight's morale-draining words, I shouted without wavering.

“God is watching over us-! Let us grant these pitiful corpses the eternal rest they deserve-! Do not waver.”

“Ooooh-!”

At my firm shout, the soldiers cheered and drew their weapons. The damp fear that had settled over them had long since vanished.

Then, the undead seemed to react to this as well.

-Kwooooooooooo-!!

The undead let out a loud wail to the heavens. Among them, a knight undead who appeared to be the leader clattered forward and drew his sword.

Was that a signal to charge?

Then I couldn't lose either.

“Charge-!”

“In the name of God-!”

“Deus Vult-! God wills it. Let's go!”

“Let's purify them-!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa-!”

-Claaaaaaaaang!

In an instant, the quiet forest became a battlefield. The living and the dead were entangled in a fierce, life-or-death struggle.

Of course, I couldn't just stay back in a situation like this.

The undead knight I had seen earlier.

He clearly looked the strongest. Since he was even giving commands like a commander, if I were to defeat him, the undead would surely crumble.

“Chaaat-!”

Thinking so, I rushed towards the undead knight.

Undead clung to me in between, but they couldn't hold me back.

-Crunch!

-Craaaack!

Every time my longsword swung, shields and armor were crushed and shattered into pieces without any resistance-!

‘Hmm?’

As I fought frantically, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘These guys.... aren't they already dead?’

The undead were the dead, who had come to move through a combination of grudges and the power of mystery.

If that was the case, it didn't seem likely that they would die like normal humans just because I cut them down.

And sure enough.

-Slither slither slither!

Looking around, the undead who had fallen to my sword were slowly getting back up, piecing together their flesh and bones.

‘Hmm.... as I thought. Then is it blunt weapons?’

In movies and novels, didn't they disappear if you pulverized them so they couldn't recover?

Thinking so, I scanned my surroundings. To see if there was any weapon I could use as a blunt instrument.

Then I remembered the siege of Markel City.

‘I defeated the assassin by using a longsword like a blunt weapon, didn't I…?’

Recalling that experience, this, too, would surely serve as a blunt weapon.

Thinking so, I held the longsword upside down.

Just then, the undead knight who appeared to be the commander was before my eyes.

-Kwaaaaaaaaa-!

The undead knight was diligently expressing his hatred for the living.

I, too, filled with loathing for the dead, swung the longsword-turned-blunt-weapon with all my might.

-Bang-!

* * *

The living rarely had to fight the dead. So they didn't know how to fight and win against those who had returned from death.

That's why Magician Agpiel was worried.

“This is a disaster-! If you fight them unprepared, you can't send the undead back.”

They were distinctly different from ghouls, which were created from the mutation of corpses. People even mistook ghouls for undead....

‘The real undead are those things.’

Beings who were truly revived from death, imbued with grudges and mystery.

They had no soul or reason, but they could utilize the martial skills and knowledge they had in life, and their power was even strengthened by the blessing of dark mystery.

But there was something even more frightening.

‘You can't kill them without preparation-! This is a disaster.’

To destroy the undead, you needed consecrated holy water, a weapon enchanted with mystery, or you had to shatter them into pieces and burn each one with fire.

But right now, they had nothing prepared.

“Ugh. This young noble really works me to the bone.”

Magician Agpiel grumbled and hurriedly gathered his mystery.

He was, after all, the great sage of the forest.

He, too, possessed the blessing of mystery to defeat the undead.

-Wooooong!

A bluish, refreshing energy gathered in Magician Agpiel's hand and then shot upwards.

-Pong pong pong pong!

Then it fell one by one upon the surrounding soldiers, embracing them.

“Ooooh-! I suddenly feel energized-!”

“What is this?”

“Calm down-! It is the blessing of the forest. If you attack the undead with this blessing, they will fall!”

Magician Agpiel shouted at the bewildered soldiers and then immediately had a few soldiers build a fire.

“Burn the fallen undead in this fire.”

“Yes, Magician.”

“Thank you-!”

Now that the soldiers were stabilized, all that was left was the one young noble.

“Gasp-!”

But this Margrave, as if he had lost his mind, was rampaging at the very front line.

“Drat-! At times like this, he's just like a hot-blooded knight!”

Magician Agpiel clicked his tongue and hurriedly ran towards the Margrave.

If the Margrave didn't know the characteristics of the undead, he would surely be in danger.

And sure enough.

The Margrave was swarmed by the resurrected undead and was quickly surrounded again.

“Drat-!”

Magician Agpiel hurriedly swung his staff and cast a spell.

It was the same wooden mass shield he had used in the battle against the Pixie tribe.

But just as the magic was about to be released from the staff.

-Craaaack!

With a terrifying sound, the undead around the Margrave were crushed again in an instant.

Into a bloody pulp.

They were all slammed to the ground, twitching.

“????”

He blinked his eyes in surprise, wondering if he had seen wrong, but nothing changed.

“Hmph….”

But this was no time to be surprised. The undead in front of the young Margrave was different, very different.

The young Margrave must have taken the lead because of that undead's presence.

That undead was a ‘Death Knight’.

A very powerful being born when evil mystery and grudges accumulate for 100 years.

A destructive undead that could not be defeated without mystery-!

That's why, even if he had managed to dispose of the other minions, he would not be able to handle that one.

The help of a magician like himself was absolutely necessary.

Therefore, Magician Agpiel shouted louder than ever before. To somehow prevent the Margrave, whom he had taken a liking to, from getting hurt.

“Margrave-! You can't just clash with that thing! To defeat it, you need a powerful mystery…!”

However.

-Whoooooosh!

A chilling sound that tore through the air was heard, and then.

-Bang-!

-Crack craaaackle!

-Psssssssssssss!

A deafening roar as if a giant were striking a sacred object was heard, and the ‘Death Knight’ instantly crumbled like sand.

“??????????????”

Literally like sand.

The sturdy body of the ‘Death Knight’ was nowhere to be seen, scattered into dust and dispersed into the air.

Seeing this, Magician Agpiel was so shocked that he unknowingly called upon God.

“Oh God. Are you planning to turn him into a real monster now, not just an ogre?”

* * *

“Whew whew.”

The battle with the undead was over. Seeing the undead who did not die but resurrected, I was worried that we might have suffered great damage, but fortunately, Magician Agpiel was there.

As befitting Agpiel, who was called the great sage of the forest, thanks to his quick actions, the damage to my soldiers was almost non-existent.

“That's a relief.”

I wiped my sweat and let out a ragged breath. I had swung my weapon with all my might just now, so I was completely exhausted.

“Now, you, are you hurt anywhere? Is your body alright?”

Magician Agpiel approached me with a somewhat dazed expression.

“Did you see something you shouldn't have? Why is your complexion….”

“Uh, huh? No. Seeing something I shouldn't have. I saw something truly filled with the Holy Spirit.”

“???”

Filled with the Holy Spirit. Did this old man suddenly convert to a religion?

I tilted my head in curiosity but made an effort not to ask. That wasn't the important thing right now.

“Can we find Count Bozen and his army? It seems the situation has taken a turn for the worse. If it comes to it, we should retreat….”

“Hmm, still, it's a Count's army, so it wouldn't have collapsed so easily.”

“Then Magician Agpiel's opinion is to continue the pursuit?”

“Wouldn't that be better? Since we've come this far, it would be better to rescue Count Bozen as well. Now that we've stopped the undead attack, the path has opened up again. If we follow the trail, we should be able to see Count Bozen.”

Sure enough, looking around, the blocked undergrowth had disappeared and a path had formed again.

This is a forest imbued with a strange mystery.

I clicked my tongue and rose from my spot. I had decided to follow Magician Agpiel's opinion.

It would be a problem to return empty-handed after coming this far.

Wouldn't that mean the dead had died in vain? Of course, the trust of the nobles would also be somewhat diminished.

“Alright. Let's continue the pursuit. But first, let's cremate the dead soldiers before we go. If we leave them here like this, they might become undead.”

“A very good judgment. The dead will also show their gratitude for your judgment.”

I immediately ordered the soldiers to gather the bodies in one place and burn them.

And I picked a few nimble soldiers and sent them as scouts to track Count Bozen's trail. I intended to move as soon as the cremation was over.

“Ah, right.”

Then, a thought occurred to me, and I looked at Magician Agpiel.

“Magician Agpiel.”

“What is it?”

“Didn't you say something to me earlier?”

I couldn't hear it well because of the battle, but I had definitely heard Magician Agpiel's shout from a distance. He had shouted as if it was something very urgent he had to say....

“Ahem, what did I say.”

“Why. Didn't you shout when I was fighting that strange undead knight earlier? It was definitely.... Ah! Right. ‘Margrave-! You can't just clash with that thing! To defeat it....’ something like that? Am I wrong?”

Then Magician Agpiel cleared his throat and shouted.

“Ahem. I didn't-! You must have misheard.”

“?????”

‘No, if it's no, it's no. Why is he getting angry? Is he tired from using so much magic?’

It was truly a baffling matter.