novelraw Chapter 97 : Chapter 97
Chapter 97 : Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Celina changed her strategy.
If it was impossible to persuade the lord of Monora through logic, she would move that damn stupid and lazy lord by annoying him.
She went to the lord’s office and knocked on the door at intervals of almost two to three hours.
The lord, who had greeted her politely at first, at some point began to try to escape from Celina, making various excuses.
“I think it’s about to work!”
“……”
At this moment, Celina, with her refreshing smile, seemed almost frightening.
To be honest, I thought it would work too.
If someone was pestering you that much, it would be better to just send a request for support to the higher-ups and get an earful once.
If it were me, I felt like I would go crazy after being tormented like that for just a few days.
At times like this, she was someone who knew how to use her position and status better than anyone.
However, Celina’s plan to get the lord to request support from the higher-ups by annoying him unfortunately ended in failure.
[Commander!]
As a result of focusing on practice for the past few days, Mars, who had become the next person after Celina to be able to use telepathy, sent an urgent message.
[What is it?]
I said that, but I had a rough idea of what kind of answer would come back.
The place where Mars was currently stationed was on the walls of Monora, and his given role was to thoroughly monitor the surroundings, watch for zombies approaching Monora, and report.
No news is good news.
The lack of contact meant that no incidents had occurred, but the fact that he contacted me like this meant that the problem we were most worried about had occurred.
Sure enough.
[The zombie army is approaching!]
The zombie horde had finally invaded Monora.
Celina immediately ran towards the lord’s mansion without looking back.
It was not a bad choice.
Her role as a commander was not to defeat a few enemies on the battlefield with magic, but to devise ways to inflict great damage on the enemy while preserving as much of the allied forces as possible.
At this point, persuading the lord and requesting support from the higher-ups was the most ideal method.
On the other hand, what about me, a soldier?
What was there to think about?
I immediately ran towards the city wall.
“Senior!”
Passing by the busy soldiers and climbing onto the wall, Latia greeted me.
The members of Unit 917 were gathered around, all with tense faces.
Only after confirming their safety was I able to turn my gaze beyond the wall.
“…There are so damn many.”
For a moment, I doubted my eyes.
Most of the nature around Monora was destroyed to a level beyond recovery.
All that was visible was the blackened, dead land.
Because of this, the view was wide open, and thanks to that wide-open view, I had no choice but to know just how many enemies there were, whether I liked it or not.
The vast black plain was so full of zombies that it was impossible to see the ground.
“There must be at least over five thousand…”
“And they keep increasing.”
And one more thing.
Besides their numbers, there was one other peculiar point.
“They’re in formation.”
The zombies I met in Haram were close to beasts running wild, driven mad to hunt the living.
But the ones I saw now were different.
Seeing them moving in an orderly fashion in ranks and files, it was clear that there was a command center that could perfectly control them, and I could tell that the command center’s abilities were by no means lacking.
It would have been better if they had acted according to instinct.
Then we could have joined forces with the soldiers of Monora and hunted them in a group.
The creatures did not move recklessly.
They skillfully formed a formation just outside the range of our bows and magic, and the morale of our soldiers dropped rapidly at the bizarre sight of them standing with their arms dangling, staring blankly up at the sky, and swaying.
Time passed helplessly like that.
The sun that had been high in the sky was gradually setting.
‘Are they aiming for the night?’
Based on my experience in Haram, zombies have extremely good hearing and smell.
On the other hand, humans have a strong tendency to rely on sight.
It was obvious whose stage the lightless night would become.
“Are those the… monsters you guys called zombies? To call them fiends… they’re too grotesque.”
A voice came from right behind me.
The moment I was about to turn around, I felt a pain in my left eye.
I hastily covered my eye with my hand.
It was obvious who the owner of the voice was.
The lord of Monora.
I do not know if it was just my imagination, but as he passed by me, I felt a chill.
“They may look grotesque, but aren't they just walking corpses? Their numbers are large, but… I don’t know if I have to make a plea to the royal family over such creatures.”
“That’s why…! I told you that a Named from Unit 917 struggled against them! I’ve told you multiple times that the soldiers of Monora can’t possibly hold out on their own!”
“Even if he’s a Named from Unit 917, he’s still just a low-ranking soldier in the end. The knights and mages of Monora are excellent, so they will show a performance several times better than the soldier you praise so much.”
“…Aaagh!”
In the end, Celina broke.
She was not someone who normally showed a noble demeanor, but this was the first time I had seen her like this.
I could not bear to watch Celina clutching her head with both hands in anguish, so I had to look away.
Just seeing the two of them talk for a brief moment made me feel that she must have gone through a lot.
The lord’s gaze turned to me.
Fortunately, the pain in my eye subsided at just the right time.
“Are you that Named from Unit 917?”
“I am.”
“Hmm…”
The lord, who had taken a step forward, looked me up and down as if evaluating me.
A strange smell pricked my nose.
It was a scent that was difficult to evaluate, as it had a clear feeling but at the same time coexisted with a conflicting feeling that made one uncomfortable.
“Even if you are a Named, I don’t see why the commander of Unit 917 rates you so highly. Ah, how about you spar with my knight, or perhaps a mage? That way, I think I can objectively evaluate your skills.”
“……”
I wondered if he was in his right mind.
Normally, I would have gladly accepted his proposal.
At my current ability level, I could not lose even if I wanted to against the knights and mages under a mere count.
The problem was that there were thousands of enemies within sight right now.
There was nothing to be gained from sparring with an ally and consuming stamina and mana now, so the fact that he was making such a proposal was an absurd situation in itself.
I wondered if he was a humorous person who had thrown a joke to melt the tense atmosphere, but I could tell from his expression, which was devoid of any laughter, that he was serious.
However, as a low-ranking soldier, I could not point out his ignorance.
“You jest, my lord.”
That was the best I could do, putting it indirectly.
“Hmm…”
The lord, who was stroking his chin as if disappointed, once again shifted his gaze beyond the wall.
In the meantime, the number of zombies had increased even more.
Not only that, but special individuals began to take their places among the zombies.
I had a strong feeling that we should not give them any more time.
[Celina. We have to inflict some damage before the sun sets.]
When I relayed the information through telepathy, Celina let out a deep sigh.
It was obvious that she was worried about how to persuade this stubborn man in front of her.
However, Celina moved.
“My lord. As time passes, the scale of the enemies is growing. And soon, night will fall. They have excellent hearing and smell, so their danger level will increase in the dark. Therefore, I believe that reducing their numbers even a little before the sun sets is the way to increase our chances of victory.”
“There seems to be no need to send the soldiers out of the safe city walls. The walls of Monora are sturdy. Those rotten corpses will not be able to cross the walls of Monora.”
“……”
As expected, Celina’s argument was not accepted.
Celina, with her shoulders slumped, came to my side and whispered quietly.
“This is crazy. It feels like I’m talking to a brick wall.”
“Me too. Just looking at him gives me a headache.”
It was driving me crazy.
I knew ways to turn the tide of the war even slightly in our favor, but I could not put them into practice.
In the end, all the power was held by the lord.
No matter what we said, it would end up as a futile effort if the lord’s permission was not given.
Time passed helplessly like that.
And night came.
“I can’t see anything…”
Byan said, swallowing dryly.
As he said, the world was completely stained black.
Although a crescent moon hung in the sky, it was far from enough to illuminate the entire land.
The only light around was the torches hanging on the city walls.
Naturally, the range that could be illuminated by mere torches was extremely limited.
Wooooo…
An eerie sound came from the darkness in the distance.
I could clearly feel the soldiers stationed on the city walls tensing up.
And then, footsteps were heard.
Tap. Tatap. Tatatatatak!
The sound of hundreds, thousands of feet kicking off the ground at high speed.
I could tell that they were approaching.
I drew my sword.
There was no particular order from the lord.
And I do not know if it was just my imagination, but the unpleasant scent coming from the lord had become much stronger since the sun had completely set.
“They’re, they’re coming!”
Immediately after someone’s shrill cry.
WHOOSH.
A black wind blew from somewhere and extinguished all the torches.
“……!”
“Wh-what! What’s happening!”
“Light them up, now!”
In an instant, the top of the wall became a scene of chaos.
Screams were heard from all over, and the sound of soldiers running around in a hurry overlapped with the footsteps of the zombies, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
“Byan! Light it up!”
“Huh? Why me… oh, ah!”
Byan, who had come to his senses amidst the confusion, used his Authority.
In the pitch-black darkness, a very small light appeared around Byan.
Just as Byan was stroking his startled chest in relief, a rotten arm shot out from behind him.
The zombie, the owner of the arm, grabbed both of Byan’s shoulders, and with a rotten smell, bared its teeth towards the panicked Byan’s shoulder.
I reflexively reached out and grabbed the zombie’s head.
The sensation of the rotten flesh transmitted through my fingertips was so gruesome that my first thought was that I was glad I was wearing gloves.
“Get out of the way!”
The path for my sword was cleared as the panicked Byan screamed and moved aside.
I immediately swung my sword and struck the zombie’s neck.
I threw the zombie’s body, which was still struggling, down along with the head that was rolling down the wall.
“Byan, blow it up!”
Fortunately, this time Byan immediately understood my words.
Byan, who nodded vigorously, threw a sphere of fire above his head.
The sphere exploded, and light spread to the surroundings.
As the smell of rot filled my nose, I could not help but be dumbfounded.
“……”
When on earth did they climb up the wall?
The top of the wall was already full of zombies.