Published at 26th of March 2019 2:42 am

Volume 13, Chapter 4 The Siege Part 4

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The air of the battlefield had a unique smell to it. It was a muddled mess of all kinds of odors, and simply put, it was a revolting stench. Still, it was a stench that one could get used to.

One of the people behind the closed portcullis ― Remedios ― took several deep breaths of that stinking air.

Her eyes were fixed on the advancing force before her, which numbered over 10,000.

The leaders of the assault on this location were Ogres and horse-like demihumans. Remedios gripped her holy sword tightly.

She liked using the sword to settle matters. She loved it. It clearly defined winners and losers. After all, there would be no more trouble after you killed the opposition. Life would have been so much easier if things were all so simple. Her sister ― Kelart ― and her master ― Calca ― would no longer knit their brows.

“Haaaah.”

She sighed.

After that, Remedios thought about what she had to do.

Gustav had said a lot of hard-to-understand things just now, but the gist of it was that they could not let a single demihuman past this gate.

The demihumans numbered in the tens of thousands. Around 10,000 of them were bearing down on the gate.

Not letting a single one past would be impossible if we were fighting on the plains, but here I can use the gate to limit the numbers who can attack me. So as long as I can keep fighting, it’ll be easy enough to keep them from getting past! I just need to keep drinking fatigue recovery potions and keep fighting them one-on-one!

If Gustav were here and had heard this, the look on his face would probably say “Are you fucking serious?” and as she calmly considered that mental image, Remedios laughed. Still, the idea was quite ridiculous, and it was no wonder he would often grab his head in frustration.

See how perfect my plan is! Calca-sama said I could delegate command to someone else, and Caspond-sama seems like an excellent person.

Umu, Remedios nodded.

After that, Remedios thought about the only flaw in her plan to “fight one-on-one ten thousand times.”

That was the existence of Jaldabaoth.

Remedios’s plan broke down when it encountered someone stronger than her.

She had trouble using her brain for the most part, but her mind was quite adept when it came to war.

That was why she understood that it would be very difficult for her to defeat Jaldabaoth. Of course, she could not admit that in front of her subordinates. She was the strongest paladin in the Holy Kingdom, and if she admitted her weakness, morale would probably plunge to rock bottom.

That was why they had brought the Sorcerer King over.

The Sorcerer King, huh...

The fact that they had to entrust one of the undead with the fate of the nation upset her so much that she wanted to throw up. However, they had no other option.

Tch. If only that undead creature had fought in a sneaky way, like using those goats or sheep which killed all those Kingdom troops. That way, no innocents would have to be sacrificed. Don’t the undead understand that people with strength have to protect the weak? Still… he’s really strong, isn’t he?

Taking a city by oneself was an impressive feat. Buser was a famous demihuman ― according to Gustav ― and defeating him was also quite outstanding. However, Jaldabaoth was a different matter altogether. She had her doubts as to whether even a magic caster who could conquer a city without assistance could actually defeat him.

Perhaps she would have learned the truth if she could have crossed blades with him just once, but Gustav had desperately pleaded with her not to. Therefore, she did not know exactly how strong the Sorcerer King was.

Remedios remained dubious of the Sorcerer King’s strength.

She had personally experienced Jaldabaoth’s might when he had revealed his true nature, but she could not sense anything like that from the Sorcerer King. If he was truly able to crush the Kingdom’s army, then he ought to be surrounded in an aura of power that could not be hidden.

Was that because he was a magic caster? However, if he was on Jaldabaoth’s level, she ought to have been able to sense something from him.

It would be good if he was really as strong as he claimed. Well, we won’t lose much if he dies. That undead creature will be a thorn in the Holy Kingdom’s side in the future. Ideally, the two of them would kill each other.

Remedios’s opinion had not changed even after her subordinates protested it. No, it had only solidified after the Sorcerer King killed the boy who had been taken hostage. As a paladin, she could not tolerate anyone who could calmly commit such inhuman acts.

The people of that country were actually ruled by fear, right?

When she thought about it, she found a lot of points which pointed to that conclusion. Perhaps having him and Jaldabaoth kill each other would be for their good too.

The problem is the people of our nation. Gustav was right when he said that this was a chance for us. We paladins can show our strength and abandon the Sorcerer King’s foolish opinions… Still, if Jaldabaoth shows up, we have to let him handle it.

Remedios took off her helmet. She wanted to scratch her head.

It was hard to imagine that the citizens of a country run by an amazing individual such as Calca would tolerate one of the undead like that. Just thinking about the matter should have revolted them.

Squire Baraja also ― hm? Could it be that she’s been charmed by a spell or something? Yes! He might be using some spell with a wide area of effect that forces people to like him!

Dammit! Remedios thought. She had not considered that possibility.

I should tell Gustav about this. That said, it’ll have to wait until we win this battle!

Remedios looked behind her.

There stood neat ranks of civilians holding spears and shields.

“Brave gentlemen! Regretfully, the Holy Kingdom is currently being trampled by demihumans, but you must accept it! Defeat the demihumans and save the innocent civilians ― your friends and family ― from their suffering! This is the first step towards our goal, which is to drive out these bastards here and take the Holy Kingdom back with our own hands!”

As Remedios shouted imposingly, anxious looks filled the faces of the militiamen.

“The filthy demihumans are attacking this place. Gentlemen, raise your shields and thrust your spears! Become a wall that will not let the enemy past you! There’s no need to be afraid. Other than their first wave, the only demihumans you will have to deal with are the demihumans fleeing from me! All you need to do is hold them for a while so that the paladins and I can take them down!”

That eased their tension a little. While being too relaxed was not a good thing, being too tense was even worse. Remedios mused that all the militiamen she could see were in an ideal frame of mind.

“You lot were trained all day yesterday! All you need to do now is show the fruits of that training. No need to be so tense!” Remedios paused for a moment, and then shouted louder than before.

“First rank! Shields up!”

The first row of the militiamen ― who looked like they were encircling the gate ― braced their shields.

These were greatshields which could completely conceal a human body, and their bottoms were lined with spikes that were the length of a finger.

“Shields! Dig in!”

The shield-wielding civilians slammed the spiked portions down with all their might. Thus, they produced a wall of steel in moments.

Yesterday, these shieldbearers had vigorously practiced three drills. The first was to raise their greatshields into the air and slam them back down, in order to drive the spikes deep into the ground. The second was not to falter, regardless of the pressure they were under.

“Second rank! Shields up!”

While the shields they carried were roughly the same size as those of the first rank, theirs did not have spikes. Those shields would go over the heads of the first and the second ranks, like a lid on top of them. This way, they would protect against attacks which made it past the first rank.

There were also paladins who could cast 「Under Divine Flag」 spaced evenly through the second rank, to protect them from the fear of being pushed by the enemy.

“Third rank spearmen, advance! Fourth rank spearmen, advance!”

The third and fourth ranks were composed of longspear users.

Their longspears would protrude from between the shield teams, their butts firmly planted in the ground to stop the enemy’s advance. The third rank and the fourth rank’s spears were slightly different from each other in that the fourth rank’s were slightly longer. Normally they ought to have had several more ranks of spearmen to form a spear wall, but since they were lacking in numbers, their aim was to overlap killing zones to prevent the enemy from breaking through.

It was a perfect formation.

However, it had a flaw.

While this formation did very well against warriors, it was very weak against demihumans with special abilities or magic casters.

It was true that the shield wall could block spells like 「Fireball」 and greatly minimize the damage done. However, spells like 「Lightning」 that had a piercing, line-shaped area of effect would pierce straight through them and out the rear. One could not say the demihumans did not have similar special abilities.

They knew this, but they had taught them to take that formation anyway because no other formation was effective in these circumstances.

“Very good! Then let’s begin! Open the gate!”

The portcullis began to rise as Remedios shouted. The advancing demihumans were shaken, and their movements slowed down. The defenders were opening the gate of their own accord ― optimists might think it was a surrender, but realists would consider it a trap.

Remedios laughed.

“You filthy demihumans! I’ll skin you and wipe my ass with your hides!”

After being taunted by a feeble human, the frustrated demihumans broke into a charge.

Remedios turned and ran. She planted both hands on the militiamen’s shields and vaulted over them.

The demihumans continued their charge, several of them falling down as they approached the gate.

Large quantities of oil had been poured there, and only two outcomes awaited those who fell during the charge. Either they would pull down those behind them, or they would be trampled flat instead.

Unfortunately, the big-framed demihumans like the Ogres did not fall, and they made it into the city. The horse-like demihumans slipped and fell, which slowed them down.

A large demihuman’s charge ought to be on par with a collision from a warhorse. However, if they could not follow through with it, then all bets were off.

The Ogres continued charging even though their pacing was messed up. They swung their large mauls back and forth, but the spears were longer in comparison, and they impaled several Ogres who had failed to properly judge the distance. Unfortunately, the Ogres were not fragile enough to be killed by that.

“Now! Throw them!”

In accordance with Remedios’s instructions, firebombs flew over the heads of the militiamen, and the sounds of pottery smashing could be heard near the gate as an inferno sprang up. The demihumans around the gate were surrounded by a great fire.

The demihumans should have predicted something like this, but Remedios was certain that the fires were far beyond what they had expected. That was because both the oil on the ground and the oil on their bodies had ignited at once.

The Ogres facing the shieldbearers began to falter.

It was only to be expected, considering there was a blazing fire behind them.

While they had thicker skin than a human being, that did not mean they could not be burned.

Wails and cries rose from the vicinity of the gate. However, not many of them had lost the capacity to fight despite being enveloped by a fire of that intensity. One had to acknowledge the great vitality of demihumans.

Those demihumans only had two options. They could advance or retreat.

Black smoke blocked their lines of sight. Thus, they were robbed of all other options. While many demihumans could see in the dark, that ability did not allow them to see through smoke.

Nobody could act calmly while they could not see, were in anguish from the smoke, and when they were being burned by the flames.

Retreating was very difficult given the circumstances. That was because others were following closely behind them in order to storm the city. In fact, the demihumans outside the gate were hesitating due to the fire, but the ones inside could not know that, given that smoke obscured everything.

Therefore, the demihumans chose to advance.

That was exactly as Remedios had predicted.

The demihumans attempted an assault, banking on their powerful bodies to carry the day. However―

―The shieldbearers’ third drill consisted of maintaining their shield wall even when surrounded by billowing black smoke.

“Spearmen! Pull!”

The spears retreated as one―

“Spearmen! Thrust!”

―And they thrust out in unison.

The demihumans gave voice to savage howls, thinking only of getting out of the smoke, and it was under these circumstances ― where defense and evasion were very difficult ― that they ran into the spear line. However, a commoner’s strength would be hard-pressed to impale a demihuman’s body. This was particularly true of the hand-picked demihumans who were intended to break through the gate in a frontal assault.

However, that was no problem.

Remedios did not think that they would go down in a single attack.

As long as the shieldbearers were in place, the spearmen could attack over and over again.

“Pull ― thrust!”

As she repeated the order, Remedios jumped over the shields in the opposite of her previous actions and cut down the demihumans where the spears could not reach.

Black smoke filled her eyes and throat, but she did not have the time to worry about that. There were very few demihumans who had made it through the oil and the portcullis, about fifty at most.

First she would kill them all and weaken the enemy’s willingness to fight. Since they were part of the vanguard, they must have surely been highly motivated elite troops. Wiping them out would be more effective than killing mooks.

Remedios’s breathing was calm and unhurried as she killed one enemy after the other.

Large demihumans like Ogres could not bring their full abilities to bear in a pitched melee.

The holy sword roamed everywhere without restraint.

Eventually, the shapes of the demihumans vanished from her tearstained vision. However, she could still hear a large force of demihumans on the other side of the smoke. They might have been in the middle of reforming their lines.

As Remedios slowly backed away, the silhouettes of several demihumans came into view.

“Captain! Come back here!”

Her subordinate paladin shouted to her as he cast 「Under Divine Flag」.

However, Remedios did not retreat. Her instincts were telling her something.

As the smoke thinned, she could sense three demihumans slowly approaching her, and shortly after that, her hunch was proved right.

One of them was a warrior with the upper body of a beast and the lower body of a carnivore.

One of them was a four-armed demihuman woman.

And the last was a simian demihuman who was festooned in golden accessories.

Remedios had originally planned to kill tens of thousands of demihumans by herself here, and she was very confident of doing so. However, she now sensed that fighting these three demihumans at once was extremely dangerous.

There were only three of them. While she could not make them out due to the smoke, she could tell they were brimming with confidence, given their unhurried pace. Even their fellow demihumans seemed to have handed their task over to those three, unwilling to come any closer.

...They’re strong. I don’t know if I can beat them even if it’s a one-on-one fight… or can I? I’ve got no chance if it’s three-on-one.

Remedios’s instincts screamed at her to flee rather than take these three on at the same time. But how should she escape? She had no idea. In contrast, if she beat those demihumans, it would amount to a flawless victory for this theater of combat.

Remedios gripped her holy sword tightly, and spoke without looking back.

“...Paladin Sabicus, Paladin Esteban.”

Both of them replied with a “Yes!” and, from the sounds they made, she judged that they had come to her side.

“Can you pin two of them down until I kill one of them?”

The two of them replied in unison, “Leave it to us!”

Remedios’s instincts told her that she was being unreasonable. They might be able to buy a few minutes for starters. But how about sending more people to take the demihumans on?

No. Remedios shook her head,

Her opponents were a mere three people, who had entered the fray by themselves. Clearly, they were confident in their own abilities and wanted to show off their strength. Enemies like those would surely accept a one-on-one challenge. Such was the arrogance of the mighty.

In addition, such arrogant beings typically took pleasure in making the weak suffer. They would take the extra time to torment their victims even if they could have finished them off in a matter of seconds.

With that faint hope in mind, she decided on a three-on-three.

“Paladins, if the two who stepped up are defeated, continue fighting them one-on-one. The order goes: Sabicus, Esteban, Franco, and Galban.”

They were abandoning their advantage in numbers to buy time. Simply put, she was ordering everyone to kill themselves. However, the paladins did not hesitate for a moment when they received those orders.

This was what it meant to be a paladin.

This was what it meant to embody justice.

This is what it means to sacrifice yourself for others.

This was probably the last time they would be seen alive and unscathed. Even so, Remedios did not take her eyes from the three demihumans for even a moment. She did not want to miss any chances to glean information from them.

I don’t have a clear picture of what’s going on, but the first two demihumans look like skilled fighters. Perhaps that ape-like demihuman is a monk. That four-arms looks like a magic caster. Or is it something else?

There was nothing to fear when dueling demihumans who relied on brute strength alone, but demihumans who had been trained were truly frightening. If they had received warrior training, then they could stack their training and their natural physical abilities to become exceptional individuals who could surpass even veteran warriors of the Holy Kingdom. In truth, the opponent who had given Remedios her hardest fight ― Jaldabaoth aside ― was such an entity.

She recalled the blow that had stabbed her through her abdomen. That was why she paid attention when fighting demihumans and heeded the warnings of her instincts on top of that.

...Spellcasting demihumans are the most troublesome to deal with. It’ll be bad if they can fly through the air.

While Remedios could use her armor’s abilities to fly for short periods of time, she would not have her full range of movement while in flight. Ascending, descending, and turning were all very exhausting, and she would not be able to use her usual fighting style. If her opponent could cast 「Fly」, she might never be able to reach them with her attacks. While she possessed martial arts which allowed her to make ranged sword attacks, it would be difficult to win quickly when one took into account the fact that their effectiveness was a great deal lower.

The three demihumans entered through the gate, and then stopped.

“―To think we’d have to join forces for a puny human.”

She could not make the three demihumans out clearly through the smoke, but their relaxed tone had reached her.

The hand gripping the holy sword beaded with sweat, and a bitter taste spread over her tongue, something that only happened when danger drew close.

She could keenly feel her opponents’ approach.

The beast and the ape were definitely among the best of the best. While she was not sure about the four-armed one, the fact that she could stand by their side meant that she was on their level. In other words, these three demihumans were a match for Remedios.

“This smoke’s getting in the way. What a pain in the ass.”

A strong wind blew the remaining smoke away with a whoosh.

The demihumans’ forms were revealed. Standing at their head was a gigantic demihuman who wielded a battleaxe.

“Zoastia!” Paladin Esteban exclaimed.

Remedios was somewhat baffled. Zoostia? she thought. Was that the demihuman’s name?

“Hmm… well, it makes sense that you’d know of me,” the beastman said with an evil grin on his face. “In that case, I’ll spare you on account of your learning, so that more people will hear of my strength.”

“Heeheehee, Vijar-dono. Jaldabaoth-sama will get angry if you take matters into your own hands like that. At the very least, have him drop his weapon and take him prisoner.”

The entity addressing the Zoastia was the ape-like demihuman.

Thoroughly confused, Remedios turned to the people around her, a question mark floating above her head.

“Zoastia? Vijar? Vijar Zoostia? Zoostia Vijar?”

While she was simply asking the names of the opposition, Vijar did not realize that and so he laughed in delight.

“Kuhahahaha! You’re calling me that because you’ve concluded that I’m the leader of our race? You humans have good taste!”

“She’s just being polite, Vijar-dono,” the four-armed demihuman behind and to the left of Vijar said in a mocking tone.

“That, that’s right, it’s just a courtesy, Vijar!”

It was only then that Remedios realised she had made a mistake about his species’ name.

Right after that, the demihuman called Vijar twisted his face in displeasure.

“Hm, and I even asked Jaldabaoth-sama for permission to spare anyone who pleased me. Don’t regret it.”

“Who’s going to regret it? You can regret fighting us in the afterlife!”

“Heeheehee, what a spirited young lady you are… you are a young lady, right? I’m not good with the ages of other species…”

“It doesn’t matter, that ought to be it.”

The demihumans were probably being very serious. This was simply the difference between their species.

”Now then, human girl, I shall introduce ourselves. I am Halisha Ankara. This is Vijar Lajandara, who needs no introduction. And last of all is Nasrene Bert Kyuru-dono.”

“Those names! Aren’t they the White Elder and Iceflame Lightning!?” Paladin Sabicus exclaimed.

“Kukukukuku. Even the humans know our names. The fledgling, on the other hand―”

“―Human. Do I not have a title like that?”

“I’ve never heard of the name Vijar Lajandara. However, there’s an axe-wielding Zoastia like you who’s quite famous. It’s the Demon Claw, Demon Claw, Vaju Sandiknara.”

“That was my old man,” Vijar snorted. “I’m the heir to the title of Demon Claw, Vijar Lajandala. I’ll make sure you think of my name when you hear the words Demon Claw.”

“Heeheehee. We’ll leave the human general to you then, Vijar-dono.”

“So be it. It’s hard enough that you’ve been forced to come right up to your opponents instead of using spells from a distance. Frankly speaking, I was planning to fight them all by myself.”

“Heeheehee. We were ordered to work together, you know?”

“So you’re having trouble because you’re getting on in years?”

“Tch!”

The four-armed demihuman (Nasrene) who had clicked her tongue turned and gave Vijar a scary look. In truth, it felt like they might start killing each other at any moment if they were left unchecked.

“Now then, I really am fine doing this by myself…” Vijar stared at Remedios. “But let’s hear your name before that. While it’s a pain to have to listen to some mook name themselves, that sword of yours looks pretty good.”

“Remedios Custodio.”

Vijar and Halisha’s expressions changed, but in different ways.

Vijar was smiling with bloodlust at the thought of meeting a strong foe, while Halisha was surprised.

Nasrene, on the other hand, remained unmoved.

“So you’re the one, huh? You’re Remedios Custodio? They say you’re the strongest paladin in this country. Excellent. If I kill you, I’ll become famous. I’ll be the Zoastia who defeated the strongest paladin in the Holy Kingdom. The new successor to the title of Demon Claw!”

“Hmph. In that case, that must be the holy sword, right? Say, Vijar-dono, how about letting me face her instead? I’ll have my people sing your praises if you let me take your place.”

Both demihumans reacted immediately to Nasrene’s words.

“Heeheehee. So you’re planning to hand it over and then ask Jaldabaoth for a child?”

“Hmph, we’ve decided that I’ll deal with her. There’s no need for you to do anything.”

“―Begging to be bred by a demon? You make me sick.”

Remedios could not help blurting out what she really thought after hearing that exchange, and Nasrene turned to give Remedios an irritated look.

“So you don’t even understand what it means to bear the child of the supreme ruler… humans truly are moronic creatures.”

“Even Jaldabaoth-sama would lavish care on the species of his offspring, no? When you think about it, there’s a lot of advantages to being a woman, huh.”

“Oh yes. And if the father’s excellent blood could be passed down, the child that’s born might come close to ― no.” Vijar puffed up her chest. “Might even be able to bear children that surpass their father ― hm? Though you could consider me an exception too.”

These three demihumans did not act like they were feeling threatened despite being on the battlefield.

Remedios began to boil with anger as she watched them chatter idly.

“How dare you demihumans come here and spout nonsense? There’s no use thinking about a future you won’t have. I’ll crush your stupid dreams here. No, not just you, I mean all of you.”

“Heeheehee. Oooh, I’m soooooo scared.”

While Halisha looked like he was flailing his arms and legs around in panic, he was not actually afraid. That was because he was confident of victory even against an opponent like Remedios. It only served to displease Remedios even further.

Remedios shouted an order to the paladins, loud enough for the demihumans to hear.

“Listen up. This is a duel. I’ll fight Vijar. As for you―”

“I’ll take him on,” Sabicus said as he pointed to Halisha. “In that case, I’ll take that one on,” Esteban said as he walked in front of Nasrene.

“...Oya? ...I’m not a warrior so I’m not too sure, but they’re pretty weak, aren’t they?”

“Heeheehee… who knows? Best not to be careless, Nasrene-dono.”

Remedios picked up Vijar snorting at her, and she roared, “Here I come!” He must have sensed that those paladins were weak. No good would come of letting him mention it.

The first strike was key. The militiamen were watching her from behind with bated breath; not only would it wipe away their unease, it would also let her opponent know that he was facing a worthy opponent. For these reasons, she had to make an unreserved blow with all of her might.

Remedios hacked down on Vijar, holding the holy sword in one hand.

In response, Vijar raised his massive battleaxe to intercept her blow.

Both sides collided, and the very air shuddered.

She could hear shouts from the militiamen behind her. There was no time to slowly determine if they were cheers or cries of panic. Her full power strike had been answered by a counterattack of equal force.

The weapons of both sides were undamaged from that exchange of evenly matched blows.

If someone had brought a mundane weapon to this intense clash, it would probably have been chipped or bent. In other words, Vijar was also wielding an enchanted weapon.

“Kuh!”

“Nuuu!”

Remedios’s next swing grazed Vijar’s upper body, sending forth a spray of blood. However, the battleaxe struck Remedios’s chest at the same time.

While her enchanted armor turned the battleaxe’s keen blade, the impact knocked the wind out of her, and it became hard to breathe.

In contrast to Remedios ― who had been knocked back by the blow ― Vijar roared and stepped forward, bringing his battleaxe down on her.

She did not have enough oxygen to counterattack. Remedios raised her holy sword high and gracefully deflected the battleaxe’s force. That hair-raising strike missed her by a few millimeters and slammed into the ground. So powerful was the hit that for a moment it felt like she was floating.

Remedios turned to face Vijar ― now defenseless because his battleaxe was buried in the ground ― and lunged in with her holy sword.

“「Strong Strike」!”

“「Fortress」!”

Having judged that he did not have the time to extricate a heavy weapon like his battleaxe, Vijar took one hand off its hilt and used it as a shield.

Vijar’s right arm spurted fresh blood.

However, the holy sword did not reach Vijar’s face. There were two reasons for that.

The first was because he had used a defensive martial art. The other was because Remedios’s arm was numb and could not exert its full strength.

In that case, she would simply force the holy sword that had already penetrated deeper in ― but then the intense pain racing up from Remedios’s leg froze her briefly in place.

The source of the pain was Vijar’s lower body; the forelimbs of his bestial body had swept across Remedios’s legs. Her greaves protected her from most of his razor-sharp claws, but one of them had still managed to slice her leg apart.

At that moment, the battleaxe was pulled free and rose up.

Remedios took a step towards Vijar to keep the battleaxe from moving. Just moving her leg filled her with agony.

“「Strong Strike」!”

“「Strong Claw」!”

As the holy sword stabbed in, Vijar deftly deflected it with his battleaxe.

In response, Remedios redirected the holy sword as it bounced away and guided it into a slash over the strengthened animal forelimb.

If Vijar backed off, Remedios would advance to close the distance between them.

They went back and forth several times, both sides using martial arts.

While neither side had sustained any mortal wounds, each round they fought sent blood splashing all around.

Remedios was certain that she had her opponent on the defensive.

If this keeps up, I’ll win!

Delight boiled up in her heart.

If she could defeat these three powerful demihumans, she could protect the people here. That way, they would regain their trust in the Holy Kingdom.

There’s no need for that undead being to show up!

Simply put, the difference between warriors and paladins was that warriors were offensive frontliners while paladins were defensive frontliners.

While it was hard to express in figures, one could say that a warrior’s attack rating was 11 and his defense was 9, while a paladin’s attack was 8 and his defense was 11. Needless to say, paladins could cast spells, but warriors could learn all sorts of martial arts, so it was impossible to make a simple comparison. Still, this was the easiest way to explain the situation to someone who knew nothing.

If the question was who would be better against a magic caster, the answer would be a paladin. Thanks to the protection of the gods, they boasted superior magic resistance compared to warriors. Therefore, if Nasrene had been a magic caster on the same level as Remedios, she would not have been much of a threat.

Next was Halisha, who was very likely to be a monk-type given his wargear and movements. Monks had the advantage against magic casters or thieves, but the reverse was true against paladins. For that reason, that monkey was not a frightening foe either.

Therefore―

If I can beat this Vijar, chances are high that I can slaughter all three of them.

Between “fighting Vijar after being worn down by previous fighting” and “fighting Vijar while unhurt,” the latter option promised better odds for her. Remedios had challenged Vijar based on that decision. There should not have been anything wrong with that decision. However, she had miscalculated―

“My my. Dead already?”

“Heeheehee. Same here.”

―Because the paladins fighting the other two were far too weak.

“What!?”

Had she overestimated those two paladins, or underestimated the strength of those two demihumans? Or was it both?

“You’re insulting me by taking your eyes off me!”

Vijar swung furiously at Remedios.

“Guwaaargh!”

While she had barely managed to stop that strike, she had still been forced a short distance away. The tide of battle had turned in an instant.

“Remedios, was it… You do know that I am the great Vijar, a being of great power whose name will resound throughout the world? If you don’t put all of your body and soul into it, you’ll die in seconds, you know?”

Remedios bit her lip as she heard the sounds of the others fighting.

“Heeheehee. I wonder if this paladin is strong enough?”

“...He’s no different from the previous one… well, I can’t really tell since I’m not a warrior.”

“I am Paladin Franco.”

“And I am Paladin Galban. I will be your opponent.”

Several seconds after they had spoken, she once again heard the sound of armored men collapsing.

Paladin Franco was a good man. While he was not a very strong paladin, he placed a lot of emphasis on getting along with others and he was well-liked as a result. In truth, he had been assigned here because Gustav trusted him. Remedios knew his character, and so she had given him the task of organizing the militiamen here.

She had heard that Paladin Galban was a newlywed. However, his wife was currently locked up somewhere. He had extinguished his desire to save her and had come to assist Remedios instead, in order to help more people.

These two people ― who were too young to die ― had been killed.

“Distracted again!”

Vijar roared, and dealt her a blow that was even more ferocious than the previous one. Remedios flung herself towards Vijar, taking the blow on her sword arm, and then she slid her blade ― but Vijar nimbly evaded it.

“Hm. What’s this, some kind of bluff? Or did your body remember that movement because of all your training?”

Vijar growled. He was not wary of a worthy foe, but delighted.

“Hey, fledgling. We’re done here, but you’ve been at it a long time. How about it, need help?”

“You must be kidding. My legend will be tainted if I need your help to kill her. Many people will speak of this if I beat her in a one-on-one.”

“Vijar-dono’s words are correct. How about this, Nasrene-dono. We’ll destroy the humans’ shields, and then―”

“―As if I’d let you!”

While she was still confronting Vijar, Remedios took her eyes off him and turned to look at the defenseless pair. However―

“You bitch! I told you already, I’m your opponent!”

Vijar did not allow her to do so. Her defense was full of holes, but he did not swing at her with his battleaxe, instead launching a kick. Remedios took the blow and was sent flying into the shield wall with tremendous force

The shock of the impact threw her breathing into chaos for a moment.

“Aiiieeee!”

The militiamen cried out in fear.

“Keep your attention on me, human! Fight seriously!”

Vijar’s shout was followed closely by the sound of his footsteps. If he swung his long-handled battleaxe, he would send the shield-wielding civilians flying, creating a gap in the formation big enough that recovery would be impossible.

Even though Remedios had lost her balance, she still took a step forward, lunging at Vijar who stood in front of her.

If possible, she would have liked to finish off Vijar with her own abilities. That was because of the power that Remedios was holding in reserve to deal with the other two.

It was a powerful move that the holy sword Safalrisia possessed, which could only be used once a day.

It was a strengthened version of a paladin’s holy strike.

It was the most powerful attack that a paladin wielding this sword could unleash.

Her instincts told her that it would be best not to do so. However, if she did not immediately defeat Vijar, the other two demihumans would kill more people.

I― want to protect Calca-sama’s wish―!

“!!”

She cried out without words, ignored her instincts as they screamed at her, and mentally sent a command to the holy sword. At the same time, she infused her holy strike into the blade and made her move.

The holy sword glowed with divine radiance, and light extended out to twice the length of the actual blade.

This light was apparently more dazzling the more evil a being was. In this state, avoiding or blocking this blow would be more difficult. The word “apparently” came to mind because it did not seem that bright to Remedios’s eyes.

Remedios raised her holy sword to the sky, and swung it down with all her might.

Since Remedios had lost her bearings, predicting the course of the attack was child’s play. Vijar casually prepared to check the blow with his axe and then shove her back. However―

“!!”

Following another wordless cry, Remedios pressed down on her holy sword while it was still locked with the battleaxe, and continued forcing it down.

She did not intend to have her sword strike its target through brute force.

The reason for this was because the radiance on the sword followed the path of the blade as it travelled down, passing through the battleaxe and entering Vijar’s body.

This was the ultimate technique of the holy sword Safalrisia.

It was a holy wave that ignored defences and armor.

The sturdiest armor, scales, and hides meant nothing to it. Since it could even pass through magic weapons, it could not be stopped by weapons or shields, which made it an unavoidable trump card.

Of course, if one did not choose to clash with the blow and was nimble enough to avoid it, they would not be hit by the wave of light. However, there was no way to avoid Remedios’s flashing strike while one’s eyes were dazzled by the light.

As the wave of light blew past like the wind, the holy radiance on the blade vanished as well.

However ― Remedios’s eyes went wide.

She had clearly hit her target, but Vijar did not look like he was in pain.

“...What? That was a flashy move, but… it hardly hurts at all. Is it just for show? Though I have to say, it did startle me…”

Remedios was shocked.

This guy ― he’s not evil-aligned!

This technique was more effective the more evil one’s foe was. In contrast, it did little damage to non-evil targets. It did practically nothing to good-aligned people. In other words, the fact that it had hurt Vijar meant that while he was not good, he was certainly not evil either.

He made the people suffer! He invaded our country! How can someone like that not be evil!?

“Heeheehee. Well, that was quite a spectacular light show, Vijar-dono. Are you really unhurt?”

Halisha narrowed his eyes as he questioned Vijar.

“It was so bright… it’s still burning my eyes.”

Nasrene grumbled from the side.

She had made a mistake ― she should not have used that move on Vijar after all.

Vijar tested his limbs and made sure his body was fine before shrugging. While he seemed defenseless, Remedios could not find any weaknesses in his defense no matter how hard she looked.

“...A light show? Well, I’m not too sure what that was all about, but it’s nothing much, right?”

“...Vijar, I’m kind of surprised. To think you were unharmed by that attack… I might have underestimated you.”

“Fuha! You get it at last! Hahaha! All right, human. You did well in making me look good. If you surrender, I’ll kill you painlessly. How about that?”

“Don’t make those unfunny jokes! We haven’t settled this yet!”

Remedios raised her sword and shouted at the three demihumans.

Remedios could still fight, like she had said. She placed a hand over her wounds and used her healing abilities. Her pain was carried away by the sensation of warmth.

A lot of paladin techniques won’t work on him since he’s not evil… but since the two of them were dazzled by it, I’ll save them for those two instead.

All she had to do was fight Vijar as a pure warrior.

“Heeheehee. Well then, we’ll leave her to you, Vijar-dono. We’ll be hunting the humans in the rear.”

“What? You scumbags!”

All the paladins she had called up were dead. The militiamen could not possibly stop them.

“As if I’d let you have your way!”

Remedios backed off and repositioned so she could face the three demihumans at once.

“It seems you’re ready to take the three of us on at once, but Vijar said he wanted to take care of this.”

“Heeheehee. Our aim is to wipe out the humans in the city as needed, not to serve as your opponents. Nasrene-dono, may I count on you to wipe out that rabble in the back with your power?”

“Ah yes…”

There were masses of magical power in three of Nasrene’s four hands. One was ice, the other was fire, and the last was lightning.

“Damnit!”

Remedios ran toward the female demihuman―

“I told you just now! I’m your opponent!”

―And blocked the battleaxe swung at her with a roar, but she was flung far away.

At this moment, Remedios realised that there was no way she could deal with Nasrene while fighting Vijar at the same time. While she could have just jumped right to Nasrene’s side, defending against Nasrene’s attacks would have left her defenseless body exposed to Vijar.

What do you mean no way… I won’t accept this! Not being able to do anything is just an excuse!

The moans of the militiamen stirred up Remedios’s emotions.

These people had not fled in the face of terror because they believed in her. She could not show them a disgraceful side of herself.

She would not abandon Calca’s ideals ― to make a country where nobody would cry.

“Militiamen! Everyone, fall back!”

As she gave the command, Remedios gathered her resolve.

I won’t die from taking a single hit. I’ll rush that female demihuman while activating 「Fortress」!

Vijar laughed as he watched Remedios break into a run. It would seem he had misunderstood something.

“Ho. It seems you’ve made up your mind. That’s the way! Fight me with all you have! Give me a battle worthy of a legend! 「Showdown Declaration」!”

“―Huh?”

Vijar roared, and there was a special power in that roar. Remedios’s legs, which were supposed to carry her towards Nasrene, charged towards Visha like they had gone mad. Nor was it just her legs ― her sword, her mind, her vision, she could not pull any of them from Vijar.

“「Fireball」.”

A third tier spell flew past Remedios’s body and at the militiamen. Remedios could endure that spell, but it would be fatal to the militiamen―

“―「Wall of Skeleton」!”

The fireball collided with the grotesque-looking wall of bones that had sprung up in front of the militiamen and vanished.

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

Initially, it was because they had no idea what had just happened. However, it slowly changed. That was because they saw something descend lightly ― like it was unaffected by gravity ― and land on top of the frightening wall of skeletons.

That person possessed none of the intense emotions of the battlefield, and spoke with a gentle tone that seemed completely out of place with his surroundings.

“While this is a common enough occurrence on the battlefield, I find it a little difficult to watch a three-on-one battle. You don’t mind if I join in, do you?”

The owner of that voice was undead.

Everyone in this city recognized him. He was the person who had originally refused to fight in order to recover his mana.

He was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ohhhh! An earth-shaking cheer came from the other side of the wall.

Remedios tightly clenched her sword hand.

“What, what’s that, who is that?”

“...By the looks of it, I think it’s an Elder Lich. So there’s a type without skin. Still… does a mere Elder Lich have the power to stop my spells? Is it because of his robe? It does look quite impressive. Or no, is it because its summoner possesses great power?”

Remedios did not comprehend the demihumans’ words at all. She heard the sounds, but she did not understand what they meant. That was because all her energy was focused on quelling the intense hatred welling up within her. She did not even notice that she was standing defenseless in front of Vijar

―Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! Why did he show up!? Why are they cheering for him!? Why! Why!! Why!!! For this filthy undead being!!!??

A corner of Remedios’s mind was calm enough to note that it was a natural reaction to help someone in difficulty. However, it was overruled by her inability to forgive the civilians for cheering on the undead. The corpses of the paladins who had sacrificed themselves as shields to protect the people were clearly visible.

You’re not cheering for the people who fought as your shields, but for someone who showed up late!!!!!

She was so angry that she wanted to rip her helmet off and scratch her head while rolling around on the ground.

Remedios struggled to curb the anger in her heart, and she addressed the undead being on the wall.

“―Why did you come here?”

The Sorcerer King’s movements stopped, as though he had been frozen in place. The red flames in his empty eye sockets turned to Remedios.

“...Why? ...I came? ...To help you?”

“...I see.”

Why had he not come earlier? Was he waiting until the paladins had died? Did he plan to make a stylish entrance in front of the people?

She wanted to shout that at him, but―

“Then I’ll leave it to you.” She did not phrase it as a request. She could not. “And get rid of the wall.”

“Hm?”

“I said I’ll leave it to you!” she shouted without thinking. Remedios strove to quell her rising emotions. “―And tear down that wall. You can’t?”

“...Certainly not.”

In an instant, the wall beneath the Sorcerer King’s feet vanished. The Sorcerer King did not fall down, probably because he was using a 「Fly」spell.

Remedios turned her back on Vijar. She did not mind if he killed her from behind. That way she could laugh at the Sorcerer King for not protecting her.

Having abandoned herself to despair, Remedios found it somewhat regretful that the demihumans did not attack her as she trudged back in front of the militiamen.

There was a hint of fear in the militiamen’s eyes. Was the look on her face so horrible?

“―We’ll let the Sorcerer King handle this place! Let’s go help where they need us more!”

After hearing Remedios’s orders, the militiamen looked at each other, and they seemed confused.

“Are you disobeying orders!?”

After Remedios glared at them, one of the militiamen quietly asked:

“Ah, n-no. But… the Sorcerer King, by himself…”

“The Sorcerer King is strong! Isn’t that right!? In that case, something like that won’t be a problem for him! Let’s go!”

***

Remedios led the militiamen to another battlefield. They repeatedly looked back at him as they left.

Ainz looked at the empty space where they had been and muttered to himself.

“Eh? ...That bitch, she actually dumped it all on me.”

This ridiculous state of events made Ainz reveal his true nature.

Normally, wouldn’t we have a scene like “Oh, let’s fight together~” or something? Or “Thanks for coming, we’ll leave them all to you?” At the very least she could have been polite about it, we could have gone back and forth several times about “Will you be alright here?” and so on… And not even a single word of gratitude after being saved? What the hell, man?

Frustration built in his heart. However, it did not reach the level of true anger, so it was not suppressed. It was like a tiny flame of indignation simmering inside him.

It was as though how someone had messed up and forced him to work overtime, and the person in question had said that they had something on and just up and left.

No―

I would’ve been more angry. Like say, if I was going home to play YGGDRASIL… and the guild had plans already, and being late would cause problems for everyone. It happened before, and while everyone forgave me back then...

Thus fuelled, the miniscule flames blazed up into an inferno, and then they were forcibly extinguished.

“Hm… While my anger’s been suppressed, I’m still unhappy. That’s the first time I’ve been treated so rudely.”

While she had shouted “shut up” at him before, the situation had been different back then. In the first place, they had agreed that Ainz could sit this battle out, but Ainz had still rushed over as reinforcements. Surely anyone who had an inkling of common sense would have taken a different tone when addressing him.

Everyone Ainz had met until now had been at least minimally polite.

That was why Ainz found it strange.

After cooling his head and searching through his memories, Suzuki Satoru recalled having met people like Remedios several times before.

Still, none of it comforted him.

Ainz turned his still-irate gaze on the three demihumans.

Granted, it was not entirely their fault either.

Ainz understood that he was simply taking it out on them.

What should have happened was that Remedios’s relationship meter with Ainz should have maxed out when the latter saved her from danger, she should have apologized for treating Ainz this way all this time, and then worked hard for Ainz in all ways in the future. That was why Ainz had been observing Remedios from the air with 「Perfect Unknowable」 active all this time, and then stepped in to help her when she was in trouble.

But in the end, things had turned out like this.

He could not understand how they had ended up this way.

If the department’s quota was not met and it was close to the end of the month and someone stepped up to make up for the shortfall, surely everyone would be grateful to that person, right? Especially if that person had finished his own work long ago and had come back from his leave to help them.

Ainz had been observing the battlefield from above, and he had a firm grasp of the big picture. There were many more dangerous places than this. He was even aware that the girl who had glared at him all this time was in danger.

Even so, he had chosen to come to this place because he wanted to sell a favor to the highest ranking person he could ― better to rule in hell than serve in heaven and all that ― and he had judged that the captain of the Holy Kingdom’s paladin corps was the highest ranking person here.

However―

“I really am annoyed.”

As he grumbled without thinking, Ainz heard a piercing laugh.

“Heeheehee. Looks like you’ve been left here. Heeheehee, how sad, how sad.”

“An Elder Lich. In other words, an individual that’s powerful as a magic caster. Is there a need to be careful? I haven’t seen that wall-making spell before, but it seems to be of a fairly high tier.”

“Hmph. So it’s still a magic caster, then? Don’t really feel like fighting it. In the end, you need to beat a warrior if you want people to sing tales about you.”

The three demihumans seemed to have recovered from the bizarre situation enough to banter with each other. Ainz turned to look at them, and his eyes focused on the ape-like demihuman among them who seemed to have laughed just now.

“Does it matter? First we kill him, then―”

“―Shut up.”

Ainz interrupted their conversation and cast a silent eighth tier spell, 「Death」.

The ape-like demihuman’s smile was frozen on his face as he slowly collapsed.

“...What? What did you―”

“―I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

Ainz once again cast a silent 「Death」 spell.

The four-legged demihuman collapsed in the same way as just now.

“Eh? Ehhh? What happened? What’s going on?”

The female demihuman who remained still did not understand what was going on, but it would seem she had already recognized who had done it.

“Was, was it you? You killed those two in an instant…?”

Terror was deeply etched on her face. Her body was shaking hard.

“Yes, yes,” Ainz carelessly cast a silent 「Death」 on the female demihuman as well. “―Hmmm?”

She did not die. Ainz’s 「Death」 had been resisted.

In the moment he realized this, Ainz’s mind immediately switched gears, entering a mental state that could be considered a combat mode.

Was it a defensive racial characteristic? A protective spell she had cast on herself? Had she resisted it normally? Had a magic item protected her? Or was it something else?

While one could not completely rule out the possibility that it might have been a coincidence, surely she could not have resisted it under her own power. Ainz had observed the three of them as they fought. While he did not think that he had the full measure of their abilities, Ainz was certain that they could not resist the power of his magic in a direct contest.

As Ainz mulled over the reasons for this, he felt that it would be best to stay on his guard and let his opponent make a move.

Perhaps he might discover something that could only be found here. He would like to see the trump card wielded by someone who could resist Ainz’s usual attack methods.

“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t matter what she did. What a waste of time. If I’d known, I would have left that woman alone and gone to help elsewhere. I was thinking that if I fought together with that woman, we could have put on a show of hard fought triumph, so we would have spent a bit more time on the back and forth…”

***

A chatty undead being stood before her.

What kind of undead creature is this? ...The undead couldn’t possibly ally themselves with humans. Is it being controlled by a necromancer? Still, that power...

While she had no idea what he had done, he had instantly killed two warriors who were on par with her. Could such a powerful undead being even be controlled?

If his finger pointed to her, would she be the one to perish next?

The only people she knew who could do this besides the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth would be the great demons who were his henchmen.

―That’s impossible! Anyone who could control an undead creature who was on par with those mighty beings must be on the level of a god! How could such a necromancer exist?

If this human nation had such a necromancer, how could the Demihuman Alliance have pressed their invasion so far?

Should I run? Should I take the chance to flee while he’s acting all relaxed? Or can I even escape?

She did not possess any spells which were handy for escape. After all, she had never been in such danger before and had not felt the importance of learning such spells.

In that case, the only way out is through!

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

She used her battlecry to rouse her spirit, and began to cast spells with her trembling lips.

There was a fourth-tier arcane spell called 「Silver Lance」. It was a physical-type spell, but since it possessed silver properties, it was a tremendously damaging spell against enemies who were weak against silver. In addition, it also had a special effect known as “piercing,” which made it do more damage to unarmored opponents. However, it also had the drawback that its damage could be reduced by armor.

Her trump card lay in altering this powerful spell to produce new, unique spells.

There was the 「Burn Lance」, which inflicted fire-element damage.

There was the 「Freeze Lance」, which inflicted cold-element damage.

There was the 「Shock Lance」, which inflicted lightning-element damage.

These three spells all did elemental damage, so armor could not reduce their potency, and they still retained the deadly “piercing” ability.

Of course, in keeping with their deadliness, those spells consumed far more mana than fourth tier spells.

She activated three of these potent ― to her ― spells at once.

She was simultaneously casting three spells, each one of which used a significant amount of mana. In addition, simultaneously casting spells was very draining in itself, and as the shock of using huge quantities of mana hit her, she felt light and floaty, as though she were about to pass out.

“Diiiiiieeeee!”

The three lances flew toward the undead being ― and then vanished without a trace.

“―Hah?”

She could not understand what had happened before her eyes. She could understand if it had taken damage, or shrugged it off. But this ― this was like nothing had happened at all.

The lances had simply vanished.

“Eh? Eh? What? What what?”

“...I gave you all that time and this is the best you can do? Is this the ace up your sleeve? Hm. I guess I didn’t need to let you make the first move out of caution. Now then, there’s not much time left, so hurry up and die. 「Maximize Magic Reality Slash」.”

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