Chapter 115
When the undead swarmed the northern region, people merely guarded their own territorial borders more strictly, never setting foot into the domain of the late Marquis Baltimo.
They merely murmured from afar that Marquis Baltimo was receiving punishment for being excessively cruel.
Duke Ellenhower had lost soldiers in battle against Baltimo, and in the northern and north-central regions, there were even noble houses ruined because of Marquis Baltimo.
The hatred couldn't help but be fierce.
Therefore, those who paid taxes to Marquis Baltimo had effectively given up hope of being rescued.
The only way to survive was to somehow escape or hide and endure until the situation calmed down.
It couldn't be helped if more than half, or even eighty percent, died in the process.
When everyone, even the northerners themselves, believed the north had been abandoned, a man appeared there.
His surcoat bore the mark of a black diagonal cross, and behind him were about 100 knights in the same attire.
Light always lingered on their swords, and golden aura bloomed from the sword of the man at the vanguard.
In the land of the north where hope was fading, people moved to survive, following the golden aura.
"Just a little further. Just a little further and we'll reach Sir Karl's location."
"Let's push on just a bit more. We can survive. We can survive!"
People carrying children on their backs, supporting the elderly and the injured, fleeing the undead horde southward, urged their steps onward, murmuring the name Karl Meyer.
Just then, a horde of undead, seemingly numbering over 300, began to close in from behind them.
They were about a mountain's distance away, but those were undead with limitless stamina and endurance, while they were merely humans accompanied by the injured.
"Hey, leave me and go. Both of us can't survive."
"Shut up! Didn't I say we'd live together!"
"You have to think of Jessi! Man! Stop being stubborn and put me down!"
"Be quiet! It's hard enough already!"
Perhaps they were close friends; the man running with his injured friend on his back kept running without giving up on his friend, even as his breath reached his chin.
"...Burk! Stop it now! You've done enough! You have to think of your family! Go quickly! I'm fine!"
"..."
The man called Burk felt that this was impossible.
‘Is this it...’
Innumerable thoughts flashed through his mind instantaneously.
Should he leave his friend here?
The anxious eyes of his daughter pierced his heart.
Even as various thoughts filled his mind, he didn't give up and kept moving his legs.
"Man!"
"Let's live together! We can live! We can! Didn't they say Sir Karl is here! Didn't they say he's just a little further!"
Burk, screaming desperately, carried his friend on his back and continued moving his legs that wouldn't budge.
"Grrrraaaaaaaaaargh!"
The cries of the undead, having drawn closer, erupted.
The distance that was once a mountain away had suddenly become close enough to be clearly visible to the naked eye, and Burk stopped, tightly gripping the axe strapped to his back.
"What are you doing!"
"Hurry and go! I'll hold them off, even if just for a moment!"
"Crazy talk! What can you do alone!"
"I served in the Northern Army back in my day. I can take a few of them with me!"
Burk had a larger build than the others and indeed had experience serving for years as an elite soldier.
"Come on! You fucking bastards! Come! Come on!"
Burk, screaming convulsively out of fear, watched the villagers and the others fleeing together grow distant, and filled his lungs with air.
He had to buy time.
He could do it.
Burk, you can do it.
Cut down one first to draw attention, then flee in another direction.
Before him, 300 undead had already approached.
Burk nearly collapsed to the ground in that instant.
"Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Even as fear dominated him completely, Burk screamed and swung his axe.
Thwack!
Perhaps his old skills hadn't completely vanished; the neck of the zombie running at the very front was severed smoothly.
The battleaxe, twice the size of an ordinary wood-chopping axe, played its part.
The head of the skeleton running behind it was also shattered by the axe.
After dispatching about two, the surroundings were already filled with undead.
"Yeah! Follow me! Uaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Before being completely surrounded, Burk turned his body and started running in a different direction from the others.
Slice!
"Keok... Fucking... hurts like hell! Uaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Something seemed to have slashed across his back.
Gritting his teeth, he ran aiming for as far and as fast as possible, but his already exhausted body couldn't run for long.
Thwump!
Just then, the hand of a corpse pierced through his abdomen and protruded out front.
Blood spurted.
"Uh... Uh..."
Following a short scream, Burk's body crumbled forward.
He tried somehow to rise, but his vision blurred to black.
Faaaaaash!
At that moment, the surroundings were bathed in bright light.
Dududududududu.
The sound of horse hooves coming from somewhere filled his ears.
Beneath his drooping eyelids, Burk felt a bright golden light shining.
‘He came... Really... Sir Karl was here...’
He slowly closed the eyes he had tried desperately to keep open.
His body gave way at the thought that his family and friend had survived.
"Burk! Man!"
"Honey!"
"Dad!"
From afar, from afar, the cries and shouts of his family reached him.
Hearing those voices, his heart sank deeper.
Soon, he entered into rest.
At the head of the cavalry, Karl muttered with a bitter expression.
"What a shitty world."
***
Karl, the Knight of the Lighthouse, and the members of the Order continued northward and finally arrived at the Andersen direct domain.
The domain, viewed from the top of the hill, had transformed into a land of death where no living person could be found, just as expected.
"God...!"
The short lament that burst from Isabel's mouth echoed everyone's thoughts.
The Andersen domain was hell.
All around was covered in rotten corpses, and the only things moving were skeletons and zombies.
"It seems the purification ritual will take a lot of time."
"First, beat down all the undead."
"Pardon?"
"We'll perform the purification ritual after that."
"...Will we be able to manage it alone?"
"Who said it's just us?"
Buuuuuuuuu!
Just as they were waiting to charge, the sound of a horn echoed from somewhere.
Following the distinctive horn sound symbolizing Somerset, the sound of thousands of troops moving shook the earth.
"Impeccable timing."
Just as Karl muttered, a flag rose and fluttered at the head of the large army.
It was a flag depicting a golden rampart.
From there, Duke Ellenhower of Somerset slowly rode his horse forward.
"Quite the dramatic entrance."
"These things affect the morale of the subordinates."
Ellenhower, whom he hadn't met in a long time, approached Karl and attempted an embrace.
Slightly.
Karl, sidestepping the Duke slightly to avoid it, extended his hand to the Duke.
The Duke, perhaps embarrassed, scratched the back of his head a few times before clasping Karl's outstretched hand.
"You haven't changed."
"As you can see, there's much to do."
Ellenhower showed an awkward smile as he looked at the undead gathering where Karl pointed.
Dudududududu.
While the two were talking, a group of knights appeared, raising a cloud of dust.
And behind them were mercenaries numbering at least a thousand.
"You always bring trouble with you."
"I'm not the one bringing it."
"Are you seeking out trouble then? That's scary too."
Owen Gallashaw, the leader of the Alcantara Knights, approached Karl's side, smiling.
Behind him, Verpin, whom he hadn't seen in a while, smiled and opened his arms towards Karl.
Slightly.
Just as with Ellenhower, Karl stepped aside, avoiding the hug, and pointed towards the undead horde with his hand.
"We'll catch up after dealing with those things."
The leaders of the two groups nodded at his words and finished their charge preparations beside the Knight of the Lighthouse.
"I was about to give the charge order, but now I see you're the commander here?"
Karl ignored Ellenhower's joke and rode his horse to the front.
Léctĭo, held in Karl's hand, rose high into the sky, and brilliant golden aura erupted from his sword.
"All units! Charge!"
With the short command, Silver, carrying Karl, began to cut through the wind.
Closely following Karl were the Knight of the Lighthouse and the Holy Knights, and alongside them, the forces of the Somerset Domain, the Alcantara Knights, and the Mercenary Guild ran behind.
"In the name of Essus!"
The blessings bestowed by the clergy of the Order, dispersed throughout the ranks, settled on the knights' swords and armor, enveloping them in light imbued with Divine Power.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Warhorses trampled the undead, spears pierced heads, and swords severed necks.
Perhaps the undead horde led by Baltimo the Death Knight had been the elite among the undead masses, as there were relatively few undead knights here, making the battle one-sided.
Before long, the number of moving undead visibly decreased.
Meanwhile, the priests proceeded with preparations for the purification ritual in various parts of the town.
Just when everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly.
The moment you think anything is over is always the most dangerous.
Kwaaaaang!
An explosion sounded from somewhere.
"Kuaaaack...! My leg...!"
A lying corpse exploded, engulfing mercenaries who were beside the corpse.
The explosions occurred sporadically without a pattern, making it difficult to pinpoint where they were concentrated.
Since corpses were everywhere, the damage increased exponentially.
"Withdraw the troops outside the walls! Retreat, avoiding the corpses as much as possible!"
Even as they reacted quickly and moved outside the walls where there were no corpses, explosions continued to occur here and there.
‘Where is it.’
From the moment the explosions began, Karl's gaze, having climbed onto the tallest building, reached the Lord's Castle office.
"There you are!"
The blessing of the wind spirit enveloped Karl's body, and his body, leaping off the roof and seemingly flying over buildings, became lighter.
"Condor!"
Thereupon, the red ring emitted light, and a giant bird from the sky dove vertically towards the ground.
Thanks to the long hours spent training to utilize Condor after receiving him from the Druids, Condor flew quickly according to Karl's will.
Karl leaped again, stepping on Condor's back as he soared into the sky.
His body began to fly straight towards the Lord's Castle office at tremendous speed.
Crash!
He didn't know what situation might unfold.
Karl, clad entirely in golden aura, broke through the window of the Lord's Castle office and entered.
Snap!
Just as he thought he heard the sound of fingers snapping somewhere, the office was enveloped in red light.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!
And simultaneously, all structures above the 3rd floor of the Lord's Castle exploded at once.
Karl, who had entered the office covered in golden aura, was thrown out of the office by the explosive force.
Condor caught the flying Karl with his back, but the impact of the explosion was so great that Karl momentarily staggered.
"So it was you."
Within the flames of that explosion, Karl could see an elf of unsurpassed beauty with golden hair and red eyes.
-It was a pleasure meeting you, Sir Karl Meyer, Dog of Essus. See you next time.
The elf disappeared into the smoke with a vile smile playing on her lips.
[Sudden Quest Stop the Corpse Attack Complete.]
[A Body Enhancement Elixir is given as a reward.]
"Cough...!"
Blood spurted from Karl's mouth.
Karl, having landed on the ground, took in the horrific results caused by the series of explosions just moments ago.
Those standing around him flinched at the sudden thick killing intent.
Even Duke Ellenhower hesitated to approach easily due to the cold chill settled beneath Karl's indifferent eyes.
‘Those long-eared bastards... I will never forgive them.’
Amidst one man's fierce vow, the corpses lining the castle, and the debris of collapsed buildings, the Northern Undead Subjugation War came to an end.