Chapter 37
With about two kilometers still separating the two forces, it was the enemy who launched the first attack.
Fire, wind, water, lightning... various types of magic come flying toward us.
"Both of you, fall back. They're already attacking. If they're targeting me... Absorption should do the trick."
A black circle, about four meters in diameter, swallows up the incoming barrage of attacks.
Absorption is a magic that primarily consumes other magic or magical energy, turning it into sustenance. Though its protective range is limited, it acts as an almost invincible shield against magical attacks directed at me from a single direction.
Furthermore, if used while in contact with a person, it can drain their stamina and magical energy, rendering them unable to fight.
"If they would just target me, that'd be great, but the stray shots might hit the town... Well, it's started, so let's fight back. First, Pain."
Pain can attack all enemies within visible range at once. I had hoped it might end things in one shot, but...
"Huh? It's not activating? Does that mean... the Saint is here?"
Yuurai had been briefed beforehand about the Saint's power to some extent. She possesses exceptional protective abilities and can almost completely block dark-type magic.
"...Emeralda, the Saint, is at the rear of the enemy forces. She's deployed an Anti-Magic barrier against dark-attribute magic, so that spell won't work."
Claire's voice carries a hint of gloom.
"Emeralda, huh. So that girl showed up."
Emeralda was a friend of Claire's from her days as a Holy Knight. Claire had said she didn't want to fight her, let alone kill her, if possible.
"I'll try to stick to a no-kill policy as much as I can... though I don't know how long I can keep saying that. For now, I'll do my best. If Pain doesn't work... how about this? Army of the Undead, activate."
Yuurai feels an immense amount of magical energy draining from her body.
Then, thousands of magic circles appear on the ground beneath the castle walls, and from them, Skeletons emerge, wielding whitish swords and shields made of bone.
Among the creatures I can summon with this magic, Skeletons are the weakest monsters. Summoning stronger monsters might make annihilation easier, but sticking to the no-kill policy, I'm limiting myself to Skeletons.
"The Saint's Magical Energy is supposedly around fifty thousand at most. I've infused nearly a hundred thousand into this army. Let's see how much she can resist."
The Skeleton army begins its advance.
The enemy's magic starts targeting not just me, but the Skeletons as well.
Upon impact, the Skeletons are easily shattered into pieces.
"Oh dear. They're a bit fragile, aren't they?"
Individually, their strength is at most fifth-grade. Even Lipia could defeat them.
However.
The shattered Skeletons immediately reform into their original shapes.
"The Army of the Undead is tenacious, you know? I won't say it's infinite, but no matter how many times you destroy them, they revive. Their effective numbers far exceed a mere few thousand."
The Army of the Undead charges toward the enemy forces. Enemy magic rains down repeatedly, shattering the Skeletons each time, but they ultimately reform and continue their advance.
(This is reassuring for us. But for them, it must be terrifying.)
Yuurai can see the grim expressions of the enemy soldiers through her eyes.
"Claire, do you think we can win with just this?"
"...Probably not with just this. If they didn't have a Saint or any holy-attribute magic users, we might have won."
"I see. My powers are just completely incompatible with holy attributes, aren't they?"
"They might be incompatible. But considering your Magical Energy, that incompatibility can be overcome."
"So in the end, it's just brute force... I don't want to exhaust myself too much on this, though..."
As Yuurai and the others watch for a while, an uncomfortably intense light bursts from the enemy forces, illuminating the Skeletons.
Over a hundred Skeletons are destroyed and vanish all at once.
"Is that what Holy Magic is?"
"Yes. Holy Magic, Purifying Light. A powerful force that erases dark-attribute monsters."
"That'd be scary if it turned toward us... Oh, more got wiped out. At this rate, won't they be taken out soon?"
"...I think we'll be fine. Purifying Light is powerful, but Emeralda can't neglect defense either. Even if she fights while recovering her Magical Energy, she can't use it twenty or thirty times."
"Then we're still okay for now. Besides the Saint, is there anyone else who's a threat?"
"...There is. That's Aquell, a master of holy swordsmanship. Unlike the Saint, he's specialized in offense. His combat ability is said to be near Class One, but his power against monsters is on par with Class One."
Yuurai looks in the direction Claire points. Using the Third Eye enhances her ability to detect Magical Energy, allowing her to quickly spot a young man exuding an unsettling aura.
The man is still just moving on horseback, but once he makes contact with the Skeletons, he'll likely spring into action.
"That guy, huh... I don't want to get close to him."
"Yuurai-sama. Leave someone like him to me. If he's near Class One, even I can take him down."
"Hm... Gilka, I'm counting on you. But don't push yourself. If you die, I'll turn you into an Undead and bring you back."
"Well, that wouldn't be so bad."
"Hey, come on..."
(I don't really want to increase the number of Undead. It seems there are side effects, after all... Anyway, is the Saint nearing her limit?)
The Skeletons are steadily eradicated by Purifying Light, but eventually, the light begins to flicker intermittently. The blonde girl emanating a holy aura appears severely exhausted.
"Even just the Skeletons seem to be pushing them quite a bit. Still, let's send out more from our side."
Yuurai also directs the monsters under her control via Mental Manipulation toward the enemy soldiers.
First, she sends a hundred Forest Wolves that had been on standby within the town. Additionally, nearly a thousand other various monsters, stationed both inside and outside the town, are sequentially directed southward.
Applying Mental Manipulation to a thousand monsters individually was taxing, but it was an effective way to gather expendable soldiers.
After observing for a while, the two armies finally begin to clash. While regular soldiers fight the Skeletons one-on-one, Aquell, the holy swordsman, cuts down twenty or thirty Skeletons with a single swing. His destructive power per strike is less than the Saint's, but showing no signs of fatigue, he'll likely achieve greater results than her in the end.
(A holy-attribute attack specialist... What a troublesome opponent.)
As Yuurai considers how to deal with Aquell, Gilka speaks up.
"Watching from up high is nice and all, but I'm about to head down and prepare for battle."
"Yeah. Gilka, be careful."
"Yuurai-sama, you too. And Claire, while I'm at it. And... Lipia, be especially careful, okay?"
"H-Hey, I can protect myself just fine!"
"I hope so. But remember, running away quickly is also important on the battlefield if things get dangerous."
Gilka descends the stairs to the ground. Partway down, she becomes invisible, likely due to the effect of her specialty, the Stealth skill.
"Well, we're still taking it easy over here, but how are they feeling on their side? Are they more desperate than I thought?"