The corpse slowly rose to its feet.
Its skin was blotchy and red, as if it were about to burst, with stitches all over it.
“Could it be… the Corpse Collector…?”
Amelia’s mutter made me sigh involuntarily.
Yeah, you’re thinking the same thing as me.
If it’s a Noark necromancer, it can only be that guy.
‘If they really infiltrated with a small elite force, there’s no way this bastard would be missing.’
Abet Necrapeto.
Known as the Corpse Collector, a criminal from Orculys specializing in large-scale battles.
My head already hurts.
If even this guy is here, it means the Noark are fully committed.
‘Ha, they said the rear hasn’t been attacked since that time, why does it have to happen as soon as I arrive…’
I can’t help but grumble, but complaining can wait.
Tap.
I immediately dashed forward and smashed the corpse’s skull with my hammer.
There was no need to even use [Swing].
Crack-!
The corpse was instantly crushed, splattering blood.
As a melee fighter, I couldn’t avoid getting it all over me…
Chiiiiiiik-!
Ugh, it’s poisoned too, so it really is that guy.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
There’s no need to get an immunity bonus with [Spirit Form].
The +120 poison resistance on Vol-Herchan is enough to handle skin contact.
Well, it’s a little itchy, though.
“More importantly, it seems like it’s starting…”
I felt a strange sensation as my hypothesis was proven correct, and I was muttering to myself when I saw Erwen, who was as stiff as a stone.
“…Erwen, are you okay?”
“…Huh? W-what did you just say?”
“I asked if you were okay.”
“Ah… Ah! Yes…”
Erwen nodded, but her voice was still dazed, and her gaze was fixed on the crushed corpse.
“Corpse… Collector…”
Ah, right…
Come to think of it, she’s basically facing her enemy right now.
The one who killed Daria was the Ruin Scholar, but this guy had a significant part in it.
Erwen asked in a trembling voice.
“…Can we kill him?”
Can we kill him, huh…
I pondered for a moment and replied.
“Maybe.”
Yeah, if things go well, killing him might be possible.
But…
“Still, surviving is our priority today.”
I spoke firmly.
It would be putting the cart before the horse to try to get revenge and end up losing something else.
I don’t know if she understood, but Erwen stared blankly at me for about five seconds.
Then, she bit her lip and clenched her fist tightly.
“…Okay. I’ll do as you say, Mister.”
Ugh, this makes me feel uneasy.
I approached Erwen and placed my hand on her shoulder.
I don’t know if this will be comforting, but…
“Erwen, don’t worry. I’m the type who has to pay back what I’ve received.”
“…?”
“It means I’ve never forgotten what they did.”
It started as comfort, but it was all sincere.
The Dragonslayer, Regal Bagos.
The Corpse Collector, Abet Necrapeto.
The Ruin Scholar, Belbeve Ruinjenes.
It’s not like I’ve forgotten my grudge against them.
I’m just waiting for the right time.
Yeah, so…
“Just wait a little longer. It won’t be long.”
“…Yes.”
Okay, I think her mental state is somewhat recovered.
“Emily, where did that guy go?”
I brushed off the blood on my arm and asked about Vice-Captain Alex’s whereabouts, and Amelia replied.
“He went inside the barracks as soon as the corpse fell from above.”
Hmm, did he go to report to Raven?
But why hasn’t he come out yet?
Even now, corpses keep falling—
“Indeed, it turned out just as you said.”
Speak of the devil.
I turned around and saw Raven coming out of the barracks with Vice-Captain Alex.
His expression has worsened in just a short time.
“I should have spoken more strongly when the command was dismissive…”
What’s with the unusual regret?
There’s no greater waste than dwelling on the past.
“More importantly, what are we going to do now?”
“The command just issued an order. All units are to gather at the lake. It seems they plan to fight using the ship’s magic circle.”
Gathering, not fighting.
It seems they’ve chosen the most conservative strategy, not knowing the enemy’s strength.
“So, are we moving right away?”
“No. We’ll wait here for a bit. I’ve contacted the mages in the Magic Corps, and they’ll gather here with the explorers soon.”
Okay, so we’ll go to the lake when everyone is gathered.
Then, we’ll get on the ship and activate the magic circle to buy time.
I don’t know if it’s a good plan.
But, there’s no other way.
“Report the headcount.”
“Three confirmed dead, and two missing!”
“Two missing… We can’t delay any longer because of two people who may or may not be alive. Let’s move too.”
After dealing with the corpses and waiting, the mages in the corps gathered with their escorting explorers.
Now it’s time to head to the lake.
「Arua Raven has cast the 7th-grade support magic [Neutralize].」
Me and the melee explorers cleared the path while receiving support from the mages and rear-guard explorers.
The movement itself was unimpeded.
So far, it was just corpses.
It was impossible to stop a hundred melee explorers supported by dozens of mages.
However, just as we were heading to the lake quickly.
KWA-AAAAAANG-!
The ground shook with a roar as if a nuclear bomb had exploded.
And…
“It seems the magic circle has been damaged.”
The fog that had been dispersed by magic began to form again in the air, obscuring our vision.
Well, there was an advantage.
The alarm magic that had been blaring like an emergency siren was also broken, so it became much quieter.
“What are you doing? Don’t stop!”
Raven used wind magic to clear the fog around us, and we resumed moving.
Soon, the blood-red lake became visible, and the mages summoned small boats and floated them on the water.
It was at that moment.
“Get on the boats one by one—”
“Aaaaaaack-!”
A man’s scream echoed from the rear.
***
The dying scream of an unknown man.
Since there had been no casualties in the battles with the corpses on the way here, the scream was particularly loud in our ears.
Was that why?
Thud.
Raven, who was the first to board the boat, pulled back the leg he had half-stepped onto the boat.
And…
“…What’s going on?”
“We’re checking. It’s probably nothing, so go ahead—”
“No. I need to know. So, Vice-Captain Halo, you stay here and command the rest.”
Raven ordered others to board the boat first.
It seems he didn’t want to get on the boat alone without any information.
Wow, is this what a military commander’s responsibility is?
They say Raven is highly regarded in the corps, and I can see why. Raven was a sincere and reliable superior.
However, the problem is…
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following?”
Our mission is to closely escort him.
If he doesn’t get on the boat, we can’t either.
“…Where are you going?”
Raven replied briefly to my question.
“To the rear. I have a bad feeling.”
No, if you have a bad feeling, shouldn’t you just run away?
I was thinking that when…
“Aaaaaaack!!”
Another scream came from the rear.
And…
“Vice-Commander! The enemy’s identity has been confirmed!”
Finally, the situation at the rear was relayed to us.
Surprisingly, the enemy was just one person.
But no one took the situation lightly.
The description of that one person was very famous in this city.
“…A knight in dark red armor?”
“Yes. It’s also confirmed that he uses aura.”
The Blood Knight.
Born in Bipron, he started as a soldier, became a knight, and gained notoriety for killing the former captain of the Royal Knights, a criminal from Orculys.
“Emily, do you know anything?”
While Raven was talking to his subordinate, I secretly slipped back and tried to get information from Amelia, but there was nothing particularly useful.
She said she didn’t have any contact with him because she didn’t do much outside activity?
She had only seen him a few times at the lord’s castle, and even then, she never talked to him.
“Vice-Commander…! You must go while we hold them back!”
“No. If it’s really the Blood Knight, the damage will be uncontrollable.”
“But…!”
“What do you mean ‘but’? If someone has to hold them back, it’s more reasonable for me to do it. Get on the boat first.”
“…”
“That’s an order.”
“…Yes!”
The mage who received Raven’s order saluted with a worried yet touched expression.
It was a very heartwarming scene.
If we weren’t the ones involved.
“In that sense, Ms. Erwen, would you help me until everyone in the corps gets on the boat?”
Raven, having finished persuading his subordinates, earnestly asked Erwen.
“We just need to buy some time. Then, we can escape using multiple teleportation magic.”
“Multiple teleportation…?”
Their school shouldn’t be able to learn this magic?
I muttered without realizing it, and Raven replied.
Without even looking at me, his gaze was fixed on Erwen.
“I was lucky enough to learn it. If I had this… there might have been another way that day. Of course… it’s already too late.”
“…”
“I’m begging you.”
At his repeated request, Erwen glanced at me.
It seems she’s asking me to make the decision.
“Why that man…?”
Raven looked at me with a questioning gaze at her gesture of delegating the decision.
“I didn’t expect you to be imitating even this kind of relationship…”
Well, he seemed to understand, and since there was no time, I just asked one thing.
“What if we don’t follow?”
“I’ll be disciplined for violating military law. I won’t be able to participate in royal events again.”
Oh, is that a threat?
But that’s not what I asked in the first place…
“I’m asking what you’ll do. If we say we won’t follow, whether you get disciplined or not, will you go alone?”
“Ah…”
Raven pondered for a moment and replied.
“It’s impossible alone. I’ll probably go with the other explorers.”
Okay, so there’s no option of not going.
How did he become so stubborn in a strange way?
Well, he wasn’t completely devoid of altruism before, was he?
“Alright, let’s go together then.”
Once I made the decision, there was no time to waste.
The rear wasn’t that far away anyway.
When we arrived at the rear, where screams were constantly echoing, the first thing I saw was a mage sitting defenselessly in front of a menacing aura.
「Arua Raven has cast the 4th-grade support magic [Orbital Interference].」
Instead of blocking the aura with a mediocre defense magic, Raven cast a utility magic to alter the sword’s trajectory itself.
Whoooosh-!
The greatsword grazed the top of his head instead of his neck.
“Ugh…!”
Immediately, I dashed forward and pulled the panicked mage out of danger.
“Th-thank you for saving me… V-Vice-Commander?!”
“Raymond, you held on well. Leave the rest to us and lead the explorers to the main force. That’s an order.”
“…Yes!”
The mage left with the explorers as Raven instructed, and surprisingly, the opponent just watched us from afar.
With a chilling gaze.
‘That’s the Blood Knight…’
I stood at the front, covering my upper body with my shield. Then, I scanned him up and down while facing him.
First of all, my first impression was that he was shorter than I thought.
He looks like he’s in the early 160s…
But that doesn’t mean he feels weak at all.
‘What’s with that atmosphere?’
A sturdy physique that can be seen from his bone structure.
Combined with his unique aura, the pressure he exudes from his small body is considerable.
The most striking thing was his voice.
“Golden Magician, Arua Raven.”
A voice that was beyond metallic, it was clear that there was something wrong with his vocal cords.
With that voice, he slowly spoke.
“A target to kill, one of them.”
Then, he raised his greatsword with a business-like attitude.
We’re not even on his radar?
Looking at the blood-red aura, like the name Blood Knight, I muttered.
“Erwen, [Spirit Form].”
“Which one should I use?”
Which one, you ask?
There’s only one thing to use against a knight, isn’t there?
“Rock.”
At the same time as my answer, Erwen’s body turned translucent.
And the moment we held hands.
「The spirit of earth dwells in the character’s body.」
I could feel the power of the earth flowing through my skin in real-time.
「Fire damage taken is reduced by half.」
「Water damage taken is doubled.」
「Poison immunity bonus.」
「When using blunt weapons, a strong bonus is added to destructive actions.」
「Physical resistance is greatly increased…」
「…」
Ugh, it’s been a while since I’ve been in Elibaba [Earth] mode.
「The character’s physical resistance is over 350.」
「Damage from piercing attacks is reduced by 50%.」
Anyway, with this, even without [Giant Form], the second stage of the outer shell should be activated…
“A meaningless act, you’re doing.”
Just because you know how to use aura, you’re so arrogant.
Where can a tank live in peace?
“D-die.”
Seeing the old knight closing the distance in an instant, I grinned.
Who’s going to die?
Why did I follow you all the way here?
「The character has cast [Iron Fortress].」
「The effect of [Evolved Outer Shell] is increased by 1.5 times.」
Once my nickname, ‘Knight Crusher’.
The day has finally come to show its true value.