Volume 3 Chapter 88 Visiting The ‘Lion’s Companion’ III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”……”
When you look up near the ceiling of the rock wall, there are big gashes and dents all over.
Blood stains are stuck on there too.
Most likely, before the soldiers even knew what was going on, they were grabbed and slammed into the wall that’s almost 3 meters high.
(If it was a werewolf, it’d have to throw each soldier at the wall one by one, but then it would get attacked by the rest. These guys died without even reacting to their friends dying──so, all 9 of them got killed at once.)
’You’d need 9 hands to pull that off.’
”It’s magic.”
Kian stood up from the bodies and looked at John.
”The enemy used magic. Lord Owl’s anti-magic armor didn’t do anything. It picked up 9 soldiers at once and slammed them into the wall near the ceiling. Look, you can see the marks.”
”Where? …Not sure I see, but some of those stalactites are broken?”
”That’s right. That’s where they hit.”
John rubbed his scruffy beard, nodded once, then stood up.
”It’s a lich. That’s the highest kind of undead, called the king of the undying. So this place is a lich’s feeding ground. Those wraiths that attacked us earlier…”
”They were probably like hunting dogs, driving prey into the lich’s territory. Now that I think about it, those Noon-wraiths were stronger than usual.”
”Liches don’t just pop up. They’re magicians or alchemists who chase after immortality and change themselves. They end up looking like mummies, and because of that their magic cells almost all die out. To keep their old power, they suck life force from the land, or drain magic power from living servants.”
”So these soldiers got eaten instead of turned into servants──which means it’s not desperate for magic power right now.”
When Kian said that, John nodded and said, “Yeah.”
”Are they sucking life force from the land with a curse totem? Or is there a rich Spiritual Vein nearby?.. Or maybe, they already control fresh, good meat puppets, so the soldiers, who should have some magic power, seem weak.”
”Alright. I took off the recognition plates. I’ll burn them. Let’s go outside and plan what to do until they’re done burning.”
”Understood.”
John said this and gathered the plates into a leather bag, then went outside the cave.
Kian watched him leave and then prayed for the 9 poor victims.
It would be better if Sarah prayed for them instead of Kian, the broken monk, but, well, it’s better than being buried in the ground with nothing.
’Are you going to make them chew on dried meat?’
(Yeah. So they don’t suffer from hunger after death.)
Kian finished his work and poured oil on the bodies, then used the ‘Silver Ice’ special ability to set them on fire.
Maybe it’s because the oil was good, but they burned better than he thought.
”――――.”
He didn’t know why the soldiers joined the army and came to the front lines.
But it was clear they didn’t want to die, since they became Wraiths.
As an outsider, he could only hope their families would get enough money to be comforted.
’Princess Maribel can’t do it. She can only pay a few Silver Coins.’
(Owl or Owl’s supply officer will handle these guys. But, still, Oswald or Aisha’s power is needed. Maribel was right to decide to save them without wasting time.)
Kian prayed one last time and turned away from the victims as they turned to ash.
* * *
After checking the situation around the corpse with Mr. John, they suspected that the enemy was likely a high-ranking undead known as a Rich.
Many of these were magicians or alchemists who reincarnated at the peak of their studies, wielding not only their undead immortality and the ability to control ghosts and lower-rank ghouls, but also the magic they had honed in life.
The fact that the soldiers hadn’t been turned into minions suggested that the Rich probably already had a sufficient magic power supply.
In the worst-case scenario, the 9 missing members of the ‘Lion’s Companion’ and the ‘Gray Bear’s Group’ might have fallen into the Rich’s hands.
Outside the cave, beneath a large oak tree on the wind-swept hill, they gathered around a bonfire, sharing and listening to stories.
Kian watched as Priscilla changed into her usual all-black witch outfit.
”Can you drive away the Lich with the ‘Parasol of the Night Queen’?”
”Hmm…”
The white-haired witch furrowed her brow.
Behind her stood her attendants, noble-like spirits of advanced rank, dressed as if for a masquerade ball.
These were Priscilla’s familiars, the strongest pieces she had at her disposal, it seemed.
Priscilla looked up.
”Against a Lich, it’s probably no use if it’s a magician’s transformed creature. I can bind the Queen of the Underworld’s minions, reapers, and the wandering souls of rootless plants on the ground. Since a Lich is a reincarnated being, they’re not exactly dead, and I don’t even know if they’ve made a pledge to the Queen of the Underworld. Even if they did, it’s probably time-limited, so they might just be taken away to another dimension by her minions if they haven’t vanished already. The fact that they haven’t means the chance is pretty low.”
”Understood. My charm won’t work on the Lich either, so I guess we’ll have to take them down physically. We’ll break the totem sucking life force from the land and blast apart the Rich’s workshop. If there are any familiars, we’ll wipe them out too.”
”What if it’s ‘Lion’s Companion’ or ‘Gray Bear’s Group’? If they’re still alive, we’d be cutting our own reward, right?”
Kian shook his head at Natra’s question.
”We keep ourselves safe first. We can always make money later.”
”Hah.”
”──Sorry, quick thing?”
John raised his hand.
”I know you guys are strong, but the enemy might have not just the lich, but also ‘Gray Bear’s Group’ and Rean’s top adventurers. We should be sure. Let’s pull back and report to Mr. Friedrich, get his orders──”
”Then can we put you in charge of that, Mr. John?”
”Fine, but are you actually going to charge in? The enemy, even alone, is a monster worth a party Rank 2 or 3.”
”The lich probably already knows we’re here. If we wait, it might escape. Only choice is to hunt it now.”
”Yeah, but still…”
”Kitsune, if we end up fighting ‘Lion’s Companion’, can you stop Rean? I’ll take care of Ms. Vestacia and Ms. Lyritisse while you’re busy with him.”
”Understood. But, is it okay if I take out Lord Rean?”
”No problem, but be careful with Rean. He’s tough. Watch for his black magic sword and heavy armor. That sword can suck out your magic power with even the tiniest cut──it’s made to kill ghosts. The armor will force itself into his body, even if his muscles and bones are smashed, and make him fight until he dies, like a berserker. Go for the kill, but don’t get predictable or he’ll use it against you. Be careful.”
”Okay.”
”Tengu, if you see Ms. Ninini or ‘Gray Bear’s Group’, handle them. Okina and Serena, back up Tengu however you want. Kitsune and I don’t need backup.”
”Wait, Kian. Kitsune aside, you’re taking on 2 Rank 1 magicians by yourself? And one of them is a High Elf magician, right? That’s too dangerous.”
Sarah narrows her eyes and speaks harshly.
In the world of memories, Kian defeated Sarah using a Secret Technique, but it seems Sarah doesn’t remember that.
Her balance and posture show that Kian’s strength has improved, but she probably thinks facing 2 powerful magicians at once is overdoing it.
But for Kian, it’s no problem.
Thanks to the vampire trait ‘magic consumption,’ as long as he’s awake, he can nullify any attack from a magician.
And if the enemy is looking for a firefight, without worrying about the risk of being detected by the Owl, he can unleash the Windsong Blade for a one-hit KO.
No matter how powerful the magician.
No matter how skilled the swordsman.
Without both the firepower to match the Windsong Blade and combat abilities surpassing Kian’s swordsmanship, they will inevitably fall, just like Natra’s sister──Almeisa.
”No problem. If they’re witches, leave them to me. I’ll take both down quickly and support Kitsune.”
”Aren’t you guys a bit too optimistic?”
”Lord John, you requests contact. Please send the victim’s identification plate back to their homeland. And… if Sir Kian’s evaluation is correct, Lord Rean will either live or die, so please accept that.”
”……”
John seems to have lost his words.
Priscilla speaks up in his place.
”What should I do?”
”Just keep an eye on things from the back. We can’t have you, a borrowed asset, getting hurt, Ms. Priscilla.”
”Roger that. Well, if it looks bad, I’ll help out. Haven’t crushed humans in a while, so I’m not sure if I can still do it well.”
(If she helps, she’ll act all smug and say, ‘Lord Kian~. You owe me one!’ or something, huh.)
’Before that happens, pour your magic power into this one. You know how strong my armor is, right? I’ll lend you a bit. Use it to chop off Rean’s head.’
(You just wanna stash away some magic power for yourself too, don’t you…)
’Tch.’
”Hey, Kian. So the enemy’s a lich? Got it. But, could that monster raging in Ramsey also be a lich?”
Serena asked with a serious look.
Rufna nodded a few times, saying, “Ahh… there’s a chance, yeah.”
”The thing going wild in Ramsey shows up right on the border between Mr. Owl’s place and the Hairkin Races, and it’s draining people’s blood. But this lich here is eating guts and haunting the whole area around the ‘Snow Past of the Giant.’ So they’re probably different monsters.”
”But liches can make servants and control things like wraith, right?”
”Well, yeah, they have stuff in common.”
”It’s probably silly to explain sword techniques to a Sword Master, but, like Lord Kian said, there’s never been a lich just popping up outta nowhere. Either someone became one on purpose, or someone made them into one. And in the past hundred years, it’s almost always the first.”
Priscilla went on.
”If this monster really is a lich, it’ll end up at the workshop sooner or later. If we look inside, we’ll find how it turned into a lich in the first place. Don’t you think it’s way too much of a coincidence that a lich shows up right when Lord Oswald gets locked up and those Bloodsucking Things start running wild? Even if the monster in Ramsey and the lich here aren’t the same kind, I bet they’re connected somehow.”
”So, blowing up or flooding the workshop is out, then.”
Kian glanced around at everyone as he spoke.
”Mr. John, 3 hours. If we don’t come back, leave the camp. Kitsune, Tengu, Okina, Serena, and Ms. Priscilla. We’ll follow Rean’s footprints, deep into the woods. If anyone feels sick, or wants to stay with Mr. John, raise your hand now. Kitsune and Tengu, sorry, but you’re coming.”
Sarah, Serena, and Priscilla didn’t say anything.
Sarah and Serena gripped their swords, ready.
Kian nodded, looking into the forest, where the trees stood close together.
A thick, white mist, like milk, was slowly coming closer.
”Tengu, collapse the cave, bury the bones. Let’s go.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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