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Azalea’s point of view .

The silhouette of the girl inside the fog swings its disproportionately large arm, and the head of a soldier is crushed . He doesn’t even have a chance to scream . It’s clearly an instant death . He probably couldn’t even tell it was coming .

That grotesque humanoid silhouette, and this miasma . There’s no mistaking that we’re under attack from an undead . It’s arrived at the worst possible time . Even though I need to perform perfectly in order to get through this, monsters were laying in wait to ambush us, preventing me from leaving with Tolman-kakka and the hostages .

It seems Grodel stumbled into a spider’s nest . It’s clear they’re using some sort of technique to seal the horses’ movements . I don’t like to consider it, but they must have some intelligence . Perhaps the Lithovars used some special ritual to raise an undead as their guardian .

“Wh, wh… wh…”

Tolman-kakka’s voice trembles as he watches the tragic scene unfold . His sword slips from his hand, and the blade clangs to the ground .

My priorities right now are preserving Tolman-kakka’s life, and securing the hostages . Without the hostages, I would frankly have no way to proceed .

“It’s an undead! I’ll need some time to take it down . Grodel! To be safe, take Tolman-kakka and fall back on the flying dragon towards the fourth battalion! The rest of you, abandon your horses and flee in the same direction, taking the children with you!”

Grodel raises his arm in a salute, but despite his reckless front, he has an easily frightened personality . Tolman-kakka trusts him because of how he calmly fulfils dangerous missions, but that is not because he is brave, but rather because he is highly capable of reacting to crises .

If it’s him, then it’ll be fine . Until there is a material threat to his life, he is numb to the danger . And when he feels the danger approaching, he swiftly takes responsibility for his subordinates and falls back .

In fact, this time, it seems he quickly gave up on fighting and prepared a gift so as not to incur Tolman-sama’s anger . That is why he was able to escape from the village the quickest .

I don’t think this habit of Grodel’s is a shortcoming . It’s true that such methods have allowed him to earn merit .

But I am apprehensive that one day, he will make an irreparable mistake as a result . At the very least, he’s not suited as a rear guard . He’s more suited for leading the escape . I’m not happy to entrust Tolman-kakka to such a man, but… I’m not at liberty to select anyone else at the moment .

“Be sure to not lose the children! Know what will happen if you flee empty-handed!”

We have ten captured Lithovar children, and with the death of one of Grodel’s group a moment ago, they are ten soldiers strong . The numbers are the same, but I want Grodel’s hands to be free in case of an emergency . The more that remain here, the fewer hostages can be secured .

We have many hostages, but with the opponent’s strength unknown, I can’t risk fighting by myself . Even if I threaten them, they may flee empty-handed . With that in mind… The most I can have remain here would be two .

“Hans and Jade, with me . We aim to stop the undead and spider, and subjugate them! But as I earlier, for the sake of the next battle, I cannot use magic here! Keep that in mind as you fight! In case this battle drags on, once you meet up with the fourth battalion, send reinforcements!”

At the moment, I must be careful to avoid using magic . Two shots of Flare would surely bring them down, but… Later, I must subdue that pale dragon essentially by myself . I estimate it as being high B rank… Or at worst, A rank . In addition, if it’s an endurance type, then my means of killing it are quite limited . It’s not a spell I enjoy using, but I may have to use Dragoflare for the first time in a while . The more MP I can preserve, the greater my chances of success in the coming battle .

But without being able to use magic, there’s no doubt I’ll be forced into close combat by the poor visibility . I know the spider’s lurking in the fog somewhere, but I can’t pin down its location . I’m in quite the unfavourable position . I don’t think I’ll need them, but… Just to be safe, I’ve requested reinforcements .

Nell is on standby with the fourth battalion . With his legs, he should be the first to arrive here . He isn’t a magic user, so conserving magic power isn’t a concern for him . There should be little risk of him falling to this level of monsters .

In response to my words, Grodel springs into action . I’m relieved to see there’s no hesitation in his movement . He’s an easy to understand man .

“A-alright, understood! Let’s go, Tolman-samaa!”

Supporting the staggering Tolman-kakka, Grodel cautiously heads out of the mist .

“[Gale]!”

A girl’s voice chants from the fog . Gale… It’s magic that produces strong winds . The voice has a slight inhuman quality to it, but it sounds far too clear to be the voice of an undead .

A small tornado disturbs the fog, chipping at the ground as it approaches . Rather than me, it seems it’s aimed at Tolman-kakka behind me .

Its destructive power is greater than expected . As I thought, it’s not a low rank undead .

“Ge, geeh!”

Grodel screams . If he were by himself, I expect he could dodge, but it seems it would be difficult while he’s supporting Tolman-kakka . I suppose there’s no helping it… Just this once, I’ll use magic .

Bracing my legs, I root myself in place . I draw my sword and raise it towards the tornado .

“[Resist]!”

The tornado loses its strength and scatters in each direction . [Resist] is high-rank magic which cancels out magic that it touches . Its success is highly dependent on the user’s and the opponent’s abilities . The magic power consumed is a little high, but the stomach cannot replace the spine . [1]

I see through a gap in the fog from the path of the tornado . The figure of the undead is visible at the end . Aside from the large claws and the sinister arm, what I see looks like nothing other than a normal young girl .

“Wha . . !”

But it cannot possibly be a normal human being . A normal human could not transform their body like that . It must be an undead of the revaana line, and for it to mimic a human appearance so well, it must be a lesser lich class at that .

But a lesser lich isn’t something that simply appears . Research into lichdom is prohibited, but has been the target of study by countless powerful individuals and mages throughout history in the hope of achieving immortality . Most commit a mistake, becoming undead that do no more than wriggle on instinct .

Even in my country of Ardesia, there is the famous case of the alchemist Belmiren, who, believing a more human-like appearance could be achieved with enough evolutions, spent fifty years transforming his lover into a terrifying monstrosity . Resurrection magic isn’t something so easy to control . Probably, the initial casting of magic was flawed somehow . This took place over a hundred years ago, but it is said to have been quite the problem for the kingdom at the time .

But what’s incomprehensible is that it doesn’t seem to be illusion magic . I’m not feeling the slightest bit of discomfort characteristic to that magic .

Its human-like appearance, as well as its intelligence and magic power… It’s definitely not something a primitive tribe could produce . But there are a few monsters known to the world that could make such a thing .

The undead king that possess a plethora of skulls, the Skull Lord . Known as the guardian of the underworld, the Great Demon Sariel . And the two headed dragon that governs life and death, the Ouroboros .

“No way, that dragon…”

All are legend-class monsters . If by any chance that dragon is an ouroboros… That would explain the strange feeling I had in that village . According to legend it can freely wield life and death, so rather than just this village, it would be easy for it to be worshipped anywhere in the world .

If I am to later fight such a monster, I must absolutely not use any more magic, but… It would be best to assume breaking through here won’t be easy .

I am pained by my inability to pin down the position of the spider that must be out there . Surprise attacks are quite likely in this dense fog .

But were to I try to escape the fog, they would pursue Tolman-kakka in the meantime . The battlefield is highly disadvantageous, as is my inability to use magic . And I don’t even have many subordinates… But I’ve survived crises like this before countless times .

“Be careful of hidden monsters and surround the undead! But don’t be too timid! If you let a chance slip by, you’ll only create a careless gap!”

“Y-yes! Azalea-sama!”

“U-understood!”

I hear Hans’ and Jade’s voices .

I don’t have high expectations for the two . Their field of view is limited, and they just watched their comrade die . I doubt they’ll be able to display their usual strength under the circumstances . But if they can just expose the positions of hidden ambushes and distract the undead momentarily, that would be plenty .

If I were to use Resist I could aim for a complete win, but… At the moment, Hans and Jade must substitute for it . I can only hope they’ll be even half as effective…

Holding my sword ready, I watch as the undead is once again concealed by the dense fog .

As an undead, if I can crush its head and chest, it should be defeated safely . I’ll close the distance then end it in an instant .

[1] An idiom meaning sacrifices must be made in order to avoid imminent pain .