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I fell from the sky and momentarily lost in thought.

Lewelin, you bastard.

You swore a few months back that things would be fine, but does this look like a fine situation to you?

Come to think of it now, that guy only said Ella would be okay; he never mentioned there wouldn’t be Undead rampaging at the border.

This is why it’s hard to trust a Wizard’s words. Important details are always missing.

I’ll leave the musings behind and focus on the situation below.

A staggering number of Undead were attacking the city. So far, the City Wall held strong, but how much longer could it withstand an Undead army equipped with siege weapons?

Based on past experiences, it would have been tough to survive today. Even with Schwaltheim being a city of Adventurers, there were still many capable of fighting.

The enemy’s numbers were endless and never grew tired, while humans, no matter how strong, couldn’t fight all day. Arriving before the city fell was a stroke of luck.

Whether the horde of Undead below had noticed me falling from the sky, I saw the Corps Cannon turning its aim toward me from the Airship.

Boom! Blam-!

A flurry of shells shot toward me in an instant. Most of them would miss even if left alone, but I knew a few would hit me square on.

I hesitated to draw my spear for a moment, but ultimately decided against it. I had already attracted quite a bit of attention by jumping off the deck. Ezetus would stand out too much with the students watching.

Instead, I chose another approach.

I reached out confidently toward the incoming shells.

The shells were made of hard, solid chunks of meat like aged bones and stones, so they were quite solid and compressed into almost the size of a human torso. A direct hit could easily crush even an armored knight.

Instead of blocking it head-on, I lightly touched the side. As I spun through the air with a slight push, the shell easily changed direction and flew back the way it came, at a much greater speed than it originally arrived.

Phew—! Bam!!

Three Corps Cannons that were hit by their own shells crumbled in an instant.

Boom! Ba-boom-!

The Undead Legion relentlessly fired shells, and I repeatedly used Sha Liang’s Sky to return the projectiles in mid-air.

After doing that a couple of times, soon over a dozen Corps Cannons fell silent. It was nearly half the number.

While that would have given a significant shock to a normal army, the Undead Legion had no feelings or reason to fear such a thing.

However, realizing that the shells were ineffective, they stopped shooting the Corps Cannons.

Looks like it’s getting hard to have fun now.

I kicked my arms and legs as hard as I could while in mid-air. Then I shot down toward the spot where most Undead gathered. As my falling speed increased, I felt the cool wind whip around me.

I spun in a spiral, enveloped in wind, and just before touching the ground, I did a 180-degree turn and slammed my feet down.

Boom—!!!

A tremendous shockwave shook the ground within a radius of dozens of meters, sweeping away all surrounding Undead.

The earth split like an earthquake, and dust flew up as if to obscure the sky.

The sudden, massive explosion left the battlefield eerily silent.

The sudden blast left the city’s people, caught off guard, confused about whether it was friend or foe.

And a horde of Undead quietly awaited the settling dust.

“Whoo….”

Slowly rising to my feet from the center of the now sunken crater.

Indeed, falling from that height without using magic and landing bare-bodied meant my joints creaked and cried in pain.

But pain was soon a sign that my body was recovering. After a few deep breaths, I strengthened my legs and pushed against the ground.

I struck the first zombie head that caught my eye amidst the dust. Perhaps using too much force, the rotten head was torn off completely, flying through the air.

The sound of a decayed throat rattling, and the dull thud of white jawbone clashing echoed around me.

“Grrr…!”

“Swack! Thwack!”

I shook off the rotten blood on my fist and said in a low voice.

“Annoying little pests. Bring it on.”

With those words as my cue, I tore apart, smashed, and burst every Undead rushing at me.

During a war years ago, everything I saw was an enemy, so distinguishing friend from foe was unnecessary.

I moved forward without any hindrances. Swinging arms, bending knees, and with every step I took, I pushed, slammed, and knocked down the Undead, a mechanical slaughter continuing.

There was no need to draw my spear. They were just low-level Undead. Though I occasionally spotted mid-level ones like Ghouls or Skeleton Warriors, they were just sturdier zombies and skeletons, easily crushed by my fists.

But no matter how many of these guys I killed, it wouldn’t matter.

From my experience, there would definitely be a commanding individual controlling such a massive force.

The most bothersome aspect of the Undead was their coordinated behavior. Once you take down the commander, they’re nothing but a disorganized mob. And usually, the commander is well-protected in the safest part.

While searching for my target with this in mind, I spotted a noticeable figure.

A knight clad in armor, watching the battlefield on horseback, as if to show off.

It was the higher-level Undead, the Death Knight.

The Death Knight pointed his sword at me, as if it were a baton, commanding in demonic language.

[“Kill him-!”]

At his command, the Undead legion rushed forward. The problem was, along with them came others like Specters and Ghosts, whom I could hardly deal with without magic.

Staring at this onslaught in front of me, I briefly pondered my next move. Should I pull out my spear since I couldn’t use Dark Magic, or should I ignore them and quickly circle back to target the commander?

At that moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky.

Crack!!!

“Kyaaaah—!!”

The lightning struck the Specter dead on. The struck Specter disintegrated into a handful of ash, leaving nothing behind.

That was just the beginning. Soon, thunder rumbled in the clear sky and bolts rained down in all directions.

Crack! Boom!!

The lightning struck the Specters and Ghosts wandering nearby with deadly accuracy. As far as I knew, only one person could do such a thing right now.

When I lifted my head, as expected, I saw Osnia standing on the deck of the Airship.

She was surrounded by violet lightning, casting down bolts with astonishing speed and accuracy that even I couldn’t help but admire.

“Instructor Ion!”

Right next to Osnia, Titania raised both hands high. It was certainly not the time to greet under such circumstances.

From her hands, a brilliant green light swirled. At the same time, the ground where the Death Knight stood began to rise.

Hee-haw!!

[“Grrk-!”]

Startled by the sudden movement of the ground, the ghostly horse raised its front legs high, while the Death Knight struggled to grip the reins tightly, not wanting to fall off his mount.

That was a chance not to be missed.

I braced my legs and slammed down against the ground with all my might. The scenery around me blurred past at dizzying speed.

All I saw in front of me was the Death Knight’s dark head.

Crunch!!

My blood-soaked fist pierced the air and struck the Death Knight’s face. The solid magic helmet crumpled like paper, and the skull inside shattered into pieces.

The knight of death, who commanded tens of thousands of Undead, lost its head and fell helplessly from its horse. That was the end of it.

“Grrr…!”

“Smack! Smack!”

The Undead legion, having lost their commander, stopped their assault and began retreating from around the city.

As they started to withdraw, a tremendous cheer erupted from the city that had barely endured the attack.

“Wooaah—!!!”

“We’re alive! We survived!!”

“Hero! A hero has come to save us!”

“Thank you! Thank you!!”

The cheers echoing through the city were a chorus of countless voices, but among them, my keen ears picked up on a few distinct tones. The voices drenched in relief of those who barely survived despair.

Yet, despite that, my expression was far more hardened than before the battle began.

The Undead, having lost their commander, usually become a wild pack that follows instinct. But these were starting to retreat instead.

The fact that the Undead were still moving systematically meant someone was still commanding them from somewhere.

At that moment, I sensed a piercing gaze directed my way.

I reflexively turned my head to see where the feeling was coming from.

There, a huge winged eyeball resembling a familiar summoned beast stared at me intently.

Through that eyeball, I felt a very familiar gaze.

That gaze was telling me something.

That this was far from over.

 

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