LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 46
The battle commenced at midnight with a boom!
Amidst a horde of undead, the Holy Lance exploded, shredding every undead within its range, and both the living and the dead revealed their murderous intent and clashed.
“Graaaah!”
“You filthy dead thing! Die! Just die!”
A revenant charging with a greatsword became engulfed in flames, while a skeleton struck by an ‘invisible hammer’ shattered like Lego pieces in a kid’s hands.
“O vile byproduct, witness the punishment of the Lord!”
“Kiaaaa…raah…!”
A white, riddled with arrows, collapsed, twisted into a grotesque SpongeBob, while half-rotten wolves were pierced by arrows and daggers.
“Graaar?!”
“Uck…!”
A rotten bear howling leapt into a pit, while a revenant caught in a snare faceplanted into the holy water-coated ground and convulsed.
The paladins, priests, mages, and archers unleashed a torrent of firepower, complemented by traps set by the adventurers.
Most of the undead that advanced were cut down before they could take more than a few steps.
It was a one-sided slaughter. A reward for the thorough preparation.
…Of course, if it were that easy, they wouldn’t have called the adventurers in the first place.
The church’s strength alone could’ve wiped them out long ago.
Not long after the one-sided battle commenced, new faces emerged from the undead horde.
“A corrupted host appears from the southwest!”
A paladin battling somewhere yelled with a booming voice that echoed throughout the camp, announcing the arrival of a formidable foe while enduring the relentless bombardment.
“It comes from the east too!”
“Graaaah!”
A towering undead, just over 2 meters, charged roaring like a rabid werewolf.
It had abnormally elongated arms, reverse-jointed legs, and teeth and a spine elongated like a beast.
Its half-decayed, spongy skin was riddled with holes and teeming with mold and mushrooms, while its chest oozed flesh and guts, revealing its ribs.
A corrupted host.
An undead of heinous nature with knight-level physical abilities, spreading spores to incite decay.
For the local adventurers, it was a monster far beyond their reach.
◆◆
“Graaaah!”
“It’s coming! Prepare for close combat!”
The undead horde started pouring in, led by the corrupted host.
“Kyaaah!”
“Ukkk!”
The undead charging forward with shield and sword had taken a hit from spells and miracles, but few remained intact.
“Paladin squad, attack! Eliminate the corrupted host!”
The commanding paladin shouted, launching himself towards the corrupted host with a holy lance in one hand and a blessed mace in the other.
“Hold off any that break through the barriers! Not a single one must enter our formation!”
With that order, adventurer warriors armed with axes, maces, swords, and spears let out triumphant roars, showcasing their bloody skills against the oncoming monsters.
“Die! Die! Die!”
“My fist is steel!”
“Haha! Check out this guy! No arms, so he’s holding a sword with his teeth!”
“Get lost! That gear’s mine!”
…Though it was more of a messy brawl than refined techniques.
Let’s be honest; local adventurers were mostly just clumsily fumbling up the ranks through sheer luck. How could they have had the chance to learn elegant swordsmanship?
They probably didn’t need it in the first place.
Against mindless monsters, experience and capacity mattered far more than refined martial arts.
Anyway, the warriors wielded their weapons indiscriminately, easily harvesting the undead’s heads.
Beheading the exposed monsters struggling over the barriers was child’s play for them.
As minutes passed…
“…Wait, how many of these things are there?!”
The once exuberant adventurers now gasped, wide-eyed, looking toward the forest.
No matter how many they killed, the undead kept coming, not giving them a moment’s respite.
The makeshift barricade was long buried under piles of undead corpses.
From that hill of corpses, revenants and skeletons emerged, roaring ferociously as they began swinging their weapons.
“Ugh! This beast is surprisingly strong…!”
An adventurer grunted, barely deflecting a wielded axe from a metal-armored revenant.
“Gyaaaah!”
The revenant swung its axe with a fierce roar to finish off the adventurer.
“Get back!”
I dove into the fray, deflecting the revenant’s axe with my blade, twisting my wrist to drop it, and smashed its head with the hilt of my sword.
“Kyaaah!”
“Not so fast!”
A skeleton’s sword lunged at me, but it bounced off my armored kick, and a follow-up punch obliterated its skull like a cracker.
“Haah!”
I quickly twisted my waist, swung my longsword, and cleanly beheaded the staggering revenant.
Thud, the skeleton and revenant lay sprawled on the ground.
“Th-thank you…!”
“Then don’t let it happen again!”
I offered advice to the grateful adventurer to use their shield better before I plunged back into the horde of monsters.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Uooohk!”
Weapons flailed towards me from all sides.
I took a deep breath, focusing on all those blades, calculating the best path to counter, pushing my swordsmanship memories to the forefront.
“Haah!”
I lifted my left foot, deflecting a spear’s tip with my greave, stepping forward to stomp and break its shaft.
Clang!
I intercepted a vertical strike with the blade and cross guard, thrusting my sword through a neck, severing a spinal column.
“Ukkk!”
I turned my body, swinging my sword horizontally and severing one neck while hacking through another.
Swish!
Bathed in blood, I kicked a chanting revenant, knocking it down before stabbing the blade into its throat.
Squish!
In that moment, a battle axe from a revenant swung heavily at my back.
I dodged, feeling the tip nick my armor as it pushed me forward.
“Ugh…!”
I leaned forward—an enemy spear was right in front of me.
I tilted my head, brushing the spearhead off with my helmet, springing up and slicing at its waist diagonally.
Rotten guts spilled out, oozing like a squirming worm.
What a smell.
Having finished one, I seized its top half and tossed it behind me.
“Grrr?!”
The revenant, swinging its mace again, belted out a howl of shock as it accidentally sent its comrade flying.
Splop! My blood-soaked longsword arced, horizontally cleaving its head in half like a watermelon.
◆◆
In this manner, we engaged in an endless brawl.
Adventurers maintained the defense, pushing back or being pushed by the undead horde, while paladins and priests continued their fierce battle, purifying the corrupted host’s spores with holy magic.
“Hah… Hah…”
While the still-vibrant adventurers held their ground, I took a moment to step back and catch my breath, checking the state of my armor and longsword.
Aside from a few scrapes, my armor seemed alright, but the locking mechanism on my helmet was broken, causing the faceplate to rattle loosely.
The longsword was caked in rotten blood and grease, dulling the edge considerably.
Maybe it was made from mixed black steel, as there were no cracks or loose bits, but… I’d need to clean it up before it was truly usable.
“H-Hilde, are you, um, tired…?”
While I eyed the mess on my longsword and gulped down some water, Friede, dragging her greatsword, approached me, her expression beaming.
The massive blade was tangled with guts and flesh, looking like a demonic sword just pulled from the depths of hell.
“No, I’m not tired, just the sword got a little dull.”
I explained while wiping the blood and grease from my blade with torn strips of the undead’s clothing.
“But are you alright, Friede? You’ve been swinging that heavy blade around.”
“Ah, are you worried about me…? Hehe… I’m fine! For now!”
Friede laughed brightly as she lifted her greatsword like a weightlifter.
“Uh, good to hear.”
I cleared my throat and nodded.
She wore a bright expression, but her clothes and cheeks were plastered with blood, and every time she swung the sword, guts and flesh splattered down.
If children saw her, they’d likely faint, having wet themselves in fear.