LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 228
“Soldiers, forward!”
“Damn it, they’ve climbed all the way up the castle walls!”
“Those annoying skeletons!”
The archers shot arrows until their fingers bled, but the undead army kept growing stronger as more piled up by the river.
With the corpses stacking up, ironically, the enemy’s advance speed increased just as much.
“The Spider Lord is here!”
A towering monster with eight legs, capable of crushing a robust adventurer, moved forth while casting curse magic from its humanoid upper body.
The final form of the Arachne race, the Spider Lord alone possessed the combat power to topple a small nation.
“Fire!”
The arrows flying through the air were easily ignored by the charging lords.
—Karr-rrrk!
The Spider Lord screamed, the sound almost like a shriek, and countless small spiders poured from its rear, quickly crawling across the ground and sticking to the castle walls.
“Intercept!”
“There are too many of them!”
“It’s a fire-type attack. Use flames!”
“We can’t use fire!”
Before they could even start a fire, Kwah-aaaang!! a baby spider exploded, creating a massive hole.
That’s the danger of the Spider Lord. Its main body has high defense and is difficult to approach due to curses, yet it continuously creates troublesome bombs.
“At this rate, the castle walls won’t hold!”
At least they had lit numerous beacons on the central part of the castle walls to lure the undead. Even if the walls were breached, the foot soldiers were waiting inside. They could engage in close combat, but they wouldn’t be able to hold back the ever-increasing tide of enemies.
They had to achieve victory in this siege battle, no matter what.
“They’re climbing up!”
Skeletons were clustering together, stepping over one another.
Confronting them, Lishe stood on the railing. With the holy sword resonating, her eyes gleamed sharply.
“Haah!”
She struck down enemies in the front line, preventing them from climbing up further. Tanya and Ambrosia provided support from the side.
Even though the dark shadows settled around them, the heat of battle and the sound of metal clashing did not cease.
As the sun trapped in clouds began to rise over the distant mountain ranges, good news arrived.
“The supplies have arrived!”
“Finally.”
I temporarily left my spot and borrowed a few soldiers to bring in the supply carriage.
When I opened the cargo hold, it was filled with large orc barrels, the emblem of Gothberg Pharmaceuticals clearly stamped on them.
“Alright. Bring them up one by one.”
The soldiers followed in pairs, carrying an orc barrel each. I designated a spot on the walls for them. Meanwhile, explosions and vibrations continued beneath their feet.
“Another one’s blowing up!”
“Open the lid! Pour it down on the signal! Captain! Hold it here!”
I called Tanya to hold the last orc barrel. Thunk, she opened the lid over the railing, revealing a viscous, oily liquid sloshing inside.
“Throw it, now!”
—Swoosh!
The liquid poured from the orc barrels, instantly drenching the undead army, including the baby spiders.
At the same time, the explosions ceased.
“What is this…?!”
Lishe paused mid-swing to look down. I answered her.
“It’s an acid-neutralizing agent. Baby spiders explode with acidic explosions, so if we lay this substance down, we can neutralize them. And the remaining component is—”
The movements of the undead army noticeably slowed. The same applied to the Spider Lord.
“It’s the finest holy water, specially made from Gothberg glacial water.”
“Holly Water!”
“Their resistance to holy spells has decreased. Sister, shall we proceed?”
“Hmm, it’s a chance to counterattack!”
Ambrosia adjusted her posture and swung her arms wide, spreading divine power. It was a purification spell.
I drew it with her, maximizing our hierarchy.
Thanks to our party members supporting us, it felt like we were casting a much more powerful purification spell than in our prime.
“With the all-mighty light!”
“There is no light for you.”
—Kwah-aaaang!!
A pillar of light burst from the heavens, piercing through the dark and striking the enemy camp directly. In the center, the Spider Lord squirmed in agony.
“Ha ha! It seems the holy water is exceptionally pure! I’ve never seen purification work this well before!”
“At this rate… we can defeat it.”
Lishe locked eyes with Tanya. Then they both jumped down from the castle walls, channeling their energy into their swords.
“Haah!!”
—Kwah-aaaang!!
The ground seemed to tremble as if a bombardment had occurred. Afterward—
—Kiiiiiik…
Only the shattered remnants of the Spider Lord remained.
“Wow.”
To think they could decimate that thing just like that, even after weakening it more than half with purification and having the hero and master together. I didn’t expect it would work this well.
“The Spider Lord… has fallen!”
“This can’t be, is this the power of the hero party?!”
“Victory is near! All troops! Keep firing arrows!”
The soldiers who witnessed our battle felt their morale surge, and their movements quickened.
There were still two Spider Lords remaining. There was still plenty of holy water sent from home. Using the same strategy, we could take them down too.
“Hero, watch the rear!”
Valen shouted as she unleashed a barrage at the approaching reinforcements from a distance. Just as Lishe and Tanya were about to retreat, they stepped onto—
—Kwah-aaaang!!
A deafening sound enveloped my ears. For a moment, I heard a ringing in my ears, and my vision was shrouded in dust.
When my vision cleared, I saw that the ground beneath me was completely gone.
A section of the castle wall had been blown away entirely. It looked like a gigantic eraser had wiped out a section at least ten meters wide.
The soldiers standing atop that section must have died without even realizing it.
From afar came a large magic projectile launched by the Demon King’s army.
Black magic trails lingered, disappearing as I saw the trajectory of the projectile. In the middle of the reinforcements…
It was Ritch.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath, grateful to have survived by luck.
No, it wasn’t luck. I felt the tension behind me that suggested someone had grabbed my collar.
It was Acella.
“You told me not to touch you.”
“It’s fine if I touch you.”
Acella let go of my collar as if tossing me aside and stepped up to the crumbling railing.
She intended to confront Ritch.
—Swoosh!
The second large magic projectile was shot.
In response, Acella quickly drew four circles in the air.
—Kwah-aaaang!!
An explosion erupted in mid-air.
Gold and darkness, mana and magic collided and mutually repelled, canceling out the spells.
It was a clash of high-ranking mages. It was beyond my understanding.
[No. 022: Magic Duel 13% → 12%]
The probability of a magic duel was fluctuating one unit at a time. It meant the final confrontation with Ritch was about to unfold.
This probability, which used to be in the 50% range, had been decreasing for three years to reach this point now.
From here, it would just depend on our efforts.
“Now, let’s see just how capable the best sorceress of the demon race truly is.”
Acella smirked with her lips curling up, narrowing her eyes.
“Your Majesty, please wait for the Hero’s return.”
In response to my words, Acella turned to me with an upward smile.
“No.”
She spoke with unshakeable confidence.
“I will defeat Ritch.”
“No matter how much of a sorceress you are, you alone…”
“I might lose. But there’s definitely a future where I win.”
“Why are you fighting so hard?”
Acella laughed.
“For Lars.”
—Swoosh!
The third magic projectile came flying toward her.
In response, Acella’s action was somewhat unreasonable.
Instead of summoning an ice spear, she let go of her wand.
She crossed her arms strongly and folded some fingers.
“I have already tracked your magic, you insignificant bone.”
—Fwoosh!
The golden spell was cast.
“This isn’t spacious enough for sorcerers to fight.”
—Kuwung!!
Ritch’s magic projectile unraveled with magic and fused with Acella’s mana.
Simultaneously, the two spellcasters were drawn toward the center, and —Fwoosh! a spherical space erupted.
Spatial magic, perhaps?
“Tsk.”
Surely she wasn’t really thinking of fighting alone.
She wasn’t a fool.
“Acella!”
I called out her name in a hurry, but she had already vanished inside the sphere.
*
With black dirt and the heat of battle still swirling on the ground.
Inside the sphere created of golden mana, the two sorcerers stood facing each other.
“A spatial system, sixth rank. Quite impressive. A spell combining partition and banishment. Fascinating.”
Ritch examined the magic prison he found himself in, nodding his head at the only remains of white bones.
Click-clack, Acella stepped forward, twirling her wand.
“You don’t need to acknowledge a nothing like you. This is your grave.”
“Interesting expression. Let me inform you, undead are a race born from graves.”
Ritch swung his wand and formed a formation. It was a summoning spell for the undead.
“Hmm.”
However, it was immediately dispelled, and Ritch realized the principle, nodding once more.
“Means that the only lives that can exist in this space are just the two of us.”
“Doesn’t that sound delightful? Outside, there are just sword-wielders and bowmen, repugnant demon beasts everywhere. Come, let’s see which of us can use magic without reserve. Ah, but it’s no use.”
Acella let out a devilish laugh.
“Your winning chances are only about 10%.”