Chapter 681
They had defeated all of North Star’s new Three Brothers.
Especially the third, Grayson’s performance was the most decisive. As the “third”, she wrung out her last remaining strength, breaking the chains of the flying-type undead and stripping them of control.
All of North Star’s flying undead on the battlefield were set free, and now his army could no longer hold back Akemius and the Skullwing troops. The best stage for their valor had been prepared.
On top of that, with the Northern Army, the 2nd Legion, and the 7th Legion launching their all-out offensive, the brothers’ forces dwindled more and more.
“They’re fleeing!”
“What the hell are you doing, fuck! Chase them down and slaughter them all!”
The Northern Army, having seized the initiative, rampaged in exhilaration.
Simon too left the stragglers to his subordinate generals and walked forward.
“Huuu.”
At the forefront of a battlefield now drawing to a close.
Simon removed Feer’s skull helmet and gazed past the mountain ridges.
A pitch-black hole pierced in the center of the ruddy land.
That was the infamous Abyss, the very dwelling of North Star.
[So you fought wearing Feer.]
The clanking sound of armor seams came closer, and the Grand Duke stepped beside him.
She too removed her helmet like Simon. With her long hair swaying, her well-formed face was revealed.
Now, as she gazed at the Abyss with eyes flickering with many emotions, her figure resembled a masterpiece captured by a craftsman.
“Did you not run too wild? I told you to conserve your strength for the battle against North Star.”
“I still have plenty of strength left.”
Simon smiled broadly, raising his arm. She chuckled as well.
“Then that is fortunate.”
“You no longer avoid my eyes?”
“Don’t tease your senior, child.”
The two stifled laughter together as they overlooked the Abyss.
“The tide has turned. In this battle, North Star has lost no small number of troops, and drained himself forging new Three Brothers. Look.”
She swept her finger across the scenery of the Abyss.
“The undead garrison within the Abyss has greatly thinned. Especially with the Third’s fall, all flying undead were freed, that is decisive.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Simon nodded, then added a word.
“Will the first, Chronos, be alright?”
She let out a light laugh.
“I could not completely erase him, as I was aiding the Grand General, but I did strike his Core. At the very least, he will not appear again in this war.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Indeed.”
Waaaaaaah—!
A roar echoed faintly. In the distance, the Northern Army and the 2nd Legion descending the mountains had entered the threshold of the Abyss.
She lifted the helmet from her waist and donned it once more.
[Come, this is the North’s final war. All soldiers and the dead shall open a path for us.]
Simon too pressed down his skull helmet with resolve.
“Let’s go.”
The two legion commanders bumped fists.
The final battle was at hand.
* * *
At the same time.
Bilkenos.
Tap, tap.
Having not joined the expeditionary army, the Steward Godrick, who held full responsibility for Bilkenos’ defense, was drumming the armrest of his chair with his hook hand.
‘I’m so anxious I’ll go mad.’
With a tormented expression, staring only at the ceiling, he gnawed a mouthful of carpet fringe from the table.
It would have been far more comfortable in heart to have gone out with only his one remaining arm.
‘Are we winning? Surely not being pushed back? What happened to the royal army that went ahead? Is the Grand Duke safe? What schemes are Romario and Chronos plotting?’
The more he worried, the more his head pounded, and his mouth parched. Godrick slammed his forehead against the corner of the table with a thud.
‘Calm down. Calm down! I must guard Bilkenos without the slightest gap, against any unforeseen stratagems of North Star. That is the role entrusted to me by the Grand Duke!’
Godrick shot to his feet.
“Is anyone outside!”
“What now, Steward.”
One of the Riders in charge of Bilkenos’ defense came in with a languid face. Godrick barked furiously.
“You young pup, so arrogant for a Rider. Until the Grand Duke returns, you will address me as Commander-in-Chief of Bilkenos!”
“Yes, yes.”
Clicking his tongue, Godrick sat back down.
“So this war truly must be ending, if even the lofty discipline of the North is in such disarray.”
“So why did you call me.”
“In my judgment, North Star cannot be so easily overthrown.”
Godrick stretched out his arm.
“By order of the Grand Duke, all the people of the North have taken refuge here in Bilkenos! Not the tiniest crack may exist in the city’s defenses. Again order the Riders to patrol, to ensure no gaps in security.”
The Rider gave a wry laugh.
“You know that’s the third time today you’ve given that order?”
“I mean delve into finer and more trivial matters! Today, Madam Roxa did not drink wine! Or the reindeer shat more bountifully than usual! If anything is different from usual, report it….”
“Milord.”
As the two conversed, a soldier entered the office in hurried steps.
“An outsider has entered Bilkenos.”
“!!”
Godrick’s face flushed scarlet.
“Out. Si. Der?”
Ever since the royal army incident, Northerners had come to loathe the very idea of outsiders.
Of course, there was the exception of Simon, who had come in as the Grand Duke’s disciple, but otherwise, outsiders such as Chronos, Romario, or Count Voldemont had only ever brought calamity and chaos.
And at such a crucial time, an outsider?
Far too suspicious.
“Careful, Steward, your blood pressure’ll kill you. Calm yourself.”
The Rider snickered.
“What’s the big deal if some outsider came. Probably just a merchant or adventurer again. What’s the name?”
“T-that is….”
The soldier sweated profusely as he spoke.
“They say, a necromancer.”
Crack.
Tap.
Veins bulged one after another on Godrick’s brow from the tension.
‘Ne. Cro. Man. Cer?’
Chronos’ face flickered in his mind.
“Summon every soldier in the fortress at once! I’ll go myself!”
Godrick moved faster than ever before.
He dashed through Bilkenos’ streets with all the garrison soldiers.
“That necromancer from outside, you’ve detained him so he cannot flee, yes? What kind of person is he!”
“Ah, that.”
The soldier who had brought the news scratched his head.
“I didn’t see with my own eyes, but from what I heard, even our warriors were struggling against him. Must be quite a powerful necromancer.”
“Struggling?”
The Northerners, who until now had been burned many times by outsiders, would always have picked a fight, or shown some reaction whenever an outsider appeared.
That tendency would only have grown stronger after the royal army incident.
And yet, to say they were flustered.
The warriors of the North would not be cowed by appearances alone. If what the soldier said was true, this one must be a formidable being.
‘He must be the owner of an extraordinary physique!’
In Godrick’s mind appeared the image of a hulking man, bursting with muscles to their limits.
“More! Tell me more!”
“Ah! They say he has wings on his back.”
“Wings?”
Godrick imagined a giant monster, with massive demonic wings unfurled upon his bulk, horns sprouting from his head, and talons like a hawk’s stretching from his hands.
Surely, a being sent by North Star to seize Bilkenos.
“Damn it! Run faster!”
“Yes!”
Godrick and the soldiers sprinted frantically through the streets.
And the moment they arrived at their destination.
“?”
They immediately found the outsider.
Godrick felt his imagination shatter to pieces.
Lavender hair braided into two strands, a small frame, a round and adorable face, clad in a black uniform top and a gray skirt.
“Ah.”
The girl, who had been sitting on a wooden box swinging her legs, hopped down. Spotting Godrick’s group, she trotted over with quick little steps.
“Hello!”
Bowing politely, the girl beamed a bright smile. Like a puppy delighted to see people, the dainty bat wings on her back fluttered cheerfully.
“Those men told me to wait here, so I was waiting!”
“……”
The Northerners could only scratch their heads awkwardly, snacks in hand.
“What is this.”
The tension drained from Godrick all at once. He turned his glare on the soldier who had brought him the news. The soldier gave an awkward smile and said,
“Y-you see, the wings.”
“You’ll pay for this later.”
The girl blinked her eyes, tilting her head. Godrick cleared his throat and spoke.
“State your identity.”
“Ah, yes! I’m Kamibarez Ursula from Keyzen.”
“Keyzen?”
Godrick’s eyes widened.
That this tiny girl was a necromancer of the infamous Keyzen?
“Yes! I finished my mission and came to see Simon! I want to go back to school with him.”
She spoke with her wings fluttering. Godrick felt all his tension melt away, his body relaxing completely.
‘Simon, that must mean the Grand Duke’s disciple.’
“Where is Simon? Is he still taking classes?”
Godrick gave a wry laugh.
“Classes? Well, not entirely wrong.”
* * *
“Huaaaaaaaaah!”
Clad in Feer, Simon swung the Greatsword of Destruction madly, mowing down elite undead. His whole body was drenched in black and red with the enemy’s blood.
This was the Abyss.
From this endlessly gaping hole, countless undead poured forth.
[Commander! We’ve opened a path! Hurry through!]
‘Thank you, Erze!’
All of the Northern Army was fighting in their places.
While especially the Ancient Undead engaged the North’s named warriors, Simon and the Grand Duke were descending straight into the Abyss.
At first, Simon thought that if they jumped into the gaping hole, they would reach the bottom quickly, but he was wrong. The gravity inside the Abyss differed from the outside. Falling took a long time, and during that time, waves of attacks kept pouring down.
It was actually faster to run along the wall.
“Haaah! Huff! Kuhuh!”
Simon widened his eyes, his arms trembling. His muscles screamed in pain, his mouth parched dry.
But.
‘I can’t stop, even if I die!’
North Star was below.
While every soldier and the undead bought time in any way they could, he had to end this. Simon gritted his teeth and swung the Greatsword of Destruction at the massing black undead.
Shhhhhhhh!
Undead split apart, and into the gap the Grand Duke plunged.
[Hmph.]
Just behind, the Grand Duke unleashed a volley of arrows. Black trajectories whistled through the air, piercing through the skulls of gigantic undead.
Kiiiiiii!
And then she fired another arrow into the sky.
It flew a short distance before disintegrating, turning into a rain of arrows that pierced through the undead spilling from the Abyss.
‘Such incredible control……!’
Not a single shaft of the dense arrow rain struck Simon, the Grand Duke, or even the legion’s undead around them.
Amazed, Simon suddenly widened his eyes.
Named undead, those who directly guarded North Star, were charging toward the Grand Duke.
“Grand Duke! To your side…!”
[This is your final lesson! Arrogant brat!]
She swung her arm, and Phantom Dullahans galloping along the cliffs plunged down like comets, blocking the foes.
[Never think of combat and command as separate! Accomplish both with a single motion!]
“Yes!”
Simon slashed downward as well. Skullwings seized wormlike black undead, slamming them against the wall, and Simon swung the Greatsword of Destruction to finish them.
[Can you follow me to the very end!]
She roared, pouring countless arrows into the Abyss.
“I’ll follow you no matter what!”
Simon too swung the Greatsword of Destruction with every ounce of his strength.
The two of them, at last, reached the deepest point of the Abyss.
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