35th Episode – First Try
“Have you gone insane?”
As soon as I started explaining my plan, Leira cut me off with a cold voice.
She sure knows how to talk tough. Even Lord Halsenberg, her master, had softened the blow by saying, “Though it might be hard to achieve, there might still be a possibility,” but that’s beside the point.
When I looked at her as if asking, “What’s the problem?” she pushed harder, apparently exasperated, and blew a raspberry.
“To put it simply. You want me to carve an opening through the undead army. Then, once you and Master Halsenberg reach Eldritch, you’ll use your ‘special power’ to ascertain the location of Eldritch’s life force vessel, correct?”
“Nice summary. That’s exactly it. What’s wrong with that?”
“Insane plan.”
Leira outright mocked me, as if truly astonished.
She then raised three fingers and pointed them at me.
“First, I don’t have the strength to create a pathway through the undead horde.”
“That’s okay. Lord Halsenberg will handle the path. Just keep the focus off him.”
It seemed like even Leira had nothing to retort on this point.
Maybe because she understands her master’s power well enough. She reluctantly nodded and moved on to the next point.
“Second, I can’t trust the ‘special power’ you claim to possess.”
“I can’t explain it either. If you want to believe, believe. If you don’t, don’t.”
“… Hmm.”
My boldness left her speechless.
Of course. I tilted my chin up and told her.
“Besides, there’s no risk for any of you. Lord Halsenberg himself said that while we may not be able to kill Eldritch, we can certainly infiltrate and retreat from the center of their territory.”
I had omitted that Lord Halsenberg had said, “While killing Eldritch is impossible, we can kill a few liches,” but that’s beside the point.
As I confidently spoke, Leira pointed at me with her remaining finger.
“Yes, my third point is exactly that.”
“What is it?”
“You’re taking on too much risk yourself. It seems suspicious.”
At those words, my eyebrows shot up.
You’re giving me attitude, fine. I raised my voice slightly.
“Am I lying? Who for?”
“I don’t know. But I have no idea how extraordinary this ‘special power’ of yours is. However, it seems that if this plan fails, you are certain to die. There’s no way to escape.”
“As it should be—I wouldn’t try this if I wasn’t prepared to die.”
“… Yeah, that might be true, but… I know that there’s nothing more dangerous in the world than free favors.”
Leira pierced me with a pointed gaze.
Sure, the plan is questionable so her suspicion is understandable. But I shrugged it off and replied nonchalantly.
“Why should it be free? As payment, I’ve already ‘bought’ Lord Halsenberg.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what it says. I’ve bought the life of Johan von Halsenberg. If this plan succeeds and I decapitate Eldritch, the plan is to call upon him later when I need his help. Isn’t that cool?”
“…”
Leira stared at me with a dumbfounded look. Keep staring. Watching isn’t going to make my face break open.
After much thought, biting her thumbnail, she finally shook her head with a sigh.
“… No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. I refuse.”
“No! Hey! Your master has already agreed!”
“Your delusion has reached the point of being an illness. You should see a doctor later.”
“Hey, don’t say that. Come on, please?”
I reached my hand out to Leira like that.
Tsk. She laughed and smacked my hand away hard.
“My master will convince me tonight. Please reserve your nonsense for your dreams.”
And with that, she left the kitchen, heading towards Lord Halsenberg’s audience chamber with determined strides.
“… Stubborn.”
I’ve got no choice. Although not all the cast is here, there’s no other option but to proceed as is.
Let’s start the ridiculous play that will repeat until we get the happy ending.
*
Early morning.
On the icy wasteland and the hill that rose in its corner,
the thronging undead army was visible from below.
I spoke to Lord Halsenberg, who was looking down at the undead with eyes steeped in hatred.
“Uh… then, I’ll explain the operation again. You know the rough outline, right?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
Lord Halsenberg and I were preparing for the attack.
Seop Baek’s body wasn’t fully recovered yet, and Leira had rejected my proposal.
As it turned out, the only soldier left to execute this mission with me was Lord Halsenberg.
“… Even though having just Lord Halsenberg does make me slightly uneasy…”
Still, it’s not bad considering I’ve recruited the most reliable ally.
I thought about how, if Leira had successfully convinced him not to participate as she’d threatened, it would have been unlucky that she failed.
Sighing, I turned back to Lord Halsenberg.
“Lord Halsenberg, please focus only on carving a way through. Once we reach Eldritch, turn around using the same path you came and escape. Don’t worry about me.”
“… Sir Jung Yong, that cannot be. I, too, will fight until the end with you…”
Lord Halsenberg hesitated, voicing his stance.
I cut him off before he could finish.
“Lord Halsenberg, you must prepare for the eventuality of the plan failing. If you fall, the von Halsenberg household will be doomed, will it not?”
“But Sir Jung Yong, I am a warrior first and a soldier second. Our Mittelrand warriors fight for justice and never flee from malevolence…”
I then endured a 10-minute lecture on the ‘Mittelrand True Soldier’s Creed’ or something along those lines.
Finally, I pushed him to reconsider, arguing that there were two ladies left in the castle who needed protection.
“… Understood. Let’s proceed that way then.”
Lord Halsenberg reluctantly agreed.
Damn. If I had known a mention of the ladies would make him cave so easily, I would’ve used it earlier. This story stretched on unnecessarily long.
“Then, let’s prepare. We’ll go when I count to three.”
“… Understood.”
Having prepared mentally, we waited only for the opportune moment to strike.
Then Lord Halsenberg suddenly asked,
“Actually, I have one question.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Why is the time now specifically chosen?”
“That? Because…”
As if summoned by mere mention, the reason for this timing appeared before us, accompanied by a chilling sound.
I smirked to myself.
“Because of insurance renewal.”
[The point of regression has been renewed.]
[Time – Mittelrand Kingdom Calendar/547th year, December 20th, 7:00 a.m.]
[Location – Halstenberg Fief’s northern border, Plains of Snow]
[Notice – The Immortal Demon King is nearing hatching.]
[Notice – Every 12 hours until the Immortal Demon King is fully resurrected, the regression point will renew.]
The time has come.
I immediately started the final preparations.
‘I’ll hope I don’t have to use this…’
I said this as I rummaged through my backpack, pulling out the Box of the Dead.
I inserted a pre-prepared note inside. Once I closed the lid, it emitted a sinister glow and then went quiet.
“Alright.”
Now, all that’s left is to charge.
I immediately drew the ether. Just in case, I decided to take just one piece each of wind and earth ether.
I savored the light sensation around my body after drawing in the ether and then gestured to Lord Halsenberg.
“Let’s go, Lord Halsenberg!”
“Understood!”
We stood up in perfect synchronization.
Without hesitation, we powerfully kicked off from the brink of the hill.
“Aaaaah!”
“Haah!”
With our battle cries, we plummeted vertically into the plain below and crashed into the ground with a thunderous bang.
Swoosh! Drawing our swords, we charged simultaneously into the vast crowd of undead.
“Charge!!”
“Haah!!”
The sounds of cutting and destruction echoed with every forward motion we made, marking our advance.
Realizing us too late, the undead began rushing towards us, making the sound of scratching trees.
– Kuuaaak!
– Kiiiaaaak!
It was a plain attack as befitting the undead, lacking command or hierarchy. Concepts like fear or panic were foreign to them.
For this reason, they didn’t waver when we attacked with surprise but instead came rushing towards us in an orderly attempt to chew our flesh.
“Ugh! There are truly too many!”
Lord Halsenberg suddenly shouted as he cut through undead at the front. I, too, kept chopping but the reality was starting to sink in.
‘Damn it… I’ve already slowed down!’
The undead filling the front were becoming denser, and our speed of advance was decreasing exponentially.
Finally, Lord Halsenberg clicked his tongue and drew the staff from his waist. I hadn’t expected to use this ace this early.
“Avalanche! Ether Volcano!!”
Brilliant flashes of blue light and magical sparkle erupted in all directions. The thunderous sound of the earth trembling and splitting the sky echoed as undead exploded left and right.
“Hundred Sword Pierce!!”
Meanwhile, Lord Halsenberg moved like a streak of light, with me providing backup. But already, after several minutes, we’d almost stalled, unable to advance even one step.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Haa… Haa…”
Lord Halsenberg’s breathing had become heavy, and mine was no different.
Long past any idea of advancing, we were now preoccupied with cutting through the undead blocking our path.
No, rather… we were being slowly pushed back. The undead surged from all directions, cutting off all retreats.
The situation must feel something like what UN forces faced trying to take massive concentrations of enemy forces.
– Gyaooooh….
– Kiieeek… Gueeeek!
This is bad. Not only haven’t we encountered any elite undead yet—forget even Eldritch—we’re already at a standstill. Things have gone far beyond our expectations.
I clenched my bottom lip, frustration rising.
“Get down, Lord Jung Yong!”
That’s when Lord Halsenberg struck the five Ghouls rushing at him and, after putting away his sword, instantly drew his staff attached to his hip.
The crimson gem on the end of the staff began crackling with electric flashes.
“Lotus Relampago!”
Kazajjijik!
Bathed in a blinding flash that momentarily dimmed our sight, thick streams of lightning streaked out.
The lightning scorched the air, the undead, everything around it. Everywhere, screams and the popping sounds of flesh echoed.
“Wha… What in this world…”
It was on another level compared to the magic Lord Halsenberg had used until now.
If before it had been called area magic, this should really be called super-wide area magic.
The undead within a 100-meter radius were instantly roasted like squid. The sight around us, where the ground was charred black, looked nothing like the icy plain it had been just moments ago.
“Lord, you never fail to surprise me!”
I gave him a thumbs-up, and Lord Halsenberg, breathing heavily, managed a smile while sticking the staff back to his waist. His panting grew labored.
“Huff… Huff… Ancient magic really isn’t something to take lightly.”
Apparently, that had been ancient magic.
Indeed. As the saying goes, old schools are always masters, and the effect had been extraordinary.
I shook off the surprise and began rushing towards the newly clear path ahead, swinging my sword, Vestark, continuously while yelling.
“It’s still far! Stay sharp and let’s go!”
“…?”
That’s when I noticed something amiss.
Lord Halsenberg had gone unnaturally quiet.
“… Lord Halsenberg?”
That’s when I stopped jogging forward and looked behind me, only to see him. Eyes widened in shock.
Lord Halsenberg was slumped against the ground, still gasping for air.
