39 [1-39] The beginning of the end (1/2)

On the day of the attack, the village in the westernmost part of Duke Gerald's domain was attacked by a powerful undead horde led by a skeleton champion with a lightning magic sword.

The villagers, who were hibernating for the winter, were slaughtered helplessly, and the few who were lucky enough to escape were alerted to the danger.

The undead swarm then proceeded in a southwesterly direction, spreading across several territories and annihilating the villages in its direction. By the time the palace realized the situation, six villages had already been destroyed.

The Royal Court saw this as an emergency situation, and requested the strongest adventuring party in Ciel-Teirah, the ”Spear of Zero,” to accompany the priests of the Temple to defeat and investigate the situation.

With three sixth-grade elites and two fifth-grade adepts, the ”spear spear spear” would be able to take on such a nightmarish enemy as an undead army of skeleton champions. However, the Royal Court had a sneaking suspicion that the ”Rose Princess of Hell” might be behind this.

The naturally occurring undead are weak. Since so many undead are appearing, there must be someone who created them. If so, then the most suspicious person is the Rose Princess of Hell, who seems to still be hiding in the shadows.

That's why I've arranged for adventurers who are strong enough to come back with information in case something happens. Duke Gerald also recommended this selection. Duke Gerald recommended that we send out strong adventurers as soon as possible.

The Royal Court had no objection to this, and the strongest party, the ”Spear of Zero,” was immediately chosen.

The ”spear spear spearers” headed towards the southern part of Ciel-Teira, their destination, as if they were anticipating the movements of the undead.

* * *

At the same time.

At the same time, Duke Gerald was gathering his knights and farmers from his own territory.

The knights who had been urgently summoned yesterday due to the undead that had appeared in the territory had already arrived in Wesara the next day.

The city was booming with the sudden increase in the number of people. This kind of festivity only happens a few times a year.

There are various kinds of knights under the duke. The wealthy ones have their own mansions in Wesara, the capital of the realm, but many of them stay in inns. Some of the servants and peasants they bring with them stay at the lodgings, thanks to the generosity of the residents and the temple (the duke will pay for their lodging later).

The streets were filled with strong men in silver and white armor, and daily necessities and foodstuffs sold like hotcakes.

When the sun was high in the sky, they gathered in the spacious courtyard of Duke Gerald's castle. It was a spacious courtyard for gathering troops and training.

The knights, as well as the peasants, looked dignified as they lined up with their weapons at the ready. They were elite farmers who had been trained by the duke in between farm work and were therefore exempted from some of the labor.

When the Duke appeared on the balcony, the soldiers in line tightened their faces even more.

A man with a loyal heart. Some are nervous, lest they be punished for misbehaving. Those who are doing their duty in a businesslike manner in return for the guarantee of land. Those who secretly harbor animosity. ......

Each of them had their own thoughts and feelings, but that no longer mattered to the Duke.

The reason I asked you all to gather here today is simple.

It was then that the Duke began to speak, his voice booming.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

Assembled Spell ...... ”Bloody Red Paper”.

A girl's voice sounded out of place in the quiet courtyard.

The sky was supposed to be clear, but as soon as it seemed to dim, a red-black storm of death broke out.

”Aaaaah!

Aaagh!

Aaaaah!

The blood-colored storm roared like a tornado over the entire courtyard.

The screams cascaded, and the soldiers in line collapsed in a heap.

The duke looked down at them with a cool face.

”From now on, you will all serve the ...... Great One.

Duke, what are you doing?

The only ones who survived were the sorcerers who were able to defend themselves in time and the knights who had their talismans activated even in a place like this. There were only a few of them.

Looking up, there was a small figure stepping out from behind the duke.

It was a beautiful girl with silver hair and eyes. She wore a glorious pure white dress with a rose emblem painted in bright red on the skirt. Despite her innocent face, she looked down at the surviving soldiers with a wicked, lecherous smile that showed no regard for life.

She jumped onto the balcony railing, crossed her legs and looked down at the devastation in the courtyard.

What the heck is that ......?

One of the survivors muttered.

It's not 'she' or 'her', it's 'that'.

”Some people just don't know when to quit. Get rid of it.

With a small, white, soft hand, the girl snapped her fingers sharply.