The Death Mage That Doesnt Want A Fourth Time 61 (1/2)
The seven-day-long march went better than expected
Because sturdy work horses had been prepared, the transportation of goods had gone well Even the monsters that appeared on the way had been of a level that could be easily disposed of by the soldiers; there had been no need for Riley and his party to step up The arnish the meals of that day
The hours of daylight were short as they were surrounded by e of people who could use illuh they were expensive, there were soic Items that acted as lanterns
The fact that they had reached a place where Talosheim was visible in exactly seven days was because their one so well
However, things started going wrong the moment their march was complete
“It see,” said General Mauvid He had set up a temporary camp in the plains near Talosheirass; they had a good unobstructed view This wasn’t the kind of place a stronghold would be built in a real war
Mauvid had gathered the leaders of the expedition here and was looking at the strange sight of Talosheim
What he saas a thirty-h fortress wall Other than the imperial capital or fortresses in important locations, such a tall as rare for huht of a hu the city were mostly Devil’s Nests, such a sturdy ere likely necessary for them
According to the records froo, the wall had indeed been quite tall, but the arht with eye measurements in the past, so it would not be unusual if there were any measurement errors
The strange thing was that although the wall looked like a single strike froe holes that the hero Mikhail created two hundred years ago were nowhere to be seen
“What could this o incorrect…?” suggested Chezare Legston, the second-in-command in this expedition Military records were inaccurate froerations were made to spread the news of the achieveenerals of the past
However, High Priest Bormack Gordan spoke up in response to Chezare “It is likely the doing of that… Vandalieu, the Dhampir who led hundreds of Ghouls to escape from Viscount Balchesse”
“The one you are always h Priest?”
“Yes It is likely that the Dhampir instructed his subordinates, the Ghouls, to repair the fortress wall”
Though Gordan was full of confidence as he spoke, Chezare seele member of the expedition ar that, Chezare thought Gordan’s opinion was quite questionable
“But would he do such a thing?” he asked, expressing his doubts “I have heard of cases where monsters settle down in ruins, but I have never heard ofGhouls are a ent type oftheir own small homes, but a fortress ould be…”
Gordan snorted “Chezare-dono, that is a way of thinking that is held back by the rules of co led by a Dhaent as a human And look carefully at that fortress wall If they were left in that state two hundred years ago, they would have long since collapsed by now”
“I-indeed…”
As Gordan pointed out, with closer examination, it was obvious that the as crudely-structured in certain parts, and it was clearly poor craftsmanshi+p It would likely not even last a decade, let alone two hundred years
It was difficult to believe that this had been the sturdy wall of the fortress that had repelled the Mirg shi+eld-nation’s ar the hero Mikhail
“With this, we can assuanized pack of Ghouls and barricading himself inside Talosheim,” Gordan concluded
“I see Your hypothesis is reasonable, High Priest-dono,” said Mauvid, giving a soleht that Gordan’s sharpness was troublesome
Why was this senile oldin contact with the Valance towards Isla, as present in disguise as the leader of afrom the lack of reaction fro on that he was unaware of
Mauvid and Isla had intended to never tell anyone outside of their groups about Vandalieu and Eleanora, right up until the very end
They would keep the army uninformed as it marched to Talosheim and then see how Vandalieu, the Ghouls he led and the Vampire traitors would move
The Magic Item had made it clear that Eleanora was still in Talosheim, and no Subordinate Vampires or Ghouls had scouted the army’s movements near the tunnel or the Devil’s Nests they had passed through
That hy Mauvid and Isla knew that Vandalieu and his subordinates hadn’t noticed the expedition army’s presence
That hy they would send in the expedition ar in first, and then if Vandalieu and the Vaive chase and finish the as they had their Magic Item, and Isla had confiric Item
And so Vandalieu was likely to try and escape together with her rather than use her as a sacrificial pawn, as she was certainly his greatest source of fighting strength
Even if he separated himself fro him doouldn’t be difficult
Though this were unlikely, if he were to put up a do-or-die resistance, Riley and the others would simply slay him
During the confusion, they would also dispose of the probleh Priest Gordan
With that, all of the objectives of Mauvid and his conspirators would be achieved It wouldn’tshi+eld-nation’s elite soldiers were lost in the process Mauvid would occupy the remains of Talosheim, pick a suitable moment to return to the Empire in order to report their success, fabricate a health issue and then retire If Riley was still alive, he could be brought back as well
Isla was a mercenary, so she could simply say that her contract had expired, separate herself from the expedition army and vanish
After that, the Va the pitiful Chezare and the other soldiers trapped in Talosheiain eternal life, while Riley and the new earl of the Mauvid falory of this world
That was the plan, so the soldiers learning of Vandalieu and his subordinates beforehesitant would cause problems
The targets hadn’t noticed the expedition arht now, so Mauvid didn’t want to give theain their composure
“So, what are we going to do?” asked Riley “Even if it is in pieces, a wall is a wall Scouting inside is going to be hard, you know?”
Despite what Riley said, Isla and the other noble-born Va inside the city wouldn’t be difficult no h the as
Even if archers were stationed on the wall, they would be bows and arrows handh-quality weapons, the arroouldn’t reach if they flew high enough
However, the fact that she and her folloere Va such a plan would be impossible Naturally, Isla remained silent
“Of course, ill take the fight in numbers and close in on them, just as ould do in a normal war,” said Gordan “First, ill use heavy infantry to solidify our outer defense and have archers andraate After that, ill have to see how the Ghouls act They would nore at us, but under the leadershi+p of that Dhaht outwit us, split up into se us in urban warfare”
Gordan was a man known by the title of “Vampire Hunter”; what came out of his mouth were not words of hesitation but a proactive, offensive plan
“Should we not surround the city first?” Chezare suggested
“If we surround a city of that size, our troops will be spread thin,” Gordan replied “And though this may look like a plains, it is a fearsome Devil’s Nest If monsters attacked us while ere spread out, ould suffer great casualties Is this fine with you?”
“… What e do, General?” asked Chezare
“Hh Priest-dono’s advice,” said Mauvid, coanize the attack forces!”
The soldiers began e, but battering ra just in case they were needed to conquer Talosheiht out and the heavy infantry declared themselves as the spearhead of the army
Gordan was not watching the notice of the sun The day was already darkening
“We did not make it in time”
It was still early in the evening, but the Boundary Mountain Range was blocking out the sunlight Most Dhampirs were not weak to the sun, but his subordinates, the Ghouls, would be able to see in the dark
On the other hand, the expedition army was mostly made of humans Gordan had wanted victory to be secured before darkness fell, but it seeo so well A wrinkle appeared between his brows as he frowned
Not that things would go ith the topconnections with Vampires
Vandalieu was hiding right above the gate of the third wall, having confirh the eyes of his Gole as they protected the battering ra
It see Ever since the expedition ared fro him out, especially the familiars released by the Vampires, but perhaps the monsters of the Devil’s Nests had disposed of them Vandalieu’s secret remained safe
“Rock Wall! Rock Form!”
The heavy infantry raised their shi+elds and activated their shi+eld Technique and Ar their defensive abilities Their defense was on another level compared to the typical soldier equipped with a spear, a shi+eld and leather ar the axes and maces
Their skills were likely at least level 3… No, as they were apparently elite troops, around level 4 Vandalieu had heard from Eleanora that normal soldiers had level 2 skills and would be evaluated as E-class individuals if they applied at an Adventurers’ Guild, but each of these elite soldiers were capable of bringing down a Rank 3 ht even be able to take on a Rank 4 monster
This army would be quite the powerful enemy if the other soldiers had siah level just to avoid being overwhelmed
Vandalieu was satisfied with the eneth With these, he could make plenty of use of them later
And then he climbed on top of the fortress wall He exposed hi troops, but to the entire enehold
“That’s… could it be, the Dhae produced by a light-attribute e, his eyes widened
“H-he’s really here… What a surprise” Mauvid’s face and voice were tre
Neither of them had expected Vandalieu to show hiitated for different reasons
“OH! This is the guidance of my lord Alda! Everyone, follow my lead!” shouted Gordan
“P-please wait, High Priest!” said a young priest-warrior “He is on top of the fortress wall!”
“That’s right, hang on a second! He’sGordan for an entirely different reason
On the other hand, Isla, who reitated leaders of the expedition, felt suspicious about Vandalieu’s actions
Why has he shown hi this ar to use himself as bait to allow the Ghouls and Eleanora to escape?
Isla thought about how she couldn’t allow tooback sons of movement
Vandalieu held up a single spear
“That’s… Ice Age! It’s Ice Age!”
“The Dhampir has acquired the national treasure of our country?!”
That spear rese shi+eld-nation
“That, that’s mine!” shouted Riley “damn it, don’t touch it with your filthy hands!”
“Oi, hurry up and use Appraisal! Is that the real Ice Age?! If it’s real, it should be made of Orichalcum!”
“That is impossible at this distance!”
Vandalieu, atching the expedition arh his Undead insects, experienced a pleasant feeling as he saw that they were as disturbed as he had expected them to be It orth the effort he had e of iron
And then Vandalieu broke the fake Ice Age with his bare hands… or at least, used Golem Transforround
At that hold fell silent for a e
“da to our country’s national treasure!”
“There is a liht that I will slay you!”
“You piece of shi+t! That Ice Age was supposed to becohter you!” Riley swore
Indeed, the majority of the expedition army had not come to dispose of Vandalieu and the traitor Eleanora They had come to wipe their nation’s bitter o from the past
They had come to occupy Talosheilory to their nation That was all they had been told, so this was the natural reaction from them
There was no way they would not feel their blood boiling upon seeing that national treasure, the ic spear, broken and discarded
“Wait!” Chezare shouted “It is iic spear made of Orichalcum! This is a bluff to make us lose our composure!”
“Th-that’s right! Calm down, stay composed, don’t break your ranks!” Mauvid ordered
The two of thee of them rest of the expedition’s leaders, but the expedition army’s internal state was shakier than Vandalieu had expected
First, for hts and soldiers that il Mauvid was not a commander worthy of respect, but a nobleman of the Empire that ruled over them, a commander that they did not want
However, the second-in-coston was the second son of the current hts respected him
“Shut up!” Riley roared “Don’t get inout! If you’re scared of a Dha here!”
He was enraged beyond what Vandalieu had been ai for, and as he tried to step out to take his slaves onto the frontlines, all of the noblehts that were supposed to stop him stood up in their seats instead
“It is as Riley-dono says!”
“Our nation’s pride is on the line! My apologies, but I cannot obey even your commands in this case, Supreme Commander!”
For them, Riley was the hero that their nation had made a show of Not everyone believed exactly what had been said about him, but at the same time, it wasn’t as if Riley held no appeal at all
In fact, he was currently vain and craved the li personality at his core He had shared the hts and soldiers, protected the fort at the tunnel the expedition arons onall of the soldiers
This had caused Riley to gain a surprising ahts and soldiers
Gordan e was speaking of that Dhampir, Vandalieu! Devout followers of Alda, ready yourselves! A crusade is at hand!”
Even the renowned Vampire hunter Bormack Gordan had stood up and declared that this was a crusade
Though there were individual differences in their devotion, everyone in the tent was a believer in Alda, the God of their national religion With this situation that was straight out of a traditional song where heroes and clergyrew even brighter
The enraged knights and noble
“You bastards! Your orders, obey your orders! This is a violation of military procedure!” Mauvid bellowed
“dahts’ Order will follow the lead of the breaching unit! Archers, provide backup! Have the light cavalryers!” Chezare barked orders to the army
“Chezare?! What are you saying?!” Mauvid demanded
“General, it is already impossible to calm the soldiers! We have no choice but to at least maintain the coordination of each unit –”
“Silence! You are exceeding your authority!”
With this, the poor relationshi+p between the supreme coiven up on supporting Mauvid, and in his discomposure, Mauvid had chosen to hurl abuse at him rather than calm the soldiers down