Chapter 234 (1/2)

Death Mage 234 – The battle begins, and a fight between a God's servant and a subordinate of the De

Alars rose at the earl's residence and at the watchtowers to signal that a largePeople ran about frantically in panic

Gri, and the people staying behind to defend the city – the soldiers, knights and adventurers

When news of the ht that the situation would be this serious

After all, Morksi was a city of commerce with thirty thousand permanent residents Its walls were sturdy, and it was defended by uards And e numbers of adventurers in the city meant that the people didn't worry much for their own safety

Indeed, if the eon, the city of Morksi would have withstood it with ease Several h to be outside the city's walls at the time may have lost their lives, but there would have been no casualties inside the city

If it had been a C-class Dungeon, there would have been considerable da destroyed

The Adventurers' Guild would send out an eency commission to mobilize adventurers ould repel the monsters and protect the city Since it inter, there were plenty of adventurers capable of earning their keep currently staying in the city There would be enough fighting forces to keep the city safe – that hat everyone had thought

But such notions had been deeply cracked the ons caons h the sky

And each ti the rew paler and paler

When it becaency commissions were put up not only at the Adventurers' Guild, but at the Mages' Guild and Ta the house of the earl had been su to evacuate the people

And then there had been a report that even the weakest re Soldiers, led by a Rank 7 Ogre High General Upon hearing this news, Earl Morksi had steeled his resolve, knowing that today was the day he would die

There wasn't a single B-class adventurer – an adventurer capable of defeating a Rank 7 monster alone – in this city

The Dungeons around the city of Morksi were C-class or lower Thus, most adventurers who ascended to B-class would move to other cities in search of places where they could reater use of their skills

Until today, that would have been fine There were no monsters near the city that would require a B-class adventurer to exterminate

But today was different

Most of the city's people hadn't been told the details, but… even froons and Giants They could see adventurers and knights running about with gri the people to evacuate Everyone kne serious the situation was

A group of teenage boys and girls who appeared to be adventurers ran towards the gate

“L-let us inside the gate!” one of them shouted desperately

“This way! Use the gate over here!” said the city guard Kest, waving the adventurers over to a gate that was ordinarily only used to welcoers from nobles in other cities “Once you're inside, don't stop and keep going!”

“The old lady, the old lady used herself as bait so that we could escape…!” one of the girls gasped, out of breath

Kest couldn't tell her, 'Alright, we'll go and help her'

“For that old lady's sake, you have to focus on yourself and those who are important to you!” he said instead

Those were the only words he could ate Perhaps his diligent training had paid off; his physical abilities had ile city guard He wasn't capable of any heroic feats that bards wrote songs about

“… He's still not back?” said a senior guard

“No, though he should be near the city,” Kest replied, trying to suppress his sense of powerlessness

He aiting for Vandalieu, as outside the city somewhere nearby

The Beast-kin Kest had been acquainted with Vandalieu since Vandalieu first arrived in the city, but… that wasn't the only reason he aiting for him Vandalieu had already become a very important person in the city of Morksi… and in the near future, he would become a very important person in the entire Alcrem Duchy

“His apprentices and familiars have apparently already joined our forces, so… he should be co out on his own,” said Kest, but he had a worried look on his face and his ears were twitching in all directions

To themore than an extreon Ehting Technique' as capable of crushi+ng the spines of Pure-breed Va who devoured evil Gods

Kest, as nothing uard, was no exception to this; it wasn't surprising for him to be worried about Vandalieu

“He ons and Giants For soons and Giants killed each other before they could reach the city,” said the senior guard

“No, that's… that ht actually be possible,” said Kest

The news of theVandalieu and his companions, witnessed at the watchtowers, hadn't reached Kest and his senior yet

“More io and join the guys guarding the evacuating civilians,” said the senior guard “I'm not married, so I', aren't they? Why don't you go with them?”

Earl Morksi had resigned to the fact that the city of Morksi would not be able to escape destruction, but that didn't iven up on the lives of its residents He was planning to gather all the forces he could to fight off the ht to evacuate the civilians under the guard of the younger guards and adventurers

If the civilians were evacuated too quickly, it was possible that the monster horde's attention would be draards them, so their escape would happen after the battle broke out inside the city

The senior guard was urging Kest to join them

“No, I'll stay behind Even if we escape froons and Wyverns flying around,” said Kest

“Well, that's true, but… you'll have better chances of surviving than staying here,” said the senior guard

“It's alright My fa Wolf Security,” said Kest

The Starving Wolf Security was the security coe) with the thugs of the red-light district and slums

Not much tis noore uniforanized Though they still had rough tones of speech and less-than-ideal manners, the people considered them to be dependable

But fighting monsters would be too much for the civilians They had already done aspeople froht district to be evacuated

… Having lost ar, the city guards had to admire their work

“I know that, but you won't uard

“So you say, but you lost tomatch the other day, didn't you?” said Kest

“You've gone and said it, huh,” the senior guard chuckled “We're shutting this gate now! We're going to the guardroo onto the walls! Kest, come with me!”

“Yes, sir!”

As they shut the gate, forces were gathering outside the ate, but outside it

If the e Boars, hellhounds and Ogres, the sturdy walls would have withstood the monsters' attacks

But the soldiers' foes were flying Dragons and Mountain Giants that stood taller than the walls If they tried to hold the city while relying on the walls, the Dragons would simply fly over, and the Giants would easily knock the walls down by throwing their bodies at them

With that being the case, it was better to gather forces outside the gate, with the walls put to better use by lining thee attacks – archers and es

“Just yesterday, these walls built by our ancestors see with the walls to s,” Earl Isaac Morksi murmured to himself

He earing a hastily-procured suit of armor and a hel at his waist

The Morksi house of earls ruled over an inland city of co an army in battle He was just a decoration; the real cohts' Order and Berard, the Guild Master of the Adventurers' Guild

Even so, the fact that the lord of the city was re would raise the troops' morale considerably

“Please retreat to the base the battle,hues, so you may be able to survive,” said Berard

Isaac smiled bitterly and shook his head “Even if I were to survive, if I' will collapse and I'll be trapped inside the basement and left to wait until I starve to death And I have reat error If I survived, I would be too ashamed to meet His Excellency the Duke”

“A great error… With all due respect, nobody would have expected that so like this would happen,” said Berard

“That is correct It is true that this situation can only be described as a reed the Guild Master of the Mages' Guild

Indeed, eons were considered to be disasters, but they were also considered to be disasters that occurred due to rulers ere negligent inadequate preparations

However, in this case, a B-class Dungeon had appeared in a Devil's Nest that didn't contain very strong eon almost immediately afterwards – like some kind of cruel joke

With that being the case, no nu monster populations inside the Devil's Nest would have made any difference

However, it was also true that Duke Alcrem would look for someone to take responsibility for the loss of Morksi, a center of coe

“It matters not After all, it is the duty of those born to nobility to offer their own lives when the time calls for it And I will have my own family evacuate with the rest of the citizens under the protection of sohts If I fulfill my responsibility as a noble here, His Excellency the Dukeit as a house of honorary nobles, or merely lower our court rank to a house of viscounts,” said Isaac, laughing out loud

Though he was giving up his life, he was doing so out of self-interest If he were to die, the duke was unlikely to punish his children ere still young

“More iather?” Isaac asked

“The Adventurers' Guild has posted an eency commission for adventurers of C-class and above We let the adventurers of D-class and below decide their own fates,” said Berard “We have gathered twenty C-class adventurers and fifty D-class adventurers”

Each C-class adventurer was capable of defeating Rank 5 and Rank 6 monsters But it would be difficult for them to defeat a Rank 7 monster For D-class adventurers, it was out of the question

However, it was possible that even C-class adventurers could defeat her if they formed a party

“The Mages' Guild also recruited volunteers Users of offensive ic have been positioned on the city's walls, and those capable of using healing ic and enchantments have been positioned in the rear,” said the Guild Master of the Mages' Guild “And Bachem, the Guild Master of the Tamers' Guild, is on standby with his familiar

The Mages' Guild had recruited volunteers as well, and the head of the Morksi branch of the Tae Wyvern, on standby to take down the enemies in the sky

Incidentally, the children of the orphanage were naturally ae to others that the orphans were so calm while the adults around them were so restless

“There was also one volunteer sent by a es' Guild

“Yes, the 'Strong Sword' Rodriguez, isn't it? I have heard of his naer an adventurer, we are fortuitous to have someone with the skills of a B-class adventurer on our side,” said Isaac

Rodriguez was the uard by thea Ghoul brothel in disguise to Darcia He was standing at the forefront of the ranks of adventurers, staring cal

Ordinarily, Rodriguez joining the battle would not improve the situation much

A B-class adventurer was capable of defeating a Dragon or a Mountain Giant alone But against two or ons and Giants, the odds of victory dropped drastically

Rodriguez was not a currently-active adventurer; he was a former B-class adventurer He sohway in order to protect his eainst powerful monsters these days

Rodriguez himself are that his skills had dulled co as an adventurer Perhaps he would only be able to move as well as a C-class adventurer

But Rodriguez didn't think for a single moment that he would die here, and this belief was no delusion or escape from reality

He saw Darcia, along with the Ghouls… Basdia and Zadiris, eate to join Simon and the others

They're here The real fighters with the strength of a B-class adventurer, or even higher, Rodriguez thought to himself, now absolutely certain that he would survive

The people who knew of Darcia began st theular sermons at the Communal Church, as the worker who sold food on Vida Street in the red-light district, and as the mother of Vandalieu

“Well, if it isn't Darcidono You are not an adventurer, so there is no need for you to risk your life here…” said Isaac

“I have many friends in this city, and my son has not returned yet And I was quite proficient in disposing of irls will be helpingtowards Basdia and Zadiris

“We're Van's familiars, after all,” said Basdia