Chapter 235 (1/2)

Death Mage 235 – The heroes and heroic spirits battling deep underground

The first battle to break out around the city of Morksi was the grassy field where the Zo secretly supported by Vandalieu

The second battle to break out was not where Miles was, the one in the forest where the eon that Gufadgarn had created as a replica of Morksi

The Trolls that had been showered in the flesh of the old woion, had been forcibly teleported into the Dungeon by the special ability of Jack, one of Legion's personalities

Jack, who had been given the codenain, was a user of li those he touched without opening a hole in space

But Jack's role had been to transport enemies, such as the Trolls, who intended to harainst and dispose of them

The two Trolls let out surprised and confused grunts as they suddenly found themselves in an unfamiliar place

“If you are looking for your companion, then I ah-pitched voice

The owner of this voice was the one in charge of disposing of these enemies

The Trolls noticed that the brutally slaughtered corpse of their round, and howled in terror as they looked up at the owner of the high-pitched voice

Standing on a roof looking down at the trolls was Juliana, the leader and co the enemies in here

“All forces, raise your weapons! Those who can use martial skills, use them, and fire!” she commanded

Juliana's coh-pitched, spirited shout frohts who had been under her command and the other women who had been there when Juliana met her terrible fate; they had now been reincarnated as half-Minotaurs

They fired their crossbows and threw their spears, axes and boulders down at the Trolls, causing them to shout out loud in alarm

Trolls were Rank 5 and possessed fairly low intelligence But they were th as well as a ravenous hunger for flesh, astounding vitality and a regenerative ability that allowed theed to immediately remove the weapon

Thus, they were considered to be the most difficult demi-human-type monsters to defeat

But even that toughness wouldn't allow the weapons of Juliana and her several dozen companions

“'Strong Throw!'”

“'Strong Bow!'”

Though they had only grown to the point where they still appeared to be less than ten years of age, all of theth' Skill, and a considerable nuained the ability to use the Skills that they were able to use in their previous lives

And Juliana also possessed the 'Coht to her in lessons with Kanako and Zadiris… or rather, the 'Coordination' Skill And then there were the benefits of Vandalieu's guidance and 'Super Strengthen Subordinates'

The icing on the cake was the layout of the battlefield

The Trolls had been transported to a courtyard-like spot surrounded by buildings on all four sides, with nowhere for them to run Meanwhile, Juliana and her cos' roofs, where even the towering Trolls' hands could not reach

There were no ledges for the Trolls to attes' walls, and even if there were, it would have been i showered in the rain of arrows and throeapons

The Trolls, screa that there was nowhere for them to escape, decided to try and break open a hole in the buildings themselves

But naturally, this was is appeared to be made of mere stone and wood, but they were actually eons Vandalieu's 'Hollow Cannon' ht have been able to destroy them, but the Trolls let out confused noises as their clubs broke rather than the buildings

And within less than a enerative ability unable to withstand the continuous attacks

The half-Minotaur girls cheered in victory

“We have done it, Princess!”

“We are victorious!”

Defeating three Rank 5 Trolls was quite an achieve that they were excited

But Juliana raised her voice, causing them to fall silent

“Everyone, called to defeat Rank 5 Trolls in our previous lives, and we havevarious forle injury, let alone any casualties This can certainly be considered to be a great victory,” Juliana said, acknowledging their achievement “However, to our lord in this life, Vandalieu-saer knights that serve Duke Alcre Vandalieu-sahts, be sure to understand that we do not have ti a small victory such as this!”

The half-Minotaurs were taken aback by Juliana's remonstration and the tension that had dissolved after the victory returned once more

“… Jack doesn't think you have to be that uptight,” said Jack, feeling a little uncomfortable

Fanatics are scary, he thought, failing to realize that Legion were also fanatics

“Jack-san, please bring us the next monster!” said Juliana

“… Ah, you're not listening to Jack, are you,” Jack sighed “By the hat are hts? Do Jack and the others have to becohts too?”

“'Magical girl knights' refers to knights who are oal, I will leave that decision up to you,” Juliana replied “Please bring us our next prey”

“Jack isn't quite convinced, but alright Hitomi-chan told me that I shouldn't mention that topic tooanother dere or a Minotaur”

“A Minotaur?! Everyone, a Minotaur is cohter it! Obliterate it!” Juliana shouted

“SLAUGHTER! OBLITERATE!” the other half-Minotaurs shouted back in unison

Knights are scary, Jack thought as he looked up at Juliana and the others, but he quickly focused his consciousness on another piece of flesh in order to transport their next prey

And inside a Dungeon a little far away from Juliana and her co hard to exterminate monsters

“'Rushi+ng Charge!'” shouted Kachia

She pierced the heart of an Ogre General with her sword and then finished it off by decapitating it

“I wanted to go further down, too… Well, I do understand that it's not good to try and do ed the fangs and front claws of the Thunder Liger that Jack had just transported here “'Gale Force Enchantment!' 'Triple Thrust!'”

With her body's ic, her rapid thrusts tore into the Liger's vital organs, ending its life

“Still… why are only these sht here?!” she shouted in a dissatisfied tone

Kachia, originally fro shi+eld-nation, was once a female adventurer who had been held captive in a noble Orc settle rescued

“Well, that's because thesent to the newly-created floor below,” said Kasie in the Hartner Duchy

“We have to break down the enemies' numbers for now,” said Fester

“And since the stronger enemies have the city's people's attention, it would be a bad idea to teleport them,” added Zeno

The four of theht here froht here A De Familiar in Talosheim had called out to Kasiarn had opened a gate in space connected to this Dungeon

Their role was to dispose of the ht to them in order to adjust the size of the monster horde as needed

Monsters that ee would advance on hule horde However, they would be completely disordered, with no proper leader

In sore Generals and Mountain Giant Chiefs would command the weaker individuals of their own races But those chains of command would only apply to their own races; they did not command monsters of other races

During athe simple instinct that told them to harm humans

Thus, the monster horde would break apart over ti apart due to differences in how fast eachdirections in order to move past monsters that were in front of them

Thus, the horde of lethe city The ht ahead towards the front gate where Darcia and the others aiting

But it was possible that the few dozens of monsters that had broken away froh the walls and enter the city Considering the abilities of Darcia and those ith her, they would be able to deal with it, but… because they needed to hide their true strength, they would be one step behind

That hy Legion and Gufadgarn were transporting the monsters that had broken away froeon for Kachia, Kasim and some others to exterminate

“Well, like I said, I do understand that we'd be in trouble if ere sent ainst, but… Ah, when this is over, et a collar and be taken outside!” Kachia said in frustration as she cut down a Lesser Demon that had appeared in front of her “The official story is that I' a D-class adventurer fro shi+eld-nation would have spread I'm a Ghoul now, so it'll be fine!”

“Ah, I want to go with you! Don't you think it would be fun to take Varbie and Jadal to walk through the city?!” said Bilde, having just defeated a Cyclone Bull with earth-attribute ic

“Bilde, that sounds fun, but… that would probably give Vandalieu another strange title,” said Kachia, finding herself unable to agree with this idea as she i Vandalieu 'Papa' as they walked through the streets

“Ah, I'm jealous We've been expelled from the Adventurers' Guild in the Hartner Duchy, so it's hard for us to go out into the outside world!” said Fester in envy of the Ghouls

“Fester, there isn't anything good that would co out there, is there? I ah,” said Kasim

“I am a little interested in this city that is in a country ruled by humans, but… it's still early for that,” said Gaol, a warrior of the E sickle-ended limbs

“Walking around with Ghouls ht make just a little commotion, but Eo out,” said the Zombie hero Gerda

Indeed, Empusas were considered to beonly in ancient documents And in hue that Undead like Gerda were impossible to tame

If Vandalieu took thereat uproar no matter how hard he tried to insist that he had tamed them

“And we'd need to be careful to not let anything slip fro inside the Boundary Mountain Range is a secret, not just Taloshei out o into the city”

“Y-you're right!” Zeno and Gerda said in unison

“What?! Hey, wait a second, do you all really think that my mouth is so loose?!” shouted Fester

“Consider it to be a result of your everyday actions,” said Kasiic Stones before the next monsters come”

The conversation was rather carefree, considering the bloody scene that it was taking place in

In a separate place, Black Goblins were leaping around at incredible speed, breaking the commonly-accepted concept of assassination by assassinating the Ogres froisa, dressed in a maid uniform, snapped the neck of a rhinoceros while the Anubises and Orcuses pulverized Hill Giants and Rock Giants into tiny pieces

But even with their strength, there were some monsters in the horde that they could not defeat with ease

The plan was for such monsters, which required soarn had added to the Dungeon These were to be taken care of by individuals whose strength exceeded that of Kasim and the others

However, since Kasim and the others were already beyond the level of a B-class adventurer, this hadn't been necessary for the eon of Trials

“These ones seeht them here,” said Jack's voice

In the same moment, a human man and woman appeared

The ue and looked around in confusion “This is Legion… Jack!”

“Where is this place?!” the woman shouted

The pair immediately understood what had happened to thements attached to their shoes as they looked around at their surroundings

But there was no light on this floor; it was enveloped in co the bodies of hu with their eyes

Thus, they were searching their surroundings for the presence of enemies They were the heroic spirits who had been in the saroup as the 'Rapid Wind Demon Cutter' Kizelbyne Even with the te in, they would be able to fight considerably well in the darkness

What a blunder… Where is the eneht to herself in frustration From e've heard from the commander, Jack's ability shouldn't allow him to choose his teleportation location freely!

His friends should definitely be somewhere close, the man told himself

The heroic spirits, including these two, had been inforhth Guidance froin

Not only what abilities they possessed, but the appearances they had in their previous lives as well just in case According to Hajiion had still been a ht it possible that they would gain the ability to transform into the forms they had in their previous lives

They were a e for thee their appearance

If the head lying on the floor of the forest had been Valkyrie's, the heroic spiritsteleported

But Legion hadn't seen through Fitun and the heroic spirits' plan They had certainly considered the possibility that Hajime would inform the Flame Blades and Gordon about the appearance of all of their members, with the exception of Shade and Izanami

But they hadn't expected Fitun and his heroic spirits to create a connection with his Dungeon through space-attribute er the lives of the people in Morksi that included their own believers

They had only anticipated that Hajime would strike at a time where Vandalieu was outside the city

In preparation for that anticipated scenario, Legion had absorbed the corpses of the villagers who had been massacred by the fanatical cultists of Tubereese, the evil God of wicked blood, and taken the forers to keep watch in the area around the city They had disguised theGoblins

More than half of the unfaade had noticed were Legion And when the ion who had acted in self-sacrifice to help the ones ere late to escape… As they were nothing more than clones separated from the main body, they couldn't die, and even if a clone were to be struck by a Troll, nothing would happen other than a piece of flesh flying off and being replaced by new, rapidly-regenerating flesh

Legion had no bones or organs; they were made entirely of flesh

And as Valkyrie and the others were transporting the monsters that had stepped on or sed soeon, some individuals who appeared to these adventurers had arrived

They had shown no fear or panic, nor had they shown any will to rush to defend the city fro threat From their conversation, it seemed that they intended to attack the city On top of that, their movements and equipment showed that they were considerably skilled

That hy Jack had decided that these were powerful foes and teleported theeon

His decision had not been wrong

In the pitch-black space, there was a sudden flash of light The nized what it was

“What?!” he shouted “That's Braham! If I recall, he was supposed to be on the east side of the city –”

“Yeah, that's right I heard that the 'Moonlight Sword-flash' Brahahtered an eneht, but… now, he's nothing ry voice echoing from the depths of the darkness

The man and wos of shock

“It can't be helped that his appearance is different After all, it seems that he's taken over the body of someone else… one of his own believers,” said a female voice

The pair in the darkness couldn't help but to take a step backwards

Although this second voice was gentler than the deep one that had spoken first, it had e to it

“Both of you, stay calirl

This allowed the pair to figure out the identities of the voices' owners

The 'Sword King' Borkus, the 'Saint of Healing' Jeena and the 'Tiny Genius' Zandia! they thought to themselves

The heroic spirits had a different sense of time from that of mortals It was easy for them to realize that the Undead titan swords shi+eld-nation's expedition army, buried the 'Green Wind Spear' Riley who had been one of the Five-colored Blades, and appeared in the former Scylla territory was an class adventurer in Talosheim, the city that once had friendly diplomatic relations with the Hartner Duchy

With that being the case, it was also possible for theirl ith him

And therefore, there was only one choice available to them

“'Heroic Spirit Transfor Evil Club Strike!'”

“'Heroic Spirit Transfor Wind Beast assault!'”

The pair… the 'Fortress Wall Trae' Yahannah, decided to abandon their plan and devote everything they had to defeating Borkus and his companions

Even if they were to try to run away and try to escape from this place, with their current bodies that only had the capabilities of a B-class adventurer, they would be killed in an instant, and that would be the end of it With that being the case, they had no choice but to fight with everything they had to chip away at Vandalieu's forces, even at the cost of these bodies

The moment they used 'Heroic Spirit Transformation,' the two of thelow faintly afterwards, illu Borkus and Jeena Woren and the beast created by Yahannah's spell charged in

Jeena gave a grunt as she blocked the 'Castle-razing Evil Club Strike' of Woren, who had been strengthened by Yahannah's enchantment and his own 'Armor Technique,' with her enormous shi+eld “I like your spirit, at least!”

But she was forced back a considerable distance; she hadn't been able to completely absorb the impact of thean entire castle without leaving so le piece of rubble behind

“If it's so up, you won't hesitate, huh?!” roared Borkus,it back with his black greatsword

Ignoring the blazing flaht doards him, struck the beast's head with the hilt of his weapon and kicked the re corpse to the side

“My Mana, take for, take the for Fla different beasts before Borkus could reach her

Borkus clicked his tongue and stopped trying to close in on her for now

It was clear that Yahannah's goal was to buy time until Woren defeated Jeena and returned to her side, but it was also clear that if Borkus abandoned Zandia, she would be left facing a horde of ical beasts

But Yahannah had su and flames for a different purpose

If we're at least visible fro us and Braham, there are over ten of us who have been teleported here and forced to fight We can win if we ht to herself

With the illumination provided by the beasts, she nohat kind of situation she and her allies were in

Other heroic spirits had also used 'Heroic Spirit Transforainst Vandalieu's allies It was astounding that Vandalieu's allies were holding their own and not being overwhelinal strength But Yahannah didn't consider this to be a disadvantageous situation

She believed that if she and Woren could group up with the other heroic spirits and fought together in a coordinated manner, they would be able to defeat Vandalieu'sforces

But that thought was too optimistic

“'Windrun!' Now, Borkus!” said Zandia

“You got it! Here I coainst the horde of beasts

He leapt into the air in a light-footed way that one would never expect fro in their way, the beasts obeyed the coiven to theed towards Zandia

In exchange, Borkus dashed through the air with the help of Zandia's wind-attribute spell, closing the gap and swinging his sword at Yahannah

“'Dragon Slayer!'” he roared

“L-'Lightning God Wall!'” Yahannah shouted hastily

Borkus's signature ical barrier, and his mouth twisted in a frustrated expression, but also one that showed that he was enjoying himself He shared Fitun and his servants' enjoyment of battle

“You're the first one to stop this attack with ic alone! Not bad for a fiend, are you!” he said with a smile

I heard from Commander that Vandalieu is naïve, but to think that soer in order to strike at the source of the threat But things won't go so well for the incantations

She was confident that her ical beasts would run Zandia down and defeat her

The 'Tiny Genius' Zandia was a level below Borkus and Jeena And Yahannah had never heard anything that suggested that she had any skill in close-quarters combat Even if she cast multiple spells in quick succession with 'Chant Revocation,' it was unlikely that she would be able to defeat all of the beasts

“Transforo, Your Majesty-kun!” Zandia shouted

“Okay,” said Vandalieu's voice

Yahannah's expectations were immediately betrayed

In response to the word 'transform,' the staff Zandia had raised into the air had split apart and changed for that rese that could only be described as a dark light was rising fro her