Volume 8, Chapter 12 – The Rioting Undead

A few days later.

The audience hall in Blossom was unusually busy today. Countless officials and nobles had gathered, and every single one of them—including Yelido, seated high on the throne—wore expressions of shock and uncertainty. Deeply furrowed brows were filled with anxiety, as if some great calamity was imminent.

The official responsible for delivering the report paused, the letter in his hand trembling slightly.

“Above is the battle report from the south.”

The moment he finished, the audience hall erupted into chaos like a boiling pot. Countless people whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing toward Yelido on the throne.

The reason was simple. The battle report from the southern border contained two main points.

First, the undead within the Netherworld had suddenly begun pressing toward Silvar in an organized manner. Ignoring the vigorous vitality of the height of summer, they split into multiple forces, attacking through waterways and mountain paths never used in previous years. In Baron Yarua’s territory, located on the plain, an unprecedented undead army numbering in the hundreds of thousands had been observed.

Among them were not only the weakest skeleton soldiers and necromancers, but even skeleton whales serving as mounts, ridden by several undead archmages ranging from Fourth to Sixth Rank. Additionally, there were bone dragons, death wyvern bats, nightmare knights, and vengeful spirits. In the past, the appearance of even one such creature warranted vigilance. Now, they appeared in organized formations, as if throwing caution to the wind.

Such a force was enough to sweep through the vast majority of countries on the World Tree Continent. Only Silvar and the emerging human empire at the continent’s westernmost edge could possibly contend with it. But the truth was, even Silvar would have to commit its entire strength to fight such a war. And even if Silvar emerged victorious, its national power would plummet. There would be no benefit to Silvar whatsoever.

The second point in the report was even more disheartening.

The undead army that had appeared at the border wasn’t attacking. Instead, they were constructing defensive fortifications on the spot. Such social behavior was completely beyond the capabilities of ordinary undead. Clearly, there were intelligent, powerful undead behind this, commanding the weaker ones.

In past years, the elves had been able to continuously encroach upon Netherworld territory precisely because the undead lacked intelligence. They couldn’t form organizations like the elves or use complex tools to build defenses. If the undead started constructing walls and setting traps like humans, they would become extremely troublesome, tipping the originally balanced scales in favor of the undead.

Furthermore, the elves guarding the border hadn’t just stood by watching the undead erect defenses. They chose to attack at noon, the time when vitality was at its peak. But in their engagements with the undead archmages and nightmare knights, they received a shocking message: the Queen of the Kingdom of Death had ordered a search for someone named Dofilia. If the elf kingdom could find and hand over this woman named Dofilia, the undead would withdraw back to the Netherworld. Otherwise, they would come in and search themselves.

This was a blatant scheme.

Who in Blossom didn’t know Dofilia? The First Princess of Silvar, now the Crown Princess, the future Elf Queen. The undead might as well have been using their boots to slap the elves’ faces. Handing over the First Princess would make the elf kingdom lose all face. Not handing her over would plunge the elf kingdom into an endless war of mutual annihilation with the undead, shifting the pressure onto the First Princess. Such malicious intent made one wonder if these were truly undead at all.

Besides, the very existence of a “Queen of the Kingdom of Death” was a fabricated legend. Who would take a legend as fact?

“We absolutely cannot hand over Her Highness the First Princess! This is merely a scheme of the undead. If we hand over Her Highness today, tomorrow they will demand more. Silvar has no cowards. I am willing to fight the undead to the death!”

The first to step forward was a young man named Gwyn, the second son of the Greyan family, brother to Godley. Although Godley’s rebellion had implicated the Greyan family, Gwyn had performed well—assisting Erin Slate, the Captain of the Imperial Guard, in capturing remnants of the rebels. Moreover, the Greyan family was among the founding meritorious official families. As a result, Gwyn was only stripped of his title and assigned to a minor post, not subjected to further purge.

It was worth noting that although Gwyn and Godley were brothers, they were polar opposites. Godley was arrogant and overbearing; Gwyn was impartial and gentle. General Greyan had originally intended to pass the family headship to Gwyn. Coupled with Erin Slate’s recognition of Gwyn’s work ability, Fia had a somewhat positive impression of Gwyn—though Fia was still in Cold Night and hadn’t returned to Silvar.

With the faction of Prince Schain eliminated, nearly all the officials in the audience hall belonged to Fia’s camp. Naturally, they would never agree to the undead’s demand to hand her over.

Following Gwyn, other nobles quickly cupped their hands and emphasized to Yelido their requests not to hand over Fia. This soon evolved into offering suggestions and strategies on how to confront the undead.

And this suited Yelido’s intentions perfectly. If there was one person in Blossom who least wanted to hand over Fia, it was Yelido himself. Who was Fia? She was his most beloved daughter. Even if Fia herself agreed to go to the Netherworld, he would not permit it. This had nothing to do with how strong Fia was—a father simply does not allow his daughter to walk into danger. Now that everyone in the audience hall shared his opinion, he was naturally overjoyed.

“Enough. I understand your thoughts. Dofi is the nation’s Crown Princess. Handing her over would be tantamount to disregarding me entirely. From now on, anyone who suggests handing over Dofi will be charged with treason.”

With a wave of Yelido’s hand, a dusty yellow map of Silvar’s southern border appeared before him.

“Someone, mark the undead’s troop dispositions on this map. Let all ministers speak freely and jointly discuss a great plan to deal with the undead.”

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With Yelido’s impetus, everyone in the audience hall began discussing plans to counter the undead. A key point of discussion was the creations of the Witch Sanctuary—those Artifact vehicles that could transport one hundred thousand soldiers across hundreds of kilometers in a single night. Even in this world full of magic, such things were astounding.

◇

Cold Night, Fire Cat Territory Hunting Grounds.

In a modest courtyard, Fia and her group were sitting in a stone pavilion by a stream, enjoying the cool air. Setting aside the public security issues, Cold Night was undeniably a summer resort. Especially the Fire Cat territory in southern Cold Night, with its many mountains and proximity to the sea, was particularly cool. To put a number on it, some inland areas of Silvar were now approaching 38°C, while the Hunting Grounds where Nola lived were only a bare 29°C, requiring a thin blanket at night.

As for what everyone was doing: the younger members were napping on the pavilion’s benches. Anastasia was playing a board game with Claire. Fia sat nearby studying magic. The only one with nothing to do was Nola.

—Estelle had requested to return to Oro territory on the third day after coming back to the Hunting Grounds. As Countess of Oro, she had countless tasks to handle. While she could, like other nobles, dump all her work on subordinates and simply enjoy herself, she wasn’t that kind of incompetent person. Moreover, she deeply detested such nobles.

It was worth mentioning that because Fia had learned numerous spells, enhanced by [Hyper-computation], and wanted to accelerate Oro territory’s development so Estelle could relax sooner, she had used her magic to improve Oro’s soil quality and accelerate crop growth when sending Estelle home. This caused crops that should have been harvested in late autumn to mature immediately. At the same time, she cleared out the large monsters infesting the western part of Oro territory. The chain reaction of these actions, however, ended up giving Estelle a lot more work.

For example, July and August were normally the slack farming season. During this time, farm laborers would usually go to towns to work as temporary help for the wealthy. But the premature crop maturation turned the slack season into a busy farming season. Farmers couldn’t find enough people to help harvest wheat, and soldiers in the territory’s army also had to return home to help with the harvest, creating an acute labor shortage in Oro territory.

Furthermore, eliminating the large monsters in the west disrupted the forest’s ecological balance. The territories of the remaining monsters shifted constantly, and countless frightened monsters fled the forest. This forced Estelle to divert more soldiers to protect the territory’s people, further exacerbating the severe labor shortage.

That said, while these things kept Estelle busy, she was also genuinely pleased. The labor shortage was a temporary dilemma. Fia’s help would greatly benefit the future. Increased soil fertility would allow another planting season between summer and winter. Even crops like hemp, used only for making rope and lamp wicks, could increase income better than leaving land fallow.

The monster elimination needed no elaboration. More powerful monsters occupying the deep forest would have driven powerful creatures to the forest’s edge, posing great danger to passing merchants and those seeking herbs or hunting monsters. With the more powerful monsters gone, though the forest would be chaotic for a while, once things settled down, the danger level would be much lower than before, allowing for increased development budget.

As for the immediate labor shortage, Estelle planned to cooperate with nobles in neighboring territories. She would have people from their territories, currently in the slack season, come help harvest wheat. When autumn arrived and they entered their busy season, she would send people to help them, mutually filling the vacancies.

“Hmm~ hmm~”

Humming softly, Nola, who was peeling fruit, curved her cat tail into a question mark. When the spiraling peel fell into the fruit bowl, an apple the size of a fist, skinless, appeared in her hand. She washed it, cut it into pieces, inserted forks, and brought it to Fia, who was memorizing magic incantations.

Fia naturally noticed Nola’s movements. She moved her book aside, only to find Nola supporting her chin with both hands, leaning in to observe her face.

It’s amazing. At first, she wanted to kill me with her blazing greatsword. Now she’s this cute.

Fia forked a piece of apple and put it in her mouth, finding Nola amusing.

“If your clansmen saw you like this, wouldn’t you lose all face?”

“That depends on whether their fists are hard enough. In Cold Night, that’s all that matters. Besides, only gentle, virtuous wives earn people’s respect. If I didn’t do well enough, they’d say I should learn more.”

Nola pouted, looking unbothered.

Though this wasn’t the first time in the past few days, hearing the word “wife” spoken publicly still embarrassed Fia—especially with Claire and Anastasia playing chess nearby.

Fia quickly glanced at the two out of the corner of her eye. Fortunately, both were focused on the game and not looking her way. She suppressed her blush and used [Telekinesis] to control a pen, writing a line on paper.

It read: 「I thought you’d say you were the husband and I was the wife.」

Nola’s expression froze. Her cheeks reddened. But she couldn’t write, so she cautiously watched Claire and Anastasia while covering her mouth with her hand and whispering.

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“I wouldn’t dare hope for that. You’re going to be the Elf Queen… Besides, having me as your knight, with you as the princess—that makes me happy too.”

Knight and princess? Nola has such a romantic side.

Fia paused, then smiled and continued writing on the paper.

「Then shouldn’t there be an investiture ceremony? You could kneel, and I’d place a sword on your shoulder, knighting you Grand General Nola.」

“Though that sounds cool, doesn’t being a knight put more distance between us than being a fiancée?”

Nola muttered unhappily under her breath.

For some reason, the word “wife-knight” suddenly popped into Fia’s head.

There’s definitely something wrong with that.

But standing together, Nola with her blazing greatsword on her back did indeed look more like a knight.

Fia stopped writing on the paper. Nola was born in Cold Night, which prized martial force, and hadn’t received a proper education. Not only could she not write, she even had difficulty reading. Speaking directly was friendlier for Nola.

“Come to think of it, has Ruth sought you out recently, Nola?”

“No. The goddess said she’s very busy, and moving around freely might cause living things nearby to turn undead, so she hasn’t come to me. But there was a lot going on in the territory recently. Though I shouldn’t say this, the truth is, if the goddess had come then, I might not have been able to entertain her properly anyway.”

“Recently, we finally finished clearing out the remnants of the Chazo faction hiding in the deep mountains. From now on, we just need to slowly absorb those tribes to the west, let them know the king has changed from Chazo to Tilulu. Then we can shift focus to relocating the capital. That’s work to be completed within three years, so for now, I have some free time.”

“Was that Nola’s idea?”

“Of course not. It was something Ying and Tilulu worked out together. I’m not good at complicated things. I just go where I’m needed. If it were up to me, I’d probably just declare this the new royal capital, get crowned as queen first, and then fight anyone who disagreed. If you’re already the one with the strongest fist, wouldn’t dragging the coronation out for three years until every tribe sends an envoy be completely unnecessary?”

“…That’s so you.”

Fia broke out in a cold sweat. If Nola were to teach children, they’d definitely turn out to be as dense as she was. Once Nola had some free time, she really should send her to Blossom to learn some basic knowledge.

Sensing Fia’s sarcasm, Nola raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed.

“What’s with that? This is just how things are done in Cold Night.”

“Sending envoys from every tribe is to strengthen the image of the king in their hearts. A king whose decrees can’t even leave the royal capital, like Chazo, is no different from a mountain bandit chieftain.”

“But hasn’t Cold Night always been like that? Take my Fire Cat territory. As long as I’m strong, the Water Cats, Grass Cats, and Charm Cats will actively come to me and pledge themselves to us.”

“When the territory is small, that’s fine. But when it gets big, all sorts of problems pile up and eventually become a burden that crushes a huge empire. You’ll understand someday, Nola.”

“I’ll worry about it then.”

Nola cheerfully kicked the problem down the road to her future self.

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Seeming to remember something, she suddenly straightened her back, brought her nose close to Fia’s sleeve, and sniffed lightly, looking curious.

“What is it?”

“Still no smell of Anastasia on you.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing her name, Anastasia quietly glanced over. But Nola, unaware of the stares from Anastasia and Claire, continued craning her neck, searching for Anastasia’s scent on Fia as she spoke.

“I thought Fia would be spending the night with Anastasia by now.”

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“Y-your Highness is right.”

Fia and Anastasia both explained awkwardly.

It wasn’t that the two were lying. Though they had confirmed their feelings, both felt that taking the step to physical intimacy was still too early. For Fia, while she had crossed that threshold, she hadn’t fully crossed it. She conservatively believed they should wait until after the wedding for that sort of thing.

As for Anastasia, she was already overjoyed that Claire had accepted her insertion into the relationship. Pushing things further would make her unable to face Claire—even though Claire probably wouldn’t say anything.

“Damn it. What am I supposed to do, then?”

Nola clicked her tongue.

Just as Fia was about to ask further, a Charm Cat dressed in cool attire entered the stone pavilion. Seeing Fia present, the Charm Cat’s expression visibly stiffened for a moment. She hesitated, stammering, afraid to speak.

Nola sat up straight, resuming a serious expression.

“Fia isn’t an outsider. No need to hold back. Tell us, what happened?”

“Well… The snakefolk in the north sent word. They’ve discovered undead from the Netherworld entering their territory, constantly loitering, as if searching for something.”

“In summer? Have the undead in the Netherworld gone mad?”

Hearing this, Nola was still quite calm. Cold Night also bordered the Netherworld. But because Cold Night’s land was barren—even the undead looked down on it—undead rarely entered Cold Night.

She followed up.

“That’s it?”

The Charm Cat hesitated.

“No… They reported at least ten thousand skeletons, mixed with bone dragons and vengeful spirits. Also, they said these undead passed by their cities without entering. Instead, they split into two groups and went around the city walls from both sides. By the time they sent someone to deliver the message, the undead had already moved further west.”

“What?”

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Nola’s expression finally shifted. Undead had an innate hatred for the living. For them to encounter the living and not attack was practically a miracle—like the sun rising in the west. Additionally, for the undead to deploy a force of over ten thousand including bone dragons and vengeful spirits was extremely rare. Bone dragons were Sixth-Rank undead, and vengeful spirits—terrifying undead formed from the collection of countless vengeful ghosts—were at least Sixth-Rank rare species.

She stood up, a faint pressure emanating from her entire body.

“No other news?”

“Also… also… that is…”

“What is it?”

Impatience crept into Nola’s tone. A messenger who hesitated and didn’t deliver the news all at once was derelict in duty.

The Charm Cat timidly swallowed.

“Also, the letter said what the undead are searching for. The person they’re looking for is named Dofilia. Though it didn’t specify if it’s an elf…”

But who else in this world could be named Dofilia?

“Is this true?”

“There’s the seal of Chief Woz on the envelope. It’s hard to fake. Lady Ying has already sent someone back to confirm. Also, Lady Ying said we absolutely cannot allow the undead to enter the interior. Just because they’re not harming anyone now doesn’t mean they won’t later. So she’s mobilizing the army and wants you to join the campaign.”

“The undead are looking for me? This makes no sense…”

As a bystander, Fia couldn’t possibly miss this news. She stood up, her expression showing more confusion than seriousness. No matter how many undead, they wouldn’t be a match for her. The key was why they wanted to find her. Was the Sovereign meddling? Or the Absolute Evil?

“If they’re targeting Your Highness, it’s definitely not just in Cold Night. Your Highness, we need to return immediately. Summer is when defenses are weakest. If the undead breach Baron Yarua’s defense line now, they’ll have a straight shot to the Silvar heartland. Once we confirm the country is safe, we can regroup with Miss Nola.”

“Mm.”

And today just happens to be the day the Antler Chaos has the teleportation ritual ready for going underground. Why does everything have to pile up on the same day and come for me?

Fia clicked her tongue hard. She looked at Nola.

“Nola is here alone. Will you be alright?”

“If I have problems, I can ask the goddess for help. You’re Silvar’s First Princess. Take care of Silvar first.”

“Once I confirm Silvar is safe, I’ll come back for you.”

“Mm.”

The situation was urgent. Fia woke Liti and Milu, who were still sleeping, and immediately led everyone in activating teleportation magic—their target wasn’t Blossom, but Baron Yarua’s territory on the front lines. If the undead attacked Silvar, that was the fortress that would bear the brunt.