Volume 9, Chapter 18 – The Forsaken Royal Capital

Conrad City, located in the southwestern part of the Duchy of Chloe—now known as the City of the Dead by the duchy’s people—was an ancient city that had once served as a southern transportation hub for the Hels Kingdom. Not only did a canal flow through it, but its location was also extremely strategic. Countless people considered it a vital military stronghold. Hundreds of years ago, a general of the Kingdom claimed that if a few magic cannons were mounted here, the Empire’s army would not dare to come within an inch.

History did indeed prove the general’s words. The people of Conrad City had once used the terrain to defeat an enemy several times their size. Ironically, however, their cannons were turned on the very kingdom of the general who had said those words. The Duchy of Chloe, instigated by the Norta Empire, separated from the Hels Kingdom.

However, Conrad City, once at the height of its prosperity, had now become a city of the dead, forbidden to the living and surrounded by death. Ten years ago, an unknown catastrophe—perhaps a powerful necromancer had used a wide-area conversion spell, or perhaps the Demon Lord had laid down a curse—in less than a week, everyone in the city, including more than three-quarters of the Duchy of Chloe’s royal family, perished. They were reduced to mindless undead, acting only on instinct.

At the time, dealing with these tens of thousands of undead would have required a large number of soldiers and powerful adventurers. The Duchy of Chloe simply could not afford this colossal expense. Thus, the king at the time had no choice but to abandon the dead city and move the royal capital to its current location, the Ducal Capital of Chloe. The undead within the city were left to their own devices, to be dealt with later when the nation became more prosperous.

“So this is the city of the undead…”

Standing before an ancient, heavily weathered city gate, Yisi and her group looked up at the words “Conrad City” carved into the wall. Due to years of disrepair, the characters were already blurred and indistinct. The sky was also covered in a gray, already materialized aura of death. Oppression and a bone-chilling cold assailed them from all directions, like living things.

“There’s not a single sound.”

“It’s cold.”

Laxy answered Mary and Tiffany’s comments.

“That is the aura of the undead. Only in a place where a large number of undead are gathered will you feel this chilling cold. It’s not that the weather is actually colder, but a manifestation of life force being stripped away.”

“Life force being stripped away?” Edith, standing beside Yisi, frowned. “Doesn’t that mean it’s dangerous to even be near here?”

“No, it’s fine as long as you don’t stay in this kind of place for a long time. The more magical power one has, the less they are affected. My Lord, shall I go in and take a look first?”

At this, Laxy spread her huge, pure-white wings, preparing to fly directly over the wall—breaking down the gate would cause the undead inside to rush out.

“Wait, it’s dangerous to go in just like that.” Stopping Laxy, Lin skillfully took out a rope with a grappling hook. “Although angels don’t have ‘life force’ in that sense, and the undead won’t attack an angel on sight, that’s only if the angel isn’t moving. If it’s flying in the sky, even if it’s an inanimate object, the undead will rush at it like dogs that have scented meat. So, we do this.”

Swinging the grappling hook, Lin cast [Strength Boost] on herself, then fiercely threw the hook towards a groove in the city wall. It was worth noting that even though there was no one else around, Lin still did not remove her mask. Yisi guessed it was probably because her own companions were still present.

Pulling the rope hard to confirm it was secure, Lin easily climbed the wall and waved to Yisi’s group below.

“Come on up.”

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“Alright. Laxy, you and Camilla go up first. I’ll stay down here and send Tiffany up.”

Tiffany’s physical abilities were poor; she even had to be carried when walking long distances. Climbing a city wall was too difficult for her.

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Okay, Onee-sama.”

Soon, the group had all ascended the city wall.

Then, they were stunned by the scene before them.

A city in ruins.

A city shrouded in gray, dense fog, filled with collapsed walls and broken ramparts. The dilapidated streets were teeming with all kinds of undead, from the lowest-level Zombies and Skeleton Warriors to the slightly more troublesome Wraiths and Necromancers. Even high-tier undead creatures like Reapers and Nightmare Knights could be glimpsed in the deeper fog. On average, dealing with a single Reaper between levels 30 and 40 would require at least two well-equipped, hundred-man teams of soldiers with a full range of professions. For a Nightmare Knight, which was physically stronger and could use necromancy, an additional team would be needed.

Gripping Gungnir, Edith’s expression was not pleasant. Faced with such numbers, even she felt immense pressure. A Nightmare Knight was at least level 40. Without Laxy, even if everyone in the party attacked together, they would be no match for it.

“No wonder the Duchy of Chloe can’t handle these undead. The appearance of a Nightmare Knight means there are at least ten thousand of them, and mixed in are hundreds of Necromancers. If someone could command them, they could completely sweep through all the small countries caught between the Empire and the Kingdom.”

“That’s if someone could command them. Just as there’s a limit to a vampire’s thralls, there’s also a limit to the number of undead a necromancer can control. The more powerful the undead, the harder they are to control. To control a legion-sized army of undead, I’m afraid only the Demon Lord could do that.”

Taking her scythe, which was taller than a person, in hand, Lin took a deep breath.

“I’ve brought you here. Now I’m going to do my own thing.”

“Aren’t you going to observe the surroundings a bit more?”

“This isn’t my first time h—Above!”

Her voice suddenly turned sharp. Before anyone else had noticed, a flying dragon, its body nothing but a skeleton, was quietly diving at them.

An undead Wyvern.

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Just by slamming its tough body into the city wall, it could create a huge breach.

“Laxy, take the others down! I’ll handle the wall!”

“Yes!”

“Master, Ghouls are climbing up the wall from below!”

“Camilla, can you burn them with fire?”

Although Ghouls were weak monsters that even a common soldier could take on two at a time, their vast numbers and reckless ferocity could bring despair to anyone caught alone. What was worse, a bite from a Ghoul could easily lead to death from infection. Despite their weakness, they were the undead responsible for the most human casualties each year.

“Hey, isn’t Camilla an ice-magic caster? Suddenly asking her to use fire magic is too unreasonable!”

“□□——[Fireball].”

The moment Camilla finished her incantation, a human-head-sized fireball flew into the densest part of the Ghoul pack. Immediately, at least ten of the corpses were sent flying by the fiery explosion.

Nodding in satisfaction at her achievement, Camilla looked proud.

“Although I specialize in ice magic, ever since Onee-sama suggested I learn fire magic back in Gota City, I’ve been secretly practicing for two months.”

“Tsk.” Clicking her tongue at Camilla’s showboating, Edith turned her gaze to the diving Wyvern. “Mary!”

“I’m on it!”

The moment Edith stepped aside to make room, Mary, holding her shield with both hands, rushed out from behind her. Her chestnut hair floated up in all directions, tinted by a golden light shimmering on her body. The metal shield in her hands, larger than her own body, burst forth with a sun-like brilliance. If one were to look down from the sky at this moment, they would see that Mary’s shield had extended to twice its original size, the extra area composed entirely of projected magical power. Like an open parasol, it completely covered everyone standing behind her.

This was a shield that Yisi had improved.

Since Mary was completely unable to learn defensive or support magic, Yisi had added the [Spotlight Umbrella] spell to her original shield to compensate for her defensive shortcomings. A shield warrior had to protect not only herself but her teammates as well, and [Spotlight Umbrella] fit this requirement perfectly.

Although it had the drawback of needing to be exposed to the sun for a full day after three uses, its advantages were also obvious. [Spotlight Umbrella] was a Tier 3 light-element defensive spell, a realm Mary could not yet touch. As long as it wasn’t hit by a Tier 4 single-target spell, the defense would not be broken.

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Yisi had considered installing a spell with less obvious drawbacks, but the shield’s material determined its upper limit. Unlike trigger-activated items, which would activate on their own for anyone who met the conditions (such as being in danger), even someone with no magic, magic weapons that required active use would have level requirements if the materials used were too high-grade. Furthermore, she couldn’t sacrifice its defensive performance—a shield’s primary purpose was defense. If it couldn’t even do that, it was just a burden. Thus, Yisi had no choice but to select a spell with a glaring flaw.

In return, the effect was significant.

DONG!

It was not the sound of striking a bronze bell, but the dull thud of slamming into a mountain. After crashing into the [Spotlight Umbrella], the Wyvern that had dived from the sky instantly shattered into a pile of bone fragments, like an egg thrown against a wall.

Of course, this wasn’t because [Spotlight Umbrella] had an offensive property; it was simply because the Wyvern’s diving force was too great.

On the other side, as the Wyvern was dealt with, Tiffany and Refina joined the fight to help Camilla clear out the Ghouls. The Ghouls were moving incredibly fast, and many already had their hands on the top of the wall, their terrifying hisses sounding out continuously.

“Tiffany, support me with magic! Refina, you’re in charge of throwing any Ghouls that reach the top back down!”

“Leave it to me.”

Although Refina’s earth magic was not suited for combat on a wall, she was a close-quarters fighter who used gauntlets. In a contest of pure strength, the Ghouls were no match for her. Often, a Ghoul that merely brushed against her would be sent flying off the wall, as if hit by a speeding truck. After receiving the Dryad’s Nectar, Refina had already crossed the level 20 threshold.

Furthermore, the strength of the others had also significantly improved due to the Nectar. Camilla reached level 21, Mary and Refina both reached level 20, Tiffany was level 18, and Pepe had reached level 27.

“□□□——[Blessing of Potency].”

Holding her divine staff horizontally, Tiffany, her light-green twintails flying back, chanted the spell at a speed impossible for a human. A closer look would reveal that she was using the ‘Chain-Chant’ technique. Chain-chanting involved multiple magic casters chanting the same spell in unison, requiring perfect understanding and coordination. The effect was like twisting countless thin threads into a single, tough rope that was difficult to cut, combining everyone’s power to unleash the maximum effect from the minimum amount of magic. Thanks to her slime characteristics, Tiffany could perform this chain-chant all by herself once she mastered the method.

A moment after the multiple voices fell, three translucent magic circles floated up from Tiffany’s staff. Then, as she pointed her staff at Camilla, all three circles appeared at the tip of Camilla’s staff.

Camilla, already prepared, immediately unleashed her spell.

“□□□ □——[Wings of Molten Fire].”

Not one, but three appeared simultaneously. Under Tiffany’s [Blessing of Potency], Camilla’s spell had been replicated three times. Three giant butterflies, with bodies made of fire and wingspans of over five meters, lined up in front of Camilla. As she swung her staff down forcefully, the burning butterflies spread their wings to their fullest, then, like moths chasing a flame, flapped them violently and plunged fearlessly toward the dense horde of Ghouls on the wall.

It wasn’t the sound of burning, but three consecutive roars, like explosions. The three flame butterflies instantly sent the Ghouls they touched to hell. But this was only the beginning. Using the charred Ghouls as fuel, the high temperature quickly swept through the air. Fanned by the death-tinged breeze, the butterfly “corpses” erupted into a tidal wave of fire, roaring toward the city like a giant beast devouring the dead.

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“Refina, get back!”

“So hot!”

“Run!”

The voices of Camilla, Refina, and Tiffany rang out one after another. At the same time, Mary and Edith on the other side were also facing a problem.

“Miss Edith, the Wyvern is reassembling!”

“I know. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be called undead. You either purify them with holy magic, or… you send them on their way, like this.”

Infusing Gungnir with magic, Edith slit her finger with a small knife, letting her blood drip onto the spear’s tip. The instant it touched the blood, Gungnir let out a high-pitched hum. As if sensing a mortal threat, the Wyvern’s reassembly speed increased, but Edith had already pressed Gungnir to the top of its head, a hint of madness in her upturned lips.

“The Blood Clan may not be able to use holy magic, but that doesn’t mean we’re helpless against the undead. Go back to where you belong.”

Crack.

As if piercing a piece of paper, Gungnir easily penetrated the Wyvern’s skull. As the red light in the Wyvern’s eyes faded, its body went limp like a string-cut kite, falling powerlessly to the ground and turning into a pile of fine dust in the blink of an eye.

Flicking Gungnir, Edith’s azure eyes showed displeasure.

“This is why I hate undead. You don’t even get any reward for killing them… Wait, Laxy, where are you going?”

“That Nightmare Knight over there is coming. I’m going to take care of it.”

“I’m not underestimating you, but it has Necromancers and Reapers with it. Can you handle it alone?”

“That’s why I need your help, Lady Edith.”

“I see.” Her earlier displeasure vanished instantly, replaced by a warlike smile. Edith nodded. “Then, there’s no time to waste. Let’s go now.”