181. Launch (1) (Part 2 Begins)
“The launch ceremony will begin soon. Those who have not yet entered, please hurry and enter.”
“The flagship of the 2nd Fleet is already complete. It’s a new feeling, isn’t it?”
“I heard that there were many design flaws in this airship······.”
“It’s an initial ship that uses new technology, so it can’t be helped. We’ll have to solve those problems gradually in the subsequent ships.”
Amidst the sound of the orchestra playing.
The cloth that had been wrapped around it for protection was removed, and the huge hull began to appear.
The 10th airship of the Allied Forces.
It was the ship that would serve as the flagship of the 2nd Fleet.
The murderer, Transylvania, sat in the audience, sucking on a blood pack, watching the sight with a bored expression.
“It’s not tasty.”
It’s because of that bastard Eugene.
After tasting his blood, no matter whose blood I drink, it all tastes the same.
It’s as if my taste buds have been trained to his blood, and it’s quite unpleasant.
“Who is the commander of the 2nd Fleet?”
“I heard that Julia Petersburg will be in charge. The captain of the flagship has not yet been decided.”
“The Witch of Petersburg······? Hmm. It’s still hard to accept that Petersburg is still the linchpin of the Alliance······.”
Transylvania clicked her tongue as she looked at the old men who were shaking their heads with their arms crossed.
It seems that they think that Petersburg’s position is small because it is a small city-state.
In fact, it was the witch who, with her enormous financial resources, worked with Tay’s workshop to create a communications network that covered the world.
The close command system of the Alliance was all due to Petersburg’s communications network.
These old fools didn’t seem to know that.
‘Well, what can I do if they don’t understand?’
The Alliance, which was launched with the Holy Kingdom, Petersburg, and Palana as its core.
After Eugene’s death, the Alliance established a joint command for the Allied Forces.
Palana, which virtually ruled the entire north, and Petersburg, which held the world’s finances in its hands.
With their strong capital power, the Allied Forces already had an enormous air power of 10 airships.
And with the Saintess as its central axis, it had an excellent command system.
The Allied Forces’ ground forces alone were already approaching 100,000.
Even though they were not the main force, the other countries that had joined the Alliance grumbled about it.
But no one paid any attention to it.
The day of the decisive battle will come soon.
And those who are not prepared by then will not be able to escape destruction.
The flying battleship was the only weapon that could stand up to the powerful enemy that was covering the world.
“Damn it······.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s an emergency call from the Frost Lord. Take a quick look around and get the hell out of here. Your contributions won’t be of much use in launching that ship anyway.”
“What, what······! This crazy murderer! I treated you like a human being, and you’re crawling-“
“Be quiet.”
Leaving behind the weaklings who had only joined because they were afraid of being eliminated now that the major powers were in charge.
Transylvania hurried out of the station where the launch ceremony was in full swing and quickened her pace.
It was because there was a communication from the Frost Lord.
The content was ‘Undead Legion remnants have resumed activity. Requesting support.’
.
.
.
“There are still remnants that haven’t been eradicated······.”
Tick, tick.
The Allied Forces Command Center located in Petersburg.
There, the Saintess, Jill Dyna, was biting her fingernails and fidgeting with her feet.
That day.
Thanks to Eugene’s sacrifice, Luna was defeated and the Transcendent was neutralized.
Most of the Undead Legion, which had been frozen by the cold of the magic, were crushed under the collapsed ceiling.
However, some survived without being destroyed and escaped by digging tunnels.
The ones that escaped were only about a dozen or so.
It was not a great force, but even so, the Undead Legion was always a headache for the Allied Forces.
If they were just mindless and powerful, it wouldn’t be a problem, but they would run away and hide when they were at a disadvantage.
They were skilled in tactics that exploited vulnerabilities and escaped.
They attacked and infected undefended civilian homes to increase their numbers.
They repeatedly attacked the guards with their numbers and seized weapons and armor to arm themselves.
In this way, their numbers had once increased to as many as 10,000.
However, thanks to Eugene, the three leaders of the Alliance, who had known the danger of the Undead Legion early on, began to deal with it quickly.
By using tactics that resisted infection and narrowing the encirclement, they succeeded in reducing their numbers to a few hundred again.
However, the more they narrowed the encirclement and tried to eradicate them, the stronger their resistance became.
And the damage only grew greater.
In the end, they gave up on complete eradication and decided that it was best to maintain the status quo.
Maintain the encirclement as it is, but never let down your guard.
That was the best they could do.The undead army also seemed to think that there was no way to break through the siege, so they did not move for a while.
“It’s dangerous. This movement is to find the weak point of the siege. Soon this side… The place where the new soldiers are deployed will be attacked.”
But the undead army resumed its activity.
Perhaps they were trying to assess the enemy’s strength before attempting to break through the siege at one point.
“Please…”
I hope this battle will end safely without any casualties.
Jill clasped her hands together and prayed and prayed again.
These days, every day was a series of such worries.
People were dying like ants.
It was no joke to be in the position of a commander who was responsible for it.
If Eugene had been there, I wouldn’t have had to worry.
He would have found a way to solve it.
And he would have held my hand and melted away this anxiety…
Today, Eugene’s absence is felt even more.
“Hoo… Is the alert status complete?”
“Yes, Saintess. Currently, all siege walls are on high alert and reinforcements are on the way.”
Jill gritted her teeth and raised her head.
I had to keep my wits about me at a time like this.
Eugene’s efforts and sacrifices could not be in vain.
There were many paladins and priests who believed in the Saintess and followed the Alliance.
It was the Saintess Jill’s duty to take responsibility for them.
The Saintess’s aides left.
Before long, Jill was the only one left in the command post, watching the map showing the battle situation.
From behind, a familiar voice was heard.
“I sent Transylvania that way. So it’ll probably be okay.”
“Lord of Frost?! Why are you here now!”
“I’m sorry. I heard the news in a hurry and ran over… Oh.”
Thud.
Jill ran over and hugged Yerina, who came in sweating.
Yerina gently patted Jill, as if she were familiar with it, and then pulled away.
“I’ve finished the initial response, but… I’m scared. I’m afraid more people will die…”
“Don’t worry. I think the response was perfect. Rather, this is an opportunity. An opportunity to completely eradicate the undead army, the legacy of the Necromancer!”
Yerina said a little exaggeratedly to reassure Jill.
Jill’s expression brightened a little at this.
In front of others, she pretended to be strong and tough, and commanded the army as if nothing was wrong.
But Jill released the pressure that countless lives were lost with every gesture and word in front of Yerina.
The only person who shared the same wounds and worries.
It was the true face of the Saintess, which was only visible in front of Julia and Yerina.
However, Julia is not here now, as she is hurriedly finishing her initiation ceremony and launching the flagship of the 2nd Fleet to destroy the undead army.
For now, Yerina was the only one.
“The Saintess is doing her best.”
“It’s not enough to do my best…”
“You’re doing well. It’s all thanks to the Saintess that the Alliance, which was in danger at the time of its launch, has come this far. Thanks to you, the Alliance has reached a level where it can fight a war with the whole world and not be defeated.”
“Hoo…”
Yerina also understood her feelings.
She just looked at her cutely and patted her.
Even though she knew that she was only a substitute for Eugene to the Saintess, she did not hesitate.
Because she knew very well that the Saintess was the kind of person who could not stand without relying on someone.
[This is a communication from Transylvania. Shall I connect you?]
“Connect, Linda.”
[Lord of Frost! Have you figured it out properly!]
“What?”
At that moment, the magic stone emitted a red light and made a sound.
Transylvania’s voice was quite urgent.
It seemed that he was running now.
[This is not it!]
“What do you mean?”
[It’s a diversion! The ground was shaking and the horizon was covered with shadows, so I was fooled! When I checked it myself, it was all scarecrows!]
“……!”
Diversion.
Yerina’s pupils shook at the shocking news.
She knew that the undead army was quite intelligent, but it was the first time they had used such tactics.
I sent a lot of reinforcements, but it was all a trick?
If this is not the attack point, where is it?
Yerina hurriedly looked at the map and rolled her eyes.
It was the moment when Jill was contacting here and there.
“Yes…? The enemy has already crossed the river…? The number is close to 10,000…?”
“Ah!”
The enemy had already broken through the siege.
Leading all the troops, which numbered 10,000,
The enemy tried to gamble with all their troops.
And it succeeded.
“Re, right now! Rebuild the siege! Follow the next river again…””There are more than 10 cities inside! At least 50,000 citizens will be exposed to danger!”
“This can’t be happening······.”
Jil and Yerina’s faces turned pale.
If only Eugene were here.
If only Eugene were here······.
They kept thinking that.
“There’s nothing we can do. We have to set up a secondary defense line and evacuate the citizens. At this point, sacrifices are······. inevitable······.”
“Ugh······.”
The two knew it was futile and quickly dismissed the thought from their minds.
They hadn’t given up hope yet.
But despair was slowly creeping in.
They were exhausted.
There was still no clue on how to defeat the giant enemy that Eugene had fought against.
Just dealing with the undead army and the great demon was taking all their strength.
The Allied Forces had a military force that far surpassed any single country on the surface.
But it was still not enough to face ‘that one’ who had created a world.
‘I don’t know······. I don’t even know if this is the right path······.’
How did Eugene continue to fight this battle alone?
His absence grew larger with each passing day.
As if by magic, I wish Eugene would appear.
I wish he would tell me that this is the right path, that I’m doing well.
Not in my dreams every day, but in reality······.
Jil thought to herself.
“I’ll close early today.”
“Yes? Master Craftsman, already?”
“I told you yesterday. I’m finishing early today. I have someone I need to meet.”
“But on a busy day like today, are you really going to finish early······. Is it someone important?”
“······.”
In the midst of changing from her dull work clothes into her fancy clothes.
At the assistant’s question, Tae stopped moving for a moment and seemed to be thinking deeply.
A bitter smile appeared on Tae’s lips.
“Yes. She’s a precious person. She’s the one who put me in this position······.”
Tae had been living in the workshop almost like she lived there.
Everyone was surprised when she said she was going out in her civilian clothes.
But no one objected to her going out for the first time in a long time.
The carriage carrying Tae began to head down a long road.
The carriage soon left the center of Basel and crossed several mountains.
Soon, it reached a desolate land.
If you were told that a lush forest had spread out here just a few years ago, it would be hard for first-timers to believe.
“Let me off here.”
Tae jumped out of the carriage and
“Huh?”
She felt a sense of違和感 as if something had just passed by and looked back.
It was a strange feeling.
It was as if someone had spoken.
She turned around and saw no one.
Time had definitely passed.
But she didn’t know what had happened in the meantime.
‘Is it my imagination?’
She must have been dazed for a moment because she was tired.
Tae, who was heading towards the cemetery without paying attention, ran after the girl who was walking ahead.
A girl in a black robe.
It was a dwarf.
“What? Did you come here after your training?”
“It’s that human’s memorial service, so I have to come. Busy people may not be able to come, but people like us who are of no help should come to the memorial service every time, right?”
“······I’m useful. I’m the one who carved the magic stone for the communication network that Julia asked me to do.”
“Does that matter now? Who wouldn’t call you a brat?”
“You’re more of a brat than me······!”
“Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you’re not a kid?”
The two of them started to fight as soon as they met, but soon they fell apart with a fake cough.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah. How have you been?”
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“I’ve been working on my craft all day.”
The two had first met at Eugene’s funeral, and they had nothing in common, not even their race.
But for some reason, as time went on, they became quite close.
Theきっかけ was a fight.
At the back of the funeral hall, the dwarf was badmouthing Eugene, and Tae, who heard it, started a fight with her.
After they grabbed each other’s hair and rolled around on the ground, Tae realized that it was the dwarf’s way of washing away her sorrow.
The dwarf was cursing and resenting Eugene, and she was remembering him.
Perhaps it was because they were about the same age on the outside.
Dwarf, Tae, and Myeong quickly became close.
And they often met.
“What about Myeong?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him since the inauguration of the Archmage. I heard a rumor that he went to the north······.”
“I’ll have to ask the Lord of Frost.”
“How is Guiho these days?””Master? Just, what… are you doing well? Is it because of the burns from the Great Spirit’s fire that the scars aren’t completely gone and you’re suffering so much, but it seems like you’re enduring it these days.”
So-gong replied, scratching his head.
It wasn’t a very pleasant topic to answer.
Tei, who had been watching So-gong’s reaction, carefully took a step forward.
“What about you?”
“I…”
So-gong’s mouth closed.
Then, So-gong hesitated to answer, chewing his lips.
“Ah.”
Tei immediately regretted asking the question.
The world is now in chaos with the undead remnants and the great demons, and all the superhumans are busy.
I should have realized it from the fact that a powerful sorcerer like So-gong was not drafted and was leisurely visiting the cemetery.
I shouldn’t have brought up the topic of recent events in the first place.
“It’s a bit difficult…”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
Patting So-gong on the shoulder.
Tei headed towards the tombstone with So-gong.
Towards the tombstone that stood alone as usual…
“What?!”
“Ah!”
Tei and So-gong exclaimed at the same time.
The tombstone, which should have been standing firmly, was broken.
The two of them ran over in surprise and found the tombstone split in half, with the space inside empty.
“They only took the sword inside!”
“Who on earth did this…”!
It’s strange.
Wouldn’t grave robbers usually dig up the coffin instead of the tombstone?
However, only the tombstone was broken, and the tomb was intact.
Tei and So-gong were bewildered and could only express their doubts.