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“「O’ Light, dispel the darkness and illuminate the land! — Light」!”

The magician positioned in the rear cast a light spell from the tip of his magic staff. This spell, known as Light, was one of the light magic arts developed roughly a hundred years ago by the legendary Saintess Snow. Though the church refers to these spells as theocracy, the incantations differ, but the effects are the same. While advanced practitioners can make the light float and move independently, the magician accompanying the group lacked such skill.

Nevertheless, the bright, pure light emitted by the spell far outshone any torch or lantern, illuminating the surroundings like daylight, thus significantly improving their chances in the night battle.

“Damn, I knew it…”

The attackers comprised of a dozen or so armed individuals wielding swords and spears accompanied by nearly twenty black-furred beasts—meran-aries—in a chaotic mixed formation.

For context, monsters are classified using the same rank system as adventurers, from F-minus to S-plus (with rare SS or US ranks representing literal monstrosities that almost never appear in the world and are more mythological, thus excluded from normal ranks). Generally, a monster’s strength is estimated such that it would take three adventurers of the same rank to defeat it.

Although matchups can vary, it’s safe to assume that monsters are about three times stronger than humans. The meran-aries are ranked at D-minus, meaning each one posed a threat equivalent to three D-rank adventurers, which is considered an average standard.

In other words, they were facing the equivalent threat of an assault by a force of seventy to eighty armed individuals, comparable to a small to medium-sized military squadron.

Normally, a retreat house modified from a noble’s mansion, even with some walls, would have been overrun in an instant by such an assault. However, this particular place was defended by over a hundred skilled adventurers, valuable magicians, elven archers, warrior monks, and on top of that, about ten top-tier instructors from the Livitium Academy’s magic department. In a straightforward confrontation, they could repel an enemy three times their number due to the disparity in strength.

Despite this, there was a palpable sense of concern among the defenders of the “Steel Wagon” group. It was evident that their attackers were not mere bandits or rogue mercenaries.

“Lazar, Billy, Mandy, Woody, Ben, Elmer, Bugs, Roger, Selma, Mumbly, Muttley… Damn it, they’re all dead.”

Orlando, the deputy leader of the “Steel Wagon” and the person responsible for this escort mission, gritted his teeth as he identified the faces of the enemies coming at them with vacant eyes and weapons drawn.

Every face was familiar. They were all members of the team he had left behind to handle the corpses of the meran-aries they had encountered earlier that day. Now, they have turned into attackers themselves. Transgression, in itself, was not particularly shocking. Although ethically unacceptable, it was not uncommon in their line of work to hear of adventurers hired to guard nobles or wealthy individuals switching sides and becoming robbers for the sake of loot or ransom.

However, it was clear that the former comrades they now faced hadn’t betrayed them out of greed or calculation. After all, they were all already dead.

Their bodies bore gruesome wounds that were obviously fatal: gashes on the necks, skulls, and over the hearts, likely inflicted by heavy blades or machetes. Such injuries were not survivable. The same held true for the meran-arieses, each bearing the same wounds and arrows from earlier in the day.

“Zombies… no, some of them have their brains spilling out, so that’s not it. They’re definitely ‘living dead,’ but it doesn’t seem like the head or heart is their weak spot. This is going to be troublesome.”

While there was surprise, there was no shock. This situation had been anticipated; otherwise, one couldn’t serve as an executive of a large adventurer group. There was also a sense of pride preventing them from showing any signs of distress in front of their employer and comrades.

“The enemy is probably a necromancer. Defeating the caster would be the quickest solution, but they’re not likely to be on the front lines… Alternatively, a white mage or a priest capable of ‘purification’ could handle this in one go.”

Though he knew it was wishful thinking, he couldn’t help but say it out loud.

Purification was an advanced form of healing magic, accessible only to those with exceptional talent who had undergone rigorous training. Such individuals were treasured and closely guarded by their respective religious orders. They only appeared when calamity-class creatures like lichs, vampire progenitors, or high-level demons showed up. An ordinary adventurer would never encounter such a person, as they were far beyond the reach of common folk.

“…They say Lady Clara reached that pinnacle at the mere age of sixteen, but there’s no such prodigy around here. We’ll have to make do with the forces we have.”

It was ironic that in this land famous for its shrine maidens, they were being attacked by the unholy undead. However, if they managed to overcome this unexpected crisis, ‘Steel Wagon’ would gain considerable prestige, and their reward might even increase. Most importantly, protecting the students of the Royal Academy, especially such high-ranking VIPs, right under the nose of Eunice’s theocracy (a key point, as this showed it was out of their control and placed the responsibility on the local authorities) would bring them great renown. This reputation would be invaluable for the group’s future.

This was a dangerous situation, but also an incredible opportunity.

And they didn’t mind this kind of gamble. If they did, they wouldn’t be in the adventuring business, which was akin to living on the edge.

Having quickly calculated the risks and steeled himself, Orlando shouted a rallying cry to his gathered comrades.

“Listen up, everyone! As you can see, Lazar and the others were taken down by some necromancers and turned into puppets. It’s a damn shame, but we can’t save them. The least we can do is lay them to rest ourselves and then crush the b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ who turned their corpses into playthings! Don’t hold back! Sending them off properly is the best thing we can do for them. —Let’s make this a battle to remember!”

“““““““““Oooooooooooooooohhh!!!!””””””””” his comrades roared in unison.

“Shoot for their legs! Immobilize them and surround them! Archers, prepare fire arrows! Anyone who can use magic, focus on putting out any fires that spread!”

If they couldn’t figure out the weak points, they’d have to destroy the bodies beyond recognition or burn them.

Following Orlando’s immediate judgment, the adventurers of ‘Steel Wagon’ boldly launched their attack.

Author’s note:

On an unrelated note, many of the adventurers turned undead were beastmen. Dogs, rabbits, etc. Lazar is an original character of mine, but if anyone recognizes the origins of the other names, well, what a nerd! (The correct answer is that the names are taken from American cartoon characters.)

Translator’s Note:

Billy (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy);
Mandy (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy);
Woody (Woody Woodpecker);
Ben (Ben10);
Elmer (Looney Tunes);
Bugs (Looney Tunes);
Roger (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?);
Selma (The Simpsons, I guess? I can’t find anyone else but Selma Simpsons);
Mumbly & Muttley (this is tricky because the author uses Muttley for one character and Kenken (the JP localization for Muttley) for another character, so essentially they’re referencing the same character from the TV series Wacky Races. I decided to use Mumbly (from the Tom & Jerry package) due to how often they’re mistaken for each other).

Editor’s Note:

Well! We have a nerd here!