Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: 13. The Black Mages' Festival. (4)
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Allen jolted awake to the deafening clamor of bells. The one pounding on the wake-up bell was none other than the Blind Saintess Odnun.
"Enemies—!!!"
The moment the awakened mercenaries grabbed their weapons and scrambled to their feet, ghouls that had been crawling through the sand and hiding beneath it burst up right there. They leaped high, hooked their arms over the stone wall, and vaulted over it in a single bound. This was happening simultaneously all along the wall.
—!!
At the ghastly sight of the ghouls clambering over the wall and the stench of rotting corpses, they realized this was no dream—it was harsh reality.
"Form up—!"
Spotting the ghouls, Allen bellowed at the mercenaries who were staggering around in confusion. If he'd been a total greenhorn, he might have panicked at their sudden appearance, but ever since falling into that queen beast's slime bog, he'd grown a spine of steel.
The Allen Mercenary Corps positioned their leader Allen and the red-robed mage right up against the building wall, then formed a rough semicircular arch around them.
"Ignore everything else! Just handle the ghoul in front of you—!"
Almost simultaneously with the leader's shout, the horde of ghouls charged at the mercenaries en masse. The villagers on watch at either side clustered as tightly as they could to fend them off.
"You fucking bastards—!!"
With curses flying, the mercenaries' weapons whistled through the air. The ghouls were nimbler than expected, but their durability was nothing special. One good swing from a sword, club, or mace caved in their skulls and dropped them dead.
But the problem was their numbers. Far more ghouls were pouring over the wall than anyone had imagined.
...Fuck—! How many villages did that bastard devour?!
The ghouls came in all shapes and sizes, men, women, young, old—no discrimination. Even a kid who looked about five or six came screeching at them with eerie wails. Of course, these ruthless mercenary scum weren't about to feel any pity for the already-dead corpses.
"Behind you—! Get back, you dog bastards—!!"
Every time the bald, blind-eyed Bilri smashed a ghoul's skull, he laced his curses with extra venom. Already, shattered corpses carpeted the ground around them.
Still, the mercenaries put up a solid fight against the ghoul swarm. Especially the Blind Saintess—her prowess was on another level!
Odnun smacked incoming ghouls' heads with open-palm slaps using the back of her hand, exploding them like they were nothing. Not even a scratch on her. Allen felt his legs go weak just watching how reliable she was.
Holy shit, she's fucking strong...!
The northern warrior Znischa was no slouch either, but she paled in comparison. This was the caliber of someone on par with an A-rank.
...Right then, something massive leaped up onto the top of the wall.
—!
It was grotesque at first glance. It looked like a four-legged beast, but its head was unmistakably human. No—its legs and body were all mashed together from corpses. Necromancer handiwork, plain as day.
The second Allen spotted the corpse abomination, he whipped his head toward the red-robed mage. She hopped onto a high vantage point the moment his gaze hit her and gathered mana in her right hand. Potent elemental magic—
The human head grafted onto the abomination's skull whipped toward her. And with that, it launched into a mighty leap.
Its jumping power was insane—enough to close the gap from the wall to the mercenaries in one go.
But she was a veteran who'd clawed her way through hellish battles before. The corpse beast's leap was undeniably threatening, but she didn't flinch. She had absolute faith in her leader's order: "Just focus on your magic, no worries."
...Now...!
As the beast closed most of the distance mid-leap, the red-robed mage hurled the mana orb she'd gathered in her right hand. It detonated right in the abomination's face.
KABOOOOM—!!!
With a massive explosion, the corpse beast's body burst apart, raining gore down like a storm. The mercenaries, drenched in the filth, flew into an even greater rage.
"Take that, you fucking shits—!!"
Allen hopped mad, yelling at the mercenaries who were breaking formation in their frenzy.
"Bilri—! Get your head in the game—?! Fall back now—! Znischa—! Znischa, you bitch—! I told you not to break off—!"
As he'd hammered home time and again, in this numerical disadvantage, protecting each other's backs was key. Unless you were on the Blind Saintess's level, sheer numbers would overwhelm you eventually. And once those hits started piling up, collapse was inevitable.
Thankfully, Allen's shouts snapped the mercenaries back to their positions. This was why the leader's role—judging from the rear, issuing spot-on orders—was crucial. Those unpredictable wild cards could erupt anywhere, anytime. Controlling them was the leader's job.
Corpse beasts kept popping up one after another. They crashed into the village youths barely holding off ghouls, shattering their lines in seconds and sweeping them under.
Aaahhh—!!!
Save meeeee—!!!
Nearly ten people were massacred in the blink of an eye amid the agonized screams. Now the ghouls were breaching into the village proper, slaughtering indiscriminately.
Ah—. Even the merciful Blind Saintess couldn't hide her dismay.
"Leader, the people...!"
But even she knew there was nothing they could do. One wrong move, and they'd be next.
......Fuck this, we can't hold like this......
Allen had planned to fend them off just enough, catch a breather, then hunt down and kill the necromancer. But this curveball forced a plan tweak.
"Odnun—!"
"Yes—!"
"Find the necromancer. Kill him. You can do it, right? It's the only way to save them—!"
Allen played on the Blind Saintess's compassion.
"......I'll do it...!"
The Blind Saintess nodded with grim resolve and removed her blindfold. Her eyes opened—deep, cosmic voids. Her pitch-black sclera locked onto the nexus linking all this evil energy in an instant.
Ugh.
She felt mana draining from her body in torrents. She knew overdoing it could wreck her, but holding back meant more deaths.
I'm... a saintess...!
"Lord, grant me strength and courage."
Clenching her fists, the Blind Saintess charged forward slowly at first.
She dodged ghouls with agile grace. When evasion failed, she flung them far away with a swing. Dozens swarmed her, but nothing halted her advance.
Leaping the wall in one bound, Odnun sprinted like mad toward the necromancer atop a nearby dune.
The bastard had dismissed her as some lunatic and sent a corpse beast—only to gape in horror as it exploded from a single punch.
"What the fu—!"
His pride and joy—blown apart by a mere fist? He realized she'd far exceeded his expectations.
Panicking, the necromancer summoned ghouls and corpse beasts wildly, but she was too fast to catch. She'd been by the wall moments ago; now she was right in his face.
"Die—!!"
He fired mana bolts in desperation, but she twisted away effortlessly.
Ah.
Staring into her demonic eyes inches away, his body froze.
Without hesitation, the Blind Saintess drove her fist at his head. It exploded with a pop.
As the headless necromancer's body toppled, its arm suddenly jerked—and fired a mana bolt at her chest.
—!!!!
An attack from nowhere. But the Blind Saintess twisted away before she could even think, the instant his arm moved.
A perfect strike that would've felled most elites. Yet she dodged it—thanks to the [Genius] instincts honed by her superhuman master's relentless beatings.
Even she shuddered at the close call. A direct hit would've been fatal. No matter how tough she was, tanking point-blank magic barehanded was near impossible. ...Unless you were her master.
...How did that thing even move?
Thoughts brief, action swift. Sensing the foul energy leaking from his chest, she thrust her arm straight in. Her hand pierced clean through, clamping onto a bead in his heart.
His resistance surged.
Where do you—!
She squeezed lightly, and the bead shattered.
—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A colossal evil aura shot skyward like an arrow. The headless body convulsed on the sand, then stilled, crumbling to dust.
Huff... huff... huff...
The Blind Saintess glanced at the dead necromancer, then donned her blindfold again.
Ugh...
Dazed from absorbing vast colors and burning through mana, she swayed.
......I did it. I really did it. I saved them. I'm a real saintess...!
Odnun had proven her sainthood with her fists.
...Surely it wasn't more comfortable than words. Just her imagination.