Search and Destroy

Clang!

My arms and shoulders throbbed. It was a miracle I hadn’t dropped the sword in my right hand.

Who the hell had attacked me?

The one locking blades with me was a masked figure. Man or woman, I couldn’t tell. Age was impossible to guess either—every inch of them was wrapped tight.

“…….”

A face hidden behind the mask. Not a single word. That refusal to speak, combined with the blade aimed straight at my throat, made their intent clear.

They meant to subdue me.

Or kill me.

This situation… I’d been through something like it before, hadn’t I?

Just before the masked hunter could launch a second strike, I called Sir Isra back out of the Death Space.

“How dare you!!! Who the hell do you think you are to threaten my Lord!”

Thud. The body, sliced cleanly in half, crumpled to the ground.

The aura’s light was beautiful and cold enough to sting the eyes. There was no time to lose myself in that radiance.

Masked hunters ringed the blue crack, their killing intent so thick they looked ready to charge at any second.

I summoned the Skeleton Royal Guards and Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers. Undead troops packed tight around me. Only then did I feel a measure of relief.

“The enemy’s numbers are considerable, my Lord.”

“Yeah.”

Masked hunters formed a dense ring around the gate. The Mir Guild staff assigned to support the raid lay with their heads buried in sand or hard rock. What stained the sand red… was their blood.

Not the slightest twitch from any of them.

All of them…

Dead.

“Judging by the concentration of the blood scent, it has not been long.”

If I’d come out even a little later, the blades waiting right outside might not have been just one.

“Master.”

“Yeah.”

A massive mana wave surged from the rear of the masked hunters. Ingrid rapidly rearranged her own mana.

…….

An enormous volume of mana! Powerful spells activated in mere seconds—high-rank formulas with devastating force. Ingrid cast them with practiced ease, not a hint of panic.

Mana spread wide beneath her feet. A considerable volume of power writhing under the ground collided with Ingrid’s energy, then—

Crack—

The arrays twisted just before manifestation and nullified. Smashing Ground itself activated, but she had jammed mana into the medium before the earth’s properties could change, canceling it out.

“Remarkable skill.”

Even Sir Isra, who normally bickered with her nonstop, couldn’t help but admire that level of magical application.

“Heh heh heh. See that, you iron-headed fool? This is big sister’s power.”

“You have the skill to claim the title of strongest witch, I suppose.”

Sir Isra offered the praise reluctantly, then briefed me on the situation.

“Total force: one hundred seventeen. At least ten A-rank hunters; the rest appear to be B-rank.”

Roughly seventy warrior-types. About thirty magic or holy-class hunters. The remainder were harder to pin down—specialized classes like mine, most likely.

“How about we exchange names before I kill you?”

I crooked a finger at the masked hunter radiating the strongest presence among those who had covered every inch of themselves except their eyes. No answer.

Cold bastards.

“Why are you all so—huh?”

“What’s going on? Who are those people?”

“Th-the support team… they’re all down!”

The Mir Guild hunters who had followed us out spilled panicked words. Damn it. These kids were getting on my nerves.

“Everyone shut up and stay behind me.”

“An outsider doesn’t get to give orders.”

“Then go die, for all I care.”

I was already in a foul mood. Keep running your mouth and see what happens. I let a little killing intent leak out; the so-called party leader flinched and backed off.

“Ah, mister…”

“Don’t worry, Yeondu.”

I promised Madam, didn’t I? I’ll protect you.

These bastards with their whole bodies wrapped in masks. I’d tangled with their kind once before.

“Wonder how they crossed the West Sea. Those guys.”

“…….”

“Swim? Or take a boat?”

“…….”

“Talking to myself is making my mouth tired.”

It felt like trying to chat with the Silent Saint Roan. At least he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠managed five characters a minute and communication was possible. No point wasting more words on these types.

“Give the order, my Lord.”

“I command my First Sword. Slaughter every enemy that dares threaten your Lord.”

“Search and Destroy.”

Sir Isra took the lead.

“I can’t look after you, so stay alive on your own.”

“Worry not, mage. Fulfill your own duty as well.”

“I won’t let them touch a single hair on Master’s head.”

Ingrid kept rearranging mana without pause even while talking.

Zaug slipped back and erased his presence.

Roan, who could cast a holy spell only once per minute, fixed the enemy with a sunken gaze.

Whoosh!

The masked hunters kicked off the sand and charged.

“Come. I shall butcher every last one of you.”

With Sir Isra’s murderous voice, the bloodbath on the uninhabited island raised its curtain in earnest.

When enemies poured in from every direction, I didn’t just sit there sucking my thumb either.

I called more undead and formed ranks. Just before the masked hunters and my undead army clashed weapons, the priests in the rear dropped to their knees on the sand as if collapsing and began to whisper.

A white tome appeared dozens of meters overhead. The book, formed of holy power, bathed the entire uninhabited island in white light.

“Kh.”

Sir Isra, who had been charging at the very front, bit her lip hard enough to draw blood with her upper teeth.

Halving our stats? Damn it. So this was why priests were called the natural enemies of the undead.

Seeing so many holy-class hunters standing shoulder to shoulder, it looked like they were combining their abilities the same way the opening magic assault had been coordinated.

Black haze seeped from behind Roan. Even though it was a holy spell, the pitch-black current that rose into the sky carried an ominous weight. The sacred light pouring from the tome collided with the black current.

Zing! Ziiing!

Roan’s body trembled. Simply enduring the enemy priests’ holy spell seemed to be the limit of what he could manage. It was enough. Just cutting the stat-reduction penalty that much meant he had already done more than his share.

I couldn’t just sit around either. After following the footprints Sir Isra had carved into the beach, I—

I called a pack of Tigris in front of me.

“Trample the enemy.”

“Kroooar!”

Dozens of heavy cavalry gripping bone lances thundered forward across ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sand. Sir Isra, who had been running ahead, stepped slightly aside to clear a path for the Tigris.

“Uwooooooh!!”

The inhuman roar shook my eardrums; my mind reeled hard. For a moment I even felt the urge to swing my sword at a masked hunter holding a tower shield.

“Do not lose consciousness, my Lord.”

Ah. It was a skill with a provocation effect. Sir Isra’s single line snapped me back to full alertness. I ordered the Tigris pack to ignore it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as well, but the command didn’t take.

Bang! Bang! The tank-positioned masked hunters stopped the Tigris pack cold. Even the lance power that could shred an ogre into rags failed to land properly against that tank line—thanks to charge-damage reduction skills and armor layered with every related option imaginable.

I immediately recalled the Tigris pack that had failed to break the tank line, then, without hesitation, glanced behind me and used Blink.

The skill penalty made my stomach lurch, but keeping my balance was no problem.

“A fine judgment.”

“Training paid off, right?”

Yeah. I’m tearfully grateful.

The Tigris’s first charge had been cleanly nullified. That was fine. I still had plenty of cards left in my hand.

Five Abyss Revenants appeared behind Sir Isra. Built from troll corpses—large monsters—they were massive.

Every one of them could project Aura—powerful retainers! To stand against Aura, the symbol of A-rank warrior hunters, you needed Aura of your own.

“…….”

Among the masked hunters, those near the priests and mages leapt into the front line.

Wooooong!

Blue currents wrapped their blades—the same Aura as the Abyss Revenants.

“I can’t even tell how many they brought just to take me down.”

Even a single A-rank hunter was someone who could live large in most countries. And they’d thrown ten of them onto an uninhabited island? Honestly, it was a joke so low-grade I couldn’t even manage a dry laugh.

“I shall handle these ones.”

Even if the Tempest Knights took the Aura users, if we couldn’t break that tank line, our side’s losses would keep piling up. Skeleton Royal Guards and Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers wouldn’t cut it—best they could manage was holding the line. I’d summoned more Skeleton Wizards as well, but punching through with magic alone wouldn’t be easy either.

Damn it. This was getting messy. If I hadn’t strengthened my forces beforehand, I might have been in real trouble.

“Now it’s your turn to shine.”

The last undead I called forth. Blue light blazed in the eyes of the two enhanced Dracos and the five Death Warriors.