If There Had Been an Admin...

If there had been an admin, this was the sort of thing they would at least have flagged with a warning about exploitation.

And no wonder. Kill the undead after they rose again, and the experience came in just the same.

Peace Contribution was no different.

This is basically tossing me an event and telling me outright to abuse it. The System couldn't even think of that?

Calling it abuse felt like a stretch, and he didn't feel so much as a pang of conscience.

It's not like I'm the only one doing this.

Of course, there wouldn't be many. How many players could afford to take it easy against an undead legion that had grown this strong?

Might as well milk it one more time.

Hwaaaak—!

This time the undead tried to open the distance, as if determined not to fall for the same trick, but Yujun's magic was a step faster than their thoughts. Will itself was the manifestation of the spell.

KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!

The damage was a little lighter than before, but not by much. The undead took it just the same, and the liches hesitated, weighing whether to resurrect the ones that had just been reduced to ash. Among the undead, liches were on the clever side. They knew that raising those corpses again here would accomplish nothing, so instead they resurrected undead that had fallen fighting the players of the Holy Empire somewhere else entirely.

I thought they'd give me one more.

Yujun clicked his tongue in disappointment and moved toward the collapsed wall. Going after the Bone Dragon was an option, but it wasn't time yet. More than anything, he had gotten a proper taste of how sweet the contribution-duplication bug was, and he had a feeling that the moment he faced the Bone Dragon, he would drift far from racking up Peace Contribution in bulk. He wanted to enjoy this a little longer.

System messages kept appearing before his eyes without a pause. Once they grew annoying enough, Yujun shut the message window entirely and focused on the fight.

Whether they were wary of his magic or not, at some point a vast membrane had been draped over the undead legion. Magic could not be used inside it. Only the undead could.

Whoever made this, it definitely isn't a Lich Lord.

He had already killed every Lich Lord. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to be the ability of one of the two undead at the very rear of the legion. It didn't seem to be the Bone Dragon. The one wrapped head to toe in a cloak, its shape impossible to make out, appeared to be generating this wide-ranging barrier. Even Yujun's skill could not analyze it. It felt as if it were spread by some mysterious power, different from any magic he knew.

If I could use that as it is, it'd be no joke.

After experience and Peace Contribution, not being able to acquire that barrier too was nothing but a shame. It wasn't that his greed was excessive. Every barrier he had seen until now could be analyzed and learned if he only put in the time. This was the first case where he had no sense of how to even approach it.

I'll just stack Peace Contribution.

Yujun checked his companions' positions first. High overhead, Manuela and Yenil were casting magic and accumulating Peace Contribution. Thanks to the powerful barrier he had set for them, the undead could not attack them, and whenever a stray shot came flying, the barrier blocked it faithfully. At that rate, they were stacking Peace Contribution in perfect peace.

Paranet was locked in a melee with the Death Knights, and his power was overwhelming. A single swing of his blade sent the Death Knights staggering, and anyone struck by one of the body slams he threw in now and then was smashed apart on the spot. His frame was so much larger that it looked like a general fighting foot soldiers. Paranet's growth was astonishing.

"Dad, I want to fight too!"

Harp, as if spurred on, said it with his eyes flaring.

"Hold on."

Yujun set a hand beneath Harp's chin and let Touch of Healing flow into him.

"Mmm... this tastes good."

"Don't eat it. When you fire your breath, try breathing it out with it."

"Together? Okay. I'll try."

Harp agreed at once, without so much as a question. If his breath and Touch of Healing only meshed well, there would be no need to bother mixing Touch of Healing with Cold Wave. And Yujun had a strange, unaccountable certainty that they would.

"Huuup..."

Harp opened his mouth enormously wide. Every time Yujun saw it, it was a marvel. How could a mouth that small get that big? Densely concentrated energy gathered. Unable to gauge the right amount, Yujun poured Touch of Healing in generously, and just as expected, it blended smoothly into the energy of Harp's breath.

Vmmm—! Vmm-vmmm!

A strong vibration rose, something that had never happened when Harp fired his breath alone. For a moment Yujun worried it might explode while still held in the mouth, but the concern was brief. Harp's breath shot straight forward.

Fweee— KRA-KOOM!

Launched into the densest cluster of undead, the breath utterly devastated the place. Where it had swept through, calling the ground a wasteland would not have been enough. Nothing remained. Because it was an attack carrying Touch of Healing, the undead it touched had no chance of resurrection.

"..."

"..."

Harp's breath was so immense that every player on the battlefield turned toward where it had been fired. Naturally, Yujun was standing there.

"It's Shin Yujun again?"

"I heard that divine beast fires a breath like a dragon. So it was true."

"You sure it isn't an actual dragon?"

"Have you ever seen a dragon that looks like that?"

"Fair point... Still, if it were a dragon, couldn't it change its form?"

"That's just a rumor. There are no dragons."

At the claim that there were no dragons, a player pointed in one direction.

"Then what's that?"

In the direction of the finger, a Bone Dragon stood stock-still, its enormity unmistakable even from far away.

"..."

"There are dragons."

"Maybe..."

The players were wary of the Bone Dragon too. It was standing out in the open like that. There was no way not to notice. Going after it just because it made them uneasy was too much to ask. No—it was impossible.

Either way, Harp's breath had sharply cut the number of undead.

Even just in range, it doesn't compare to my Fire Blast.

Yujun looked at Harp as if the little thing were the most lovable creature alive. Meeting his eyes, Harp broke into a bright smile.

Insane...

This was cute. Far too cute. Yujun had always been the type to find animals endearing, but his heart had never ached like this before. The little one was strong and cute, but that wasn't all he had. Harp grew alongside him. In short, there was no great need to fuss over raising him. Not being able to equip him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with items was a shame, but even without that he more than pulled his weight, so his potential was limitless. By now, whenever Yujun's shoulder felt light, a faint emptiness came with it. Maybe Harp was something more than a soulmate to him.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting and darkness began to settle in. An environment where the undead could run even wilder was taking shape. Cutting their numbers as much as possible before that was best, but it wasn't easy. The fortunate part was that, thanks to Yujun stepping in several times, the players of the Holy Empire had stopped falling back. Even so, the longer the battle dragged on, the more fatigue the players were bound to accumulate.

The undead were the opposite. As night fell, they only grew stronger and tougher. Resurrection by the liches happened faster than before, and the mana regeneration of the undead mages and liches climbed another notch.

"Keh-keh..."

The liches laughed, a sound like phlegm boiling in their throats. They looked thoroughly at ease, as if the deaths of the Lich Lords were nothing special. Not being greatly shaken by an ally's death was a trait unique to the undead.

Yujun stole a glance at his message window.

Peace Contribution at ninety thousand...

The undead legion was still intact. Thanks to a scale far larger than the legion that had raided the village, his Peace Contribution kept climbing and climbing.

Tited, a heavily armored giant who boasted tremendous defense, opened his mouth.

"They're really not sending any more reinforcements?"

"Would you come, if you were them?"

His uncle, Tideran, answered as he pulled out a water ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bottle. Befitting a giant's belongings, the bottle was enormous. With a heavy glug, lukewarm water ran down Tideran's throat. He was more satisfied that it rinsed the stale film from his mouth than that it quenched his thirst.

"The Emperor has to know that if this place falls, it's over, doesn't he?"

"You don't know a thing, do you? Right now the Emperor's practically a puppet."

"What do you mean..."

"He's moving however those Demon God Worshipper bastards want."

What Tideran knew wasn't exactly precise information either, but simply knowing that the Holy Empire was being jerked around by the Demon God Worshippers already put him well ahead of most.

Tited's mouth fell open.

"So reinforcements aren't coming?"

"How should I know. But if it were me, I'd have sent them even if I had to force it. If this place is breached, Demon God Worshippers or not, it's the end for everyone."

"What even are those bastards, stirring up trouble everywhere? Couldn't the kingdoms just join forces and kill them all?"

"You're only eleven, so I guess you wouldn't know, but the cult already holds sway over the entire Continent. Whatever we do now, it's already too late."

"Uncle, then is the Continent going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fall?"

"It already has. Look at the Holy Empire, floundering because it can't even hold off the undead. Does that make any sense? A few years ago, it would've been unthinkable."

"..."

"Two more coming. You hold those off."

"And you, Uncle?"

"I've got to stop that one."

One particularly massive Death Knight was walking toward where Tideran and Tited stood. No. More precisely, it was approaching while butchering players. Its appearance was quite different from Paranet's—sleeker—but in sheer size, they were similar. The Death Knight advanced without hesitation toward Tideran and Tited. It had set its sights on the two giants, strong enough to stand out even among the players.

In an instant the Death Knight arrived before Tideran. Tideran swung his axe with terrifying force, and the Death Knight thrust out its sword to meet it. Astonishingly, Tideran lost the contest of strength. His axe was knocked aside, and the Death Knight's foot moved. The kick that flew upward smashed his head apart.

KRACK—!

"U-Uncle!"

As Tited stared at the scene in blank despair, the Death Knight cut through his neck as well.

SHHK—!

It was the moment two giants who had dealt with well over several hundred undead died in vain.

The Death Knight looked for its next prey. It raised its head toward the two mages who had been getting in the way from the sky for some time, and at the faintly visible barrier surrounding them. Its crimson eye-lights gleamed.