“Let’s go, Jared!”
“Yes!”
The town of Murasta is one of the towns located in the northern part of Duke Rüdiger’s territory. Although there are towns and villages further north, it is the most prosperous town in the northern region.
The ghouls were advancing along a single road leading to Murasta.
At that point, knights, led by Jared and Hugo, charged in.
“Now, Jared, show us the power that has captivated my daughter!”
The Duke, who had crushed the ghoul’s head with a single blow from his horse’s lance, roared with a fierce smile.
Unable to reply, Jared crouched low like a beast and sprinted, wielding knives in both hands, successively severing the ghoul’s neck and limbs.
Behind him were soldiers from Duke Rüdiger’s Family, holding spears, and behind them, the soldiers who had been fighting until now were retreating.
Many were injured, and Ernesta and Lily were left to tend to them. They were also tasked with killing any ghouls approaching the town from outside the main road.
The two Secretary Officers, who had intended to be on the front lines, did not vocalize their dissatisfaction with being in the rear guard, but they seemed unhappy. However, as they had been asked by both Jared and Hugo, they did not object.
Hugo himself was fighting on the very front lines. When asked, with all due respect, if it was appropriate for the Duke himself to risk his life, he proudly replied that the Rüdiger Ducal Family had always fought alongside their soldiers for the sake of the people. As Duke, he always fought at the forefront for his people. If he died, he died, he laughed heartily.
All the soldiers who had been fighting on the front lines had already withdrawn. Thanks to their efforts, the number of ghouls had decreased, but reconnaissance reports indicated there were still over two hundred.
What was astonishing was that not a single injured soldier, nor any soldier exhausted from battle, had lost their will to fight.
“My subordinates are diverse, from those who love fighting to those who want to protect their families. That’s why they are strong and I am proud of them!” Hugo declared proudly. “That’s why I don’t want to lose them. I apologize for troubling you, Jared, but please.” There was no reason to refuse.
Jared and Hugo killed ghouls one after another. They tried to prevent them from escaping to the rear as much as possible, but with their sheer numbers, some inevitably slipped through. However, the soldiers expertly destroyed the ghouls’ heads with their long spears, so the operation was proceeding without any casualties.
“—There’s no end to it.”
Jared spat and stomped on the head of a ghoul rolling on the ground with a squelch.
He had already killed about ten, but he didn’t feel like the number had decreased. In front of him, ghouls were marching in a line, emitting sounds that couldn’t be described as words.
Most of them looked human. Therefore, killing them didn’t feel good.
“What’s wrong, Jared? You’ve stopped! If you’re going to join my clan, you need to be able to fight with a smile, you know!”
To Hugo, who was expertly wielding his lance, Jared offered a vague smile and generated an obsidian spear without a chant, then released it. Ten spears flew straight towards the horde, piercing the heads of the ghouls at the forefront, and then the heads of those walking behind them, and even further behind them.
The man-eating demons, their brains splattering, convulsed and collapsed to the ground.
A cheer erupted from the rear. It was understandable, as this single blow had reduced their numbers by about twenty.
It was already close to noon. If they continued at this pace, they should be able to exterminate the ghouls before nightfall. However, Jared wanted to allow for some leeway.
Once the road was cleared, they would have to search the surrounding areas. Of course, the town’s defenses were strong, so it was unlikely any ghouls would slip through and cause damage, but there was always a possibility.
What worried him most was the existence of barbarians. They were unpredictable, and he didn’t know when or where they might attack.
Therefore, there was no time to leisurely deal with the ghouls.
“Duke, I’m going to start using magic in earnest soon.”
As he said this while beheading a ghoul, the mounted warrior, the Duke, grinned as if he had been waiting for this.
“Please do!”
“Then, everyone including the Duke, fall back behind me. Leave the escaped ghouls to us.”
“Roger! You heard him! Jared, lead the way, and the rest of us will form ranks behind you!”
There were about a hundred ghouls in sight. Considering there were another hundred further back, it was quite troublesome. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the ghouls were heading straight towards them, seeing Jared and the others as prey.
Jared maximized his Magic Power and raised both hands above his head.
As a visible amount of Magic Power concentrated in his hands, a murmur arose from behind.
Ignoring the soldiers’ voices, he offered the accumulated Magic Power to the spirits and converted it into power. The Magic Power took on an attribute and changed color. The Magic light, which had been close to transparent, turned to an earthy hue.
He waited for the ghouls to get as close as possible.
“Jared! That’s too dangerous! Shoot!”
The man-eating demons were only a few steps away. Hugo’s shout urged him to unleash his magic, but he held back. Not yet. He needed to draw them in further.
Since the magic only had mid-range reach, to slaughter many enemies, he had to delay the timing of the shot.
Just as a ghoul’s arm reached out towards Jared—he unleashed a blow infused with all his Magic Power.
“—Dragon’s Wail.”
This was the strongest earth-attribute magic, Petrify Magic, which was thought to be lost in the present day. That was Dragon’s Wail.
As if a mother dragon weeping for a lost child, a soul-piercingly sorrowful and maddening scream, which made one want to cover their ears, became the main current of Magic Power and assaulted the horde of ghouls.
The ghoul reaching for Jared instantly petrified. Then, the ghoul immediately behind it turned to stone with a clatter and shattered on the ground.
The ghouls petrified one after another in a chain reaction. The more the Magic Power, like a mournful cry, engulfed the ghouls, the more they turned into pitiful stone.
“…Is this ancient magic… Petrify Magic?”
Jared had no time to reply to Hugo’s murmur.
Although it appeared as though he had finished firing the Magic, that was not the case.
Jared was still releasing Magic Power. Even after turning fifty demons to stone, he continued to cast Petrify Magic.
After a minute, which felt both short and long, about a hundred ghouls were turned to stone.
“Haa… haa… I’m exhausted.”
Seeing Jared’s labored breathing, everyone understood that he was greatly depleted. However, before anyone could voice a word of caution, the Court Mage’s arms were wielded, shattering the petrified ghouls.
As if this were a signal, the petrified ghouls, like statues, were then smashed.
With Petrify Magic, which had once killed Barnabas Kaif, Jared defeated over a hundred ghouls with a single casting of the spell.
