Time goes back a little.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Master!”
It was after the sun had set over the silvery peaks and it was dark when Edgar returned to the “Decisive Drolette” camp, which was set up in a position hidden by the undulations of the terrain.
The four of them, except Edgar, were surrounded by a magic lantern called “Fairy’s Lantern”. The light from this magic item could not be seen from a distance.
Their luggage was packed and ready to walk out on their shoulders, and they were sitting with it on their backs.
“The airborne cavalry who stood guard over the capital has vanished.”
“I knew it.”
Erminio, who was sitting with Loretta in his arms and his fingers on her chest, stood up.
This was the vicinity of the royal capital, Terra Ruale.
The “Decisive Drolette”, which was headed for the royal capital at the behest of Morgana, had passed through the security screen and was just one step away from the royal capital.
Edgar was on a solo reconnaissance mission when he heard that the skeleton cavalry on undead hippogriffs, which had been flying in circles over the city while the light was still shining, had withdrawn at sunset.
Erminio had no choice but to stop when he saw the airborne cavalry of undead hippogriffs patrolling the skies over the capital. If he had approached them carelessly, they would have been discovered and it would have been troublesome.
So they waited until night to try it, and sure enough, the hippogriffs retreated.
Undead were often misunderstood as having night vision, but in reality, they were magic-sensing. The range of effect of magic perception was the same whether it was day or night, and if they flew in the sky, they would not be able to see what was happening on the ground. There was no sense in going to the trouble of keeping watch from the sky.
“After all, they are more alert at night. The easiest way to get night vision is to use potions, but they don’t work for them.”
“The guards on the walls are still the same, but their numbers haven’t increased. There are still half a dozen of them.”
“Hmph. The first attack on the capital was so terrifying that the city fortified its defenses, but with hastily made preparations, this is about as good as they could get.”
In Erminio’s head, the recent battle in the capital was quite conveniently reconstructed in his mind.
“Then again, the problem is the night patrols of the spiritual undead. Hey Loretta, get that.”
“Yes! ≪Storage Box≫! “
Loretta chanted a spell, and several magic items fell from thin air.
There were small bottles of potions, a bowl, a tassel, a pair of glasses, magic stones that would be used as fuel for magic items, and so on.
Looking at the face value of these items, it could be said that they were a fortune in themselves.
“There are still enough magic stones. From this point on, we will be generous. We’ll cut off any appearance or presence, and we’ll take measures against “Wind Reading”.”
Picking up a dice-shaped blue stone that was lying around, Erminio laughed at the challenge.
When using magic items, the bottleneck was ‘fuel’.
Broadly speaking, you could either activate it by absorbing the user’s magic power, or you could throw in an ore … magic stone that had stored magic power.
However, the consumption of magic power should be reduced when there was a possibility of a battle, and the consumption of magic power by powerful magic items was tough for non-magicians. In that case, the magic stones would have to be used, but the problem with magic stones was that they were bulky and would put too much pressure on the baggage.
Up to this point, Erminio had been dealing with the undead soldiers on patrol as much as possible, rather than using magic items to force their way through.
It was for this very moment.
“Well then, the “Decisive Drolette” will now venture into the capital.”
As the leader, Erminio declared.
His expression showed that he was moved by his own bravery.
“According to the information we have so far, most of the undead used by the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” have physical bodies. Even in the recent attack on the capital, there were no spiritual undead to be seen. The question is how to deal with zombies, skeletons, and ghouls. Their fighting is basically a martial art that inherits their memories from before they were created. It is better to rely on visual perception to move sharply, just like before they were created. In other words…”
Erminio picked up what appeared to be a pair of glasses from among Loretta’s items.
The lenses and frames were made of a strange material with a texture like clay, and were all black.
Erminio put them on his face.
The name of this item was “Owl Glasses”. As the name suggested, these glasses granted the wearer the ability to see in the dark.
“Once we have a clear view, it will be easier to fight than in the daytime.”
The other four also picked up “Owl Glasses” and hooked a magic stone on the base on the right ear part of the frame.
The five of them could see the darkened scenery like it was daylight even though Loretta had extinguished the “Fairy’s Lantern”.
“From here on, it depends on the situation. We will take as much of the battle results as we can get. The first thing is to find out what the situation is. If the number of troops and the defense system indicate that an attack is feasible, then we will take on the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” … I’ll defeat her.”
The “Decisive Drolette” quietly began to move.
＊ ＊ ＊
“This is…”
The group scrambled to the top of the city wall without being noticed by the guards, but they were forced to stop there.
Inside the walls, things had changed.
All the inhabitants had fled, and what was supposed to be a ghost town of nothingness had turned into a mess, as if it had been made into a toy for avant-garde artists.
Many buildings were intricately assembled, and the city was divided by walls like a maze. There were passageways, plazas, and tall towers scattered about that seemed to serve as watchtowers.
These structures, with their nonsensical windows and store signs sticking out of odd places, gave an eerie impression as though the city had been cut and pasted.
The city has been remade like a labyrinth.
In the center of the city was a group of buildings that seemed to have become one with the castle walls. On top of the buildings spread out in a donut shape with the castle at the center, passageways were secured like capillaries, and bundles of pipes and tools were placed in places where they were widened in some places.
“What is this? It’s totally different from when we came here last time.”
As Loretta said while hugging Erminio’s arm (pressing her ample bosom against him), this scene was uncanny.
It was not the result of the disorderly construction of buildings like in a slum, but rather the collapse of an order that was formed in a calculated manner.
To put it simply, it was in “bad taste”.
“What is this? It looks like it’s still being built.”
“Must be some kind of magic.”
Wary of the patrolling skeletons passing in front of them, oblivious to their presence, Erminio observed the state of the city.
“Using earth elemental magic and the like, they first create the general framework of a building and then work out the details. … It’s a common technique used when building large buildings. My father gave me a villa for my tenth birthday, and when I went to see the villa in the process of being built, the magician was doing that.”
In fact, a skilled magician was enough to do this level of construction work.
Moreover, this was the royal capital. Since the city held the best magic pooling hot spot in the country, the construction work could be completed at once without running out of energy by pulling magic power from the land veins.
“It’s just a piece of paraphernalia made from the buildings in the capital. It’s not something to be feared. It’s a souvenir for Noacurio’s army. Edgar, record it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Edgar took out a bronze mirror-like object from his luggage and pointed it at the castle (what used to be).
This was the “Blue Mirror of Afterglow”. It was a magic item that could capture what it saw and project that image as an illusion.
It was much more accurate and quicker than making sketches, and it could record what the situation was like.
“I recorded it.”
“Good.”
“… Hey. What are we going to do now, Erminio …?”
Loretta was anxious, but Erminio was calm and confident.
“What is there to fear? There aren’t a lot of undead soldiers deployed, are there? That’s all that matters, Loretta. No matter how splendid the outward appearance of the buildings may be, there is no essential change.”
Erminio snickered.
It was like the entire royal capital had been turned into a battle camp, but there were no soldiers to make it work.
There were shadows of the undead in what looked like watchtowers, and they were standing sparsely in places.
If they were destroyed one by one, it would be easy to wipe them out.
“Just in case, let’s be careful of traps. Edgar, go ahead.”
“Understood.”
Edgar took out a fluffy feather ornament and attached it to his head. It didn’t suit him.
This was an item called “Cloud Thunderbird Feather”, which would reduce falling speed and prevent damage up to a certain degree.
Edgar kicked the edge of the city wall soundlessly, sending himself leaping to the ground far below.
Landing quietly, he looked around to survey his surroundings and then beckoned to Erminio and the others.
The four waiting members of the group also donned their “Cloud Thunderbird Feathers” and jumped down from the top of the city wall.
Before they reached the ground, they were swallowed up by a teleportation circle that deployed in mid-air, and vanished.
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