Chapter 1243: Before Leaving

My flame magic, Fran’s thunder magic, and Urushi’s dark magic slammed into the front lines of the undead. Despite being boosted by a surge of evil energy, they were still little more than cannon fodder to us.

We could handle them easily even with spells focusing on area over power.

『Hmm, taking down a couple thousand is still a drop in the bucket.』

（Should we go back? Or continue?）

It seems Fran thought building a defensive line might be effective after witnessing how potent our spells were.

『Nah.』

The undead were flooding in from multiple directions. Stalling the horde in front of us would be pointless if the rest slip through.

『We head back to Alessa and report.』

（Got it.）

After throwing out a few more spells, we invoked Great Wall.

There were a few purposely created gaps between the massive walls. The intention was to lure them into the bottlenecks, hopefully squishing them together and delaying their advance slightly.

Furthermore, we used purification magic to set up barriers in the vicinity. That should hinder their progress too.

Buying around ten minutes or so should allow the knights to put some distance between themselves and the undead.

Just as planned, the undead legion soon came to a halt!

Now the knights should be able to retreat without any issues. One of the leaders waved to us as we approached from the sky again.

「You’ve saved us!」

「Nn. Where are you headed now?」

「We intended to go to Alessa, but is it safe there?」

「They’re fine.」

I guess Alessa is the largest town in the vicinity. Having additional knights should bolster the city’s defenses. Even if they weren’t worth much combat-wise, they would improve the psychological stability of the citizens.

If we had Amanda or Forrund, maybe we could intercept the undead before they reached Alessa. But I don’t feel safe doing it alone.

Especially since we don’t know their numbers.

『Let’s hurry back to Klimt so we can prepare for another deployment.』

In the end, deploying repeatedly seems like the best way to lighten Alessa’s burden.

「Nn. Do your best, Urushi.」

「Woof woof!」

「…With so many enemies, I wonder if Amanda and the others are okay?」

『I’m sure they’re just fine. Those guys are no pushovers. We should focus on protecting the place they come back to.』

「Nn.」

After hastening back to Alessa, we reported on the size and composition of the enemy forces.

The lord and other important individuals gathered at the lord’s mansion (currently undergoing reconstruction) had grim expressions. However, none of them could deny the report of a Rank A adventurer as nonsense.

As such, everyone understood the grave danger approaching Alessa.

The lord turned to Klimt as if clinging to his last hope.

「Can we evacuate in time?」

「No, they seem quite fast for undead. Outrunning them will be impossible.」

「I see…」

He didn’t appear too disheartened, almost as if he had anticipated this answer. After all, Alessa was the largest town in the vicinity. While they may have planned for receiving evacuees, evacuating the entire town was likely never considered.

Or perhaps, the lord asked the question despite already knowing the answer.

By informing everyone in the room that evacuation was impossible, he was essentially asking them to dispel their hesitation toward the inevitable battle. The merchants and such straightened their backs with determination visible on their faces.

「We might be able to eliminate the undead with enough forces, but Fran-san and I are the only Rank A equivalent forces we can currently count on. It would be challenging to take them head-on.」

「So what’s the plan?」

「We let the hordes advance a bit further, allowing them to pool their forces in a single location. Then, we take them out in one fell swoop.」

「…Isn’t that incredibly dangerous?」

「It is, but there’s no other way.」

While Klimt’s strategy would be difficult to pull off, it was also the only way to save Alessa in this situation.

Our role in the plan was to harass the advancing forces, or at least that’s how it will look. The real objective was ensuring the enemies coming from different directions will all arrive at the same time.

By slowing down the faster ones, we can gather them all up in the region north of Alessa.

Once they’ve gathered in one place, Klimt will call upon his Great Spirit to clean house.

Next, we headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to obtain potions and other supplies. Klimt seemed way more apologetic than he was at the lord’s mansion.

「Fran-san, I know we’re placing a huge burden on you. But please, we really need your help. There isn’t anyone else I can count on right now.」

「Nn. Don’t worry.」

『Leave it to us!』

「Woof woof!」

「This is for you.」

Klimt handed Fran a blue sphere. While it contained mana, this was not a magic stone.

「What’s this?」

「A magical device called a Spirit Nest. It can temporarily house a spirit, allowing one to transport it. As long as you have it, I can observe the battlefield through the eyes of the spirit inside. Please keep it with you.」

Since we couldn’t put it in storage, Fran wrapped it in a cloth and fastened it to her waist. Now Klimt will be able to know when to unleash the Great Spirit.

「Fran-chan.」

「Nell?」

「Wanna try checking your job? There might be a better one available.」

「Nn. Got it.」

I’m pretty sure Swordking is already a top-tier job, but Fran understood that Nell was making the suggestion out of concern. We headed to the guild’s job changing room.

There, Fran placed her hand on the crystal.

「Wow, you have so many more available jobs now.」

「Nn.」

『Whoa, it’s well over a hundred!』

After her continued growth, many advanced jobs were now open to her. However, Fran sought a profession surpassing Swordking…

「Eh?! What’s this?!」

「Nell, what’s wrong?」

「T-This one! The “Guardian Swordking” job! It’s not listed in the guild’s records!」

『Huh? Seriously?』

「Really?」

「Yes, I’ve memorized all the jobs in the records!」

Nell-san, isn’t your memory kinda amazing? That’s our receptionist! But wait… “Guardian Swordking”? That name really makes it sound like an upgrade over Swordking!