"What's ...... with the undead retreating?

　One of the knights who was struggling on the city wall noticed something strange and muttered.
　The surrounding undead are still rampaging, but the undead below the wall are clearing away the ladders and retreating.
　They also stopped attacking the city gate and retreated, drawing their hammer.

　I wondered for a moment if I had won, but then I thought again that I had not.
　A powerful enemy that had defeated even the guardian ward could not be defeated so easily.

　As if to confirm his prediction, a huge shadow crossed right above him.

　There was no time to watch the battle above King's Landing, but with the undead air cavalry returning more often than they came, it was clearer than day what had happened.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

　I'm sorry.

"Here's a status report. The objectives of the first phase of the war have been largely achieved.
　The battle for the city walls is as you know. We took out a good number of knights.
　Also, the troops who invaded beyond the city walls engaged in urban warfare. They also took down some adventurers and knights.
　The remaining troops on the city walls and in the city will continue to fight until they are annihilated, and the rest are in retreat.
"Right. So far, so good.

　On a wyvern, Rene receives a report from Alastor in a caller.
　You can see the main camp, the palanquin, and the tent that has been set up next to it as a command center, and Rene has the wyvern slow down.
　As the ground approached, Rene jumped down and ran straight into the tent.
　Alastor is staring at his desk, looking exactly as he did when he came out.

I'm glad you're okay, sir.
Even Ciel-Teira's air cavalry has started carrying priests. It's going to be tough going in head-on.
I see. Then let's plan a strategy.
　...... Well, if the next operation goes well, air combat will become less important. If it becomes a city battle, the enemy air cavalry will be less likely to touch us.
"Oh yeah, what happened to that?

　In response to Rene's question, Alastor made a thoughtful gesture and smirked.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not. We also captured an archer belonging to the Second Order alive during the battle on the city wall and abducted him.
"Well done. Well done. ......

　Just as Rene was about to say this, one of the callers on the desk made a noise.

How's it going?

　I'm not sure what to make of this.

"The ...... assassination squad has successfully infiltrated the temple. I'm not sure what to make of it.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
　Priestly adventurers from King's Landing seem to be gathering here. There's also a party that's escorting them. ......

　Reporting from the caller is the Ghoul Scout, commanding an infiltration and assassination squad of skeleton assassins (made up from the corpses of bandit adventurers and Night Python assassins).
　The objective was to infiltrate the temple in the rear and eliminate the priests who were restoring and consecrating. Temple priests, even those who can use sacred magic, may not specialize in combat, so it was a move that, if successful, could block the enemy's recovery at once.
　But it didn't seem to work out so well.

"Are there adventurers here?
"Yes. It seems that the adventurer is the one who initiated the ritual magic.

　I see, thought Rene.
　The term "adventurer" can mean any number of things. For example, if one of the adventurers conveniently had experience defending a city against a large number of undead, it would not be surprising if he or she had some advice for the temple.

　But Alastor's reaction was fierce.

"Adventurers?　Do you think these savage, filthy rats have this much wisdom?

　He was distraught, as if to say that the ghouls he was reporting were lying. He resembled the Duke before his death, when he was upset by Rene's attack.
　Seeing this, Rene revised his opinion of Alastor downward.

　--Oh ......, so that's who he is. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.
　　　I don't know.

　The Revenant, if created well, will inherit the memories and personality of the living. What we have here is Alastor as he was before his death, except that he is absolutely loyal to Rene. He has inherited not only his cleverness but also his stupidity.

Are you preparing for the next ritual?
I don't think they are, but they used up all the catalyst they had in the last ritual. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to collect as many as the adventurers in the city are carrying.

　When using ritual magic, the catalyst used to increase the power of the magic is different for each system. And only temples perform rituals with sacred magic. There are few places that store the catalysts for rituals with sacred magic.
　The Knights also have their own personal sacred wizards, but they are mainly front-line 'medics', and the Knights do not have the know-how or preparation for ritual magic.

I'm sure I'll be able to take a look at it myself. I'm going to launch my final attack here: ......
"You've done well. My heart will be with you until the end.

　Rene said something he didn't mean.

"What a waste of words.

　And the communication was cut off. Forever.



"Well. Well, I'd better get on with my work.
The prisoners are being held in another tent. I've decided it's best not to show my face, so I haven't explained the situation yet.
"Understood. ...... But first, you'd better change your clothes. I'm not sure what to do.

　I'm sorry.

　Humphrey thought about a hundred times that he was probably the most unhappy man in the world right now.

　Humphrey is an archer in the Second Order of Ciel-Teira. He is a former commoner who was made a nobleman by being made a knight under the direct control of the royal court. He does not own any estates, but lives off the government's support. He is also a father who married a daughter of a general merchant four years ago and has one son and one daughter.

　He was fighting on the city wall when he was captured by a skeleton that climbed up and brought him back.
　It was horrible to be carried backwards by a skeleton in the muddy current of undead running silently through the battlefield.

　And now, Humphrey was tied to a chair in a tent in the main camp of the undead.
　Inside the tent, there was a thick stake driven into the ground, and Humphrey was tied to the stake with his chair.
　Humphrey was tied to the stake with his chair. He tried to fight, but it didn't faze him.
　He was even carefully gagged, presumably to prevent him from biting off his tongue and dying.

　I did not understand what was happening.
　At any rate, they don't want us to die, but if that's the case, I have no idea what the undead would do to a living person.
　There was no one else in the small tent, and nothing was going on, but that made it all the more frightening.
　All I could think about was the possibility of some horrible creature coming through the flickering entrance at any moment.

　But when the girl entered the tent, Humphrey exclaimed for no other reason than fear.

　It was a girl in a white dress. Her straight, back-length silver hair was shining, and her silver eyes were mesmerizingly beautiful.
　Her face was childlike and innocent, but her behavior was filled with a certain elegance.
　You can find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing. The only ...... exception is the rose pattern on the skirt of the dress, which looks as if it was painted with a large paintbrush dipped in fresh blood.

　Humphrey was struck by lightning by the nobility and beauty of the dress.

　--If she was the silver-haired, silver-eyed noble girl ......, then she was!

　The person that Humphrey and his friends are fighting right now .
　The undead orphan of the former king. "The Rose Princess of Hell." I'll be back.

"Greetings, knight.
　You're a disloyal servant of a false king, but I'll do you the courtesy of a general now that you're a prisoner of war.
　My name is Rene "Rosy" Luvia Ciel-Teira.

　Rene pinched the hem of her skirt, folded her knees lightly, and bowed.
　It was a graceful, yet somewhat girlish gesture.

I'm sorry to have forced you to do this. But I really wanted to talk to the Second Order.

　A lot of questions were swirling in Humphrey's head. A lot of questions were swirling in Humphrey's head. mark overflowed his ears, threatening to spill over.

I have no intention of harming you in any way, regardless of the outcome of our discussion. I will use my transference magic to get you back to the city.
　So please remain calm and listen to me. I'm releasing your restraints now.

　As soon as Rene said "unbind", Humphrey's body eased up.
　I don't know what it was, but the ropes and gag that had bound Humphrey were cut off behind him and he fell to the ground.

"Why aren't you a ...... skeleton, ......?

　As soon as the gag came off.
　Of all the questions swirling around in my head, this was the first one that came out of my mouth.
　After he said it, Humphrey thought, "Oh, no. It was a very unimportant question. If he offended Rene by saying such a rude thing, he might be killed right now.

　But René, who looked a little taken aback, immediately broke into a smile, holding his mouth elegantly.
　She looks happy and innocent, and if you just look at her, she doesn't look like a monster. She's just a well-bred girl.

"Hmmm... That was just to scare you a little. That was just to scare you a little. It's not the right face for a discussion, so I'm taking a different form now.

　Then, with a serious, slightly nervous look on her face, she broke off.

I'm not here to talk about anything else.
　In order to end the battle with as few casualties as possible, I need the help of the Second Knight Commander.

　Humphrey's breath caught in his throat as he looked at her earnestly.

　The Second Knight Commander, Bertil Lagerbeck.
　He is not a flamboyant and charismatic hero like Lawrence, but he is a solid soldier and is trusted by his people. Like most knights, Humphrey adored Bertil.

　To him. It's like an invitation to a secret meeting.

"Do you know the Lord Commander? ......?
No. No, but if he hadn't been a part of the coup, he might have listened to me.

　Rene's tone was sorrowful, as if to say that Bertil was his last hope.

　When his brother Hilbert II raised the flag for a coup d'etat, the First Order, led by Lawrence, was complicit in it, and the Second Order tacitly supported it, and the tide was set.
　But Humphrey knows. But Humphrey knows that the Commander did not tacitly approve the coup because he did not care about the king.
　If the Second Order followed the King and fought against the First Order, Bertil's reading was that the Second Order would be defeated after both sides were exhausted. If that happens, Ciel-Teira will be a mess, and even if the Knights are destroyed, the Federation behind the King and the 2nd Knights and the four major powers behind the King's brother and the 1st Knights may fight over Ciel-Teira.


　Bertil thought the actions of the King's brother and the First Order were foolish, but he made the hard decision to keep quiet about the coup.

I don't want to burn the capital to the ground and kill many people for revenge either.
　That's why I need the help of the Second Knight Commander.

　Humphrey couldn't help but stare at him.
　The princess had risen from the grudge as an undead. An invader had come to King's Landing with four thousand undead.
　She says she doesn't want to kill innocent people if she can help it.

　Rene's earnest plea didn't seem like a lie, at least not to me.

"So I need you to send for me. Can you do that?
"It depends on what you want the ...... Commander and the Second Order to do.

　Rene smiled as he looked at Humphrey, who said cautiously and carefully.
　The smile was like a silver moon shining gently.