440 Part 2

The trouble with undead monsters is that they exert their physical abilities unleashed from their physical yoke. They didn’t feel any pain, they had no fear, and they kept moving until their inner resentment and magical power were depleted.

Although they had many well-known weaknesses such as light magic, their toughness and powerful movement made the undead some of the most difficult enemies anyone could face.

With fifty of them on our side, we would be able to use them to protect the exhausted assault team members in this enemy camp, including Eliwood.

Above all, we were lucky that the assault team managed to take down so many of their Armor Knights, for now we had several heavily-armored zombie knights to make a strong wall with.

The only thing I was really worried about is that this army of zombies not only consisted of Crusader soldiers, but also some of the knights and adventurers of the assault team that had fallen during the battle. It pained my heart to raise the whip against dead people, even though some were our allies too, but… I’m sorry, but we need your strength for a little longer.

“W-What’s this!? To make these many undead so quickly… Impossible…”

Along with the screams of the Crusaders, I could hear Eliwood’s surprised voice. Well, who wouldn’t be surprised?. I wouldn’t even be able to tell at a glance that such evil and unclean-looking zombies were actually our allies, fighting to protect us.

“Don’t worry. These guys are now my servants.”

Though I said so myself, it wasn’t that he didn’t need to worry, but I didn’t have much time to explain it thoroughly. Sorry, Eliwood, but I need you to take cover behind these zombies for a little while.

Okay, now I can rush forward without any reservations.

“Are you ready, Hitsugi?”

“Yes, preparations have been just finished, Master!”

As her reply echoed vibrantly in my brain, dozens of tentacles gushed forth from the shadows, coiled themselves around the halberds they picked up from the floor by their tips, lifting them up and wriggling vigorously.

“How about some red-hot blackening?”

“Understood!”

What Hitsugi had flung at Eliwood’s feet just a while ago was the usual blackening. But the halberds that Hitsugi had picked up just now had the newly devised derivation of blackening, “red-hot blackening”, applied to them.

As the name implied, this was a spell that used the pseudo-fire attribute. It wasn’t to add a flame to their blades. This instead was an enchantment meant to turn the weapons themselves into bombs.

After the silver halberds were dyed in black due to the blackening’s effect, an eerie red pattern like a pulsating blood vessel emerged, similar to the “Absolute Grudge Blade Kubidan”. With this, all the halberds collected by Hitsugi were no longer bladed weapons that cut through their targets with a sharp blade, but blasting weapons that crushed the enemy into smithereens upon contact.

Now, let’s use this firepower to pave the way forward for me.

“Burst open– Sword Arts – Blast Blade!”

“Blaaast!!”

Together with my utterance of the magical name and the roar of Hitsugi’s cry, the tentacles threw the halberds that had been turned into missiles with the “red-hot blackening” all at the same time.

Even if she didn’t throw them in any particular way, they ended up being shot as if it had been the work of some sort of psychokinesis, just like a Sword Art. But in any case, a total of 13 explosive halberds were thrown at a group of Armor Knights and other infantry standing in front of us, with the momentum of a rocket launcher.

“Just as I thought, it’s more powerful than Grenade Burst.”

A destructive sound drowned out all the screams, and a red-black explosion erupted. With the hot air blowing through my hair and coat fluttering violently, I took a step on the freshly-made road of scorched earth.

My destination was a place where a swordsman in a black coat similar to mine was struggling alone. His opponent was a young man wearing glasses, dressed in a gorgeous pure white robe, as if he was a priest of the Cross Church.

There were other members of the assault team fighting on their own, but now that I had decided to use zombies, I had to prioritize eliminating this priest, who had the ability to instantly kill the undead.

Apparently, the bespectacled priest was using water… No, was that faint white light a sign he was using holy water? He manipulated it in such a way that allowed him to launch an ever-changing attack on the black swordsman. If the zombies that I’ve raised were to be hit by those whips made of shining water, they would crumble into dust on the spot.

To make things worse, the priest was guarded by several Armor Knights, whose weapons were shining with an Enhancement’s white pale light. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of effect they had bestowed upon them, but that clean light looked like the type that would work well against zombies.

However, since I was a human being, I wouldn’t be particularly vulnerable to holy magic, so I didn’t have to worry about getting hit by them. All I had to do was to deal with that priest who mastered water magic.

Let’s get rid of that guy and help the swordsman.

“Alright, let’s go.”

We were met by Crusader soldiers who ran with all their might through the holes in their ranks made by the halberd missiles. While the black smoke was still smoldering, I switched weapons on the way through the road.

After putting away the Dual Eagle that I had on my left hand, I once again took out…

“Yees, it’s blade time!”

It was a weird choice for dual weapons, but wielding the Absolute Grudge Blade – Kubidan in my left hand, and the cursed naginata Haunted Grave in my right hand, I approached behind the Armor Knights that were threatening the black swordsman.

“Dual Black Blades–”

Just before I was about to attack, the Armor Knights who noticed my approach quickly turned around. I wasn’t surprised about being noticed, because I had no intention of hiding the slightest hint of murderous intent, or magical power, but still their speed of response was really that of an elite soldier.

The four knights that turned around seemed to agree with the idea of ​​overcoming the unexpected hit from behind with the defensive power of the Tower Shields they were so proud of, showing wonderful coordination as they arranged them neatly.

That intimidating presence made it feel like I was facing an actual steel wall.

In fact, I have already experienced that those thick steel armor with their big crosses drawn on them could block my Dual Black Blades during my previous encounter with them in Alsace. Back then, Kubidan was still the “Cursed Grudge Blade – Harakiri”, but even with its evolved form, I wasn’t sure I would be able to cut through their defenses.