Chapter 48

Gilbert and Lionel, along with the mercenaries, slowly approached the mountain of red-black 'Undying Mud.'

"If it's a viscous magic fungus, it should move slowly... but there's a possibility it has mutated, so be careful."

They cautiously measured the distance, aiming first for the area where part of an armor was exposed. As they got closer, they could see that the Undying Slime contained several partially decayed bodies of other monsters.

"Did they eat each other while they were still half-formed...? Or have they fused with the Undying Monsters...?"

The mercenaries muttered their questions as they closed the distance, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

Even at close range, there was no sign of an attack, and it looked like just a clump of muddy water. To rescue the people trapped inside, they began to cut into the mud with their blades.

"The parts we cut seem to disappear, but I wonder how far the blessing will last."

Lionel glanced at his sword as he shaved off the mud with a sweeping motion. On the other hand, Gilbert's battle axe had a much wider range of effect. Considering the impact on the trapped people, he was cutting down the Undying Slime from a slightly farther position.

Once they pulled out a knight, they dragged him to a safe distance and handed him over to the clerics in the rear. They repeated this process as they confirmed several more people trapped within the visible range.

"He's still breathing! Can you take him to the carriage?"

The cleric performed a quick healing, and the young knights of Jiemeld, working in coordination, carried the rescued knight to the carriage. The young knight had a mixed expression of relief and confusion.

Keeping a distance from Gilbert and the others who were prioritizing the rescue, Dolf and his team prepared the carriages to be ready to move at any moment, while also protecting the rescued knights.

"If the situation turns bad, immediately retrieve Gilbert and the others and retreat. Always keep an eye on the escape route. Barbara, Flora, please get the spare cloaks ready; we'll use them to protect the survivors."

Dolf gave instructions to the people on the scene with a stern expression, watching Gilbert and the others from a distance.

"I've cast a wide-area barrier as close as possible. It's a simple one, but it should buy us some time if we retreat to it."

Priest Sydney informed Dolf, then looked at the old knight prostrate nearby with a bitter expression. The old knight, Clark, was crouching on the ground, his head shaking.

"I... I am sorry... We, we... for the greater good..."

His voice, trembling and hoarse, was filled with fear, terror, and regret. Priest Sydney stood beside the old knight with a stern look.

"Many of Jiemeld's knights swear loyalty not to this country or its people, but to the ancient royal lineage of Jiemeld. This fact hasn't changed. I don't blame you for your pride, but is what you believe in really what you want?"

Priest Sydney's voice was calm but tinged with anger.

"Already... already... no more..."

The old knight, trembling, muttered these words and removed his sword from its sheath, placing it in front of him with the hilt facing the opposite direction. This was the gesture of a knight from the ancient kingdom, indicating surrender.

The anomaly occurred when they had rescued several knights. While digging through the mud, they found someone who had regained consciousness. His armor was of a higher quality, suggesting he was a squad leader, but most of his body was still buried in the Undying Slime.

The blessing on Lionel and the others' weapons had already worn off, and they were only able to dig through the mud, which was taking a lot of time.

"... What are you... the plan... failed... run... watch your... feet... we... made a mistake..."

After speaking in broken sentences, the man lost consciousness.

"Watch your... feet...?"

The word "feet" caught Lionel's attention, and he looked at the ground around him. He saw the ground bulging strangely.

"... Bad! Barrier the ground!!"

Lionel shouted to the cleric, who immediately cast a barrier at their feet. From the other side of the barrier, a large, worm-like or snake-like Undead Monster emerged from the ground.

Sensing the anomaly, Priest Sydney also cast a barrier in the ground, but it was a step too late. The ground near Dolf's carriage bulged significantly, and a smaller but still child-sized Undead Monster emerged.

It immediately headed towards Barbara, who was at the carriage entrance, handing out cloaks.

"...! Barbara!!"

Flora, in a split second, grabbed a pot from inside the carriage and slammed the bottom of the pot onto the worm-like Undead Monster.

A dull thud sounded, and the thing that was about to attack Barbara was flattened and recoiled. The worm-like creature, upon being hit by the pot, emitted small, countless lights from the crushed area and crumbled away.

"Flora...!?"

Gilbert, who had been dealing with the Undead Monsters emerging from the ground, looked at Flora in surprise. His arm was still swinging his battle axe, but his mouth was wide open.

"... Flora, you're quite something...!"

"I... I was making holy water in that pot... so it should be quite blessed..."

Lionel, the mercenaries, and the clerics, while preparing to retreat, were all stunned.

Gilbert, despite the situation, couldn't help but laugh.

"... Flora, you're braver than you look..."

He then checked the surroundings and glared at the mountain of Undying Slime in front of him.

– For some reason, I don't feel like we'll lose with Flora around. I know reckless actions are forbidden...

He thought about what would happen next. If they retreated now, the clerics' barriers had limits. They didn't have much time to come up with a plan. There were still residents in the capital, and they wanted to minimize the casualties as much as possible.

"Gilbert! Retreat to the barrier, we're pulling back!"

Lionel's shout reached him.

"...!! Gilbert!!"

Lionel's voice, tinged with urgency, echoed again. The ground around Gilbert bulged in several places, and large worm-like Undead Monsters and clumps of Undying Slime attacked him from all sides.

Gilbert raised his battle axe.

A pillar of light, like a bolt of lightning, descended vertically from the sky, covered in dark clouds, and struck the ground. A loud boom shook the earth.

The lightning struck Gilbert's raised battle axe, and it looked as if he had slammed the lightning-infused axe into the ground. The vision was filled with a blinding flash of light.

When the blinding light cleared, all the Undead Monsters and Undying Slime around Gilbert had disappeared. The rain had stopped, and where the red-black 'Undying Mud' mountain had been, only a small amount of soil remained.

"Is this... within the expected range?"

Priest Sydney asked Dolf quietly.

"... No. I'm desperately trying to come up with a good excuse right now. If you have any ideas, let me know."

Dolf laughed, unsure of what to do.

Lionel and Flora, who had jumped out of the carriage, ran to Gilbert, who was looking around anxiously. Gilbert's battle axe was still glowing with lightning, and the blade now had an ivy relief carved into it.