Overlord (WN) Chapter 45

Overlord First Half Chapter 45: War Part 5

War Part 5

Translators: Skythewood, Frostfire10

　It was a house made from wood.

　There were no decorations, the wooden structure was plain to see and the design was as plain as a cabin. But the ceiling was five meters from the floor while the length and breadth were more than fifteen meters either way.

　There were barely any furniture inside.So it was obvious at a glance that this was not a room meant to be lived in. No, but there was one giant mirror laid against the wall.

　In this extremely empty room, normally it would be quite bleak, but these past few days were not so.

 

　Within the room were countless figures.

　In the room—-At the table in front of the mirror.

　As it was made sturdily and did not fit with the atmosphere of the log house, one would have wondered where it came from. On top of that strange table, were countless scrolls, all lined up.

　All were scrolls imbued with magic.

“These are teleportation scrolls.”

　On top of the table, another scroll was placed on the table.

　The one who took out the scrolls was a human female in maid attire.

　With an extremely noble face, she was like an adult, but her eyes were stiffly bound, and could not be seen. Her mouth was closed to the point that it seemed that she disliked talking. Her wet black hair, had a gloss that made it seem that it was a different creature, was held up in a Sideup hairstyle

　Her skin was black too.

　Her clothes were black as well. However, they were far different from normal maid clothes.

　Her armour that protected her limbs went up to her elbow, comprised of  gauntlets, cooters (someone please find out what this is, Japanese pronunciation is kuutaa), vambraces and rerebraces, were made of a black material with gold embellishments and had purple symbols engraved inside. Her high heels seemed to be a mix of sollerets, riebe and poleyn, and had the same pattern.

　The skirt part of her maid uniform had a magical defensive plate made of a black magic metal on top of the cloth. In addition, it was three plates of magically transformed metal, adamantium,  a mix of mithril and beliad, and a magic metal known as galvon. Her chest armour also used this as well.

　Of course, the magic added was top grade. Data crystals that only players that are over level 90 could get were used.

　If one thought about its defensive properties, rather than a maid uniform, it was more like full plate armour.

　That was the same as her co workers, the maid uniform of the battle maids.

　Draped around her body, around her neck, her throat was completely hidden. A sword hung from its scabbard at her waist.

　She was one of the battle maids, Entoma Vasilissa Zeta, working under Sebas.

“And, this are the ‘Message’ scrolls, but there are a lot. Could someone please tidy up the table?”

　Entoma talked to one of the figures that were gathered. It then slowly nodded its head.

“Do it.”

　An, extremely hard to listen to voice spoke to Entoma.

　The pronunciation was like scraping a hard metal, and trying to turn the sound into words—-Something impossible for humans to do.

　Actually, the owner of the voice was not human—-

　It made one think of a giant 2.5 metre tall bipedal insect. If one mixed a praying mantis and an ant together, it would probably look like this. A tail longer than itself held countless spikes. Its jaws could probably easily cut through a human’s arm.

　With a sparkling platinum exoskeleton—-He was the existence known as Cocytus.

　And those surrounding the table.

　They were strange creatures whose figures resembled those of insects. Those that looked like praying mantises, and those that looked like ants. And there were those who did not seem like insects at all.

　Everyone had strange appearances.

　However, they had two things in common. One was that they were all Cocytus’ subordinates. And secondly, they were part of Nazarick.

“Understood.”

　Entoma deeply bowed. Receiving it, the surrounding insects moved so as to not disturb the maid.

　Cocytus made a face saying as it this was natural, Entoma made it as well.

　It was an extremely natural scene from those in Nazarick. The positions of those directly created by the Supreme Beings like Cocytus and Entoma were completely different from the subordinates.

　After confirming that the tables had been cleared—

“Well then, please accept this, Cocytus-sama.”

　— Entoma said without moving her mouth, picking up the bag by her feet and fished out several scrolls of parchment.

“These are <message> scrolls. These are from Ainz-sama. Due to the work of Demiurge, his worry of the scrolls running low has disappeared, and so he does not mind you using them.”</message>

“I see….I have to thank Demiurge then.”

　From among the scrolls offered, he picked several up using one of his four hands.

“Demiurge has pulled further ahead.”

　Cocytus said to his subordinates with a wry smile. When his subordinate heard that, they smiled along too.

　With the parchment in his hand, Cocytus fell into deep thought.

　He had heard about the stock of low level magic scrolls being diminished gradually. However, Cocytus was ordered with the defense of Nazarick, and could do nothing. It was natural. While defending, how could he go out.

　And the one who solved the problem was Demiurge. He, without any problems, had discovered parchment that could be used.

　His comrade completed his duty.

　It was something to be celebrated. Cocytus had actually felt happy. However, he could not completely stifle the flames of jealousy that burned from the bottom of his heart. His comrade, had been of use to the Supreme Being Ainz—-discovering parchment—-, and he could not stop feeling envious.

　Of course, Cocytus understood that, Cocytus who could not go outside, and Demiurge who was out on missions and had freedom.

　His mission was to defend Nazarick.

　This was probably more important than any other order given to any other Guardian. It was natural. Coarse people had no place stepping into the location of the Supreme Beings.

　However without invaders, there was no way to prove Cocytus’ loyalty and hard work.

　For the Guardians, aiding their master would bring strong sense of joy. Cocytus wanted to taste that happiness too.

　And that chance was right before him now.

　Cocytus turned his head and looked at the scene reflected in the mirror and tightened his grip on the scroll.

　What was shown wasn’t indoors, but a location somewhere in the wetlands. That’s right, this was from the Mirror of Remote Viewing.

　It was the reason why Cocytus was holed up for two days in this wooden house built by Aura.

　This war—-No, this experiment’s conditions were that Cocytus himself could not appear on the battlefield. Of course, this applied to his subordinates.

　The issue had to be solved with the troops that were allocated.

　If he were to succeed, Cocytus could then display his loyalty to his glorious master.

“Thank you for your hard work, please relay my thanks to Ainz-sama.”

　Entoma once again gracefully bowed.

“And so… Will you be going back?”

“No, I received orders to witness the battle here ’til the very end.”

　So she was here as an observer.

　Cocytus concluded, and felt hot blooded thinking about the heavy responsibility bestowed on him. Then, it was time to begin.

　Cocytus activated ‘Message’ and issued an order to the undead commander.

　— Advance.

　Two bonfires on elevated platforms illuminated the surrounding with flickering light.

　Normally it would be too early for the light to brighten the surroundings. However, with the thick cloud in the air casting its shadow, it was not strange.

　On the stage stood several lizardmen, comprising of the tribal chiefs and key figures. Before them, were countless lizardmen arranged in the area below.

　The lizardmen were abuzz. Unease, worry and fear. Even if they tried to hide it, they still had a commotion.

　It was natural.

　A war would occur after this. Their lives hung in the balance. Their friend next to them could become a corpse at any moment. The one that falls to the ground might be themselves.

　They were heading towards such a battlefield. As they met this day, they were of course prepared. However, it would be strange for someone not to feel fear when facing such a place.

　To cut through that commotion, one of the chiefs came forward.

　There was no lizardman who did not know him. He was the leader of the five tribe alliance, Shasuryu Shasha.

“All lizardmen, listen up!”

　A dignified voice spread across the area and it quieted down.

　All the lizardmen did not make a sound. Shasuryu’s voice reverberated across the quiet open space.

“I know that we face a great number of foes.”

　No response, but the uneasiness could be seen clearly in the eyes of all present.

　Shasuryu paused momentarily and continued loudly.

“But do not fear! For the first time in history, we the five tribes have formed an alliance. After this alliance, we are now all of one tribe.”

　So what.

　Accepting the looks of suspicion, Shasuryu spelt it out.

That’s why, the ancestral spirits of the five tribes will watch over us.”

　The ancestors were spirits that would protect their own tribes. No one had heard of them protecting those from other tribes. As if they had heard something impossible, they turned their gazes to Shasuryu.

　Ignoring the gazes of doubt he received, Shasuryu raised his voice.

“Head Druid of all tribes!”

　Taking the cue, Crusch led the five head druids of tribes and stepped forward. She removed the dress covering her and revealed her white scales.

　Seeing her albino scales, countless lizardmen made unhappy expressions. However, Crusch remained calm and smiled slightly.

“Leader of Head Druids, Crusch Lulu!”

　In response to Shasuryu’s introduction, Crusch took another step forward.

“Let our ancestors descend!”

“—Listen, children of this large tribe!”

　What was this new tribe?

　Crusch spoke with determination. Her voice was tense at times, calm at others; alternating between a mighty roar and the melody of song.

　In the beginning, almost everyone was disgusted by Crusch albino appearance, but seeing how she present herself confidently, the feelings of dislike faded away.

　Crusch’s body swayed gently during her speech. The white scales sparkled brilliantly under the light of the bonfire— The reflected gleam made it look as if the ancestors had descended onto Crusch.

　Everyone’s face started to show signs of adoration.

　Confirming the expressions of all the lizardmen there, Crusch continued the ceremony.

“Now, our five tribes are now one, that means the ancestors of the five tribes will watch over all of us! We are all witnesses! All lizardmen! Behold the countless ancestors— descend by our side!”

　Crusch spread her arms out with a grand gesture, pointing to the sky. The gaze of all present followed, but what they saw was just the cloudy sky with no signs of miracles descending. But someone said something softly.

　He said— there is a tiny beam of light.

　The soft voice gradually became big, several other lizardmen said: “I see them.” Some said they were small beams of light; some shouted they saw lizardmen descending; some uttered that were large fishes; some screamed these were children; some even uttered in disbelief those were eggs.

　As if inviting the rest, the other lizardmen began to see things as well.

　All the lizardmen had the same thought in mind— the ancestors really descended.

　The ancestors are here to protect us!

　It was only natural for them to shout something like that.

“Feel this! Feel the power flowing into your body!”

　Crusch’s voice reached the heart of everyone, the sound seemed so far, yet so near.

　Led by that voice, the lizardmen felt some sort of energy surging into their body.

“Feel it! Feel the strength bestowed onto you by the ancestors of the five tribes!”

　All the lizardmen present definitely felt it.

　They felt that surging power. The feeling of their hot blood flowing washed away all their unease, their body started heating up as if they just drunk alcohol.

　This could be taken as the best proof of their ancestors descending.

　Crusch looked away from the revel faces of the lizardmen and nodded to Shasuryu.

“Lend me your ears, lizardmen. The ancestors have descended onto us. We cannot match the enemy in numbers, but will we lose?”

“No!”

　The lizardmen intoxicated in the atmosphere responded to Shasuryu in unison, shaking the very air.

“That’s right! With the ancestors upon us, it is impossible for us to lose! Defeat the enemy, and present victory to our ancestors!”

“Warrghh!”

　The lizardmen were in high spirits, no one felt uneasy anymore. There were only lizardmen who had morphed into warriors as they headed toward the battle that was upon them.

　They were not charmed by magic. It was the drink that all the lizardmen drank before the battle ceremony. It was a special drink that made the lizardmen felt intoxicated, happy and saw illusions for a short period of time.

　They had received the effect of a type of meditation.

　Crusch’s speech was just buying time for the herb to take effect.

　Once the truth was known, it wasn’t much. But for those who saw the effects with their own eyes— the lizardmen who witness the ancestors descending, it was a ritual that brought out the courage in them.

“Well then, we will hand out the paint to everyone. It used to be one colour for each tribe, but right now the ancestors from all five tribes are among us, so use all the colours to paint yourself!”

　Several druids carried pots and walked through the lizardmen crowd in response to Shasuryu’s voice.

　The lizardmen took paint from the pot and started drawing war paint on themselves. They believe these were the drawing of the ancestors who had descended onto them, so they allowed their fingers to move freely, painting patterns on their body.

　With the ancestors from all five tribes descending onto them, many of the lizardmen covered their whole body with paint. But the lizardmen from ‘Green Claw’ didn’t draw many war paints on themselves. This was because Zaryusu, Shasuryu and the elites of the tribes didn’t draw any.

　Basically the ancestors of those two were descending. Many thought so, and did not paint as much. It could be considered the thoughts of a fan imitating their idol.

　After surveying the crowd and confirming that everyone had finished, Shasuryu drew his greatsword and pointed at the main gate.

“Move out!”

“Wargghhh!!”

　Countless piercing roars shook the surrounding.

　The forces of the Great Tomb of Nazarick were roughly divided in two.

　From the view of the lizardmen, the zombies were on the left while the skeletons were on the right. Skeleton archers and riders were positioned behind the skeletons.

　Undead beasts were situated behind as the core of the army.

　The lizardmen army had a smaller force and were divided into two groups as well. Facing the zombies were female lizardmen and hunters, while the warriors and male lizardmen were set against the skeletons. The Druids were placed inside the village protected by walls.

　The lizardmen formed up outside the village because there was nothing to be gained from a defensive battle. They had no incoming reinforcement and the walls weren’t really sturdy. On the other hand, the undead army didn’t require any provisions or rest.

　With such a disadvantageous position, a defensive siege battle would be foolish.

　But after both sides set up formation, the difference in numbers was clearly shown.

　One lizardman had to fight against five, ten against fifty, the ratio remained the same. But the difference was prominent when it was a thousand against five thousand. Just lining up five thousand undead was highly intimidating.

　The difference in numbers was enough to possibly lose the desire to fight even before the war started. Even so, the lizardmen did not show any fear. With their ancestors descended amongst them, numbers were not a problem.

　Moments later, the undead army started advancing slowly. The first to move were the zombies and the skeletons. The skeleton archers and riders remained in place, therefore they were probably conserving their forces.

　The lizardmen army started their march too.

“Warrrggghh!”

　Deafening roars covered the entire wetlands.

　It was then followed by the splashing of water. The mud flew everywhere and the water splashed.

　Although the zombies and skeleton moved forth at the same time, their pace was different. This was because the zombies were slow and stiff while the skeletons were agile and fast. Most important of all, they were in the wetlands which affected mobility.

　The movements of the stiff zombies were obstructed by the mud, slowing them down. But the light skeletons were not affected much.

　Hence, the first to clash were the skeletons and the lizardmen warriors.

　The lizardmen did not have any formation, simply charging ahead to engage the enemy, with no stratagem to speak of.

　Leading the way were the five warrior captains from each of the tribes. For the commanders to be in the frontlines could be considered foolish in some ways. But they were the highest ranking combatants, so the morale of the lizardmen would plummet if they didn’t led from the front. Thanks to their effort, all the lizardmen were highly motivated.

　Right behind them were the 89 ‘Razor Tail’ heavy armor warriors. Wearing leather armors and shields, this group had the highest defence among all the tribes.

　With their shields raised, they formed a wall that was charging into the skeleton army.

　An intense collision— the vanguards of the skeletons and the warriors smashed into each other.

　In that instant, countless bones flew everywhere as the lizardmen unit crashed a hole into the skeleton formation.

　Angry roars accompanied the cracking sound of bones. There were occasional moans of pain, but the bone cracking sounds were overwhelmingly louder.

　The lizardmen gained a staggering advantage in the first clash.

　If it were a human army instead, the result would be reversed.

　Because the skeletons were made up of bones, piercing weapons were ineffective and they had resistance towards slashing attacks too. Hence, for the human army with swords as their primary weapon, it would be difficult to deal effective damage against the skeletons.

　Then were skeletons strong? No. While they were strong against piercing and slicing, they were weak against blunt attacks.

　The lizardmen mostly used ill crafted weapons maces of stone. Whenever a lizardmen swung the weapon in their hand, the bones of the skeletons shattered easily. Even if they survived one hit, they would be crushed in the next attack. On the other hand, whenever the skeletons attacked with their rusty swords, it got deflected from the tough scaly skin of the lizardmen. Some of them were hurt, but no one suffered mortal wounds.

　The very first clash.

　The shattered bones of six hundred skeletons littered the wetlands just like that.

　The image reflected in the mirror stunned Cocytus.

　It was nothing more than the first clash, but the abilities of the lizardmen were higher than expected. They could last for more than five minutes against the Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Riders.

　As he watched, another skeleton fell. The skeletons and zombies would serve no purpose except for wasting their energy.

　In that case, the effective forces would be the remaining 400 undead beasts, 200 skeleton archers, and 120 of 720 skeleton riders. They were outnumbered instead. However, if they slowed down and slowly destroyed them, there would be no problems.

　Cocytus started calculating in his heart.

　The undead were strong in battle, especially in a drawn out fight. The undead didn’t feel anything, and wouldn’t feel neither fear nor pain. They didn’t need rest or sleep.

　The advantage these characteristics brought were evident with no need for any explanation.

　For example, most creatures would fall from a powerful hit from a mace to its head. Even if they didn’t die, they would bleed profusely and feel pain. The one who got hit would lose all will to fight. Some warriors who were trained to resist pain might be able to stand their ground, but most people would lose the will to fight.

　This was natural for living beings.

　But what about the undead?

　Simple. —-If the damage was not significant, it would keep coming.

　Smash its head? It would keep on attacking.

　Break its arm? It would stab at you with its stump.

　Take out its legs? It would crawl at you.

　Yes, the undead would continue until their false life ran out. They would not lose their fighting spirit like humans would. This meant that the undead was in a way, the perfect soldier.

　In terms of individual strength, the lizardmen obviously had the upper hand. But that could change.

　Cocytus’ raised his evaluation of the lizardmen by one level and acknowledged that they were not enemies that could be defeated easily. What he needed to do now was to turn this into a battle of attrition.

“How about retreating for now and observe the situation?”

“I believe this is a wise move, my lord.”

“Sending out the skeleton archers and riders might be a better option, master.”

“No, I think we should press on with the attack and sap them of their stamina, my liege.”

“How would waiting for them to tire help? If we can’t destroy the enemy’s base camp, they would be able to rest and recover right?”

“Indeed. Our foes had strengthened their defences with just a fragile wall. How about taking that village and routing them?”

　After hearing the response from his underlings, Cocytus picked up a ‘Message’ scroll. He glanced at Entoma from the corner of his eyes and observed her expression.

　Entoma kept her eyes closed, and faced the mirror. There was no expression on her face. It was weird, like she was wearing a mask. Cocytus recalled her true body, and chided himself for trying to read her face.

　— Wrong, that expressionless face was just a decoration.

　Yes, there was no way she could express emotion on that face.

　Cocytus gave up trying to read Entoma’s thoughts from her face and used the scroll to issue the instruction to the commander.

“Are they looking down on us?”

　Zenberu mumbled. He wasn’t loud, but it was enough for everyone surveying the enemy from on top of the mud walls to hear.

“Hmm….Are the skeletons and zombies the only ones moving?”

“Their archers and riders are still held in reserve, I think they are underestimating us…”

“That’s right, I thought the enemy would charge at us at one go…”

“Fight with zombie, smooth.”

　There were only 45 hunters fighting the zombies. Using hit and run tactics by throwing rocks at them, the hunters were luring the zombies slowly away from the skeletons. The female lizardmen moved slowly to the flank of the skeletons.

“Aren’t their movements rather queer?”

“… Indeed.”

　Instead of being lured, the zombies were focusing completely on the hunters. Was the commander agreeing with this? No, there was no way any commander would accept this, but in actual fact, that was how the zombies were moving. Then, what is the objective of the enemy?

“I don’t understand why they are moving this way.”

“Ah….”

　No matter how they thought about it, there doesn’t seem to be any purpose in the zombies’ action.

“Maybe there is no commander?”

“N? Zaryusu what saying.”

“No commander…? Ah, you mean the undead are just following the very first instruction they received?”

“Yes, correct.”

　Amongst the undead, zombies and skeletons were the bottom of the hierarchy and so had no intelligence. Normally a commander would give orders, but if there was none then they would follow the last order they received.

　Basically, it was the idea that they were without a commander and were simply following the order of killing any nearby lizardman.

“That is to say our foes thought they could win against us if they have the numbers… No, could this battle be just an experiment to see how well the undead fight without a commander?”

“That may be so.”

“Damn it! What kind of joke is this?”

　Shasuryu spat out those words. As expected, even Shasuryu could not take it. They were risking their lives, but the other side was simply taking this as an experiment.

“Calm down Shasuryu, it might not be so simple.”

“Ah, my apologies… It is a good thing that we have the upper hand.”

“You are right older brother, we have to use this chance to diminish the enemy’s’ numbers.”

　The fatigue from battle was heavy, the mental strain would be enormous in a chaotic fight. Without knowing if the enemy would come from the front, back, left or right, just swinging your weapon under such conditions a few times would be much more tiring than normal.

　But the undead wouldn’t get fatigue and would fight without rest.

　The difference between the living and the undead would become more prominent with the passage of time.

　Time was the enemy for the lizardmen.

“Tch, I want to take the field too.”

“Endure, Zenberu.”

　If the skilled Zenberu was to join the fray, they could level the skeletons in no time. But that would mean revealing their own trump cards. Zaryusu and the other five were the ace in the hole. They had to show their ace if the situation called for it, but before the strongest foe shows itself, they must not show their hand.

“But wouldn’t it play right into our hand if the enemy doesn’t advance?” Zaryusu said to the others. The others agreed with him, and Zaryusu asked Crusch who was beside him: “How are things on your end?”

“… Yes, the ritual is going as planned.”

　Crusch answered as she looked inside the village behind them. The group of druids were performing a ritual inside the village that could become another ace for the lizardmen. It usually took a lot of time, but with all the druids of all five tribes gathered here, the progress was sped up and it could be used in this battle.

“… Teamwork, what an amazing thing.”

“Yeah… That’s true, we did share some information after that war… But there are so many more things I want to do after the war now.”

　At Shasuryu’s words, the other chiefs nodded. With this fight, they could develop themselves for the first time. Zaryusu smiled as he looked at the five of them.

“What’s so funny?”

　Crusch saw Zaryusu and asked him with doubt in her voice.

“Nothing, it is just that despite being in such a situation, I still feel really glad.”

　Crusch understood Zaryusu’s thoughts immediately.

“— Me too, Zaryusu.”

　Seeing Crusch smiling brilliantly, Zaryusu squinted his eyes as if he was looking at something bright. Both of their eyes were filled with admiration and love for each other.

　They separated. It was natural. Lizardmen were currently dying. As they understood this, they could not let their true feelings show in their behaviour. However, Zaryusu and Crusch’s tails moved as if they were different creatures, and touched and left each other.

“Muu…”

“As the older brother, how does it feel?”

“They are in their own world.”

“How passionate.”

“In conclusion… It’s good to be young. Their future is bright.”

　The four older lizardmen nodded in unison as they watched their cute juniors.

　It was impossible for Zaryusu and Crusch to miss that. Although their tails were twitching about, they still kept their poker faces.

“Elder brother, the enemy is moving.”

　Shasuryu and the others smiled wryly as Zaryusu shifted gears so suddenly. They looked towards the enemy formation and saw the skeleton riders flank the battle in front of them before advancing.

“Hey hey, are they charging for us?”

“With skeleton riders? Are they planning to bring down our morale by striking at us?”

“No, they are probably flanking to the rear of the warriors and male lizardmen to surround them.”

　Not good.

　Everyone came to the same conclusion that the mobility of the skeleton riders was a threat.

　If the skeleton riders were deployed at the start of the fight, the lizardmen could exterminate them first. Right now, the warriors and male lizardmen were in a chaotic fight, the hunters were luring the zombies and the female lizardmen were throwing rocks from the flank of the skeletons, there were no available forces to stop the skeleton riders.

“I think we should take action.”

　Accepting the proposition from the chief of Small Fang, Shasuryu nodded in agreement.

“The problem is who we should send.”

“If they come here then everyone would have to do it, right?”

“Yes. We just have to do it well.”

“The lizardmen in the hot blooded battle can’t move, should we have the females go?”

“We have no other choice. But, if we can….”

“Then it will be our turn, we will show our strength, and preserve Zaryusu and the rest?”

“That sounds good. Do you mind, younger brother?”

“Ah. No problems here.”

“Then let us use one of our cards.”

　Skeleton riders.

　They were skeletons that rode bone horse, and wielded spears. They were existences that had only high mobility, but here in the wetlands, that movement ability was showing its effects. As they were bone, they did not sink, and could move with the speed of horses.

　The 120 Skeleton Riders circled behind the lizardmen. Their aim was to destroy the lizardmen from behind.

　They could see three lizardmen running at them to the left of their advancing route — which was the direction of the village — but the skeleton riders ignored them. Without any orders, they would ignore anything if they were not attacked. That was the kind of monster the unintelligent undead was.

　They almost reached the rear of the lizardmen army when the skeleton rider leading the charge suddenly tumbled. The skeleton rider was flung high into the air before it fell heavily into the wetlands.

　A human would be confused and wouldn’t be able to act immediately. But the unintelligent undead skeleton rider moved instantly in order to carry out its instructions.

　Recognising that it had fallen from its horse, it immediately got up. It was blown quite a distance, but as the wetland below it was soft, it could safely get up. However, since it was blown quite fast, it received some damage.

　Then another skeleton rider was hit.

　The bones of two skeleton riders were blown to the grounds.

　It was happening everywhere.

　—-Those were traps.

　Using wood, holes were dug in the wetlands. There, the skeleton rider’s horses had their feet trapped, causing them to fall hard.

　As the scene spread, the skeleton riders continued to fall one by one.

　Originally, they should have dropped their speed. However, the skeleton riders did not do so. This was as they were not ordered to do so.

　Maintaining their speed, they seemed to be commiting mass suicide. And so they fell.

　However, those traps did nothing but stall them. While it was true that they gave a bit of damage, it was not enough to defeat the skeleton riders.

　Yes.

　Those traps did nothing but stall for time.

　Then the sound of a hole opening in the air could be heard. Then the head of a skeleton rider fell to the ground.

　Hostile actions.

　Noticing it, the fallen skeleton rider looked around at the surroundings.

　Then, another skeleton rider’s head was shattered like glass.

　It then noticed.

　The skeleton riders discovered three lizardmen about 80 meters away from them. They could also see them using slingshots, shooting rocks to snipe the head of the skeleton riders——

　The skeleton riders started moving and at the same time, the fight with the skeletons was changing.

　With the sound of bow strings releasing, arrows rained down on the battlefield.

　The 200 skeleton archers fired arrows at the skeletons and the lizardmen simultaneously. It wasn’t just one shot, but two, three…

　This was an unexpected assault for the lizardmen.

　Several lizardmen were hit and fell. They couldn’t defend against the arrows while they fought against the skeletons. Of course, the skeletons were hit as well. However, they received no damage. It was natural. They had resistance to piercing attacks, and so the arrows just bumped against them.

　Placing the skeletons in the front and the skeleton archers firing from the back was a great combination. With the time needed to defeat 2,500 skeletons, this tactic would be enough to wipe out the lizardmen.

　But the problem was that this tactic was implemented too late. If it was used at the very beginning, the lizardmen would definitely be in a dire state. The skeletons would then overwhelm them with numbers and earn a decisive victory.

　Ignoring the dwindling skeletons, the lizardmen charged at the skeleton archers. Receiving the attacks from the warriors, males and females, the exterminated skeletons could no longer hold them back.

　The arrows from the 200 skeleton archers fell like rain, downing several lizardmen onto the mud, but it was just a small number. With the thick skin and hard scales of the lizardmen, their defence was on par with humans wearing leather armor. Even if arrows pierced their skin, their tough muscles might be able to stave off fatal injury.

　Another reason for the minimal casualties were the weak arrow shots. The magical strength didn’t have enough power to kill the lizardmen.

　So in comparison to the number of those hit, the lizardmen that fell were few.

　The lizardmen roared fearlessly as they charged. The lizardmen crossed their arms to protect their head, braving ahead.

　Once again the arrows flew and lizardmen fell. Within the storm, they guarded their bodies and dashed forward.

On the third wave of arrow attack—

　This was the limit of how fast the skeleton archers could shoot. If they had intelligence, they would probably retreat. If they moved back and regrouped with the surviving undead army, they could be utilized in a better way.

　But the skeletons did not have the mental capacity to store such complicated instructions. They didn’t receive any other orders, so they simply executed their original mission— Even with the lizardmen closing in, they could only fire arrows at them.

　With a roar, the skeleton archers were swarmed by the lizardmen. At this distance, archers lost their advantage and could only be attacked one-sidedly. They fell one after another.

　Just the army of zombies was left, with almost all the skeletons had fallen into the wetlands.

　Finally, some things began to move.

　They were Undead Beasts. Undead created from wolves, snakes, cobras and all sorts of animals. A monster that combined the tenacity of zombies with the agility of animals.

　The undead beasts rushed at the lizardmen. The fast moved fast, the slow travelled slowly, an assault with no formation to speak of.

　The attack coming from down low was unexpectedly hard to evade. The undead beasts will gnaw onto the feet of the enemy. After immobilizing them, it will deal the killing blow, a style similar to wild beasts.

　For the lizardmen who were getting more and more tired, this attack was difficult to fend off. Several lizardmen whose movements had dulled got their necks torn apart by the undead beasts.

　The Head Warrior fought in front, but reinforcements were coming for the tired lizardmen.

　Suddenly, the wetlands rose up. There was a figure of a existence of mud. It was about 160 centimetres in height. Shorter than lizardmen. And it had no hands, legs or hands, just a blob of mud.

　It’s figure was like a child that wore a sheet, pretending to be a ghost.

　It suddenly moved.

　It moved smoothly even though it was without legs, it headed towards the Undead Beasts. No sound of water was made even though the ground was wetlands, proving that it did not use any legs to move.

　Suddenly, whips that were longer than its height emerged from where its shoulders should be.

　That was the second of the lizardmen’s ace in the hole.

　The Swamp Elemental summoned through the combined effort of all the lizardmen’s druids.

　Originally, this would have taken enormous amounts of preparation time, but with the number of people able to perform the ritual, it became possible to activate it in this war. Of course, after this ritual most druids would have fainted from exhaustion.

　The Swamp Elemental charged into the midst of the undead beasts.

　The elemental flung its whip like tentacles to grab the enemies. The undead beasts engaged it ferociously with claws and fangs.

　It was a battle between creatures without fear. But the wetland fairies had the advantage due to their superior combat power. It was the proof that the ceremony that took the combination of 26 druids to complete was powerful.

　This fact revived the courage of the lizardmen and they renewed their attack.

　An intense battle ensured.Unlike the fight with the skeletons, the lizardmen also suffered casualties. But the scale of victory was tilting towards the lizardmen who had the advantage in pure numbers.\n