"Ugh... From what I remember, the village below the castle wasn't this big..."
"Grgh. Many humans have died. Many more are on the brink of death."
"That's right. The place we just passed wasn't really the village below the castle, but a shantytown made by refugees."
After a brief encounter with the guards at Tovrun's gate, who had been raving about the professor being an escapee, the professor took out the holy relic and, in turn, requisitioned the horse and carriage. He then left the gate, leaving the stunned guards behind.
The atmosphere changed completely as soon as they stepped outside the city.
Inside the gate, despite the chaos caused by the flood, it still felt like the usual city. Outside, however, it was a different story.
'As expected of a wealthy city, the number and quality of the security forces are high. They must have outright banned the entry and exit of refugees.'
The professor could guess the reason. Mute, who could speak and think like a human, had destroyed the entire magic tower. The thought that Mute could invade at any time and place must have led to such measures.
A quick and accurate response. Militarily, it was the right move.
Thanks to this, the chaos outside didn't spread into Tovrun. However, the problem was that even those who wanted to pass through Tovrun to reach the capital were now stuck here.
Thus, shantytowns had formed densely around Tovrun, as seen now.
"Did so many people gather in such a short time?"
"Almost everyone who survived from three cities and their surrounding villages is here. It's surprisingly few."
The war with Mute was different from the usual wars people had experienced.
Their goal wasn't domination, but the killing and collection of civilians were part of their military objectives. They needed more materials to produce more troops.
So, Mute didn't occupy cities but destroyed them and actively hunted the refugees who fled. As a result, the refugees from 10% of Rodric's territory barely filled the shantytown of one city.
"Terrible..."
"It's war. You shouldn't talk about it as if it's someone else's story. We'll be meeting the ones who drove people into such a state soon enough."
The professor, having left Tovrun's territory, sat on the carriage seat with Borka, keeping an eye on the surroundings. There were quite a few horse tracks nearby, indicating they were still within the range patrolled by Tovrun's forces, but they would soon enter an area completely controlled by the enemy.
"By the way, Professor? I heard our goal is to assassinate the Mute Queen. Is it really okay to travel with a horse and carriage?"
"For now, it's fine. Actually, as Othman said, it would be better to go on foot and off the road, but if we did that, the weaker mages would all collapse before the day was over."
Who would do this if they had a choice? If you could ride a horse like Othman, it would be different.
Except for Othman, none of the others could ride a horse, so they had to endure a few blows from the guards and then requisition the horse and carriage by invoking the name of the Order.
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible to bring all of them to the land of eternal frost where the Queen was. They lacked the stamina to endure the harsh environment, and those of the 2nd or 3rd tier wouldn't be much help once they got there.
The professor was actually skeptical about reaching there.
'The Order gave us this mission and sent us off, but it's not like we absolutely have to complete it. In the end, what we need is the Order's recognition.'
Even without killing the Queen, if they brought back a result that the Order couldn't deny, their goal would be achieved. Of course, it would be better if they could kill her, but realistically, it was a tough task.
'Fortunately, I also obtained the job of a hero. If I accomplish something grand enough for people to chant my name, the Order won't be able to treat me lightly. Since we can't confirm the situation in the enemy's territory yet, let's check it out as we go.'
After a day of traveling in the carriage, which was unusually quiet for a group called the Death Squad, the professor, who was trying to stay awake by chewing on an apple, was suddenly whispered to by Borka, who had approached silently.
"Captain, we should stop."
"Hmm? Did you find something?"
"The smell of blood. Fresh and old mixed together. Something is here."
Borka's words made the professor feel as if he had been doused with cold water.
Whoosh!
The [Overcome Mental Fatigue] brought information as soon as he shook off his drowsiness. It was good that the pain was gone, but in this situation, it seemed to be a bit of a drawback. Should he say the loud alarm had been changed to a silent vibration?
'Deeper, directionless hoof prints. It was a cavalry battle. The reconnaissance team from Tovrun must have encountered someone hostile here. Come to think of it, the sounds of birds and insects have also stopped.'
Just as the professor was about to alert the group behind him, he felt the air suddenly become dry. Looking inside the carriage, he saw Othman, the old mage, waking his disciples and quietly gathering water in his hands.
"There's stagnant water nearby. I've seen a lot in my long life, though I'm not proud of it. There's no water vein nearby, so it can't be stagnant water. It must be water from the carcasses of animals or humans. It's better to be prepared."
"....Reliable, Othman."
It seems that even at the 5th tier, such things are possible. Nodum was also snorting, indicating he sensed something, and the necromancer....
"...."
"I won't give it to you."
"Even if I didn't say it, I'm strong enough. I need to be able to protect myself, don't I? If you give me that...."
"You'll run away."
"Ugh...."
He was staring at the small socket hanging next to the holy relic around the professor's neck. It was the soul jar of the necromancer, given to him by Senadis before they left the Order.
-----
"Here, this will make it easier to handle him."
"Why... wouldn't it be safer to keep it in the Order?"
"I'm not sure, but it seems that necromancers can't use magic if their soul jar isn't nearby. If you want to use this necromancer as a full member, it's best to keep this item safe."
-----
Thus, the professor received the necromancer's soul jar.
The inside of the socket was sealed by magic and couldn't be checked, but on the outer part, the name 'Nel' was clumsily engraved.
"Ugh.... Mr. Necromancer?"
"....."
"Sir?"
"....."
Clank, clank-
"Nel-"
Bang!
The necromancer, who had been pretending to be uninterested, turned around and reached out as soon as the professor took out his soul jar. Of course, the old mage's movements couldn't be faster than the professor's, so it was in vain.
"Don't... inspect other people's belongings!"
"Wouldn't it have been better to tell me your name earlier? Nel?"
"That's not my name! My name is Aldrich! Nel was the original owner of that item!"
"Oh. So there's a story behind it."
Well, it's not like a necromancer would have no story. But that's not my concern.
The professor put the soul jar back around his neck and tapped it to show Aldrich.
"I know all about it. While you can't use it as well as when you have it, it's still possible if it's nearby, right? For casting spells."
"....."
"Help us with this mission until it's over. I promise, even if the Order changes their mind, I'll return it to you."
"Damn the Order."
With those words, darkness began to descend around the necromancer Aldrich, indicating he was preparing for battle.
After confirming that the entire Death Squad was ready for battle, the professor slowly drove the carriage forward.
Clack, clack, clack, clack.
The forest became denser as they followed the road. The scent of blood, now strong enough for the professor to detect, filled the air.
[Welcome to Danglter!]
A blood-stained sign hung precariously on a tree branch, creaking in the wind.
"Tree stump. There's one. Up ahead."
"Yeah. I see it too. It looks like there's a village ahead. There seems to be a guidepost as well."
Shuffle, shuffle-
A man in guard's clothing staggered toward the group, approaching the wooden fence in the distance.
"....Captain, does that look like a guide to you?"
"What's a guide? Someone who tells you about the village, what's worth seeing, and where to rest."
"Ugh, y-y-yeah...."
The man staggering toward them seemed to be lacking a lot. Despite wearing a guard's uniform, he had no weapons, his eyes were unfocused, and most importantly, his abdomen was completely empty of organs.
"You can see it, right? This village has been taken over by a necromancer, and what we'll see ahead are only corpses like that man or necromancer creations. There's no place to rest. A zombie is a fine guide."
Crunch!
"Hydroball."
Suddenly, a water ball the size of a human head flew from behind, and the zombie approaching the group had its head snapped off and sent flying into a tree stump.
Looking back, he saw Othman with his hand extended and the water mages making gagging sounds.
"Ugh. If we needed to keep it alive, I'm sorry. This is my disciples' first time leaving Tovrun, or rather, the magic tower. They have weak stomachs and can't handle it...."
"No, you did well. Zombies have poor eyesight, so if you took care of it from this distance, they might not have detected us yet. If it vomits, it could lead to a loss of stamina."
'He did that quite neatly.' Othman had said he had gained insights into flow, change, repulsion, purification, and fluidity. Usually, to enhance the attack power of a Hydroball, they mix the insight of 'pressure' to compress the object it hits. But this was....
"Repulsion? Did you push it away?"
"Ugh? Oh, right, you're a water mage too! Yes, when the target enters the Hydroball, it repels the part that entered with a sudden force."
"Ah, so that's how you can arrange it."
"Actually, if I had the insight of pressure, I wouldn't need to cast such a complex spell.... But no matter how much time passes, I can't feel pressure in water."
Othman suddenly brightened up with the mage-talk. Seeing this, Borka approached with a look of concern.
"Um... Captain? Is now the time to chat? If that's the enemy's minion, they might have noticed us."
"Right, right. I took care of it before it came into view. I'm not sure what it is, but the zombies must have felt it die. They'll send a few more to check. It's not bad for us. The most dangerous mage is the one locked in their laboratory. The necromancer uses an entire village to create their undead. If they come out, it would be a favor to us."
"Grgh-"
"Ugh-"
As if to prove his words, dozens of zombies and enhanced undead like ghouls charged down the road, and a few ghost-like monsters were also seen in the sky.
Boom, boom-
The ground-shaking sounds indicated that there were also large undead created from the corpses of large monsters.
"....How many do you see, Captain?"
"Hmm. Either it's a cautious one, or it's so strong that it can move this many without any cost."
The professor got out of the carriage and stretched his arms vigorously.
"Hey, Borka."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Don't transform and just deal with them appropriately."
"What... what do you mean by that?"
"What do you mean? It's just the right number to test. You've checked, but we haven't confirmed how much the other party members can fight."
There was no need to verify Othman, who was at the 5th tier, but it was questionable whether the other water mages, including the necromancer, could fight properly.
"Let's test it. See how useful they are."
Understanding the capabilities of your allies is as important as understanding the enemy's. The professor grinned as he watched the undead horde gradually approaching.
"So, pretend to deal with them and pass them to the back."
"Ugh, I thought only your actions were monstrous, but you've lost your humanity too...."
"What are you talking about? Where else would you find someone as kind and humane as me?"
With Borka's deep sigh, the undead charged at them without giving them a moment to think.