Ossan Saikyō Chapter 6 Part 04
The subjugation force took a full day to march to the village near the forest where the undead castle was located.
They would set up camp around the village for one night, then launch the assault on the castle the following morning.
Naturally, maximum vigilance was maintained overnight. Undead are, by nature, creatures of the night. It was hard to imagine they would simply leave an attacking force alone for an entire night.
The Lich we fought before had clearly shown intelligence.
We were assigned a tent set up by the territorial army soldiers, but I couldn’t shake a bad feeling and woke up partway through the night.
I grabbed my equipment and stepped outside. Magical lighting tools were set up throughout the camp, illuminating the surroundings. They were likely expensive, but it made sense the army would have them.
At the perimeter, soldiers stood guard in groups of three. Looking around, I could see two other groups. Security was tight.
“What’s up with you… an adventurer? Leave the watch to us and get some rest.”
One of the guards called out as I approached.
“Sorry, just wanted some fresh air. And I’ve got a bit of a bad feeling.”
“That an adventurer’s intuition or something? Don’t scare us like that.”
“Sorry, I tend to worry.”
As we spoke, something brushed against my【Presence Detection】. A faint reaction, but something was definitely approaching.
A small animal…? No, what if it was a monster with a skill that could deceive my detection?
If so, it could be dangerous.
“Something’s approaching. It might be a monster, fall back.”
“Wha-?! Seriously!? Hey, fall back!”
At my warning, the soldiers retreated toward the camp. If it was a monster, they’d need to call for reinforcements immediately.
I fixed my gaze on the dark plain beyond the reach of the lights. Thanks to my【Vision】skill, I could see better than before, but something like【Night Vision】would be useful.
The grass rustled. There it was. A dog.
A stray dog… no, something was off. Its fur was ragged, parts of it decayed.
A zombie dog.
“Monster! Call for reinforcements!”
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
The soldier shouted in response. The camp instantly erupted into commotion.
For now, the nearest zombie dog had locked onto me. But according to my detection, there were many more behind it. Reinforcements were essential.
Zombie dogs leapt at me one after another, but the moment they entered my mace’s range, they exploded. It seemed although they had concealment skills, their strength matched their appearance.
As chunks of flesh scattered, a horrible stench spread. Zombies really were the worst kind of field enemy.
Had I turned dozens into minced meat by now? Several adventurer parties had already rushed in and were dealing with zombie dogs nearby.
“Soushi-sama!”
“Soushi-! Ugh, it stinks!”
Looks like my two companions had arrived. But they stopped a short distance away, understandably. Around me was a heap of rotting flesh, and I myself was covered in it.
“Take care of anything I miss from there. Don’t come closer!”
I said that and moved further toward where more zombie dogs were coming from. There was a slightly stronger presence deeper in. If it was the boss, I needed to confirm it.
Blasting apart the attacking dogs, I gradually approached the source. The Boss didn’t seem to be moving.
“What is that…?”
What came into view wasn’t a monster.
It was something like a stone monument, about two meters tall, floating in the darkness.
Looking closer, a black mist surrounded it, and zombie dogs were emerging one after another from within.
So it was essentially a zombie dog generator.
What a nuisance.
I ran toward it and smashed it with my mace. The monument, some kind of a Monolith, was thin, its base shattered easily, and it toppled over. The surrounding black mist thinned, so its function must have stopped.
Scanning the area with【Presence Detection】, I realized there were several more like it. I ran around and destroyed them all. That should stop any further zombie dog spawns.
“What… adventurers already made it this far…?”
“We can’t do more… retreat.”
At that moment, I heard a muffled male voice from the direction of the forest. I focused my gaze there, but no one was visible. My detection picked up two presences moving away at high speed, toward the undead castle.
They were definitely connected.
Come to think of it, Zeal, the leader of〈Fortuner〉, had mentioned people who summon undead. If that was true, then those individuals were likely behind this undead castle as well.
Either way, I needed to report to Commander Anatolia… but first, I had to deal with this filth and smell.
When I returned to camp, the fighting had already ended. Soldiers were extracting mana stones from zombie corpses and piling bodies together to burn them. Adventurer mages were handling the burning.
I must have looked like a zombie myself, but since I was assigned to the commander’s unit, the female mage from〈Fortuner〉, a beautiful woman named Leila (their party has four members, by the way), personally cleaned me with high-pressure water magic.
After that, Freynil cast «Absolution», and I felt cleaner than before the battle.
“Yeah, no smell at all, you’re fine. Freynil’s magic is amazing.”
Rani, who had been sniffing me closely, gave her approval. I thanked both Leila and Freynil, then went to report to Anatolia.
“Soushi, is it? I hear you destroyed the summoning stones. Well done. Give me your report.”
When I entered the command tent, Anatolia said that and gestured for me to sit.
I explained everything; from the appearance of the zombie dogs to the destruction of the Summoning Monolith, and finally the voices I heard and the individuals behind them.
“…Hmm. From what you’ve said, it seems those individuals placed the Summoning Monolith. There were two of them, and both headed toward the castle?”
“As far as I could detect, yes.”
“What matters is that they retreated. If non-monster entities are involved, there are… implications we must consider.”
It’s common knowledge that monsters don’t retreat. Well, that conversation itself wasn’t something monsters would have.
Anatolia narrowed her eyes in thought, then quickly returned her gaze to me.
“Well, enough. That is not something to consider right now. Thank you for the report. Your contribution will be reflected in your reward. Tomorrow, we proceed with the subjugation as planned, rest until morning.”
“Understood. Excuse me.”
I left the command tent and returned to our tent. Since I had told them to sleep, Freynil and Rani were already breathing softly.
The bad feeling had faded, so I should be able to sleep until morning.
I lay down at the edge of the tent and closed my eyes.
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E/N:
Ossan's intuition is darn good!
Stay tuned!
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