Chapter 64

In the central district of the city of Balaira, the slaughter was being carried out by the adventurers of the guild 'Silver Will,' who had turned into undead.

Their formal attire, once predominantly white, was now stained with dirt and blood, bearing no trace of its former glory. Their skin had turned pale, and there was no warmth to be felt. Their wide-open eyes lacked irises and were clouded.

"Heh, hehahaha... hahaha!"

Laughing with her jaw trembling, deep within the pile of corpses, was Micaela, the female guild master of 'Silver Will.' Her eyes, now murky and gray, were filled with fine blood vessels. Her neck was twisted, and her sword-wielding hand hung limply towards the ground. There was no trace of the woman once known as the goddess of the sword.

But the fact that her swordsmanship had not deteriorated since her life was evident from the bodies around her. The chests of the corpses bore deep, red holes.

"…I never thought it would come to such a disaster."

Glasco drew his longsword, closed his eyes, and consciously calmed his ragged breathing.

"Let's go! There are only thirty of them! Show no mercy, crush them! From the looks of it, they won't survive!"

The number of undead adventurers from 'Silver Will' was thirty. In contrast, the private army of Count Mondo, present at the scene, numbered nearly a hundred. Even if 'Silver Will' consisted of skilled adventurers, the three-to-one numerical disadvantage was significant.

The adventurers of 'Silver Will,' who had been indiscriminately attacking the living, now turned their focus to Glasco's private army as they appeared. The battle began.

The adventurer standing before Glasco was a lean dual-wielder. He had been a renowned swordsman in life, known for his double-bladed Valter. Glasco recognized his face.

Valter's figure swayed. To the right, to the left. He closed the distance to Glasco and attacked with both blades in quick succession. Glasco parried the first strike with his sword and deflected the second one forward. Although Glasco's skill was inferior, his physical build gave him a significant advantage over the lean Valter.

Valter skillfully managed the force of the deflection, suppressing the recoil. In this state, he could recover more quickly than Glasco could launch a counterattack.

"Ananda, now!"

"Right!"

Ananda, who was positioned diagonally behind Glasco, rushed forward and swung his sword at Valter's side, which was not fully prepared. Valter barely parried the attack with one of his swords, but the impact caused him to lean due to his poor footing.

"Ugh!"

Glasco then delivered a powerful blow. He severed Valter's left arm, which he had raised to guard, and followed through with a strike to his side. Glasco felt the sensation of shattering bone. Valter's left arm, still gripping his sword, fell to the ground, and he collapsed on his back a short distance away.

"Alright, we can overwhelm them with numbers…"

Just as Glasco muttered this, an unpleasant laugh echoed.

"Heh, hehahaha..."

It was Micaela, the guild master of 'Silver Will.' Among the skilled members, her presence stood out. Micaela, who had been staggering, suddenly focused on Ananda, bent her back extremely, and ran straight towards him.

"Ananda, watch out!"

Ananda extended his sword in front of him to deter the approaching Micaela. However, Micaela skillfully dodged the sword and thrust her one-handed sword, with its sharp tip, straight into Ananda's chest.

Micaela's sword was specialized in thrusting. Thrusting attacks, being point-based, were the hardest to defend against and the fastest to execute. Micaela emphasized thrusting, and her perfected technique was so swift that it was difficult to even see the initial movement.

"Ananda…"

Glasco muttered in shock. Suddenly, a man slowly stood up behind Micaela.

It was Valter, the dual-wielder, whom Glasco had just mortally wounded. Blood flowed steadily from the wound in his abdomen, and his internal organs, stained with blood, were exposed. Despite such severe injuries, he stood calmly. Although his combat ability had significantly decreased with the loss of an arm, the sight of a supposedly defeated opponent rising was nightmarish.

The situation was not good for Glasco alone. The private army, which had initially had the upper hand, was gradually dwindling in numbers as the undead soldiers continued to rise after being injured.

A scream erupted from behind Glasco. Glancing sideways, he saw one of his subordinates, who had been guarding his back, being clawed at the neck by another undead and collapsing to the ground. Despite having the numerical advantage, Glasco found himself surrounded by undead from three directions.

"Damn, this is it… I shouldn't have taken on a job that didn't suit me. I should have fled."

Glasco exhaled deeply and looked around. The citizens who had been present when he arrived were nowhere to be seen.

"But, strangely, I don't feel bad about it!"

Glasco raised his greatsword and charged at Micaela. Micaela straightened her back, which had been leaning forward, and aimed her sword at Glasco.

"Corpses should stay still!"

Glasco, from a distance, raised his greatsword. In response, Micaela extended her sword-wielding hand.

If both were to strike simultaneously, the thrust would inevitably reach the opponent's body first. However, Micaela, being a skilled swordsman, could kill her opponent before their sword was fully swung.

Micaela's sword tip touched Glasco's body. Glasco's sword was just above Micaela's head.

Micaela's thrust-based fighting style had a significant drawback. Even if she could kill her opponent first, she could not stop the momentum of the opponent's sword. In this case, after Glasco died, his sword would strike Micaela's head.

Micaela switched her sword and slashed Glasco's abdomen as she crossed him. Glasco's sword missed and struck the ground, and he fell to his knees, unable to resist the momentum of his own sword.

"Ugh… Damn…"

Micaela had abandoned the thrust to the heart, sparing Glasco from immediate death. However, the situation had not changed. In fact, it had worsened because he had failed to take Micaela down with him.

A one-armed Valter aimed his sword at Glasco's back. Glasco glared at Valter from the corner of his eye, closed his eyes firmly, and braced himself.

The sound of a sword cutting through the air was heard, followed by the sound of flesh and bone being crushed. Glasco thought it was the sound of his own body being cut, but he felt no pain. He slowly lifted his eyelids, realized he was still alive, and turned around. A red line ran down the center of Valter's body. Valter fell to his knees and collapsed, his left and right halves falling in different directions.

Behind him stood a large man in armor, the one from before.