The Invaders of the Large Tomb

The atmosphere around them was different from regular skeletons. Even their equipment was different. They wore magnificent breastplates befitting of some country’s royal guard, held kite shields with an emblem in one hand and various kinds of weapons in the other. On their backs were composite long bows, and all their equipment had a magical glow to them.

There was no way skeletons armed with magical items would simply be regular skeletons.

“Just what is that?”

“Not even you know, elder? I’m not sure… but maybe it’s a sub-species of the ‘Skeleton Warrior’.”

“Sub-species? They don’t quite look like ‘Red Skeleton Warrior’, either…”

A never seen before and unknown opponent would always evoke fear. Especially if they were armed with magic weapons with special effects.

“—Considering how many of you there are, I believe this will be a sufficient number. Please put some effort into it, and show us how far you can run.”

“It’s an honour to face undead like these. But…”

Parupatra thought objectively.

It would be difficult to have too many undead armed with so many magic equipment. Their plan was probably to send out the strongest from the start. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited for everyone to come inside and split up.

“—This is the tomb’s ultimate strength, right? Do you really think you can stop us just with this?”

When Parupatra looked up, Yuri looked around as if she had been taken aback.

Bullseye. They had been setting up this trap ever since they started talking to us.

The smartest way to use their ultimate strength was to divide and conquer. Considering the chances they might not run into the enemy, the best strategy was to wait by the entrance, where everybody had to pass through when they were physically and mentally exhausted from searching the tomb.

The opponent’s plan was obvious as well. She probably said “let’s see how far you can run” to encourage them to start running away, so that she could strike from behind, which would be an advantageous position for her. The enemy would need to fight several more times even after this, so they would want to conserve their strength as much as possible. Then there was only one thing to do.

“If we take down all the skeletons here and break through, it’s all over. Am I wrong?”

For the sake of the teams that would come behind them, they needed to destroy the Nazarick Old Guarders. They might be rivals, but comrades on a mission were still comrades. Furthermore, if the other side had predicted that they would flee, staying and fighting would have the least chance of falling into a trap. If their opponents were too strong, they still had the option of calling over Momon as a last resort.

“To think we would become the canaries instead… How should I say, it gives me a headache. But do you guys think that’s all of them?”

“It’s hard to imagine any more undead armed with that kind of equipment lying around.”

“This is the place any intruder must go through. Tactically, it makes sense to position the strongest force here. They know more about this place than us, and I doubt they would make the mistake of splitting up too much of their force.”

“…No, there’s bound to be some more inside the grave itself. But what’s there would probably be lower class undead.”

“Elder… let’s run. They’re dangerous. Really, really dangerous.”

“Our escape route was closed the moment they pincer attacked us. Even if we fly, we’ll probably get shot down with arrows. We need to make our stand here! There is no other way than defeating them head on!”

Amidst Parupatra’s shouts, a voice, part surprised and part patronizing, came from above.

“Well, I guess there is that way of breaking through. We’ll cheer for you, so please start.”

As the words faded, the Nazarick Old Guarders began advancing.

Yuri and company had troubled faces as they “cheered them on”. They were unable to hide their surprise at the unexpected way the situation unfolded. They had not anticipated this at all.

“Hey, are they for real?”

“...Unexpected.”

“Cocytus-sama was surprised as well.”

“IF tHiNGs gO On liKE This… iT wON’t pRocEEd aS pLanNeD.”

A hammer swung through the air while Yuri and her companions looked on.

“Looks like he’s not gonna make it. He’s gonna die!”

The moment Lupusregina spoke, a man received a strike to the chest and fell.

The sound of metal being crushed and the sound of something heavy falling could be heard clearly even amidst a fierce battle.

The first casualty was the human warrior. The Nazarick Old Guarder that wielded a hammer imbued with ‘Lightning’ did not even celebrate his kill and simply moved in search for the next target.

“Cleric-san~ If you heal him fast enough, he won’t die.”

CZ shook her head at Yuri who sounded a little worried.

“...No point. Instant death. Also, the formation collapsed because of him.”