Chapter 231 – The Great Battle  

The nameless plains of the eastern continent, connected to the ravine where the Demon King’s dungeon lay.  

When the previous hero had ventured into the ravine to confront the Demon King, the allied forces had fought fiercely on these plains to divert the Demon King’s attention.  

Now, for the same reason, battle had begun anew.  

Though the reason and the factions remained unchanged, the details were different this time.  

The undead forces pouring out of the ravine were no longer the same as before—they were now undead from Earth.  

The Demon King’s army of the past had been composed mostly of skeletons, but now, the horde was dominated by shambling corpses—zombies.  

Even the skeletons charging forward were different, wielding unfamiliar weapons.  

Instead of spears, swords, or shields, they carried guns.  

The gun-wielding skeletons fired wildly as they rushed westward.  

Among the skeletons and corpses were flesh golems and ghouls, while liches floated in the sky.  

The Demon King’s army emerging from the ravine appeared several times stronger than when Eagar had fought here.  

And the allied human forces were different as well.  

Unlike the previous alliance, which had lacked the Imperial army, the current forces were spearheaded by the Empire’s troops.  

Though many were hastily conscripted soldiers, the military powerhouse of the Empire had also brought its elite forces, along with survivors of the Demon King’s previous assaults.  

Moreover, veterans of the years-long war against the Demon King’s army had rejoined, swelling the allied ranks and making them far more formidable than before.  

“Why do you think we dug these trenches?! Keep your heads down until the undead are upon us!”  

“Who in the blazes is blocking the line of fire for those flamethrowers?! Would you stand in front of a mage like that? Are you trying to get yourself shot in the back first?!”  

Imperial soldiers who had faced guns before shoved the conscripts’ heads back into the trenches and kicked away those loitering in front of the machine guns.  

“Don’t falter! Beside us stand mages, knights, and priests gathered from across the continent! And this time, we have the sword masters with us!”  

Veteran soldiers and knights from the former alliance roared at the top of their lungs, bolstering the morale of those trembling under the oppressive aura emanating from the ravine.  

Watching this, Marquis Kolbe frowned.  

“It’s about time we made our move.”  

The lightning mage beside him nodded.  

“Agreed. The enemy’s aura is pressing harder than expected. The priests are holding it back, but if this continues, many soldiers will lose their nerve before the fight even begins.”  

“That’s part of it, but this battle is about buying time. To hold out, we must slow their advance first.”  

At the marquis’s words, the lightning mage turned to the Rose Mage, who was clicking her tongue at the approaching undead.  

“You heard him, didn’t you? Shall we begin?” Count Schröder asked.  

The mage, Lima de Müller, sighed.  

“Ugh, undead really don’t agree with me…”  

“If we’re talking about bad matchups, I’m not much better off,” the count replied with a shrug.  

“Well, does it matter? There are so many of them anyway.”  

“That’s true… but that’s not exactly good news either.”  

“Hahaha!”  

The lightning mage laughed heartily before soaring into the sky. Lima shook her head and followed.  

The sky above the plains was darkening with ominous clouds, likely due to the oppressive aura.  

“At least this works in our favor.”  

Hovering beneath the clouds, the lightning mage stretched out his hand toward the undead horde.  

Crack! Boom!  

Lightning arced from the clouds, striking the ground. Corpses exploded, and the resulting electrical surges incinerated the surrounding undead.  

Dozens fell in a single strike, but the lightning didn’t stop.  

Krakoom! Bang!  

Bolts continued to rain down, erasing the undead like chalk from a board.  

The Rose Mage, too, was putting on a spectacular display.  

“Move along, now.”  

Flying slightly apart from the storm, she flicked her wrist toward the charging corpses.  

Splurt!  

Blood erupted from the bodies of the undead. Had they been alive, they would have died instantly—but these were already dead. Ignoring the gushing blood, they kept moving.  

“See? Bad matchup.”  

Clicking her tongue, she flicked her wrist again.  

The spilled blood reversed course, returning to the corpses—only to solidify into whip-like tendrils that pierced and sliced through their own bodies.  

Dozens of corpses collapsed, but Lima’s expression remained grim.  

“And some of them don’t even have liquid blood to manipulate… At least my magic works on these things.”  

She sighed, watching the unaffected undead continue their advance.  

Between the blood mage and the lightning mage, they were thinning the horde—but they couldn’t stop them all.  

As Lima had said, some undead were simply a bad match for their magic.  

Skeletons, lacking flesh or blood, were immune to her blood magic, and the count’s lightning had limited effect on them.  

Had these two been alone, the battle would have been lost—but other sword masters were present.  

Leaving the skeletons to others, the two mages moved to different fronts.  

The skeletons that broke through the mages’ barrage were met by knights and sword masters with drawn blades.  

“Whoever takes the most skulls wins!” Marquis Kolbe shouted as he charged.  

But the other sword masters ignored him.  

“I’ll take the left flank!”  

Count Sponheim, a scion of a prestigious lineage, dashed to the side, while Duke Charles, older than the marquis, slowed his pace and scolded him.  

“At your age, you should know better. I’ll command the knights—you can keep your childish bets to yourself.”  

The elderly sword master, known as the Imperial Knights’ instructor, began directing the knights with his signature tactical brilliance.  

“Form wedge formations by platoon! Don’t stop—cut through them all!”  

His mana-infused orders rallied nearly a thousand knights, who swiftly organized into disciplined formations.  

Watching the duke lead the charge, the marquis twitched his eyebrows and glanced around for another sword master to join him.  

But Sir Max, the greatsword knight, had already veered right before Count Sponheim even finished speaking, leaving only the shaman beside the marquis.  

“……”  

The ever-silent shaman.  

The marquis snorted and charged ahead alone.  

“Tch! You sword masters are no fun!”  

Grumbling, he unleashed a sweeping blade aura, shattering the skeletons in his path.  

Unlike the marquis, the shaman stopped when the skeletons approached.  

His fight lay elsewhere.  

He looked up at the sky.  

Beneath the roiling dark clouds, the oppressive aura grew thicker—strong enough for even ordinary humans to feel.  

Fortunately, the priests were shielding the soldiers’ camp, but hidden within the aura was something else.  

Entities only those with heightened senses or spiritual sight could perceive.  

Malevolent spirits, tainted by the aura.  

To the shaman, the sky was filled with dark specters descending with the miasma.  

He stood his ground and began awakening the spirits dwelling within him.  

Souls who had entrusted themselves to him in their final moments, desperate to protect their families, friends, and homes.  

The shaman fought alongside these spirits.  

“Come forth.”  

At his command, translucent white spirits emerged from his body—invisible to most, but they surged toward the descending evil spirits.  

While the mages purged the corpses from the sky and the knights shattered the skeletons below, the shaman held the line against the spectral onslaught.  

Despite the sword masters, knights, and mages giving their all, the undead knew no fear. Alone, they couldn’t stop the horde entirely.  

Soon, the undead vanguard crashed into the allied defenses, their front lines collapsing.  

Trenches, barbed wire, and moats—prepared under the hero’s guidance—proved more effective than expected.  

The undead vanguard stalled, stumbling into pits, tangling in wire, and being shredded by machine guns.  

But it was too early to celebrate.  

Had the Demon King’s army been living, they might have regrouped—but these were fearless dead.  

They trampled their own fallen, using corpses and bones to fill trenches and crush barriers.  

The meticulously prepared defenses were eventually overrun, forcing the humans to retreat.  

“Fall back to the second line! Hurry!”  

“We must ready the next barrier before they reach us!”  

Fortunately, the humans had dug not one, but multiple layers of trenches and moats.  

First line, second line, third line…  

The hero’s foresight had prepared a layered defense, and the undead horde would have to breach them all.  

“A relief. Though strained in places, the plan holds.”  

The Imperial Chancellor, observing from the rear, exhaled in relief as the allies withdrew in good order.  

Then, he turned his gaze to the aura-choked ravine.  

“Now, it’s the hero’s turn.”  

The hero’s party was no longer here.  

The moment the battle began, they had left the allied forces and headed for the ravine.  

While the allied army fought the Demon King’s forces on the plains, the hero and his companions would infiltrate the dungeon—just as the previous hero had done.