“Flying type monsters, you say!? Report in detail once more!”
“Yes. There are approximately one thousand flying-type monsters, presumed to be mutated wyverns. The leading entity is currently flying low and heading straight towards the city walls, having crossed the second defensive line.”
“Wyverns!?”
Hastily pulling down his helmet, the Northern Archduke’s expression tightened.
Wyverns.
It was something that should not be possible.
“Weren’t all the wyverns slaughtered during the last Demon Realm Expedition!? We searched the entire demon realm, destroying every wyvern’s nest and burning down the forests to ensure their complete extinction!”
Flying-type monsters were the most troublesome adversaries for the fortified city of Ester.
They rendered the tall city walls useless.
If they chose, they could easily ignore Ester and head straight south.
Thus, the Empire’s vigilance against flying-type monsters was at its peak.
Multiple expeditions were sent out with the strategy to eliminate all flying creatures in the Demon Realm.
Though seemingly absurd and distant, after numerous expeditions, the Northern Archduke succeeded in exterminating all winged animals and monsters in the Demon Realm.
…Or so it was believed.
“Damn it. Were there remaining individuals?”
“…”
Or perhaps there was a nest they missed?
That couldn’t be.
Even if there were some wyverns that they missed, they could not have proliferated to the extent of having a thousand full-grown individuals without them noticing.
Regular scouting parties had been sent to the Demon Realm, yet there had never been a single piece of intelligence about wyverns.
“Then…?”
It was as if someone had released a thousand wyverns into the Demon Realm and mutated them into monsters.
The Archduke, fully armored, suddenly turned around.
The fierce gaze made the knights, who were in the process of equipping themselves, flinch and become alarmed.
‘At this rate, I’ll fall into suspicion and paranoia. For now, focus on the immediate battle.’
The Archduke let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes tightly.
Although there might be a traitor within the Empire, there was nothing to be done about it now that the incident had occurred.
The priority was to concentrate on the urgent defense of the fortress.
“Light the emergency signal fires. And light torches everywhere!”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Due to the nature of wyverns, they cannot pass through brightly lit areas at night.
They cannot be allowed to bypass Ester and head towards the Empire.
The monster wave must be contained here, in Ester.
That is the role of the fortified city.
“Send Merilda to the air raid shelter immediately!”
Having finished the persuasion, it would have been best to send Merilda to the Empire with the escort now that the Monster Wave had started.
However, with flying-type monsters involved, the situation changes.
Even if wyverns were lured by lights, some might simply pass by.
Unless there is a carriage faster than a wyvern, leaving Ester now would be tantamount to suicide.
“Y-Your Grace! The princess cannot be found!”
“…What?”
“I will start a search immediately!”
“Aaagh! Aaaaagh…!”
With a thunderous and shocking cry, the Northern Duke felt his head spinning.
“Find Merilda immediately! If she gets even a scratch…”
“I will find her even if it costs me my life!”
Before the Northern Duke could finish his words, the knights began moving urgently.
.
.
.
“Hurry! Flying-type monsters are extraordinarily fast! If you treat this as a normal monster wave, it will lead to a catastrophe!”
Ester turned into a chaotic scene in an instant.
Soldiers of unknown origin swarmed the city walls, and the once bustling streets were quickly emptied.
Bang, Bang, Bang, the windows of the houses were reinforced with steel plates.
The Monster Wave alarm had only gone off 3 minutes ago. In no time, the city had transformed into a complete fortress.
“Count! Evacuate! A place has been prepared in the air raid shelter!”
“How much time do we have before the monsters approach?”
“Normally, it would take 3 hours, but since they are flying-type, we should have about 1 hour.”
“That should be sufficient.”
“Y-Yes? Count! Where are you going!?”
Currently, the remaining defensive strategy in Ester relies purely on knights and regular soldiers.
Even so, there are no Sword Masters, only Sword Experts at maximum strength.
As for aerial combat capabilities, they only have archers.
There is a high likelihood of casualties. Therefore, assistance must be given as much as possible.
One hour? That should be enough.
“Mister! Are we fighting? Should I draw out the Super Super Strong Sword?”
“No. Hold on. We won’t be fighting directly. Flying-type monsters are difficult even for veteran knights, so it’s too dangerous. We’ll just help set up defensive positions before the battle begins.”
“Hmph…”
Charlotte, who had been full of energy, began to draw out the Super Super Strong Sword but then put it back.
Though she was eager to be of use, it was too dangerous right now.
Fighting against flying-type monsters was a different matter from the ant monsters, which only moved on the ground.
The safety of the children was always the highest priority.
“By the way, Julia. Did you manage to bring Dirt-Dirt along?”
“Dirt-Dirt is probably playing in the mansion… I think.”
“…”
It seemed we couldn’t get Dirt-Dirt’s help this time.
Just as I was about to grind my teeth in disappointment…
“Shall I call him now? … I can.”
“What? How would you call someone who is at the mansion?”
“Hehe. I haven’t been idle all this time. After Dirt-Dirt ran out of my command range last time, I practiced a lot with the book Aslan brought. The skill I’ve honed is long-distance command! …I can!”
“Ohhh!!!”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ applauds in admiration!]
Charlotte clapped with a flurry of applause, and at the same time, I could hear an echo as if Kali was also clapping from behind.
“Then let’s start! … I’ll begin!”
Julia took a deep breath and started preparing the magic.
Commanding is the common language of spirits. When used by a necromancer or spirit master, spirits of lower rank must obey the command.
However, due to the limitations of physical sound waves, if the distance is too far, the command cannot reach the spirit.
To resolve this, magic to make the command reach far distances is used.
But for that, a magic medium should have been set up in advance in the mansion, right?
“Julia. For sound wave transmission magic, the destination needs to have a pre-installed and activated magical medium.”
“Ah, I know… yes.”
“What medium did you use?”
“Oh, it’s not important… yes?”
Julia’s breath became ragged, and her agitation was visibly evident.
What was going on?
“Mister, Mister! What is this medium you’re talking about?”
“Sometimes mana is directly inscribed in the space, but the most common method is using a magic circle. You draw a specific shape and infuse it with mana on a two-dimensional plane.”
“In other words, you mean a drawing? I think I’ve seen that before!”
“Ch-Charlotte…!”
“Julia drew some complex pictures with colored pencils under the bed! That must be it!”
“Ahhhh! The drawing was so big there wasn’t any paper for it! I’m sorry, Aslan…!”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ scowls, suggesting that our necromancer is just young and urging not to reprimand her.]
So, you’re saying there was doodling under the bed…?
I sighed deeply, feeling the sharp glares piercing the back of my head.
I wasn’t planning to scold her anyway.
It’s just some bed cover.
“I-I’m sorry… sniff… I had to draw quickly because we need to depart soon… but I didn’t have large paper… I got too anxious and ended up…”
“What if the maids think it’s just doodling and erase it? Next time, tell me beforehand. I’ll make sure the maids can’t erase it on their own.”
“Are you not angry…?”
“I’m not angry, but a bit disappointed. You did it secretly without telling me.”
“Yes. I’ll let you know next time…”
Thump.
I gently placed my hand on Julia’s head and ruffled her hair.
I suppose this level of punishment is enough.
As Julia sniffled and regained her composure, Charlotte looked up at me with a sense of betrayal.
“Even though she did wrong, she’s still being patted… Does that mean if I don’t listen, you’ll pat my head too!? ”
“No…”
“If someone who did wrong gets patted, then someone who does nothing should also get patted! Please pat me too!”
“…”
With a dissatisfied expression, Charlotte pushed her head toward me, then took my hand and rubbed her head against it.
After a while, Charlotte stepped back with a satisfied look.
I stared in disbelief, and Charlotte tilted her head in confusion.
“Do you want a head pat too, Mister?”
“…No. I’ll pass. But Julia, is the magic ready?”
“Uuugh! Yes! I just sent it… But since Dirt-Dirt is no longer responding to my command, I don’t know if he’ll come or ignore it…”
Wuuuuuum.
Julia placed her fingers on her temples and groaned, then exhaled heavily after completing the spell.
We’re entirely relying on Dirt-Dirt’s whims now.
Just then…
[Kyaaaaaaah!!! Damn it, you well-behaved little brat!!! What kind of trick did you use…!]
Swaaaah!
A brownish blob shot through the sky at an enormous speed, and a familiar voice echoed.
…No matter how you look at it, that seems like forced conscription.
