As Gilbert and his companions cautiously advanced, they kept a close eye on the ground made of vines beneath their feet. Occasionally, the tentacles of the Undead Slime would lash out in resistance, but the Black Knight and the mercenaries swiftly dispatched them one by one.
The sea of Immortal Mud within their line of sight appeared to be entirely covered in vines.
“The area beneath the vines seems to have some soil… Perhaps it’s gradually returning to the earth over time…?”
Gilbert recalled the phenomenon where the remains of a defeated Undead Beast would slowly turn to soil. It seemed as if the aerial roots were transforming directly into roots, performing that very process.
“If that’s the case, it might be safer to let the goddess’s vines handle this while we evacuate everyone instead of trying to wipe them out with our weapons all at once…?”
“Not quite; it seems we can’t afford to think that way,” Lionel’s stern voice interjected. Following his gaze, they saw not the tentacles of the Undead Slime, but rather black masses of various sizes crawling out from between the vines.
“Is that the frog-like creature we encountered in the village of the Territory of Kelvim…?”
“Is the Undead Slime changing its form?”
The creature, resembling a frog, was unable to move due to its sluggishness and was ensnared by the vines. Soon, several of the largest individuals appeared to melt into a gooey substance, eventually transforming into the shape of a beast.
“Wait, are we looking at a medium-sized Undead Beast now!? …Hey, I just had a thought…”
As Lionel and the mercenary cautiously closed the distance with their weapons drawn, the mercenary raised his voice.
“Agreas had a beast-like lower body, right? I interpreted that as the slime taking that form because he commanded it… but maybe that’s not the case.”
“Hmm… It’s possible we misjudged the essence of these Undead beings,” Dolf replied, his gaze fixed on the viscous substance protruding from the gaps in the vines.
“The side manifesting the blessing seems to be safe for now. However, it appears that they are emerging from areas with lower vine density,” Flora observed anxiously, glancing around the audience. Indeed, there were no signs of disturbance in the direction of the civilians. Yet, as they approached the massive central pillar, dark red shadows began to take shape, crawling out onto the green carpet.
“Agreas, that man had no intention of killing anyone. He used the Undead Slime for the purpose of transforming people into the Undead. It was precisely because he commanded it that it took the form of a viscous substance with almost no lethality…?”
As he pondered this, Lionel struck down a medium-sized wolf-like Undead Beast approaching them. At their feet, something appeared to be struggling against the vines, trying to crawl out from the gaps.
“I thought that the large pillar in the center was gathering to dissolve everything in one go,”
“That was undoubtedly Agreas’s initial objective. The problem now is what will happen since he has lost his command over the Undead,”
The Clergy began to deploy the Barrier, while those armed with weapons continued to slay the Undead Beasts, their eyes drawn to the towering pillar resembling a colossal tree. It reached so high that they had to look up to see it, partially covered by the vines creeping up from its base, yet the upper part writhed defiantly, clearly visible even from a distance.
“It seems this won’t just be a matter of cutting down a giant tree,”
Gilbert frowned as he glared at it.
“If it mutates at that size, could it become a dragon-type Undead Beast…?”
“We need to hurry. If it fully transforms into a dragon, many lives will be lost.”
Gilbert was about to take off running when he turned back to Flora. If his predictions were correct, he would be leading her into the most dangerous place. However, Flora met his gaze directly, nodding silently. In her hands, she clutched the pendant ring Gilbert had given her, from which light was spilling forth.
“Flora-chan’s position is, in a sense, the safest place,”
Dolf said in an unusually serious tone. Barbara nodded in agreement, her expression equally grave.
“I trust you, old man.”
With Lionel leading the way, the knights of Beresford and the Black Knight spread out to encircle their path, dealing with the Undead Beasts that surged around them. Gilbert took off running alongside Flora.
“It seems that man’s Undead transformation has accelerated,”
Dolf remarked, his face tense as he stroked his beard in thought. He was being carried on the shoulders of a mercenary, while Barbara was being supported by another.
“Perhaps the passage of time and the soup’s effects have fully cured his Undead transformation, causing him to lose control,”
“No, if he retained his thoughts while remaining Undead, he might have commanded the same outcome. Even if we had killed him back then, it would have been the same,”
The mercenary replied, deftly swinging his club to knock an Undead Beast away.
“The slimes were disappearing quite easily with just a hit, but once they change shape individually, they take on the nature of Undead Beasts,”
Simply striking them with a blunt weapon could knock them back but not destroy them. The Black Knight provided support by decapitating them with his sword. Just like the known Undead Beasts, they crumbled when their heads were severed. In some ways, they became easier to defeat, yet the danger increased.
“When they transform and individualize, does a new command system form in their heads? …I don’t quite understand the mechanism. Will that also happen with the one in the center? If so, if we can just take off its head…?”
“No, it branches out… It won’t be that simple. That’s no ordinary two-headed dragon,”
As they looked ahead, the massive pillar had sprouted several thick branches from parts where the vines couldn’t reach, transforming into a shape resembling the head of a great serpent.
This entity, imbued with magical power, began to spew fire, igniting the vines that covered its base. The vines born from the goddess’s grace would regrow even after being burned, but the speed of their encroachment had significantly slowed due to the ongoing battle.
“Can that flame be blocked by the Barrier?”
“If it’s an Undead Beast, somewhat. The problem is the sheer number of them,”
The Clergy running alongside them wore tense expressions as well. Priest Sidney had already reached his limit and was left behind in the carriage. However, the Clergy accompanying them were seasoned masters of Barrier magic from the same Western Church as Sidney.
Lionel, who had cleared out the nearby medium-sized beasts, fell back into step beside them.
“The key is whether we can counter that generation speed with individual takedowns… Well, we have no choice but to try,”
The Undead Slime itself was likely still gathering at the central giant pillar. As it multiplied, it sprouted branches of great serpents, yet it appeared that the mass at its base was not diminishing.
Gilbert, who had reached the base of the pillar first, swung his Battle Axe to sever the head of the attacking serpent.
“Just as expected, our secret weapon is reliable… My club can only provide support; I’ll focus on ensuring the old folks’ safety,”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to become a burden by following along,”
“Don’t worry about it. This is unpredictable,”
He laughed, and the mercenaries, still carrying Dolf and Barbara, remained vigilant against the medium-sized Undead Beasts emerging from the ground, ready to protect Gilbert and the others. Though they couldn’t annihilate them with their blunt weapons, their attacks, imbued with the goddess’s blessing, would at least slow them down. The mercenaries focused on buying time.
Gilbert, avoiding the flames, swung his Battle Axe at the serpent’s neck, while Lionel and the others used their swords to sever the heads of the massive serpents. Once the heads were removed, they lost their form, crumbling into the earth with a gritty sound, yet new heads continued to sprout from the giant pillar.
Looking up, they saw multiple massive dragon heads writhing high above them. They had no means to strike at that height, and their only option was to focus on the heads descending toward the ground.
As Flora prayed, the vines entwining the colossal pillar of the Undead surged with renewed vigor, but the battle remained in a state of stalemate.