“Bring down the castle!!”
Amor’s voice echoed from outside.
Melrose’s villa, located in the suburbs of the Royal Capital, was nominally a ‘mansion,’ but when Claydale annexed Melrose, formerly a principality, it was also granted as a ‘castle’ to appease the dissatisfied vassals of the Melrose side.
This was due to an agreement that Claydale was forced to make: when the Claydale royal family became corrupt and the nation faced a crisis, the former royal families like Melrose and Dandole would rise up to defeat and quell it.
Amor, being royalty, knew this, which is why he referred to this mansion as a ‘castle’ to be captured, and seemed to be fixated on conquering it with military force rather than his own unique abilities.
That’s why Melrose’s forces, numbering only a few dozen, had been able to withstand the siege.
“You’re back, Adventurer woman!”
“…………”
Amor roared, quickly noticing me as I appeared on the castle walls.
Amor’s obsession with me was also a reason why the castle siege wasn’t progressing. Since I appeared, Amor’s target seemed to have shifted from Melrose to me.
Was it because I, whom he looked down upon as an Adventurer, had annihilated the enemies inside the Dungeon…?
But that was a reflection of the inferiority complex Amor harbored. For him, who had been suppressed, power was justice and an enemy.
That’s why he was fixated on victory as a commander and obsessed with me, who had shown him my power.
I won’t say that’s foolish. But if that becomes your weakness, I’ll use it against you.
“Attack!”
At Amor’s command, arrows were released from the Second Knight Order, and the Undead surged forward.
They hadn’t been idle while I was gone either. Instead of the destroyed ladders, they had cut down the surrounding trees and were trying to break down the gate with a Battering Ram they had created.
Seeing this, the soldiers and servants used shields like umbrellas against the rain of arrows, throwing down garden stones and bricks from above. But the Undead pressed on regardless of whether their skulls were crushed or their necks were broken.
But we hadn’t just been killing time either. We had taken measures in the short time we had.
“First Squad!”
““Yes!””
At my command, several soldiers dumped buckets of muddy water. This caused several Undead to slip, but that wouldn’t stop them.
Just a little more… just one more second—
“Now!”
Doooooooon!!
The Battering Ram hit the castle gate, making a violent sound, and Amor twisted his lips into a grin. But he frowned slightly, noticing the unusual behavior of his subordinates.
“What’s wrong!?”
Amor called out to the Undead, who had stopped moving after hitting the gate with the Battering Ram, but they weren’t not moving, they were “unable” to move.
“Uooooooooh!”
The next moment, the closed gate doors opened as if pushing the Battering Ram away, and Melrose’s elite soldiers rushed out, smashing the heads of the immobile Undead, along with the Worms inside, with blunt weapons.
“S, stop them!”
“Fall back!”
Amor shouted, and at the same time, Mikhail gave instructions from inside the gate. The knights returned inside the gate without pursuing, and arrows were fired late, piercing the closed doors. Seeing this, Amor turned his wide eyes to me.
“What have you done!”
What I did was simple. After learning from a soldier’s report that a Battering Ram would be used, I had the muddy water poured over the Battering Ram and used 【Harden(Hard)】 from the inside at the moment it hit the door.
【Harden(Hard)】 is a Utility Magic that hardens earth attribute for a certain period of time, and when used on muddy water, it becomes a restraint with the hardness of iron. Having been helped by 【Harden(Hard)】 many times before, I was able to come up with the idea of using it this time as well.
The problem was that 【Harden(Hard)】 is a contact Magic, but if Mana was passed through the metal fittings of the door, which is also an earth attribute, in advance, 【Harden(Hard)】 could be applied at the moment the Battering Ram hit.
But that wasn’t easy. If I messed up, there was a possibility that the use of Magic would be delayed and the Battering Ram would destroy the door.
There weren’t many people in the mansion who could use 【Harden(Hard)】, but there was also a commoner maid who volunteered, and Melrose’s unity and morale were high.
“Damn you! Men, overwhelm them with numbers!”
At Amor’s command, the Undead rushed out with multiple Battering Rams. Behind them, perhaps wary of the knights appearing from the gate, Undead with Spears followed.
The Melrose side immediately dropped mud from above, but this time they were targeted with arrows at that moment, and several soldiers were shot down.
“Get the injured back! …Tch”
Doooooooon!!
Aiming for that moment, three Battering Rams hit the door, and a roar resounded that was incomparable to the first time. At the same time, I succeeded in using 【Harden(Hard)】 from the inside, but the impact seemed to have injured civilians.
The gate doors have the effect of 【Harden(Hard)】 on the metal parts, so they can’t be easily broken. But in a situation where they are being waited for outside, the knights inside can’t get out of the door either.
Besides, if they receive this many times, the wooden parts won’t last, let alone the metal parts.
I saw the knights of the Second Knight Order rushing to the Undead captured by 【Harden(Hard)】 to use the Battering Ram again.
In order for them to release the Undead restrained by 【Harden(Hard)】, they need to use the opposite attribute, 【Water】, to cancel 【Harden(Hard)】.
“Nets!”
Seeing that, I had the knights prepared as the second squad throw nets.
“What!?”
The knights with intelligence who saw that swung their Spears, but they couldn’t defend against the nets with Spears, and the nets, aimed at those with intelligence, captured several people and pulled them up.
“Show no mercy!”
“You guys—”
The knights and soldiers who pulled up the nets crushed the heads of those who couldn’t move.
The nets were originally in this mansion. Melrose is a southern maritime city. They have the largest navy in the kingdom, and they sometimes fish in the lake during vacations, so I saw the nets drying behind the castle walls and had them used.
But this, like strengthening the gate, is not a trick that can be used many times.
If Amor is cornered, he will use Fire Arrows to target the nets and those who use them.
That’s why I’ll settle it before that.
“Attack again! I’m going out too!”
Amor, who had retreated to the back, jumped forward again.
“Is it okay for the commander to come out?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! If I defeat you, the rest are just a rabble!”
Amor retorted to my provocation. But that’s fine. The goal is to draw you within my reach. That’s why I had the Undead with intelligence targeted.
Amor can’t give instructions to all one hundred people alone. In response to Amor’s rough orders, knights with intelligence, like the company commander I saw at the beginning, are giving detailed instructions.
Amor, who was targeted, had to come forward even if he knew it was a provocation. He retorted to avoid letting me realize that.
At the same time, the knights with intelligence also came forward following Amor.
Perhaps only the knights with intelligence can use Magic, even among the Undead. If Utility Magic is the same, then they intend to release the Undead captured by 【Harden(Hard)】 while Amor is drawing attention. But….
“Do you think I’ll just watch?”
“You’ve come out, Adventurer woman!”
Amor attacked me as if dancing in the air as I jumped out of the castle walls.
“No more holding back.”
I dodged the attribute-less Magic that Amor unleashed, using the recoil of running through the air, and kicked the neck of the Undead below as if breaking it, and danced into the sky.
“–【Levitate】–”
If I’m in the air, I won’t be surrounded by the Undead on the ground. I can’t defeat them either, but the Undead’s means of attack are limited.
“Men, shoot her down!”
“Yes!”
Amor instructs the company commander below. But that’s what I’m here for.
Squish!
“Gugah!?”
Before the company commander could convey that order to the Undead without intelligence, the Ball-Shaped Pendulum that I swung down crushed his head. I threw another ceramic bottle, and the poison inside that broke burned the Worms that were there to death.
“Damn it, shoot, shoot!”
Seeing that, Amor swung his sword at me, giving rough instructions.
But the Undead who were surrounding me and Amor didn’t use bows or Magic in response to that order, but only threw the Spears in their hands.
No matter how much the Undead’s physical abilities can ignore the load on the muscles, heavy Spears thrown from below upwards won’t hit.
The knights with intelligence who were listening to Amor’s rough orders and giving appropriate instructions had all gone to the castle gate except for the company commander.
“Release the second net!”
“Ooooooooooooooh!”
The knights who jumped out of the castle gate at my voice threw the nets again.
“With that level!”
They, too, realize that we’re targeting those who can use Magic. That’s why they immediately tried to cut the net with sharp one-handed swords and daggers.
But that net is “mud-covered.”
“【Harden(Hard)】!”
Those who were holding the ropes attached to the net used 【Harden(Hard)】 to turn the net into a cage. Taking advantage of this, all the knights and soldiers who had jumped out from the gate restrained the mindless Undead while defeating the knights with wills one after another.
It’s just a trick, but we’ve managed to take down nearly thirty percent of them. However, the fact that we were able to defeat many of the knights with the ability to give instructions is significant.
If this continues, the knights with wills won’t be able to carelessly come forward, and if that happens, they won’t be able to release the Undead trapped in the net, nor will they be able to attack recklessly.
After that, all I have to do is hold down and defeat Amor, who can overturn this situation.
“Don’t you underestimate meee!”
Amor, having thrown off his cloak, enlarged his left half, which had become a Worm, and lunged at me.
But I told you, no holding back.
“—【Corrosion】—”
I unleash another level 5 Dark Magic.
“Guooooh! What is this!?”
It’s a ranged attack that inflicts continuous damage with Dark attack Magic. It’s a Magic that’s difficult to use, but from Amor’s left half, which is made of Worms and enveloped in black mist, the dead Worms began to crumble away.
“Damn you, damn you, damn youuuu!!”
Amor, pressing his festering right half of his face with his right hand, which had discarded his sword, attacks with his enlarged left arm.
The peeling Worms fly around, but the dead Worms pose no threat. When I slice off his finger with the Black Knife, the fear finally appears on Amor’s face as his left hand crumbles away.
“I… have been reborn!”
As Amor screamed, even his right half was covered in Worms, and those Worms devoured the Worms on the left side, grotesquely enlarging his entire body like a giant.
That’s your trump card… then.
“—【Iron Rose】…【Real Breaker】—!”
I, too, release my trump card. My pinkish-blonde hair changes to an ash-grey color like scorched iron, and particles of light scatter from my entire body, spreading like silver wings.
“Haaaaaa!”
“Ugaaaaaaaah!!”
Amor, with the right side of his face still retaining a trace of humanity, lets out a scream that no longer sounds human. His fist clashes with my light, and a Dagger, engulfing particles of light, tears through Amor’s arm.
Amor’s arm regenerates as if filled with Worms, but Amor no longer has the composure he had at the beginning.
“Archers, take aim! Save His Highness Amor!”
The knights with wills who were in the rear jumped out, and the Undead under their command began to draw their bows. But you’re not the only one with allies.
An arrow flies with a whistling sound, piercing the eye of the knight with a will who was giving instructions.
“Support that person!!”
Melrose’s knights and soldiers also draw their bows, and the Magicians begin to fire Fire Arrows to restrain the Second Knight Order.
With their equipment, they can’t defeat the Undead without using nets and tricks. But it’s possible to keep them there.
In the meantime, I’ll defeat Amor!
“Guu…”
Amor, finally realizing that he’s at a disadvantage, glares at me resentfully.
The real battle begins here. Will my Mana run out first, or will I be able to whittle down Amor first… I toss a pill made from dragon’s blood into my mouth, and just as I was about to launch an attack—it happened.
“What…”
Suddenly, a red-black light leaked out from Amor’s chest, from the gaps in the dense Worms.
The heart? Is it a Magic Stone there? As I cautiously put some distance between us, the phenomenon didn’t seem to be something Amor had intended. Slightly flustered, Amor turned his gaze to the north and let out a scream filled with hatred.
“Carla, youuuu!!”
Carla? Why her name?
But without getting an answer, Amor, who had screamed, suddenly dashed off in that direction.
I was momentarily stunned by Amor, who had started running with beast-like speed, but realizing that the direction was the Royal Capital, I chased after him.
Carla… what have you done?
Carla-san, what did you do…
Next time, Aria’s and Carla’s perspectives will switch many times.
Some of Aria’s tricks were learned from her master, but most of them are from that woman’s knowledge.
She seems to have been quite the otaku or a fan of fantasies.