“Haha! Too easy!”
Zenberu’s casual voice made Zaryusu smile, but his face tensed the next moment. Zaryusu realized that his voice had hints of pain in it.
Even a male lizardman like Zenberu couldn’t suppress his pain completely, his wounds must be serious. Furthermore, Zenberu wouldn’t agree to hiding behind Rororo if this technique was perfect.
Zaryusu stared ahead, the enemy was less than twenty meters away. That impossible distance had been cut down to this last stretch.
With the distance drawing close, Iguvua judged the group before him to be strong foes that were not to be underestimated. They could defend against his spells and were worthy of praise. Iguvua had other means of attacks, but he needed to consider his defences too.
“Not bad for a sacrificial offering, worthy enough for me to show my might.”
Iguvua activated his magic with a cold sneer.
“「4th Tier Summon Undead」.”
The wetland bubbled and skeletal bodies with four hands holding round shields and scimitars emerged to protect Iguvua. They were undeads known as Skeleton Warriors, much more powerful than normal Skeletons.
He could summon other undead, but he chose skeletons for their resistance against cold attacks. Iguvua and monsters made from bones were immune to cold attacks.
Iguvua looked loftily at the approaching enemies under the protection of his guards. That was the attitude of a king facing against challengers.
The distance had been closed.
There were just — 10 meters left.
That was all that was left. After seeing that the undead showed no signs of attacking, he glanced backwards.
He looked at the distance they had covered. This was a short distance for a sprint, but these one hundred meters were deadly grounds with no place to take cover. If they didn’t have either Rororo, Frost Pain Zenberu or Crusch, there was no way they could had make it through. But they had come so far and the enemy was within reach.
They overcame this distance.
Zaryusu was relieved to see Rororo being carried back to the village by the other lizardmen. He then cursed himself for relaxing and glared at the undead.
Zaryusu admitted that it was a formidable opponent.
If he had not met it under such circumstances, Zaryusu would have definitely ran away already. His instinct was telling him to escape just by seeing it face to face, and even his tail was standing on ends. Zaryusu could see from the corner of his eyes that Zenberu's and Crusch’s tails had the same reaction.
The two of them must be thinking about the same thing as Zaryusu. That’s right— they were doing everything they could to suppress their urge to flee as they faced the undead.
Zaryusu tapped the backs of the both of them with his tail.
The two of them looked at Zaryusu in surprise.
“We can win if we work together.”
That was all that Zaryusu said.
“That’s right, we can win, Zaryusu.”
Crusch stroked her back that was patted by Zaryusu and replied.
“Hah, things are getting interesting!”
Zenberu answered with an arrogant smile.
And the three of them covered the final stretch.
— Eight meters apart.
Zaryusu’s group who had sprinted all this way was out of breath. In contrast, the undead had no need for breath. The two groups locked eyes and the undead spoke first.
“I am the Lich serving the Supreme Being, Iguvua. If you forfeit now, I will grant you a painless death.”
Zaryusu couldn’t help smiling. He could tell this undead named Iguvua knew nothing at all.
No matter how you thought about it, there was only one answer.
Although Zaryusu was smiling, Iguvua didn’t feel displeased and waited quietly for an answer. Iguvua knew he was strong and was confident in disposing of Zaryusu’s group. That was why he displayed the arrogance of the mighty, and was even thankful for saving him the hassle of walking all the way.
“Let’s hear your answer.”
“Haha, you really need one…”
Zaryusu raised Frost Pain tightly; Zenberu lifted his fists and took a stance; Crusch didn’t do anything, as she felt the mana deep within her, prepared to cast her spells any moment.
“I will give you an answer then— fat hope!”
The Skeleton Warriors who judged the reply to be hostile raised their scimitars and shielded their bodies.
“Then die an excruciatingly painful death. You will regret rejecting my final offer of mercy!”
“That’s what I want to say, go back to hell undead! Iguvua!”
At this moment, the battle that would decide the outcome of this war began.
“Zaryusu! Get him!”
Zenberu who dashed out faster than anyone else stretched his giant arm and attacked the Skeleton Warrior.
He didn’t care when the Skeleton Warrior blocked it with its shield, using brute force to press them back. The shield was dented, and the Skeleton Warrior staggering back collided with the other Skeleton Warrior and lost its balance. At the same time, Zenberu used his tail to swipe at another Skeleton Warrior, but missed.
The formation of the Skeleton Warriors was broken and Zaryusu used this chance to slip through.
“Stop him!”
Two Skeleton Warriors slashed at Zaryusu after hearing Iguvua’s command.
It was possible for Zaryusu to dodge; he could also use Frost Pain to block if he wanted to. But Zaryusu did neither of these. Dodging would mean he was slow, Zaryusu didn’t want to make any unnecessary moves in front of Iguvua.
And more importantly, someone already took care of it—
“「Earth Bind」!”
The earth moved like whips, binding the two Skeletal Warriors. The whips made from mud were like steel chains, restraining the movement of the two Skeleton Warriors as Zaryusu charged into the gap in their formation.
That’s right— Crusch was present too.
Zaryusu wasn’t fighting alone, he just needed to trust his comrades.
Even Crusch’s magic couldn’t seal off their movements completely. The scimitars of the Skeleton Warriors still grazed Zaryusu. But that was nothing, his boiling blood made him impervious to this pain.
Zaryusu ran with brisk strides.
He charged at Iguvua who was pointing his finger at him. Even if he got hit by a spell, Zaryusu had to endure it and charge the target. He moved with iron willed determination.
“Fools! Know true fear! 「Scare」!”
Zaryusu’s vision shook and he was confused about where he was. A strange unease spread in his heart and he was paranoid about things around him attacking him…
His legs was slowing down to a stop. Zaryusu was shaken mentally due to the effect of the spell ‘Scare’ and his legs was not responding to him. Even though his mind was telling his legs to move, but his heart was stopping him.
“Zaryusu! 「Lion’s Heart」!”
The moment Crusch shouted, his fear vanished instantly and his will gushed out from within stronger than before. The magic that granted courage defeated his fear.
Iguvua glared unhappily at Crusch and pointed a finger at her.
“Annoying! 「Lightning」!”
“Hyaa!”
— Crusch screamed.
Zaryusu who started running again was almost consumed by hatred, but got hold of himself in the end. Hatred could be a good weapon sometimes, but in the face of a powerful foe, it could get in the way instead. What he needed when fighting a strong enemy was fiery heart and an ice cold mind.
Zaryusu would never turn his head.
Iguvua attacked Crusch just now, but that meant Zaryusu could use this chance to close the distance. Dismay could be seen on Iguvua’s face and it knew it made a mistake. This reaction made Zaryusu, whose beloved female was harmed, sneer mockingly.