Starwood City had once been a mountain city. The people here had once relied on the mountain to survive. Yep, in the past …
"There was a loud bang. Oh my god, the whole mountain was gone."
"Yes, and the entire sky became bright. It wasn't a sunny day like usual. It was as if countless oil lamps were on top of the clouds. The entire sky was lit up. "
"Oil lamps are nothing. I feel like there are countless suns over there, and there's also that golden flower. It's so scary."
Even though they were facing a war, and even though it was now late at night, adventurers would never lose the interest in gossiping. This was especially so with such an earth-shattering explosion happening not far away from them, which made them feel even more anxious, yet also filled with anticipation.
"I heard that it was caused by our people."
"Of course. Didn't they say that the enemy was the undead? Let's see if they can bring out their Holy Light."
"Hmph, I heard from the temporary command center that the undead were supposed to arrive this afternoon. But with such an explosion, not only did they suffer heavy losses, the entire mountain path was destroyed, so it's unlikely that they'll be able to come. At the very least, we'll have one more day to prepare for battle."
Most of the time, it would always be good news before battle. Not a single qualified commander would leak information that would affect the morale of his troops. And, a sudden victory would naturally be greatly exaggerated, which would be used to boost morale.
After receiving news of the vanguard battle, Salima unhesitatingly sent out spies to spread the good news of victory in the taverns and alleys. But when considering the frightening number of zeros on a certain person's wanted poster, the only news that could be spread was that the Holy Light Archmage had just passed by and helped out.
Starwood City had now been reinforced many times and could barely be called a mid-level city. The city walls where the undead were most likely to reach had been forcibly raised to twelve meters tall. Thick layers of iron had also been added to the walls. Even though this still wouldn't be able to defend against gigantic bone giants and bone dragons, with sufficient defensive equipment, even a low-level sea of skeletons wouldn't amount to much.
And right now, the "Holy Light Archmage" who everyone viewed as their savior was also in a tavern. However, he wasn't as proud of himself as he usually was when he heard all the praises about him. Instead, he seemed quite vexed.
"I've suffered a huge loss this time."
I sat in a small private room of the bar, drinking to drown my sorrows. Listening to the bragging of outsiders, I was quite annoyed.
The Seed of Holy Light's forbidden spell was only a theoretical design that had just appeared. No one knew exactly how powerful it would be before it had been tested. However, this afternoon's appearance would probably make its name known far and wide.
"Pure Holy Light actually has such powerful destructive power. Looks like this is a new topic worth researching."
Conservation's army within range was completely annihilated. The shockwaves and overflowing Holy Light even reached Starwood Town, killing off many of the undead aerial units in the sky.
I still couldn't remember the name of the mountain range behind me. I would probably have to change its name as well. Perhaps something like Holy Radiance Plains would be more suitable for it. After all, the entire mountain had been flattened, so calling it a mountain range would be a joke.
"A single explosion source wouldn't be able to achieve such an effect. This is probably a special effect of Holy Light resonance or a chain reaction. I'll have to research the specifics later."
The silly cat was quite delighted. She had collected a lot of information and data during the explosion, and it seemed that she had some new ideas. For an archmage who was stuck at a bottleneck, nothing would attract her attention more than new knowledge.
Perhaps I should thank the Hades for their assistance in Holy Light. The power of this explosion far exceeded my expectations. Originally, I had only intended to stall for time. With such powerful Holy Light, even Conservation's Legend-ranked undead Winter Demons were instantly vaporized. It was even more so for the other low-level undead. When the entire mountain range was flattened by the shockwaves, I couldn't imagine how those weak skeleton soldiers could possibly have survived.
An Undead Plane's undead army would be nearly limitless. However, such a loss would also hurt the Undead Emperor's heart. At the very least, she would need to reorganize her army, which would give the living precious time to prepare themselves. The longer the battle dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for the living.
However, I was quite vexed by the fact that I had lost quite a bit as well.
"The energy level is only 14%. Where am I supposed to find mana to replenish it?"
Extraordinary power also meant extraordinary energy consumption. As that endless flower of Holy Light bloomed, Yongye City's energy level rapidly decreased. It was already quite fortunate that the city hadn't been destroyed. However, the battle was still ongoing, and it would be difficult to find a backup energy source.
And that wasn't even the most important loss. The most important loss was probably the good little boy War. As a good child who obediently listened to his father, War had been working hard for me in the rear defense line, hunting down some undead that had escaped. However, War himself was still an undead, and he hadn't been far enough away …
Alright then, there was no need to say anything else. War had been directly purified by the Holy Light at such a close distance. It was fortunate that he was an amalgamation of human consciousness, which was why he hadn't died on the spot. Even if he hadn't reached the point where he would have to go home and revive, it would be impossible for him to return to the battlefield for the time being.
"There's going to be a battle soon. Sufficient souls, especially powerful undead souls, will help War recover. However, there's really no way to replenish energy."
Right now, Yongye City was doubtlessly one of my most important trump cards. Even as a strategic weapon, it would be foolish to face an Undead Emperor and her entire army by myself. Strategic magic used up a tremendous amount of energy, and a mage tower that didn't have enough energy reserves would be no different from a mage without mana.
"Should I go capture those magic swordsmen and steal their magic swords and miniature energy pools?"
"That won't be enough. Even if I steal all of Yongye City, I might not even have 10%."
"Should I use Timlad's small battleship's engine and energy source?"
"That'll be another 10% at most. It'll be a waste of aerial combat strength, which is the most scarce resource right now. It's not worth it."
"… Find archmages to fill it up. Fine, I know it's unreliable. How many SemiGod archmages do we need to fill it up last time?"
"Twenty-six, or perhaps two hundred and sixty Myth-ranked archmages."
"It'd be great if we were in the Mage Country. We could just find a few mage organizations and get a dozen laborers."
"That wouldn't be enough. If we were in the Mage Country, we could just drug the Truth Overseers of the Truth Symposium. Those Truth Overseers are far more powerful than ordinary SemiGod archmages."
I tossed out all sorts of ridiculous ideas that seemed to be legal. Although I didn't feel anything, the listeners around me felt quite uncomfortable. That was because Salima, the highest-ranked commander of Starwood City, was also here. It would be far too arrogant to discuss all sorts of illegal ideas in front of her.
But right now, she could only smile wryly. After all, she also knew about my past. And if it wasn't for my interference, it was likely that Starwood City wouldn't even have lasted until nightfall.
Old Barton and Catalina were also here. The old mercenary's face was filled with bloodlust and even contained a faint murderous intent. It seemed that something was wrong with the situation, so I asked him about it.
"I just killed a few scum who were planning to take advantage of the situation. What kind of situation is this? You're still thinking about such ridiculous things? When the undead invade, your first thought isn't to protect yourself, but to take advantage of the situation to rob merchant guilds and steal women."
Barton lowered his head and drank half a glass of beer. However, his expression was still filled with indignation.
Meanwhile, his daughter's current appearance was quite strange. She had a nervous expression as she looked at everyone around her. She was so scared that even a waiter from the bar who brought her food would make her stand up.
"I, did I come to the wrong place!? Discussing such an important matter with a girl like me … "
"No, I wanted you to come here for something."
I looked at Catalina with great interest until she embarrassedly lowered her head and counted her fingers. Another benefit I obtained from the battle was that I now had a new understanding of how Catalina existed through the bone giant samples. Perhaps this would be a good research direction.
At this moment, the private room's door suddenly opened. A shirtless Timlad walked in. He used a towel to wipe his sweat as he lowered his head and apologized.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm late. The city gate's reinforcement took twenty-six minutes longer than expected. I brought good news this time. Yep, that should count as two pieces of good news. However, there's also bad news. "
The great engineer with an exhausted expression directly sat down by the door.
"Good news?"
"We have additional powerful reinforcements. I just received news that they'll probably arrive even earlier than the Sala Dukedom's reinforcements. Their power level is definitely trustworthy."
"Them?"
When I heard the word "them," I had a strong ominous premonition after having been scammed so many times. A mysterious sense of danger made me want to break into a run.
"What's the other good news? Wait a moment, tell me what the bad news is first. "
Timlad nodded, but his face was filled with a naughty smile that harbored malicious intentions.
"The bad news is that they received information from the letter you sent me. Reinforcements probably aren't their main goal. Their main goal is to get even with you …"
"Who!?"
I paused in surprise. If it was the name that I had in mind, I would probably be considering how to escape right now.
"Renée. She even brought her personal guards with her. Their power level is definitely reliable."
I paused in surprise for a moment upon hearing this, but then relaxed. She was just a little brat who hadn't even grown her pubic hair yet. What was the big deal? Although I seemed to have helped her out in the past and tossed the heavy responsibility of the Mist Kingdom to her without saying anything, wasn't that the same as thinking highly of her and training her?
"Tsk, get even with me? This little brat's finally grown up. Alright, there's also good news? "
"Yep, apart from Sister Renée's reinforcements, we have even more powerful reinforcements."
"Who?"
"Sister Renée knows that she won't be able to stop you by herself, so she directly told Granny Amelia … Sister Amelia. And Sister Amelia is the type of person who takes action, so, you know … "
I slowly stood up and walked outside. The little brat who had already transformed into a muscular man blocked my way with an evil smile on his face.
"Boss, don't take the responsibility and run away. You know how they'll deal with me if you run away. I'm still hoping that they'll put in a good word or two for me in front of my sister … Cough, cough, what about the mortals here without you? They still need you to protect them. "
"… I'm not running away. How can this be called running away? The aliens are coming, and even the Undead Emperors are coming. I'm going to find a phone booth, eat a plum, and transform into Ultraman to save the world!"
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