1102: To Alessa

「I see it, Alessa!」

Fran shouted for joy when she saw the distant city lights through the darkness of night.

Finally back at Alessa after so many interruptions along the way. To tell the truth, we also heard some disturbing rumors along the way, which made us a bit worried.

It happened at the diner of a town where we stopped to eat.

「The Raydoss army breached the border?」

「Yeah, that’s what I heard.」

「What about the powerful adventurers defending the north border?」

「It’s not like they were defeated or anything, probably just outnumbered and forced to retreat. Though it’s true that we were supposed to have the upper hand… Keep on your toes if you’re headed north, young lady.」

「Nn…」

There was also one more issue weighing Fran down, regarding the goblin dungeon where we once fought a Greater Demon.

We had hoped the dungeon would go public as soon as possible, since gaining access will let Nadia evolve incredibly easily. However, it appears the war delayed the investigation process.

Despite asking everywhere, no one had heard about any new dungeon opening near Alessa.

But more importantly, how did they get past the border with guys like Amanda and Jean there? Could this be related to the South Conquest Duke’s big plan that we heard from Hideman?

「Master, hurry!」

『Y-Yeah, let’s go.』

「Urushi! Full speed ahead!」

「Woof!」

Fran hurried to leave before even finishing her meal, or rather, she scarfed it down in one gulp. I should probably scold her about eating too fast, but I doubt she’ll listen right now.

Then we broke off the main road and cut our way through the mountains and forests, arriving at Alessa right after sunset.

The atmosphere felt strangely prickly for some reason. Maybe because the war was so close?

No, that’s not quite it. I realized the reason as soon as we got closer.

Boooom! Boooom!

Fiery explosions lit up the night, again and again.

Several figures got blown away by the shockwaves. Raydoss soldiers? No, I saw their figures illuminated by the flames and they weren’t even human.

Faces covered in rotten flesh, with eyeballs spilling out. Cracks in their heads, exposing the white of their bones.

That’s right, Alessa was under siege by a horde of undead.

It seems the gates had yet to be breached, and and the city was striking back from atop the walls.

『Hmm?』

「Did someone just look our way?」

『You felt a gaze too?』

I sensed someone watching us for a brief moment, but their presence immediately vanished. It wasn’t coming from the direction of Alessa, I think…

「Master!」

『Let’s focus on the issue at hand, but don’t attack the horde out of the blue. We have no clue if it’s only undead, since Alessa’s forces might be engaged with them out here.』

「Nn.」

We decided to enter Alessa first.

Our battles in Gordicia showed us how important it was to maintain the chain of command. Fighting in an organized manner is much more effective than fighting by yourself.

But how should we enter? We might cause panic if we suddenly fly over the wall.

Thus, we decided to approach them conspicuously while making ourselves glow with light magic. Fran went alone, with Urushi hidden in her shadow.

The shiny girl walking through the sky ended up being a very strange sight, but at least no one immediately marked us as an enemy. Also, many in Alessa still remembered Fran.

They soon realized her identity and welcomed her in.

「Whoa, it’s Fran! You came as reinforcements?」

「Elebent.」

「Over here! Come on down!」

The first person approaching us was Elebent the dwarf. He seemed to be the one in charge of the southern wall.

Not to say that he’s too weak or anything, but wasn’t he a Rank D adventurer? I kinda expected the commander to be someone a bit higher. However, it seems there was a reason for this.

The city’s main forces, including Amanda and Jean, were still busy intercepting Raydoss at the border. The undead army here was a comparatively small force that managed to slip past them.

If they consider several thousand undead a small force, I have to wonder how fierce things are on the front lines.

Fran, however, remained calm in the face of these numbers. After fending off hordes of over ten thousand antidemons, a couple thousand undead wasn’t so special.

「Where’s the higher ranked guys?」

「They’re busy chasing the enemies who snuck into town.」

「…! That’s not good!」

「Yeah, and they seem to be running all over the place. The Rank C adventurer in charge of the walls went to join the pursuit, so that left me as the new commander.」

「I see…」

「The lord’s mansion is the acting command center, with the guildmaster there too. Can you go show your face there real quick?」

「Are you guys okay by yourselves?」

「Don’t worry. There may be lots of undead, but none are very strong. We’re completely fine for the time being.」

「Okay.」

「Thanks again for coming. Everyone will be excited when they hear about a high rank adventurer arriving.」

Indeed, the faces of the adventurers around Elebent seemed a bit brighter than before. With their main forces away, and being stuck fighting an unknown enemy, they were in a bit of a pinch with no guarantee of reinforcements.

Then a high ranking adventurer famous in Alessa arrives to save the day. Even if she was only a little girl, everyone recognized her abilities. There’s no doubt we eased a lot of their worries.

「You want me use some spells on the undead?」

「Can you use spells for cleansing a large area?」

「Nn.」

「Hmm. No, hold up. We have some allied necromancers on the walls too. You might end up taking out their undead.」

I see, so they have necromancers aside from Jean.

「I’ll tell them to back down, and you can go to the guildmaster in the meanwhile!」

「Okay.」

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