Chapter 143
Erich addressed them calmly.
"Fortress Commander Burton told us to rest for about a day because we have wounded men. Where would be a good place for us to stay?"
"... Pardon? All of a sudden?"
They rolled their eyes in confusion, as if something like this had never happened before.
Most soldiers headed straight back to the battlefield as soon as they received supplies, so this situation itself seemed unusual to them.
"Is there a problem?"
"There's no real problem, but... we should probably check with Fortress Commander Burton first."
At those words, Erich furrowed his brow and stepped forward as if to intimidate them.
"Is that so? Are you going to go and ask the commander yourself, then?"
The soldiers looked troubled at Erich's words.
It was already strange for a mere private to just come and go from the commander's quarters at will.
Besides, it was even stranger to go double-check what a superior right in front of them had already said.
The situation itself didn't make sense.
Soon, the soldiers hurriedly assumed a more respectful posture.
"Uh... It's just that, well, you know how things are. Perhaps you could wait a little until the guard squad leader comes..."
"Hmm. Fine."
Erich accepted their words without argument.
Soon, the guard squad leader, having finished his watch, arrived and eyed Erich critically.
"... You're saying Fortress Commander Burton told you to do this?"
"That's right."
"That can't be... Can I check just to be sure?"
"I don't mind, but I would prefer if our rest time isn't cut short."
The guard squad leader let out a low chuckle, as if to say, "How many wounded could there possibly be?"
But right then, a group of soldiers limped in behind Erich and Barnes.
Their faces weren't clearly visible, but the squad leader's gaze didn't go to their faces.
Here and there, bandages soaked in blood were wrapped around them. They looked unmistakably like seriously wounded soldiers.
"Uuuhhh."
"Guhhhwaaagh!"
Some of the injured seemed on the verge of collapsing to the ground rather than walking; blood seeped from their bandages, staining the floor.
The guard squad leader went pale and opened his mouth.
"A-aren't they supposed to go to the infirmary, not rest?"
"... Well, as you know, we're short on manpower. So, we just want to rest for a bit before going."
Erich shrugged his shoulders. A hint of guilt flickered across the guard squad leader's face. After all, he was human too.
Erich glanced sideways at the Shadows, who were doing an impressive job pretending to be wounded.
'... Good. Nicely done.'
Erich's lips gradually curled into a smile. Orders or not—if the wounds were this severe, even pity would force them to let these men stay.
And just as expected, the guard squad leader said to the other soldiers,
"Hawthorne, give them a place to rest."
"Pardon? Shouldn't we check with the commander first?"
"What's there to check... Can't you see what state they're in?"
At the guard squad leader's command, the soldiers quickly guided the wounded inside and then nodded slightly to Erich.
"Sorry about that. You never know what might happen, you see."
"It's fine."
Erich wore a faint smile. The Shadows were always useful. They had an ability to make even such play-acting feel real.
Soon after, Erich and his companions were given their own accommodations and headed inside. There, Erich turned to Barnes with a smirk.
"It's done."
"... So it is. But next time, we should be more careful with things like this..."
Barnes seemed to have realized something different through this incident.
For example, that if things were handled in such a slapdash manner, people would fall for it.
Of course, there was a decisive difference between Erich and Fortress Commander Burton. Erich never prevented ordinary soldiers from offering advice to him.
But Erich knew something about Burton, and he knew that the soldiers were intimidated by Burton.
That's why this method worked.
Above all, before the regression, Burton had been a loyalist—a fortress commander who had stuck in Erich's memory.
'And the fact that a loyalist has turned rebel might mean, once Lich is dealt with, he could return to being a loyalist after all.'
That was what Erich was aiming for. For now, Burton was only rebelling under Lich's influence.
Once Lich was out of the picture, Burton might act differently.
Meanwhile, another fortress commander, Daren...
'That guy started a rebellion even before the regression.'
For that reason, Daren probably deserved no leniency.
Whether or not Lich's influence was at play then, one mistake might be forgivable, but not two.
Anyway, that was that. Erich observed the Shadows, who were reciting groans of pain with detachment.
Fake blood—he had no idea where they got it—was prevalent everywhere.
"Aigoooh~"
"Help! Somebody help~!"
With a broad grin, Erich addressed them.
"Isn't that enough?"
"Things like this must be done perfectly, heir."
King muttered in a low voice. The other Shadows kept groaning in pain, loud enough to be heard outside.
Well, Erich too thought their approach was reasonable.
At any rate, that was that.
Now that they had solved the problem of staying here, the only thing left was to wait until nightfall.
***
In the dead of night, Erich rose with Barnes and the other Shadows. Inside the barracks, the soldiers were asleep, but some were out on watch.
As soon as Erich stepped out the door, he signaled the Shadows with his eyes. Instantly, as if nothing had happened, they slipped into the darkness.
Before long, Erich and Barnes made their way onto the stone wall. As they moved quietly, they heard something topple overhead.
-thud.
Upon climbing the wall, Erich saw the fallen soldiers, taken out by the Shadows. Their assassination skills were, as always, exceptional.
"Clear a path, King."
"Yes, heir."
King and the other Shadows moved swiftly. Their actions were so stealthy and precise that by the time they passed by, the only thing left behind were the fallen guards.
Not a sound—not even a scream—escaped them. A strategic weapon that could end it in a single blow.
That was what the Shadows were.
'... I do feel sorry for them, but.'
Indeed, Erich felt pity for the fallen soldiers. Under normal circumstances, these men would have perished fighting the dead, but here they were being struck down by allies.
They shouldn't have been falling in such a ludicrous rebellion, but again, this was exactly what Lich had intended.
In a way, it was no different from being sacrificed in the battle against the dead.
Soon, Erich could see the movements of the Shadows.
After traveling along a good section of the wall, they waited for Erich atop a large building's roof.
Spotting the Shadows' stealth was impossible, but if they wanted, revealing themselves was just as easy.
-clomp.
Landing lightly from the wall, Erich followed the Shadows' lead, traversing rooftops toward the interior.
The place he headed was previously guarded by soldiers.
'Even at this hour, their vigilance is impressive.'
The area inside was guarded like a fortress. Had they attacked head-on, a huge commotion would have broken out.
But with Shadow's guidance, Erich was able to avoid all that.
As he reached the end of the roof, there were no checkpoint guards—just a banked slope that gave easy access to the open area.
"Let's go."
"Yes, commander."
Erich and Barnes jumped lightly down. Landing softly, Erich scanned the surroundings.
No dead were visible yet. But at that moment, he felt a throbbing sensation.
A strange headache swept over Erich.
'Lich's mental wave, huh.'
There was no way to block Lich's mental wave. No matter how skilled a swordmaster, defending completely against his abilities was impossible.
In some ways, it was even more troublesome than Frost's powers. However, Erich was not entirely unaccustomed to this. As a purplish haze blurred his vision,
-vuuum.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. Crimson radiance streamed from Erich's eyes. Then Erich moved to the next phase.
He manipulated the aura flowing through his body, drawing it up to his eyes. Although aura couldn't block the mental wave...
"That way, huh."
...it could allow him to visualize its flow. After catching the direction the mental wave came from, Erich pressed forward.
Soon, Erich came to a halt.
"......"
But no one spoke a word.
Dead soldiers, motionless, stood in perfect formation before his eyes, like an army ready to march.
Armor and swords, all of them manufactured by the Watch. Lich must have had the fortress commanders arm them.
Barnes tensed and reached for his sword, but Erich quickly stopped him.
"It's fine. They haven't awakened yet."
If the dead had awoken, they would have charged at Erich already. Their current dazed state meant they were being controlled, but not active.
From experience, dead in this state would simply allow one to pass by.
However, encountering so many immobilized dead was proof that some overwhelmingly strong being was exercising powerful control over them.
In this case, that being was Lich. Erich strode straight into the midst of the dead.
Barnes hesitated for a moment, then followed behind Erich.
The Shadows formed a strange formation around Erich, keeping their distance while avoiding the dead.
Before long, Erich felt a strange sensation.
The temperature dropped suddenly. And then, iridescent smoke, as foreign as a hallucination, filled the air.
Erich calmly scanned the surroundings. There was only one being capable of causing such a phenomenon.
And that being now recognized Erich's presence.
-... Is it you.
A voice seeped into his bones, not uttered aloud but a chilling warning transmitted directly through his mind.
Beyond the legion of the dead, Erich caught a flash of white flickering light.
Lich—that creature was watching Erich.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】