Chapter 160
As they headed toward the peak, the clash of bright lights grew even fiercer.
Repeated waves spread in all directions, and before long, those lights continued to illuminate the darkening night.
Eventually, Erich's group concealed themselves on a ridge with a clear view of the peak.
They had stopped there to observe, from a distance, what was taking place.
After briefly watching the flickering lights in that place, it was Mikhail who spoke first.
"... They've formed a battle line. It looks like they're pounding at the city gate."
Just as Mikhail said, a pale green barrier was blocking the dead.
The dead were taking turns unleashing their power, trying their best to break through that barrier.
In other words, the constant flickering was like sparks arising from the collision between the dead and the barrier.
Erich confirmed that there were many dead there powerful enough to clash with such a barrier and create intense flashes of light.
'At least death knights or necromancers with three or four cores each.'
It was a force distinctly different from the miscellaneous dead positioned at the base of the ridge.
But after grasping that much, Erich's focus shifted elsewhere.
It was true that the dead here possessed exceptional power, but...
Then how was that barrier able to withstand such an assault?
'A barrier the likes of which even dead of that level couldn't break after an entire day?'
He didn't know what method the shamans had used, but for them to be able to keep holding out against such foes using this barrier—now, that was something noteworthy.
Thus, Erich's objective became clear: to deal with the enemy and rescue those inside before the shamans maintaining that barrier collapsed.
However, at that moment, Ceres let out a sigh.
"... That, that one..."
A tremendous aura emerged from between the ones battering the barrier.
Wearing black armor, a chain as dark as night draped from the back of his neck, flowing like a cloak—
Erich already knew the name of that creature.
"... Death Lord."
If a lich was the higher form of a necromancer, then a Death Lord was the upper class of death knights.
Even in the past, it had taken devastating sacrifices from the Watch to bring down one of these creatures, servants of the Lord of the Dead.
The only consolation was—
'He isn't stronger than back then.'
In fact, he was much weaker than the Death Lord Erich remembered.
Most likely, a Death Lord who should have spent longer gathering power had been summoned prematurely.
On top of that, all the disruption Erich had caused—though unintentional—must have played a part in weakening it.
Yet, even so, the creature's power was enough to make even Erich shudder.
The oppressive aura seeping from those black chains tingled his flesh even from afar.
― KWAAAANG!
The creature's chain struck the barrier.
Immediately, corruption of a kind very different from before spread thinly across the surface of the barrier, as a green glow flared even brighter to resist that force.
Moving with leisurely, languid steps, the Death Lord simply placed both hands on his colossal sword and struck the barrier again and again, emotionless.
But impatience was a trait only mortals possessed.
For a Death Lord who had lived eons, even waiting for the barrier to fall was but a fleeting moment.
He was in no hurry.
He simply continued to bring his sword down, silently awaiting the moment the barrier would break.
Each and every creature present here was powerful enough to annihilate a fortress of the Watch single-handedly.
But—
At that moment, Hrung-ga tapped Erich on the shoulder.
[... Erich, look there.]
At Hrung-ga's words, Erich turned his gaze in the direction he pointed. What he saw surprised him.
[Those are?]
[They're Ungrim's subordinates. Balmung, they call him. I recognize his face as well.]
Balmung.
Erich knew the name too—a troublesome one, with extraordinarily difficult abilities.
If Catan was Ungrim's field commander, then Balmung was virtually his left hand.
The fact that one like him had come here as a reinforcement meant—
'This place is extremely important to Ungrim.'
That meant the enemy was already aware of Erich's choices.
'Well, really, the only ways across this canyon are Haratakan or the ice lake.'
Come to think of it, the enemy wouldn't have cared which path Erich chose.
Ungrim himself would be blocking the ice lake, where the main force was, while Balmung would be sent to cover this byway.
But that was all irrelevant now, anyway.
What mattered was that here, at this place, Erich would have to face the dead and the Death Lord leading them, along with Balmung and his barbarians, Ungrim's lieutenants.
Frederick spoke.
"Should we prepare to attack?"
"... No matter how you look at it, this isn't to our advantage."
"Hm?"
Frederick blinked, but Erich calmly analyzed the situation.
'To take them all on at once? Even if we win, the losses would be immense.'
Even the Death Lord alone was overwhelming. And if they also had to face all those others, there'd be no force left standing.
So Erich fell deep into thought.
At this point, the most effective tactic would be to scatter the enemy.
If they could do that, they could pick them off one by one.
But how were they supposed to scatter such enemies?
Erich pondered the problem.
Soon, Mikhail spoke.
"Are you thinking of dispersing them?"
"Yes, but the right method doesn't come to mind. Their goal is to bring down that barrier. They have no reason to chase us just because they spot us."
"What if I'm the bait?"
"... You, senior Mikhail?"
Erich rested his chin on his hand. From the enemy's standpoint, Mikhail was a tempting target.
One way or another, Mikhail was known to be the greatest force of the Watch.
But would they really abandon the barrier and all swarm after Mikhail?
In the worst-case scenario, all the enemy could leave the barrier completely behind, making Mikhail surrounded and with no escape route.
Mikhail went on.
"Are you worried about me, boy? Tsk tsk."
"It's not that, sir. I just thought there might be a better way."
Erich's gaze slowly shifted to the rest of the group.
'If we group Frederick, Barnes, Hrung-ga, and his subordinate barbarians, they might be able to take on Balmung.'
And if the remaining Ceres, the mages, Mikhail, and Erich himself worked together—
They might just be able to contend with the remaining force, the Death Lord and the dead, excluding Balmung.
Though of course, the cost would be vast.
But if the relatively weaker barbarians under Hrung-ga couldn't draw out Balmung properly while luring the enemy...?
Erich mapped out the terrain in his mind.
Maybe there was a way to lure the enemy while also securing a route back to the main force.
***
Balmung sat perched on a snow-covered boulder, his face twisted in dissatisfaction.
His barbarians looked visibly exhausted.
In front of them, the dead continued their attempts to break the barrier—a process ongoing since their arrival three days ago.
But the barrier showed no sign of breaking.
[... Balmung, are these things really trying to break the barrier?]
[I don't know either. We just have to wait.]
[There are growing complaints among the warriors. How long are we supposed to just sit here?]
The barbarians' confidence sagged for a moment. Balmung's sharp glare quickly restored order.
He wasn't quite Ungrim, but here, Balmung commanded sufficient charisma.
However—
Though he'd suppressed his warriors' complaints with a glare, Balmung himself was no less unhappy with the situation.
'No matter what, these shamans are our kin too...'
Their surroundings were filled with crimson, bloodshot eyes. Even fresh snow settling over them was stained red.
Surely countless shamans' corpses were buried beneath that snow.
They'd witnessed such sights again and again on their climb up the mountain.
Balmung, too, failed to understand Ungrim's policy.
Even as he claimed to support his people, the dead here treated their kin as nothing but slabs of meat.
Not that Balmung hadn't considered butchering them all the moment he was displeased, but after seeing that black death knight, the thought vanished completely.
An inhuman being like that was a natural disaster incarnate.
Balmung thought that not even a hundred warriors like him could triumph against such a foe.
Even so, one thing was clear to Balmung: after eradicating the Watch, these creatures would have to be eliminated as well.
Otherwise, they'd be devoured by them in the end.
But Balmung let out a wry smile.
'Ungrim is probably accounting for all of this anyway.'
Ungrim was someone who could see farther than any other warrior.
Balmung never doubted that anything he could predict, Ungrim could see as well—if not better.
And so Balmung just glared at the dead with resentment but otherwise held his tongue.
All of this was, after all, for their kin. And for Ungrim's plan.
But at that moment, Balmung's eyes flashed.
He heard a faint rustle behind him—the Watch's members were eyeing them from the rear.
[Balmung! There are enemies behind us!]
[... Hrung-ga. 'That one' is with them too.]
Balmung had never met Hrung-ga face-to-face, but it was obvious enough.
The massive axe, the faint golden glow radiating from the warrior—these alone were enough to define the "Wolf of the Center", Hrung-ga.
Balmung quickly called out to the Death Lord, who, sensing the intruders behind, didn't even bother to look.
[There are enemies behind us. What are you going to do?]
The Death Lord turned his icy gaze back to the barrier, utterly uninterested. Balmung's face twisted in annoyance at being ignored.
He slowly grasped his giant scythe and addressed his waiting barbarians.
[We'll intercept them. I've long intended to break Hrung-ga myself.]
[... No need to take those corpse creatures with us?]
[Are you afraid?]
Balmung's cold tone revived their fighting spirit. For them, fear was not an option.
At the very least, those that came here with Balmung were Ungrim's personal guard.
Whatever enemies awaited, they had to be warriors who knew no fear.
Slowly, each warrior took up his weapon and rose.
And so, they began to walk, step by step, toward Hrung-ga and his barbarians, who had now revealed themselves.