“All right, the cavalry has arrived!” Arisa declared the moment she arrived on the battlefield, feeling confident. This wasn’t a Western play, so I didn’t think anyone would understand what she meant by cavalry.
“All that’s left are some skeleton knights—or rather, just cursed knights. Hey, everyone! There’s gonna be curses and poison coming your way, so make sure to not get hit!”
Arisa shared the information she had gathered with the “Status Check” skill and broadcast it to her party. Mia and Arisa had already taken out a good chunk of the undead, using a forbidden curse. All that was left were the cursed knights, of which there were around thirty, hiding in the shadows, and the Grudge Turtle that was around the size of a house. Though, all of them were injured. The cursed knights were pouring steam and had around only half of their health, whereas the Grudge Turtle was on its back, unable to move.
—CZRRRRZ.
One of the cursed knights spotted Arisa and ran toward her, followed by other cursed knights.
“Aim…and fire!”
Lulu took out around five of them as she fired her gun repeatedly.
“That rusty armor won’t protect you, I warn!”
Nana shouted using her “Taunt” skill, attracting the attention of the cursed knights.
“Hnng—‘Shield Bash,’ I declare!”
Nana stopped the charging cursed knight with her shield using “Shield Bash,” smashing through the cursed knight and stabbing him in the neck with a Magic Blade.
—CZRRRRZ.
Nana dealt with the cursed dark projectile using a “Magical Slash” skill she’d learned from the Sword Saint. Nana also deflected a stone that was thrown alongside the dark projectile.
“Projectiles don’t work against me, I declare.”
Nana spoke from the shadow of her shield as the cursed knights proceeded to jump forward and crush her. However, it was useless against Nana.
“Activating ‘Fortress,’ I declare.”
With Nana’s shout, multiple layers of defensive barriers—the “Fortress”—sprang up and sent the cursed knights flying.
A single shadow crept along the ground, closing in on the three cursed knights keeping their distance.
“Hi-ya, sir!”
Pochi dashed between the three cursed knights, suddenly stopping to sheathe the Magic Sword, and finished with a punch to the knights. The cursed knights crumbled apart and rolled to the ground as if responding to that cue.
“Pochi’s quick-draw slash will vanquish the enemy in a flash, sir!”
Although I couldn’t see clearly, due to the bulk of the cursed knights, it seemed a deadly technique following Pochi unsheathing her weapon.
“Nin-nin!”
The cat ninja in a pink cape darted through the gaps between the cursed knights, narrowly dodging their attacks without drawing a sword, unlike Pochi.
“‘Shadow Binding Technique’?”
As she struck a cute pose to activate her technique, shadows extended from beneath the cursed knights, wrapping around their legs and binding them tightly. It seemed she had set up her ninjutsu while running past them at close range.
A single shadow, trailing red light, approached the now immobilized cursed knights. “‘Instant Movement, Spiral Lance Strike—Overlap’!”
Liza used her ultimate technique to take down the seven cursed knights one after another.
CZRRRRZ.
The remaining cursed knights, having learned from this, unleashed cursed dark projectiles while splitting into three groups. The main force held the front line, while five knights each attacked the three rear guards from the left and right.
“Genomos!”
As Mia gave the command, the ground surged upward, moving the rear guard to a safe area. The three cursed knights who had climbed the rising wall leaped into the air, looking down at the rear guard with smirks on their faces.
“You are already dead.”
Arisa returned the smirk, quoting a famous line from her time. Arisa used her spell Dimension Slasher, decapitating the cursed knights. However, since they were undead, it did little to stop them. The cursed knights then acted like dullahans, continuing to attack the back line even though they were missing their heads.
“…Aw man, really?”
“Not good enough.”
As Mia spoke, stone spikes blasted out of the ground, attacking the cursed knights. The stone spikes were unable to pierce through the cursed knights’ armor. However, the force and movement of the spikes sent them flying through the air.
CZRRRRZ.
However, they were high-level monsters. It would take a lot more to beat them. The cursed knights caught their balance in midair and attempted to attack again.
“Aim…and fire!”
Lulu’s Fireburst Gun—which boasted around the same power as a turret—fired continuous shots at the cursed knights, finding a gap in their armor and piercing them right in the chest. Seeing the counterattack, the remaining seven cursed knights gave up on attacking the back line and ran in the direction of Arcatia. Lulu’s shots and Arisa’s Fire Magic made quick work of most of them. However, two of the cursed knights used their comrades as shields as they managed to slip past the attacks and get closer to Arcatia.
“Leave some for us!”
Two parties—featuring golden lion–rank adventurers—jumped down from the balcony that was set up for defense and later destroyed, and slid down the wall. They seemed ready to take on the cursed knights.
“Whoa, what gives? These guys are super strong.”
“They’re no stronger than a champion.”
The heavy and sharp attacks of the cursed knights scattered the adventurers, while their thick armor easily shrugged off the adventurers’ strikes.
“Strength in numbers!”
“Don’t let your opponent use any big moves!”
The beastfolk adventurers moved around freely, attacking the cursed knights before retreating in countless waves.
“Now—‘Blade Cyclone’!”
A bearfolk adventurer took advantage of a large opening and charged at a cursed knight with his special attack. It was a brilliant skill—the tip of the bearfolk’s longsword blade seemed to blur as it cut through the air at a terrifying speed.
“‘Helix Strike.’”
A leopardfolk adventurer lunged at a cursed knight from behind, using Liza’s unorthodox spear skill. The spear spun in a circle, drawing a red magic circle in the air before tearing a large opening in the back of the cursed knight. It looked flashy, but it used a lot of mana and therefore couldn’t be used in quick succession. I wondered if they were aiming to increase its power or increase its penetration ability.
CZRRRRZ.
The cursed knight kicked away the bearfolk adventurer as he spun around and sent the leopardfolk adventurer away with a horizontal slash of his blade. The leopardfolk adventurer threw away his spear, narrowly avoiding death. However, he had suffered a grievous wound—deep enough that his innards seemed as if they would spill out.
“Get them! Leopan!”
“Uooooooooohhhhh!”
A lionfolk adventurer, running from the back with a burst of momentum, kicked off the ground, radiating red magical energy all over their body.
“‘Leo Buster’!”
He swung his sword in an arc as he jumped, firing off his special skill. His bone longsword expanded and split into four red Magic Swords clawing their way into the cursed knight’s back like a set of lion’s claws. He struck with enough force that he even made a hole in the ground. Figuring he had beat the cursed knight, the lionfolk adventurer grinned. However, that was careless of him. Any other normal living being—or better yet, a normal undead—would have fallen from such a blow, but that was not the case for the cursed knight.