Holding his shield, which was almost as tall as him, with one hand, Riftan struck down four undead at once before turning to deliver a diagonal slash with his sword.
After that, Maxi realized that he could no longer follow his movements.
His agility was so fluid it was like watching a hummingbird flap its wings, frightening and beautiful at the same time.
With his armored legs moving nimbly over the snow, he cut down monster after monster.
To his left, Ruth was blasting away the undead with wind magic.
“Ruth!” called Riftan.
"The necromancer who controls them must be nearby!
Track their magic!"
"I'm already doing it!
But the mana flow is too expansive!"
Finally composing herself, Maxi looked around.
The wizards' quick actions had kept most of the carts and horses safe.
Some soldiers lay bleeding in the snow.
When Maxi saw skeletons advancing on them, she dropped to the ground and began circulating her mana.
An earthen wall shot ten kevettes into the air between the monsters and the wounded men.
"R-Quick!
Bring the injured inside the barrier!"
At his urgent cry, the men who had retreated in fear hurried to drag the wounded closer to the carts.
Riftan rushed towards the skeletons with extraordinary speed, crushing them into pieces.
“Stay inside the barrier!” he called.
He had bought enough time for them to gain some distance between the rear unit and the monsters.
Maxi obediently retreated behind the soldiers.
She tore down the earthy barrier and expanded her shield.
Incorporeal shields and corporeal barriers were different magics, and maintaining both simultaneously required immense concentration.
When things calmed down a bit, she put away her remaining mana and observed the battlefield.
Soldiers fought bravely against the undead at the front, while those in the center protected the horses and carts.
In the rear, spears fiercely clashed with the skeletons that charged around them in hundreds.
They were completely surrounded.
Biting her lip, Maxi desperately looked around and spotted three Wedon mages throwing fireballs at the undead.
It was useless; the monsters regrouped after each attack, the scattered bones joining together like iron to a magnet.
As Riftan had said, there was a necromancer nearby reviving the fallen monsters.
Maxi's face became serious, and she turned to look for Ruth.
The sorcerer stood atop a supply wagon, firing wind arrows at any undead that managed to break through his line of defense.
At the same time, it maintained a tracking spell and an extensive barrier around the wagon.
Performing two spells at the same time was difficult enough, so Maxi doubted he was casting all three effectively.
Infusing his shield with mana to ensure it remained in place for now, Maxi used his remaining magic to begin a tracking spell.
It was a tall order, trying to concentrate amid the clash of steel, clanking bones, neighing horses, and the hoarse cries of soldiers.
She broke out in a cold sweat, focusing all her attention on the spell to prevent her mana flow from cutting off.
And there it was“the magic that bound the monsters.
She traced the web-like flow of mana before quickly noticing something wrong.
The necromancer's magic did not come from outside the camp.
It came from inside.
Immediately, she retreated from the front where the battle was still fiercely continuing, making her way to the center of the formation.
Although the area around the wagons was relatively safe because of the wide barrier, trying to get through the panicked soldiers proved difficult.
She made a wide sweep of the frantically waving weapons and searched the area.
Soon, he found the source of the necromancy spell.
Dark magic flowed from a cart at the edge of the camp.
Maxi jumped on top of her and threw the haphazardly stacked containers out of the compartment, rummaging through the interior.
A complicated rune covered the floor.
How the hell did they manage to get this here?
Maxi shook the thought away.
Now was not the time for speculation.
She placed her hands on the rune and infused mana into it, trying to dismantle its power.Suddenly, a shadow fell over her.
She looked up to see a bearded man“probably one of the supply guards“blocking the wagon's entrance and staring directly at her.
She opened her mouth to explain when the man raised his axe, preparing to attack.
Its dead eyes twitched like a serpent's before glowing red.
Maxi threw himself to the side as the heavy ax hit the wooden floor.
Her back slipping with sweat, she held herself close to the edge of the cart, her heart beating wildly as she struggled to summon her mana.
The soldier raised the ax again.
Before he could attack, there was a sound like ripping leather, and a blade appeared through his chest.
Maxi's eyes widened.
The soldier looked down in confusion, then slowly turned his head.
He never got to see his attacker.
The tip of the sword descended, cutting through bone and flesh.
It was such a surreal sight that Maxi barely felt anything, much less horror.
Dark blood gushed from the soldier's mutilated body.
She choked back a sob as the bearded man's face began to melt like wax, revealing a reptilian visage covered in crimson scales.
The monster flinched.
His scaly hands fumbled at his stomach, trying to stop the blood gushing from his torso.
In the blink of an eye, the monster's head rolled to the ground.
Maxi screamed as hot blood gushed from the monster's severed neck, soaking his face.
His giant body, clad in armor, slowly fell in front of him.
Chest heaving, Maxi looked up at her savior.
Standing at the opening of the cart was a man in a black hood, under which was a visor engraved with a cross.
It was obvious from his attire that he was not a soldier of Wedon or Balto.
Maxi's expression became suspicious.
Wondering if he was another enemy infiltrating her camp, she was about to summon a barrier when a low voice came from behind the blackened visor.
“Weren’t you trying to destroy the rune?”
Maxi's eyes widened at the familiar voice.
The man gave a light stroke with his sword, shaking off the excess blood, and said brusquely, “Please hurry.”
He turned his back to her.
Maxi stared at him blankly, taking a moment to come to his senses.
She placed her hands on the dirty floor.
The monster's blood was still warm.
Fighting the urge to vomit, she began to infuse her mana into the rune.
The disturbance in the rapid circulation of mana within the rune sent sparks flying around it.
Soon, with its circulation completely distorted, the squiggles that covered the floor of the cart disappeared.
After confirming that the rune was completely destroyed, Maxi sighed tiredly and rose from a pool of blood.
The man guarding the cart turned his head to her.
"It seems to have worked.
They seem to be moving slower."
He raised his hand to his face.
Maxi frowned as he raised his visor.
The man's green eyes, flecked with gold, stared back at her.
It was the commander of the Temple Knights, Kuahel Leon.
“What are you doing here?” stammered Maxi.
“My quest to track down the dark wizards has led me here,” Kuahel replied dryly.
He looked at the dead monster on the ground.
“Looks like I arrived just in time.”
It was then that she realized that she owed him her life.
“Thank you for helping me,” I said hurriedly.
“He would have faced a terrible fate if he hadn’t arrived when he did.”
"No need to thank me.
In fact, I'm getting used to coming to your rescue," Kuahel said abruptly, lowering his visor again.
Maxi was surprised.
Had the heartless knight just made a joke?
She watched him, stunned, as he waved at something behind her.
“You should retreat to a safe location until the battle is over.”
With that, he called out to a nearby knight.
After instructing him to watch over the decapitated corpse, Kuahel advanced to the front, where the fighting was still intense.Maxi watched him silently as he walked away before turning his eyes back to the dead monster.
The creature was clearly different from the lizardmen she had read about.
Although it was the size of a human, its head was disproportionately larger than its body.
It looked more like a drake or a wyvern than a serpent, with a shapeless crest over its eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a long, pointed nose of scales.
The sight made his stomach turn.
She looked away, wondering if the monster was a mutant created by dark wizards through breeding experiments.
His face hardened into a grave expression.
It was still hard to believe that the monster had used advanced magic like polymorphism to trick them.
An overwhelming fear ran through Maxi.
More monsters could be hiding among the soldiers, disguised as humans.
She looked around cautiously before hurrying back to the Wedonian camp.
Fortunately, the situation seemed to be under control.
With their mana supply cut off, the undead were crushed helplessly by the soldiers' attacks, and the ghouls surrounding Darund were mostly wiped out.
After observing the battlefield from atop a hill, Maxi went to look for Riftan.