“Down the shield!” Maxi shouted at the panicked soldiers running for shelter.
Some managed to duck under the barriers erected by the wizards, but most fled in terror or recklessly fired arrows into the sky, only to be brutally crushed by the falling rocks.
Maxi watched the horrific scene in despair when he heard Riftan's voice echo from the front.
"Get back into formation!
Get your ballistae ready!" She turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw Riftan smashing one of the flying rocks with a large ten-kilo halberd.
Deftly, he controlled Talon as the horse reared in agitation and barked his commands.
"Infantry, prepare defensive magical devices!
Cavalry, form up for battle!
Hurry!"
The order instantly restored discipline to the army that was in chaos.
High-ranking knights capable of blade aura stood at the front to protect the army from the falling rocks.
The infantry retrieved the siege shields and giant crossbows from the baggage cars and assembled them at regular intervals.
Soon, forty ballistae launched javelins into the sky, and the knights promptly dispersed left and right.
Maxi soon understood the reason when the wyverns, pierced by the coalition's spears, fell one after another to the ground.
When she saw that one was diving towards the rear unit, Maxi desperately summoned her mana.
At that exact moment, she felt a powerful blast behind her, instantly driving away dozens of wyverns.
As she watched the scene with an astonished expression, thundering hooves sounded from behind.
Over her shoulder, she saw Kuahel Leon, with a hood over his armor, leading the Temple Knights to the front lines.
He stopped between the rear unit and the cavalry to issue a warning.
“Stay away if you don’t want to be crushed to death.” With that, the paladin drew his sword and swung it with impossible speed.
Maxi stepped back when he felt the sudden change in mana flow.
A blue flame erupted from his blade, sweeping the descending wyverns like a storm and incinerating their massive wings.
Moments later, their colossal bodies came crashing down like meteors.
Riftan jumped into action.
With his halberd, he crushed a wyvern's massive skull as if it were nothing more than a ripe pumpkin, and then decapitated the next one that fell to the ground.
His valiant move seemed to strengthen the army's morale.
The archers roared and began to fire a volley of arrows, and the infantry maneuvered the ballistae with renewed precision.
Maxi sighed in relief as the number of monster carcasses increased.
Suddenly, the wyverns, which numbered well over a hundred, were reduced by half.
But it wasn't over yet.
Something like a dark cloud appeared before Castle Vesmore.
Maxi had driven away the falling monsters with explosions of wind, but he stiffened as soon as he saw the strange phenomenon.
“W-What is this?”, she asked Ruth, uneasily.
Instead of responding, Ruth let out a strangled moan.
Soon, the distant cloud was only six thradions away from the army, and Maxi had a better view of the dark shadow swallowing the snowfield.
The ominous cloud rushing towards them like a flood was actually a troop of black horses.
Thousands of ebony warhorses rushed forward like a wave.
Mounted on each were knights dressed in dark armor.
Maxi narrowed her eyes to sharpen her gaze, then gasped.
The knights were all headless.
“Dullahans.”
Maxi jumped at the sudden voice and was surprised to find Kuahel Leon at her side.
The paladin looked at Ruth with cold eyes.
"You have successfully controlled the wyverns on the Pamela Plateau.
Can you command the wyverns now to fight the dullahans?"
Ruth looked a little surprised.
He cautiously looked at Kuahel before slowly shaking his head.
"When we were on the Plateau, I simply manipulated the rune already created by the dark wizards.
I can't recreate the rune on my own."
“So our only option is to find the entity that is summoning the dead.” Kuahel turned to Maxi.
“Can you locate the necromancer for us?”Mouth agape, Maxi turned her head to look at the swarm of wyverns circling above and the cavalry of dullahans approaching them.
He was right.
They had to deal with at least one of the two.
Turning to him, Maxi gave a determined nod.
“I-I'll try.”
Maintaining her shield, she carefully began the tracking spell.
But the search area was simply too vast, and she was unable to extract any useful information.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, she began to lose concentration while weaving the mana thread and was forced to retreat in a hurry.
"W-We were mistaken.
The necromancer who controls the dead is probably inside Castle Vesmore.
I fear we are too far from the city...
for me to pinpoint its exact location."
“Then we need to get closer,” replied the Temple Knight matter-of-factly.
Maxi shrank in fear and looked towards the battlefront.
She could see Riftan looking over his shoulder in her direction.
She wondered if he was also disturbed by the sudden turn of events.
Maybe he really wanted to come to her, but was conflicted about leaving the knights who looked up to him for orders.
Maxi shook his head vigorously to reassure him that he was fine.
Seeing this, her motionless husband finally turned his gaze to the battlefront.
Soon after, the loud boom of a kopel tore through the air, and the knights charged at the undead cavalry with frightening speed.
Maxi bit her lip as she watched the scene unfold inside the barrier.
As long as the necromancer was alive, the undead would continue to arise.
No matter how powerful Riftan and the White Dragons were, they couldn't fight forever.
She looked at Kuahel with a determined expression.
"Very well.
If you can guarantee my safety...
I will help you locate the necromancer."
"This is a battlefield.
It's impossible to guarantee anyone's safety."
"I-I'm aware of that.
What I want… is your word that you will protect me to the best of your ability."
A faint displeasure flashed in the Temple Knight's green eyes.
Tilting his head, he asked in a low voice, "Do you think I wouldn't do my best to keep you safe without an oath like that?"
"What I know, Sir Kuahel...
is that you are capable of sacrificing others for the good of the cause.
I also know...
that I am not someone you need to risk your life to protect."
Looking anxiously at her struggling husband, Maxi quickly added, "Y-you deny it?
Maybe I received protection from the Temple Knights as a mage of the Tower...
but now I'm in the service of the White Dragons.
Since I'm not obligated to obey your orders, and you're not obligated to protect me, we need a new arrangement."
A slight irritation appeared in the Temple Knight's usually unreadable gaze.
He regarded her appraisingly before replying dryly, "Very well.
I swear on my knightly honor to protect you at any cost."
Maxi sighed in relief and returned her gaze to the battlefront.
Although the White Dragons, along with Phil Aaron's Knights and Dristan's cavalry, were holding off the Dullahans, it was only a matter of time before the coalition's battle line collapsed.
Maxi turned his horse quickly.
"Good.
Let's go then."
“W-Wait!” Ruth, who had been silently listening to their exchange, hurriedly blocked his path.
"Let me go in your place.
Sir Riftan will be furious if he finds out that you have infiltrated the city."
"Ruth, while the number of spells I can use is limited, you are capable of both defensive and supportive magic.
I want you to stay here and help the White Dragons.
That is the pragmatic choice."
“But…”
"Didn't you just hear one of Wigrew's reincarnations swearing on his honor to protect me?
Nothing will happen to me, so...
trust me."
Ruth groaned with indecision, but in the end, he nodded with a sigh.
"Understood.
But you need to come back immediately if something goes wrong," he said as he looked at Kuahel with a warning.
The Temple Knight said nothing as he turned his horse around.
After giving Ruth a reassuring smile, Maxi followed the knight.
Due to the snowstorm, they managed to leave the coalition camp without being noticed by enemies and allies.Maxi looked anxiously at the raging battlefield as it became more distant.
Knowing that Riftan's great strength was still not enough to calm his worry.
After repeatedly looking over her shoulder, she steeled her weakened resolve and whipped the reins.
Now was not the time to be overcome with anxiety.
To help Riftan, she needed to locate the necromancer as quickly as possible and cut off the army of the dead's mana supply.
Working her horse alongside Kuahel, she told him, “I would like to try the spell somewhere near the walls first.”
The Temple Knight's eyes locked onto her before he nodded.
“Follow me.”
Avoiding the area where the battle was raging, they stealthily rode to the west, where the moat was deeper.
To Maxi's relief, no sentries were visible above the wall.
After carefully inspecting the wall, she dismounted and placed her hands on the floor.
She slowly allowed the mana to flow out.
After meticulously searching the city for some time, Maxi managed to connect the mana paths with an earth spirit sleeping beneath the city.
She concentrated as her tightly woven mana network stretched out like a spider's web.
Finally, she detected it“an empty space beneath the moat.