Episode 298
It wasn't just the Heavenly Wind Knight who joined. There were many heroes behind Feed. They were experts in demon hunting and fighting the Dark Church.
Feed shouted, "Sweep them away!"
The heroes burst into the battlefield with a roar as if they had been waiting. The army tore through the undead and the demons like a rushing storm.
Meanwhile, Feed floated in the air and scanned the surroundings. Eventually, he locked eyes with Araxad.
As a lizardman with white scales, Araxad had a very striking appearance even in the ice cave.
Feed instinctively felt uncomfortable seeing a member of a lesser race, but it was clear that the lizardman had risked his life to protect all those here. In that case, Feed had to treat Araxad, no, all of Corrupted as heroes.
"What is the situation?" he asked. His blunt tone was the last defense he had.
Fortunately, Araxad just replied with a dull expression, "It isn't good. The corpses are pouring in endlessly. The number of demons isn't increasing, but it is too much to handle them all at once. We need to find the one behind them."
"It must be the priest. We have been searching for the priest for a long time," Feed said.
"Have you had any results?"
"There were some. We couldn't verify it for certain, but someone witnessed the priest doing something near Ymir's heart. The person was alone at the time and there was a dangerous aura, so he didn't carelessly go near there."
"Ymir's heart? What do you mean by that?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? This is inside Ymir's body."
Araxad was startled. Then he added as if making a belated excuse, "Hmm. We've only been here for a short while."
"Is that so? We don't know much either. We only know that the church members are doing something inside Ymir's body."
"Is the heart far away?"
"It may or may not be."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Let me explain." A woman who looked to be a mage appeared from behind Feed. "Right now, the inside of Ymir's body is a tangled mess of time and space. There is no fixed path, so even if you retract your steps, you will likely end up somewhere completely different. It was truly a stroke of luck that we managed to join you."
"I see," Araxad said. He suddenly grew worried about Luan and Ramon, who had to be separated somewhere. However, dealing with the current situation took priority. He asked, "The conclusion is that the priest should be killed, right?"
"That's right. Demons and corpses will keep coming endlessly, so it doesn't seem wise to move as a large group. In addition, non-combatants must also be protected. I think it would be better if a small team, say five people, broke off to track down the priest. What do you think?" Feed asked.
"Then I would recommend Sister Razbet," Araxad suggested.
Clang!
Feed blocked a demon's sudden bite with the shaft of his spear. Then he kicked it away while saying, "Mm. An inquisitor is essentially a specialist in tracking down church members. Who else?"
"I would recommend myself."
"Your rank?"
"A-rank," Araxad said. He didn't mention anything about his skills.
Feed briefly examined Araxad before nodding, seemingly convinced. "I accept."
"By the way, our clan leader went to the Frostwolf Village where you were. Did you meet him?" Araxad asked.
Then various emotions crossed Feed's face. There was a faint sense of discomfort, a hesitation to speak, and a bit of irritation as well. He said, "Lanfero Nosferatu. If it is that man, he will be late. He might not be able to come here."
"What's going on?"
"The precursor phenomena to the demon king's descent aren't only happening inside Ymir's body. Twisted monsters have started to attack villages in some parts of the north."
"There was nothing wrong in Snowville."
"Snowville? Isn't that a village on the other side of the ice lake? So the incidents didn't occur on that side. That means the worst situation has been prevented. If the Utgard Camp had been caught up in this disaster... Sigh." Feed seemed reluctant to imagine it. "In any case, Lanfero is preventing that. To be honest, I wanted to help, but Lanfero isn't the type who can exert his strength when cooperating with someone, right? You should know that better than anyone."
"Mm."
It was true. In a situation like this, maybe it would be better for Lanfero to fight alone than to distribute their forces clumsily.
"I'm all for moving in a small group, but there is someone we need to be wary of," Araxad said.
"You are talking about the demon legion commander, right?"
"So you know."
"We were all engraved with the mark as well. It is already too late for some people." Sadness flickered for a moment in Feed's eyes, but the veteran hero quickly shook off those emotions. The battlefield wasn't a place for mourning.
He continued, "We have to get rid of that demon if we want to survive, but for now, the priest comes first. Besides, I think there is a reason why the legion commander hasn't shown up in these past months."
Araxad agreed this time, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy. He wondered if moving with a small elite team to eliminate the priest could actually be the legion commander's plan to disperse their forces.
Am I overthinking things? Actually, now would be the perfect time to strike at us.
If the legion commander showed up in this chaos, then everyone here would be wiped out regardless of Feed's arrival.
"Me! Take me with you!" Mir Giant cried out at that moment. Unlike how she usually spoke, she expressed her opinion with clear pronunciation.
Feed stared at the giant girl he was familiar with. Calling her "giant" sounded a bit funny, but there was no time to laugh now.
Instead, he just asked a brief question. "You?"
Mir closed her half-open mouth. She instinctively realized the issue: This was a combat situation and it was urgent. There was no time to express everything about herself.
Similarly, Feed wouldn't be interested in a long explanation. All he would allow were a few words. Thus, Mir had to prove her worth with just those few words.
My strength? Mir thought.
However, that wouldn't be enough. The other people here were the S-class hero Feed, Sister Razbet, and Araxad. They were the strongest heroes present. There were countless warriors and heroes here, but few could stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
If only Luan were here.
He would've stood alongside them with ease, but now that always reliable blond-haired boy wasn't here.
Then how can I prove my worth?
Mir immediately swung her hammer at a demon charging at her. Although she aimed it at the demon's head, it only managed to shatter the demon's collarbone and shoulder blade.
Kikik.
The demon laughed wickedly and stretched out long claw-like nails. Mir dropped her hammer completely and rolled on the ground to dodge, but the claws pursued her relentlessly. She heard the sound of the claws barely missing her and hitting the ground instead.
In the midst of her frantic rolls, she grabbed a motionless corpse and used it as a shield to charge at the demon. This time, the claws pierced the makeshift shield.
At that moment, Mir twisted the angle of the corpse she was holding.
The demon's nails were forced backward and broke. Those that weren't broken ended up bent sharply and couldn't be pulled out again. It was similar to how barbed arrows couldn't be easily pulled out once they were embedded in flesh.
Mir quickly narrowed the distance between her and the demon. Then she grabbed the hammer again. This time, she shattered the demon's head.
As blood poured down, she caught her breath and thought to herself. She had struggled so desperately just to kill a low-ranking demon. So how could she possibly be of any help to these people?
Eventually, however, she found the words. "I am Ymir's descendant."
Feed's gaze shifted to Mir, who read a familiar emotion in his eyes. It was disappointment, signified by a deep sigh.
Mir immediately realized what answer she would receive without even needing to hear it.
"It is a pity, little giant. Such a lineage means nothing here," Feed said.
Mir said nothing.
"Protect your own people. That is the role assigned to you on this battlefield." Feed flapped his wings and left.
Mir stood there in a daze for a moment.
***
Feed could fly in the air, allowing him to grasp the situation more accurately than anyone else here. Things truly didn't look good.
The arrival of the heroes had temporarily improved things, but the rate at which the corpses showed up didn't decrease. The cunning demons realized they would lose in direct confrontations, so they immediately switched to guerilla tactics.
It would be nice if there were more winged race heroes here. Unfortunately, the only one present who could fly was Feed. That meant there was no time to delay. Feed quickly joined Razbet and told her about the situation.
Razbet smashed a demon's head with a mace and responded despite her slightly disturbed breathing, "I understand the situation. The strategy you mentioned seems to be the best one that can be achieved in the current situation. There is one thing I would like to add, though. The priest isn't far from here."
"Really? I thought corpse control was the simplest black magic. It is just simple commands, so shouldn't it be easy to control them from a distance?" Feed asked.
"There are too many of them. Long distances can be a disadvantage when giving orders to an army of this size. If a mistake is made, they will lose control, fight among themselves, and destroy each other."
"Mm."
"My guess is that the priest is either below this space or just above it. Between the two, there is a high probability that it is above us."
"What evidence do you have?"
"Isn't it better to oversee the battlefield from above? It is just like how you are now in the air and scanning the surroundings."
Feed hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is it really okay to consider it so simply?"
"It might not be that simple. This cave... No. You said it was Ymir's body, right? In any case, this space is currently unstable. Even if we follow the leaking miasma like a thread, there is no guarantee we can arrive at the place we are aiming for. Or it might take a very long time even if we can arrive," Razbet said. She paused before continuing, "But that doesn't mean there is no way."
"What method do you have?"
"Break the ceiling. Then you won't get lost in the twisted space and will be able to face the priest directly."
"Mm."
It was a more ignorant method than Feed had expected, but it made sense when thinking about it. After all, he'd been able to join them quickly thanks to breaking a wall.
"I did just make my entrance by smashing through a wall, but the ceiling of this cave looks many times thicker. I'm not sure I can crack it even if I go all out. What about you?" he asked Razbet.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the strength to do so."
"Then?"
"Yes. We should leave it to the experts."
Feed's gaze shifted back to the battlefield once more.
The giants were unmatched when it came to brute strength. There was one giant here who stood out more than the others.
Feed approached Dormon and quickly explained the situation.
Dormon nodded. "Indeed, our giants are a perfect match for jobs like that."
"Can you lend us a hand, Chief Dormon?"
"Of course."
Dormon said with a grin, "But I'm not the one who will break the ceiling."
"What do you mean?"
"It will be Mir."
Mir, who was a short distance away, flinched.
"You heard us, right?" Dormon asked.
Mir replied, "I-I did hear you, but..."
"Yes. It seems we need to break the ceiling. That means your turn has come."
Feed interjected before Mir could reply, "Are you crazy? You are saying we should leave it to this kid?"
"Naturally, I am quite sane. In addition, Heavenly Wind Knight, please don't insult my daughter. She is dozens of times stronger than an old man like me," Dormon replied.
"I agree," a voice said calmly. It was Sister Razbet, who continued, "I think the only one here who can break the ceiling is Mir."
There were two of them saying this, so Feed found it hard to refuse again. After all, it wasn't just anyone giving an opinion. They were Dormon, the chief of the Frostwolf Tribe, and Bloody Mace Razbet.
In the end, Feed was forced to look at Mir with a complicated gaze. He asked, "Can you really do it?"
The little giant's eyes flickered slightly. It was very fleeting.
Mir gripped her hammer tighter and smiled, saying, "I will try."
