Saint and Dragon Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9 Misery attack! (2)

"You skeleton bas―――!!"

Derick brandished his huge sword and struck the skeleton with his full power!

Gakiiii---n!

Sparks fly between the sword and the skeleton!

The skeleton's bones are as hard as iron, and ordinary swords are useless. But his huge sword broke the skeleton and shattered it. Next to him, the sorcerer Gilbert is firing flaming bullets.

"Gil! Don't use attack magic as much as possible. There is nothing we can do if your magic runs out when we make our escape."

"I know, but there are so many skeletons. The only ones who can fight properly are you and me. Damn it! I'd be grateful if Harill was here at a time like this."

"Harill's a kid, you've been making fun of him a lot."

"Yeah. He's a kid, immature, and a liability, but his magic power is the best in the Holy Land! ---More importantly, what should we do? We can't protect this place forever."

"If this place falls, the way to escape from the south gate will be cut off. We'll just have to try as hard as we can to get as many of the residents to escape as possible."

Derick and the others were waiting at the Adventurer's Guild after returning to Misery from Narka Village. That's when they encountered a skeleton attack.

The Adventurer's Guild was located near the south gate of the Misery Citadel. If they were alone, they could have easily escaped, but if they didn't secure the gate, the residents would not be able to escape.

Derick made up his mind and ordered his members to defend the gate.

"Sorry, I guess I drew the short straw."

"No problem, this is just the way I like it!"

"Yeah, I like it this way as well!"

Gilbert said, followed by the rest of the group. Thank God for my friends.... Derick felt his almost exhausted energy overflowing.

While this was happening, three women came running towards the south gate. Are they evacuees? As Derick was thinking this, nine skeletons attacked them!

"Ruri, there are four skeletons approaching from the left rear."

A woman with short-cut blonde hair called out to a woman with long black hair who was leading the way.

"Big sis, there are five more on the right rear!"

This time, a dark-haired, boyish girl shouted.

"Okay, Rin, Shise, I'll draw them in just in time to round them up!"

A moment after the skeleton was about to attack, the girls spread out at once and surrounded the skeleton in reverse. Then, with their hands outstretched, a triangular magic circle with the three of them at the top appeared, and they sealed the skeletons within it.

This was the triangle sacred magic barrier that the priests of the Holy Kingdom were best at.

The skeletons flailed about in the barrier of rising pillars of light, clattering, rattling, snapping their jawbones. But they couldn't break the barrier, and eventually, they turned into sand and crumbled to the ground eventually.

After burying the skeleton, the three of them walked up to Derick and dropped a large bag on the ground with a clatter.

"I'm Ruri, a priest of the temple. The other two are Rin and Shise as well. First, let me thank you for guarding the south gate."

Ruri spoke up, breathing heavily.

"There is a holy sword in the bag. With this sword, I'm sure you'll be able to fight skeletons with equal ease."

Taking the holy sword out of the bag, the adventurers attacked the skeleton. Their swords were ineffective against the skeleton, which was as hard as iron, but the holy sword cut through the skeleton like butter. The skeleton then transformed into sand and crumbled to the ground without a sound.

"This way we can protect the south gate ourselves. Thanks for your help."

When Derick thanked her, Ruri asked back with a serious gaze.

"There's something else I want to ask you. Did the High Priestess escape through here?"

"No, the High Priestess did not pass through here. I think she's still inside the Misery Castle. The shortest way out of the castle is through the south gate."

"So she's inside the castle after all."

Ruri looked at Misery Castle with a stern face.

"Rin!"

The blonde Priestess who called out to her answered immediately.

"I guess we have to go, Ruri."

"What about Shise?"

"Nee-san, if you're going, you'd better hurry!"

"Hey, are you guys serious? Going to the castle is absurd. It's like committing suicide."

"Mister Adventurer, we may look like this, but we're the highest-ranking priests of the temple."

"That's right, and we're experts against the Undead."

"Why don't you leave this to us, the professionals?"

However... As Derick was about to say this, Ruri, Rin, and Shise, the three High Priests, ran off towards Misery Castle.

◇◇◇

As the carriage carrying Mari and the three others approached the Misery Fortress, Sir Cloyde, the leader of the knights, immediately noticed something strange.

When he stopped the carriage and checked the situation, he saw that the Skeleton was attacking the citadel. He approached the carriage with his mount and called out to the three men inside.

"Saint-sama, this is an emergency! Please get away from here immediately."

"What's going on?"

"A skeleton raid!"

Sir Cloyde told Mari, then looked at Sophie.

"You may not be a member of the Order anymore, but I consider you a worthy knight. Listen to me, you must protect Saint-sama!"

"And the Commander?"

"I have to do my duty as a knight with my men."

Then take me with you!

"If you leave here, who will protect Saint-sama?"

Sophie stared at Mari for a moment, then turned to Sir Cloyde with determined eyes.

"You see, I want to be your knight, so I can take care of Saint-sama!"

With a quick glance at the three of them, Sir Cloyde said his goodbyes and rode off with two of his men towards the Misery Citadel.

Sophie got off the carriage and watched Sir Cloyde's back as he rode away. If she jumped into the pack of skeletons that were attacking the citadel, she would not be safe.

"Sophie!"

She came back to herself at the sound of his voice. She found Mari standing behind her, and Harill beside her.

"Do you want to go help the Commander?"

"I'd like to go, but..."

"Then let's go!"

"Don't be absurd! It's reckless to fight that many skeletons."

Who do you think I am, right in front of you?

"I'm a Level 99 Priestess. I can easily kick away a skeleton like that!"

Mari's eyes never wavered or faltered as she said this, and her confidence was unmistakable.

"I don't know what Level 99 is, but I have a feeling that Mari can do it."

Seeing Sophie's smile return, Mari also smiles.

"So, Mari, what do you want me to do?"

"Can you fight while protecting me and Harill-kun?"

"I'll do it!"

"Are you ready for this, Harill?"

"My family is in there. I'll do my best!

"Then it's decided!"

Mari cast a status raising spell on everyone and started running towards the citadel.

"Harill-kun, skeletons are weak against fire. Shoot flaming bullets at them. Just make sure to test them out and learn how to control them."

"Yes!"

Harill shot the flaming bullets at the skeletons he saw. It was meant to be a weak attack that didn't perform any magic taunt, but it burned the three skeletons to death and also impacted the castle wall.

"Wow, that was outstanding! But it's probably too powerful to use in the city."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it later, even if it involves people. Just keep firing away until I say it's okay!"

Harill unleashed a flurry of firebombs, incinerating the skeletons one after another.

"But there are too many of them. There's no end to this."

"Leave it to me, Sophie, I have an idea. We're going to run all the way to Misery Castle in the middle of the city!"

The three of them ran through the skeleton army at an unbelievable speed.