Skeleton Knight, in Volume 8 - Ch 13

Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

Liberating RionePart 1

Under the sowhat cloudy sky, the capital of Delfuento Kingdom was visible on the distant horizon.

The city seed grayed out and removed from the rest of its surroundings.

Chios cat ears were flicking restlessly on her head as she scanned the seemingly abandoned city.

Even at this distance, the citys foul stench can still reach us

Behind Chio stood a group of cat-eared people dressed in similar ninja clothes as she was all of them had the sa grim expression as they glared at the forr capital in the distance.

Its doubtful that any survivors remain in that city. Ive never seen a city so completely engulfed by deaths impurities

Ariane, who stood with crossed arms, seed to be in agreent with Chio.

Occasionally, a warm breeze would blow her long, white locks into her eyes causing her to brush them aside.

Preparations are complete, were ready to strike at any ti.

Elder Dylan, the commander of this operation, comnted while standing next to Ariane.

They were currently positioned on a steep hill southwest of Rione. Their base camp, which housed the forces that had been transferred over, was hidden behind a small woodland area.

A location so close to the Hiruku Theocracy and Delfuentos border was perfect for launching a pincer attack. Therefore, it had been chosen as the base of operations for the coming battle and as an observation hub.

Based on the information Goemon gathered from his previous scouting expedition, they managed to calculate the range of the enemys sensory capabilities. Moreover, they could easily abandon this base and flee into the forest should the need arise.

The fighting force that had been gathered here ,the elven warriors and the Blade Heart Clan, were skilled in forest combat. Even though they numbered less than five thousand, they could easily best a force of over one hundred thousand through guerilla warfare.

The elves had used their earth spirit magic to entrench their makeshift base and surround it with a sturdy wall, with other defenses strategically placed along the tree line in preparation for a defensive battle.

While retreating into the forest wouldnt do much against the mobility and strength of the spider monsters, but it would slow down the undead soldiers that made up the majority of the enemys forces.

To build such a base in the limited amount of ti they had was a tribute to the elves and beastns considerable skill.

Is it finally this ones turn?

As elder Dylan began issuing orders to various people throughout the base, a booming voice spoke up from within the forest. The origin of the voice stood at a height of nearly four ters and had a dragons head it was Dragon King Williahsfim in his human form.

While not as large as Ferufivisurotte, he was thirty ters long in his dragon form and had been asked to wait in the forest until it was ti for him to act.

Though he was initially reluctant to comply with their request, Ferufivisurotte was a significant existence in his eyes, so he smiled and vaguely nodded along when he was assigned to the Delfuento team.

Our assault on Rione should be starting soon.

I traded the axe Id been using till now for the Holy Thunder Swordand headed towards Ariane and Chio.

Williahsfim and the three of us were in charge of drawing the undead out of Rione.

Kyun!

You want to co along, Ponta? Its gonna be dangerous, you know?

Kyun!

She seems set in her conviction so wed be bringing along a plus one.

In addition to the Holy Thunder Sword, I was bringing the Holy Shield of Teutates and the ergency canteen of spring water I carried everywhere nowadays.

Id already received permission to go all out this ti.

As Ariane and Chio finished checking their equipnt, Williahsfim turned into his dragon form nearby the base.

Nearly thirty ters and length. his body was covered in bluish-scales, four horns rested atop his head, and, unlike Ferufivisurotte, he had four massive wings on his back.

Our strategy would make use of his abilities of mass destruction.

Regarding abilities of mass destruction, I still had the Heavenly Knights skills in reserve, but I wanted to avoid using them if possible.

Are you ready? Then lets go.

A massive gust of wind erupted on the spot as Williahsfim flapped his enormous wings and began ascending into the air.

The spectacle of watching a Dragon King take flight would never diminish.

Since Williahsfim hovered low to the ground, his tail dragged along the ground Ponta wrapped around my neck like a scarf as I hopped up and grabbed ahold of one of his legs, with Ariane timidly following suit.

When Chio lightly grabbed hold of another of his legs, Williahsfim flapped his wings once more and slowly began flying towards Rione at a low altitude.

The ground beneath us flew by at blazing speeds, this gentle sensation across my body making this thod of travel far more thrilling than tearing through the sky at high altitudes.

If felt like I was on an extre thrill ride attraction, but Arianes pale face made it clear that this wasnt an enjoyable experience for everybody.

Itttss too fasssssssssssssssssstttttttttt!!

The frightened screams and complaints about our speed that managed to escape her lips, were mostly lost in the air current.

When I faced Chio, her expression remained deadpan as usual, but her tail stood up straight like a pin, and she seed a bit tense.

Kyun! Kyun!

Pota seed to be enjoying it just as much as she enjoyed the ride on Ferufivisurottes back.

The reason we were using this thrilling mode of transportation was that Williahsfim said hed have difficulties flying with multiple people on his back and this was the best we could co up with in the short amount of ti we had.

Id have to use short-range transfer magic dozen of tis to cover the distance that holding onto his leg covered in seconds.

As we neared Rione, the city ca into focus.

Similar to what had unfolded in Tajiento, multiple breaches ran along the citys defensive wall, and towering pillars of smoke rose from within the city.

Its clear that the black spot scattered around the collapsed walls werent escaping citizens.

This town is almost entirely occupied by the tainted. Ive never witnessed such a disastrous situation.

Williahsfim uttered that while lowering his speed and altitude. The spider chira didnt even have ti to recognize the threat before Willahsfim cut them down with the claws on his hind legs.

While the spiders were a threat to humans, they were nothing more than undead rabble to a Dragon King.

As we approached Rione, the spider chiras and the undead soldiers which were out on patrol were all single-handedly cut apart and scattered by Williahsfims long tail.

Williahsfim rose higher into the air, over the city-walls themselves, and gave us a view of Delfuentos forr capital.

We intended to gather the attention of the undead and lead them back to where Goemon and Dylan were waiting.

However, if we led all of the tens of thousands of undead back to that simple base, it wouldnt last more than an hour under their siege.

First of all, we had to get the undead out of the city once they were out in the open plains, wed unleash our area of effect attacks, then funnel the survivors towards the base.

Our job was to eliminate the undead outside the city and ensure that the enemy couldnt ignore us even if they wanted to.

Thus our current formation I looked over to Ariane, and she had the eyes of soone who made a big mistake.

She should return to normal once we landed, when we reached a suitable location I lightly swatted Williahsfim leg and gave him the signal.

Williahsfim-dono, well be descending here. Please, follow through with the plan.

This one understands and asks you to entrust everything to him..

After flying around for a bit we ca across a plain, roughly to the northeast of the city. The mont Williahsfims tail touched the ground again, I jumped off his leg.

Due to Williahsfim flight speed, I glided towards the ground in a gradual arc, and the two undead soldiers patrolling the area turned around when I landed in a kneeling crouch.

I unsheathed the Holy Thunder Sword and cut them down imdiately.

Hmm, weve made a pretty cool landing if I say so myself. Dont you think so, Ponta.

Kyun?

Ponta uncurled herself enough to give

a confused look.

It seems that Ponta couldnt perceive the romance of a bipedal weapon leaping off a ans of transport.

Landing in the way I did wasnt possible with a flesh and blood body it was only possible with an unrealistically tough body.

As for the other two, Chio leap off only after Williahsfim slowed down even further, and even then she barely landed after doing several sorsaults to slow her descent.

It was a landing befitting of a ninja, but it was impossible for the current

to replicate it successfully.

Ariane, on the other hand, was basically freefalling when she finally released hold of Williahsfims leg the ground itself rose up to catch her.

From the distance, it looked as if she was twitching and having small convulsions, but she should be fine, right?

Since there werent any undead in Arianes general area, I had to worry about those gathering around

before I worried about her.

Sacred Lightning Sword!

Upon invoking the weapon skill, a blue current of energy enveloped my sword, doubling the blades length in the process.

A unique sound could be heard as I lightly swung my sword through the air.

Heteromorphic monsters descended upon

from all directions however, I was familiar with these seemingly slow-moving spider chiras and wanted to test my fighting skills.

Flying Dragon Slash!!

There was still a considerable distance between the targeted spider chira and the usual range of my skills but the fired energy wave, which had grown in proportion to the elongated blade, not only reached them but disintegrated the chira and their underlings upon contact.

It was impossible to combine the effects of combat skills in the ga, but Pontas grass cutting attack gave

the idea to test the limitations here.

The result was a useful crowd-control skill.

Kyun! Kyun!

Ponta realized what Id done and excitedly began wagging her tail while remaining wrapped around my neck, occasionally shooting a wind blade of her own.

Although the distance seems to have increased since we last practiced, there werent any enemies around

Chio also dealt with a few undead without issue.

Ariane had recovered enough to separate a human upper-body from its spider-half, with the flas created from her spirit magic reducing the chira to a pile of dust.

Her shoulders fell with a sigh, and she seed a bit irritated as she scanned the area for other threats.

Williahsfim circled Rione like a bird of prey, occasionally swooping down to hunt the undead.

Unfortunately, their numbers were just too great and our individual efforts werent gonna accomplish anything.

Even the impressive number of undead outside the city couldnt compare the numbers I imagined were behind those walls.

While cutting down any undead that approached , my eyes constantly scanned the surrounding area and the top of the wall.

We were kicking up and impressive rampage out here, but there were no signs of the strange boy Goemon had ntioned.

Considering how Goemon described the boy, it was possible that he was one of Hirukus leaders its true form had yet to be seen.

Even when the majority of undead outside the city had been cleared out, Rione remained eerily quiet.

Strange the impurities shows no sign of weakening, yet they arent coming after us Did the strategy fail?

Ariane voiced her doubts as she took a position at my side and looked towards the city.

The stench still remains, I thought our actions are doing nothing. But

After stabbing the final undead, Chio took up a spot at Arianes side, her little noise and cat ears twitched as she stared at the city.

Chio raised an eyebrow and looked like she was about to say sothing, but a fierce wind on our backside interrupted her, and cause us to look towards its origins.

The earth trembled as Williahsfim landed behind us, his wings folded straight against his back and an intense expression on his face.

The orchestrator of this farce is moving within the city. Theyre co out

At Williahsfims remark, my gaze imdiately returned to Rione.