Chapter 1138: Scorched Battlefield

We s.h.i.+elded everyone from the giant fireball for another ten or so seconds.

The heat finally dissipated, revealing a radically different landscape.

The battlefield had become a scorched plain, with smoke and flames covering everything in view. Countless burnt ma.s.ses of what used to be people were scattered across the ground. The inferno wasn’t hot enough to completely incinerate them, but that only made the scene more gruesome.

I can think of no better phrase to describe this than “h.e.l.l itself”.

The adventurers stood stunned and speechless in front of it all.

Everyone in the n.o.ble division who missed their chance to escape had been completely wiped out. From random foot soldiers to the n.o.bles themselves, they were all equal in death.

The single spell ended 5,000 lives.

On the other hand, the adventurers and those who retreated alongside us were mostly alive. Well, many of them were only half-alive due to heavy burns from the unexpected heat wave. Even if our barriers prevented the flames from reaching us directly, the immense heat could still pa.s.s through. That was enough to inflict a life-threatening amount of burns.

「Mrgh…」

「Donad?」

「I’m trying to extend my skill to them, but it’s not working!」

It seems Donad failed to apply Protective s.h.i.+mmer to the surviving soldiers and knights. The glow on them was incredibly faint in comparison to the strong light surrounding the adventurers.

That apparently reduces the amount of healing they receive, so he would only be capable of slightly delaying their deaths.

I see, so it’s not that Donad was purposely applying the skill to adventurers. It only worked well with the adventurers.

But why? Is there really such a thing as a skill which only affects those registered with the Adventurers Guild?

Besides, I saw a few knights and n.o.ble soldiers who were also enveloped in the strong white light.

Come to think of it, I don’t think that light was on us when we first arrived here. It was only after we joined up with the adventurers and fought for a bit, then we had the effects of Protective s.h.i.+mmer before we knew it.

There must be a reason.

『Hmm…?』

（Master?）

『About Donad’s aura thing, what do you think the difference is between those it works on and those it doesn’t?』

（That’s simple.）

『Huh? You know the difference?』

（Nn. It’s whether or not they view Donad as their boss.）

『Ah, I see!』

Now that you mention it, it may be an ability similar to Fran’s March of the Valkyrie. Donadrond needs to view the targets as subordinates, and they need to accept him as a leader.

Even if Donad has the authority to command those knights and soldiers, his skill won’t affect anyone who doesn’t accept him on the inside.

That said, it seems prolonging their deaths was enough. The masked adventurer Maleficent made full use of that time to complete the magic he was preparing: a healing spell with ma.s.sive range.

「Wide Range Maximum Heal!」

A wave of gentle light enveloped the battlefield, as life was breathed back into those about to perish. His spell was basically Maximum Heal applied to everyone within range.

Maleficent is even capable of healing?! He really can do anything! I wonder if he has some sort of special skill for collecting other skills, like me.

With such a variety of spells, that’s pretty much the only explanation I can think of.

As I observed Maleficent’s healing efforts, Avenger and his ghouls suddenly came running toward us. They deployed a barrier in the direction of the fort.

「Nrrgh!」

「Protect the priestess!」

I didn’t understand their actions for a moment, but soon Fran and I put up our barriers as well.

A flash of red light.

Immediately after, two ghouls were vaporized alongside their barriers. Avenger, who was standing behind them, had a circular hole gouged out of his stomach, and our barrier shook from a heavy impact.

Someone had sniped us from the fort with a laser-shaped blast of flames. It happened so fast that we might have been in trouble without Avenger’s a.s.sistance.

「More attacks from the fort! Everyone, keep running!」

「Do as Fran says! Fall back!」

d.a.m.n, the Red Knights are such a pain in the a.s.s!

The Kranzel army continued retreating from the fort, chased by sniping lasers the entire time. While these lasers were weaker than the one targeted at Fran, they packed enough of a punch to easily kill ordinary soldiers and n.o.bles. Many have already fallen victim.

Donadrond and I managed to deflect a few of these lasers, but we were too late a majority of the time.

Moreover, the undead popped up again to chase us. I had thought they got wiped out by the huge fireball earlier, but we found ourselves under attack by a new horde, this time of skeletons.

The soldiers who died in that inferno must have been resurrected by necromancy and turned into skeletons. Though their flesh was charred beyond repair, it seems their bones survived.

And to make matters worse, undead also appeared right on top of our escape route. Headless knights clad in red armor, powerful enough to make up for their lack of numbers.

That’s right. The Red Knights defeated by Forrund had returned as undead.

I managed to store Ioneth’s corpse earlier, but not any of the other knights. Resurrected as the high-tier undead known as Dullahans, they must have circled around to block our retreat.

In other words, we were caught in a pincer attack from the front and back. The lasers from the fort continued raining down on us too.

Retreat may be too difficult in this situation. Anyone falling in battle will turn on us as a new member of the undead horde. Things only get worse for us as time goes on.

No wonder Jean’s abilities were so feared on the battlefield.

『Eradicating all these undead is going to take an eternity…』

（Fine, then we get rid of the source!）

『Hmm. That might be our only way out.』