My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 431 The debt of gratitude to that lord can never be repaid
River Valley Town.

The situation in this small town located outside the Papal City is not optimistic at the moment.

Admittedly, the large stabilizer brought by the Thorn Squad created a relatively stable living environment, keeping the dangerous ash outside.

Even the local defenses have become more robust with the addition of several clergy members who escaped from the Papacy.

Although the combination of the Demon Royal Court army squad and the Holy See priests is strange, it is the only way to survive at the moment.

Fortunately, due to its unique geographical location, River Valley Town is much larger than an ordinary town.

This gave them a lot of room to maneuver.

It was precisely because of these winding paths that they survived the recent ash explosion.

When the holy light above the Temple of the Azure Sky was completely extinguished, a terrifying explosion brought a wave of ashes.

The waves crashed directly onto the semi-transparent barrier formed by the large stabilizer, blocking almost all light and visibility, and nearly shattering the barrier completely.

The stabilizer itself also started emitting thick smoke and making annoying noises.

Then came an overwhelming horde of monsters crawling out of the ashes.

Their bodies were covered in smoldering ash, which fell off as they ran.

As the number of these monsters increased, the ashes they dropped covered the land they had traversed.

The stabilizer's effect also began to weaken as ash appeared within the barrier.

The barrier shrank again and again, shrinking from the entire town to only one-third of its original size.

The worst news is that, as the stabilizer's effect weakens, the townspeople who survived because of it are almost instantly assimilated into bizarre monsters by the ash.

Although the townspeople still maintained their human forms, they were like wild beasts that only knew destruction and slaughter.

Fortunately, the magic and gunfire were still effective. The Thorn Squad, with its adequate weapons, equipment, and personnel, quickly retreated with Father Galileo and more than ten clergymen, fighting as they went. They also gathered the survivors and retreated to the location in the southwest corner of the town where they placed the stabilizer, and began to build a defensive line.

Subsequently, the griffin riders, who were also seeking refuge in the Ashstorm, and the survivors of the griffin riders' reconnaissance teams, arrived in the town.

This adds a significant boost to the defense of the area.

Twelve griffins with the strength of seven rings, and twelve griffin riders with the same strength of seven rings.

This is a complete squad of Griffin Riders, undoubtedly one of the Empire's elite forces.

There were also dozens of others with varying degrees of injury, but all still capable of fighting. They were equipped with Imperial-standard magical firearms and ample ammunition, and even had extra weapons to arm others.

And they have communication capabilities!

Thank goodness.

At least they just sent out the message, and perhaps reinforcements will arrive soon to rescue them.

After all, they really can't hold on for much longer.

Hearing the constant sounds of gunfire and the elemental fluctuations generated by spellcasting, Cologne sat down wearily on the ground, leaning against the wall behind him and panting.

The monster in the ashes knows neither fatigue nor fear.

Not to mention that each of them is very strong.

Before being transformed, they were just ordinary civilians, but after being transformed into monsters, they were at least at the third ring level... Fortunately, among these beings who make up the largest number of monsters, none of them exceeded the fifth ring level.

There are quite a few monsters above the Fifth Ring, but they are all beings that wander out of the Papal City. At least that damned priest has already recognized several familiar faces.

Fortunately, the imperial army brought ample ammunition for their large-scale, rapid-fire guns.

They are currently assigned one gun to each of the several intersections they are defending, and with the addition of the semi-automatic firepower from the others, there is not much to worry about.

However, all of this is based on the constant intervention of these extraordinary beings.

Fortunately, Reinitz's lich abilities are very suitable for this kind of situation.

Even so... the people in River Valley Town were almost at their breaking point.

I was worn down and died... I never imagined my end would be like this.

It was just a simple delivery task, but I never expected it to turn out like this.

The mission, which I thought I could return the next day at the latest, has turned out like this.

"Heh... Never mind, hold on tight, there'll definitely be a way. The Empire has already sent out a request for help, we should be able to get reinforcements, right?"

Cologne chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Despite this hope, he didn't believe reinforcements would actually come... The strangeness of these ashes had already proven something.

It's already good news that the empire can hold onto its existing territory.

Thinking about taking such a huge risk to come to the rescue is just wishful thinking.

Even though the ones trapped here are elite griffin riders, griffins can continue to be trained, and so can riders.

The cost of retraining Griffin Riders is far less than the cost of coming to their rescue at this moment.

After all, the only relatively safe place right now is the sky.

The cost of building an airship... is far beyond what twelve griffin riders could achieve.

After resting for a while, Cologne stood up again. The gargoyle's strong body meant that even if his magic was almost exhausted, he could continue to fight with this body.

He picked up the greatsword at his side, grabbed the spear left behind by a fallen squad member, and continued towards the stronghold ahead. The priest was the strongest, but even he wouldn't last long.

Although it seems like I'm doomed, I'll try to delay it as long as possible.

Who can truly face death with equanimity?
Especially after death, they will be transformed into such monsters... Even if they are scattered, they will reshape themselves from the ashes and return.

Even in death, he finds no peace, and the blade is turned to face the living... This is the source of his fear at this moment.

This sounds like something only those necromancers from the Age of Gods, those hated by both humans and ghosts, would do.

However, this unorthodox category of magicians faded from the historical stage as the gates of the underworld were completely closed, and the world of the living and the world of the dead were thoroughly separated.

I just didn't expect... although the necromancers disappeared, those with this ability did not.

Just as he was about to go to relieve the guard, a buzzing sound came from the sky.

The elite griffon knight, who was wielding a sword in one hand and casting a spell in the other, looked up at the sky with surprise after unleashing a chain of lightning and cleaving an ashes undead in two.

Overwhelmed with joy and emotion, he cried out in unison, "Reinforcements have arrived! I can hear the roar of the airship engines! Reinforcements have arrived! Commander Andreich hasn't abandoned us!!!"

The excited cheers attracted Cologne's attention.

He was somewhat surprised, but also excited.

He looked up at the sky filled with ash, and then he saw an incredible scene.

A dark golden light, a blend of gold and black, pierced through the ash-covered sky.

Then, a huge airship covered in dense runes and shimmering with green-gold light broke through the clouds and appeared above them.

Captain Kirov's voice was impassioned as he shouted through the airship's communication device: "Brothers of the Griffin Riders!!!"

"Grand Duke Roland has brought us to rescue you! Gather immediately and abandon your current positions! We will begin artillery barrage and gradually descend!"

"Have the griffins that can still fly transfer all the survivors to the airship! We have cleared plenty of space!"

"Regardless of their identity, even if they are demons, bring them up!"

Accompanied by shouts and bombardment from the large-caliber machine guns and magic cannons mounted on the airship, all the Ash Undead that tried to approach the area were reduced to ashes by the bombardment.

Meanwhile, the griffin riders began to relocate their survivors.

All of this is not difficult.

Because after the battle, they didn't have many people left.

In other words, the Griffin Riders were elite enough that there were no casualties, and they maintained a complete force of twelve.

Like the survivors of the reconnaissance unit, only ten people remain, and almost all of them have lost their ability to fight.

The Demon Thorn Squad is now down to eight members.

Father Galileo's side suffered even greater losses. Having already escaped from the perilous Papal City, only five of them remained after the bloody battle.

Seemingly having spotted its prey and wanting to escape through the sky, the Ashes, as if developing a sense of self, began to converge on the airship.

Before they could get very close, they were repelled and scattered by rune magic containing the "power of the World Tree," and the monsters that had just taken shape were instantly purified.

This is not over yet.

Endless shadows began to spread across the ground, covering the original ashes.

Then, even more terrifying and horrifying shadow creatures rose from within.

They were enveloped in a nauseating, thick, muddy shadow, making them look more like enemies than the ashes of the undead.

But these disgusting monsters, despite the griffon riders and the thorn squad's wary gazes, charged towards the ash undead and began to fight them.

Along with these undead appeared one hundred tall warriors whose bodies shone with golden light, who descended from the sky.

They wore ancient armor, reminiscent of mythical times, and wielded ancient yet powerful weapons as they charged towards the enemy.

That's right, this is the style that reinforcements should have. Those dark things in front are still too eerie.

Cologne looked up curiously, wanting to see the legendary Archduke Roland.

This legendary figure among humans, a guest of honor among the demons often mentioned by the Demon King and the rulers of the royal courts, was someone he had only heard of by name but never seen in person, having only seen his appearance in photographs.

Then, a somewhat familiar figure in a white robe jumped off the airship. The person landed in front of Cologne, looked him over, and then asked, "Cologne? What are you doing here?"

"...Sir? Why are you on the Empire's airship?"

Cologne immediately recognized Roland, whose outfit hadn't changed much.

Roland smiled slightly: "Didn't they tell you? I am Roland."

"Back in Enva, I was just disguised as the Blood Demon with Dracula's help to make things easier."

"Your injuries are quite severe. Go up and rest first. The airship will take you back to a safe place."

"The Demon King and Caesar are both at the White Cliff. You can go and report to them."

Cologne quickly asked, "And what about you?"

"Of course I'll stay... to find a way to stop the situation from escalating."

(End of this chapter)