Chapter 310: Enri's Talent, Kelart's Provocation

Seeing Tang Zheng summon two fourth-tier angels at this moment, Captain Nigun frowned.

"To consume so much mana when the situation is unclear is not a wise move."

Captain Nigun thought to himself, "But that's fine too; this will allow the Paladins to hold out for longer."

One by one, the staggering zombie beasts leaped and lunged at the Paladins, manifesting their hatred for the living.

With every swing of a longsword, the members of the Paladin Order could easily kill an undead; working in coordination, the entire defensive line was very stable.

But this time!

The massive number of undead showed no signs of stopping; instead, they gathered in ever-increasing numbers, surrounding the entire elite force.

1 minute!

3 minutes!

10 minutes!

The severed limbs of the undead piled up, and it was no longer possible to count them. Although all members of the Paladin Order were protected by magic and armor and no one was injured, they had already begun to breathe heavily.

"Hiss—wah—"

The animal zombies became even more frantic, their rotting vocal cords emitting chilling roars.

"Commander!"

"We cannot continue like this."

Vice-Commander Gustavo walked quickly to Remedios's side and spoke.

"I know, wait a little longer!" Remedios replied with a cold face.

Vice-Commander Gustavo understood immediately and turned his head to look at the location of Lady Kelart, Captain Nigun, and Tang Zheng.

They seemed to be discussing something over there!

"According to the results of the detection magic, there is a relatively dense mana fluctuation about 1 kilometer to the northwest."

"The enemy controlling this group of undead to keep attacking us should be there." Captain Nigun informed the two of the results his subordinates had scouted.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kelart turned her head to look at Tang Zheng beside her: "Team Leader Tang, what are your thoughts?"

"I will just cooperate with the two of you." Tang Zheng shook his head and spoke softly.

Kelart pondered briefly and said earnestly: "The enemy exposing their position could also be a trap."

"Following the safest plan, we will continue to act according to the original plan."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Captain Nigun gave Kelart a subtle look; he wanted to speak, but in the end, he did not refute her.

None of them were the type to drag their feet, and they immediately took action. The 200 members of the Priest Corps, plus the 80 from the Sunlight Scripture, began casting summoning magic simultaneously.

In an instant!

The sun seemed to rise above everyone's heads.

The holy light and the flying figures of the Guardian Angels appeared in everyone's field of vision, dispelling the fear and oppression brought by the undead.

"All Paladins, fall back!"

The two vice-commanders quickly issued the order.

The positions held by the Paladins were all taken over by the Guardian Angels, which made the members of the Paladin Order heave a sigh of relief.

The entire elite force began to move again!

One kilometer away.

Under the faint moonlight.

At the very top of the gently rolling hills, two cold figures stood in the moonlight, calmly looking at that conspicuous force in the darkness.

The light released by the 280 Guardian Angels was exceptionally conspicuous in the hilly terrain, where there was no other light in the night besides the moonlight.

"Tsk tsk."

"Truly frightening; with so many Guardian Angels, one would surely die a miserable death if surrounded." The gray-robed mage let out a cold laugh.

"They are moving again." The black-armored knight, who was cradling a rotten sword, said faintly:

"As expected of the elites of the Holy Kingdom and the Silianjiaoguosuo, they cannot be stopped by these low-level undead alone."

"That makes it all the more interesting, doesn't it!"

The gray-robed mage's withered eyes flashed with sharp light: "Tonight's night will be very long; their stamina and mana will only be continuously consumed."

"Do you know how weak insects hunt stronger prey?"

"It is a pity that although the number of undead is vast, the time has been too short, and more powerful undead cannot yet be born naturally."

Time passed bit by bit.

The entire elite force finally shook off the attacks of the large number of animal zombies. No one cheered; there was only an even more silent atmosphere.

Everyone knew that this was only the beginning. The enemy was more cunning than they had imagined; even knowing that this was a continuous drain on their stamina and mana, they could not effectively counter it.

As the summoning duration ended!

After the 280 Guardian Angels dissipated into light, the Priest Corps and the Sunlight Scripture began to rotate, summoning 50 Guardian Angels every so often.

Lower Water Month.

March 29th, 5:51 AM.

The eastern sky had already revealed a hint of fish-belly white.

The night gradually dissipated, and the elite force seemed to emerge from water lacking oxygen, gasping for the air that they had found repulsive due to its rotting smell when they first arrived in the hilly area.

An entire night!

Everyone could no longer count how many undead attacks they had encountered. Even the Paladins, who had the most excellent physiques, felt an unprecedented exhaustion under such strained nerves and continuous combat.

Undead are affected during the day and mostly do not attack proactively.

Unless they are controlled by a magic caster, and the number of undead a magic caster can control is inevitably limited; this was a time for everyone to catch their breath.

Enri rolled up her sleeves and helped among the Paladins and priests, handing out food and water.

For this ordinary, resilient girl.

Many people held a favorable impression of her; they could all more or less see that Enri wanted to do something to help.

"Ugh—"

Suddenly, the sound of vomiting rang out.

A female priest, her face deathly pale, looked around in embarrassment. Her eyes were brimming with tears, but she truly could not help but retch again, and she hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

"I have a clean handkerchief here."

Enri turned around and walked over quickly, pulling a square patterned handkerchief from her pocket, not showing the slightest disgust at the vomit the priest had spat out in front of her.

"Thank you."

This female priest forced herself to swallow, her cheeks turning red with shame; she lowered her head and took the handkerchief in embarrassment and panic.

It was unclear if this act of vomiting triggered a chain reaction.

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

Sounds of vomiting came one after another from within the Priest Corps.

A night of rushing about, coupled with the stench emitted by the undead and the smell of rot intertwined in the air, had long since made these members of the Priest Corps unable to endure it.

An awkward atmosphere permeated the air!

The Paladins looked over with strange eyes, making these priests, who usually held high status and only needed to pray to the gods and study magic, wish they could shrink their heads into a crack in the ground.

There were not only people from their own country here, but also people from the Silianjiaoguosuo.

It was truly too shameful!

"Heh."

Captain Nigun saw this scene, a look of contempt appearing in the depths of his eyes: "A bunch of shiny, glamorous weapons that have never truly been tempered by fire and blood."

As expected.

These citizens of the Holy Kingdom, immersed in the protection of city walls and fortresses, simply did not understand how weak they humans were on this continent.

Kelart's expression remained unchanged, but deep down she still felt a sliver of embarrassment. Her eyes swept over the strictly disciplined and well-trained [Sunlight Scripture] nearby, and the gap between the two sides became increasingly obvious.

Looking at the many vomiting priests.

"Um, um, I only have one handkerchief."

Enri touched her pocket and spoke awkwardly.

"It's fine, they can take care of themselves." The female priest who had just lowered her head in shame could not help but smile as she spoke.

If she were the only one vomiting, it would naturally be embarrassing, but now that it wasn't just one person, the initial awkwardness was gone.

"Hahaha!"

The Paladins let out hearty laughs:

"They aren't children; why would they need you to take care of them, Enri?"

"We are Paladins and priests; protecting the country and the people is our responsibility and duty!"

"That's right!"

"Enri, although you are an adventurer, in the face of the evil undead, you are also one of the people we need to protect."

Echoing laughter came one after another, and some even spoke up seriously and loudly.

This laughter and these words not only dispelled the hidden barriers between everyone, making the tense atmosphere dissipate significantly.

It even more so [helped them move past] the embarrassing vomiting incident that had just occurred.

The expressions of Remedios and Kelart, previously devoid of luster, softened once again.

Facing the kind smiles of the crowd,

Enri felt a bit embarrassed, not knowing how to respond.

She discovered that these Paladins and high-ranking priests, who had previously seemed cold and aloof, were not as difficult to get along with as she had imagined.

"Tsk~"

Clementine stood where the Scripture unit was stationed, glanced in this direction, and wore an expression of disdain.

Her lively gaze darted briefly between Remedios, Tang Zheng, and Go-Jin.

Clementine felt a headache coming on: "So boring! I really want to test the strength of that Paladin Captain."

"And my original goal~"

"I can't find an opportunity to make a move at all. Maybe I should change targets."

Not far away.

Tang Zheng took a piece of cured meat from the pack carried by the Ghost Hound, sliced off a piece, paired it with a few chunks of hard bread, and tossed it into Xiao Hei's mouth.

"Awoo."

The Ghost Hound chewed the food in its mouth happily.

Tang Zheng reached out to stroke Xiao Hei's fine, dense black fur, then looked at Enri, who seemed to have hit it off with the Paladins and priests, and smiled gently.

"Master."

The Dryad Witch walked over from the side and spoke in a low voice.

"Did you notice something?" Tang Zheng asked.

"Huh?"

The Dryad Witch looked a bit confused.

"I'm talking about Enri."

The Dryad Witch turned her head to look at where Enri was, seemingly puzzled.

"She finds it very easy to gain others' favor, doesn't she? Or rather, she has a talent for making people feel close to her," Tang Zheng said with a light laugh.

The Dryad Witch stared at Enri and suddenly realized this was true, recalling the time they were selling "Regeneration Potions."

She had noticed then that Enri seemed to find it easier to deal with others.

Of course.

Perhaps it was because she always kept a cold face, or because of the "Regeneration Potions."

Tang Zheng didn't say anything more; he looked around and noticed "Black" Pavel talking to a female Paladin, seemingly not in a pleasant manner.

"Is that female Paladin Neia's mother? I didn't expect her to be involved in this incident as well."

Tang Zheng's gaze fell upon the female Paladin with a golden ponytail and a stern demeanor, his eyes flashing slightly.

Soon.

He noticed Go-Jin sitting in a corner, looking rather lonely.

Tang Zheng put the remaining cured meat back into the pack on the Ghost Hound, took out another arm-length piece of large cured meat, and walked over.

Hearing approaching footsteps.

Go-Jin looked up, his pale eyes fixed on the approaching figure, and he instinctively reached out to catch the large, fragrant piece of cured meat flying toward him.

"If you don't mind, have a taste. It's a bit too salty for humans, but it's suitable for making soup in the wild; it's quite good if you add a few other ingredients."

Tang Zheng said with a light laugh, spreading his palms: "It's a pity that in this environment, it's obviously not suitable to do that."

Go-Jin looked at the cured meat in his hand, which glistened with fine, golden, translucent fat—clearly not cheap fare—and then looked at the hard bread casually provided by the Holy Kingdom side.

"You really know how to enjoy yourself."

Go-Jin didn't stand on ceremony, tearing off a large bite of the cured meat. It was too salty for a human, but to him, it was a delicious meal.

Ever since he left the Empire and entered the hill region, he had rarely tasted such good human food.

"Being an adventurer is still very hard work."

Tang Zheng walked up to Go-Jin and shook his head with a smile:

"The leader of the first adventurer party I met once told me that cured meat is a very convenient food. Besides, in the wild, drinking a bowl of meat soup is a very pleasant thing."

Go-Jin swallowed the whole piece of cured meat in a few bites and licked his exposed sharp teeth: "It's certainly not as pleasant as it was in the Empire."

"Regret it?"

"Ha! What kind of joke are you making? I am Go-Jin, the 'King of Martial Arts' Go-Jin!"

Go-Jin raised his head abruptly, his gaze filled with ferocity and earnestness.

"You don't have that high-spirited look you had when we first met," Tang Zheng joked half-heartedly.

"I'm just worried about the situation of the demi-humans," Go-Jin said, worry appearing on his face.

He suddenly wondered if letting humans enter the hill region was a mistake, but without the help of humans, there was no way to eliminate that group of undead and the powerful magic caster behind them.

"You two, what are you discussing?"

A soft voice drifted over.

Tang Zheng and Go-Jin looked up in the direction of the voice to see Kelart and Captain Nigun walking over.

"Just chatting," Tang Zheng replied with a smile.

Go-Jin glanced at them and then looked away; no matter how well these two disguised themselves, he could sense the deep-seated hatred they held for demi-humans.

This was especially obvious compared to Tang.

"You all should have seen the current situation; things are far more serious than previously planned."

Kelart didn't dwell on that issue, trying his best to appear calm as he looked at Go-Jin:

"Lord Go-Jin, can you tell us how much further it is to the demi-human gathering place?"

"At our previous speed, it will only take one day," Go-Jin replied indifferently.

After traveling through the night, the original three-day journey had been shortened to one.

"Only one day's journey left?"

Kelart nodded first, his long, narrow eyes narrowing imperceptibly:

"I don't mean to doubt this conclusion, but since Lord Go-Jin has been away for so many days, how can you be sure that the numerous demi-human tribes are still in their original location?"

Facing the suspicious and distrustful inquiry,

A flash of annoyance crossed Go-Jin's eyes, and he suppressed his inner anger: "Of course, I have to thank the food traded with you humans."

"You have seen the climate of the hills now; in a situation where there is a lack of water and food, and the threat of the undead exists."

"The southern mountain range has enough food and water, and with the special terrain of the valley, it is enough to protect the various demi-human tribes."

Hearing this.

"I see."

Not only did Kelart not look annoyed because of the food issue, but a fleeting, brilliant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"In that case, most of the tribes in the demi-human territory should all be gathered in that location."

"That is correct," Go-Jin replied with dissatisfaction.

Tang Zheng heard the conversation between the two, especially noting Kelart's subtle provocation, and his eyes shifted.

Is this the goal of the Holy Kingdom!

(End of chapter)