Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
31. Strange happenings in the north③
Once inside the village, Gilbert and his companions first secured an evacuation route for the residents using weapons that still had the blessing of the holy water.
The undead beasts that now cover half of the village, have no sense of sight or hearing, and their natural tendency is to attack creatures that move about using the smell of those creatures as a marker. Seeing that they do not react to inorganic objects, it is likely that in addition to smell, they also sense temperature.
“I’ve heard they have low killing power, but just how low?”
Gilbert asked the private soldiers as he stared at the undead monsters that were clinging to the roof of a house a short distance away.
“They don’t have sharp fangs or claws. Instead, the saliva they spit out is mildly poisonous. It’s not strong enough to kill you instantly, but it slowly paralyzes your entire body over time, rendering you immobile and unable to think straight.”
The mercenary man who was listening by the side made a bitter face.
“Even if they don’t have fangs, if they bite you, it’s going to be a problem later on. Well, if we can get the clergy to heal us before we stop moving, we can make it work.”
The several clergymen who were accompanying them nodded in agreement.
The mercenary, who had been going around checking if there were any remaining residents, returned carrying a barrel.
“Let’s use this. It’s probably whey from goat cheese. It has a strong smell, so it’s perfect as a decoy.”
The barrel was filled with murky yellowish water. It was probably intended for disposal, but it had fermented, giving off a peculiar odor.
The men grimaced, then covered their heads with the water with a ladle.
“Now then… all that’s left is to lure them in the opposite direction from the city as far as possible … and keep crushing them so they can’t move.”
“It’s rare to come across a plan that is as simple and stupid as this, it’s a valuable experience.”
“Is that a compliment, ……?”
Gilbert and the other men were chattering away as they ran towards the herd of undead beasts, clad in the distinctive stench of fermented dairy products.*
◆◆◆
The carriage was heading towards the town at breakneck speed, carrying the residents evacuating from the village.
“Will Mr. Gilbert and the others …… be all right?”
With a look of anxiety clear on her face, Flora gazed out the small window in the driver’s seat at the village receding into the distance. She was clutching the brooch that Gilbert had given her.
“There is a blessing. All that’s left is to pray.”
After giving a brief remark, Barbara removed a small statue of the goddess that had been hanging on the wall and handed it to Flora, who held it along with the brooch. The statue of the goddess had been a gift from the children on the day they left the village.
“Oh, and you should think about what you want to feed him today. At times like this, it’s much better than thinking scary thoughts. Maybe we can rent a kitchen in town?”
Mrs. Barbara said this nonchalantly and laughed softly.
◆◆◆
Gilbert and the others, who had remained in the village as decoys, were breathing heavily as they stood in what had now become an eerie, dark red swamp.
“Damn, they’re regenerating too fast.”
A mercenary man swung his club down on the densely packed undead beasts, out of breath.
On the other side, Gilbert was slashing away at several medium-sized monsters with his battle axe.
The frog-like undead were more troublesome than they appeared. After all, there were so many of them.
It is not easy to shake them off when they are attached to your body in a group. On top of that, paralyzing poison seeped into the small wounds that formed during the fight, slowly slowing down their arms and legs.
The men were now in a terrible state, their entire bodies coated in the reddish-black, putrid bits of flesh that ricocheted off them when they were crushed.
“So, what are we going to do after this?”
Gilbert, exhausted and unable to stop what he was doing, answered in an intermittent voice, without even having time to catch his breath.*
“the old men are bringing extra holy water and weapons from the city on their way back. We’ll make good use of that and leave one by one, starting from the edge.”
If we believe Dolph’s words, in the worst case scenario, we all have to be forced to get into the carriage at once.
While thinking about this, Gilbert slammed his battle axe into the ground and burst through a pile of small undead monsters densely packed together. The reddish-black carrion scattered across the ground, but it showed no sign of returning to the earth and regenerated again with a bubbling and popping sound.
The mercenary beside him was unsteady on his feet. The paralyzing poison seems to have taken its toll.
The clergyman has been placed in a ward near the entrance to the village to take shelter. However, even if they wanted to send him to receive healing, he would be surrounded by countless undead beasts that repeatedly regenerate, so it is not easy.
His whole body was now covered in splattered rotten flesh, but the only areas that remained free were around his battle axe and the braid Flora had made. Thanks to this, he has been able to keep his hands from slipping.
– I wonder if soaking them in holy water is what’s working…
While he was busy thinking about this, the carriage returned.
The clergy set up a ward at the entrance to the village, and one by one the people left by jumping into it.
“This is the limit of the size of my barrier. I ask you to flank me from the sides!”
The members of the private army who had finished withdrawing nodded in response to the shouting priest, and purified their swords with the holy water that Dolph and the others had brought before them.
Gilbert took up the role of rear guard, and with only two of them left, one of the mercenaries lost his footing and fell to his knees. The paralyzing poison must have spread throughout his body, as he collapsed to the ground.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“We’re almost there! Get up!”
A few of them rushed to the scene with shouts of rage, but the man’s strong body made it difficult for them to drag him outside.
Brandishing his battle axe, Gilbert glanced out of the corner of his eye at the scene, then lifted a barrel of whey that was close at hand and poured the water over his head.
“I’ll buy you some time while I’m at it!”
He shouted, running around in a circle to attract the undead beasts, then taking off at full speed in the opposite direction from the entrance to the village. The countless undead beasts around wriggled like a dark red wave and began to chase Gilbert.
As Gilbert ran, he was thinking about what to do next. He moved as quickly as he could, but the amount of undead beasts chasing after him was extraordinary. With that amount of undead, it was impossible to say that their killing power was low. If they caught up to him and crushed him, he would simply be crushed to death.
– This is bad. What should I do? …… No, if I die here, Brother will kill me. And more than anything …….
Fatigue, the paralyzing poison, and the situation he was in made his thoughts all confused. It was a wonder he was even able to run properly at all. At the edge of his vision, the braided cord attached to his battle axe swayed.
Looking back as he ran, he saw Flora leaning out of the skylight on the roof of the carriage in the distance, looking anxious.
Gilbert ran around the houses to gain some distance from the undead beast, and then shouted from at the top of his lungs towards the carriage.
“Ms.. Flora!”
“……! Yes!”
Ad
Flora replied in surprise.
“What’s for dinner tonight!”
This must be the result of the paralyzing poison. Gilbert wondered for a moment what he was doing, but for some reason he felt compelled to ask.
“It’s a stew, full of beef!”
Flora’s expression was bright as she answered in a loud voice. It felt like she was telling him to come back safely.
─ ─ Yes, that’s right. If I die here doing something stupid, I’ll end up being unable to do anything and all the people I care about will be sad. I can’t let that happen.
Gilbert checked the distance, stopped, and raised his battle axe.
If he could strike a blow first, reduce the amount of them chasing him, he could then make a break for the carriage.
“There are too many things I want to protect, I can’t afford to die.”
As he muttered this, he heard a sound like something exploding in his ear.
There was no time to check it. A huge reddish-black wave created by a swarm of undead immortal beasts was surging in front of him.
The blow of his battle axe sliced through the wave, but at the same time, numerous small white bolts of lightning crackled and spread through the cracks.
The flashing lightning covered the wave of undead beasts.
The rotten flesh then dropped to the ground, dissolving into the earth, as if melting in the wind. With that scene as his last memory in his hazy vision, Gilbert lost consciousness.