Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 77: Battle of Red Sand
“We’ve tried before, but the enemy is simply too cunning.”
Orthofen said with a shake of his head.
As the commander of the undead army, the skeletal mage would immediately order a retreat if the battle turned unfavorable. In the event of a serious defeat, it would command the undead creatures to cover its escape—making capture extremely difficult.
That said, there had been one occasion when they barely managed to capture a commander.
However, that skeletal mage resolutely cast a self-immolation spell to prevent leaking any information about Kazitu, choosing death over surrender.
“Sigh—”
Zeus let out a long breath.
“Who knows when this war against the undead will ever end.”
Orr remained silent. Words of comfort and encouragement had been said too many times before, and he figured Zeus must be sick of hearing them by now.
“Knight Commander Banjel, Captain Orthofen, what’s the situation with the undead?”
Right on cue, Legovis climbed the watchtower, urgently inquiring about the situation.
Yafen followed closely behind and immediately bowed in a knightly salute upon seeing the captains.
“The enemy seems to still be preparing. They haven’t launched their assault yet.”
Even with the crown prince present, Zeus didn’t look back. His eyes remained fixed on the north.
“Your Highness, rest assured. We are fully prepared for their attack.”
Legovis didn’t seem concerned. He stepped forward and looked out over the falling snow toward the distance, where he saw masses of tiny black dots forming into several square formations.
“Oh? It seems there are even more undead than last time.”
Orthofen walked up beside the crown prince and explained.
“As winter deepens, the number of undead will only continue to increase.”
“I see.”
Just then, a sharp screeching sound pierced through the cold wind—the signal for the undead army to move. The skeletal mage had finally issued the order to attack.
This commander used such eerie sounds to direct the actions of the undead army. The efficiency of its command far surpassed that of humans, as if it were controlling its own limbs.
A massive wave of undead monsters began charging forward, splitting into two columns to attack the eastern and western sections of the city wall.
“They’re attacking from two directions? Then I’ll head to the eastern wall to help.”
Legovis said as he pulled the massive sword from his back and turned to descend the watchtower.
“Yafen, protect His Highness.”
Orthofen ordered.
“Yes, Captain.”
Yafen quickly followed after the prince.
Next, Zeus began issuing a series of commands to counter the undead assault:
- Mages were to begin casting large-scale spells immediately.
- Catapult crews were to prepare and launch boulders.
- Archers were to fire as needed based on the battlefield.
- Half of the soldiers stationed on the central wall section were to be sent to support the eastern and western walls, while the remaining troops were to tighten their defenses.
Even if the undead didn’t charge the center, they couldn’t let their guard down—who knew what tricks the enemy commander might have?
Orr also gave the order for the Holy Order of Knights to prepare for battle.
The Red Sand Fortress housed two squads of mages, each composed of ten people: five fire-element mages and five wind-element mages per team.
The squad responsible for supporting the eastern wall had begun casting a large-scale spell. Under the captain’s guidance, nine mages chanted the incantation in unison.
This was a necessary step—without chanting, they couldn’t guarantee consistent mana synchronization across all the mages, which could easily result in spell failure.
Once the chant was completed, the ten mages—
The ten mages simultaneously raised their staffs, each staff glowing at the tip with an orb of light—five red, five blue.
High above, a massive flame suddenly appeared. Even in the midst of swirling snow and wind, it was strikingly visible.
Next, the flame began to spin rapidly, forming an inverted conical shape at the base. Before long, it touched the ground and started moving across the battlefield. Wherever it passed, large swathes of snow melted away, revealing the sand beneath.
This was a high-level spell—Flame Tornado.
The nearby undead creatures had no chance to escape and were sucked in by the strong winds and burned alive.
Of course, the enemy commander wouldn’t just stand by and watch his troops be incinerated. He quickly issued the order to disperse.
The previously clustered undead quickly spread out to minimize their losses.
On another side of the battlefield, over a dozen large trebuchets were now ready. The trebuchets at Red Sand Fortress were even larger than those at Bianshu Town, with heavier counterweights and a significantly greater range.
Two soldiers worked together to load a massive stone onto the sling, while another soldier poured a thick black liquid over the stone and then set it on fire.
This black liquid had been discovered by the knight commander near Red Sand Fortress. It could be ignited easily, produced foul-smelling black smoke, and couldn’t be extinguished with water.
At first, Zeus didn’t know what to use it for, but after some thought, he decided to use it to enhance the power of the trebuchets.
Once launched, the flaming stones would leave a trail of fire upon impact, burning for a while before extinguishing. This was particularly effective against the cold-loving, heat-averse undead.
“Ready—!”
After aligning the trebuchets, a knight seized the right moment and suddenly swung his arm down, shouting, “Fire!”
With the ropes cut, the flaming boulders were launched into the air, crashing down with a thunderous roar. The stones shattered on impact, and the fragments scattered, further spreading the flames.
Each firestone was capable of knocking down several undead, and the spreading fire slowed their advance somewhat.
Once the enemy entered firing range, the archers drew their bows and, after aiming briefly, released a hail of arrows on command.
They didn’t worry much about poor visibility or conditions—firing so many arrows at once was bound to hit something.
These attacks only slightly reduced the undead numbers. Most still managed to reach the base of the walls.
Just like in Bianshu Town, the undead here used the tactic of forming human towers to scale the walls. The walls of Red Sand Fortress were nearly ten meters tall, but this method was still effective.
At the section of the wall defended by the Holy Knights, several knights stood in formation, long swords held upright in front of them as they prayed to the divine.
Once their prayers ended, they rotated their swords 90 degrees. A holy white light burst forth from the blades as the swords were imbued with sacred energy.
Approaching the wall’s edge, the knights swung their swords outward. Several arcs of white light shot down and smashed the freshly formed undead towers into collapse.
“Ahhh! Help!”
Not far away, several soldiers had failed to stop a corpse wolf with their spears, and the creature had leapt onto the wall.
Seeing this, a nearby Holy Knight rushed over and, with one clean strike, beheaded the monster. He followed up with another slash, completely destroying its magic core.
Shaking off the black blood from his blade, the Holy Knight turned to the soldiers and said.
“Aim properly before you strike. Don’t give the undead any opportunity.”
“Yes, sir!” the soldiers responded in unison.
From that point on, both sides entered a fierce stalemate. Red Sand Fortress had years of experience fighting the undead and had developed considerable expertise. Combined with the support of the Holy Knights, the current number of undead attackers stood little chance of breaching the walls.