Chapter 26 - Adolf and the Archbishop ③
It was the Archbishop who first found the practitioner controlling the Revenants attacking the main gate.
Using [Mute] magic and a [Camouflage] scroll to erase his presence, he confirmed the locations of living beings with [Sense Living] and sensed the reactions of several people inside a building at the wharf. However, since he did not know the situation inside the building, he could not easily approach.
While he was forced to watch from a distance, he sensed new life signatures. The number was seven, and furthermore, the position was on the river. They advanced while remaining invisible and came up onto the riverbank.
As he approached while keeping his presence erased just in case to observe, Adolf and the others revealed themselves.
"Is that Adolf-dono?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the darkness. Moreover, it was calling his name.
Adolf recognized that voice. However, thinking it impossible, he questioned them sternly.
"Show yourselves. If you are from Nakanohara, this will be friendly fire."
Having likely deactivated their magic, two men dressed like townspeople holding lanterns became visible, crouching in the thicket.
When he asked their names, they were the Archbishop of the Nakanohara Church and his secretary.
Both approached with full smiles.
"It was indeed Adolf-dono. I felt as if my life were shortening when life signatures came up from the river."
"What were you doing in such a place, dressed like that?"
The Archbishop explained the circumstances.
"This is not the sort of thing a person of the Archbishop's standing should be doing."
Adolf was exasperated, but on the other hand, he was also impressed. Someone in the position of Archbishop should be protected and hidden. Yet, he said he had tried to oppose the Revenant users with just two people and had already captured three.
"No, I am ashamed. I simply thought to do what I could. And so, what was Adolf-dono doing here?"
At the Archbishop's words as he scratched his head, it was now Adolf's turn to feel awkward. After all, what he had intended to do was the same.
In the direction the Archbishop pointed, saying "In that shack over there," was a shack for those who handled the ferry.
"It seems there are five people in that shack."
The shack where the Revenant users likely were had its entrance facing the town—that is, to the west. Windows were installed on the remaining three sides to let in outside light, but the shutters were down now, so the situation inside was unknown.
Adolf applied [Camouflage] to the hunters and gave instructions for them to make a large detour to the north side of the shack and provide support with bows and arrows from a place where the entrance was visible.
The guards approached the shack, their forms erased by [Camouflage] along with Adolf and the others. Leaving two of the three guards at the rear, the three—Adolf, the Archbishop, and the secretary—approached the entrance along the river. He had the remaining guard go around from the north side of the shack.
The entrance door was wide open. Inside the shack, five practitioners were likely controlling the Revenants.
"There were five, correct?"
The Archbishop nodded at Adolf's whisper.
The Archbishop confirmed that their allies were in position with his life-sensing magic and informed Adolf.
Commence action.
When Adolf signaled the two at the rear, one lit an improvised torch made of cloth soaked in oil wrapped around a piece of wood. The other opened the wooden door and threw in a bottle of oil, followed by the torch.
Whoosh—the oil caught fire inside the shack.
Screams rose from within.
Just as figures came leaping out, they tumbled on the spot.
At the entrance, along with Adolf's signal, the guard and the secretary had been facing each other holding a rope, pulling it taut to trip them.
As the five became a tangled heap, the two guards from the rear joined in, and the five of them beat the intruders into unconsciousness.
When Adolf looked inside the shack, it was naturally burning. Just as he thought he must extinguish it before it spread, he saw a figure in the middle of the shack. There was one person with no life signature.
Those eyes were red.
"[Magic Barrier]!"
Adolf reflexively created a wall to block magic in front of himself.
With a sound like breaking glass, it was easily deactivated.
The figure inside the shack slowly came outside.
There, an arrow flew from somewhere and pierced the figure's chest. A hunter must have fired it.
The figure pulled out the arrow and threw it away as if nothing had happened.
"It does not work."
Everyone gasped at the fact that the figure had spoken.
It was not a controlled Revenant!
"[Hardened Stone]!"
When Adolf chanted the magic, the figure was covered in gravel and became like a stone statue. He had encased it in stone.
A moment later, the magic was deactivated, and the surface of the statue shattered, scattering gravel around.
"Did you think a mid-level spell from a mere mage would work?"
The figure distorted its mouth as if grinning and provoked him.
Even for Adolf, using high-level magic required a chant. In other words, he would become defenseless. It was obvious the enemy was aiming for that.
More arrows flew. The figure no longer even tried to dodge.
But the moment an arrow pierced its chest, it wore an expression of agony and looked at the wound.
The red eyes widened, wearing an expression that seemed to say it was unbelievable.
When two more arrows struck, it let out a death-throe scream and collapsed to its knees.
Even Adolf did not understand what had happened.
The figure, letting out painful groans, nevertheless managed to get on its knees, pulled out the three arrows with brute force along with its groans, and stood up unsteadily.
The red eyes seemed to be fading, perhaps losing their power.
"Adolf! Remember this! I shall not forget this humiliation!"
Roar! A wind whipped up, and everyone instinctively turned their faces away.
And when they raised their faces, the figure had vanished.
"Is everyone alright?"
While half-dazed, Adolf called out to those around him, and the people who had been crouching nearby stood up. It could be said there was no damage, as everyone had only light scratches or bruises.
He deactivated the [Camouflage] and instructed everyone to gather.
Everyone revealed themselves, and the hunters came out from the grass on the north side.
"Were you the ones who fired the arrows?"
"It seems they worked."
The three hunters looked pleased. They had saved the Mayor and the Archbishop from a crisis. They had a right to boast.
"What on earth kind of trick did you use?"
Angus picked up the arrow the Revenant had thrown away at the end and showed it to Adolf.
A silver coin was attached to the arrowhead with asphalt and fixed in place by binding it with thread.
"Silver arrowheads work on monsters, so these are improvised silver arrowheads. Since the opponent was a Revenant, I made them with the silver coins I received as a down payment."
It seemed to be a hunter's secret.
The hunters hunt deep in the mountains. There are times when they encounter monsters that iron arrowheads don't work on. At such times, they said they use silver coins to fight with improvised silver arrowheads. They were inferior to pure silver arrowheads, but their sufficient effectiveness was proven right before Adolf's eyes.
"Silver arrowheads are a luxury for the likes of us," Angus and the others laughed.
Even attaching one silver coin costs money, but it must be a necessary expense for emergencies.
"No, you truly saved us. Honestly, I thought I might not be able to defeat it. I shall have to add a bonus to the reward."
Cheers rose from the hunters.
"What on earth was that last thing?"
The Archbishop asked.
"I suspect a Revenant user turned themselves into a Revenant, but..."
"Could it be a Vampire?"
"It might be... but I would rather not think so."
Vampires harm humans separately from the Demon Lord. However, that is as a predator, not because they are hostile. It is like a human hunting an animal and eating its meat.
Furthermore, the one they faced just now had shouted Adolf's name at the end. He did not think a race with high pride like Vampires would lead a horde of Revenants to attack. It was because they would think they could easily kill a single person by themselves.