kscans

Chapter 22 - A Battlefield Where the Living are Puppeted by the Dead

"Enemy attack!"

The battle began. The Lexalun Knight Order had launched a surprise attack on the Carolmana Knight Order. Because their patrolmen had been killed by a separate detachment, the Carolmana forces were slow to notice the enemy’s approach, a fatal mistake.

"Those Lexalun bastards, so brazen!"

The Carolmana knights finally managed to mount a counterattack, but their delayed response had put them on the back foot.

"Alright, let’s wait for their numbers to thin out a bit."

I didn’t join the fray immediately, choosing to observe instead. Although they were initially pushed back, the Carolmana side had the adventurers who had been conducting the preliminary investigation of the town, so the numerical disadvantage wasn’t too severe.

Their coordination was poor, but the adventurers, acting as a skirmishing force, had noticed the Lexalun detachment and were dealing with them, preventing any further surprise attacks.

"Those adventurers are doing a good job. But it’s a bit of a waste."

The Lexalun detachment seemed to be specially trained soldiers. I’d love to turn them into undead for my own forces.

"The battle’s getting pretty intense. Maybe it’s time for us to make our move."

I threw a stone I was holding at the rear of the Lexalun Knight Order. In my past life, I had terrible aim, but as a vampire, I had gained the strength and control of a professional pitcher. The stone hit the knight at the very back with a clink, and at the signal, they began to move, turning on the knights who were once their comrades.

"Gwah?!"

"What?! An enemy attack?!"

"Impossible! From behind us?! No, there’s no one... hey, what do you think you’re doing?!"

The knights at the rear were stunned by what they thought was a surprise attack, but were confused when they saw no enemy. Then, their own comrades attacked them from the side. Or rather, those who had once been their comrades.

"Uwaaaaaahhh!!"

Though shocked by the sudden attack from their allies, the knights quickly recovered and fought back. However, the knights who were struck simply rose to their feet, unfazed by their injuries, and resumed their attack.

"Gwaaaaaahhh!"

In the midst of the chaos, one of the knights was restrained by several of the attacking knights and had his neck bitten.

"Wha—?! Are these guys... undead?!"

The rear of the formation was in a panic. The knights they had thought were their comrades were actually undead. But the confusion wasn’t limited to the rear.

"Uwaaaah!"

"H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Uwaaaahhh! Our comrades have turned into undead?!"

When the battle started, I had mixed a few of the undead who were at the rear into the middle of the formation. They began to attack their former comrades, causing the knights to panic. From their perspective, it looked as if their allies, with whom they had been marching just moments before, had suddenly turned into undead.

Then, another unit moved from behind the Carolmana Knight Order.

"U-Uwaaaah! It’s the undead!"

I deployed the undead army I had been holding in reserve. A wave of unease spread through the Carolmana knights and adventurers, who had been focused on the Lexalun Knight Order.

Good, now the Carolmana side is on edge again. While they were distracted by the undead, I snuck up behind the Lexalun special forces, covered one of their mouths, and flew high into the air.

"Mmph?!"

And in mid-air, I helped myself to his blood.

"Gah!"

Ooh, not bad. Their training must be different from that of a regular knight. Their blood is a nice change of pace. Alright, time to sample the blood of the other special forces members.

"Dammit, of all the times!"

"The timing is too perfect! Hah, could it be that those undead are being controlled by the Lexalun forces?!"

As I mingled with the battlefield, attacking any promising-looking knights, some of the more perceptive ones began to suspect that the appearance of the undead was the work of Lexalun.

"So the reason there were no undead in the town was because they were hiding them as part of their forces!"

"Could be. Which means their interference with our investigation was just an act! Their real goal from the beginning was to attack Fenesia Town!"

Ooh, they’re misunderstanding things in a very convenient way. All I did was make Lexalun think Carolmana had abducted their men to make them attack each other and let their mutual animosity explode... but this works out well for me!

"Dammit, if they’re controlling undead, this is even worse than we thought! We have to escape and report to our lord!"

Ah, crap. The Carolmana knights are trying to escape.

""""Awoooooo!!""""

But at that moment, the howling of beasts echoed across the battlefield. It was the howl of the "Wolf-chan"s. The "Wolf-chan"s appeared on the battlefield, surrounding the two knight orders.

"Is that a Thousand Wolf?!"

"So they really were here!"

"But they’re not attacking. It’s like they’re watching us."

"Could it be that the Thousand Wolf is also being controlled by the Lexalun forces?!"

Suspicion filled the minds of the Carolmana knights, who now began to suspect that the "Wolf-chan"s were also the work of the Lexalun Knight Order.

"What are we going to do? If the Thousand Wolf attacks us, we’re done for!"

Despair spread through the knights as they faced a seemingly hopeless situation.

"Do not falter!"

A loud voice boomed across the battlefield. It seemed to be the captain of the Carolmana knights.

"If this is the work of Lexalun, then they must have a spellcaster or a magic item controlling the undead! If we destroy it, the situation will change! Then they will face the retribution of the very monsters they were using!"

Ooh, that’s a good speech. Though it’s just speculation, giving them a clear objective has helped the panicked knights regain their composure. Of course, I’m the one controlling the undead. And I can feel magical power in his resonant voice. Is he using magic to amplify it? I wonder if I can do that, too. I’ll have to practice in secret later.

"All forces, charge! Your target is the Lexalun commander and his entourage! If we don’t defeat them, we won’t live to see the dawn!"

"""""Oooooooohhh!!"""""

Deciding that they would rather fight than be annihilated, the Carolmana knights charged. The adventurers, who understood the terror of the "Wolf-chan"s all too well, joined the charge. And so, the battlefield descended into even greater chaos.

The Lexalun Knight Order, attacked by their undead comrades; the Carolmana Knight Order, attacked by their rival knight order and the undead; and our undead army, seeking to sow confusion and annihilate both forces—the three armies clashed on the battlefield.

"Alright, time to increase my number of familiars!"

In the hellish battlefield where no one knew who was friend or foe, I alone moved in the shadows, working to increase my number of allies.