kscans

Chapter 25 - The Trivial Assassin

Night fell. The soldiers of both armies withdrew to their respective camps for a brief respite. While some were still active, the majority were holed up in their tents, tending to their wounds and exhaustion.

"Ow!"

Amidst the quiet, a soldier cried out in pain.

"What’s wrong?"

"My hand just started hurting all of a sudden."

"What, were you injured? You should get it looked at by a medic before it affects you in tomorrow’s battle."

"Are you kidding? If I go for a little scratch like this, they’ll just kick me in the ass and send me packing."

"Haha, you’re not wrong!"

But he should have gone to the medics the moment he felt something was wrong.

"Ugh… uuh…"

With a thud, the same soldier collapsed.

"Hey, what’s wrong?!"

He wasn’t the only one. Other soldiers began to sway and fall, one after another.

"Hey! Someone! Someone get a medic!"

A medic arrived, alerted by the sudden emergency.

"What are the symptoms? He just started crying out in pain and collapsed."

"I can’t tell anything from just that. Did he mention any other symptoms?"

"Uh, let’s see… dizziness, chest pains, chills, things like that."

"A disease? But it seems unlikely for so many to fall ill at once. Did he say anything else?" the medic asked. The soldier wracked his brain.

"Right, he said something about injuring his hand."

"His hand?"

The medic sounded skeptical, but with no other useful information, he examined the fallen soldier’s hand.

"This is… a thin, small wound. It’s not a cut or a scrape. This must be a bite mark."

"A bite mark? Don’t tell me it’s a Vampire! This whole mess started with Undead, right?"

"A Vampire’s bite would be larger. This is most likely a snake."

"Then it’s poison!"

"Yes. Let the tainted flow return to purity, Cure Heal!"

As the medic chanted the spell, the suffering soldier’s breathing became calm.

"Good, it’s working! It’s snake venom! Antidote magic is effective! Prepare the antidote potions!"

Once the cause was identified, the medics quickly began treating the fallen soldiers with antidote potions.

"Still, for this many soldiers to be bitten… Are there really that many poisonous snakes around here?"

"I’ve never heard anything like that."

And so, they thought the problem was solved…

"Guh!"

"Gah!"

In the darkness of night, no matter how careful one was, it was impossible to defend against the slithering snakes. Even knights in sturdy metal armor, their sense of touch dulled by the thick plating, failed to notice the snakes crawling up their armor until they felt a sharp pain in their necks.

"I need an antidote!"

"Quickly!"

Soldiers bitten by snakes swarmed the medics. Some had merely been pricked by a sharp rock or a broken branch, but the sheer number of men falling to snake venom had thrown everyone into a panic.

"Any more of this will interfere with tomorrow’s healing! Don’t use antidote magic! Use the potions!"

The result was that the medics needlessly exhausted their mana, and the supply of antidote potions was drastically reduced.

"It’s almost dawn. I’ll call the snakes back."

"Yes, good work."

I sent a signal to the snakes, ordering them to return. Yes, the poisonous snakes that had been attacking the soldiers were my minions.

"I never thought poisonous snakes would be this useful."

"Being small, slender, and able to slip in anywhere makes them perfect nighttime assassins."

When Adolnel asked me to gather non-human soldiers, my top priority became turning snakes into my minions. This was the reason. The plan was to have them attack the humans under the cover of darkness, threatening their lives with poison to waste the medics’ mana and supplies.

"If we keep this up, they’ll run out of antidote potions and have to send soldiers to nearby towns for resupply. I’d like you to attack those supply units, Sister, to ensure the provisions never arrive."

Even if they leave during the day, I can just fly and catch up to them before the next dawn.

"Right. Once the potions are gone, they’ll have to rely on antidote magic, but using too much of that will prevent them from saving mana for healing spells. Eventually, they’ll have no choice but to abandon their allies who are either poisoned or wounded."

Wow, what a vicious plan. But it’s also incredibly effective. Since they look like ordinary snakes, no one suspects that Undead are behind it, which is really convenient.

"But if the Undead don’t appear on the battlefield, won’t that make Lexalun and Carolmana doubt that the other is actually controlling them?"

"If the Undead were to appear and side with one faction, it would prove that the other lord’s claims were correct. Then, all the nobles and soldiers would turn on the noble allied with the Undead. That would interfere with our plan to have them wear each other down and wipe each other out."

Right, we want this war to drag on for as long as possible. To that end, it’s better to let Lexalun and Carolmana think the other is just hiding their true strength.

"For that reason as well, let’s have the snakes work a little harder."

The following night, the encampments of both armies had changed.

"They’ve built a wall."

Both camps were now surrounded by walls made of earth.

"Did they use magic to make them?"

The walls curved outwards at the top, a design that would make anyone trying to climb them lose their grip and fall.

"I see. So that’s how they plan to keep the snakes out."

They came up with that overnight, huh?

"Too bad that won’t stop the snakes coming from underground."

Screams of men bitten by snakes rose from within the walls.

"Impossible! Why isn’t the snake repellent working?!"

Yeah, sorry about that. Adolnel already anticipated that countermeasure. In case the enemy found a way to keep the snakes at bay, she had underground tunnels for the snakes dug in advance, right where she predicted they would set up camp. By the way, the mole Undead did the digging. Moles, you know, have incredibly soft, silky fur, probably to help them move through the dirt. It feels amazing to the touch. I was so moved the first time I ever touched one. And the way they waddle on the surface is just so charmingly cute.

Oops, I got sidetracked. Anyway, the very walls they built to protect themselves had now become a cage, trapping them inside.

◆

"Damn it all, when will those antidote potions arrive?!"

Several days had passed since the poisonous snakes began their rampage. The supply unit should have returned by now, but there was still no sign of them.

"They may have been ambushed by the enemy."

"They knew about the snakes and set a trap?! Then why didn’t the lord of Lexalun warn us that this area was a den of vipers?!"

Well, that’s because we made the whole thing up. The lord of Lexalun was probably hearing about it for the first time, too. The same goes for the Carolmana side; they’re getting torn up by snakes as well.

"We have no choice. Send a highly skilled combat unit to retrieve the supplies."

"That will weaken our main force."

"It’s better than having our healing efforts hampered by poison. Besides, the enemy wouldn’t deploy a highly skilled unit just to ambush a supply convoy. Our top priority is to secure the provisions."

The commander chose the most reliable course of action, but unfortunately, that unit never returned either. The cavalry unit, superior in both combat prowess and speed, was annihilated in an ambush by my "Wolf-chan"s, who were lying in wait.

"Aaaargh! What are these things?! Why are there so many monsters here?!"

"It’s not just monsters, there are beasts too! What kind of pack is this?!"

The "Wolf-chan"s had bolstered their ranks not only with their fellow Thousand Wolves and various other monster Undead, but also with stray dogs, wolves, foxes, tanuki, and even bears that they had turned into Undead.

"War really is all about numbers, isn’t it?"

You might have guessed by now, but it was the "Wolf-chan"s who helped me turn the snakes and moles into Undead. They used their pack strength to corner their prey, and once there was no escape, I would bite them and turn them into Undead. Of course, many animals also became Undead after being attacked by the "Wolf-chan"s themselves, so I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the monsters and animals in this area are now Undead.

Of course, stronger monsters aren’t so easy to turn, so it’s mostly weaker creatures. Still, by overwhelming them with sheer numbers, we took heavy losses but managed to turn some reasonably strong monsters into Undead as well.

"And now I’ll be taking those skilled Undead knights, thank you very much."

Alright, I think it’s about time we moved this battle to the next stage.