“Now, go, my zombies! Plant your feet firmly and pave the way for our ground forces!”
At my command, the zombies created by Germ stumbled forward, moving their legs as fast as they could. We were positioned in a blind spot, out of sight from Elden’s watchtower… so there was no reaction from the kingdom’s soldiers yet. And then, when the frontmost wave of zombies closed in to about 500 meters from the north gate…
—Thud! A low, rumbling sound echoed. At the same time, the zombie at the front was blown high into the air.
“As I expected… the kingdom’s new weapon: the ‘anti-personnel landmine.'”
This weapon lay hidden beneath the ground. Its purpose was not to kill, but to maim, tearing off the limbs of those who triggered it—a weapon aptly called the devil’s device.
…But, wait. Isn’t calling it “devil’s” a bit much? Wouldn’t that be unfairly tarnishing the name of actual devils? The demon-kind I met in the demon kingdom were, for the most part, quite honorable (though I can’t say they were all virtuous).
So, let’s call it something else… A malicious weapon.
“Well then. If it’s something malicious, we have no choice but to crush it!”
The zombies’ advance did not falter. Landmines or no landmines, they ran in formation, ten abreast, toward Elden’s north gate. After all, zombies feel no fear.
Those that lost their legs to mines crawled forward on their hands, only to be blown away by another explosion. The relentless sound of detonations echoed, raising clouds of dust like a smokescreen.
… Yes, my main tactic was simple: clear the mines by sacrificing five hundred zombies.
The kingdom, which possessed landmines, had likely lined the areas outside the main roads with countless mines to guard against an advance from any other route. They probably assumed that if the demon kingdom’s forces, who knew nothing of landmines, attempted a surprise attack, they’d be decimated by the mines or forced to retreat.
“Who would have thought we’d choose to advance right where the mines are, fully aware of their presence…?”
Of course, there must be far more than five hundred mines scattered around Elden. Perhaps thousands, or even tens of thousands. But…
“As long as we can detonate the mines on the path our ground forces will advance on, that’s all we need!”
The zombies sacrificed their bodies, creating a dust-filled path. Many were lost to the mines, but finally, some of the zombies began reaching the north gate. The kingdom’s soldiers, now surely alerted by the barrage of explosions, noticed our advance… but it was already too late.
“Heh heh heh… Well done, zombies.”
Leading the Evillwarg ground forces, I approached a zombie that had been blown close to me by the repeated blasts from five separate mines.
—Dark Heal.
In an instant, I healed all of the zombie’s injuries, including its missing limbs. It then got up and resumed its charge toward the north gate, as the Evillwarg soldiers murmured in awe. A good reaction.
“Alright, ground forces! There is nothing to fear!”
Raising my voice, I pointed to the north gate.
“Most of the mines along that path are gone! And even if there’s a mine left that you trigger, I will heal you!”
At my words, Evillwarg grinned confidently and turned to the troops.
“You heard him, men! We have the genius Dark Healer behind us! The path to hell is still far away!”
“““Yeah!”””
The troops responded with a brief, hearty cheer. They seemed ready.
“Now, let us commence the operation to reclaim Elden! Everyone, charge!”
The ground forces surged past me, disappearing into the dust and smoke.
Luckily, there were no undetonated mines left along their route, as no more explosions could be heard.
…With that, the mine-clearing and ground force support were complete. My operation was a success.
Phew. Good thing, too, since that Dark Heal I demonstrated was 80% bluff. I can’t heal just anyone as quickly as a zombie. For species I’m familiar with, like zombies or the oni species like Agito, I can manage, but healing the diverse demon forces is quite a challenge.
“Well… my work here is done, time to head back.”
No need for a civilian like me to stick around and cause trouble for Agito and the others.
From the north gate, the smoke and flames continued to rise, along with something like red fireworks.
“…Hmm. In the end, I never figured out what that meant.”
Not that it mattered much to me. I was sure Agito and the demon forces could handle the rest.
… Or so I thought at the time.
But a few minutes later—
“—KIWI ALAYA!”
Hearing my name shouted, I found myself pursued by a woman in unfamiliar white priest’s robes. Surely, not even the gods could have foreseen such a turn of events.
