The distance between the Neem village from our town Green-Dale is a half-day ride by carriage, approximately around 6 hours. If I add a 1 hour of break from resting at the Campsite, 1 hour from staying at the village, and another 1 hour of rest for the way back, I assume we could come back to our town a few hours past midnight.
But since there's no Blue-Moon tonight, our surrounding is quite dark. There's still the light from our Magic-Lanterns and the faint lights in the sky coming from some of the Floating-Islands so it's not total darkness around us.
However, we still need to reduce our speed in half just to be safe from any sudden obstacle in the road. If we continue to travel at this speed we will probably reach the town before sunrise.
We already traveled for 3 hours straight yet we still hadn't reached the Campsite that we used in the afternoon.
"...yawn!..."
"Getting sleepy Mifumi-chan?"
"Ehh? No, Nymh-san, we train for this situation so we can stay awake until we reach the town."
I guess even Mifumi-sama is getting bored and sleepy in our current situation.
We're avoiding unnecessary talking so that we won't attract any monsters and to be more vigilant to our surroundings. Although, it's quite boring if no one is talking on this long night ride.
"Vier, I saw something in the sky."
"Maybe it's a bird Felin. It is still there where you see it?"
"No, it passes above us. Super fast!"
"I hope it's not a monster..."
...SCREECH...
With the brakes making a screeching sound, both of our carriages stop.
"Did something happen to the other carriage, Mr. Nach?"
"Stay alert everyone! The road ahead is blocked."
So it finally happened. I knew this escort quest was suspicious.
After we stopped and got off the carriages, we surveyed our surroundings using our Magic-Lanterns and by using Mana-Flow to enhance our sights.
It's quite dark but we can see the silhouette of two carriages ahead in front of us.
"What do you think about this Zen?"
"Well, you don't always see two carriages tipping over and landing side by side in the middle of the road."
"Someone intentionally blocked our path. Prepare yourself, everyone! There might be an ambush ahead waiting for us."
With Fred-san's instructions, we prepare our weapons and take our position, forming a circle around the carriages.
In this kind of situation, our first objective is to protect our employers along with both the carriages and horses. We don't want to be stranded here in the middle of the night without any rides after all.
Our second objective is to detect where the enemies are.
"Nymh, Zen, do you feel any presence hiding around us?"
"I don't sense any unusual sounds or movement around us, Fred."
"And I don't detect anyone around us or even from those carriages using my detection-skill."
Since Nymh-san is an Elf and a veteran adventurer she has a much better sense than anyone from our group even compared to Felin who's a BeastKin and Zen-san probably has a detection-skill from the Monster-Core in his Sorcerer-Staff.
If both of them can't find where our enemies are, it would only mean two things. It's either there are no enemies at all or they're just good at hiding themselves.
"Wait! I see someone inside the carriages, there might be someone still alive, we need to help them!"
"Wait kid, come back here!"
And there goes Mr. Burden No.2. I'm expecting that Mr. Burden No.1, renxa, will be the one who will cause a misjudgment, but guess Mr. Slain is a top contender. Maybe he deserves the No.1 place for being a burden.
By the way, I got bored earlier and spent my time thinking of nicknames for both of you so I'm calling the two of you like that, okay?
In a situation like this, you won't go by yourself to check a place where your group is expecting an ambush. But maybe upon hearing that there's no presence hiding around us, his heroic sense kicks in, wanting to save whatever he sees inside the carriage.
Sheesh!... Zen-san just said that there was no one in the carriage.
"Boy! Get away from those carriages. I can feel Magic beginning to flow in there!"
"Ehh? The carriage... What the... Gah!"
Right after Zen-san warned Mr. Burden No.2, those things that were inside the carriages began to show unusual movements. That caught Mr. Burden No.2 eyes and stopped his charge.
Then after a few seconds of those unusual movements inside the carriage, some things start crawling their way out of the turnover carriages.
"We're probably dealing with a Necromancer. Kid! Hurry up and get back here now! There are probably more Undead hiding around us!"
What crawled out from those carriages are Undead humans.
If there is actually a Necromancer like Fred-san said, then that's probably the reason why Nymh-san and Zen-san wasn't able to detect the enemies.
The problem with controlled Undead is that their presence can't be detected not until someone starts controlling them. They're just dead bodies to begin with after all.
"Hmph! Those monsters are just rotting humans, let me deal with this by burning them with my Magic-Sword."
"Let's go, Karna! We have to support Renxa. We're eliminating those Undead humans."
"Okay, I will support you both from behind. We'll deal with those Undead humans Mr. Fred."
"Wait, kids! That's a trap. Arghh!... That group never listens to what I say."
And just like what I said before, the NeoHeroes just did exactly what I thought they would do.
Before Mr. Burden No.2 can get back to our group, Mr. Burden No.1 charges ahead towards the Undead humans. He's probably thinking that a dozen weak Undead humans are no match for him.
This guy is an idiot.
Look thoroughly at those Undead humans, those are not common people who died near the Dungeons and became Undead, they're probably bandits who died after raiding a Dungeon. You can easily see them carrying something that looks like a sword. Those Undead humans are much stronger than your normal Copper-Rank adventurer.
Following Mr. Burden No.1 is the top contender Mr. Burden No.2. You're probably thinking that even if this is a trap, your group can just deal with everything that will come after as long as you all work together right?
What an imbecile!
If something happens that would prevent Fred-san's group from helping, your group would probably have to deal with a lot more enemies coming.
I know you can't abandon your friend but do you have to fight to eliminate all those Undead humans? Can't you just fight until you can drag the Idiot back to the group?
And Finally, behind Mr. Burden No.2 is Ms. Devoted Karna.
Sheesh!... Don't just follow the idea of the Imbecile to go and fight together with the Idiot. Among the three of you, you're the one who can make rational decisions. You should be the one leading them, not the other way around.
While I'm monologuing about the NeoHeroes, Felin notice something unusual that all of us probably didn't notice.
"Vier, Mifumi-sama, the bad smell is getting stronger."
"Where is the smell coming from, Felin-chan?"
"From the ground around us!"
"From the ground? Wait, don't tell me... Fred-san! More Undead are coming out from under the ground."
"Zen! Cast a Magic-Barrier around the carriages then harden the ground under the carriage with Ground-Magic. Make sure we have a safe ground to stand and fight."
"I'm on it!... Ground-Magic-... Ground-Barrier... Ground-Reinforced..."
The Magic that Zen-san cast is the same one used to reinforce the walls protecting our town, so the ground under us should be as strong as those walls. The Undead monsters beneath us won't be able to come out as long as Zen-san has Mana to continue casting Ground-Reinforced.
And since we have a Magic-Barrier around the carriages, our employers along with the carriages and horses would be safe. All we have to do is eliminate all of the Undead humans.
"Nymh! Support everyone from the top of the carriage. Nach and everyone else make sure that our employers are safe. We're heading back to Neem village after I bring those three back."
"""Okay!!!"""
Fred-san tried to move to where the NeoHeroes were but before he could reach them a horde of Undead humans started sprouting out of the ground around us, separating us into three groups. If I include that idiot who fights too far away from his teammates then four groups to be exact.
*****
"""""...Gargghhh!!!!....."""""
"Arghh!... Damn it! You're all just weak Undead, even if you increase your numbers you're all still weak... Sword-Art... Flame-Form... Burning-Sword..."
"...Gargghhh..."
"Just stay down and burn to a crisp."
"Renxa you're too far away. We need to stay closer and fight together to defeat all of these Undead humans."
"I don't need both of you, just let me handle this and I will burn them all back to ashes."
"Slain we're being surrounded, we need to head back to the others."
"No, we can't leave Renxa alone, we're moving closer to Renxa. With all of us together I'm sure we can survive this battle."
"Okay, but don't say later that I didn't warn you."
"We're moving! Follow me, Karna."
"Hey, Kid don't go any further. Damn it."
*****
While Fred-san is moving ahead toward the NeoHeroes, everyone else is protecting our employers along with our carriages and horses from the Undead humans that surround us in all directions.
"Vier-chan, I'm going to use Flame-Magic."
"Okay, Mifumi-sama. Just don't spend too much of your Mana."
"Mhm!... Flame-Magic... Flame-Arrows..."
Mifumi-sama is burning the Undead humans with her Flame-Arrow while Felin is engaging in a sword fight with an Undead human that seems to be a Swordmaster when it is still alive.
"...Gargghhh!..."
"Too slow, Undead mister..."
Felin dodged the sword of the Undead Swordmaster by swiftly closing in then cut off its arm holding the sword using her dagger and beheaded it using her knife.
However, even without a head and an arm, the Undead Swordmaster is still moving.
"Move aside Felin"
I shot both of its knees using my crossbow and it falls to the ground. With its knees damaged, it is unable to stand anymore.
"Flame-Magic... Flame-Arrows..."
Mifumi-sama then follows up by burning its body using her Flame-Arrow.
"You're all acting more calm than I expected in this situation."
"We got no time for your jokes, just do your work, Mr. Nach."
"Jeez... I'm praising your group you know... Sword-Art... Dark-Form... Phantom-Swords..."
After saying his remark, Mr. Nach makes his move and charges straight to the Undead humans.
I'm not good at swordsmanship so I can't tell if he's good at it but based on his fast movement and how he cuts down those Undead humans with his dual-sword technique, I think he's a really strong Swordmaster.
Also, his sword technique is weird. Every time he would attack the Undead humans, there would always be silhouettes of swords that would follow up to his slash and those transparent swords would also cut down the Undead humans.
That's a really weird sword technique...
...SHIVER...
"Huh?... Wait, why is Poru-III is moving? Don't tell me..."
I hurried up and took Poru-III out from my side pouch to confirm my suspicion.
"Seriously? We're being attacked by a horde of Undead humans and you're checking on your pet monster now."
"Shut up, Mr. Nach!"
I raise my voice and got mad at Mr. Nach. He doesn't have any idea how dangerous our situation can be if Poru-III is reacting to something.
"Okay, I'm sorry."
"Show me what you are eating Poru-III."
I move towards the Magic-Lanterns of the carriage and place Poru-III beside it to see what he's eating inside his transparent body.
"Sorghumgrass and Ehh?!... Is that Nightshade?"
"Kid! What do you mean by Sorghumgrass and Nightshade?"
"Mifumi-sama, Felin, Mr. Nach please come back inside the Magic-Barrier."
"Okay Vier-chan!"
"Mhm!"
"Ehh? What's happening kid."
"There are poisons in the air around us! Everyone! Please drink your antidote for Nightshade poison."
"Felin-chan, help me give these antidotes to the horses."
"Mhm! Let's save the horses Mifumi-sama."
"I still don't understand but... Nymh! Go and support Fred and those kids. Tell them to cast a Magic-Barrier and drink the antidote for Nightshade poison."
"Zen, Nach, look after our employers, I'm moving towards their group."
"Just go Nymh, we can handle this."
With that, Nymh-san moved towards Fred-san and the NeoHeroes.
She shot multiple arrows at the Undead humans blocking her path and avoiding those that would jump into her by moving swiftly.
She still hasn't used her Sub-Spirit Magic. I guess she didn't need to use it since her arrows that can defeat two or three Undead humans in a single shot were enough for this situation.
I'm not asking for our situation to get worse that she would be forced to use her Sub-Spirit Magic but I always wanted to see what kind of Magic Nymh-san has.
Anyway, In just a few minutes of maneuvering her way inside the horde of Undead humans, Nymh-san was able to get to where Fred-san and the NeoHeroes were.
*****
"Nymh, what are you doing here?"
"Nightshade poison has spread in the air. So drink an antidote first and cast a Magic-Barrier to reduce any further poison around us."
"How can you tell Ms. Nymh? I don't smell anything except the rotting smell... Wait..."
"I know you would understand, Karna-chan. The rotting smell covers the smell of the poison but Vier-chan has noticed it."
"Okay! I understand. Let me cast the Magic-Barrier... Wind-Magic... Wind-Barrier..."
"Heard that both of you? Drink your antidote immediately. Then we're returning to the carriages."
"Tsk!... As if I would believe that brat. She's probably making that up to look smart."
"Renxa, let's go inside Karna's Magic-Barrier."
"Run away if you want Slain, since you're also weak like them... Ugh!"
"Renxa!"
"Ugh!... What's happening, I can't move.... Arghh!"
""...Gargghhh!!...""
"Damn it! Get away from me... Ugh!... Arghh!"
"Renxa! I'm coming... Ugh!..."
"Those kids! Nymh! Deal with the Undead humans in our rear."
"Okay!"
"Ms. Karna, we're moving to get those two. Just maintain your Wind-Barrier, I'll handle any Undead humans in our way."
"Yes, Mr. Fred."