Summoning the Holy Sword

"Attack!"

Frederick couldn't wait any longer. He raised his sword and charged forward. Serena and Bayer jumped out from their concealment with the remaining three soldiers and formed a row to stop the Lich from escaping.

The Lich was taken aback, but it swiftly pointed its finger forward and emitted a black ray of light at Frederick.

"Waa!"

Frederick shrieked in horror, but he swiftly rolled aside safely, struck his blade into the snow, and slashed upward.

"———!"

The fluttering snow blocked the Lich's line of sight. Even though Frederick appeared as a careless person, he was actually experienced in battles. But, this was to be expected since he had led his men in the Northern mountain battles. However, he was too inexperienced in dealing with a Lich.

The Lich didn't slow down. As an Undead Creature, it had a unique way of viewing this world unlike humans. Therefore, the snow didn't affect it too much. It wasted no time and swung its arms to sweep the snow away. However, Bayer and the others had already surrounded it.

The Lich let out a snort. It clapped its hands and a black flare emerged before it. Thick billows of smoke burst out from the black flare and formed human shapes that held magic blades in their hands while their eyes emanated an ice-cold radiance. They looked as though human-shaped clouds wielding weapons and pouncing on everyone.

"It's the Nightmare Warriors! They're non-physical creatures! Don't get too close to them! Attack the coalesced point in their foreheads!"

Serena yelled out and raised her arms.

"Nuy mira!"

The earth trembled. Sharp, crystal-clear ice blades burst out from the ground, struck the Nightmare Warriors, and ripped through two of them. However, they merely took two steps back and restored their damaged body.

Serena gritted her teeth. Even though she didn't have experience in facing Undead Creatures, she had heard a lot about them. She knew that the Nightmare Warriors were tough to defeat unless they could take down their summoner or strike the only coalesced magic point on their foreheads.

But… Oh no!

They weren't here to deal with the Nightmare Warriors! She lifted her head hurriedly and spotted the Lich flying across them. At the same time, Frederick emerged after breaking free from the Nightmare Warriors.

"Make way, Serena!"

Frederick shouted and raised his sword that was shimmering in a green brilliance of wind. Then, he brandished.

The green, wind-elemental gale whizzed like a cheetah leaping in midair with its widened mouth and razor-sharp teeth—this was the swordsmanship which Frederick inherited; Wind Hunter Blade.

However, the Lich didn't stop as three spinning bone shields emerged around it. At this moment, the green wind cheetah crashed into them and shattered into light dust instantly. On the other hand, the shields cracked into bits.

"Hmm?"

Serena stared blankly. As a Mage, she was well aware that the bone shields were one of the most common spells of the Necromancers and on the contrary, the bone shields cast by the Liches in the Legendary Stage were extremely solid. She was clear that Frederick's strength was in the Basic Master Stage, where he had been pacing back and forth for years. But now, it was almost unbelievable that his sword technique crushed the Lich's bone shield.

Or… Is this Lich an imitation?

"Heyaaaah!"

Frederick arrived at the Lich's side as quickly as the wind cheetah. The Lich didn't expect that its bone shields would be destroyed and Frederick wouldn't let this chance off. He clutched his sword hilt with both hands and punctured the Lich with the razor-sharp blade.

I did it!

Frederick exclaimed in joy inwardly. However, he heard a crisp voice.

"Back off!"

That voice was rather familiar. It was the voice of the sleepy-looking young lady from before. Even though he didn't understand why he couldn't deal the final blow to the Lich, his sharp senses as a warrior made him withdraw his sword and retreat instantly. At the same time, he felt a breeze blowing against his face and a sharp wind blade almost cut off his throat. He looked up and discovered the scarlet radiance emanating from the Lich's furious eyes. Even though he had heard of how terrifying it was to deal with the Undead Creatures, one would only know it after personally dealing with them. His blade attack was stored with wind elemental powers, where living creatures would be gravely injured if not dead by now. He didn't expect that the Lich was this unfazed and perhaps he wouldn't even know how he died if he darted forward to deal the killing blow.

Even though Frederick had always been sloppy, he knew the crucial points in situations. He somersaulted, landed safely on the snowfield, and retreated vigilantly while fixing his gaze at the Lich.

The Lich had no intentions of continuing this battle. It took a step back with the thoughts of fleeing.

But it wasn't that simple anymore.

A golden, holy barrier in the shape of an arc emerged out of thin air and stopped the Lich from escaping. At that moment, Serena and Frederick saw a person approaching the Lich's back. Orchid Heart casually rode her horse while holding onto the thick, black, hardcover book. Serena noticed that the pages were full of densely written words.

"…"

The Lich turned around and stared at Orchid Heart with menacing, scarlet eyes. Then, it raised its staff.

At the same time, Serena saw that Orchid Heart placed her right index finger on the page and spoke increasingly faster as though she was chanting. Several bone spears emerged above the Lich and shot toward Orchid Heart.

"Be careful!"

Serena and Frederick exclaimed in horror. They weren't that powerful, so they empathized with Orchid Heart's strength because she appeared to be an ordinary human without impressive magical powers, swordsmanships, and constitution. The chances of her surviving this attack were slim.

Suddenly, Orchid Heart pointed her index finger forward.

"———!"

The incoming bone spears shattered into dust and vanished entirely. Then, three bone shields emerged out of thin air and spun around her slowly.

What's this situation?

Serena and Frederick were stunned.