Chapter 6: The Saintess’s Vigil and Eve’s Quest

A hundred strong, yet their march produced hardly any sound.

In fact, had a subordinate not reported it, Xien, as the host, would have remained unaware that Alice had already led her detachment to the outskirts.

Such was the formidable discipline and power of the Silverwing Iron Cavalry, the Saintess’s elite guard.

“Your Grace, the Saintess, there is a public cemetery in Yarokan City. It is rumored to have been funded by a prominent noble and lies seven hundred meters west of the city, on its outskirts.”

“The fallen one performed their ritual there, employing what appears to be a fifth-tier, large-scale necromancy spell to summon the undead.”

A knight in silver armor spurred their horse forward, catching up to Alice from behind, and relayed the gathered intelligence.

As they were heading into battle, Alice had forgone the comfort of her carriage. Instead, she rode a warhorse alone, without a hint of pretense.

Upon hearing the report, Alice nodded, her expression unwavering.

She gazed at the gradually fading purple magic array in the distant sky, though her grip on the reins tightened imperceptibly.

“Relay my orders to the other warriors: after leaving the city, the entire force is to advance at full speed towards the cemetery.”

“Upon arrival, disperse to blockade the entire graveyard, sealing it off completely.”

“No undead creature is to escape the cemetery and breach the city walls. Simultaneously, remain vigilant for any suspicious individuals!”

The silver-armored knight clenched a fist over their chest.

“Yes, Your Grace!” they bellowed.

Immediately, they departed to convey the Saintess’s command.

Once past the city gates, the entire contingent seemed to shed its restraints, abruptly accelerating their pace.

The thunder of iron hooves echoed, yet not a single sleeping resident within the city was disturbed.

As they journeyed to the cemetery entrance, two wandering undead creatures came into view.

“Oh, Holy Light, cleanse these defiled sleepers!”

Alice, holding a holy scripture, raised her delicate hand. Two beams of golden light, akin to warm sunlight, streaked from afar, enveloping the two undead creatures.

The undead, still muttering incoherently, froze for a moment.

Then, as if struck by a devastating blow, they shrieked wildly, clutching their heads and scattering in all directions.

Yet, they hadn’t fled far before collapsing to the ground, the scarlet glow in their eye sockets dissipating.

They transformed into two skeletal frames, devoid of flesh and utterly decayed.

Only when these two skeletons dissolved into shimmering motes within the Holy Light did the sacred golden radiance recede and vanish.

Having been summoned by necromancy, they were now monsters, enemies.

There was no room for pity.

“May you rest in peace,” Alice murmured softly.

She closed the scripture in her hands, as if she had just performed a trifling task.

The Iron Cavalry dispersed as commanded, encircling the entire cemetery and guarding every entrance and exit.

Alice dismounted, and alone, walked through the main gate of the cemetery entrance.

While the Silverwing Iron Cavalry served as the Saintess’s personal guard, Alice herself possessed combat capabilities that rivaled an entire contingent of the Iron Cavalry.

Alice was far more than merely a priestess. Beyond her primary role, her secondary profession was that of a Grand Archmage of the Light affinity.

Across the entire continent, only a paltry seven individuals were recognized as Grand Archmages in the realm of magic.

Alice was one of them.

Thus, when the Silverwing Iron Cavalry accompanied the Saintess into battle, if numbers were insufficient or the enemy proved too formidable, the Saintess herself would join the fray.

The Silverwing Iron Cavalry’s task, then, was merely to handle the cleanup.

Stepping into the cemetery, Alice meticulously purified every undead creature she encountered along the path using Holy Light magic.

Having already purified two undead at the cemetery entrance, the element of surprise was lost. There was no longer a need to worry about the commotion being noticed.

In truth, under normal circumstances, Alice might have simply channeled her power and chanted, unleashing an immense Holy Light Purification spell to blanket the entire area, annihilating every undead in the cemetery.

Tonight, however, Alice harbored a peculiar premonition: if she were to do so, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Alice knew the source of this feeling; it was the last sliver of hope lingering in her heart, playing tricks on her.

As for purifying the undead one by one…

To put it elegantly, it was a precaution against a potential counterattack from the mastermind lurking in the shadows. The Holy Light spells she cast along the way were merely second-tier magic, conserving her own mana.

This approach allowed her to maintain her full strength while simultaneously lulling any enemies into a false sense of security.

‘Well, in reality, Alice was simply a bit grumpy from being woken up when casting her spells.’

Thus, Alice, like a bulldozer, cleared all undead from her path, pushing relentlessly from the main entrance all the way to the central plaza of the cemetery.

Upon reaching the plaza, however, the number of undead was noticeably sparse.

Based on Alice’s past experience battling the Demon Lord’s army with her hero’s party, such locations typically harbored key figures of the event.

These might be powerful minor leaders guarding the area, or perhaps the villainous orchestrator eager to display their masterpiece to outsiders.

Alice felt a surge of renewed vigor, her eyes sharpening with focus.

Within her sight, atop the flagpole platform in the very center of the expansive plaza, there was indeed a small, distinctive undead creature!

This undead was unlike any Alice had encountered on her journey. It wasn’t aimlessly wandering or muttering incoherently.

Instead, she was currently on her tiptoes, reaching for the flag rope and lowering the banner, her movements devoid of the typical stiffness of the undead.

Moreover, the figure’s back carried a sense of uncanny familiarity…

Had Alice not possessed an exceptionally keen perception of undead aura, from this distance, she might have mistaken it for a child who had snuck out to play in the dead of night.

Alice’s eyes narrowed, and she tightened her grip on the holy scripture.

“It appears this is the one,” she muttered.

To be safe, before alarming the figure, Alice applied several layers of enhancement buffs to herself, utilizing various skills from her Priestess profession.

Among these was the [Heaven’s Insight] buff, which not only significantly enhanced her vision and perception but also granted her night vision.

In an instant, everything within the nocturnal environment became crystal clear to Alice.

It was then that Alice finally saw the undead creature’s appearance with perfect clarity.

In that moment, her eyes widened, and the holy scripture in her hand nearly slipped to the ground.

****

This ‘leader-class unit’ of a small undead, now targeted by the Saintess, was none other than Eve, who had finally made her way to the plaza.

The undead creatures along the path, while not attacking her, certainly obstructed her way.

Of course, Eve could have chosen to go around, but that would mean stepping on a grave mound marked with a tombstone.

Even though the tombstone’s owner had likely crawled out of their grave and wandered off to who knew where, it was still a burial site.

Walking over it felt unsettling, almost repulsive.

Furthermore, the closer she got to the plaza, the more undead crowded the path, making it impossible to squeeze through.

Consequently, Eve had no choice but to ‘kindly’ ask the obstructing undead to move aside. She would then send them sprawling with a flying kick from behind, and proceed by stepping directly over their bodies.

This was quite a delicate skill.

Especially for Eve, with her petite, almost loli-like frame, it presented an even greater challenge.

Naturally, the results were favorable. Upon reaching the plaza, Eve also discovered the other two items required for her class advancement quest.

Beneath the flagpole platform, around the cemetery’s notice board, a circle of barricades had been arranged to maintain distance.

And by a flowerbed on the north side, cleaning implements such as mops, brooms, and buckets were left.

Hooray! Three wishes, ah, no… three conditions fulfilled at once!

Eve could already see her new class beckoning. She immediately rushed off, brimming with excitement, to collect the quest items.

Her first priority, of course, was to secure the flag. The other two quest items were the easiest to obtain, simply resting where they were, unable to escape.

Once on the platform, Eve reaffirmed her belief that the flag was indeed the most challenging item to acquire for this quest.

“Hmph… did the people who raised this flag not consider the feelings of those who are vertically challenged…?”

The point where the flag rope was tied required Eve to stand on her tiptoes just to reach it. That alone was bad enough, but some cursed soul had wrapped it around countless times and then tied a dead knot!

‘Eve: *A delicate curse from a beautiful girl.*’

After finally exhausting herself, overcoming all obstacles to lower the flag, she hadn’t even had a chance to rejoice.

Suddenly, an ethereal female voice echoed from the desolate plaza behind her.

“You, what are you doing?”