Saintess Summons Skeletons

The easiest way to protect the key targets from harm happened to be the same way that Sofia intended to use. Destroy the army before it has any chance to march that deep into the city. And what was the best way to topple an army? Go for the leaders.

Unless they were level 300 and up, Pareth could handle them. She couldn’t [Identify] anyone to see their level, but that wasn’t any different than fighting a monster, and she rarely shied away from that.

Sofia’s bone armor was a good camouflage in this cloudy weather. She would rather not get caught in a fight with the Griffin riders if there was no need to.

The only issue is that I have no idea what the command chain for an army is. There is a commander, I think? Maybe? Do they stay in the back?

Sofia found a few potential targets as she flew above the army that was actively spreading in and around the city.

Pareth, do you see the gold armor knight on a tall black horse? Stands out quite a lot, quite a distance to your right.

Yes, that way, go take him out. There are three more like this one. Go after them also. I’m going somewhere else, be ready to teleport if I call you.

“I’ll go check those tents…”

There were a few suspicious grass-colored tents atop a hill quite a distance from the city. A perfect vantage point. Wouldn’t have seen it if not for the mana signature of the person inside. They must be powerful. At least level 200.

I don’t have ten minutes to carve the rune, so… I’ll trust that I’m sturdy enough. I’m at full health, so at least they can’t kill me in one hit, thanks to VPPV. If I can negotiate with the army leaders and get them to stop, that should count as a win.

Not that I believe this could happen, but…

Sofia decided to forego discretion. She didn’t know how the people would react to her surprise appearance, but she had no time to lose.

Flying until she was right above the tents, she plunged, slowing early so she landed near the largest tent without too much sound. She was very visible, but there was no patrol or anything outside. Someone that strong doesn’t need to have an entire team of low-level guards with them. What for?

Sofia scanned the tent for hidden rituals, but the only mana source inside came from the same person she felt from the sky.

Actually… Before entering, Sofia modified her bone armor to be taller and more imposing, giving the helmet two horns reminiscing of an Ogre. No reason not to.

Sofia spread the flaps of the tent and stepped in.

A man in shining Mithril armor was bent over a table on which tiny piles and structures of sand moved by magic to represent the city and the battlefield. He’s absolutely part of the army.

He didn’t look up from his table when Sofia entered.

“So you are the necromancer behind this mess. It is very convenient that you came all the way here by yourself.”

“Things have a way of solving themselves, don’t they? I come with very simple demands. Cease the attack and retreat, or I will make you my next skeleton.”

“You do not sound like an elf. Why are you helping them? Are they paying you?”

“I just happen to have reasons to want this city to remain as it is.”

“I fear our goals are misaligned then. Here is my counter-offer: be gone and bring your giant undead with you, and I won’t reunite you with your skeleton right here and now. I am willing to give you this much. Do not push your luck, death mage. I am not an opponent you can fight.”

“You…”

Sofia didn’t know what the man did exactly, but his mana flared up inside of his body. She could tell there was a lot there, maybe as much as she had, even. I don’t think he can see my mana as clearly as I can see his. And I believe mine is already a bit concealed after using the rune so much.

“I see. So be it. I will leave then. I do not care about the city THAT much. But I will remember this annoyance in the future.”

Stop attacking, retreat to the city, and go secure the key target the birds have found in the eastern district.

The man did not answer.

Sofia walked out of the tent, and surprisingly, no one attacked her. No ambush, no backstabbing, nothing. Is he really letting me go?

Pareth must have been a massive headache if he’s willing to let me off like that.

Sofia flew up, still expecting to get attacked, maybe by the man below or the griffin riders who had been strangely passive until now, but still nothing.

Even a warmonger and slaver would honor their words. Hard to believe.

Well, all the same. He was the one controlling the sand table, so I suppose that would be a sand mage, somewhere between levels 200 and 299. Can’t be over three hundred. Definitely weaker than Kuli and Zerei right now.

Though they might not be the best representatives of the average level 299’s power.

Sofia did not believe that Pareth had a chance against this man. He would not die, of course, but he probably would not be able to kill him either. In her opinion, it was very likely that this man could change into sand or melt into the ground, much like Orvod did with stone. So she thought it unlikely that even a surprise Pareth teleport attack would work.

Sofia backed off from the city. She flew away as far as she could. The world started to feel unstable. The mana in the air is a bit restless. This is probably the limit of this fake world, so it would be wise to stop here.

“Let’s see… How much? Back when I attacked the temple, the level 249 Templar survived to come after me. So I’ll go for a triple?”

That’s half of my mana, but I doubt the floor would end just like that, so I’ll have a while to regenerate. Let’s do this. I made sure I wouldn’t harm any innocent people this time.

With the Angel Acromegon Special Move.

Sofia released an angel’s bolt worth half her mana as she flew over from high in the sky.

Did that work?

Without a kill notification, she had to look for herself. She found what was left of the man’s skeleton in the smoldering remnants of the commanding tent. Fragments of carbonized bones. Ashes.

One dead. Hopefully that'll help.

Looking over the battlefield, she spotted the griffin riders coming. Of course, they would come to check it out too. Well, I’m out.

Sofia flew off from the explosion site, and half of the griffins turned to chase her. They seemed to be ever so slightly faster than her, but they wouldn’t be able to catch up before she could lose them by entering the elven city. She flew to a deserted avenue, and after making sure the griffins lost their line of sight, she scanned the surrounding homes with her mana senses. Most people in this part of the city had locked themselves inside, but they were still there. One of the buildings nearby had no one inside, so she ran there.

The door was locked. She ‘unlocked’ it by sliding her mithril dagger between the handle and the wall. Sofia entered and closed the door behind her. This was some kind of corridor ending in a stairwell. A shared housing thing? Sofia found the place weird. Now safely out of sight, she only had a few seconds to contemplate until the first graveyard skeletons reached out of the floorboards to grab her. She had managed to prevent the tombstones from showing up at all.

Pareth was in the opposite section of the city, so she couldn’t go there exclusively underground unless she was willing to cast the graveyard a few dozen times, too slow. She phased through the ground until she was at the limit of her skill, came out and into another house, and did that twice more.

There’s no way they can still track me. These griffin riders look like this army’s elite troops. They could put me in a bad spot if I’m surrounded.

Sofia sat on a chair in the dark living room she had resurfaced in. Let’s see where Pareth’s at.

Looking through the skeleton’s eyes, she could see he was in front of some kind of church and too tall to enter. The protection target is inside? Pareth pointed at the building’s decorated wooden doors. Maybe he could squeeze through, but… Wait for me. I’ll be there in a minute. The bird will follow the target if they leave.

Sofia left the house and ran through the empty streets, always staying in dark alleyways that would be hard to observe from the sky. She was swift now, even without wings. I could be so hilariously fast if I still had the [Sprint] skill and lev-

She hadn’t left that district yet, but something at the border of her mana senses gave her pause. Or rather, someone.

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