Chapter 1247: Data Reproduction

『…We need to get Klimt to Alessa.』

「Nn!」

I contemplated having Urushi send him there instead, but I was worried that he might need continuous healing on the way.

Fran attempted to lift Klimt, before quickly pausing to observe her surroundings. There was a sudden surge in mana density right next to us.

Then, ten figures appeared before us via teleportation.

They immediately sprang into action, attempting to surround us.

『Whoa, each and every one of them looks pretty dang strong.』

（Nn. And we’ve seen that guy before.）

『Yeah. Rob, captain of the Cardinal Flag Knights.』

We cut down Rob just the other day, but the man was standing in front of us as if nothing happened. Moreover, his remains were still in my storage. Which means this new Rob was no mere reanimated corpse.

Did they make a copy of him too, like with the Duke Zombies?

If so, these copies were certainly not like the others… None of the ten looked anything like ordinary undead. Each exuded an aura so powerful that the Duke Zombies paled in comparison, and they even appeared intelligent.

I attempted teleporting away with Klimt, but the zombies simply teleported again in pursuit.

One of them must be capable of teleportation, making it impossible for us to escape.

「Hahahaha! I must warn you that you cannot escape from us!」

The well-built man in the center of the group shouted at us with a laugh. Like I suspected, they were capable of rational conversation.

Intelligent undead means those guys are responsible.

「You’re with the Black Skeleton Corps!」

「Nope!」

「?」

Fran exclaimed their identity, but the large man simply denied it.

Huh? So, they’re not working for the Black Skeleton Corps? I guess they are wearing red armor without the Black Skeleton emblem.

「We are the spirits of the past, resurrected from the memories of the land! This makes us a special existence that is both living and undead at the same time. Our summoner called it a data reproduction!」

「Summoner? Who’s that?」

「I’m afraid that’s something I’m not allowed to tell you! See?」

The large man attempted to say something, but his mouth moved without producing any sound. Apparently, he’s claiming to be magically prevented from conveying certain information.

And there was no lie in his statement. Him being bound by some sort of spell must be the truth.

In any case, “memories of the land” and “data reproduction” sound very intriguing. This must be different from raising a corpse via necromancy. As long as they have these so-called “memories of the land”, it seems undead can be summoned without a corpse.

Which explains Rob’s presence. The other zombies might be Raydoss’s past heroes as well. Upon closer inspection, eight of them were wearing red armor, and two were not.

「You’re the Red Knights of the past?」

「You catch on quickly, young lady! I am Apollonius, former captain of the Red Sword Knights! Fuhahahaha!」

Apollonius introduced himself along with an eruption of flames from his entire body. His refined control over magic did not at all match my impression of him. As expected of Sibylla’s predecessor.

I think Biscot mentioned him before, and his name came up as Apollonius in appraisal. The evil aura covered everything else in the window, but he must be the real deal.

In other words, his combat abilities are on par with Sibylla? Meanwhile, the elderly man standing beside Apollonius responded in a mocking tone.

「Sigh. Why bother introducing yourself to the enemy?」

「Because we’ve been blessed with a chance to return to the living realm! Plus, there’s a worthy warrior right in front of us! It’d be a shame not to introduce ourselves! Come on, you guys do it too!」

「I’ll pass.」

「Sorry about him, he never reads the mood! This is Begareth, the former Carmine Flame Captain!」

「Just shut your mouth already!」

While Apollonius didn’t seem to be carrying a relic, Begareth wielded a familiar-looking gun-shaped relic.

Whoever summoned them seems to have reproduced their relics as well.

A few of the other zombies introduced themselves as well, and they were indeed past captains of the Red Knights. The rest apparently had their relics too.

However, there were two individuals that seemed out of place. Apparently, neither of them had any connection to Apollonius in life.

Nevertheless, they read the mood and sensed a need to introduce themselves. With a somewhat disgruntled expression, the two revealed their names.

「…I’m Yuvel.」

Yuvel was a handsome young man with dark skin and black hair. He easily carried a huge sword on his shoulder and stared at us with blue eyes. His light, white attire was adorned with gold and silver gems throughout, hinting at his high noble status. However, his appearance reminded me of Indian Maharaja rather than western nobility.

Next to him was a cheerful young man with a tanned complexion and white hair, who was lightly poking the ground with an oak staff while smiling. He wore a white robe reminiscent of a mage. The fancy decoration indicated he was also of noble origins.

「Ahaha! It’s been hundreds of years since we passed away, and now we’re the dogs of the country that apparently annihilated our homeland! Life can be so unpredictable! Oh, except we’re already dead! Ahahaha!」

「Just shut up, Oldona. There’s nothing funny about this at all. Stealing a staff from some half-dead elf is no job for a king.」

「Is that so? But we might as well have some fun if we can’t resist our binds, right?」

It sounded nothing like a conversation between two zombies. They really are zombies, right?

「Taking a staff from an elf?」

「That’s right! We want the staff the elf over there is supposed to be carrying. The one that popped out of the Great Spirit! Oh, but you don’t have to hand it over if you don’t want to. We were told to kill him too, so that can come first.」

「Stop blabbing everything, Oldona.」

So they’re after the staff that Hideman was targeting. Pretty sure the Great Spirit is holding onto that, but they probably have a way to pull it out after killing Klimt.

「Fuhahaha! Imagine being able to face the legendary King Yuvel on the battlefield! I envy you, girl! If only we could switch places!」

「…King Yuvel? Who’s that?」

「You know nothing about the famed goblin slayer?! He was once the hero-king of Lamas, the largest nation in this region when Raydoss was still weak! With only a few men under his command, King Yuvel repelled a horde of a million goblins!」

Whoa, so he’s a historical figure from a really long time ago. It seems they can reproduce anyone who performed outstanding deeds in this region, even if they aren’t from Raydoss.

「A million goblins? That’s amazing!」

「Right? I’d love to get the chance to fight him!」

「Nn!」

No! Stop nodding in agreement, Fran! We’re kinda in a pinch here! That definitely makes him at least Rank A if he maintains the same abilities he had in life!

A bunch of past Red Knight Captains, plus some Rank A equivalent warrior and a mage. They’re really sending in some excessive firepower here!