It seems that the heavens don't favor the Strong Grandson.
More than thirty centimeters of snow had fallen by the time morning came, and the depth is increasing as time passes. On top of that, there was a strong wind mixed in with the falling snow, and thick, black clouds covered the sky. This hid the sun, making the light outside dim even though it was daytime.
It's not possible for them to march in this situation.
Although they'd be able to march if they made use of magic, there would be pointless sacrifices because of things like frostbite, which would cause the rest of the troops to become demoralized.
Since the snowstorm will probably stop in a day or two, the Strong Grandson postponed the march until it passes.
Just like the Strong Grandson, the Duke leading the Tomboy Princess's army wasn't able to march either. It wouldn't be a good thing if they had to set up tents in a snowstorm and sleep outside though, so the nobles that I sent in advance, which are a part of "Grass," let the troops take shelter in the towns within their territories.
I'd say this should help a little, since we want there to be as little wear and tear on the Tomboy Princess's army as possible when they clash with the Nobles' army.
On a side note, it's been said that in the past it was rare for snow to fall in this season.
I heard that whenever a flying continent where a 【Wise Serpent/Dragon】 lives passes over the skies, the King Tsumoru clouds that support it causes weather like what we're having today. These clouds, which are unique to this world, appear to have a scale that's greater than thunderclouds.
It's difficult to predict these flying continents though, since they don't show up on fixed days.
For that reason, it's just the Strong Grandson and his allies' bad luck that the King Tsumoru clouds showed up today.
There's no way that we'll pass up such a perfect opportunity, though.
Since the sunlight is conveniently blocked by thick clouds and snow, the lowest class of undead, such as Ghosts, shouldn't be naturally purified by the environment.
Because the Tomboy Princess imposed a limitation that damage to the castle should be kept to a minimum, I was in the basement summoning a large amount of 【Ghosts】 and their strengthened version, 【Black Ghosts】.
Ghost-type monsters can't attack with purely physical attacks, but in exchange for that, everything passes through them, and they are invulnerable to physical attacks that don't make use of magic. This makes them the most suitable option to use, since they won't damage the castle.
I summoned approximately 4,000 Ghosts and Black Ghosts and modelled their faces after the dead nobles and private soldiers.
In addition to the ghosts I had summoned, Kanami summoned approximately 2,000 strengthened 【Purple Ghosts】 using 【Intermediate Summoning: Undead】, as well.
Although normal ghosts are semi-transparent, ours were given colors such as black and purple when we summoned them. This seems to be because the Divine Protections we've obtained from our Gods have had an influence on our summoning abilities. By the way, in the case of the Black Ghosts and Purple Ghosts, the black ones are stronger. However, due to the modifiers granted by 【Intermediate Summoning: Undead】, which is an ability one rank higher than mine, there doesn't seem to be a very big difference in terms of their attributes.
From the 6,000 ghosts that were summoned, I left 2,000 of the common ones behind and used 【Soul Eater】 to slurp up 4,000 of the black and purple ghosts like they were noodles.
Ability learned: 【Ghost's Touch】
Ability learned: 【Black Ghost's Touch】
Ability learned: 【Purple Ghost's Touch】
Ability learned: 【Ghost Cry】