Ch.9696. Green Monsters in the Blizzard (2)

An uninvited guest appeared in the raging snowstorm.

‘Why the hell is this bastard showing up here?’

It was none other than an Orc. The very culprit that had been wreaking havoc in the western part of the territory.

They clearly said there wouldn’t be a single Orc anywhere near this route. Yet here one was, right in front of us.

I had questions. But there was no time to get caught up in such minor doubts.

[An emergency quest has been formed.]

“Pierce Through the Harsh Weather”

“In this snowstorm, Orcs that shouldn’t exist here have somehow appeared before you and Sione Sianella, cutting through the biting wind and cold snow. Shoot arrows that remain steady despite the harsh winds and protect your master.”

“Reward: Acceleration of Sione Sianella’s growth rate, Increase in Mana capacity”

“Failure: Severe injury to Sione Sianella”

Just like when we encountered the Arachne in the Beltrin Mountains, an emergency quest had appeared.

As the quest mentioned, the Orc was the first to reveal itself.

Behind it, I could make out quite a number of silhouettes flickering in the distance.

‘This is troublesome.’

The numbers weren’t insignificant.

…Even at a glance, there seemed to be dozens of them.

With the thought that this would be quite difficult…

“Chweeek!!”

The distinctive cry of an Orc pierced through the howling wind and struck my ears.

It vibrated its throat and charged toward Sione and me.

If we collided, it was obvious our bodies wouldn’t remain intact.

There wasn’t enough time to release my awkward posture of embracing Sione and prepare a counterattack.

After quickly checking on Sione, who had frozen at the sudden appearance of the Orc, I immediately utilized my mana.

The mana residing in my heart began to race through the meridians of my body.

My physical abilities and senses became sharper, but this was merely a secondary effect.

Right now, I wasn’t simply circulating mana for physical enhancement.

‘I’ll use elemental magic.’

Elemental magic. Specifically, I was utilizing it to borrow the power of wind.

Since our team didn’t have a mage, there was no one who could notice the miracle manifested through mana.

In this snowstorm that obscured visibility, the only one who might sense the manifestation of magic would be Siabel.

Moreover, with such strong winds already blowing…

The wind that inevitably arose from me while handling wind magic could be concealed within this strong gale.

I didn’t hesitate for a moment in manifesting the magic.

“Hold on tight.”

The moment Sione gripped me firmly in response to my words.

Whoosh!

A gentle breeze burst forth from around me, sweeping over every part of my body.

The wind, adjusted to the surrounding temperature, was so cold it made my head throb, but it made me more agile.

I kicked off the ground and dodged to the side.

“N-nyuaat…!!”

What kind of scream is that? What’s a “nyuaat”?

I released my arm from around Sione’s waist and immediately readied my bow.

Just as I took an arrow from my quiver and nocked it on the bowstring.

“Kuooo!”

I could see a green mass slamming its fist down on the spot where Sione and I had been standing.

Boom!

Such a crude attack. The path was clearly visible, and its weaknesses were obvious, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them.

Orcs possess innate brute strength. Despite their appearance, if you take a direct hit, your bones would be crushed and your flesh would burst.

Whoosh!

As the creature forcefully pulled its fist from the ground, clumps of snow scattered, obscuring my vision.

A clump of snow rose in front of the creature’s lowered head.

“Hup!”

I gathered a whirlwind at the tip of my arrowhead.

As the elemental magic manifested in the arrow, the bow responded.

As expected of an Elven bow.

The bow resonated with my mana, intensifying the power of the wind.

A ferocity that would normally require at least three times the mana I was using began to swirl around.

The arrow released from the bowstring pierced through the rising snow clump.

Swish!!

Thud!

The Orc’s figure collapsed.

My arrow had successfully penetrated its temple.

However, there was no time to dwell on the satisfaction of properly shooting an arrow with magic after so long.

Chweeek!!

Chweeeeeek!!

The Orcs, excited by the smell of blood, revealed themselves, drooling.

“Lady Sione, please prepare yourself quickly. The situation isn’t good.”

“…Wouldn’t it be better to flee than to prepare?”

“Well, they’re already too close to flee… Can you see the drool dripping from those creatures?”

“……”

“They look like they’re about to charge at us all at once, so escaping through this harsh weather seems a bit difficult.”

“Haah…”

Gone was the Sione who trembled at the sight of Orcs half a year ago.

With just a sigh, she composed her face against the bitter cold and prepared for battle.

She now looked quite fitting as an archer, aiming her bow at the enemy.

A changed spirit.

The Sione from a year ago couldn’t have imagined this.

My master, who always growled like a small dog with no real threat,

had somehow acquired the ability to display quite convincing hostility.

“Sione!”

Noticing the disturbance on our side, Siabel called out her sister’s name and rushed over.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, Ray protected me.”

“Then that Orc…”

Siabel’s gaze fixed on the Orc that was beginning to freeze.

“That Orc… Ray took care of it.”

An arrow that penetrated the temple without wavering even in this strong wind.

It was more than enough to draw the attention of Siabel, who showed great interest in my combat abilities.

At Sione’s words, she looked at me for a moment.

“…You took it down quite cleanly.”

After saying that, Siabel gave a slight smile, lightly pinched my cheek, and then…

Shing!

She leisurely drew her sharp sword.

A famous sword bestowed upon her by Ainel Sianella after she reached the realm of Sword Expert.

Her sword possessed a chilling aura no less intimidating than the one Sione had received from the royal family.

Enough to easily slice through Orc hide.

“This has become quite troublesome. The god of fate is truly indifferent.”

If what Sione showed to the Orcs ahead was hostility,

Siabel began to display an intent that could only be described as killing intent, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

“They should be stuck in the Beltrin Mountains. It’s annoying enough that they’ve come all the way down here, but to encounter them in a snowstorm of all times…”

Siabel’s eyes began to gleam sharply.

Her coldly composed face was identical to the icy expression Ainel had shown when she held a knife to my throat.

She created an aura over her sword and adjusted her stance to be ready to leap into the midst of the Orcs at any moment.

She slightly turned her head to look at me.

“For knights, we only have one male knight for me and our Sianella.”

Whoosh!!

A strong wind blew, undoing Siabel’s hair tie. The tie flew away with the wind and eventually disappeared. Her silver-white long hair, which had been tied in a ponytail, fluttered in the wind.

“I’ll entrust the safety of my sister and the soldiers to you for a moment.”

“…Me?”

“Who else here can protect them besides you? You pierced that Orc’s head so cleanly.”

“……”

“Just buy some time. If you succeed, I’ll prepare a small reward when we return to the mansion. How about it? Does that pique your interest now?”

…If she puts it that way.

I’m even famous as the male knight who caught an Arachne.

What difference would it make now if I took down a few Orcs?

As I gently nodded, Siabel curled up the corners of her lips.

“Wait just a moment. I’ll sweep through them once and come back.”

Tap!

As Siabel kicked the ground, her figure shot forward.

She charged at the Orc with incredible speed and swung her sword.

The sword drew a large crescent, and along its trajectory, a blue aura rippled like gentle waves.

The fan-shaped afterimage of the aura shone clearly even in the unrelenting snowstorm.

“Chweeek…!”

Thud.

The Orc’s eye level suddenly lowered as its left knee gave way.

However, the overly excited Orc was reckless.

Despite one of its legs being disabled, it chose to swing its arm fiercely rather than cry out in pain.

Whoosh!

The Orc’s thick arm sliced through the air and shot toward Siabel, but…

Slash!

The moment the arm crossed the line Siabel was drawing, its desperate attempt was futilely dropped to the ground.

The Orc glared at Siabel with a face contorted in rage.

Siabel simply endured that intense killing intent silently while wielding her sword.

Stab─

“Gurgle…”

The Orc, with a sword pierced through its neck, foamed blood and perished.

Thud.

As Siabel pulled out her sword and kicked the Orc, it fell back helplessly.

She stepped on the fallen Orc’s stomach with her right foot and took in the world unfolding before her with her blue eyes.

“Huu…”

A sigh escaped from Siabel’s lips.

Seeing the Orcs charging toward her beyond the rising breath, she raised the corner of her mouth wryly.

“What is Diolia doing to send so many of them all the way here?”

As the red blood flowing from the Orc at her feet stained the white snow…

Siabel’s solo performance began.