Chapter 80

80

Thud!

“Kagh!”

One arrow beautifully pierced right through the nape of the neck.

Tink!

But the other arrow was deflected by the shield held by a Red Orc.

It would be nice if they just stood there like scarecrows and got hit, but that’s not how it works.

They were all naturally tough warriors.

Much stronger than any ordinary orc.

Ping! Ping!

I fired two more arrows rapidly.

Thud!

Tink!

Again, one hit its mark, and the other was blocked.

I clicked my tongue.

“They’re making this difficult.”

They were definitely troublesome.

Especially for me right now.

But anyway.

There was no retreat.

I had to block them no matter what.

I quickly reloaded my arrows.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Meanwhile, Hiresia was literally decimating the Red Orc horde with her Multiple Arrows.

The front row of Red Orcs fell like puppets with their strings cut.

She was effortlessly taking lives, as if scooping cake with a fork.

Even the fierce Red Orc warriors seemed intimidated by her unbelievable prowess, fear creeping onto their faces.

It was a scene so absurd it almost made me laugh.

A monster is a monster, after all.

‘Wait, could this end with us just reaping the rewards?’

I allowed myself a moment of hopeful thinking.

It didn’t seem like an unreasonable hope.

The orcs were melting away at an alarming rate.

At this rate, it seemed like they might be annihilated before they could even get close… Huh?

At that moment, the situation changed.

One orc stood out among the others, towering like a mountain with his distinctly massive frame.

It was Krush, the leader of the Red Orcs.

Krush’s expression was darker than ever, as if he was facing death itself.

But.

Krush had not given up on life.

He was not alone here.

Many warriors of his tribe were with him.

Having driven them into battle, he had to return alive with them.

To do that, victory was necessary.

A tough situation.

But not impossible.

If the other monsters could hold the line below while the high ground on both sides was taken down, and they could descend and complete the encirclement, it was possible.

But.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Kagh!”

“Kahk!”

One hellish elf was shooting arrows, several at a time, slaughtering the tribe members.

Krush felt like his eyes would pop out of his head with rage, but he bit his lip hard enough to bleed, suppressing his emotions.

He was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation, knowing he couldn’t afford to lose his cool.

Krush’s mind raced.

The usual way wouldn’t work.

Then…

He seemed to have thought of something as his eyes suddenly flashed with determination.

“You! And you! Come here now!”

Krush barked fiercely.

The orcs he pointed to hurried over.

They were smaller and leaner than the other orcs.

“I’m going to use you as weapons.”

“?”

The orcs were puzzled, but without further words, Krush picked up one orc by the torso as if plucking a weed.

“Huaaaah!”

With a great shout, Krush hurled the orc he had grabbed far away.

Whoosh!

The orc flew through the air like a ball, cutting through the wind with incredible force that humans could hardly mimic.

It was a scene so absurd it could make one’s jaw drop.

“Take this, you cursed big-eared wench!”

Krush immediately threw another orc with all his might.

Whoosh!

The orc flew just as well.

Krush had no doubt that this would be a decisive blow.

“Charge! Faster! More! More!”

Krush shouted loudly, encouraging his subordinates.

“…Wow, he’s throwing them?”

I shook my head in disbelief, aghast at the sight.

The orcs were flying like cannonballs.

They were literally orc projectiles.

In the brief moment of surprise, they had already covered more than half the distance.

I was caught off guard and didn’t have time to shoot them down.

“I’ll take care of that one…”

It was when Hiresia was about to waste her arrows on such a trivial matter that another orc was flung our way.

“Ah, what a nuisance.”

It wasn’t just the two orcs that were the problem.

The issue was that even if orcs attached for a moment, they would create a wall in front, inevitably causing a disruption in firing arrows.

“Even those brutish pigs are using their heads.”

Hiresia eventually turned her bow upwards.

One orc had already landed.

But the other was still in the air.

Zip!

Thud!

“Gahk!”

Hiresia easily punched a hole in the chest of the orc with her arrow.

But that wasn’t the problem.

The issue was the gap in firepower created while she turned her bow.

The orcs didn’t miss that moment and closed the distance quickly.

The snorting of their noses was already right in front of us.

“Tch.”

I had no choice but to throw my bow aside and draw my sword.

“Let’s not be a burden, shall we?”

“Of course.”

Hiresia replied, twisting her lips into a strange smile.

Her weapon remained a bow.

Distance didn’t matter to her.

Always a bow, whether far or near.

How was that possible?

For most archers, it would certainly be impossible.

That’s why they equip other weapons in preparation for close combat.

But it could be possible.

If the feet could support it.

The ability to dodge opponents at close range and shoot arrows.

That ability depended entirely on the movement of the feet.

Hiresia possessed a capability in her footwork that other archers couldn’t even dare to imitate.

So.

‘I better do well myself.’

I focused all my attention on the orcs in front of me.

Swoosh!

Thud!

Thud!

“Kagh!”

My sword sliced through the neck of an orc.

Thump!

The headless torso collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

But the space was immediately filled by another orc.

And it wasn’t just that.

Axes and spears flew at me with a menacing force.

A deadly combination.

Clang! Clang!

I quickly parried the two attacks in succession with the Imperial Style’s Double Slash.

There was no time to catch my breath.

This wasn’t a one-on-one fight.

One against me.

Three against her.

That was the extent of it.

The path I had to block.

How many had I killed up to now?

Each time, the orcs immediately filled the gap and attacked me.

That was why the battle was relentless.

Block.

Bend.

Stab.

Block.

Stab.

Bend.

My mind was almost unconscious.

Instinct dictated the fastest way to bring down the enemy, and I moved my sword without rest.

Over and over, again and again.

Diagonal slash, horizontal slash, stab, double slash, triple slash.

Five consecutive slashes.

Sssshk!

Crunch!

The evolved strike of the Executioner smashed through an orc’s shield and tore its torso to shreds like a rag.

Swoosh!

Thud!

The Gambler’s Phantom Blade naturally deceived the eyes and pierced another orc’s heart.

It was a battle with all my skills and abilities fully deployed.

It was a stroke of luck that I had brought the Skull Decoration of Karkar.

If it hadn’t been for that, the orcs’ movements would not have been stiffened, and the worst could have happened.

“Huff, huff.”

I was out of breath.

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

My arms and legs trembled.

But I couldn’t stop, not even for a moment.

Because that would mean death.

“If you want to die, come at me, you bastards!”

I summoned the last of my energy to shout.

“…”

The struggle between humans and orcs.

No, between humans, elves, and orcs.

The mages from the Tower of Light were spellbound, watching the scene as if they had lost their souls.

They were captivated by the intense and suffocating battle of life and death, something they couldn’t normally witness.

Then someone snapped back to reality.

“Sh-shouldn’t we help?”

“How do you propose we do that?”

A negative response came out.

The narrow path.

Our allies blocking it.

To help with magic from that position, where our allies were exposed, was a very difficult task.

Even a small mistake could inadvertently harm our own forces.

“That, that’s…”

The mage who had spoken without thinking realized this and fell silent.

“I think it’s best to leave that side to them. Let’s bombard the enemies below as originally planned.”

An older mage suggested.

The important battlefield wasn’t just here.

Below was also a crucial battlefield.

Help where you can, right away.

It was a reasonable argument.

Everyone seemed to agree, but they all shared one concern.

“What if it’s breached?”

“Then we must be prepared to defend this place with our lives.”

The older mage answered, but everyone knew.

If that situation occurred, those here would suffer significant casualties.

Unless reinforcements arrived.

“Damn it!”

Thump!

Commander Rex angrily kicked the ground, his face twisted in irritation.

He had been properly caught off guard by mere monsters, not even humans.

An ambush?

An ambush, really?

By mere monster creatures?

He, a glorious paladin serving the great god Gradus, had fallen for their ambush…?

His self-esteem was deeply wounded, and he felt like his insides were about to burst.

But now was not the time to vent his frustration.

He had to act quickly.

“Split the reserves into two and help our allies on both sides of the high ground! Hurry!”

***

“Huff, huff…”

I was gasping for air.

My heart felt like it was about to burst.

I felt like I was reaching my limit.

But fortunately, the offensive weakened.

The number of orcs had noticeably decreased.

“Ugh.”

Finally, I lowered my sword and took a breath.

Sticky blood clung unpleasantly all over me.

It was the blood of the orcs.

Regrettably, some of it was mine too.

I had been stabbed and cut in several places.

But I hadn’t even noticed the pain.

My entire focus had been on the life-or-death struggle.

Fortunately, the wounds weren’t serious.

I could endure much more than this.

“You don’t look so good.”

A voice came from beside me.

Just by the sound of it, she didn’t seem tired at all.

My gaze turned to Hiresia.

She stood as calmly as she had at the beginning.

Still, the sweat on her forehead and her dirt-covered clothes gave a slight sense of humanity (?).

I forced a smile, trying to muster some energy.

“Not at all. How could that be?”

“Really? Then get up.”

She was pushing me to be strong.

I knew why she had to.

The fight wasn’t over yet.

I forced myself to stand up.

Among the thinned-out orcs, one with a distinctly larger body stood out.

He must be the leader of this group.

That creature glared at us with eyes filled with blazing anger and murderous intent.

It seemed that was the only emotion left in him.

“I’ll Leave the small fry to you.”

Hiresia said.

A statement that would seem unfair just by the numbers.

But I gave her a thumbs-up, as if to say there’s no one but her.

The leader orc looked stronger than all the remaining orcs combined.

It was as if she was openly taking care of me, worried that I, already exhausted, might die.

While pretending not to care, her expression was subtly cute, and I chuckled.

“I’m the specialist in small fry, after all.”

I picked up my sword again.