Chapter 82

Krush, the leader of the Red Orcs.

He was the type who would rather die than choose to flee in the face of an enemy.

His warrior’s pride would not allow it.

But this time, he chose to retreat.

Why?

Because a fearsome being who held the lives of his tribe in its grasp had commanded it.

“Ugh.”

Even so, Krush felt a burning sensation in his gut.

But there was no choice.

The lives of his tribe were what mattered most.

‘Tch, the battle isn’t over yet.’

Krush steadied his resolve.

Though they were forced to retreat, it did not mean the end of the fight.

They would simply change locations to settle the score.

That being wanted it too.

“Head that way!”

Krush ordered his subordinates.

To a place they had surveyed beforehand.

A terrain with a narrow entrance and surrounded by steep cliffs.

Once the entrance was blocked, there would be no escape for anyone except birds.

Krush and his subordinates charged into this treacherous terrain without hesitation.

There was no other choice.

“Prepare for battle!”

Krush stood with his back to the cliff, waiting for the humans to enter.

* * *

“They went that way!”

“Yes, I saw them too.”

Dalton, the paladin of the reserve forces.

He was chasing the orcs without a moment’s hesitation.

That was his and his soldiers’ duty.

“Enter.”

Dalton commanded.

If their opponents were humans, he might have hesitated even a little.

But he did not.

Why?

Because their opponents were monsters.

Orcs, to be precise.

The thought of orcs using any kind of strategy never even crossed his mind.

That was his experience with orcs up to now.

Had he realized today’s ambush was a deliberate attack by the orcs, things might have been different.

But he thought it was just a series of coincidental, spontaneous events.

That led him and his soldiers into the jaws of the treacherous terrain.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!

The holy soldiers passed through the narrow entrance one after another.

Ahead of them was a surprisingly wide plain.

Of course, it was surrounded by cliffs, making it impossible to escape.

“Hah, typical orcs. They don’t even know the terrain and walked right into a death trap.”

Dalton sneered.

He had been worried they might lose a few, but now there was no need to worry about that.

They had completely trapped the orcs.

“Prepare for battle.”

At Dalton’s command, the holy soldiers quickly formed their ranks.

The orcs, holding their weapons, tried to look fierce, but it was pointless.

No monster could defeat well-trained humans.

He would prove that now.

Dalton was about to give the order to charge when…

“There are too many of you.”

A voice pierced the air.

A sharp, grating voice, like metal scraping.

Dalton and the holy soldiers turned towards the source of the voice.

But.

There was no one there.

‘Hmm?’

Dalton’s face showed confusion.

The voice came again.

“That wouldn’t be fun.”

This time from behind.

Dalton and the holy soldiers quickly turned their heads.

But again, there was nothing but empty air.

“So, let’s reduce your numbers, heh heh.”

A disturbing laugh.

This time, the voice was so muddled it was impossible to tell where it came from.

“Who are you! Show yourself immediately!”

Dalton shouted, frowning deeply.

A feeling of discomfort rose from within.

It didn’t take long for that discomfort to turn into another emotion.

“One.”

Thud!

At first, he couldn’t understand what the sound was.

But soon.

Splat.

A torrent of hot red liquid sprayed out, drenching everyone around.

Everyone froze in shock.

Blood.

It was clearly blood.

Thud!

Someone’s body fell backward, losing its strength.

The moment they realized it was a headless corpse, everyone seemed to freeze in time.

Thud.

Roll.

A head, belatedly severed, rolled on the ground.

At that moment, time began to flow again.

“W-what is this?!”

“Aaaah, James!”

A heart-wrenching cry for a comrade who died without knowing why.

But even that brief cry was a luxury for them.

That death was just the beginning.

“Two.”

Thud!

“Three.”

Thwack!

With each count, another holy soldier’s head was severed and flew into the air.

Blood sprayed everywhere, painting the world red.

“E-everyone, form a perimeter defense!”

Dalton, true to his paladin nature, was the first to regain his composure.

At his urgent command, the holy soldiers shook off their shock and regained their senses.

Clack, clack, clack, clack!

They moved swiftly, forming a perimeter defense in an instant.

It was almost an automatic response from countless drills.

A wall of shields surrounded them like a fortress.

Spears extended sharply and uniformly, ready to pierce anything that approached.

It was an imposing formation, overwhelming just to look at.

Dalton gripped his sword tightly, his hand almost crushing it.

He would not allow any more of his subordinates to die.

And he would make that wretched enemy pay with his life.

“Heh heh heh, do you think that will change anything?”

A clear mockery.

Dalton shouted angrily, frowning deeply.

“Show yourself, you cowardly enemy! Stop skulking around and face us!”

“Heh, typical fanatic, spouting nonsense. Cowardly? There’s no such thing in this world.”

“I said, show yourself!”

“Heh, if you want me to come out, you have to make me.”

The voice felt close.

Dalton shouted urgently.

“He’s coming! Stab without hesitation!”

The holy soldiers watched the front with tense eyes.

But not even a mouse appeared.

Dalton ground his teeth.

‘How dare he mock and taunt us, the soldiers of God!’

But at that moment.

“Four.”

The voice came again.

And then.

Thud!

The head of a holy soldier on the left side of the formation flew off.

“Damn, it’s on the left!”

Dalton shouted.

But.

“Five.”

Thwack!

This time, the head of a holy soldier on the right side flew off.

“Uh…?”

Dalton’s eyes widened.

They had formed a perimeter defense.

So to go from the left to the right, the enemy would have to circle around.

But in an instant…?

Could a human move like that?

The incomprehensibility weighed heavily on his mind.

And incomprehensibility brought fear.

Fear of a being that didn’t seem human.

The holy soldiers felt the same.

“Six.”

Thud!

This time on the left.

“H-heugh!”

“A-a monster…!”

For the first time, fear-laden screams came from the holy soldiers.

It was an instinctive emotion that neither strong faith nor thorough training could suppress.

Even Dalton, the paladin, showed signs of fear in his eyes.

From that moment, even the will to resist began to fade.

“Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.”

Thud! Thud! Thwack! Thud!

The one-sided massacre continued.

“Ah… Ahhhh!”

“Don’t come near me!”

The holy soldiers screamed in terror, huddled like frightened herbivores.

Some couldn’t overcome their fear and fled.

The formation was completely broken and in disarray.

Dalton, who should have executed the fleeing soldiers on the spot to restore order, was frozen in place, providing no answer.

“Hey, you idiots shouldn’t run away like that.”

Thud! Thud!

Thump! Thud!

The heads of the fleeing holy soldiers were cut off, and their bodies fell disgracefully to the ground.

Their despicable act of abandoning their comrades led to a pitiful end.

“Hmm, this should be enough.”

Perhaps a small mercy in their misfortune.

The massacre finally stopped.

But of course, nothing was truly over.

Dalton and the holy soldiers could only stand there, trembling in fear.

“Now, fight.”

“…?”

“Ha, you idiots.”

Thwack!

“Ahhh!”

Another holy soldier’s head flew off.

“Of course, I mean fight the orcs, huh? Go on, kill each other! Make it exciting! If you don’t, I’ll cut off all your miserable heads, heh heh.”

An undeniable threat that meant life or death.

Dalton’s instincts jolted his fear-frozen mind awake.

“…E-everyone, reform the ranks! Fight, we must fight!”

* * *

‘What is this?’

A persistent, inexplicable sense of unease lingered.

Just a feeling?

No.

The suspicious situation was causing this feeling.

“There.”

Hiresia pointed ahead with her chin.

There was a terrain with a narrow entrance.

Footprints of orcs and holy soldiers were clearly visible heading that way.

“Do you know what kind of place that is?”

I asked.

“No, it’s my first time here.”

“Same here.”

Even though I frequently roamed Harkin Mountain, I didn’t know this location.

It meant there was no reason to go there.

“Does it matter? We just need to go in.”

As expected of a named heroine and a high elf, she was unfazed.

But I was still just an extra, barely average.

One wrong move could lead to a quick death.

So I had to be cautious.

‘…I have no choice but to trust her here.’

The best connection I had painstakingly built up until now.

I had to trust it.

“You’re right. Let’s go in.”

I took the lead.

It might be a little dangerous, but here I needed to show some manliness… Huh?

But Hiresia grabbed my arm and pulled me behind her.

“If you’re feeling uneasy, stay close to me.”

“Y-yes…”

Is this what it feels like to be led by an older sister…?

Could you please restrain yourself a bit?

I might fall for you too hard…

I turned my gaze away, feeling embarrassed.

Step by step.

We walked towards the entrance.

As she said, I stuck close behind her.

…Honestly, it was the safest thing to do.

And finally, the scene inside unfolded.

“Looks like a battle took place…”

I stopped mid-sentence at what I saw.

The bodies of holy soldiers sprawled on the ground.

Because they were corpses?

No.

It was because the corpses existed too unnaturally for the situation.

All were decapitated corpses.

Scattered here and there without any pattern.

Could this many bodies have accumulated here while a battle was happening over there?

And all decapitated?

Impossible.

I immediately knew.

All the signs pointed to it.

This wasn’t the work of the orcs.

It was someone else…

“Don’t stray from me.”

Hiresia must have felt the same, as she warned me again.

At that moment.

“Heh, the guests I’ve been waiting for have finally arrived. I was getting bored and playing around while waiting.”

A voice echoed.

A grating, unpleasant voice.

But that wasn’t the important part.

I frowned and bit my lip.

Despite hearing the voice, I couldn’t pinpoint its location.

It meant the opponent was far beyond my current level.

My heart raced.

I realized immediately that this was a dangerous enemy.

“Waiting? What do you mean?”

Hiresia asked coldly.

Her gaze was fixed on a certain spot.

I followed her gaze but saw nothing.

It meant I couldn’t detect the enemy’s concealment with my current skills.

I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly, ready to draw it at any moment.

“What do I mean? I saw you smashing those orc trash so beautifully. It made me curious about how it felt, heh heh.”

A mocking laugh.

Hiresia’s face turned icy.

“Do you want to die?”

…To think such words would come from her before she turned dark.

She must have been genuinely angry.

“Heh ha ha, you say the funniest things. I like it.”

Before the word “like” even faded.

I felt a sense of foreboding.

It wasn’t a sensory perception.

It felt like a warning from the instinct of life.

My neck felt cold.

The image of a decapitated body flashed through my mind.

This is dangerous!

As soon as I realized it, I tried to duck and lower my body.

But at the same time, I realized it was too late.

‘Damn!’

As my face twisted.

No, even before that.

A saving hand reached out to me.

Whoosh.

I was pushed down.

Ping!

At the same time, I heard the sound of an arrow.

When did she shoot…?

It was so fast I couldn’t even register it.

Much faster than her usual rapid shots.

…This was Hiresia’s true skill when she got serious.

“Damn, crazy.”

The previously confident voice sounded flustered.

Drip. Drip.

Thin drops of blood fell.

This time, I saw it clearly.

The wounded figure revealed itself.

“You are someone who deserves to die.”

Hiresia’s face was even colder than before.

I realized belatedly that it was because the enemy had attacked to kill me.