The Orcs advanced in a horizontal formation. If they continued like this, their wide formation would be their undoing, leading them into the poisonous swamp on both flanks. To prevent this, they had no choice but to turn into a vertical column and head for the North Gate.
This bottleneck, directly in front of the North Gate, was where our stage was set. A stage I really didn’t want to be on…
“Priscilla, the Orcs are coming in a vertical line. About fifty of them in front, Commander…”
“How cute that they think fifty is enough to stop me.”
A normal person would have run just seeing them. Even I was terrified facing fifty. They were making strange growling noises, and their appearances were so grotesque they’d haunt my dreams. Fortunately, their weapons weren’t much to speak of, and many weren’t wearing armor.
“Well then, shall we go?”
“Wait. Step off with your left foot, got it!”
She just flew off, carrying that heavy Halberd on her shoulder. It was amazing she could still move like a human with it. The thought of a Lycanthrope wielding a Halberd made guard duty seem terrifying.
I couldn’t afford to stare. I used Godspeed to get behind Priscilla. Priscilla swung her Halberd horizontally, then with one effortless sweep, severed the heads of three Orcs.
I can’t fall behind. I have to at least reduce the score Priscilla gets. If I let her have them all, those fifty would be hers.
Godspeed at full power!
Darting to Priscilla’s left, I dodged the Halberd and plunged the Magic Sword Koatotemites into the Orc’s heart. Instead of pulling the magic sword out, I activated the Super Vibration Shield and slammed it into the Orc.
The Orc recoiled violently, as if blown back. Just as I suspected. Shields could be used not just for defense, but as a powerful weapon when amplified with super vibration.
When another Orc, wielding a Buster Sword presumably stolen from an adventurer, attacked me, I simply blocked with my shield and unleashed the super vibration at full power.
As expected, the Orc lost its balance, and I thrust the magic sword into its heart. The Magic Sword Koatotemites pierced through even the Orc’s muscular armor without resistance.
With these two, I can hunt more than ever before. Sorry, Priscilla, but you’ll have to give up on the score. I’ve taken the lead role. And I want a title too!
After taking down five more in quick succession, I glanced at Priscilla and saw that more than ten Orc heads had already flown. She was taking off two or three heads with a single swing, while I was only getting one at a time.
If I don’t kill them seriously, Priscilla will devour the fifty. A shiver, like a wartime bonus, ran down my spine, urging me to go even faster.
Godspeed full power, Mode Two!
I’d come up with that level-up incantation on a whim. It didn’t change anything fundamentally. It was all about mindset. Faster than before, just relentlessly faster.
*Clang!*
Before I knew it, I had bisected the last Orc, Buster Sword and all. I might have lost consciousness for a moment in Mode Two. Dangerous; if I’d accidentally hit Priscilla, I’d have to be more careful.
“Hey, you took Orcs that were supposed to be mine. Don’t you have any affection to share with me?”
I think making things easier for you is affection. Priscilla still seemed concerned about Orietta’s Sand Dragon.
Priscilla and Sophia, perhaps I need to re-evaluate the scores and wartime bonuses. If something as large as a dragon appears, one Orc for one reward might be too much of a burden for me.
Two Orcs for one reward. It would be a de facto wage cut, so I’m sure the union would oppose it en masse. I am the Captain of the White Lily Corps, after all. Same position as the president.
“For a moment, it looked like there were two of you. Were you that fast?”
“Indeed. A result of daily effort. Priscilla’s score is amazing too.”
“Naturally. This Halberd is useful. That… super something… is good. My score exceeded thirty.”
“What?! Thirty is my score. Priscilla has twenty.”
“Hah?! Look at the fallen heads! It’s over thirty. I have thirty.”
“I was taking heads from the middle onwards, so the count of heads alone doesn’t determine my score. I have thirty.”
“Are you an idiot? I have thirty!”
We continued this pointless argument, a water-splashing debate, but the second wave of Orcs was already approaching without waiting.
“Don’t just cut off heads. Aim for their cute little hearts.”
“Understood. Let’s settle this with the next round.”
For my beloved Priscilla, and to earn a little more score to reduce my wartime bonus and have an easier time, I will go all out!
Godspeed, full power, Mode Two!
There’s no way any Orc could keep up with my speed, which created afterimages. Everyone who stood before me had their hearts pierced.
“Gah!”
I let out a huge breath. Mode Two was more tiring than I expected. The journey is still long, so I need to conserve my stamina.
“Look! At the number of fallen heads! There are thirty-four.”
Priscilla is a monster. I have the magic sword, the super vibration shield, and the cheat-like Godspeed. With these, I hunted thirty-five Orcs. I win.
“Priscilla, look too. There are thirty-five with heads still attached.”
“Can’t you even count? Those over there are the first wave of Orcs. They don’t count.”
“That’s the front of the second wave. They count.”
“They don’t, they don’t! Those are the first!”
Can we stop this pointless bickering on the battlefield? Also, you’ve advanced too far. You need to fall back a bit. We’ve annihilated the second wave, but that’s only twenty percent of the total.
“Priscilla, let’s move back a bit. If we come this far, the effect of the poisonous swamp is diminished.”
We ended up positioning ourselves in a reverse figure-eight, towards the spread of the poisonous swamp. If we advance too much, they’ll bypass us and head for Koatotemites City. We need to defeat as many as possible; the adventurers alone can’t handle this number.
“I have more!”
Is she still going on about that? Does she want the score that badly?
“Yes. Priscilla has more.”
“Naturally! Let’s retreat!”
Just do something about her. How can I deal with this anger? It’s all going to be vented on these Orcs!
We retreated to the narrowest part of our reverse figure-eight formation. The horde of Orcs advanced, indifferent to their fallen comrades.
“Priscilla, we might start encountering Mages soon.”
“Magic is troublesome. …Look at that! The dead Orcs are getting up!”
What?! An Orc whose heart I had pierced and gouged out was standing up. Impossible. I thought I killed them…
“Can you see the rear?! There’s a Lich! They must have revived them. It’s because you kept poking their hearts! Cut off their heads!”
You! Dammit, I’m really going to snap. You were the one who told me to poke their hearts!
“Alana! Orietta! We have Mages! Kill them!”
That wasn’t good. I took it out on them. Even though we were far from the Castle Wall, they shouldn’t have been able to hear me, but what was I doing?
“Yes, coming!”
Orietta landed right beside me, her armored suit kicking up a cloud of dust. How far did she fly? We are quite a distance from the Castle Wall!
“I was so scared. Orietta-nee-san suddenly picked me up and flew all the way here.”
She must have been terrified. Poor Alana is trembling. I’ve dodged Orietta’s full-power Hammer attack before, and it was about that scary.
I patted Alana’s head. …No time for that!
“There’s a Lich. They seem to be turning the Orcs into undead. It’s endless. Please target them first.”
If we don’t kill the Lich, no matter how many Orcs we kill, they’ll just be revived. Is this the tactic that Marquis Rutland, Rufina’s father, achieved merit with on the battlefield? If Rufina heard about this, would corpses be fought over?
“Priscilla, I’ll clear the way to the Lich.”
“Leave it to me!”
“How many times more are Liches than Orcs?”
“That’s dirty, Orietta! It’s one! ONE!”
“Eh, if it’s a Lich~…”
…Just kill them already.
