The sky was growing dark. The magic hour as the sun set was beautiful, offering a great sight for taking photos.
“You’re late!”
I want to see beautiful people, but I don’t want to be yelled at. Well, some people might be into that, but they probably wouldn’t throw knives. I’m the Captain.
“Ugh!”
From now on, I should remember to take hits instead of dodging. Sorry to the mercenary behind me. After entrusting the injured mercenary to Sophia, I discussed future plans with Christine.
“Don’t ignore me.”
There’s no way I could ignore someone with such presence. She’s big, both in height and her chest. I could be tempted to grope them!
“I have something very important to discuss with Priscilla too. Let’s go somewhere.”
When I took her hand, Priscilla blushed intensely. I can’t believe she’s the one who threw a knife just now. She’s perfect for this dangerous, very important job.
We separated from the White Lily Corps and hid in the shadow of a house when I was pinned against the wall. The oppressive aura was incredible. The “pinning” was done with a hand, not a Halberd.
“Now, let me hear it!?”
Anyone who could make a joke here would die. I want to live a long life, so I’ll tell you honestly.
“We’re going on a reconnaissance in force, just the two of us. The goal is to assess the Demon Army’s strength, but we’ll target their commander if the chance arises.”
Priscilla’s surprised face transformed into a beaming smile, and she kissed me.
“This is great! Let’s take the commander’s head! I’ve been waiting for something like this, you’re amazing, Mikael.”
“Priscilla, wait, wait a minute. The objective is reconnaissance. Taking the commander’s head is only if the opportunity arises, only if the opportunity arises!”
I feel like we’re no longer on the same wavelength. She’s blushing and spaced out, like a woman in love. Who could warn someone fallen for a man who would deceive Priscilla like this?
I, along with Priscilla wielding her Halberd, spurred our horses towards the Demon Army. With a surprise attack, if the entire uninjured White Lily Corps charged in, we could likely take down a commander-class head.
However, the magic users have depleted their Magic Power, and I’ve assigned Orietta to repair the Railgun and Christine to command the skirmishers, so a full assault is difficult.
I wanted to bring Alana too, but her speed is slower than ours, and even if she discarded her horse, her stamina wouldn’t last long. Besides, the combination of Priscilla and Alana… I was afraid of that in many ways.
Priscilla and I tethered our horses far behind the Demon Army’s predicted location and ran from there. I carried the Buster Sword Orietta gave me, and despite Priscilla’s heavy Halberd, I felt a terrifying urge to catch up. Was it my imagination, or did I feel like I was being chased?
I’m going to get killed on Guard Duty if I don’t level up. I wish I had at least a Sword, but Orietta seems busy making the Railgun… Could it be that she hasn’t given up on cutting off my right hand yet?
Running ahead, I spotted the Demon Army’s lights and stopped. Priscilla stopped abruptly, almost as if she was hugging me.
“Well, I found them. What do we do now?”
It’s fine that Priscilla is hugging me from behind and asking, but why is the tip of her Halberd against my neck?
“Our main mission is reconnaissance… Of course, we’ll target them if the chance arises. We’ll target them, so please don’t press it against my neck.”
To appease Priscilla, who pressed the tip of her Halberd even deeper, I added that I would also aim for the commander’s head.
“Then, shall we go…?”
From here on, we have to be quiet. Priscilla understands. If we’re going for the commander, we need to approach quietly and take their head. Personally, I’d be content just knowing their strength, but I want to aim for an opportunity. I followed behind, glancing at Priscilla’s Behind.
After walking for a while, we stopped. This time, we concealed ourselves. We’d gotten quite close, but the Orcs and Goblins were sleeping as if they were camping.
Among them were a number of Tents. They weren’t large, but they looked like they could fit about four or five Orcs.
“There are Tents. Is the commander in one of those…?”
I was surprised by the presence of Tents. Though few in number, it indicated they had the technology and production capacity to make them. Did the Goblins do the sewing? Where did they get the fabric? The needles? The thread?
“If there were a large tent that looked like a commanding officer’s, we could target it, but these look like tents for unit commanders.”
“Yeah, you’re right. What do you want to do? Should we fight?”
We have a plan to escape, and no one could catch up to our speed. If we’re going to kill, I’d rather target the Sand Dragon.
As I was thinking this, gazing at Priscilla’s Behind, dozens of hulking figures emerged from the distant darkness and entered the Demon Army’s camp.
From this distance and in this darkness, I can’t see clearly, but they’re bigger than Orcs and smaller than Trolls. Their width is comparable to Trolls.
“Priscilla, do you know what that is? It’s bigger than an Orc.”
“What are you looking at?”
Her ass! Her Behind! Her hips! And then, dozens of unidentified enemies emerging from the darkness… Was I wrong to joke around?! I can’t see clearly in the dark, but could those be the dark, gleaming knights who chased us when we escaped Lauenstein?!
Those dark knights brought by that Demon woman, what were they called, Cockroach Knights? I could handle them with Godspeed, but if there are too many, I want to run. More importantly, I don’t want to see her again. If she’s the commander here, I want no part of this.
“That’s… a Cyclops.”
What, a Cyclops? I know them, they have one eye. The kind that goes blind if they get a stye.
“It doesn’t seem like much.”
“…Are you an idiot?! They’re as big as Trolls and use Magic. They’re incredibly troublesome.”
I don’t like the sound of that. I thought only Liches, who are close to Necromancers, used Magic, but if dozens of them are coming as reinforcements, that’s a problem.
“Can you perhaps use defensive magic or reinforcement magic?”
“Of course. I can also use fire and lightning.”
This is troublesome. More troublesome than the Sand Dragon. If they can cast defensive magic on themselves, they can withstand ranged magic and their magic will likely be useful against close-quarters slashes.
This is a higher priority than the commander here, or even the Sand Dragon. We can hold off the Sand Dragon with Orietta’s Railgun, and we don’t know where the commander is.
“Priscilla, how about we take down the Cyclops? Just landing one blow should be effective enough.”
“…For now, you come over to my side. How long are you going to hide behind me? But killing Cyclops isn’t a bad idea. They probably fetch a better price than Trolls.”
I felt like staying in a safe spot in the back and just gazing at her Behind. I was saved because Priscilla easily agreed to kill the Cyclops.
I wonder how strong the Cyclops are. If they can fight both with Magic and in close combat, they’ll be good practice against the Demon race. I want to clear out these lesser enemies and advance the story.
“Now that we’ve decided, let’s go.”
“You go first this time.”
I decided to take the dangerous lead. All I can see in front of me is darkness and vegetation, nothing interesting at all. Until we reach our target Cyclops, we should be able to move through the wheat fields without being noticed by stooping. I wish I could have stooped behind Priscilla.
“Hey!”
Though in a low voice, the tip of a Halberd suddenly pricked my Behind, making me stop. Can’t you think of a better way to get someone’s attention?
“What is it?”
“Stop around here. How far do you plan on going?”
Sorry, sorry. I lost sight of the target in front of me and got focused on moving forward. When I poked my head out of the wheat field, there was about a hundred meters to the nearest Cyclops.
“Priscilla, let me take the lead. I want to test how much I can cut with this Buster Sword, even without Super Vibration.”
“…Fine, if you give me the score.”
It feels like a waste to give up the score, but I want to test it out. I’ve defeated Trolls with my Buster Sword and Godspeed, so I think I can handle the Cyclops’ physique, but can I cut through their defensive magic with Godspeed?
I got the lead on the condition of giving up the score. If anything happens, I can just run, and I can’t imagine Priscilla getting killed.
“Here I go. Priscilla, please stay in Lycanthrope form.”
With that said, I charged towards a single Cyclops. It had its back to me. For starters, it should be enough for a warm-up.
“Hmph!”
My Buster Sword, aided by the speed of Godspeed, sliced halfway through its neck like cutting through warm butter. Faster than the blood could spray, I ran to the next target and easily defeated the second one.
Normally, I’d want to defeat another one or two, but I waited for them to recover their posture. Despite their wait, the Cyclops that attacked based on momentum had their legs cut, and their lowered heads were cleaved in two.
Only now did the Cyclops start casting defensive magic. Hurry up, or Priscilla will come over here. If she starts rampaging, it’ll be out of control.
The defensive magic the Cyclops cast on itself enveloped its body, looking like a thick membrane. This would be an experiment of Godspeed versus defensive magic. With the Lich, it was only on the front like a shield, but how will this one fare? I guess I’ll have to find out!
“Hah! Hah! Hah!”
Hey, what happened to our deal about me taking the lead? This was the part I wanted to test.
“Priscilla, don’t take my prey!”
Despite her enthusiasm, Priscilla’s attacks weren’t cutting through the Cyclops. Is defensive magic really that amazing? I tried slashing too, but it was as hard as cutting clay.
My Godspeed and Buster Sword couldn’t reach the Cyclops’ flesh. I had to slash the same spot rapidly several times just to get close to the flesh.
This is as far as the test goes. When I get back, I’ll borrow the Halberd with Super Vibration again. With Super Vibration and Godspeed, I should be able to manage.
Seeing my chance, I turned around to call out, only to find Priscilla engulfed in flames.
“Priscilla!”
My voice summoned them. The flame bullets fired by the Cyclops. Dozens of them attacked me as well.
