novelraw Chapter 69 : Chapter 69
Chapter 69 : Chapter 69
Chapter 69
On the way to the clearing.
A force closer to an operational unit than a scouting party for reconnaissance purposes moved across the forest.
“Still, there are no monsters approaching.”
“I know.
It would be a little less boring if at least those guys were around.”
As the number of personnel increased, the movement speed should have slowed down, but the monsters, wary of the large-scale force that had left the fortress, did not even come near, so the scouting party was able to move at a much faster speed than before.
“By the way, what about them?”
“I wonder.”
I was curious too.
Whether the freed Ogre had succeeded in escaping, whether the Ogre that had held its baby in its arms had recovered safely.
“We’ll know when we see for ourselves.”
***
Contrary to expectations, the scouting party knew that something had happened even before reaching the border.
“The tracks lead this way!”
“We’ve found traces of battle and a group of dead Orcs in the forest!”
“The surviving Orcs seem to have fled to the west!”
Because the corpses of over dozens of Orcs were scattered throughout the forest.
“Just the corpses we’ve found so far must be over 200, right?”
“Seeing as there are some wearing leather armor, it seems the Orcs of the legion were also hit.
At this rate, the encampment seems to have been completely devastated.”
At Hoodwock and Vergil’s report, I looked at the faintly visible border in the distance.
“What about the Great Warriors?”
“We couldn't find any traces of the Great Warriors.
It’s strange, there’s no way we wouldn’t have found traces of two Great Warriors fighting an Ogre……”
“If they fought, that is.”
It seemed that both Ogres had recovered.
“Two Great Warriors can never hunt an Ogre.
They were beasts that held on for two days even when exhausted and struck by the Geomeok tree, so if they’ve fully recovered……”
They probably wouldn't have dared to fight.
Avoiding a fight was both un-Orc-like and the most Orc-like choice.
Because they were beasts who prided themselves on cowardice and revered the honor of victory.
“Then the remaining traces are of the meat shields that were thrown as a delaying tactic whenever the Ogres came.”
I nodded at Vergil's words.
“To start using even the warriors of the legion as disposable pieces means they were that cornered.”
I looked to the west, where the surviving Orcs were said to have fled.
I could understand everything else.
No matter how much Orcs hated the forest and the darkness, if it was to survive, they might have fled into the forest.
Because there was no place more suitable for escape than a forest where unchanging darkness resided.
“But why the west?”
If they had gone north from the border, they could have received help from the legion that was moving south, and if they had gone south, they could have passed the angry Ogre on to the fortress.
“Well… maybe they just fled in a hurry?”
I wish that were the case, but…….
The enemies in 『Lost Chronicle』 were more rational and logical than humans.
Because the decisions of monsters were never mixed with foolish stubbornness or desire.
It might be different for a Goblin that was simply out hunting, but there must be a reason for the choice of a Great Warrior who had survived hundreds of battlefields.
If it were in the game…….
“First, let's move to the border and check.
Vergil, deploy the entire knightly order to the west and maintain a state of alert.
Do not let your guard down until we have passed the forest border.”
“Yes!”
With a vigorous reply, Vergil began to move the knights.
“Hoodwock, gather the soldiers who can shoot the Knight Slayer and have them on standby at the rear.
So they can rotate at any time if a battle breaks out.”
“Yes!”
“And have a few fast-footed soldiers track the Ogre's trail.”
“The Ogre’s trail?”
“Yes.
Something's strange.
Hundreds of Orcs died, but……”
I looked around the place where the battle had occurred once more.
Corpses crushed as if by an Ogre's fist, torn limbs and weapons.
Even the corpses of legion warriors who had died without even closing their eyes, as if to prove that it had been a desperate battle.
The traces of a battlefield that no one could deny a battle had taken place.
Especially for us, who knew of the Ogre's existence.
“But, is this really all there is?”
“Sir?”
To Hoodwock, who was looking around the battlefield with blinking eyes as if asking what was strange, I pointed up and said.
“It lost its young like that and was trapped on the verge of death, but not a single tree is broken.”
“Well, the trees here can’t be broken by force……”
Hoodwock, who had opened his mouth as if it were a matter of course, swallowed his words.
He had come and gone through this forest dozens of times, but he had never seen a broken tree.
It might be different in the heart of the forest, but there was no way a monster strong enough to damage the forest's trees would come this far out.
For example, an angry Ogre.
“Ah!”
Hoodwock, who had let out a gasp, turned his head so hard it seemed it would break and shouted.
“Then are you saying this is all a trap?!”
At Hoodwock's suddenly serious demeanor, Ian chuckled, shrugged his shoulders, and replied.
“I wouldn't know.
Maybe a really angry Ogre just wanted to feel the thrill of the fight.”
Orcs don't like these kinds of schemes.
It would be one thing to die to a stronger Ogre, but to die just to create a trap.
For those who considered it an honor to die at the hands of a superior enemy, there would be nothing more humiliating.
“Well, that’s not what’s important.”
I turned my head and looked at the knights who were moving from the front to the left flank according to Vergil’s command.
“Because we are prepared.”
I wish it were a surprise attack, though.
So we can wipe them all out at once.
***
As Tail walked, constantly glancing to the side, he heard a rough breathing sound in his ear.
“Huh?”
Wondering if someone was already tired, he looked around to offer some water, but no one around him showed any signs of fatigue.
-Hiss, hiss, hiss.
Tail, who was focusing on the sound, instinctively drew his sword and shouted.
“Ambush!”
Clang!
At the same time, the knightly order drew their swords and assumed a defensive stance, and from a distance, the shouts of Orcs could be heard.
-Kuaaaak!
As if they were so frustrated that their surprise attack had failed, a deafening roar echoed, and the knightly order, who had drawn their swords, flinched as if to charge out at any moment.
“The knightly order will hold their positions and protect the soldiers with torches!”
If Vergil’s voice hadn’t been heard in time, someone would have surely leaped into the darkness.
-Kuaaaak!
Along with the cry of the Great Warrior, whose final expectation had also been dashed, Orcs poured out of the darkness.
***
“Don’t overdo it!
If you think you’ve reached your limit, put down your bow and fall back immediately!”
At Hoodwock's shout, who was constantly moving his bow, a few soldiers put down their bows and retreated, and the soldiers on standby picked up the bows and filled the ranks.
“If you can't hit them, aim for the ones in the back!”
“Everyone except the standby group, raise your bows!”
The soldiers did not carry swords or spears.
In a battlefield with knights, carrying a sword would only be a hindrance.
“This should be enough……”
Hoodwock scanned the battlefield, confident of victory.
He had done this once before.
And with 10 times fewer numbers than now.
There were no soldiers caught in the surprise attack, and there were enough soldiers with Knight Slayers and arrows for now.
Just as he was about to feel relieved at the thought that there were no variables, a cold, sunken voice was heard from behind.
“Never let your guard down until the battle is over.”
Ian, who had approached him at some point, took the bow from Hoodwock's hand.
“The chances of winning a battle we started are about fifty-fifty, and the chances of winning a battle the opponent started are less than half of that.”
Ian, who had raised the bow, drew the bowstring all the way back and said.
“Because there are no stupid bastards who would start a fight they are sure to lose.”
-Creeak.
The bow, drawn to its limit, made a precarious sound as if it would break at any moment.
“A great commander is as important as a hero, so watch carefully.”
Ping!
-Kugugugugugu.
Finally, as the arrow left the bowstring, a loud sound of it tearing through the air echoed.
“Wow……”
The moment I thought that if I were hit by that arrow, not even my corpse would remain intact.
Boom!
An axe that flew in from somewhere blocked the arrow.
“Huh?”
At that moment, as if on cue, all the soldiers around Ian looked at one spot on the battlefield.
An Orc in crude leather armor was smiling fiercely.
***
As our eyes met, the fiercely smiling beast opened its mouth wide and then let out a roar.
-Kaaaaaaaaak!
As if in response to that roar, the momentum of the charging Orcs intensified, and the knightly order began to be pushed back.
“What, what is that!”
“It’s a fighting spirit !
Move your mana to protect your bodies!”
At Vergil's shout, Hoodwock, who had come to his senses, shouted urgently.
“The knightly order, protect the knightly order!”
The scouting party started shooting their bows again, but it wasn't easy to turn the tide once it had shifted.
It was a natural result, as the Orcs who couldn't even block a single sword strike from a knight began to block two or three attacks.
“If we get pushed back too, it’s over!”
Hoodwock, who had fired an arrow at the Orcs fiercely pushing the knights, shouted in frustration.
It was a good thing they had the Knight Slayers; without them, they would have collapsed long ago.
“That bastard!”
The moment he looked back at the beast standing in the center of the Orc ranks with blazing eyes, another roar echoed across the battlefield.
-Kaaak!
Kaak!
“What now?!”
Hoodwock, who had reflexively fired an arrow at the beast, saw an Orc that was stooped over.
Thwip!
As an arrow someone had fired pierced the beast’s head, the Orc behind it lifted the limp body and shouted.
“No way……”
A similar scene was happening all over the battlefield.
At first, one.
And then another one from behind.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Orcs who had entered the battlefield advanced, using their comrades' corpses as shields.
Thwip, thwip, thwip.
The arrows that went past the Knight Slayers tore through the bones and flesh of the corpses, but that was all.
A green wave holding up corpses began to charge towards the scouting party.
“Shit… how are we supposed to stop that……”
At someone's despairing sigh, Hoodwock glared and shouted.
“Everyone!
From now on, support the knightly order!
Aim for the moment an opening is revealed!”
It was inefficient for the soldiers, who were not yet accustomed to the bow, to support the knightly order.
The chances of a stray arrow hitting a knight were just as high as the chances of it hitting an Orc.
‘We have to move.’
We have to move now.
I had a feeling close to an instinct that I had always had when commanding soldiers.
But where to?
‘Should I pull the soldiers back to buy time?
No, it would be better to move forward and aim at the enemies from 10 steps away…….’
Nausea rose from the frustration and impatience, and my head spun.
This was not a choice he could make.
Because the lives of a hundred soldiers depended on that choice.
‘The commander, where is the commander?’
As he urgently looked around the battlefront, which was beginning to be pushed back helplessly, with eyes full of fear, he saw Ian running in the distance.
***
“Yes, this is Locke.”
A grin appeared on my face.
“Let’s see… Mana secret art, mana stone training, Knight Slayer……”
I had made not one, but three preparations that no one in this world could have made, and it still wasn't enough.
To think that the difficulty level was this high even though I had prepared to the point where I thought I had a chance of winning even if the opponent was an Ogre.
“Still, isn't this a bit of a cheat?”
Orcs are strong.
But, that’s about it.
The most they could do with their cunning was to use the sand on the ground, and no matter how crafty they were, the most they could do was hide a hand axe.
Because their strategy, being a combat race by birth, was nothing but advancing and breaking through.
So, that bastard over there, who was controlling the legion by shouting at the top of his lungs.
Except for the 「Legion Commander」.
There were still more than 10 years until the game was supposed to start, and there was already a Legion Commander.
No matter how infamous Locke was for its notorious difficulty, wasn’t this a bit too much?
Of course, to me, who had taken the Legion Commander’s head thousands of times, he was just a mob.
“You’ll regret not bringing the Legion Lord himself.”