Chapter 53 - The Defensive Battle of the Cave ③
The orc swarm was part of the Demon Lord's army. That said, they were a unit that had strayed from the main force.
As a unit of the legion formed upon the Demon Lord's resurrection, they had sallied forth from the depths of the forest alongside the main force to attack the fortress where the humans were entrenched. That much had gone well, but they were met with stubborn resistance, and while they were struggling to make headway, enemy reinforcements arrived from two directions.
They were forced to split their army in two to intercept them, but the opponents kept their distance and refused to engage. Thinking they could manage, they left a reserve behind and pressed the attack on the fortress once more, only to find that the enemy reinforcements had constructed a field fortification using a line of wagons before they knew it.
As a result, they ended up being pelted with stones from catapults from three directions. When they tried to close in, they were hindered by the line of wagons with boards nailed to them, and were repelled by a downpour of silver arrows.
After being battered within the large encirclement, they were broken by a cavalry charge and fled back into the forest in total disarray.
Since powerful monsters occupied the central region, those who were not so strong scattered to the east and west. Some went east, others went west. Among the survivors of the unit that headed west, one was the unit Robinson had seized, and the other was the orc unit that had attacked the cave where the humans were currently taking refuge.
The orcs had established a territory in the forest and were self-sufficient, but one day, a newcomer orc brought in some outrageous information.
He claimed that a human who could freely manipulate monsters had appeared and stolen their swarm. At first, they didn't believe it at all. However, after hearing the story repeated over and over, they decided they should go check it out. When they sent out a few scouts, it turned out to be true.
However, that human did not stray far from the goblin nest. Fortunately, there was no sign of him coming as far as their own territory.
In short, they decided that as long as they didn't make contact, they would stay in their territory while keeping watch from afar. It was better to live safely by avoiding the strong.
The situation changed after an ogre joined the swarm. Ogres are skilled in magic defense. They could even use simple attack magic.
The human who manipulated monsters must have used some kind of magic. If the ogre could block that magic, they could suppress the goblin nest and expand their territory. The spiders were troublesome, but they could manage somehow with numbers. It is the instinct of monsters to conquer the weak.
As a result of this reasoning, they had the surviving orc act as a guide and marched forth. Along the way, they hunted for food as a sort of reconnaissance-in-force.
The boss of the swarm was enraged when he saw his subordinates killed before his very eyes.
He had thought there was only one human without a weapon, but there was even a warrior.
This wasn't what he was told. Fortunately, the humans were few in number and didn't seem that strong. If they were, he would have decapitated the survivor who guided them to this cave.
However, that orc was now dead, his throat pierced.
And it was done by a single human slip of a girl. She was boldly leaning out of a hole in the cliff, looking this way. She fired another arrow. This time an ogre fell; impossibly, the arrow she fired had penetrated the skull. The tip of the arrowhead protruded from the other side.
The boss managed to maintain his composure, but his subordinates were struck with terror.
When he ordered his subordinates to fire arrows, the human ducked back inside and hid. While doing so, she watched their movements and fired arrows, steadily killing his subordinates.
The arrowheads were not silver or white silver. It didn't seem like magic either.
He never imagined that a priest capable of using high-level holy magic was firing arrows soaked in holy water from a newly developed bow. Despite not knowing the reason, it grated on him to move from his position, but he couldn't afford any more casualties.
Four had already been taken down. His subordinates were terrified by the power of those arrows and were scrambling to get inside the cave. At this rate, his credibility as a boss was at stake.
He had to show that the decorated helmet he received directly from an officer of the Demon Lord's army as proof of his rank as a unit commander was not just for show.
The boss called an ogre and gave him direct instructions. Kill the girl with bow and magic attacks while hiding behind the trees of the forest.
He promised the greatest merit if he succeeded.
The ordered ogre took ten archers and entered the forest.
During the movement, one orc was killed by a shot to the head, but since he intended to use them as decoys anyway, it wasn't a problem.
He positioned the decoy archers in a cluster behind the trees and waited for an opportunity from a distance.
First, he had the archers fire arrows. They didn't have to hit. After they had shot two or three each, he made them stop. Then the human would likely peek out from the hole to see what was happening. The ogre's specialty was fire magic. He just had to toss a fireball into the hole. When he put this into action, sure enough, the human showed her face.
It was just as he timed the release of the fireball.
A direct hit, exactly as aimed. He got her!
When he tossed in three more fireballs in succession, he could see the inside of the hole turning into a sea of fire.
Overjoyed, he immediately scrambled up himself and threw in several bags filled with oil.
The cave didn't seem that large. In that case, no human could withstand this fire attack. He could just inspect it after the fire died down.
The ogre immediately reported to the boss. He was guaranteed the greatest merit if the bodies were found. He gained the right to choose the spoils second only to the boss.
The ogre wished the humans would just surrender quickly.
He wouldn't guarantee all their lives. He planned to pick the best-looking prey and bite into them while they were still alive in front of the lined-up prisoners.
They would surely scream with such lovely voices. It would be even better if the prey was a young woman. In that sense, it was a pity he had burned to death the girl who was sticking her face out the window.
At that time, the guard squad engaged in the delaying action was fighting hard behind the pits and earthworks set up at the third intersection. If this place was breached, it would lead to a decisive battle in the Great Hall.
By the time they reached this point, they had slaughtered over a dozen orcs. On the other hand, there was no ally who wasn't bleeding. Some were hit by stones, others were pierced by enemy arrows—though the speed was significantly reduced by Paul's wind magic, they still had enough power to cause injuries—and some were hit by javelins from close range.
Those who were wounded were sent to the rear. Each time, their wounds were healed by Catherine's recovery magic and they returned to the front line, but the loss of physical strength itself could not be compensated for by recovery magic.
As for attacks, although they had almost no direct effect, an impromptu combination of using Beatrix's magic aimed at the opponent's face as a feint and then firing arrows or thrusting with spears in that opening was proving effective.
"Beatrix. You're about to run out of breath, aren't you? Fall back to the Headmistress."
The large Beowulf was constantly holding her shield in front of Beatrix, shielding her from enemy attacks.
"I'll be fine for a little longer. Don't worry, I'll make sure to leave enough energy to run away on my own feet."
When she flicked a pebble with earth magic, it rode the wind of Paul's magic and hit an orc in the face. Just as the orc became enraged, an arrow was fired, hitting it between the eyebrows and killing it. An arrow fired from beyond that corpse stuck into Beowulf's shield. Fresh enemies were sent out one after another, applying pressure.
The pit was already filled with orc corpses. They were stepping over those corpses.
It must be the high physical ability of monsters. They advanced without losing their balance even when stepping on the corpses of their allies.
"We're about to run out of arrows!"
Angus shouted loudly. Archers lose their offensive power once they run out of arrows.
"It's almost time. Let's hang in there a little longer."
Just as one of the guards said that, the ceiling in front of them suddenly collapsed. The goblin trap had been triggered.
Due to the earth and sand reaching the same height as the earthworks—about thirty percent of the cave's height—several orcs were buried alive. The width was about the length of an orc's height. The large orcs had to crawl on their bellies to advance that distance. It was a suicidal act in front of the guards who had their spears leveled.
As expected, the orcs retreated for the time being. They probably decided to attack after removing the earth and sand. Thanks to that, the members of the main force, who had been fighting non-stop, were able to catch their breath.
"Alright. This is far enough. Let's retreat."
The destination for the retreat was the Great Hall. The stage for the final battle.
Marcelo and Emily, whom the ogre believed he had burned to death, were lying flat on their bellies on top of the cliff opposite the room they had been in, watching the situation below. They had used a straw doll made from the bedding straw Robinson had used as a decoy and jumped with Teleport.
Seeing the ogre who fired the magic go to the boss in high spirits, it seemed their escape had gone unnoticed.
The entrance to the cave was clearly visible from the top of the cliff. The two decided to wait for all the enemies to enter the cave.
While the two were looking down from the top of the cliff, there seemed to be a change in the state of the battle.
Just as one orc came out of the cave looking flustered, the boss led the way into the cave, leaving behind the ogre who had turned the second-floor room the two had been in into a sea of fire and two orcs. The battle had entered its final stage.
After waiting for a while and confirming that there was no more movement of monsters in or out of the cave, the two began to move.
First, Emily fired an arrow. The consciousness of the ogre, who was looking forward to the greatest merit, ended there.
Next, Marcelo used Teleport to instantly move right next to one orc and slit its throat with a silver knife.
Hearing the sound of blood spurting, the other orc, who had lost his wits at the suddenness of it, was just regripping his spear when an arrow fired by Emily pierced through his temple.
Marcelo, who returned to the top of the cliff in an instant, watched the situation with Emily, but there was no change.
It seemed they hadn't been noticed. All that was left was to deal with the monsters coming out of the hole one by one.