Chapter 732 - Chapter 3: The Demon Lord's Resurrecting Cave in the Demon Realm ③ (Morandine) Outpost
After leaving the fortress in Wilson-san's medium-sized bowl, we ascended all at once. We vanished while flying. The participating force consists of nine people. The five regular members of the Henry Party, Price-sama, Harrison-san, Mary, and me.
It's close to a new moon. It's almost pitch black. It's lucky Wilson-san is here, but I can't see anything. I cast Sight, but it's meaningless.
It's before dawn, close to winter. It's quite cold. As for my body, I'm fine since I wore the autumn/winter Green Marble over my work clothes and cast Warm, but my breath illuminated by the lantern is white. I should have worn the boar skin. I thought Morandine wasn't in the area called the north, so it would be fine, but I was naive. Without magic, I'd freeze to death before being killed by monsters. No wonder the brat was worried.
"We are almost over the forest."
Wilson-san tells us, but I can't tell. When I secretly ask Bonnie, she seems to be able to tell that the forest is there. As expected of a scout.
"Can you see anything?"
Eleanor-sama can't see either, apparently. Well, no matter how good your eyes are, if you could see into the forest at night as a human, you'd be a monster.
"There's nothing around here. Just as we've investigated so far."
'So far' means illegal entry, in short.
As proof, Bonnie took a map from her breast. She's looking at it by the light of the lantern.
"If we go a bit further in, there's a pond. There should have been a swarm of monsters there, so let's go there."
Is there even a need to reconnoiter?
We descend slowly. It's probably over the pond. Perhaps because I've gotten used to the darkness, I can faintly see something like the outlines of trees. It seems we landed slowly on the water just like that. After a dull impact from under my feet, the bowl sways as if we're on a boat.
"They're here. There's quite a number on the shore of the pond. They are armed."
It's usually Bonnie's role, but this time it's Wilson-san.
"Any boss-like monsters?"
"No. Within the visible range, there are many Orcs, several Ogres and Cyclops, and one Troll."
"Any Orcs wearing conspicuous helmets?"
"None."
Are they strays? Even if it's deep in the forest, it's right on the outskirts. There isn't even any undulation. If we were closer to the center, there would be a swelling where it wouldn't be strange to have a cave. If there's a strong one, it might be around there.
After that, we reconnoitered other ponds, and at the fifth one, the eastern sky began to turn white. It's almost dawn. One hour after dawn, the feint units will begin their actions.
"Let's hurry. There's one more place."
Eleanor-sama is staring at the eastern sky.
One more place... I realized just now. We came from the north. In other words, the swelling in the center of the Demon Realm should have been to the south. But now, it's to the left as we face north. In other words, it's to the east. Before I knew it, we had moved almost a full circle.
My surprise was short-lived as the bowl ascended, and after a second landing, it soared high into the sky.
We swap bowls high in the sky. Eleanor-sama is the main body and Wilson-san is for acceleration. Once we vanish, we dive and enter a high-speed state. It might be a bit slower than the usual speed. The sea appeared ahead, and the sun rose from the horizon. The operation is about to begin. I prepared by casting Warm and Sight on everyone except Wilson-san.
"Ah! There are our allies!"
Bonnie's voice rings out. When I enlarge the view in the direction she's pointing, a line of troops is advancing with the morning sun at their backs. There are also cavalry. Even though it's a line, it's only two or three rows. It's quite thin. Moreover, there are carts behind them, and many flags are standing on the empty beds where no one is riding. I wonder if it looks like there are many people when seen from the ground. It's padding.
They are advancing toward the forest just like that. After advancing a certain distance, they stopped and raised a battle cry.
"Is the actual number around a thousand?"
It's Wilson-san. There are more than three times as many flags. Since it's from three sides, it's three times that again. I wonder if the monsters will count them as ten thousand people?
"Fly along the outskirts of the forest."
"Understood."
At a pace slightly slower than high speed, we began to go back and forth along the outskirts of the forest directly in front of our allies. Everyone watches the state of the forest.
"They're here."
Bonnie quickly found monsters lurking in the forest. I wonder what kind of training a scout has to undergo to see everything. I can't tell at all.
"Ah! They ran deep into the forest!"
"Wilson. Follow them."
"Yes."
Does being able to follow them mean he can see them? That's incredible.
As we descend while decelerating, I can also see an Orc running deep into the forest. It's diagonally ahead and below. It's wearing chain mail and carrying a spear. Fast, fast. Even using the effect of the cat stone, it's neck and neck. No, since it's running through the forest, I'd lose.
Following the Orc, we came out by a pond. It's standing by the edge of the pond and shouting something. Since there's no translator, I don't know what it said, but a group nearby stood up all at once, so it must have informed them of the enemy attack. While raising shouts, they run in the direction the messenger Orc is pointing. That movement seems to have been transmitted one after another, and the Orcs and several Ogres that were swarming around the pond all stood up and were gone.
They're quite smart. The pond is by no means small. However, if they are by the shore, if a messenger shouts in one place, the abnormality is noticed one after another in a circle. As a result, it's transmitted to the whole group.
The bowl continues to descend slowly. After the Orcs were gone, nothing remains.
"This place is finished."
"It seems so. Then, shall we go to the next?"
"Yes, please do so."
Repeating the ascent and descent like that, we went to the next pond.
The second pond was also empty. As we flew toward the outskirts, we saw a group peering out from the forest under the shade of the trees. The composition is the same. However, there are two Trolls. Since their bodies are huge and conspicuous, they are crouching further back.
The human army occasionally raises cheers, but they don't react. They are just watching.
"They don't seem to have any intention of going out."
"They must be waiting for the humans to enter the forest. The further back you go, the more the numbers increase and spread out horizontally. It's a complete ambush."
The third pond was the same. Since there is distance between each pond, the groups don't overlap.
At the other ponds, except for one place, the Orcs had already left. Their destination was always the outskirts of the forest near where the humans had set up camp. And the one place they hadn't left was the pond in the northern direction.
"This pond seems to be the same as usual. They are sleeping in the shade of the trees."
In other words, they are not coordinated with the other three sides. If this were humans, they wouldn't be sleeping.
"Wilson, go to the central part."
"Understood."
Finally, the main stronghold. If someone is found here, that person will be the boss of this Forest of the Demon Realm.
The undulations in the central part of the forest are really nothing special. There are some slopes, cliffs, rocks sticking out from the ground, and streams flowing into the surrounding ponds, but at most it's like the path to the mountain hut on the way from Nakanohara to Nakanohara Lake, and it's hard to call it a mountainous area.
However, only the cave where the Demon Lord revives had a certain atmosphere. After passing through a narrow valley between steep slopes, a hole is gaping open. If attacked from the peaks on the left and right, it wouldn't stand a chance. There's also a pond serving as a water moat on the way. It's quite a steep slope, so if it rains, advancing on foot would be impossible. But other than that, it wasn't much. If there were no monsters, it would be a good hunting ground. However, it's been quite a while since the Demon Lord last revived here. Occasionally, as if they remembered, swarms of monsters come out and attack the livestock in the grazing land or the villages. So, we can't let our guard down.
"There are several rocky areas that could be high ground."
Bonnie quickly found them. From above, it's hard to tell because they're hidden by tree branches, but she can apparently see something like white rocks in the shade of the trees.
"Something is there."
A scout? If so, there's definitely something.
We approach slowly.
On top of a white rock was a huge bird.
No, it's not a bird. From the chest down it looks like a bird, but the head is human. When I enlarge the face, it looks like a woman's face. Black hair hangs past her shoulders to her chest. It's like a combination of the original form of the Demon Race and something like a hawk, with the hands and wings integrated. The wings are spotted with dark brown and black, and the belly and chest are white. Her ears are long, though not as much as an elf's. She might have excellent hearing. Her height is not much different from a human's.
"Price. Is that not a Harpy?"
Eleanor-sama seems to know.
"I only have knowledge to the extent of what I've memorized from the secret books, so I cannot say anything for certain, but if it has a bird's body and a woman's face, it matches the characteristics of a Harpy. I believe they were treated as a type of beastman. To think they were still inhabiting here."
Was it in the secret books? I don't remember. But if it's a beastman, we might be able to become friends.
"Harpies are timid and rarely show themselves before humans, but they are said to have extremely cunning and cruel personalities. Their eyes and ears are very sharp, and they can see distant scenery and distinguish sounds. They use Charm and can use ultra-high-level wind magic and up to mid-level earth magic. They are said to tear apart and toy with their prey with their sharp, raptor-like talons. And after devouring only the internal organs of the defeated prey, they are said to defecate on the spot and fly away."
W-what a vulgar creature. It's impossible for a human. It's worse than an Ogre. It doesn't seem like we can become friends at all.
"They fly through the sky at very high speeds and manipulate the wind with wind magic, so arrow attacks probably won't work either. If there are multiple of them protecting the Demon Lord's cave, they are quite a formidable enemy."
Diving from high above and using Tempest. There's no way to prevent it. Even if we gather an army, the damage will only increase.
"Price. Do you know anything about Harpy nests?"
"No, I recall the secret books didn't go that far."
How can he remember that much? I thought Price-sama was relatively normal, but he's a monster after all.
"Does Jeanne remember anything?"
Price-sama, please don't throw it to me. I'm normal.
I shake my head vigorously.
"Eleanor, the opponent is a raptor. Normally, it would be a place where they can see far and is easy to take off from, so a treetop or a rocky ledge on a cliff would be appropriate. It's my hunch, but I think they use natural rocky ledges."
Eleanor-sama nods.
"Wilson, let's investigate the other rocky high grounds. We need to at least grasp how many there are. Bonnie, look for things that look like bird nests along the way. The likely places are what Price just said."
"Understood."
"Got it."
Eleanor-sama has become cautious. This looks like it'll be tough.
As a result of the reconnaissance, four Harpies were confirmed. Judging by their faces, they are four young ones. Since they are placed in four directions, our intentions would be completely obvious. Unfortunately, we couldn't identify the nest. We couldn't find anything that looked like it. Trees grow up to the top, but there weren't even rocky ledges on the cliffs that looked like they had a good view.
"There is likely one more. We will ambush it. Jeanne, recast Sight on everyone. And we will divide into two groups."
Ambush? How are we going to do that?
We soar high into the sky and form groups. To form the groups, we temporarily retreat to the northwest and hover in the shade of a grove near the ground.
Wilson-san made a new medium-sized main body, and that became Group 1. The passengers of Group 1 are Price-sama, Harrison-san, Will, and Mary. Including the bowl user Wilson-san, there are five people. Given their abilities, they are likely the ambush and surprise attack unit. And Group 2 is Eleanor-sama's small main body, with Henry-sama, Bonnie, and me. Since I'm on it, we must be the decoy.
As I thought, the medium-sized one vanished, but the small one didn't.
When I wondered what we were going to do, we headed north. Toward the fortress. I see, she really intends to prepare the brat's souvenir.
"Is it going to be okay?"
Price-sama is worried seeing the lineup of Group 2. After all, the mage is Eleanor-sama, who is in charge of the bowl. She can make a wall with a second Wind Barrier, and I can repel magic with my Magic Reflection or Light wall. However, the opponent uses Tempest. Wind pressure itself cannot be repelled. Even the mid-level Favorable Wind is doubtful. Let alone the ultra-high-level Tempest, I don't know what will happen. We might be thrown out of the bowl by the pressure.
"It'll be fine. Right?"
Henry-sama is being extremely carefree, but where does that confidence come from?
"Well, just watch."
Eleanor-sama replied with a single sentence and took off from the medium-sized bowl.
As if jumping out from the grove, we ascend once. When I wondered where we were going, we flew over the heads of the Orcs sleeping on the outskirts of the forest and went straight toward the Harpy on the northern rocky area.
"Jeanne, it's Over Flow. We're going to do a frontal attack."
"Y-yes."
Isn't this too sudden?
Since we're getting closer and closer, the Sight correction can't keep up. The Harpy, whose face I could see for a moment, has a puzzled look while sitting on the rock. It's probably the first time it's seen a bowl.
"Are you ready? Here we go."
"Y-yes!"
Whatever, Over Flow will diffuse anyway. At this distance, it won't do much damage even if it hits. I'll just fire it.
"Now!"
"Yes! Holy Over Flow!"
White light bursts from the front of the bowl. At the same time, the sound of cutting wind rang out twice.
It's Henry-sama and Bonnie. Using the light of Over Flow as a blindfold, they fired silver arrows.
"Missed!"
It's Henry-sama.
"That thing deflected the arrow with a Wind Barrier."
How can he even see such a thing?
The bowl makes a sharp turn. Are we withdrawing?
"Stupid! Stupid!"
Bonnie! This isn't a children's fight!
"Chicken-bone woman! Eat poop!"
Henry-sama, you're a former King!
See, it's chasing us!