78

Dawn broke.

Rather than having slept in shifts, it would have been more accurate to say they had only lain down and closed their eyes. In such a state, not only were their minds utterly exhausted, but in the middle of the forest without bedding, they could hardly expect their physical fatigue to recover either.

(Maybe I should force them a little and hurry our return…)

Biting into the leftover meat they had grilled the night before for breakfast, the women set off with expressions that could not hide their fatigue.

Thanks to the representative woman, they somehow held together as a group, but if some fool started voicing complaints, I might have to step in.

However, the worry I had did not come to pass. On the contrary, perhaps due to the representative’s persuasion, they moved at a speed completely different from the day before.

The problem was that our route headed east, not south.

As I casually listened to their conversation, it seemed there was a supply depot for pioneer villages nearby, and they were heading there.

Not only did it store building materials, but it also held emergency supplies, so they were discussing securing provisions there before returning.

Originally, setting our course straight south would have led us right into the middle of the orc army besieging the city, so this route was more convenient. But more than that, it would allow them to take proper rest, which was significant.

If that was the reason, I accepted the course change—but as expected, the orcs had occupied the depot.

(I had wondered where they were getting tools for expanding their fortifications… It’s a cliché that enemies make good use of such things, but seeing it firsthand is a hassle.)

So I set down my luggage and promptly exterminated the orcs at the depot.

The women tried to stop me, but I ignored them.

The method was simple.

Charge straight in and kill everything in sight.

A total of eighty-eight orcs successfully transformed into mute lumps of meat.

The pigs that ran away were quickly hunted down and slaughtered as well.

Afterward, I simply gathered the corpses in one spot and left them there. Done.

The latter half of the work took more time, and I thought about asking for help, but given that the women were trained to handle guns, there was no way they could manage the weight of the orcs, so I gave up.

Obediently, I alone picked up the orcs and their remains and piled them in one place.

Then the representative woman approached me with a stern expression.

“What were you planning to do if they had called for reinforcements?”

Judging from how the others agreed with her, it seemed they had no grasp of my abilities.

I exaggerated a weary sigh to make it obvious I was annoyed, then went to retrieve my luggage.

When I returned, the representative woman was briskly giving orders and working hard to secure supplies.

Since I had already cleaned my dirty hands and feet, I took out paper and pen from my backpack and began writing a note.

“Don’t assume my detection range is on a human level. There were no signs of orcs nearby. If there had been any chance of escape, I wouldn’t have initiated the attack. Furthermore, given the orcs’ sense of smell, it was only a matter of time before they detected you. There was no choice but to eliminate them.”

Even after showing them this, they still did not seem convinced. As expected, in a monster’s form, neither trust nor understanding was easy to come by.

It was a natural reaction, but given how often I had been dealing with elves lately, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by the contrast.

Perhaps soldiers were simply more rigid in their thinking compared to mercenaries or hunters.

Until the necessary supplies were gathered, I kept watch outside the rows of warehouses in the depot.

Nothing happened in particular, and no orcs appeared, so the work ended smoothly, and we departed.

I had some slight concerns about continuing without rest, but it seemed their priority was to get out of orc territory as quickly as possible.

With no choice, I followed them, checked the route, and moved ahead to lead.

Now that we were traveling across open plains, our speed should have been faster, but perhaps due to being overly cautious with no cover, they sometimes stopped in their tracks.

Repeating that kind of march naturally threw off our schedule.

Again today, we camped in an awkward halfway spot.

At this rate, I began to worry that we might run out of water first.

(So these are new recruits, huh… Seems quite different from how things were in the Empire.)

Perhaps their training period had been greatly reduced?

If that was the case, then the Furon Council’s front lines were in quite a precarious state.

Part of me thought it might be better to leave them and rush there instead.

(No, that won’t do. If I abandon them here and they somehow make it back on their own, my position will be in jeopardy.)

While thinking, “I’ve picked up quite a troublesome burden,” I also considered the reward for successfully protecting these women who were hardly different from civilians.

The previous contract was only with the women I had rescued, not with the Furon military.

There would be nothing wrong with demanding some sort of reward.

But even with that in mind, if I didn’t take some measures, we might face an ending like “the town you returned to had already fallen.”

Thus, the next day—

“From today, you will match your pace to ours. If you cannot, we will leave you behind. Based on your actions so far, we have determined that you are not critical to our objective.”

The representative’s face changed color when she read the note.

“What… do you mean?”

“From your actions, it is extremely doubtful you have any influence with your superiors. Therefore, due to your lowered importance, we decided to reduce unnecessary effort.”

I showed her a memo I had prepared in advance for the answer I expected.

“Wait, I—”

“The decision will not change. Either follow us and gain safety, or return on your own.”

I showed her another memo as she was lost in thought.

I had anticipated several scenarios last night and prepared multiple replies, so the conversation progressed smoothly.

“Think of it this way. Right now, you have me as combat strength here. Would rushing to bring me back be a plus—or a minus?”

In the end, she chose to follow me.

When she announced this decision, agitation spread among the others, but the representative somehow managed to suppress it.

Their marching speed visibly increased, but I still had them push their limits regarding stamina.

At this pace, we might make contact with the enemy as early as today.

(On the battlefield, saying ‘I’ve reached my limit’ means death. So if you are soldiers, walk as if your lives depended on it.)

As I kept walking, thinking that, just as expected, around noon I spotted a thin plume of rising smoke.

“No way, is that the city of Brof!?”

Reading the note I showed her, the representative woman involuntarily raised her voice.

They were still too far away to see it themselves, but the chances were high that a battle was underway right now.

It was only one plume of smoke, but who knew what it would look like up close?

I thought to suggest we hurry, but before that, the representative ordered everyone to drop their baggage and start running.

“Depending on the situation, I will engage and draw the enemy’s attention. You all should circle around and return.”

When I showed the note I had written, the representative nodded, and upon reading it, the women were suddenly filled with motivation, a complete change from before.

We dropped our backpacks and sprinted across the plain. As the number of rising smoke plumes increased one by one—finally, a part of the orc army came into view.

At the same time, I spotted the siege engines the orcs were using, and once their numbers became clear to the naked eye, the sheer quantity made me want to look away.

(There’s definitely over five thousand. It’s fortunate they’re aiming for a single-point breakthrough without encircling, but for those under attack, that’s no consolation.)

For now, I conveyed that I would charge into the left flank and wreak havoc as planned, and increased my speed.

If they could circle around and reach a gate on the opposite side of where the orcs were, the mission would be complete.

Following them to the very end would be safest, but the situation wasn’t looking very good.

I could occasionally see orcs who had climbed the city walls being struck down and falling, which meant time was of the essence.

The representative seemed to understand that; she nodded after reading my memo and changed course to circle around the battlefield.

My detection ability wasn’t picking up any orcs, so it should be fine.

The rest depended on their luck.

As I ran straight toward the orc encampment, I got close enough to visually make out the leading—or in this case, rearmost—ranks, and that’s when I was spotted.

With a “Buo-oo” horn sound, about five heavily armed orcs moved forward to block my path.

Up on the city wall, one of the soldiers who had been pushing back the orcs spotted me and pointed.

It seemed there was still some leeway—good. In that case, I would rampage to my heart’s content.

Starting with these heavily armed orcs.

Facing the pigs wielding heavy weapons like battle axes and mauls, I kept running without slowing down at all.

(Now, let me show you the violence of mass!)

Ignoring the perfectly timed downward swing of the battle axe, I accelerated even more and, at the moment of impact, snapped my neck upward.

Before it could swing its weapon, the heavily armored orc was sent flying, and without even sparing it a glance, I charged straight into the herd of pigs.

Before the sudden monster that appeared behind them, the orcs were trampled with no chance to resist—and whatever they felt watching that, I didn’t care. Seeing the opportunity, the humans on the city walls launched their counterattack.

At that point, there was no way the orcs would be climbing the walls anymore.

“GAAAAAAHHHH!”

I roared.

To flaunt my presence, to carve fear into the pigs, I roared loudly.

(O my beloved descendants of the Imperial citizens, don’t show me such pathetic sights!)

My tension reached its peak.

While being careful not to overdo it, I decided to rampage to my heart’s content.