Chieftain Kakula
Chieftain Kakula
It had not been long after part of the orc cavalry collided with the ground forces that a strange sound caught Heiri's ear as she flew at low altitude to intercept the orcs.
Following a whistling sound, a noise like multiple whips tearing through the air. Even if an adventurer had used a whip, the sound was so unnaturally loud that Heiri involuntarily turned her gaze and soon had to doubt her own eyes as much as she had doubted her ears.
"What is that...?"
Amidst not even knowing what was hitting them, the sight of over a dozen orc cavalry having their heads smashed apart along with the demon beasts they were riding, combined with the sudden appearance of a giant dog simultaneously wrecking the forest and the orcs' battle lines, was utterly surreal.
Among the orcs sent flying in all directions as if pierced by a powerful crossbow—no, a ballista—none survived.
Nevertheless, what was attacking them was not visible. Based on the sporadic sounds of something tearing through the air from locations that couldn't be pinpointed, one could only surmise it was some kind of projectile.
So it was all the more puzzling. With no Mana felt, the only things capable of such magic-like attacks were high-priced artifacts. Artifacts so expensive that mercenaries and red-rank adventurers could never even hope to obtain.
But the surprise did not end there.
"Eldmia?"
There was someone who had left the encampment alone and was swinging a sword. He looked utterly normal, yet acted more like a madman than anyone, and was a madman even on the battlefield.
A swordsman facing charging cavalry head-on? If Heiri had seen that from the start, she would have dismissed him as a moron who had read too many second-rate novels and hero tales from the marketplace and lost all sense of reality.
The problem was that the one who had pulled that moron-like stunt had, in a flash, sliced apart five orc cavalry. And as if to prove that was neither the first nor the last, Eldmia kept swinging his sword without a pause. The sight of the thick necks of the demon beasts being severed and orc torsos bisected by his sword, with his two feet planted firmly on the ground, was hard to believe even while witnessing it firsthand.
Heiri took pride in her own skill, but she was certain that even she would be exhausted after performing such a feat just three times. If she couldn't precisely cut between the bones, the sword wouldn't hold up either, and rather than making that effort, throwing another fireball at the enemies' faces was more efficient. Technically admirable, but a technique far removed from practicality.
But when it flows like water like that, it's a different story—that was clearly Eldmia being abnormal.
Just how many people could perform such an extraordinary feat, akin to walking on thin ice in a life-or-death battle, as if breathing?
"He's holding out alone against an army...?"
Even against orcs that just charged in without any tactics or strategy, and demon beasts that prioritized their own lives over their riders' commands, it was an absurd thing. Nor could it be dismissed as something made possible only because of the giant dog rampaging in sync with him and the unidentified attack piercing the orcs' heads.
Because the orcs and demon beasts, overwhelmed by the giant dog's majesty, had already started avoiding that area, and they couldn't even perceive the unidentified attacks.
For the orc race, an attack made from an unseen place was merely something cowardly, not an object of fear. On the contrary, it only fueled their anger, inciting their hostility toward the target before them. Unless a long-range attack swept away the majority, the burden on those who had to stop the orcs increased exponentially.
"Squeee!!"
"Coward human!!"
Just like the sight being shown right now. Even if not all orcs were targeting Eldmia, the number was still overwhelmingly too many for one person to handle.
However, the fact that even in such a situation they didn't approach the dog that overwhelmed them in size was quite monster-like, with their instinct of preying on the weak and avoiding the strong, but Heiri knew well that was merely a sentiment, because she could observe it from an objective viewpoint in the air.
If one faced them head-on, it could only be terrifying. It would have been the same even for her. Even magic was not omnipotent against such a mass offensive.
But Eldmia did not back down. It was true that many with similar skill existed in the world, but those who had reached that realm in the body of a boy who hadn't even undergone his coming-of-age ceremony could surely be counted on one hand across the continent.
Despite being an ally, that sight inspired not only wonder but even a strange fear.
◈
The sensation that had felt strange transformed into a wondrous one, and the nausea caused by a dizziness like my head being grabbed and shaken had long since held steady at a certain level without worsening.
The sensation of every fine hair on my body being connected to Magic Power and swept up as if by a vast cloth was definitely similar to what I'd felt when passing through a gate before, but this time I wasn't being haphazardly tossed about—it was linked to the needles. Even though I was moving them myself, it was a sensation I couldn't understand.
The needles moved as effortlessly as if they were newly attached limbs. I couldn't identify friend or foe, so I couldn't target the orcs that had gotten past me, but I was accurate enough to unerringly drill a hole between the brows of any that entered my vision.
Every time I continued the fight, my entire body felt like it was burning and creaking, but apart from that, my movements to cut the enemy were lighter than ever.
But more than all those symptoms, the biggest question was the Magic Power that was being used so plentifully without any shortage.
The difference felt clear. If before it had been like dipping a bucket into a river called Magic Power, now it was closer to the sensation of swimming in that river and frolicking in the water at will, so there was no way I could miss it.
The problem was that I didn't understand at all why this was possible.
Originally, no matter how efficiently I burned Magic Power using the Magic Organ, it shouldn't have been possible. My current Magic Organ merely allowed me to use ten Magic Power with fifteen efficiency, not increase the total amount to twenty or thirty.
Had the excessive load on the Magic Organ acted as a catalyst? Several hypotheses flashed through my mind, but I had no leeway to think deeply right then, and it wasn't something that could be answered immediately, so I emptied my head as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, that wasn't hard. Because merely facing the demon beast charging with its jaws open to bite my head off made the stray thoughts vanish in an instant.
"...!"
I thought the demon beast barked, but I couldn't hear so I couldn't be sure. As I swung my sword while feeling the Magic Power spreading out precisely, the demon beast with its jaws wide open was bisected just like that. Even this was different from usual. The cutting power had always been outstanding, but normally it should have required more than twice the Magic Power wrapped around the sword to do that.
If at least my senses had been somewhat normal, I could have examined it closely, but since that was one of the most fucked-up parts, even after doing it myself I couldn't grasp how. In the first place, I had no spare capacity to make finer adjustments, yet I was moving as usual and it turned out like this, so apart from the situation gradually improving, my insides were burning with frustration.
I was certain it had to be one of the biggest clues to getting stronger in the future, but since I was about to miss that clue right in front of my nose, I couldn't help but go crazy.
Still, I decided to be satisfied that with the demon beast I'd just killed being the last, the orcs' momentum had broken, and I retrieved the needles and adjusted my stance. At that, the allies behind me stepped forward in sync.
They hadn't just been watching me fight in the front and then sneaked forward. No matter how much I used the needles and Laika, it was impossible to stop all the orcs, so quite a few had rushed into the encampment. In fact, after I had carried out a one-sided slaughter, some orcs had even started running past me toward the rear, as if avoiding me just like they avoided Laika.
It wasn't hard to notice that, in the process of dealing with all of them, the morale of the allies—who had been heading toward collapse—had recovered. In contrast, the orc cavalry, as if feeling their lives threatened, had lost their initial aggressive attitude entirely and were hesitating, extremely on guard.
Not just the orcs, but the demon beasts they were riding were the same. As if they were truly raised by orcs, even their mounts possessed a passive trait of despising the weak, quickly running away from creatures that seemed stronger than themselves and only targeting those that looked weak.
It was a truly pathetic sight, but my heart was at ease because I could see the end of this fight. Even if these weren't all of them, it was clear that we had survived the immediate crisis.
Even after standing off for about ten seconds with no particular movement, when I drove a needle between the brows of a demon beast that was growling while meeting my eyes straight-on, the orcs' desperate flight began as if the standoff just now had been a lie. Their will had long been broken, but it seemed they'd been stuck, unable to do anything because of the bombardment raining down from behind.
There was no need to chase after them. Like the orcs from last time, they fled back along the path they had come, like salmon, and the wyvern knights were still raining fierce bombardment on them, so they died off on their own. Even if some escaped alive, they wouldn't be a significant force.
Only after I saw even the ones that had been trying to charge through the bombardment turn tail and flee did I release the tension and slump down to the ground.
"...!"
My ears still couldn't hear, but the vibrations I felt through my skin told me that cheers were erupting behind me.
As I looked at the orcs fading into the flames, I stopped channeling Magic Power and all strength drained from my body like a discharged machine. I wanted to hold onto my consciousness for even a little longer and spend time understanding my body's current state, but both my flesh and mind had already reached their limit.
Still, I tried to hold on somehow, but as soon as an unknown touch landed on my shoulder, I toppled over as if passing out.