Settlement Time
Dududududu-!
A thundering vibration like a herd of stampeding beasts. In the pre-dawn darkness, countless gleaming eyes flickered to life.
"GRAAAAAGH!"
"Kill the humans!"
"In the name of Lord Gromnar!"
Orcs came pouring out of the forest. They charged without hesitation. The orcs at the vanguard smashed through the palisade and flooded in, followed by thousands more surging forward like a tidal wave. Shouting war cries, they tore through tents and brought axes down onto scarecrows.
"Die! …Huh?"
"Th-this is straw!"
"Nothing over here either! The tents are empty!"
Confusion spread in an instant, and by the time their main force had fully poured into the encampment, it had reached its peak.
"It's a trap! Everyone fall back!!"
One orc screamed, but it was already too late. A red signal flare rose from the ridge above.
Pyuuuuung-!
The artillery opened fire. With a sound like the dawn sky tearing apart, dozens of high-explosive shells rained down on the orcs' heads. The flash of the blasts turned night into broad daylight.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAM!!
Thick armor meant nothing against such overwhelming firepower. Most of the orcs were blown apart, sent flying into the sky in pieces. Flesh rained down like a downpour, and screams were swallowed whole beneath the thunder.
"Commence firing! Leave not a single one alive!"
The moment the barrage stopped, every gun of the 7th Regiment ringing the ridge opened up.
Dududududu! Tatatang!
Crossfire from three sides. The orcs, rats trapped in a sack, had nowhere to run. They scrambled in panic, tangling and tripping over one another while a merciless rain of lead poured down on top of them.
"GRAAAAGH-!!"
Then it happened. Piercing through the drumbeat of artillery and gunfire, a roar erupted across the battlefield with overwhelming force. Every soldier's gaze snapped to it at once. Through the swirling dust, an orc of unimaginable size revealed itself.
He stood a good four meters tall, his entire body sheathed in dark red steel plate. In his hand he carried a massive hammer, large as a human torso, its head seething with crimson energy.
I immediately pulled out my binoculars and studied him.
Status Analysis.
Name:Gromnar Ironfist
Rank:Grand Chieftain
Hidden Trait:Warlord — Bolsters the morale of nearby allies and dispels their fear.
So he's finally made his move.
Grand Chieftain of the Ashen Claw Tribe. Gromnar Ironfist. The very monster who had been tormenting the Imperial Army on the Western Front all this time. The collapsing orc formation began to regroup around him, and Gromnar charged headlong to break through the encirclement.
"Wh-what…? That's our side?!"
As luck would have it, he slammed straight into the 1st Battalion, where the 2nd Company was positioned.
KWAAM!
The giant hammer swept in. The 1st Company's defensive line, positioned to the left of the 2nd Company, was torn open in an instant.
"GRAAK!"
Every time he swung that hammer, Imperial soldiers went flying like bowling pins. The 1st Company was on the verge of collapse — the entire 1st Battalion, even. Just as I was concluding that the encirclement was about to be breached, a force in black uniforms came cutting through the forest. The regimental headquarters detachment.
Chiik! Fwoooosh!
Crimson flames surged up from one side of the forest. The flamethrowers carried by the headquarters engineers vomited dancing ropes of fire. Trees and orcs tangled together and burned alive. The acrid stench of roasting flesh rode the wind and stung my nose. Even Gromnar stiffened for a moment before the fierce blaze.
"It's regimental HQ!"
"The Colonel's here! Hurrah!!"
The soldiers cheered. I seized the opening and took aim at his flank.
"Now! Concentrated fire!"
Dududududu! Tatatang!
Hundreds of rounds poured into Gromnar.
Pyuak-! KWAAM!
At the same moment, a chilling Mana Bullet roared from Seraphina's pistol and slammed into his chest, while machine guns and grenades converged in a single wave. Every ounce of the 7th Regiment's firepower focused on one Grand Chieftain.
"GRAAAAAGH!"
Even so, Gromnar howled like a beast and pressed forward. Dark red blood gushed through his shredded armor, but the madness seething in his eyes refused to die.
Gathering the last of his strength, he drove his massive bulk forward. His target was… the 2nd Company. And standing at its head — Seraphina.
"Die!"
But Seraphina's Mana Bullet was faster. She pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation.
Condition:Backflow temporarily alleviated. Current mana flow smooth and unobstructed.
Taang-!
A clean, flawless strike. A silver-white flash streaked in a straight line and buried itself in the dead center of his chest. His armor, already shredded to ribbons by the concentrated barrage, was useless, and the round punched clean through his enormous frame. A scene that made every ache of my Touch of Attunement sessions worth it.
"K… hkh……"
Black gore burst suddenly from Gromnar's mouth. The body of the giant orc Grand Chieftain slowly tipped backward.
THUD-!
Gromnar fell. And with that, the roar erupted.
"He's dead! We got the Grand Chieftain!"
"WAAAAAAAH!"
"Hurrah for the 2nd Company! Hurrah for the 7th Regiment!"
Having lost their leader, the orcs lost all will to fight. They threw down their weapons and scattered in every direction, only to be hunted down one by one by the regiment's forces, the encirclement already sealed. It was no longer a battle — it was a one-sided extermination.
I pushed through the cheering soldiers and approached Gromnar's corpse. Seraphina was already standing before it, breathing hard as she stared down at the fallen giant.
"……"
A faint wisp of smoke was still curling up from her muzzle.
"You did it, Captain."
As I approached, she slowly turned her head.
"…So I did. Lieutenant, thanks to you… we've truly won."
She staggered a step closer and rested her hand on my shoulder. Her legs, it seemed, had given out.
"Captain, are you all right?"
"…I'm fine. Just a brief… dizzy spell."
Status Analysis.
Condition:Mana nearly depleted. No backlash from Mana Overload. Mana flow clean.
Emotions:Deep trust in and dependence on the man called Max Jäger.
Thankfully, the effects of my treatment had held through the end of the battle. Right now she was simply exhausted. I steadied her and helped her upright.
Soon footsteps sounded from the far side of the forest. Colonel Karl von Dietrich, the regimental commander, along with headquarters soldiers. The moment he laid eyes on Gromnar's corpse, his eyes gleamed.
"HAHAHA! Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!"
Forgetting decorum entirely, he laughed heartily. He kicked Gromnar's corpse experimentally with his boot, then looked back and forth between me and Seraphina with a satisfied expression.
"Turning the enemy's own trap against them and annihilating their main force in one stroke! In my entire military career, I have never seen so perfect an encirclement and annihilation!"
"It was all thanks to your bold decisiveness, Colonel."
Seraphina deflected the credit. The Colonel seemed pleased enough by it, stroking his beard.
"Modest as ever. It wouldn't have been possible without your 2nd Company's performance. And Lieutenant Jäger."
The Colonel's gaze fixed on me.
"That strategy you proposed. Utterly brilliant. Once those bastards in the Imperial Capital see this report, they won't be able to say a word."
Status Analysis.
Name:Karl von Dietrich
Condition:Extremely elated
Emotions:Intoxicated by victory; pride in capable subordinates who have opened the road ahead of him.
I read his desires and threw him precisely the words he wanted to hear. Getting ahead was no different from playing the game of people.
"All of this glory was made possible by your resolute judgment, Colonel — choosing to attack when retreat must have seemed wise. We merely moved as the sword in your hand."
"Hehehe! And silver-tongued too. That's right, you're exactly correct. Retreating is for cowards!"
At the very height of his good mood, the Colonel clapped me heartily on the shoulder.
"Announce it to the whole force! The Ashen Forest belongs to the Empire! From this day, this forest shall become a great salient on the Western Front — the wedge driven into the enemy's heart! And every ounce of the credit belongs to us, the 7th Regiment! Tonight, everyone — raise a toast to victory!"
WAAAAAAH!
The soldiers' roar shook the forest. Amid the clamor, I smiled quietly to myself.
It was time to collect my payment.
Once the situation was settled, the regiment swiftly secured the forest. The leaderless remnants of the Ashen Claw Tribe were little more than a rabble, and the mopping-up operation proceeded with almost insulting ease.
I led my exhausted soldiers back to the encampment. Loose with relief, they slumped into the trenches or embraced one another, sharing in the joy of victory.
"We made it… we actually survived…"
"We killed that monster!"
But I had no intention of joining their celebration. I had something more important left to do.
"Gunter, handle the cleanup. I'll be stepping inside for a bit."
"Yes sir! Go in and rest, sir! Lieutenant Jäger… no, Captain Jäger 'the True'! Thanks to you, we all made it out alive!"
"Hah."
Gunter snapped off a brisk salute. I gave a dry chuckle at the ever-growing proficiency of his flattery and ducked into my tent.
Zip.
The moment I lowered the tent flap and stepped into my own sealed-off space, cut off from the outside world, I let out the long breath I'd been holding.
"Whew…"
Fatigue crashed down on me all at once. The mental drain was even greater than the physical. Spending the entire day wrestling hordes of orcs, tightrope-walking between superiors, and attuning Seraphina on top of it all — it was only natural.
But the real thing started now. I calmed my chest, swelling with anticipation, and stared at the empty air.
"……"
As expected, it didn't appear right away. I simply waited.
And sure enough, the notification window finally rose.
Ring-
With a clear chime resounding through my skull, a long cascade of system messages poured down before my eyes like a waterfall.
Initiating battle settlement…