Let's Take That One Down
With less than two weeks left until break—
"Today is a field exercise."
Cheren strode into the middle of second-period morning class and announced it without preamble.
While the Class A cadets sat blinking in confusion, Leon's eyes lit up and he shifted restlessly in his seat.
So it's starting.
"Everyone change into your gear and assemble in front of the main building within twenty minutes."
The Class A cadets scrambled into their combat uniforms and hurried out to the front of the first-year main building.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the sun was warm.
The plaza was packed with first-year cadets who had likewise been pulled out of class. Everyone wore the same bewildered expression, with no idea what was going on.
Cheren spoke for the instructors.
"This morning, word came in that a horde has formed in the Marshalli Mountains northeast of Elaim. They appear to have scraped together every monster in the range — the scale and numbers are unprecedented. And they're currently heading straight for Elaim."
Surprise and tension rippled across the cadets' faces.
When monsters massed into a vast swarm and came pouring in, the phenomenon was called a horde.
"This is an excellent opportunity. You will form teams and contribute to the subjugation as both practical training and field experience. That said, safety comes first. Senior cadets and regular soldiers will handle the critical zones, so your role will primarily be support. Instructors will also be stationed nearby at all times."
Of course, an Elprime cadet could thrash most ordinary monsters without much trouble — but caution was still essential. They still lacked experience, and there was no telling what variables or mistakes might arise.
"Teams will be five members as a baseline, though combat-track cadets from the Magic Department may also join and be distributed among the groups."
Unlike the Martial Arts Department, which had turned out all two hundred and fifty of its first-years, the Magic Department was taking volunteers only.
"Form your teams. Move."
Cadets began scrambling to assemble their groups, and the plaza erupted into noisy chaos.
Amid the confusion—
"Master!"
"Aria, over here!"
Leon and Aria found each other as if they had arranged it in advance.
Then others closed in around them.
"Mind if we join you?"
"Leon!"
Carotin and Celia.
"Can I tag along too?"
Esabel, who had been turning up around them more and more lately.
"Sir Leon. May I join as well? I'm confident I can pull my own weight."
And even Riana — an unexpected addition.
"Oh, you came too?"
"Heh. I could hardly sit out something this important."
"Hmm. Fine. Come along."
Leon accepted her without a second thought.
If things go south, I can always ditch her.
He'd gauge her skill first. If she turned out to be dead weight, he could just park her with a nearby team.
"We good to go like this?"
"Yeah."
Leon led the group over to Cheren for confirmation. A party packed exclusively with top-tier talent passed without question.
Two hours later, the cadets marched out beyond Elaim's walls.
Everyone had thoroughly memorized the safety briefings.
"I'll say it again — you hunt stragglers that break off from the horde. Pushing deep into the main body is strictly forbidden. Just because pressing your beacon summons an instructor does not mean you can let your guard down."
"Yes, sir!"
The monster horde was advancing on Elaim's northern gate. The cadets would swing wide to either flank and strike at its sides.
A horde was not an army marching in formation. A handful of powerful command specimens loosely herded the rest into a swarm that boiled forward like a plague of locusts. That also meant the monsters were strung out and scattered. Stick to the outer edges and you would never face a mass charge or get surrounded.
As long as that held true, middling monsters were no real threat to Expert-rank martial artists. The job was simple: patrol your assigned sector and kill whatever you saw. Instructors were stationed throughout the area for emergencies on top of that.
Perhaps because of that, the cadets looked more excited and eager than tense. Their lives and safety were essentially guaranteed.
The fifty teams split in two — half heading west, half east.
Leon's group went east.
Before the twenty-five teams clustered at the gate, Cheren spoke again.
"All right. From here, scatter as you see fit. Stay on your routes. Team leaders, keep constant track of your positions. Move out."
Cadets fanned out in every direction.
"Let's go."
Leon glanced over the map and addressed his party.
"We're going to move a bit fast. That okay?"
Everyone nodded.
No one questioned Leon becoming team leader. Not even with a princess in the group. Leon and Esabel themselves barely gave it a second thought.
"Then we move."
Leon broke into a run. Not a full sprint, of course — just a solid, steady jog.
The terrain ahead mixed plains, rolling hills, and woodland. At the far edge of the horizon, the peaks of the Marshalli Mountains — where the horde had set out — were faintly visible.
"Where are we headed?"
Esabel asked. With every light footfall, her silver ponytail rippled beautifully behind her.
"I was thinking of pushing a little deeper. We are the strongest first-year team, after all. We'll be fine."
"Hmm. Fair enough."
Of course, Leon's idea of "a little deeper" was nothing like what the rest of them imagined.
A monster horde descending on human settlements. It wasn't common, but it happened often enough that people never quite forgot it existed.
Every so often, a King-class specimen appeared among the monsters. These creatures outclassed their own kind in every respect, and like true kings they lived at the head of their own forces.
Among even those King-class specimens, the truly exceptional ones organized large-scale colonies. A colony like that was little different from a bandit gang or marauder company — its leader possessed intelligence nearly on par with a human's. And when such a colony judged itself strong enough, it attacked nearby villages and cities.
This particular horde was a coalition of several colonies. That, too, was possible. Colony leaders were close enough to human that they could form alliances — or hierarchies. An Orc King subjugating a Lizard King and treating it as a subordinate was entirely within the realm of possibility.
But—
Not this time.
Leon already knew this horde had not formed because the monsters had simply decided to join forces. There had been artificial interference. A scheme carried out with clear, deliberate malice.
An attack aimed at Elprime. A raid.
"They really don't know when to quit."
Muttering to himself, Leon glanced back over his shoulder.
The whole party was keeping up without trouble.
Riana, contrary to any worries, was matching their pace with a light Fly spell — gliding a few centimeters off the ground like a ghost, skimming effortlessly through the air. It didn't seem to be pure skill; she was clearly leaning on an artifact's help.
Everyone looks fine so far…
More than thirty minutes had already passed since they set out. They had only encountered a single group so far — a dozen or so goblins. Leon's party had reduced them to paste with a few casual kicks.
Enemies on the level of goblins were insects to them. Judging by their eyes, everyone was hungry for something stronger, something with more of a kick.
Leon nodded in satisfaction.
In that case, I should give them what they want.
"This way! Come on!"
He subtly altered their course.
Thirty minutes later.
Shhhk—!
Behind Leon, arcs of fresh blood traced elegant curves through the air. Crimson sprayed skyward, painting a vivid picture of red lines across the clearing.
Lizardmen with severed carotid arteries clapped their hands to their throats a beat too late. Naturally, that did nothing to spare them from death.
Seven lizardman bodies crumpled one after another.
From the moment Leon locked onto them to the moment the last one fell, less than two seconds had passed. The result of the swift-sword techniques he had been drilling lately.
"Hmm."
His own expression remained indifferent. The feel of the cuts had been decent enough, but the enemies were simply too weak for him to take any real satisfaction from it. He still needed something more threatening.
His companions, on the other hand, were all standing with their mouths hanging open.
"Good heavens…!"
"Ah, so that's why you've looked so busy lately."
"W-what was that…?"
While they were still reeling, Leon climbed a tall tree and surveyed the surroundings.
In the distance, an open stretch of ground swarmed with green-scaled monsters.
"That colony is… lizardmen?"
He sharpened his vision further and confirmed it. The ones he had just cut down had almost certainly spilled out from there.
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly.
I need to find the orc colony, though.
It wasn't the target he had been hunting for. But now that it had caught his eye, he had no intention of simply walking past.
"Let's see…"
Frowning, he studied the lizardman colony more carefully.
"Found it."
A body two heads taller than the rest, and a pair of vicious, piercing eyes. The Lizard King.
Around it stood ferocious-looking lizardmen forming a living wall — the colony's elites, or something like a royal guard.
"Hey."
Leon called down casually to the others below.
"Let's take that one down."
And with a bright, sunny smile, he pointed straight ahead with his index finger.
"…?"
The party tilted their heads, climbed up after him, and spotted the writhing mass of lizardmen. Their answers came at once.
"Let's go right now."
"Looks about right."
"Good enough for a warm-up."
"Want to bet on who kills the most?"
The reactions were thoroughly enthusiastic.
"Whaaaat?! Wait — wait a second!"
…With one exception.
"How is everyone acting like this is nothing?! That's the colony's main force! There's a Lizard King in there!"
Riana's golden hair whipped around her as she flailed in protest.
But—
"A bet sounds good."
"Loser buys dinner later. How about it?"
"What? Then I'm going first!"
"Move out, move out!"
"…"
Once again, Riana's voice reached no one at all.