Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Results of Early Education
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"An orc horde of that size pushing south all at once... It's been nearly 150 years since something like that happened."
"How do you know that, young master?"
Sir Heinrich, the knight captain, asked.
"I read it in a book."
I answered calmly.
"A book on orc ecology, then."
"You've read it too, I imagine."
Sir Heinrich was a veteran knight who had joined orc subjugation missions several times.
In other words, it would have been stranger if he hadn't read it...
"I have it, but I haven't opened it."
What?
He openly admitted he hadn't read it.
"But you're called the Orc Slayer..."
"Hit an orc in the head with a sword, and it dies. That's all the knowledge you need."
That was true enough.
The knights in this world were superhumans who wielded the mystical energy called mana, but most of them saw reading books as something only the weak did.
Even so... to not even crack open a book given to him by the family for job-related knowledge.
Anyway...
Among everyone here, a ten-year-old bookworm had the most knowledge about orcs.
"But it seems we need your knowledge right now, young master. Why do you think they're coming south at this time?"
I fell silent for a moment.
I recalled the contents of the books I'd read in my mind.
Ecology and Habits of Northern Orc Tribes
History of Frontier Defense Wars
Historical Examination of Monster Migrations
Putting it all together...
"Two possibilities. Defeated remnants from infighting between orc tribes being pushed this way. Or they're fleeing a colossal monster like a dragon stirring."
Sir Heinrich's face hardened.
"Either way, it's no good sign. It means an even bigger invasion could come."
The soldiers around us began to murmur.
"An even bigger invasion...?"
"This wasn't enough?"
The soldiers buzzed with unease.
"Either way... not good news."
"No."
I nodded.
This wasn't a game.
It wasn't a story in a book.
Right now, in this moment, people's lives hung on our decisions.
I looked straight at Sir Heinrich.
"What would you do?"
My voice was calmer than I expected.
I was the nominal de facto leader of this group.
Of course, I was still just a child, and Sir Heinrich held actual command authority.
But my brother had appointed me as acting lord. Ignoring that procedure would undermine not just my authority, but my brother and father's as well.
Sir Heinrich looked at me for a moment.
Something subtle shifted in his eyes.
Different from when we'd first set out.
"Young master, I'll tell you my thoughts. We have to abandon the village."
Sir Heinrich's voice was firm.
"They're not opponents we can beat. We'd need at least ten knight orders from the duchy, plus the main army."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Even His Grace the Duke, a Swordmaster, would need to step in personally."
It was sound logic.
Over 500 orcs.
Against our force of 15 knights and 50 soldiers. No contest.
The other knights and soldiers nodded in agreement.
"He's right."
"It's beyond us."
Everyone agreed.
I thought the same.
But...
The duchy's main forces were tied up at the western border. Human kingdoms' conflicts.
Was pulling them off that the right call?
...
...
No other options, really.
Retreat, report to Father the Duke, bring a proper army. That was the answer.
I opened my mouth to speak.
That was the moment.
"Um, um, um, um, um..."
Tiny fingers tugging at my collar.
I turned my head. Lize was there.
Her face pale, eyes trembling.
Cold sweat trickling from under her eyepatch.
"What is it?"
I asked quietly.
"I h-have something to s-sayyy... Hic."
Lize's voice shook.
The knights glanced over.
Lize started trembling even harder.
Hic. Hic. Hic.
She couldn't speak here.
I sighed and stood.
"I'll step out for a moment."
"Understood, young master."
Sir Heinrich bowed his head.
I took Lize outside the tent.
A little ways off, under the shade of a tree.
Out of sight.
"Speak now."
Lize was still shaking.
But away from the crowd, she seemed to calm a bit.
Hic. Hic.
The tremors spaced out.
And then.
"Y-Young master..."
Lize looked up at me.
Her gray eyes brimmed with tears.
"W-We can w-win..."
"...What?"
I asked again.
Lize spoke in a trembling voice.
"I... I... We can b-beat the o-orcs..."
"We can beat the orcs? Do you have some insane power? Like sword aura that slices through a hundred orcs in one swing?"
"N-No wayyy!"
Lize waved her hands frantically.
I sighed.
I knew it wasn't likely. Sword aura was for Swordmaster-level knights.
But I wanted to grasp at straws.
"Then what?"
"Th-This village... It's my h-home..."
Right, her parents died in an orc raid.
No massive southern push, but raids big enough to wreck a village like this happened often enough.
"So?"
"S-So... I know the v-village terrain b-better than anyone... Even better than the villagers..."
"The villagers?"
Lize nodded.
"Y-Yes... Most of them aren't from here originallyyy..."
True.
A village razed by orcs and resettled—most, including the chief, probably weren't originals.
The true natives were dead or scattered. The duchy sent new folk to reclaim it.
"So?"
Clearly, Lize knew something.
But whether it could turn the tide... uncertain.
"There's a r-ravine in the village... A huge one..."
"Ravine?"
I narrowed my eyes.
A ravine...
"Where?"
"North of the village... Deep in the forest..."
Lize pointed north with a trembling finger.
"How long is it?"
"From the north side of the village, stretching east... Almost... like it wraps around half the village..."
A ravine encircling half the village.
"Why didn't the chief mention such crucial info?"
"Probably... doesn't knowww..."
Lize said softly.
"The ravine's deep in the forest... Villagers don't go there. Too dangerous. Newcomers might not even know it exists..."
"But you did."
"Y-Yes... I played there a lot as a kid... With friends..."
Lize's voice trembled briefly.
Her friends probably died in the raid too.
I shook off the thought and focused.
"Battle of Bomaangpa."
"Huh?"
I doubted my ears for a second.
"The story you told me, young master... Before Red Cliffs... When Liu Bei first beat Cao Cao... Where Zhuge Liang first appears..."
Battle of Bomaangpa.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it's Zhuge Liang's flashy debut.
In reality, Zhuge Liang's role was minor, Liu Bei handled it—but anyway, anyone who loves the novel knows it.
"Lize, remember how that battle went?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Liu Bei's army... was outnumbered... Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun's much larger force..."
"Right."
"So Zhuge Liang... lured the enemy into a narrow path... Bomaangpa, a tight ravine blocked by mountains on both sides..."
Exactly.
Bomaangpa was a narrow pass.
"And then... they set it on fire... Piled grass and wood on both mountainsides, and when the enemy entered the narrow path..."
Fire attack.
The core of the Battle of Bomaangpa.
Liu Bei's smaller force first clashed with Xiahou Dun's army.
Then pretended to lose and fled.
Believing victory at hand, Xiahou Dun's troops pursued eagerly... deep into the narrow Bomaangpa.
At that moment, fire erupted from both sides.
Pre-piled hay and firewood ignited all at once.
Trapped in the narrow path, Cao Cao's troops couldn't advance or retreat.
They choked on smoke and fire, fell into chaos, and collapsed.
Liu Bei's outnumbered force used terrain and fire to win big.
"Lize."
I looked her straight in the eye.
"Y-Yes!"
"That ravine can be our Bomaangpa?"
"Y-Yes!"
Lize nodded vigorously.
"It's really narrow... Only five, maybe ten at most, can pass at once... And sheer cliffs on both sides—no climbing..."
"How high?"
"Ab-Bout... 100 meters? Maybe taller..."
100 meters.
Tall enough.
"And lots of trees on both sides... Dry ones too..."
Perfect for igniting.
I sketched it out in my mind.
Lure 500 orcs into the ravine.
Narrow, so max 10 at a time.
Light both sides... 500 or 1,000, all become orc barbecue...
My heart started pounding.
Crazy idea. 65 against 500?
Head-on, total wipe.
But not head-on?
"...Young master?"
Lize looked up anxiously.
She read something in my face.
I looked straight at her.
"Lize. You just told me something huge."
"Y-Yes?"
"Take me to that ravine. Right now."