Chapter 83: Clan Founding
Chapter 83: Clan Founding
Dealing with so many at once meant that even carving out the magic stones was a chore.
By the time we’d stuck together for safety and harvested all the magic stones from the corpses strewn about, a considerable amount of time had passed.
“They’re not attacking again.”
“I know.”
Honestly, for them to have launched a surprise attack like that, they must have been well-prepared. The ones who remained in the settlement would have been watching the situation.
It was a little strange that it was so quiet, with no reaction even though they must have seen their plan fail.
“Just a moment.”
Sara instantly climbed a nearby tree and surveyed the area around the settlement.
Her movements were no joke now.
Could she really be at a level where she could fight with just a dagger, like she’d mentioned before?
“This is strange. I can’t sense any orc presence at all.”
“What? That can’t be right.”
I started to climb the tree myself before realizing that even if I got to the top, I wouldn’t be able to see that far.
“Let’s go check it out.”
If what Sara said was true, it should be safe to approach.
We couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of a trap, but it was hard to imagine they’d have the capacity to launch another coordinated operation right after their meticulously planned one had just been shattered.
Still, we remained vigilant as we slowly approached the settlement.
“There’s really no one here.”
“Hmm. Perhaps that last attack was their full force.”
“You mean every last one of them came charging out?”
“Mm.”
Come to think of it, no matter how numerous they were, we had been hunting them nonstop.
Was that last operation the final, desperate struggle of a cornered enemy?
“But if there were this many of them gathered, shouldn’t there have been a Transcendent Species?”
“Hmm. Perhaps these creatures are similar to the ones on the 2nd Floor.”
“The ones on the 2nd Floor?”
“Mm. Orcs appear on the 2nd Floor as well. However, they are much larger and far stronger than the orcs here. Their intelligence is more developed, you see. Besides their appearance, they don’t have much in common with these orcs, but their way of life seems similar. Do you recall when I mentioned that adventurers attack monster settlements in large groups?”
“Ah, yeah. You said that when we were attacking the goblins.”
“Adventurers have gathered to attack an orc village on the 2nd Floor before. They succeeded in wiping out the settlement, but that wasn’t the entirety of the orcs’ territory. It turned out to be an absurdly vast area with countless settlements clustered together. The one the adventurers managed to conquer was just a single location among many. Orcs from other settlements soon swarmed in, forcing the adventurers to retreat.”
“Are you saying it could be the same here?”
“Mm. I thought this place would be different from the 2nd Floor, as not only the individual traits but also the geographical features are quite distinct, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“Is that so… Then should we look around for a bit?”
The party explored every corner of the orc settlement, but there were only empty huts and not a single trace of the orcs.
The area was large enough to be called a village.
Considering we had killed orcs in the hundreds, it felt like a village of about that size.
However, after passing through the village, a vast plain stretched on and on.
And…
“I can see what looks like another orc settlement over there. And there, and there.”
Sara pointed to several spots beyond the horizon that were invisible to my eyes.
I’d heard Diana’s explanation, but seeing it for myself really drove home just how ridiculously vast the orcs’ territory was.
You’re telling me this entire expanse is orc territory?
It seemed Diana’s prediction had been spot on.
“Then will orcs from other settlements attack us here soon?”
“Hmm. I wonder. As I said before, there’s quite a difference in intelligence between the ones on the 2nd Floor and the ones here. The ones on the 2nd Floor wouldn’t be lured out by arrow attacks and annihilated village by village. It’s hard to believe the orcs here communicate between villages as effectively as the ones on the 2nd Floor.”
It seemed Diana considered the possibility of another attack to be low.
In that case, could we go to one of those other villages and keep hunting them the same way?
For now, we decided to have lunch in the empty orc settlement.
Unlike other areas, the orc territory was a wide-open plain, so securing a clear line of sight was easy.
If a horde of orcs large enough to endanger us were to approach, we would notice them quickly.
We even found a spot with tree stumps arranged like crude chairs, a sign that these creatures had some semblance of civilized life. It allowed us to eat more comfortably than usual.
This is nice. Maybe I should start carrying a table and chairs in my inventory.
At this rate, I might end up setting up a whole household in there.
“Guwon, you must be tired. Please don’t cook this time and just eat. I’ll grill the meat.”
The angel looked at me and spoke with a gentle smile.
But I couldn’t let that happen. What if she burned her delicate hands?
“N-No! I’ll cook! I’m used to it.”
It seemed Sara was just as anxious about Leia’s offer.
She spoke quickly, her tone flustered.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll do it.”
“No. Let me. Guwon, you should rest for a bit.”
“Are you sure?”
It wasn’t just Leia’s delicate hands I was worried about.
Then again, she did say she was used to it, and more importantly, she had the leather gloves she wore when shooting her bow, so she’d probably be fine.
“Of course. Just watch.”
Sara’s hands moved at an incredible speed, skillfully grilling the meat.
“Here, here! How is it? It’s good, right?”
She then picked up a perfectly cooked piece of meat and held it out to my lips.
“Uh, yeah. It’s delicious,” I said, a bit taken aback.
I never thought Sara would do something like this.
The atmosphere was quite different, but the action itself was no different from the ‘say ahh’ routine exclusive to cheesy couples.
Sara seemed to know it too, as her face was bright red with embarrassment.
Khk. To think a day like this would come. I’m so glad I fought hard earlier.
“Sara!”
“Aah! Wh-What is it! I’m not giving you any more! Get it yourself!”
As I lunged forward, overcome with emotion, Sara shrieked, dodged away, and scolded me.
Tsk. I guess her affection has risen, but not enough to let me hug her yet.
“What do you think you’re doing! Can you not cause a ruckus at least while we’re eating!”
“Fufu.”
After a boisterous meal that felt out of place in a dungeon, the party began moving toward one of the locations Sara had pointed out earlier.
We had taken our time eating, but there was no sign of other orcs approaching. It seemed they hadn't noticed that the previous settlement had been wiped out.
So, we decided to attack another one.
The last battle had given us an even greater boost of confidence. To be honest, there was nothing left to fear on the 1st Floor.
In fact, our levels alone were enough to justify that confidence.
Our party was already stronger than other adventurers of the same level for various reasons, and now, with the exception of Leia, we had all reached the appropriate level for this area.
That confidence continued even after we arrived at our destination and fought the orc horde once more.
From a distance, Sara attacked another orc village, and just as expected, a moderate number of orcs came charging out. And, just as expected, our party easily won the battle.
The anomaly occurred afterward.
“Oh?”
Sara, who had raised her bow to lure out more orcs, tilted her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“My arrow was blocked.”
“What?”
She hadn’t used a skill, but there was no way a normal orc could block Sara’s arrow.
“Ah, it seems to have lured them out, though. No, wait. There are too many of them!”
“Kurorororo!”
Yeah. Even I can see that many.
Isn’t that the entire settlement charging out?
Even by a conservative estimate, it looked like at least 200 of them.
The last village only sent everyone out when they were on the verge of annihilation. What a bunch of hotheads.
“Wanna try fighting them?”
“If you’re so confident, go on ahead.”
“Guwon…”
Diana stared at me as if I were insane, while Leia grabbed my hand, pulled it tightly to her chest, and looked at me with pitiful eyes, shaking her head.
Khk. I’m sorry for not knowing when to joke and when not to.
Diana’s reaction was one thing, but seeing even my angel react this way felt like my heart was being torn apart.
“Everyone, run!”
With that, I hoisted Diana onto my back.
“Hmph. It seems you know what to do now without me having to say it.”
Diana patted my head from behind. I couldn’t see her, but she was probably wearing a satisfied smile.
Hey, I’m not just carrying you for your convenience, you know.
“Keep casting magic behind us as we run. Let’s try to thin their numbers as much as we can. Sara, you attack whenever you get a chance, too.”
“Okay!”
With Sara’s agility, she should be able to occasionally turn and fire an arrow even while running.
“Leia, if you get tired, make sure you tell me.”
“Okay.”
The party fled toward the annihilated orc settlement, attacking continuously.
Diana’s magic was powerful, but her mana was finite.
By the time we reached the empty orc settlement, Diana had exhausted all her mana and was slumped limply on my back, and Sara had run out of arrows.
I glanced back and saw a countless number of orcs still behind us.
What’s more, they were still charging, refusing to give up.
How long are they planning to chase us?
Fortunately, we were faster, so even while attacking as we fled, the distance between us hadn’t closed.
Alright. If it’s come to this, it’s time for my last resort.
“Diana. I know you’re tired, but can you cast even a small fire spell?”
“I can manage a very small one.”
“That’s enough. Hit one of those huts.”
“Mm.”
As Diana squeezed out the last of her strength and cast the spell, a hut caught fire.
“Great! Sara, keep them at bay a little longer!”
I took another quiver from my inventory, handed it to Sara, and approached the burning hut.
The best way to stop an enemy in their tracks is a fire attack.
That’s what old Dong Zhuo did in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms I read a long time ago.
I immediately started moving from hut to hut, spreading the fire.
This won’t set the entire dungeon on fire, will it?
Nah. They have heads on their shoulders. They’ll figure out how to put it out.
As I ran around setting the settlement ablaze, I heard Sara’s urgent voice.
“Guwon! It’s getting really dangerous!”
“Alright! This should be enough on my end! Let’s get out of here!”
I put Diana back on my back, scooped Leia up in my arms this time, and made a run for it.
To get straight to the point, my plan was a success.
As expected, with their kinsmen’s settlement burning, the orcs didn’t have the luxury of chasing me.
“Luoyang… no, the settlement is burning,” I muttered, my hands clasped behind my back as I watched the flames from a safe distance.
“Why do you sound so dejected?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
I hastily brushed off Diana’s question.
I thought I’d muttered it quietly, but it seems she heard me.
“So, what’s the plan now?”
“Huh? What about?”
“What do you mean, ‘what about’? The hunt. There’s still plenty of time left in the day to just end it here.”
“Huh? Obviously, we’re going to attack them again.”
“W-What? We’re going back there?”
Did you think we were just going to call it a day? Of course we are. Why is she so surprised?
“Yeah. They’ll be busy putting out the fire, so this is our chance. As soon as Diana’s mana recovers, we attack.”
“You truly are… a wicked man.”
Diana sounded dumbfounded, but it didn’t seem like she was opposed to the idea.
“In that case, give this body the mana herbs we gathered yesterday…”
“What?!”
“Ah, never mind. This body will just meditate for a while.”
At Leia’s tearful gaze, Diana immediately changed her tune.
Whoa. The great Diana just folded.
I guess not even she can withstand the angel’s puppy-dog eyes.
And so, the party spent the time on high alert, waiting for Diana’s mana to fully recover.
