Volume 3 - CH 7

「…………」

After killing three orcs, I pulled out the blade and swung it to shed off the blood clot.

It would be a battle against time from here. I had two works to do simultaneously here. How much time I could buy for the townspeople to escape by delaying the orcs, and how many orcs I would be able to neutralize before the orc general realized my presence here.

I moved the minimum required items to my waist poach and my Storage. I chewed on my last remaining rock candy and dried meat from inside my backpack, then I uncorked the stamina recovery potion and mana recovery potion before gulping them down in order to restore my condition that had been exhausted through these three weeks as much as possible.

「Fuu……let’s go then.」

The potion’s thick magic element made me let out a heated sigh as though I had just drunk alcohol. I threw away the empty porcelain bottles and my backpack and started running through the gloomy forest where light didn’t reach.

There were two more orc teams that were wandering to procure food. They always went through the same route every time, so I should be able to encounter them without problem even if their action changed slightly.

「Found them.」

I found the second food procurement team not long after I started running.

My magic power still hadn’t recovered fully, but I used Body Strengthening even for moving while the mana potion’s effect was still ongoing.

I used my running momentum to kick on a tree’s trunk and leaped diagonally. An orc instantly noticed my presence and opened its mouth to yell, but I stabbed the black dagger into its mouth until it pierced through.

『Gugaa……』

These guys were really troublesome. This one didn’t die instantly even after I stabbed until inside his skull, and this was with its stamina parameter lowered already.

The orc reached out toward me. I let go of the dagger and quickly stabbed its throat with two hidden weapons that I pulled out from the Storage before getting away from its body.

『GAAAAAAAAAH!?』

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

The other two finally noticed me with that and yelled angrily despite their confusion. From their perspective, the Stealth level 4 that I was using must made it looked like I was suddenly oozing out from the forest scenery.

I immediately held back the two orcs by swinging around a pendulum’s blade, pulled out a slender knife from my boot, and tore apart the neck of a still confused orc and driving the dagger deep into its face.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!』

The last one brandished its stone axe high above its head and attacked. But perhaps because its combat strength had decreased, its movement was dull and its focus was lacking.

I left the slender knife in the face of the orc I stabbed and dodged the stone axe, then I threw Feld’s knife above my head to show it off.

The orc’s focus was distracted by the knife because of its insufficient concentration.

『Buboh!?』

I swiftly hit the orc’s jaw with a palm strike using Body Strengthening at full strength. Then I caught the falling knife midair and planted it deeply into the orc’s exposed lower jaw.

「……Next」

The orc that I attacked first had also already died. Even though its life force was originally powerful, its stamina parameter had decreased so it looked like it was beyond any help.

I collected my knifes from the dead orcs, wiped the blood from them carefully, especially the blood sticking on the steel, then I started running toward my next destination.

Even though they were in a weakened state and their stamina parameter lowered, it was difficult to kill them in one strike if I missed their vital spot because of their high life force. Normally I would have a bit of a harder time if I was facing rank 3 opponent head on, but in their current condition where their concentration was lacking and their combat strength lowered, I was able to deal with several of them simultaneously even without using illusion or Battle Technique.

If possible I wanted to use mana as little as possible until the higher rank variant came out. I would be able to defeat them more consistently with just martial art if I had more weight in my body, but there was no point crying for something that I didn’t have.

.

I dealt another food procurement team that consisted of four orcs and a patrolling team of three orcs in the forest with surprise attack just like before.

I had finished off thirteen orcs with this. But I couldn’t take my time leisurely. I started running toward the town in order to also deal with the team that was heading there to steal crops from the surrounding farms.

I used Body Strengthening to rush out of the forest swiftly.

When my physical ability was strengthened like this, I could easily surpass the muscle strength of adult male and in agility my parameter could jump up until twice of ordinary person. If such parameter was given to the light body of an early teenage girl, it was possible to run inside a forest faster than a wolf and nimbler than a panther.

I moved through the forest by jumping from rock to rock, or branch to branch without getting down on the ground. When the effect of the recovery potions ran out, I found the orcs before they could get out of the forest.

I had one more mana recovery potion inside my pouch, but I really couldn’t waste any mana at all right now to prepare for the fight against the higher rank variant.

I was able to find this team but……was their number a bit higher? Just from a brief glance I could see twelve of them, even so it didn’t change what I had to do.

I got a bad premonition but, I had no leeway to observe them first. I entwined my pendulum around a thick branch and climbed up the tree. I strengthened my muscle strength and stealth while jumping from branch to branch. Then I jumped down without pause and launched a surprise attack at the rearmost orc.

But──.

『──BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

I got found out-? The instant I was about to land a surprise attack, one orc let out a warning scream that echoed through the forest.

But the rearmost orc was unable to find me even after hearing the warning scream. I put my weight behind the black dagger and stabbed its skull. It then collapsed on the ground and served as my cushion.

──Fourteen remaining.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

The surrounding orcs also let out a warning scream. The orcs were unable to immediately find me with their lacking concentration while I was still maintaining my Stealth, but with how my first attack was detected like this, I felt a bad premonition and stopped holding back. I allowed myself to use magic with little mana cost.

「──Feel──」

This magic could give the sensation of touching or being touched.

I touched the ears of the orcs at the left and right. They instantly got distracted and turned around. I quickly wrapped pendulum’s strings around the two orcs who were currently unbalanced and strongly pulled. The two orcs fell facing upward and I stabbed into their brains from their necks using a dagger and a knife.

──Sixteenth kill.

『BUOOOOOOOOOOOOH!』

A nearby orc finally detected me with that. It swung down its club that was like a log toward me who had just landed and still kneeling on the ground.

As expected this group’s movement was also dull. I slightly lifted my waist and used footwork to dodge the club, then I used the momentum to stab the orc’s eyes with two blades that I drew out on my hands.

『BUBOOOOH!?』

I couldn’t reach its brain because of my bad posture. The orc screamed and covered its face with both hands. Then──

『BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!』

A larger orc charged at me in that opening. It moved with terrifying speed with a rusty great sword at the ready.

「──Tsu!」

An “orc soldier”! A powerful enemy with rank 4 difficulty level. As expected it was fast, but it wasn’t something that I couldn’t deal with.

I dodged to outside the range of the great sword while also kicking the blinded orc toward its direction. The orc soldier’s great sword bit until halfway into the body of that orc.

──Seventeenth.

Seeing the orc soldier’s great sword digging into that orc, I immediately drew out a knife from the slit of my skirt and threw it. But──

『OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!!』

The orc soldier let out a war cry in respond. It astonishingly lifted its great sword along with the orc’s corpse and used it as shield.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

When I tried jumping over that orc soldier, an orc wearing a leather armor and holding a spear attacked. A second orc soldier!?

I quickly fired an arrow from my crossbow gimmick. When I also jumped to the side, the orc soldier rotated its spear to deflect the arrow and dashed toward me at the same time when I landed.

「──Pain──」

I too lifted up all restrictions of my magic usage and casted Pain. But I didn’t target the spear orc soldier with that.

『Buoh!?』

I used the Pain on an orc that was just standing around without being able to join the high speed battle. The orc stiffened and I jumped over it to use it as a shield. Then the orc soldier’s spear mercilessly pierced through that orc to target me who was behind its back.

「Tsu!」

I instantly bent backward and dodged the bloodstained spear tip although it managed to graze my shoulder. As I backed away, the spear old soldier swung its weapon to the side at the same time, tossing away its subordinate’s corpse like trash.

It was merciless even against its fellow orc. But, that was the eighteenth with that──.

「──tsu!?」

*DOGOOON-!*

I felt increasing mana and killing intent and leaped away. Then the ground where I was standing on just now and the large tree behind me got cut apart by a shockwave.

When I looked that way, I found a large orc wearing a rusty iron armor and holding a rusty two-handed axe taking a stance once more with the axe that it had just swung down while glaring at me.

Another orc soldier-! There were three of them!!

The attack just now was something that even I had only seen for the first time, but I guessed that it was a Battle Technique of two-handed axe, Iron Break.

There was almost no monster that used Battle Technique even when they were the type to fight in close quarter, so I failed to consider this kind of danger.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

That orc soldier let out a war cry to command the remaining four normal orcs. It was most likely that orc soldier who saw through my stealthy approach.

The sword orc soldier.

The spear orc soldier.

The axe orc soldier.

Even with the majority of the orcs in the settlement getting weakened and put them into a tough situation, I never foresaw that three rank 4 orc soldiers would be assigned to guard the food procurement at the human settlement.

Most likely their purpose wasn’t just to steal crops. They must be planning to also attack the town directly and kidnapped humans with this much combat strength coming along.

This was an unforeseen situation that I was afraid of. I had paid attention to hide my existence here until now so that something like this wouldn’t happen at the initial period, but things didn’t go like I wanted…….

The spear orc soldier backed away to regain its footing for the moment, while the sword and axe orc soldiers stepped forward to stand side by side.

Perhaps I should observe this group first at the beginning even though there was no time……. But this result was also due to the time and situation, and even then it was only one orc soldier that ambushed me at the beginning. This would serve as good practice for the future.

This was something unforeseen for me but, the orc general’s decision to arrange this could be said as correct because in the end someone like me really attacked the group.

But, even though that decision was correct, whether that decision was “right” or not still remained to be seen until the result came out.

『『『…………』』』

I got into a glaring match with the orc soldiers while exhaling in order to cool down the heat inside me. Then I quietly held the black dagger in ready.

It was an unforeseen situation but, it was fortunate for me.

I was able to stop these three orc soldiers from heading to the town. At the very least I managed to avoid a situation where I had to face the orc general and four or soldiers at the same time.

You three couldn’t be allowed to proceed ahead. I also wouldn’t allow you three to return to that base. I had no intention to claim that I was fighting for other people’s sake but, you guys had become my “enemy”.

I would become slightly stronger again by defeating you three.

I switched my way of thinking from attacking to battle. I analyzed the enemies’ combat strength once more.

.

▼《Sword》Orc Soldier　Race：Beast Demihuman・Rank４

【Magic Power：１３４／１５０】【Stamina：２４６／５８０】

【Overall Combat Strength：５２９／８９８（With Body Strengthening：６２７／１０６３）】▽41％DOWN

【Status：Weakened】

.

The sword orc soldier had the biggest body build with height that surpassed three meters. It was only wearing bracelet and straw skirt other than the great sword that was almost two meter tall. It must be because even equipment in the size for large human wouldn’t match it.

.

▼《Spear》Orc Soldier　Race：Beast Demihuman・Rank４

【Magic Power：１41／１6０】【Stamina：２32／５2０】

【Overall Combat Strength：５２1／８6８（With Body Strengthening：６1７／１０28）】▽40％DOWN

【Status：Weakened】

.

The spear orc soldier was only a bit bigger than a normal orc. It must be a light warrior type. It was wearing leather armor on its shoulders and chest. Its movement was fast and its attack precisely accurate.

.

▼《Axe》Orc Soldier　Race：Beast Demihuman・Rank４

【Magic Power：１４6／１75】【Stamina：２52／５5０】

【Overall Combat Strength：627／9９８（With Body Strengthening：７74／１181）】▽35％DOWN

【Status：Weakened】

.

The axe orc soldier was two and half meters tall and wearing unrefined iron breastplate and hand protector. This one was the one that I had to be on my guard the most seeing how it seen through my surprise attack and how it used Battle Technique.

「…………」

As expected from rank 4……if they were in perfect condition, they were powerful enemies that would be difficult to defeat even if I faced them one on one, but their bodies were being gnawed by my poison right now and their combat strength had fallen until around my level.

Even so it was only their stamina and status that were lowered by the poison. Their combat skills were still level 4 and judging from their movements before this, it would be pointless to expect that their concentration was lowered by their weakened status.

Other than them I also had to pay attention to the remaining four normal orcs. I didn’t know whether they would get involved into the fight with their combat strength halved like that, but the fight’s situation would greatly changed depending on their action.

『BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

The sword orc soldier finally snapped and leaped toward me.

Its three meter huge body left the ground gouged as it approached. It howled as it swung down its powerful sword. I didn’t choose to dodge and stepped forward instead.

It would be pointless to dodge for some half-hearted distance against a two-handed weapon with wide range. The sword orc soldier immediately met my approach with its sword handle.

But I had experienced that kind of interception from Feld. I used a special footwork and stride aside to dodge while aiming at the orc’s knee joint with my black dagger.

The orc kicked at me with its leg that was like a log when it noticed my attempt.

I too instantly gave up my attempt and blocked the kicking leg with the bottom of my foot to use it as a foothold. I jumped backward using the momentum and opened the distance between us. Then──

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!』

The axe orc soldier that had been quietly observing rushed forward to take advantage of that opening.

It had judged that my speed was superior to it and swung horizontally in a large arc using its axe. I used my flying momentum to put my hands on the ground and somersaulted to open more distance. The axe’s wind pressure blew through as the axe grazed my back.

「──tsu!」

I spun along with my body and used my skirt that was fluttering wide as a cover while pulling knife from my thigh holster and threw it.

The axe orc soldier that came chasing after me calmly used its iron breastplate to block the knife throw. It then continued chasing after me without stopping.

I judged that it would be dangerous to approach this orc carelessly. I backed away while throwing my pendulums right to the sides. Then using Body Strengthening in full strength, I pulled on the strings by folding my arms. The pendulums slice through the air loudly and intercepted the axe orc soldier from left and right.

『Bumoh!?』

The orc was wary toward the pendulums as it was its first time seeing them. It quickly jumped away from that spot.

I also controlled the strings and changed the pendulum’s trajectory. The axe orc soldier noticed the blades attached on the pendulums and swung its axe in a large arc.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!』

A flash──.

Axe’s Battle Technique, Iron Break didn’t only deflected the two pendulums. The shockwave also reached and affected me.

「──kuh」

I barely avoided direct hit, even so I couldn’t completely dodge the shockwave’s impact and my light body got blown away greatly.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

The spear orc soldier saw my unbalanced posture as a great chance and rushed forward. I parried the spear tip that was swiftly lunging at me, but the orc didn’t stop with that and slammed its body on me, blowing me away.

「Guh!」

I used martial art to spin my body acrobatically while fixing my posture. But the sword orc soldier had approached behind me when I realized it. It brandished its sword toward me.

「──Pain──!」

The orc froze for an instant from the dark magic I chanted, but it glared fiercely and kicked me away.

The sword orc soldier must have the resolve to feel pain seeing how it didn’t wear armor. But I managed to put up my guard using that momentary opening. I managed to reduce the impact and regained my balance even after rolling on the forest’s ground that was covered with dry leaves.

「…………」

『『『……』』』

The orc soldiers kept some distance from me to rally themselves. They got into a glaring match with me again after that.

Seeing the higher rank variants having the advantage in their fight against an opponent that killed their comrades in the blink of eye, the remaining orcs cheered and made a ruckus.

My stamina had been reduced by more than thirty percent even just in this short time. And yet I hadn’t managed to even land a single blow.

So this was “rank 4”…….

Although their combat strength had decreased, the combat experiences and skills that had brought them until this far hadn’t vanished and still burned inside their soul.

「……fuu」

I exhaled out a breath that sounded a bit like a laugh. The orc soldiers kept up their guard warily.

…………I’m really a moron.

I thought that I would be able to fight against three rank 4 just because their parameters had dropped and their combat strength now matched mine. Even though I was aware  that carelessness would lead to death, I had become completely conceited just from getting a bit stronger.

These three orc soldiers recognized a mere human child like me as “enemy”. They were putting in serious effort to grasp victory for their group without letting their guard down.

And yet, I was filling my mind with the foolish thinking of keeping “spare strength” for the next fight even though I was currently facing three rank 4, opponents that were clearly above me.

I spat out the blood pooling inside my mouth. My body let go of all tensions and I shifted my posture so that only one side of my body faced forward. Seeing that the orc soldiers became even warier and let out threatening growls. They also started to close the distance gradually.

「…………」

I kept all of them within my sight while asking my own “resolve” inside my heart.

Remember that you are “the weak”.

Remember how have you been fighting until now.

You had never won against a stronger opponent by fighting head on, not even once.

You had come very close to death many times in just this one year. How did you survive those until now.

What I could do was only “my” own way of fighting.

Observe. Lay trap. Not a single one of my ways of fighting included the “proper” way.

Pushed down all your fear and conceit to the bottom of your heart. Simply become a single stroke of 『iron blade』.

Let’s show them “my” way of fighting that wouldn’t show up in rank or combat strength.

.

『……Ga…GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

The spear orc soldier noticed the change in the atmosphere of battlefield and rushed forward.

「──Shadow Snatch──」

I scattered ten small lumps of darkness around me while I myself leaped back into the forest that was starting to get dark with the setting sun.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOO!』

The spear orc soldier chased after me even while staying wary toward the “darkness” floating around me.

I moved inside the dark forest by weaving through the small trees that were spread out at the surrounding.

The instant our sights on each other were cut off by a tree trunk that wasn’t so thick, the orc’s spear lunged forward and stabbed my “shadow” that ran out from behind the tree.

『GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?』

I aimed at that instant to circle behind the orc and my black dagger gouged its neck. A pained scream echoed through the dark forest.

It was too shallow. It wasn’t fatal yet. I sensed the sword and axe orc soldiers approaching this way, so I didn’t continue attacking the spear orc and got back into running through the dark forest once more.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOO!』

The sword orc soldier charged forward mowed down a “shadow” together with a small tree.

Even though it was nothing more than a lump of magic element shaped to look like human, it was difficult to instantly distinguish it from me if it took my place inside this dark forest. The sword orc soldier tried to kill me by mowing down everything.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAA!』

The orc shoulder instantly became furious when it learned that none of its attacks hit. It caused it to step forward between the trees carelessly. But, a weapon flew out from the “darkness” the orc stepped on at that moment. It pierced the orc’s foot through until the other side.

『BUMOOOOOOOOO!?』

Even though it had the resolve to be hurt, it wouldn’t be able to move properly with a blade getting stuck inside its foot. Even so the sword orc readied its sword and kept up its guard against the surrounding “darkness” despite staying in place.

It then sensed “my” presence that was approaching from behind and turned around. But the sword orc judged that it was just an illusion seeing the approaching pitch black shadow. It took off its attention from the shadow to look for the real me. It was then, the “black me” in front of it stabbed its crotch with a dagger.

『……Gu…gaa』

*Rumble* The sword orc fell on its knees and caused the ground to quake. I also peeled off the “shadow” illusion from my skin and sighed.

The sword orc hadn’t died yet, but I judged that it wouldn’t be able to move. In order to deal with the approaching axe orc soldier, I started running toward the normal orcs who were watching from the side.

『Buo!?』

The four orcs raised their weapons in panic seeing me running toward them with the axe orc soldier right behind me.

Four weapons were swung down. I dodged them all with paper-thin difference while waving through them. Then I scattered the red mustard powder that I took out from my pouch.

『BUMOOOOOO!?』

The orcs who got their eyes blinded by the stimulants started swinging around their weapons haphazardly due to pain and fear. But all that they accomplished were hitting their friends.

The rampaging orcs hindered the approach of the approaching axe orc soldier. Seeing that the axe orc soldier attacked with Iron Break that would hit all the orcs together with me.

「──tsu」

I used the orcs as shield and endured the most of the impact. I hid behind a surviving orc before becoming two pitch black shadows that rushed out.

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!』

The axe orc that had seen me camouflaging myself with illusion hesitated for a bit. But that only lasted for an instant before it started running toward one of the illusions.

It rushed straight toward an illusion as though it was convinced that the shadow was the real thing. The axe swung through the illusion, erasing it.

The axe orc soldier smirked that he chose wrongly. It immediately turned around while swinging its axe in full strength toward the other illusion that was approaching silently from behind.

『Buoh!?』

But that illusion also got broken by the axe and dispersed easily.

The axe orc was dumbfounded for a moment before it noticed the small “darkness” spilling out from the pulverized illusions around it. The instant it tried to retreat, one of its eyes was pierced by a crossbow arrow that was fired through a “darkness”.

『────!?』

In addition I who was hiding myself with Stealth behind it stabbed a black dagger into the back of the axe orc.

The axe orc who had excellent detection ability let its guard down thinking that it could find me anytime. And then it thought one of the illusions was me when it “heard” breathing sound from the illusion.

But although I was able to land a blow, my blade couldn’t reach the orc soldier’s head due to the difference in height. The surviving normal orc and also the spear orc soldier that had recovered until it was able to move were running toward me who failed to deal a finishing blow.

『BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!』

The spear orc soldier let out an angry howl. It let out a spear thrust with all of its strength toward me.

It was aiming at my heart──.

It had to kill me in one blow in order to save axe orc soldier that fell into predicament. At least that was what the spear orc soldier thought. The precise attack that was unleashed by a rank 4 who was concentrating its mind to the extreme pierced through my heart without even the slightest bit of deviation in its aim.

『Guaa──』

That excessively accurate thrust perfectly went through the small “darkness” attached on my chest. The spear tip that flew out from one other “darkness” pierced through the axe orc soldier’s head.

I believed in your strength──the strength of rank 4. If its precision decreased even just a little bit due to impatience like an amateur, it would be me who died.

『BUMOOOOOOOOO!!』

The last normal orc leaped in order to stop me turning from the collapsing axe orc soldier to spear orc soldier.

「……Noise……」

I chanted a dark magic with a whisper. The last orc attacked me together with the spear orc soldier that showed an expression of fury as it discarded the weapon that killed its comrade and rushed at me with its fist raised.

The spear orc soldier attacked to keep me on that spot. The normal orc aimed for that opening and brandished its stone axe from behind me before swinging it──

『Gah──』

Not at me, but over my head toward the head of the spear orc soldier, crushing its skull.

The orc’s eyes had stopped hurting from the red mustard powder, but its visual acuity was lower than before.

In the first place monster had better five senses than human. They could stay active to some degree even when in darkness, but that was exactly why I thought that they would be able to rely on sound to attack even when their eyes were blinded. And so the normal orc relied on the sound from my Noise and its stone axe struck the spear orc soldier’s head.

『GUGAAA──!』

Even so the spear still didn’t die. It put its arms around the neck of the normal orc and angrily snapped it. When it turned its bloody face toward me, its wide open eyes caught side of me readying the black dagger for a powerful thrust.

「──Thrust──!」

『Gah……』

My Battle Technique was executed, piercing the bloody face of the spear orc soldier right from the front.

And then──

『Guaa……』

The last remaining sword orc soldier appeared by dragging its bloody legs on the ground.

Its already weakened stamina was decreasing even more. In addition due to the heavy bleeding, it looked like it was already on its last leg even from the perspective of a human like me. The sword orc soldier saw its comrades’ corpses and raised the sword that it was using as cane.

「…………」

『…………BUMOO!!』

The huge three meter body swung down the huge sword. But that blade’s speed was clearly slow.

I took half a step back to dodge that sword. Then I ran on top of the sword when it sank into the ground and I jumped. I stabbed the black dagger that I held in reverse with both hands between the orc’s eyes.

.

「…………Haa, haa……」

I ran out of mana after killing all the orcs and fell on my knees on the spot. I swallowed a pill before I entered a starving state that was an indication of mana exhaustion, then I gulped down my last mana recovery potion in one go.

It wasn’t just my mana, I had also overused my stamina. There was also the exhaustion that had been accumulating until now, so my body most likely would be unable to recover completely…….

But……25 were now dead with this. Just a half more.

I ate more pill and chewed, then I put strength into my trembling legs and stood up. I started walking toward the abandoned village where the orc general was residing, in order to hold back the orcs for the remaining several days.