CH 27

Chapter 27 – We Formed an Alliance!

Iria thrust her sword at the Ent who had fallen to the ground.

However, once it realized that Iria had no intention of attacking it, the Ent lowered its head obediently.

“Fo-forgive me… It seems that I made a hasty conclusion.”

Ents were known for being conservative.

And so it was difficult for them to trust anyone who was not one of their own.

I then used water magic to put out the fires across the field.

As it had only been meant to intimidate them, I had not used oil.

And so it could be extinguished quickly.

Iria also lowered her sword as she continued.

“Like Sir Joshua said, we do not mind if you just want to pass through. However…the only thing you will find to the south is the sea. There are no forests for you to live in.”

“We know… We are able to smell the scents of the trees. There are no vast, livable forests in the south. They are only to the north.”

I looked at the Ent, who was full of despair, and said,

“Didn’t you say something about your friends being abducted? And you are sure that it was by humans?”

“Aye. They were riding on horses. And they carried torches… One of them could even unleash fire with the raise of a hand.”

So the slave hunters had a sorcerer as well…

Ents were in the shape of trees, and their heads were covered in leaves.

These leaves contained magic energy, which was often used to make potions.

Furthermore, the wood of their trunks and branches were light and durable, making them high quality materials.

In other words, the body of an Ent was valuable.

However, while in the forest, the Ents were unbeatable.

And so the slave hunters must have burned the forests when taking them.

They had no conscience at all.

If there was anything that was in front of them that could be sold, they tore it away by the roots.

The Ent bowed its head again.

“In any case, it seems that you are different from them… I spoke too soon. I am sorry. We will now head north and fight those who have attacked us.”

As the Ent started to leave, I called out to it.

“No. We are also fighting against those humans. Would it not be better for us to form an alliance so that we can drive them away?”

“An alliance…?”

“Aye. If we defeat the slave hunters, then you can return to the lands close to your home forest. We too want to drive them away from this place…”

I just realized then, that I was speaking without consulting the others, and I regretted it.

However, Iria turned to me and nodded.

And then she said to the Ent,

“Yes. You should fight with us. While the northern forests are dangerous, humans are rarely seen in the western forest. You will be able to stay there for a while… Though, it may seem confined to you.”

“N-not only do you not blame us, but you will accept us as well?”

“Of course. Isn’t that right, Sir Joshua?”

I was in no position to object to something Iria decided, and I was also in complete agreement.

The reason that humans hunted the demihumans was because the demihumans didn’t have the power to fight back.

And so if they had power, the humans might stop hunting them.

But power was more than simply acquiring tools and skills.

It was important that the scattered races work together.

Well, I don’t know if Ents were considered to be demihumans…

“I agree.”

I answered. And then Iria nodded and offered her hand to the Ent.

“Let us fight together… I am Iria. What is your name?”

And then the Ent suddenly changed its form.

What then appeared, was a beautiful human-like woman with long, light green hair.

If she was a human, she would probably be in her early twenties.

She had a quiet, calm atmosphere about her.

I didn’t know that Ents could change their form like this.

“Ecleshia… I am grateful for your compassion.”

Ecleshia said as she took Iria’s hand.

On that day, two-hundred Ents joined us.

～～～～～

“So, there is one sorcerer.”

I said to Ecleshia, who stood behind me while I stacked stones to build a wall.

“Yes. While the others were numerous, they were not very strong. But that one man was on a different level… He burned down the forest in an instant.”

If he was able to unleash that much fire at once, then there was no doubt that he was able to use high-ranking magic.

It was also likely that he had the Fire Sorcerer crest, which allowed you to specialize in fire magic.

It would be impossible for us to use fire magic to counter him.

In that case, the only thing we could rely on was a wall…

Fire magic could not burn stone.

As long as we hid behind the castle walls, we would be safe.

“But if the sorcerer is that powerful, then we should expect him to be able to use other kinds of magic as well…”

Even if the fire magic was high-ranking, perhaps he was able to use other kinds of mid-rank magic.

Besides, we had now driven back the slave hunters a number of times.

And so aside from that sorcerer, they would send many more fighters this time.

If that happens, even if we had the upper hand in the battle, there would be many deaths on our side.

I would prefer to find a way to annihilate the enemy quickly.

But I had nothing besides Production Magic…and so I had to use it to face the enemy.

“Wiz… Could you go to the abandoned mines with the golems, and dig it up?”

Upon hearing this, Wiz immediately headed towards the golems.

With it, I will take them down all at once…

And so all alone, I put together my plan to fight against the slave hunter army.