CH 14

Chapter 14 – Rising Magician

Just exactly how much time passed? — Rafael thought while he wiped away his sweat.

Huge tree-like monsters assaulted the kingdom’s army, splendidly charged into the ranks and files of the troops’ formation, and they fell into chaos. Moreover, the divided army was scattered, splitting into smaller companies and platoons, and it became a situation where they could no longer move like how the army was led in the beginning.

The orcs that laid in ambush until then concentrated their attacks and swooped in, making it unbearable for the army. The human forces fell into complete disadvantage and repeatedly retreated.

In that unfavorable situation, there was one unit led by Rafael which put up a good fight.

They boast the strongest force in the army and even amongst the whole kingdom; they withstood the orcs’ attacks and fought them off. However, the repeated battles they faced had caused them to lose one man after another, and the group that he led was no longer the original hundred.

Everyone was drenched in blood mixed with the orcs and their own. Fatigue was setting in strongly. Injuries could be healed because of the health potions and magicians’ healing spells. However, they did not have any effect in replenishing the blood; unable to prevent anemia from the dire blood loss, neither could it fully restore the accumulated fatigue. If things continued that way, it was a matter of time before they were completely wiped out.

There was no way to join up with the other groups and escape from this danger.

Yet, while there was no way—

(Just how are the orcs reading our movements and moving before us!)

In order to join up with the other groups, they had to aggressively attack the pathless roads held by the orcs which spread out endlessly. It was as if the humans’ movements had been thoroughly read and toyed by the enemies’ fingertips, and they could not regroup.

(If I recall correctly, the survivors of that village were also ambushed by the orcs in the same way.)

Rafael remembered that event and gritted his teeth.

(It seemed like our army’s movements were being leaked. Did the tree monsters observe us? How did they transmit information to the orcs again?)

The situation was completely in the opponents’ advantage. But he could not give up here. He had to take up the responsibility for this loss and leave the Commander Knight’s seat— .But now he was still the Commander Knight who was in charge of two thousand and two hundred lives.

He had to reduce the casualties of his allies and bring back information at all costs, despite how little it might be for the next battle.

Explosions were ringing out at regular intervals in the forest. Perhaps they were made by an ally magician who was still fighting. Maybe he had not given up yet.

Rafael tried to regroup and escape with his allies again.

He saw an area where sunlight was shining in dazzlingly. He had earlier entered the forest and thought he exited the place when he saw that scene, but it seemed like he was wrong. It was a clearing in the forest which opened up a little. Instead of escaping from the forest, he had traveled further into the forest and lost his way.

In the center of the clearing, was a huge ancient tree resembling the Tree-like monsters he had encountered earlier.

(Is this also a monster?) — Rafael became suspicious while he approached it nervously.

[You have done well to come this far, powerful human.]

A voice that sounded like an old man reverberated in his ears. Rafael’s eyes widened. If one looked closely, the trunk had huge dents that formed the shapes of eyes and a mouth. It looked like a tree with a human face. Monsters with high intelligence were capable of talking. This was not a strange thing, and Rafael increased his vigilance when he saw the Tree-like monsters earlier.

[Who the hell are you!]

He pointed his sword at it and demanded. His troops also surrounded the ancient tree and prepared to fight.

[I am an Elder Treant, follower of revered Moussdeus.]

Moussdeus — Rafael had heard that name before.

[You bastard! You’re an evil god’s subordinate?!]

[Not an evil god. Revered Moussdeus is our magical creatures’ god.]

The Elder Treant was unhappy with Rafael’s tone and increased its pressure on him.

[Well that’s fine. Powerful human. You should be proud of your strength. You have repelled my subordinates multiple times with your warriors, and I will dedicate your deaths to revered Moussdeus.]

[My sword is dedicated only to the kingdom and not for the Evil God! It is used for tearing up you bastards that hurt the citizens and threaten the kingdom!]

[Hah, then go ahead and try it if you can—]

[Your prattling is irksome! My magicians and archers, unleash your fury onto that bastard!]

The magicians and archers under Rafael start moving at Rafael’s command. But the ground shook violently before they could attack, breaking their postures with a sudden earthquake. The earth was uplifted and the Elder Treant’s roots attacked the soldiers mercilessly.

[Fuhahaha, how unsightly. I merely shook my roots once and all of you humans are downed. What fragile things you are—]

The Elder Torrent mocked them.

[Let me teach something beneficial to you. My roots do not merely shake the earth. The roots that are connected to the surrounding plants, will eventually become my retainers and become under my control. To turn them into treants I require human sacrifices. Eventually, my roots will cover all over the kingdom’s soil and I will increase my retainers.]

[…… Is that the purpose of attacking the villagers!]

[Indeed, our army’s prowess is insufficient because my strength is sealed away and the incompetent orcs living here are useless.]

(This is dangerous) — Rafael was trembling when he heard the words that were beyond his imagination.

The summary was the Evil God Moussdeus’s subordinate, an Elder Treant, was intentionally attacking the kingdom. He had heard that the Evil God’s retainers were able to share their sight and information even if they were far away. This fairytale-like story from the Elder Treant was something like a tall tale of a human becoming a vampire, but if the monster’s words were true, it would explain the situation they were in.

And the Elder Treant’s plant retainers in this area must have transmitted information back to it.

If the trees in the kingdom became subordinates and turned into Treants—, then they would overwhelm this kingdom, and it would surely collapse. Even if he had to put his life on the line, he would prevent it as a knight. Based on the Elder Treant’s words its roots had not covered the entire kingdom yet. He must first remove this monster and minimize the damage.

[My fellow soldiers, it is too dangerous if we let this creature live! Our opponent is rooted to the ground. There’s no worry that it could move like the other tree monsters! Begin attacking and do not stop for any reason!]

The soldiers once again entered into offensive postures.

[It is true that I cannot move. However—]

The trees around it started to move.

[It would be fine if I call out to my family.]

Thirty enemies surrounded Rafael.

[Care not about these unimportant creatures. No matter what, bring that monster down!]

[Commander, we will intercept these creatures, so please take care of that monster!]

The vice commander used his mana to raise his strength, and the human army raised their hands against the Evil God’s right hand who defeated earlier. Rafael faced his opponent which was an unprecedented danger to the kingdom with resolution.

Several Treants stood in his path in order to block off the road. Perhaps the soldiers had made their moves early, or perhaps they arrived in a flash, they ultimately made a way for Rafael. The Treants that attacked the flanks and rear were also protected by the soldiers. Rafael felt his strength rising when he saw the soldiers who raised their voices and stood against the monsters. Everyone had come here with their bodies full of wounds. He was thankful for the fact that he was blessed with excellent men that paved a bloody road for the kingdom.

But he could not revel in that fact. They were risking their lives to create time for him, and it was folly to waste even one second of it.

If he could not subjugate the Elder Treant, he would not be able to face the soldiers. His feet that should have been tired kicked off from the ground powerfully. He was going to reduce the distance between him and the Elder Treant immediately. The monster pulled up new roots in order to hinder Rafael by striking at him like whips, but Rafael shortened the distance while dodging the furious attacks from the roots.

He had managed to close in. Rafael instinctively put mana into his sword, stepped on his forefoot, rotated his waist and put all of his centrifugal power into the sword, unleashing a strike to his utmost limits that he could currently do. The high-speed blow cut through the air with a violent noise and struck against the Elder Treant’s trunk. As soon as the sword hit it, the remaining impact from the massive blow caused the dust from the earth to rise.

There was a response. His hand was also slightly numb from the attack. But, that was—

[It is quite a blow, powerful human. But that isn’t enough to defeat me.]

The sword was thrust deeply into the Elder Treant, but it did not cut through it and did not reach even halfway. Rafael clicked his tongue, kicked the trunk with his foot and pulled out the sword. He then distanced himself away.

(The Elder Treant’s body is far tougher than I imagined. It seems unreasonable to fell it in one strike no matter how hard I swing my sword) — Rafael closed in once again after he considered.

One of the Treants that the soldiers were fighting against had slipped through and attacked with its branches and changed the direction of Rafael’s attack at the Elder Treant’s trunk. The Elder Treant’s roots grabbed Rafael’s shoulder with that opening. He grimaced as his shoulder received an impact, and bent his body to its near limits to keep the minimum amount of strength, and slashed off the root that grabbed onto him.

Rafael was not the only person who attacked the Elder Treant. The archers used flaming arrows while the magicians cast the [Fire Arrow] spell, but the Elder Treant skillfully extinguished the fire with its roots. The retainers that the monster had also seemed to be also weak against fire. The Elder Treant’s mouth was distorted like it was feeling annoyed, and it subconsciously struck at the soldiers at the rear with its roots.

Rafael did not miss that gap. He dived below the roots, and entered into attacking distance in an instant. He chose to attack with emphasis on speed, striking the Elder Treant repeatedly. The Elder Treant’s body was literally sliced into wood shavings that danced in the air. Even though the attacks were lighter than swinging it with all his strength, he aimed at the place where he struck earlier, causing the injury to increase in size. The Elder Torrent which was paying attention to his allies received repeated damage.

Rafael wanted to settle things quickly as there was the matter of his allies, but he suppressed his feelings and kept working on slicing the monster indifferently.

The situation seemed like it was going to be a long-term battle — Everyone thought that way.

[Commander, please retreat!]

One of the soldiers who was able to see from an overall perspective shouted as he realized something was off.

However, because Rafael was too close to the Elder Torrent’s giant body and had a narrow field of view since he was too close, he was unable to read its movements, and his reaction was delayed.

The Elder Treant had managed to seize Rafael with its strong roots and struck an unexpected blow to Rafael, causing him to spit out blood.

[I finally caught you, powerful human.]

The Elder Torrent’s face was smiling.

[You are stronger than my subordinates and killing you would be a pity. Join my orcs and swear loyalty to me, and serve revered Moussdeus.]

As it spoke, a green worm that crawled along the Elder Treant’s roots started moving slowly to Rafael. He knew what about that worm. An alchemist had caught and used it in the past. The worm burrowed into the target’s ear and lived as a parasite in the brain, allowing the user to control it, amongst other means. He finally understood how the Elder Treant was able to lead the orcs with low intelligence. He had controlled them and used them like dolls accordingly to the information it had gathered from its plant subordinates.

He was going to become one of them. He fearfully trembled and desperately tried to escape, but the roots around him did not budge.

[Rescue the commander!]

The adjutant called out with a frantic expression, but the Treants rushed out to hinder the soldiers.

(I am unable to do anything.)

The feeling of hopelessness came, and he chewed his lips hard with regret.

(Is this my end? Will my sword turn towards the kingdom because of this demon?)

He was filled with the thoughts of his wife and newborn child.

(Someone…… Anyone would be fine…… Save us from this calamity…… please……)

A large explosion echoed in everyone’s ears. A scream that could not be imagined from any creature kept ringing in their ears. Rafael fell as gravity pulled him away from the roots that unintentionally released him. The worm that had reached his ear fell out and was crushed by his body.

(What happened……?)

Rafael tried painfully to grasp the situation by casting his gaze in a disoriented condition.

The Elder Torrent was glaring at a direction with an anguished expression.

A young boy with black hair and eyes was wielding a staff in a casting stance.