The search went on for quite some time. The bone dragons flew inland for half a day or so,
continuing their search. From atop the bone dragons’ backs, the members took in the unfamiliar scenery of Truebenia
without any filter.
The landscape of Truebenia, the forgotten continent, was not particularly different from Arcadia. The only difference was
that humans were hard to find. Instead, monsters filled their place.
Seeing monsters appear every now and then, the members kept pointing at them.
“It really is a paradise for monsters. Incredible. To think ogres would stroll so openly down the main road……”
“You can say that again. If there were a place like this in Arcadia, hunters from every region would
come swarming in, wouldn’t they?”
Just then, Patterson suddenly made a fuss.
“Look at that. There’s a strange monster over there. It’s fighting a pack of goblins.”
After studying it carefully, Kasim explained.
“That’s a monster called a gnoll. Its shape is similar to a human’s, but its head is like a wolf’s. It’s
a little stronger than an orc, but since it doesn’t live in groups, it isn’t all that threatening.”
“Wow. When did you see one? I’ve never seen a gnoll even once until now……”
Kasim frowned and rapped Patterson on the head.
“Read a book, you punk. It’s all in the monster bestiary.”
While they were talking, Zikrate, who had been flying ahead, descended sharply. It seemed he intended to land.
Russellent also began a steep dive right after, so the members hurriedly braced themselves.
“We’re finally landing.”
The thought of setting foot on the ground filled the members’ faces with anticipation.
The place where the bone dragons landed was a plain surrounded by mountains. The two bone dragons
slowly folded their wings and attempted to land. Sending leaves piled knee-high whirling thickly into the air,
the bone dragons alighted lightly upon the earth. Then the members riding them jumped down one after another.
Judging by the life returning to their faces, they were extremely glad to have landed.
“How long has it been since we last saw the ground? People really are meant to live with their feet on the earth.”
Seeing this, Damon hurriedly put away the bone dragons. Their massive size made them far too conspicuous.
Since they were in enemy territory, caution in all things was the best course.
“Each of you, check your armor and weapons. From now on, you’ll be fighting those orc bastards until you’re sick of them.”
At Damon’s command, the members grew tense and prepared for battle. First, they put on their armor.
Each of them had brought perfectly prepared armor to wear. Krancia, Gerald, and Heinrich wore the Duke Knights armor they had prepared,
while the other mercenaries donned the armor Damon had issued to them. Of course, these were top-grade anti-magic armors
selected from Increcia.
There was no need to issue armor to Mitchell. Though it had been shattered during the raid on Felzentin,
the phantom armor Mitchell possessed had a restoration spell placed on it personally by the Dragon Lord.
For that reason, the phantom armor Mitchell took out was in perfect condition. The parts broken in the fight against the Bronze Golem
had been completely restored.
“It’s been a while.”
Perhaps because it had been so long since he had worn the phantom armor, Mitchell was in high spirits.
As expected of armor made by the Dragon Lord, it was on an entirely different level from other armor.
Mitchell began putting on the phantom armor while whistling.
Once the inspection of weapons and armor was complete, Damon gathered all the swordsmen. His intention was to explain
the tricks to dealing with orcs.
“From now on, the opponents you will mainly fight are orcs. Since none of you have likely ever fought an orc before, listen carefully to what I say.”
Patterson stepped forward and spoke glibly.
“From what I’ve heard, they’re even weaker than mercenaries. Ugh.”
Before he could even finish speaking, sparks flew from Patterson’s forehead. Damon had mercilessly rapped him
for interrupting. Glowering at Patterson, who clutched his head with a tearful face, Damon continued.
“Keep in mind that if you go in with that sort of mindset, orcs will give you a thorough beating. Though they wear armor
and wield weapons, at their core, orcs are no different from wild beasts. Therefore, when facing orcs,
you must stay completely alert. If you let your guard down even a little, you may suffer an unexpected counterattack,
so show no mercy and make absolutely certain to finish them off. During the Race War, I saw more than a few greenhorns
who treated orcs carelessly and paid for it miserably.”
At Damon’s words, the party remained silent. Since none of them had ever fought an orc before,
they could not quite picture how they were supposed to fight. Krancia, after gauging the mood around her,
quietly rose to her feet.
“May I say a word?”
“Go ahead.”
When Damon gave his permission, Krancia looked around at the party and began to speak.
“As Sir Damon said, orcs are not enemies to be taken lightly. When I crossed over last time,
the companions who came with me engaged orcs in close combat. At first, we charged in thinking they would be easy,
but they were very different from what we had imagined. Because of their encircling attacks,
many of the trainee knights who came with us lost their lives. Sir Damon’s description of them as wild beasts
is not wrong. They do not feel fear, and they do not hesitate in the slightest. So when facing orcs,
you must steel your hearts.”
“As expected, someone with experience is different.”
Damon reached out and patted Krancia on the shoulder, then extended a finger and pointed toward a mountain ridge.
“For now, that is where we are going. From what I observed atop the bone dragon,
there was a small village that seemed likely to be inhabited by humans. We will carry out our mission there.”
At the mention of going to a village where humans lived, Kasim tilted his head.
“Are you perhaps planning to win over the humans here and start a rebellion?”
Damon nodded and turned.
“For now, yes. I have already drawn up a plan with High Priest Schreckheimer. So I want you to follow my instructions.”
“Understood.”
The members quietly followed behind Damon. But Krancia, who trailed after them, wore a look of doubt.
“I don’t know the details, but making the humans here rise in rebellion should be impossible……”
However, Krancia did not say it aloud. During a mission, one had to follow the leader’s orders without question.
The members spread out widely and carefully approached in the direction of the village. Since each of them
had the ability to protect themselves, they maintained a fairly wide distance. Not long after they began marching,
Mitchell discovered something.
“Stop.”
At the warning, the members immediately went into concealment. It seemed Mitchell had found something.
Kasim asked the reason in a low voice.
“What is it?”
“Something is approaching.”
Mitchell carefully drew his sword. Since it had been oiled, the sound of the blade being drawn was almost inaudible.
Meanwhile, the suspicious sound grew louder and louder. Listening carefully, Kasim cautiously inferred the nature of the sound.
“It seems to be a monster that walks on two feet. The footsteps are light, so it’s probably a goblin or a young orc.”
As they held their breath, something burst out from between the grasses. Surprisingly, what emerged was a human.
A boy, at that, who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. Kasim, who had been ready, swiftly caught the boy around the waist.
The startled boy tried to scream, but the seasoned Kasim had already clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Mmph. Mmph.”
The boy let out muffled cries and twisted his body repeatedly. But Kasim’s steel-like arm did not budge.
Kasim carefully tried to bring the boy back to where the party was. Just then, another sound reached his ears.
“There are others.”
At those words, Mitchell and Krancia approached soundlessly. But before they could arrive,
three or four shadows pushed through the grass and revealed themselves. They were humans like the boy,
sturdy young men who looked to be over twenty.
“Ugh!”
Their faces turned deathly pale, and they immediately turned and began to flee. They ran the moment they saw the party.
Mitchell, who had been standing awkwardly, looked at Damon.
“What should we do? Shall I catch them?”
“No, leave them. We caught one, so we don’t need the others.”
Damon shook his head and approached Kasim. Kasim was in the middle of soothing the boy.
“We won’t hurt you. We only have something to ask, so don’t scream.
If you won’t shout, I’ll take my hand away.”
He gently removed his hand, but the boy did not scream. He only trembled, seemingly terrified.
Kasim first examined the boy’s appearance from head to toe. His skin-and-bones body was covered in tattered rags,
and his face, as if he had not washed properly, was stained all over.
At a glance, it was clear he lived a hard life. Kasim spoke to him in the gentlest voice he could manage.
“What is your name?”
The boy did not answer. He merely looked around at the party with wary eyes. Then Damon approached.
He picked up a bundle lying on the ground that seemed to belong to the boy. It looked as though he had dropped it
in the process of being subdued. When Damon opened the bundle, a strange glint passed through his eyes.
“Food and clothing…… Judging by your state, it seems you fled from the village.”
“……”
“The ones who ran off seemed to have come to catch you. Why did you run away from the village?”
The boy stared intently at Damon’s face with surprise in his eyes. It was because Damon was speaking
with a familiar Truebenian accent. Since five hundred years had passed in isolation,
there was a clear linguistic gap between Truebenia and Arcadia.
Because they had developed independently, Arcadia’s language differed considerably in accent and tone from Truebenian speech.
It was not to the point that communication was impossible, but the sense of foreignness was unmistakable.
Seeming to lower his guard somewhat, the boy poured questions at Damon.
“Who are you?”
“……”
“From the way you speak, you seem like someone from Truebenia. Are you?”
Damon silently nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Then why are you traveling with Arcadians?”
“Because there is something I must do. More importantly, why did you run away from the village?”
Tears suddenly welled up in the boy’s eyes. As emotion surged within him, the boy began to sob quietly.
“I escaped the village to join the resistance. I won’t go back to the village even if I die.”
Damon was startled.
“There is a resistance here?”
The boy nodded, his face brimming with tears. Perhaps impatient, Damon urged him again.
“Where is the resistance?”
“I don’t really know. I heard before that the resistance lives in the Delok Mountains.”
Schreckheimer, who had been listening, stepped forward.
“If it is the Delok Mountains, they are tremendously far from here. It is a place that takes more than a month on foot.
Surely you were not planning to find your way there alone?”
Perhaps frightened by Schreckheimer’s bizarre voice, the boy fell silent again. Damon gently patted the boy’s shoulder.
“Why are you trying to go to where the resistance is?”
After hesitating for a moment, the boy finally began to reveal his circumstances.
“They took my father. My father, who injured his leg while hunting. Those wicked bastards took my mother last year too.
Now I’m the only one left. Sob, sob.”
“……”
“No one in the village helped us. Instead, they even brought my father all the way to their village.
That’s why I left the village. I’m going to join the resistance and kill even one orc bastard.”
The members remained silent. The boy’s desperate circumstances had struck their hearts.
“Then why were those people from earlier trying to catch you?”
“Because if I escape, someone else will be taken in my place.”
Damon reached out and wiped away the tears brimming in the boy’s eyes.
“With your strength, you won’t make it to the Delok Mountains. Instead, won’t you help us?”
The boy quietly raised his head and looked at Damon.
“Guide us to the village where you lived. We will take responsibility for your safety.”
The moment those words ended, the boy’s expression stiffened.
“That won’t work. The villagers will never let you into the village.”
“Why is that?”
“The villagers hate Arcadians terribly. I don’t really know why.”
“It’s all right. We are knights of exceptional skill. So don’t worry, and guide us to the village where you lived.”
But the boy showed no sign of nodding anytime soon.