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“Look, over there”
We were hidden beneath the shadows of some large trees while spying on the Orc village.
Thanks to Sui, we were able to reach the forest in record time. [1] Sui returned to her original size again and hopped into my bag when I got down from Fer’s back. We managed to find the Orc village without any problem thanks to Fer.
Even as we were standing here, looking at the Orc village, the [Shadow Warriors] were still a little stunned by how fast we got to this stage. Efficiency! It’s all about efficiency, my friends!
I really want to get this sorted out by today.
Now that the Orc village was right in front of our eyes, all we had to do was exterminate it. Rather than a village, it looked more like a fairly settled encampment. The only semi-permanent looking building was a shack build right in the middle. It was surrounded by forest, and built on open ground.
“Fer, how many are there?” I whispered. [2]
“About 200 individuals,”
200 was… quite a lot.
“What about the Orc King,”
“No, there are some other high ranking Orcs, but no Orc King,” Fer sounded a little disappointed.
“What kind of strategy are we going with?” Alonzo-san asked, the rest of his [Shadow Warriors] looked up at me for instructions as well.
Erm, sorry to disappoint, but… “We don’t have much of a strategy aside from the one we usually employ, right Fer?”
“Umu. Victory goes to the one who makes the first move, attack is the best defence. I’ll take care of the village with Dora and Sui. You guys take care of the ones that try to run and don’t let them escape.”
[4] “That’s basically how it goes. My familiars will attack the base. We shall work on the periphery and take down those trying to escape.”
[4] The [Shadow Warriors] looked kind of doubtful whether my ‘strategy’ was sound. [5] I know, I know, but this has always been how we worked, please trust us.
[5] Fer leapt over our heads, “Let’s go, Dora! Sui!”
“Yahoo! I was tired of waiting!”
“Sui will do her best~”
How should I describe what happens next? Well, let’s just say that Orcs stand no chance against my cuties.
Stomp!!!
“Buhiiii!!!”
The cries of dying Orcs began to fill the air. Fer had just used an Earth Magic that caused lots of stone spears to shoot out from the ground, killing off half of the Orcs.
“What the heck is that…” someone murmured. I turned to the [Shadow Warriors] and smirked at their dumbfounded expressions. Tsk, tsk, this is nothing.
Dora-chan and Sui was up next.
Doshu, Doshu, Doshu, Doshu.
This time, sharp ice pillars materialized high in the sky, shooting down one after another, spearing all the Orcs in the area.
Dora-chan’s magic was incredible indeed. That attack reduced the amount of Orcs by another quarter.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Sui’s attack pierced through enemies like high velocity bullets. Whatever Orcs that were still standing were taken down by her.
“Just who the hell are these guys…?”
“They took down an entire Orc village in such a short amount of time…”
“No way…”
“Those familiars are just way too strong man…”
The [Shadow Warriors] kept murmuring while observing the battlefield.
Yeah, I do understand how you guys feel but believe me, this is real.
All my cuties are just too damn strong.
Hm?
I spotted some Orcs at the edge of the village, they were heading our way!
“Escaping Orcs incoming! [4]”
[4] The [Shadow Warriors] raised their weapons around me. [5] I took out my Mithril Shortsword [4] and prepared myself. After dealing with Trolls and Minataurs at the dungeon, I should be fine against a few low rank Orcs. I just need to calm down.
One of the Orc was running towards me.
“Tei!”
I swung the sword blindly and cut off the leg of one fleeing Orc. Urgh…
Scary…
Slash!
Stab!
Right, I seemed to be getting the hang of this-
A flying tree struck my protective shield [5]. I wasn’t hit thanks to the shield, but the impact sent me sprawling to the ground.
“Ouch!”
An Orc was glaring at me. “Buhii!”
“You got on my nerves, damn Orc! Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet!” I shot the Orc that threw the tree at me with all I got.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Stone gravel about 5cm in diameter struck the Orc repeatedly.
“Pugiiiii!!”
The Orc howled in pain and collapsed to its knees at the attack. Now that his head was closer to the ground, I ran forward with my Mithril sword and cut its neck off. “Sei!”
The head rolled to the floor.
“Phew…” there were no more Orcs rushing at me, so I took the time to take a look around. It looked like the [Shadow Warriors] were also busily battling Orcs.
“Is that all of them?”
“Yes, that’s the end of the escaped Orc,” said Alonzo-san.
“What should we do with the Orc bodies?” asked someone.
“I have an [Item Box]. I can put them there first, we can decide what to do with them later.”
That’s right, let’s leave deciding how to split the reward later. I quickly put the bodies away and headed towards where Fer and the rest were.
There were countless Orc bodies scattered all over the village. Fer, Dora-chan and Sui were right in the middle of these chaos. [6] My progress was mostly slowed down since I had to keep throwing Orc bodies into my [Item Box].
The [Shadow Warriors] were walking around me, looking at all the incredible number of fallen Orcs. Well, I can’t blame them, my familiars were just too strong.
“This is quite incredible…”
“Yeah, they managed to annihilate the whole village in this short amount of time,”
“Normally, we’d have a few casualties by now…”
“Not only did they manage to take out the whole village without so much as a scratch, but the time taken is just…”
Somehow, I feel like I should apologize for blowing your mind like this. So, sorry. But yes, this is my life now. [7]
While the [Shadow Warriors] were standing in place, gaping at the incredible sight, I collected Orc bodies with the help of Fer, Dora-chan and Sui. [7] [7] It wasn’t until the last body had been chucked into my [Item Box] that the [Shadow Warriors] shook themselves back to reality and did something unexpected. They took out their weapons and broke down the shack built by the Orcs and burned it down.
Curious, I approached them and asked, [8] “Why bother doing that? Surely there’s no need now that the settlement had been destroyed?”
“If you leave it as it is, other Orcs or Goblins would settle in it again,” said Alonzo. “It’s part of the Adventurers’ rule to destroy such buildings.”
“Ah, I see,”
“Fortunately, there were no victims this time. However, if we do find any, it’s also the rule to burn the bodies of the fallen.”
Oh yes, I vaguely remember this… because female Orcs and Goblins don’t exist, they increase their numbers by mating with other animals, monsters and even human females. Their sexual powers are strong and it is said that they prefer human females too.
From what Alonzo-san told me, it was pretty normal to encounter their victims during raids like this. I have no idea whether I’d be able to properly deal with the victims when the time comes, but I must at least try to be mentally prepared.
“So, the bodies are burned on the spot, and not handed over to their families?”
“Yes, be it the victim or the family. Neither would want the other to see the ravaged remains. It’s a tacit understanding among us humans.”
Is that so…
Getting kidnapped by Orcs or Goblins would be a nightmare for both the victim and their family.
“Not only that, there’s a risk of the body turning into an Undead as well. That’s the reason for the rule to burn the bodies as well,” added Clement-san.
Undead? As in… zombies?
So they have those here?
[8] “Oh, don’t worry, the chances are very slim. This is just a standard rule of the thumb, a precaution if you will,” Clement-san said kindly. I must have looked horrified.
Then, he had to continue, [8] “You’re more likely to encounter Undead in dungeons. Sometimes, you get nothing but Undead at certain floors.”
… please let there be no such floor at the Avering dungeon.
To distract myself, I said, “Those are the measures we take for dead victims, but what do we do if the victims are still alive?”
“…that’s even more pitiful. Do you think anyone could remain sane after they had been played around by Orcs or Goblins?”
Aah, that’s true…
“Even if we managed to rescue them, they’d commit suicide on the spot, or ended up being sent to the temples if they had gone insane. Technically, they could go home if they’re still alive, but whether being alive was considered a fortune or misfortune…”
It seems that those who had gone insane or suffered from bodily injury would be sent to the temples where they are given medical and physical care…
The [Shadow Warriors] once raided a Goblin Village and managed to rescue a young girl in her mid-teens. Unfortunately, the girl had been tormented so badly that she went insane. From what they heard, the girl was still being taken care of at the temple.
“We consider it our duty as Adventurers to keep ourselves fit and strong to hunt down garbage like this,” said Mathias-san.
“Well, that’s the way it is. As soon as we heard news of Orcs or Goblin population growing anywhere, we’d hunt them down,” said Earnest-san.
These Shadow Warriors are fierce-looking on the outside but very dependable and responsible towards this kind of situation.
My original impression of Adventurers being mercenaries who hunted down monsters for the sake of profit had been shaken a little. Which was not a bad thing, I see them in a different light now. I’ve never liked Goblins, but I shall make it a point to hunt them down whenever I see them from now on.
Those and Orcs of course.
If I can make a small difference by getting rid of more of humanity’s scourge, it would be better for the world.
Once the shack was burned to cinders, we left the place and headed back for the city.
[Gumihou: Woah, the story suddenly became serious]
[1] Added More Detail for Texture: Otherwise it’s all, they did this, they did that, and Fer helped.
[2] Deleted Superfluous Information: I whispered to Fer so that the Orc wouldn’t notice.
[3] Deleted Superfluous Information: Just like Yoran-san told me, there were only Orc Leaders and Orc Generals.
[4] Deleted MORE Superfluous Information: I’m just going to tag it when I delete stuff
[5] Added Detail for Texture: Will just tag when I add stuff that doesn’t really contribute to the plot but add to the atmosphere
[6] Deleted Superfluous Information and Added Some Other Details.
[7] Structural Change: Passive to Active.
[8] Structural Change: Statement to dialogue.