Chapter 175: Defending the Elven Village, Part 1

It was the night after my mock battle with the Sandra knight commander.

The season was summer, and it promised to be an uncomfortably hot night. I left my room and knocked on the neighboring door.

El immediately appeared, looking puzzled.

“Brother, is something wrong?”

“I wanted to talk for a moment.”

“Of course. Come in.”

“Sorry to bother you.”

I entered the room prepared for El and took a chair.

“El, about tomorrow…”

“Yes?”

“If your mana looks likely to run out, don’t hesitate to use a Miasma Stone.”

“…All right.”

“We collected them to liberate mana spots in the first place. If we don’t use them now, when would we?”

“…That’s true.”

“And if you need to fire Condense Ray, don’t hesitate then either.”

“…Understood.”

“That’s all I wanted to say. Mother probably won’t make a bad call, but I wanted to be sure.”

“She is an A-rank adventurer—the Ice Witch.”

“Exactly. Her instinct at a critical moment is worthy of an A-rank adventurer. She has something we don’t.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…”

“One more thing, El. Look after Ashera… I know I’m asking too much, but…”

“I know. I’ll protect Mother and Ashera, no matter what.”

“Good. And make sure you come back safely too.”

“I will.”

Having said what I needed to say, I left El’s room.

Back in mine, I lay on the bed and stared vaguely at the ceiling.

Unlike during the Emperor incident, our preparations were thorough and we knew how to approach the battle. Why, then, did my heart feel so unsettled?

As I searched for anything we might have overlooked, darkness eventually swallowed me and I fell asleep.

Morning came. We ate breakfast, and at last it was time to depart.

“Mother, please look after El and Ashera.”

“I know. Be careful yourself, Al.”

“I will.”

Mother’s group left through the western gate for the Great Serpent Forest. We departed through the southern gate for the elven village.

Barring trouble, we’d reach the village shortly after noon, while El’s group would arrive at the forest around evening.

We would travel by horse to conserve as much strength as possible. The horses would probably be killed by the Mantises, but we’d have to accept that as a necessary expense.

Naturally, we weren’t using the horses we’d brought from Blue Ring. The Sandra Knights provided these.

When I apologized to Commander Fagil in advance for possibly abandoning them, he instead became apologetic toward me.

“You are traveling to the Great Serpent Forest, where you believe the cause of this disturbance lies, in order to resolve it—correct?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t ask why you believe the cause is there. But if the source of this disaster truly lies in that forest, and you can destroy it…”

“Yes?”

“This should be the work of the Sandra Knights. You are doing it in our place… Providing a few horses is the least we can do. Please think nothing of it.”

“That helps. Thank you.”

Commander Fagil bowed deeply.

Other knights surrounded us, and his wasn’t a position in which he ought to lower his head so readily.

With little time remaining, we loaded the provided horses with emergency food and camping equipment.

The Sandra Knights supplied all of it.

I’d warned them we would probably abandon it, yet they insisted we take everything.

Honestly, such generosity made me feel guilty.

At last our preparations were complete.

Our group would ride to the elven village, stay there, and fight a defensive battle.

El’s group would ride as far as possible, then travel through the air with Vernier. They would rest in the trees from evening into night and launch a surprise attack once the Mantises stopped moving after dark.

They had two Miasma Stones, so mana shouldn’t be a problem. But Apostles were still flesh-and-blood human beings.

How well could they rest before the assault?

I wanted to trust Mother’s judgment…

If I’d had my way, I would have asked Naga to accompany them because she was an elf and could use the Vernier magic tool. But we couldn’t arbitrarily bring the guild’s deputy leader into a secret royal mission.

Wishing for what we didn’t have would accomplish nothing.

I had to trust El, Ashera, and Mother.

After repeatedly warning El, Mother, and especially Ashera to be extremely careful, we set off for the elven village.

Gar, Beret, Tamei, and I passed through Sandra’s southern gate and rode toward our destination.

Truthfully, they couldn’t keep up with me in combat.

I’d considered leaving them in Sandra, but to my surprise, Beret insisted fiercely on coming.

Ever since I revealed that I was an Apostle, she seemed possessed by a strange sense of mission.

I myself felt very little of anything so grand. It was closer to responsibility: This is a pain, but I suppose I have to do it.

“Beret, can we talk?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… How should I say this? You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Relax a little.”

“Even if you say that…”

“Protect yourself first. You’re getting married in autumn, aren’t you? Please…”

“…Understood.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced she had understood, but it would have to do.

As expected, a group of Mantises appeared ahead.

“Gar, take the horses. I’ll clear the road. Follow me.”

I drew my dagger and launched myself from the saddle toward the monsters with an air step.

I wanted to conserve mana. I sealed away Wind Bullet and Reactive Armor, using only air steps, Vernier, and magic weapons to trample the swarm.

There were only about twenty, all small fry. I may not have needed the magic weapon at all.

Within ten minutes, every Mantis was dead.

“Al-boy… Just how strong have you become?”

“Am I really that different?”

I laughed. Gar answered with a strained smile.

“So we’re dead weight…”

“Gar, that’s not true. At full strength, I’m fairly powerful, but even I need rest and sleep.”

“Well, obviously, but…”

“No matter how strong one person is in battle, that’s all they are—one person. If someone forced me into a war of attrition, I wouldn’t last three days.”

“That’s… true.”

Gar sighed, then replied with a hint of relief.

“Then I suppose we’ll support His Apostleship so he can fight at full strength.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Gar shrugged, though a faint smile rested on his face.

We remounted and continued toward the village.

There was no telling whether we’d be able to eat lunch in a village under insect attack, so we stopped in an open area first.

As usual, I did the cooking.

I made hot dogs and soup, then gave each person a pickled plum to help with fatigue.

Tamei and Beret seemed to enjoy them despite the sourness. Gar alone complained that he never wanted another.

I hadn’t planned to force him, but when I mentioned that pickled plums were healthy, Beret began lecturing him.

Somehow, by the end, Gar had promised to keep eating them.

Seeing them like this made their coming marriage feel real. Beret was dependable, if a little too rigid; Gar could be careless, but his core was unwavering.

I wished them happiness from the bottom of my heart.

Tamei too, of course—but Gar and Beret especially had to return safely.

Even if it meant using a Miasma Stone, if the worst happened, I would send those three home without me…

After three more battles with Mantises, we finally reached the elven village.

Countless Mantis remains littered the area.

Strangely, only hard parts—heads, wings, shells—were left.

I remembered the Mantises we’d encountered while traveling to Sandra.

Cannibalism.

Their surviving companions had probably eaten the abdomens and every other edible portion.

The sight made Ao’s prediction easy to imagine: once freed from the lord’s binding, the Mantises would act as they pleased and devour every living thing.

“Let’s find the elves…”

The other three nodded silently. The words “too late” hung in every mind.

The village was far larger than I’d expected. Many buildings blended into the forest, making its true extent difficult to judge, but a settlement this size should have held fifteen hundred or two thousand people.

“A village this large couldn’t possibly have been annihilated…”

I said it aloud, but even Sandra, with ten times the population, had seen its knights driven to exhaustion.

Searching on foot bit by bit would get us nowhere.

I decided to use wide-area sonar once.

“This may draw enemies, but I’m using detection magic. Its radius is one thousand medes.”

“Al-boy… You really can do anything…”

Ignoring Gar’s exasperated mutter, I used wide-area sonar at maximum range.

There.

I’d found the elves.

There was one strange reaction as well.

The sonar indicated that the elves had gathered in one place to hold a defensive line.

“They’re defending the far end of the village. But roughly two hundred Mantises stand between us and them.”

“““…”””

“Gar, Beret, Tamei—follow from a distance while watching the situation. When I signal, charge through the swarm and join the elves.”

“Understood!”

“Understood.”

“Yes…”

“Then let’s go.”

I ran toward the far end of the village at a pace they could match.

To keep them out of the fighting, we maintained a gap of roughly one hundred medes.

Whenever I found a stray Mantis on the way, I made sure to take its head as a little extra profit.

After about fifteen minutes, we saw the creatures swarming around what looked like a government office—or perhaps a mansion—built into a giant tree.

I created two mana shields and primed them with Reactive Armor, naturally turned up far beyond the ordinary output. I also floated eleven anti-monster Wind Bullets around myself, then launched from my horse into the swarm using an air step.

I canceled the recoil from the first Reactive Armor explosion with Vernier, drove deeper into the mass, and detonated a second.

The two blasts tore open a clear road to the elves.

“Gar! Beret! Tamei! Run!”

I formed a magic greatsword in each hand and swept the enemies from the left side of the corridor.

On the right, I fired my eleven Wind Bullets to hold them back.

After about four reloads, Gar—bringing up the rear—cleared the swarm and reached the elves.

I immediately escaped after them with an air step.

All four of us wore black masks, making us look like complete villains. Why had the king chosen this design…?

Naturally, the elves pointed weapons at us.

With the air one spark away from violence, I shouted in Elvish.

“We’re not suspicious!”

“If you aren’t suspicious, then neither are bandits or perverts!”

“…Fair point.”

“Don’t agree! Are you mocking us?”

“No. Sandra… We came from Sandra as reinforcements.”

“Sandra?”

The instant they heard the name, mutters spread everywhere.

“Now…?”

“Too late.”

“Is the city of Sandra safe?”

“We’re grateful, but nothing can save us now…”

Perhaps because we’d agitated them, the Mantises’ assault intensified.

At this rate, we couldn’t even speak properly.

First, I needed to reduce their number.

“For now, I’ll kill as many as I can. But don’t touch these three. The instant you do, I become your enemy.”

“Gar, I’m going to reduce their numbers.”

Having told both sides all they needed, I ran outside through the air.

This defensive battle would be long, so I wanted to preserve mana.

Once again, I used only low-consumption air steps, Vernier, and magic weapons.

With this many enemies, a few attacks struck me, but the dragon armor lived up to its name. I took no damage at all.

Whenever they threatened to surround me, I escaped upward and continued hunting them steadily.

During the past year, I’d replaced my weapons with mithril knives, so their shells parted easily.

In about thirty minutes, I believed I’d killed fifty—a quarter of them.

The survivors were so occupied eating their dead fellows that they paid me no attention.

As before, I passed above the elves with an air step and landed in front of Gar and the others.

“Haah… I’m tired. I think I managed to kill a quarter…”

When I spoke to Gar, the elves all retreated and stared at me warily.

Granted, I’d skipped a great deal of explanation, but I truly was fighting to save them.

Their treatment stung a little.

Once El’s group killed the lord in their night assault, the small fry would be freed and begin to rampage.

We were probably facing an all-night defensive battle.

Ideally, I wanted to sleep now. But if we failed to communicate, the elves might shoot me in the back.

I sighed.

As a Royal Shadow, troublesome though it was, I had to speak with them.

Then I needed to sleep as soon as possible and recover my mana.