Legend

As the moonlight and burning settlement lit up the ground, Ray and Seto existed over it to look at the ground.

As always, fighting continues east of the settlement, but the number of oaks there was just decreasing. And a couple of other parties have finally arrived that have broken in from all parts of the settlement behind the oaks that are attacking the Thunder God axe, and they are attacking from behind the oaks to present the look of the Thunder God axe and pinching.

"Sandwiched with a force equal to a few sets of parties in just one pair, huh? Sure, they just call it a Rank A party."

"Gru."

Even though it has already been a few hours since the start of the night raid, we still hear flashy battle noises from the east where the thunderous god axe is holding.

Exactly, Min is also getting less magic left. The interval between magic releases is getting longer, but I can still see magic releasing fireballs, ice arrows, pouring lightning and winding gusts without interruption.

"Why aren't individuals leading orcs out when the number of orcs is decreasing by a large margin?

Ray and Seto alone have defeated more than 10 oaks. I don't know how many other parties have defeated, but I'm pretty sure they still have defeated quite a few. Of course, the biggest number of oak crusades in the Crusaders is the Axe of the Thunder God, among them Elk, who has been fighting the oak extensively east of the settlement since the start of the night raid.

In fact, the number of oaks currently gathered east of the settlement appears to have already cracked 50, from a long look above. Yet it was anomalous to think that there were still no individuals leading the orcs out.

As I questioned the condition and watched the ground as it flew over the settlement to Ceto, a group of people traveling in the darkness of night in the west rather than in the east, where the power was concentrated, came into my eyes.

A normal human would not have been able to find that figure traveling in the darkness of night. Alternatively, it could have been a different story if it had been a race at night.

The darkness of the night, which has faded considerably due to moonlight and the flames that are burning the settlement, but it is nevertheless possible to travel in hiding if you choose a place yet. But even though the crusaders' faces were invading from every corner, the group came into view as if they were moving from the settlement to the outside. And what was decisive would have been the sight of the adventurers joining several oak crusaders in front of that group.

Essentially, in this job, all parties are dispersed in eight parts of the settlement, and invasion has begun almost simultaneously, except for the axe of the Thunder God in the east. In that, a group that travels out of the west is extremely unnatural from the point of view of Ray, who is above.

Oak, which is continually being reduced in number by crusaders, a group of people moving in hiding in the darkness of the night in the opposite direction to the east, which is becoming the largest war zone. A group of people acting apart from the adventurers who broke in from the west. The moment they became one in Ray's head, Ray turned his sharp gaze to the ground with a fierce grin.

"I see, certainly no more orc settlements. The number of oaks is decreasing at an accelerating rate, and the settlement itself burns out not so far away. That's why he who stands up there abandons it and runs away. Seto!"

"Grrrrrr!"

To Ray's voice, Seto descends sharply to the ground as he raises his roar. It's not the group trying to escape the orc settlement… it's the adventurers who broke in from the west ahead of them.

Seto descends to the ground with the burning heat of the settlement slashing and tearing open the air that can also be described as an authentic tropical night.

"Wow!

Naturally, the adventurers who saw such a ceto suddenly appear in front of them, even as they raised their voices of surprise, scattered paws and set up each weapon… There they were Ray, a rank G adventurer of different colors familiar with the crusaders, and the Ceto of Griffon, who knew it was the ceto of the weapons down.

"Hey, don't surprise me too much,"

It was a female warrior in his mid-20s... No, a female swordsman. He has a sharp, glowing sword in his hand and wears leather armor to such an extent that it does not inhibit movement. Next to it is a middle-aged man in his 40s, wearing a robe. And it's still teenagers down the bow exhaling relief behind it, that's the short haired girl with the appearance of being a little older than Ray. This one also wears leather armor to such an extent that it does not inhibit movement.

A woman swordsman who is a leader and a girl whose middle-aged wizard holds a rank C and bow respectively are the scorching winds of rank D party rank C.

"Oh, Seto, how are you?

Mileine, a female swordsman, strokes Seto's head. Sulnin, the wizard man, calls out to Ray as he sighs at it.

"So, what brings you here? I'm sure you were in charge of the shooting. As you can see, we're on our way to the center of the settlement, and there's no battle going on here."

"There were a few fights before we got here."

To Sulnin's words, Ekril, the woman with the bow, mouths to tear.

After seeing how those three were doing, Ray stepped off Seto's back and looked around.

"Don't worry...... it's a strange story but there's a bunch of orcs coming this way from up ahead"

"Ama. I thought the orcs were gathered in the east. I didn't know you were coming this way."

Mireine opens her mouth as she strokes Seto's back.

Normally, it's a pleasant occasion to honk my throat, but there was an imminent enemy just nearby, and Seto only looked sharply into the darkness.

"I guess. In fact, from the top, most of the orcs are hitting the thunder god's axe eastward, and the faces of the other parties are attacking from behind just like the operation."

"Then why is there an oak over here?

"Don't you see? Orcs work hard too, but night raids, thunder god axes and other party pinches. Finally, me and Seto are hunting some superior species as well. I mean..."

Separate words by saying that much. But I immediately understood what Ray was trying to say. Sulnin turns his harsh gaze toward the same one Seto is pointing at.

"You think the individual leading these orcs escaped knowing they had no chance of winning?

"Huh!? 'Cause you're leading the orcs, so to speak, boss, right? And you're abandoning your men and your people and running away?

Ray flashes sharply the death size he had as Ekril's astonished voice echoes around him.

An arrow cut with the sound of a kink falls to the ground in two pieces.

"Huh!? Enemy attack!"

As soon as he sees it, Mileyne screams sharply and Sulnin and Ekril also take an immediate combat stance. Mileyne with the sword to the avant-garde. Ekril, the bowman, and Sulnin, the wizard, to the rear of Mileyne. Ray could also understand that this formation was a must-win for the scorching wind in its smooth formation with one word of Mileine.

And while I admire that on the inside, Ray and Seto also take a fighting stance, as usual.

Ray is death-sized so that he can slaughter and cast magic at any time. Seto can fly at any time so he can cover Ray from above.

"... here we are"

Almost at the same time that the Rays are ready to fight, the orcs emerge from the darkness.

5 regular oaks, 1 oak archer with bow, 1 oak mage with cane. Bigger than the other oaks a turn, one oak general wearing armor.

"Wow, not only the regular oak, but also the 3 top species...... this sure helped Ray and Seto come to reinforcements"

Mileyne squeaks as she lets a cold sweat seep through her forehead. Because if we had hit this group decently on our own, we would not have been able to win first. No matter how well you proceeded with the battle, the scorching wind would have caused several deaths. If you do poorly, you will be wiped out.

But here is Seto, a griffon in Monster Rank A. Also, I've never actually seen him fighting, but I knew Ray was said to have knocked down the Eagle Claw, a Rank D party, by himself.

But even looking at the nine orcs that showed up, Ray is still looking behind the darkness. When Mileyne follows Ray's gaze, who wonders how it is, one shadow emerges as if he had crawled from the darkness with Nurli.

The figure was even bigger than Oak General, one turn larger than the other, and was over 3m. He also wears luxurious armor for his appearance, and he has a great sword in his hand that seems to be a magic sword. And above all its majesty, or its power, its temperament. Those things were clearly different from the rest of the orcs.

Seeing such an oak, Mileyne calls out to Sulnin, a wisdom bag for their party, even though it's about to be half-ampressed.

"Sulnin, you know that oak? There's no such thing as an oak I know... but I have a bad feeling about it."

"Stupid!?

Sulnin, voiced by Mileyne and gazed at its oak, screams unexpectedly.

That was the first look I had ever seen for Ekril, who was usually only known for his sober and polite language. But Mileine, who has partied with Sulnin for quite some years, has seen Sulnin like that several times before, happy or unhappy. For example, when I met a monster of an aquatic horse named Kelpy at the request of a goblin exorcism. For example, when I met Al Rawne Queen, a higher monster, at the request of Trent's exorcism. I mean, when I met a more powerful monster, unlike the one I had planned.

"Sulnin, tell me. That orc... what?

Mileine asks Sulnin without taking her gaze off the oaks as she desperately forgives the unpleasant feeling that spreads across her chest.

Sulnin's voice, which answered that, was somewhere plundered.

"The King of the Orcs, the Oak-Keeper, or Oak King… Rank B Monster,"

"Huh!?... I see. Is it natural that Sulnin should do the same?"

Mileyne sharply breathtaking in Sulnin's description. Rank B Monster, that's only one rank different from who I am, Rank C. But there are similar walls between the B and C ranks so that there are walls that are difficult to cross between the S and A ranks. I understood that by staining myself just because I had crossed the D-rank and E-rank walls. The fact that there are exams to increase the rank is not Dada.

"You're in trouble... I can't believe there's an Axe of Thunder God coming towards us in the west, not the east"

Miraine deliberately disguises herself as an easy-going tone in order to hold her impatient heart. Thanks to this, Ekril, who was trembling before her presence as a Rank B monster, was also managing to regain her composure.

In the meantime, Ray, who was death-sized next to Mileine, opens his mouth.

"There's no need to be frightened. Anyway, like I said, these guys are the only losers who escaped when they saw we couldn't beat the Orc Crusaders."

It is an undisputed mockery seeping into the word. The orcs staring at Mileine and the others will have understood the emotions that are embedded in the word, even if they don't understand it. It kills me while I look at it.

"Hey, Ray! Don't provoke me too much. You think we can handle this alone? Now we just have to buy some time and wait for reinforcements."

"That's right. Unfortunately, whether or not we can beat those orcs in our current power... whether it's your Griffon or a Rank A monster, there are a lot of passives in the end. If Griffon survives, it doesn't mean we won't survive."

Following Mileine's words, Sulnin also tells us that we should avoid fighting and be thorough in buying time.

But Ray sees the enemy's power as he overhears those two words.

(Oak King, is that some other superior species I can handle? One archer, one mage and one general each.... I can't help it, can I?)

Exhale in your heart and gaze toward Mileyne.

"Miraine, I have one suggestion"

"What?"

"To cut through here, me and Seto can use the trump cards we keep a secret from the rest of them. But then, naturally, you will see the trump card, but promise me you will never divulge it to anyone else."

"... what if I told you I didn't like it?

"In that case, me and Seto will let you leave. You three are gonna do something about those orcs."

I'm going to say I'll abandon you lightly, Ray.

The look was natural everywhere and was enough to make Mileyne understand that if she said no, she would do it without hesitation.

"Mileyne."

It was Ekril who whined small. Even though he says he's calmer than he was when he saw Oak King, he just can't completely erase the fear of dealing with his physical presence. Besides, one of the reasons Ekrill is settling is that Griffon, who is superior to Oak King, who is showing an overwhelming presence, exists for me as an ally. What if Mileyne turns down Ray's suggestion and Ray leaves this place with Seto? I couldn't even think so, and let nature speak to Mileyne.

Naturally, Mileyne, the party leader, immediately feels it and exhales in a small sigh.

"I get it. I promise I will never tell anyone about Ray and Seto's wife. Is this it?

"Yeah. But I'll tell you what, you just have to make a mouth-to-mouth promise on this occasion. No, I don't have an idea, do I? Let me use the magic of my vows when this battle with the Oak King is over. Do you accept that?

"The magic of the pledge?

Mileine turns her eyes to Sulnin for the deafening magic, but Sulnin also had to shake her head in silence and small because she didn't know that magic existed again.

"What do we do?

Ray prompting me to reply. Mileyne had already decided on her belly, though somewhat anxious about the magic she was unfamiliar with hearing about it. One of the two options available for this occasion is to follow Ray's words and embrace the magic of the pledge to survive this occasion, or to reject it and fight a group that includes Oak King on their own. And if you choose the latter, you're still the better off if you die in battle, and if you do poorly... no, you and Ekrill will definitely end up spending the rest of their lives as the mother of an oak. Then you'd better survive this place even if you still have magic you don't know how to handle.

"Okay. I'll keep Ray's secret, and I'll accept the magic of that pledge and the doings."

"All right. Seto, that's enough."

"Gru."

Seto rings small in Ray's voice. He was holding the Oaks back as Griffons, a Rank A monster, until Ray spoke up.

Even for the orcs, they instinctively felt that the griffon in front of them was not the same opponent, so they couldn't move.

Thus begins the last battle in the orc settlement of Ray and Seto with the scorching wind.