Chapter 23: The Ambush on Mount Senugel

Chapter 23

A sharp, aura-clad blade bisected the black orc’s body diagonally.

The black orc, cleaved by Sir Chase’s sword, stared wide-eyed. Its body, cleanly severed by the aura, collapsed with a thud in two opposite directions.

Despite being cut in half, the orc was still alive. Its mouth gaped open, as if it couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to it.

*Thwack—*.

A gruesome, squelching sound followed. Sir Chase mercilessly stomped on the orc’s head with his steel-toed boots, crushing it completely. A broad smile bloomed across his face, betraying his enjoyment. It was a vile grin, one that made his knightly title seem utterly undeserved.

From his left, the ‘Wolf of Asteria’ lunged. He sprang into action, cleaving the ‘Wolf of Asteria’ in a single stroke. Above him, three ‘Crows of Six Red Eyes’ cawed fiercely as they swooped down. He bisected them with a single stroke as well. However, he failed to react in time to the ‘Three-Horned Boar’ charging from behind. Regrettably, no soldiers were protecting his rear.

“C-cough—!”

Ultimately, Sir Chase was gored by the boar, soaring into the air as if struck by a truck.

“Ka’es Dekyle!”

[Annihilate them.]

The black orc, who had claimed the ‘Three-Horned Boar’ as its mount, roared. A spear, held by the black orc, left its hand as if shot from a bow. *Thwack*, Sir Chase’s head was pierced by the spear. With that, the expeditionary force lost one of its practitioners. Like all deaths on the battlefield, it was a shockingly simple and absurd end.

****

The black orc brought its hand axe down with all its might, crushing the heads of the mercenaries charging at it and its ‘Three-Horned Boar’. One by one, the heads of the mercenaries and soldiers shattered, their lifeless bodies collapsing to the ground.

The next moment, “G-gah?!” The black orc let out a strange sound, a choked cry that never quite formed into a scream. A moment later, a horizontal red line appeared across its face. No, it was blood. Half of the orc’s skull slid off, severed by the Hay had unleashed. The clean cross-section of the orc’s grey brain was laid bare for all to see.

“What in the world does ‘Ka’es Dekyle’ mean?”

“Lady Lexa told me it’s Elvish for ‘annihilate them.’”

Renki replied from behind Hay, who grumbled. ‘Annihilate them, my ass.’

Immediately after, the orc tumbled ignominiously from atop the ‘Three-Horned Boar,’ which was thrashing violently from the mercenaries’ blades. Hay changed the direction of his swinging hand. The that had been slicing through the air returned like a boomerang, this time cleaving the ‘Three-Horned Boar’s’ body.

“Screeeeeech—!”

The boar collapsed, letting out a grotesque shriek.

“Mr. Styles! Over here!”

A mercenary, fending off monster attacks from Hay’s right flank as if guarding him, shouted. However, his head was crushed by a club wielded by an orc that had leaped from a tree. Hay gasped in shock as the mercenary’s eyeball popped out of its socket.

The orc readjusted its club and grinned maliciously. It was drenched in others’ blood, but its dark skin made it imperceptible. The orc flung the mercenary’s corpse aside and lunged towards Hay.

Hay instinctively used to defend himself. Yet, before the shield could fully solidify, the orc’s brutal punch tore a hole through it. Undeterred, Hay immediately launched a spell through the opening.

“C-cough!”

The spell, having passed through the hole, pierced the orc’s left eye. But that wasn’t all.

“Kelpie.”

The arrow transformed into a serpent, burrowed through the orc’s brain, and burst out through its right eye. Like a scene from a horror movie, the orc stared blankly into the void with its two empty eye sockets. A mercenary from behind swung their sword, severing the orc’s neck.

“Are you alright?”

‘He was already dead, though.’

“Ugh…!”

Hay turned around at the sound of retching. Lexa, looking pale, was being supported by Renki.

****

Hay scanned his surroundings. The group he was with was gradually being pushed back by the monsters’ assault. If things continued this way, the group would be annihilated. To survive, they needed to escape this group. However, they couldn’t simply abandon those holding the defensive line and flee on their own.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

Hay frowned, irritably sweeping his silver hair back from his face. He had clearly been hired as a healing specialist. The arrogant Sir Chase had sought him out in Nudan upon hearing he was a Spirit User. Sir Chase had confidently declared to Hay, “There’s no need for you to get involved. Hahahaha!” ‘No need to get involved, my ass,’ Hay thought.

A battle had erupted on a hillside, not even a flat plain, halfway up Mount Senugel. To call it a battle was an understatement; they had been ambushed on their way to the orcs’ and monsters’ stronghold, where they intended to wipe them out. And it was a thorough ambush at that.

Today marked precisely four days since they had departed from Nudan for Mount Senugel. On the first day, they had arrived at the village at the foot of Mount Senugel. On the second day, three reconnaissance teams were dispatched to scout the monsters’ stronghold. Regrettably, only one team returned; two teams had been annihilated. On the same day, after twenty people died in a monster attack, the senior officers devised a strategy for their movements, and the full-scale subjugation began today, the fourth day. As a result, the expeditionary force was now on the brink of annihilation.

The force mobilized for this subjugation included 150 people, two of whom were knights, the lord’s private soldiers. The mercenary company comprised 171 mercenaries, including those on free contracts, totaling 321 individuals. Even by a rough estimate, more than a quarter had already perished. Moreover, Sir Chase, who was practically the commander of this expeditionary force, was dead. The lord’s private soldiers suffered the heaviest casualties. While mercenaries were accustomed to fighting monsters both independently and in groups, the private soldiers, who had only followed orders, were thrown into disarray after losing their commander. Some, overcome by fear, fled for their lives. However, they were all either torn apart by monsters’ fangs or struck down by orc arrows. The saving grace was that the Kranz Mercenary Company had a fair number of capable mercenaries. From what he had heard, there were over twenty Aura Beginners and quite a few Users. For an expeditionary force hastily assembled from the region, their numbers might have been small, but their quality was quite high.

“Damn it.”

But what good was that?

“Groooaaarrrr—!”

Over there, there was a troll. The troll, with limbs as thick as baobab trees, charged forward, kicking people aside, a truly terrifying sight. Against such a foe, being a Beginner or a User made no difference. It recovered at a terrifying speed, even after being stabbed or slashed by swords.

“Incredible.”

Furthermore, the sheer intimidation emanating from its seemingly three-meter-plus stature was truly immense. So massive was its body that the ground trembled as if in an earthquake with every stomp of its foot. The troll, appearing for the first time in 120 years, was enough to break the soldiers’ morale and instill fear. However, Hay was an exception.

“It looks different from *The Lord of the Rings*.”

He was looking at the troll, recalling a movie he had seen in his past life. ‘More docile and stupid, I’d say.’

“What are you mumbling about?! Hey, Spirit User! Do something! You’re a Spirit User, aren’t you?!”

At that moment, a mercenary he didn’t recognize screamed. ‘I was already thinking about it, dammit.’ ‘But that’s absurd. Does that bastard think a Spirit User is some kind of Archmage or Sage?’ Perhaps because the mercenary’s shout was so loud, the troll looked their way. Their eyes met.

“Huh?”

The creature, which had been 50 meters away, was now charging straight at Hay. ‘Was ‘aggro’ the word for this situation?’ Hay glared at the mercenary who had shouted at him. That bastard had broken ranks and fled like a coward. Hay also wanted to run, but he couldn’t. There were two burdens behind him. If they stayed, they would either be trampled to death or kicked to death.

Hay extended his staff to Renki, who stood behind him.

“Grab it!”

Renki, without knowing why, simply grabbed the staff because he was told to. Hay immediately snatched Lexa by the scruff of her neck, as she continued to retch. ‘This useless mage. Her name means ‘savior of humanity,’ yet right now, she’s nothing more than dead weight.’

“Sylph.”

At Hay’s call, Sylph, appearing as a small baby griffon, flapped its wings with a pathetic roar.

“Kiiieeeek—!”

The launched spell cleanly severed the troll’s ankle. Simultaneously, Hay used to leap into the air. The troll’s knees buckled, and it collapsed with a thud, as if it had tripped over a rock; Hay narrowly avoided being squashed like a mosquito by its falling palm.

“Aargh!”

Instead, two mercenaries who hadn’t managed to escape were crushed beneath the troll.

“Groooowwww!”

The troll let out a mournful cry. As it tried to push its fallen body up, its palm pressed down on one of the crushed mercenaries’ heads, utterly smashing it.

Hay swept his gaze around. There were two more trolls. However, only four orcs remained alive. Originally, only twelve orcs had appeared in this battle. The rest of the force consisted of monster hordes. He distinctly recalled the reconnaissance report mentioning around twenty orcs, but currently, he couldn’t see any more than four. ‘The others might be hiding somewhere, observing this situation.’

“Master!”

“Huh?”

Startled, Hay followed Renki’s gaze, only to see a flock of ‘Crows of Six Red Eyes’ that had dominated the sky now swooping down towards him. Hay, having been distracted, couldn’t react in time.

“Cough!”

Just then, Lexa, still coughing, formed a hand seal with both hands. An instant later, a translucent barrier materialized, enveloping the three of them like a giant air bubble.

*Crackle—!*.

As the charging crows collided with it, blinding blue lightning flashed. The electrocuted crows plummeted to the ground. Yet, the foolish crows continued to crash into the barrier.

“Can that electricity be added to my magic?”

Hay asked, watching the sparks leap before his eyes.

“Add what?”

Lexa coughed and asked back. Instead of asking again, Hay drew upon his Spirit Power. A moment later, he created dozens of arrows. Lexa saw this and immediately understood perfectly.

“Of course I can!”

She grinned, then moved her hands swiftly. Immediately after, dazzling bolts of electricity sparked around Hay’s arrows. ‘I thought she was useless.’ “Still, she’s useful.” Hay let out a short laugh. The arrows were aimed at the ground. At that moment, someone below, realizing what Hay was about to do, shouted,

“Aaaargh! That madman! What is he doing?! Everyone, get clear!”

Almost simultaneously, the arrows, imbued with electricity, shot towards the ground. The arrows lodged themselves uncannily into the monsters’ bodies. Moreover, as the arrows struck, the electricity exploded, tearing flesh apart.

“Alright! That’s it! Yeah!”

Lexa punched her fist high into the air, much like an athlete performing a victory celebration. The explosions were Lexa’s doing. ‘I hadn’t thought of this.’ Hay clicked his tongue in amazement. Everywhere the arrows landed, explosions erupted. It was truly a magnificent spectacle. A sight one might only witness in hell.

“Aargh! Can’t you aim straight?!”

“Ugh! I’m sorry! Cough—.”

Lexa apologized, spitting up blood. It was unavoidable that some mercenaries were caught in the attack. Fortunately, however, none had died.

Hay shifted his gaze. Nearby, Kisen’s group was steadily fending off the monsters. Two other mages were also unleashing fierce attacks while maintaining defensive barriers from the rear. ‘I should head over there.’