The Latest Game Is Too Amazing

I skim the game wiki to look for a boss that’s close to Mouct.

Apparently, the boss monster that’s closest to Mouct is to the north. Come to think of it, Liam did say something about orcs inhabiting the forest to the north of Maeldia, didn’t he?

Anyway, I thought for sure that since there were orcs, the boss would be some sort of orc commander like an orc king, but it’s not. Orcs actually aren’t the only monsters in the forest. Liam probably hadn’t heard about this yet. Going by normal monsters’ levels, I’d be about the right level for it right now, and boss monsters are stronger. Though, it’s actually low level compared to other bosses. It’s probably not that strange that he didn’t know.

Now, it’s about time I log into the game and get going.

The army has been organized, and it’s been four days since they began their advance. There are no thieves or monsters foolish enough to pick a fight with an army of over two thousand troops, so their journey progresses smoothly, and they soon make it far enough that the forest region that the orcs inhabit is within sight. Currently, they are taking a short break to recover from their fatigue from marching.

Thinking about it realistically, the fact that they’ve been able to move this quickly can only be called a miracle. This is in part due to how well-trained the royal army is, but also, the orc suppression order was only a matter of time from the start. Since they were prepared to take immediate action, they were able to organize quickly. In addition to that, the clerics of the royal army bolstered the speed of their march with their support magic blessings.

Furthermore, despite how quickly they organized, they were fortunate enough to recruit two hundred adventurers. This is because many of those adventurers have experience in subduing orcs and know just how dangerous it is that the orcs have grown so unusually formidable. Their combat experience will surely be useful in this battle. However, since it’s difficult to command adventurers with no experience in large-scale military action, they’ve been divided up and assigned to battalions.

Even so, Raphael is contemplating his doubts.

What in the world could have happened to the orcs that they’ve been ordered to subdue? How have the orcs become formidable enough to destroy villages with such ruthless assaults?

In recent years, monsters have become more active, and the royal army has their hands full dealing with them every day. It’s true that there are monsters that have become stronger. However, the only increase has been in their level of individual skill and the total number of monsters. There are monsters that act in groups, but very few of them on this scale.

Then, how did this happen? All that comes to mind is that the orcs may have a leader. Orcs follow their instincts, so they would obey one with unrivalled strength. If this is true, that would mean that taking out the leader would cause them to lose their command and they would be easier to defeat. But just how strong is the orc leader that was capable of forming a group of a thousand?

“What are you thinking about, sir?” his adjutant asks. Raphael stops contemplating and responds by shaking his head.

“No, it’s nothing. Perhaps I’m a bit dispirited because things have been going too smoothly.”

“Indeed. It’s true that the trip has been going a bit too smoothly, but it’s better than having problems.”

‘That’s true,’ Raphael smiles. He and his adjutant have been working together for seven whole years. Due to their difference in status, his adjutant hesitates to drop the formalities in public, but when it’s just the two of them like this, he freely shares his opinions and is someone that Raphael would call a friend.

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that we received a new type of potion from the Academy, but will it be useful?” Raphael changes the subject, remembering the new medicine that was sent by the Royal Magical Research Institute, nicknamed the Academy.

“Yes, it’s called an elixir, and it seems to have been very well-received. It seems that it allows you to receive the effects of both a potion and a mana potion simultaneously. Apparently, it’s been tested by several clerics who used support magic, and its effect appears to be around mid-level.”

“I see, that is excellent. It’s quite unfortunate that there wasn’t enough time to obtain much of it.”

A new medicine that can heal injuries and replenish mana simultaneously is very practical. It’s especially important for the knights in the vanguard.

Mana isn’t only utilized by the mages and clerics who use magic. After all, mana is something all humans and demihumans use. Although mages and clerics can convert that mana to cause various wonders, there are techniques that use mana to supplement one’s physical strength or strengthen weapons and armor. That’s why mana potions are essential for knights as well. For those in the vanguard who get injured easily, the existence of the elixir, which has the effects of both potions and mana potions, is incredibly valuable.

Normally, the work of those at the Academy is only incomprehensible to them, but now, the knights’ opinion of them is so much higher that they’re singing their praises. Raphael himself is also astonished at how much the kingdom’s medicine production techniques have advanced and proud to belong to the same kingdom as them.

As he’s feeling excited by their topic of conversation, he hears galloping in the distance.

“Commander! The scouts have returned.”

It seems that the scouts that went on ahead have returned.

“It seems that way. Although, that seems a bit fast… I wonder if something happened. In any case, we must hear their report,” Raphael says, sending his adjutant to the scouts to receive their report.

“You’ve done well, making it back. Although, that was oddly quick.”

“Yes, sir! It was strange, sir,” says the knight that was sent to scout.

“Strange?” Raphael asks inadvertently before he can reprimand the young knight to not give ambiguous answers to a superior officer.

“We could not spot any orcs. It was quiet except for the rustling of the trees, as if it was deserted.”

“What?”

It’s true that the woods are vast, but is it even possible to not find any orcs in a forest that should have a thousand of them? The orcs might have noticed their movements and hidden themselves.

‘…There could be an ambush.’

Their opponents are similar to an army. There is a high chance that they’re lying in wait to ambush them, not to mention that the fact that the battle is taking place on their opponents’ territory gives the other side the tactical advantage. He has a bad feeling about this. Their side is superior in number. Their troops’ movements would be limited in a forest with a lot of cover and a possibility of ambush. If possible, he’d like to give their side a more advantageous battlefield by luring them out of the forest, where they can put the cavalry to use and deploy soldiers more easily.

‘Should we burn down the forest and bring them out into the open?’

There’s no need to deliberately go along with the enemy’s plan, but there’s a chance that they would also uncover monsters other than orcs. Something like a dragon would cause more problems than anything. Among the high-ranking dragons, there are dragons that are friendly to humans. He’s never heard of there being one in this forest, but he can’t deny that there’s a possibility that it’s inhabiting the heart of the forest so that it can live in a place where it’ll go unnoticed by humans. Supposing that this is the case, if they indiscriminately set a fire, that would be considered a clear act of hostility and it would bare its fangs at them. In the past, when dragons’ dens were mistakenly attacked in wars, they would even rain hellfire on the country’s capital city and destroy it. They could deal with a weak dragon with low intelligence, but if the orcs took that opportunity to attack, defeat would be inevitable.

Also, the forest surely supports the livelihoods of the neighboring cities and towns. Burning the kingdom’s resources would be inhumane.

As irritating as it is, they have no choice but to play into the enemy’s hand. All they can do is warn the troops that there’s a risk of ambush and advance.

‘I hope it’s nothing, but…’

He shakes off the bad feeling that he can’t put into words, dismounts from his horse, and starts the advance into the forest.

Just as the scout reported, the forest is quiet. But even though he hasn’t seen any orcs, he can feel something watching him.

‘Is it an ambush after all? Is there any sign of them surrounding us from a distance?’

Either way, since they haven’t spotted the enemy, all they can do is advance deeper into the forest. The trees are dense enough to block their view, it’s chilly and somewhat dark compared to outside the forest, which gives it a somewhat eerie atmosphere. They proceed down a path that may have been used by orcs, not as narrow as an animal trail and wide enough for troops. Being inside a forest with unseen enemies where they could be attacked at any time makes the knights and adventurers incredibly agitated and wears at their spirit.

‘Something’s off,’ Raphael thinks, full of doubt. It’s been about an hour since they entered the forest. It also feels strange that the enemy isn’t attacking, but the problem is that they’ve been observed this whole time. But despite the fact that they’ve been under surveillance for an hour ever since they entered, he has no idea where these observers are. Is it even possible to observe 2,200 people while hiding from them the whole time? And it isn’t just one person that he feels watching them, but several. Does this mean there are orcs who excel at stealth? He looks in the direction that he feels the gaze coming from, but perhaps they’re being watched from the treetops, because he can’t spot the orcs through the leaves.

“Sir, over there!”

He looks in the direction his adjutant is pointing. There’s a group of orcs waiting for them further down the road. It doesn’t look like a thousand. There are only a hundred at most. It’s true that only a limited number of people can fight on a road that’s only a bit wider than an animal trail, but attacking with an army this small is sheer stupidity. They’re probably trying to stop them temporarily so that they can flank them and make a surprise attack from the treetops or the shadows. But just as he orders his men to prepare for a surprise attack…

At this point in time – no, at the time that they entered the forest, if their army had even one of those who live in the forest and are often called forest folk, the elves, then they might have noticed the unique qualities of this forest, leading to a different outcome. However, there aren’t many elves in Castal Kingdom, and there isn’t a single elf in the royal army.

This leads to a tragedy.

Whoosh. Behind him, Raphael can hear the sound of a large object hurtling through the air. Sensing danger, he immediately crouches. He looks up, wondering if an orc is jumping down from the trees, but there is no unsightly humanoid monster with the face of a pig, only a thick branch cutting through the air.

‘A branch? Is this a trap?!’

Suddenly, there is a series of screams. When he looks behind him, the troops are similarly being attacked by branches and vines.

‘This isn’t just a trap, this is…!’

“EEYAAAAH!” a soldier screams as he’s hit in the stomach before he spits up blood and faints.

“I can’t, I can’t…! Someone, save me!” another soldier screams in desperation, fearing what will become of him, as he clambers around on the ground to escape from a tree. His pleas go unanswered, and he gets flung through the air and breaks his neck, ending his life.

“Ag… gah…” a soldier lets out muffled noises of anguish, bound in layers of vines.

“Take this, and this! …AAAH!” a soldier shouts as he bravely chops at the attacking tree and gets crushed by its roots.

Trees that are clearly conscious and attack. That’s it, they’re…!

‘Damn, they’re monsters that mimic trees!’

The enemies weren’t hidden. Of course they were being watched the whole time.

He could see them all along.

Monsters that mimic trees aren’t currently known to be present in the kingdom, so he never imagined that the trees would attack. Raphael is furious at his own carelessness. But if he stands by and does nothing, the damage will only spread.

“Do not falter! We must act as one! Our opponents are trees. Mages, archers, shoot fire! Clerics, heal the injured! Everyone else, fortify our defenses!” he declares, raising his voice as much as he can. His words seem to have reached them, and the troops, freed from the panic of the surprise attack, move according to his orders.

The trees aren’t all monsters. In fact, there are only a few tree monsters. As far as Raphael can see, there are only ten. However, the giant tree monsters that are slowly moving along both sides of the path are just that big of a threat.

“Hmph!” Raphael grunts, using mana to temporarily strengthen his muscles. Then, he uses the trunk hollows and branches to run up the tree monster.

“Haaaah!”

After climbing and jumping to the top, he swings his sword downwards with all of his strength. With that single attack, the tree monster is split in two. The bisected monster trembles and falls over.

“How’s that?! No enemy is undefeatable! Strike without hesitation!”

They cheer as the sight of the knight commander of the royal army raises their morale. Their offense increases as mages shoot fire spells and archers shoot flaming arrows. Sure enough, because they’re plants, they’re weak to fire, and the monsters, flooded with a barrage of fire, let out strange cries as if in pain, and in the end, they collapse into the soldiers as if trying to fall on them. The troops scatter to avoid the monsters collapsing towards them in a phenomenon similar to giant trees falling to the ground.

Suddenly, there’s a roar.

The orcs, as if lying in wait to replace the defeated monsters, roar and attack the army.

‘Damn, were the orcs aiming for this moment?!’

Considering the actions of the tree monsters and the orcs, the timing of their attacks wasn’t unintentional. Their attacks were perfectly coordinated. Yes, all of their actions were in cooperation with each other.

Raphael comes to the realization that the tree monsters weren’t just defeated, and they weren’t just trying to fall onto the soldiers.

‘Damn! The tree monsters fell to scatter the troops. That means…!’

The orcs are attacking from all sides, and the royal army, put at a disadvantage, is forced to face them in fewer numbers.

In other words, divide and conquer. Their goal was to divide the royal army into smaller groups and crush each of them.

The royal army’s suffering has only just begun.