Chapter 92: The Shadow of the Elves
――Let’s take the story back a little to the past.
In the forest about 10 km west of Hellerford Aristocratic School, contact with a village was suddenly ceased.
In a fantasy world where monsters are part of everyday life, it is not uncommon for villages to disappear. Normally, they would just send a third-rate adventurer around there to investigate, conclude it’s the work of monsters or bandits, and be done with it.
However…
The Führer of Yamato is here in Hellerford. It’s not uncommon for villages to disappear, and it’s not a big deal.
However, if by any chance, something were to happen to her… It’s literally the end of the country.
The Yamato Imperial Army, renowned as the strongest, will rage furiously and wreak havoc in Londeria. It was common knowledge among the leaders of Londeria that the country was a nest of yandere and perverts.
It would be bad if that happened.
The lord of the local town ‘Thame’, who had that thought, requested the most skilled adventurer in the vicinity to conduct the investigation and sent the highest-ranked adventurer party in his town to investigate the forest.
So far, the response has been perfect. The lord’s decision is correct.
But the problem comes after this.
Something unexpected happened.
That’s right, they also lost contact with the elite adventurer party they sent in.
There’s something strange about that forest, there must be something terrifying in there that ordinary adventurers can’t deal with.
This problem was immediately reported to the Royal Palace of Londeria. Due to Queen Elizabeth’s perception of the gravity of the situation, the Royal Knights, who are the pride of Londeria, were dispatched to investigate.
In this world, knights are a symbol of strength.
A special warrior class that only those who excel in martial prowess and mastery of magic can achieve.
Since the introduction of Yamato firearms, the absolute nature of magic has gradually diminished, even so, it can still be said that they possess superior military strength in this fantasy world.
And they are the Royal Knights.
It’s not just an ordinary order of knights, it is an order that possesses the highest combat capabilities among the many orders of knights in the country.
Although the number of members in the Order of Knights is around 30, which is not very many, each individual possesses a level of skill comparable to that of a high-ranking adventurer.
They can fight on equal footing or better against any kind of monster, and even if they were to lose, at least a few would survive and deliver the information.
If it is not a large-scale battle between armies, it’s an elite unit that can deliver certain results. Also known as Londeria’s ultimate weapon.
Wearing full-body silver armor that shone brilliantly, and brandishing a top-tier sword made of mithril, they gallantly departed from the royal capital, Londen, and everyone was convinced that the problem would be resolved.
But contrary to expectations, none of the problems were solved.
Yes, even this knight order was defeated.
None of the knights who entered the forest returned. The order of knights disappeared without leaving any trace.
A threat that even the most powerful knight order in the country cannot handle.
Given the situation, there is no choice but to mobilize the army. There is no other way to address the problem than by using the power of numbers.
And then, time returns to the present.
An army of 1000 men made up of local adventurers was to be dispatched to the town of Thame near the forest.
When this army arrived in the town, they set up base there and began operations―― namely, investigating the forest.
Because it is dangerous, they did not suddenly enter the forest, instead, they began to scout around it.
……On the other hand.
There were those who stealthily watched the army that came to Thame from within the forest.
Inside the forest it is dim even during the day. Two people, a man and a woman, wearing black cloaks that blend into the darkness, were watching the military activity while hiding among the trees.
With the hood pulled down deeply, their face is not visible… Only the distinctively long ears are clearly visible even from a distance.
Yes, they are elves.
“Oh, my? How strange, the humans are gathering, aren’t they? Even though all the people who came to the forest were killed and made into a mess…”
That was fun, wasn’t it? Especially the part when we used the ogre to thoroughly defeat the arrogant knight captain, that was the best! The female elf laughed.
And then, after laughing for a while, she suddenly became serious and continued, “But still, it’s strange, we killed them all, so there is no way they could know we are here.”
……By the way, the leader of the knights who was killed was a man.
To such a female elf, the male elf sighed deeply and said, “Isn’t it because you get too violent?” He answered.
“The village, the adventurers, the knights. If you kill that many, even without knowing if there are elves, someone will feel a sense of crisis and come to investigate. You can’t even figure that out?”
“I mean, there are lots of inferior races, right? It’s a waste not to kill them, isn’t it?”
“Honestly, our mission is to investigate in preparation for the upcoming invasion. It’s not to attack. There’s no point in collecting so many monsters…”
When the man turned around, there was an enormous army of monsters numbering easily over a thousand.
Goblin, Orc, Ogre. Various human-type monsters, wolf-type and plant-type, and so on, the elves had tamed many of the monsters in the forest using magic and brought them under their command.
Using this overwhelming military force, the village was destroyed, the adventurers were wiped out, and the knight order was annihilated.
Of course, even though the elves excel at magic, taming such a large number of monsters is not an easy task.
Basically, the number of monsters that a single elf can tame is at most about a squad, which is about 30.
It would be impossible for just two elves to command an army like this, which exceeds 1,000.
However…
“After all, since we went to the trouble of being entrusted with ‘that thing,’ wouldn’t it be a waste not to use it?”
“Fool, that decisive weapon is meant for an emergency. It’s not something you can use to have fun.”
That thing they talked about, the decisive weapon.
Entrusted with the dangerous mission of investigating the human nation, they are entrusted with certain items for self-defense.
“Because there’s that, we can manage to control a monster of this magnitude… What if the mana runs out? It won’t last long, will it?”
“You can just replenish that, look, there’s a town nearby, isn’t there? How about we destroy everything and turn all humans into mana? While we’re at it, shouldn’t we torture some people to get them to spill some information?”
See, that’s a good idea, right? This is how the woman puts it.
After thinking about it for a while, he said, “…I guess there’s no choice but to do it.” With a resigned tone, the man also made up his mind to do it.
Either way, if they deploy the army and the whole forest is surrounded, we will have no choice but to break through. We will kill all the humans, even if we have to use the decisive weapons.
“Hey, reorganize your monster army. Tonight, we will start the attack under the cover of darkness; the target is the nearby town of Thame. We will destroy this place and annihilate the human army. That way, they won’t come after us.”
“I am in favor of that. I can do whatever I want with the one I caught, right?”
“As long as you can make them spill some information, do as you please. Regardless of what you do, it’s fine as long as they end up being converted to mana.”
The man said it dryly, then disappeared into the forest.
……That night, at the Londeria army base, Thame.
“Fuwaah… Good grief, what could possibly be in this shabby forest?”
“Isn’t it a big dragon? Look, there were footprints nearby, right? It’s a big footprint.”
“Nh, oh, that… It wasn’t dragon footprints, but giant footprints, that pretty cute noble young lady named Lynn or something was saying that, wasn’t she?”
“Giant? There’s something like that, that’s scary. So, I want to ask you a few questions about this Lynn girl.”
“She’s the leader of the neighboring squad. She’s the daughter of some big aristocrat. Anyway, I’m sleepy, so I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up in an hour or so.”
“Hey, hey, don’t slack off. I mean, is she cute? That girl.”
On the wall of Thame, which can watch over the forest, a sleepy-looking adventurer was keeping watch while yawning sleepily.
During the day, he walks around the forest in surveys, and at night he sleeps on the town walls.
Even the adventurer was exhausted from this grueling work, as he leaned his back against the battlement, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
At such a time, an unusual rumbling sound echoed from within the forest.
“…Hey, wake up.”
“What the heck, it’s so noisy with all that stomping noise. Are they having a drinking party or something? This is what happens when the army and old men gather…”
“You Idiot! Is this the time to be saying such things? Look outside!”
“Outside, huh? Even if I look at a place like that―― what!?”
While rubbing his eyes, the adventurer saw a scene of countless monsters bursting out from the forest and charging towards the town.
“How many?”
“At least 1,000!”
“Numerically, we are evenly matched, but… The opponent’s ranks are swarming with loads of intermediate-level monsters that are like ogres. There are many amateur adventurers here. This looks like it’s going to be a tough battle.”
The sound of the bell signaling the enemy’s attack rang out, and the adventurers who had been sleeping at the inn hurriedly armed themselves and headed toward the town walls.
But, it was a little too late.
Although the town walls were not breached, the relatively small town of Thame was quickly surrounded by monsters, leaving no escape routes.
If they want to survive, they have no choice but to fight.
For the Londeria army, it is a somewhat tough beginning to the battle.
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