Chapter 13 (2/2)

Then there was also the consideration that the nearby cities and villagers were living on the forest’s grace. It was a negative, inhuman act to burn off the kingdom’s resources.

This meant there was no choice but to dance to the opponents’ tune. He had to advance carefully while paying attention to any ambushes.

(I hope nothing is going to happen.)

He cut off his indescribable bad feelings within him and started getting on his horse, then ordered his army to advance into the forest.

The forest was quiet just like the scouts had reported. However, even though there were no signs of orcs, he felt like someone was watching them.

(As expected, there’s going to be an ambush? Perhaps they are surrounding us from a distance away?)

In any case, they could only advance deeper into the forest when they were unable to see the enemies’ presence.

The trees grew thick enough to block visibility and sunlight did not s.h.i.+ne into the area they were in. Compared to the slightly brighter forest they had entered earlier, there was an eerie atmosphere here brought along with coldness.

The orcs might be moving along trails made by large monsters which were wider than the path they were taking.

Due to not seeing the enemies’ presence in the forest and having the possibility of being ambushed, the mental strain was strong; the knights and adventurers’ morale were being worn down.

(Strange—)

Rafael had doubts. They had entered the forest for nearly an hour. It was odd that they had not seen any enemies too, but the real problem was how they were being observed all the time ever since they entered the forest, and yet he knew not where the observation took place from.

How was it possible for the enemies to observe two thousand and two hundred men while hiding their presence?

And it was not just a single person but multiple pairs of eyes. Perhaps they were orcs good at hiding?

He turned towards the direction where he felt the gazes from, but all he saw were dense leaves covering the top of the trees, and there were no signs of the orcs.

[Commander, that is!]

His adjutant pointed at something, and he turned his gaze over.

There were a group of orcs impatiently waiting ahead of the path they were in; their numbers were not a thousand strong, but possibly a mere hundred.

It was true that the path they were currently in limited the number of men they could fight compared to a broader trail used by the monstrous beasts, but it was sheer foolishness for such a small army to fight them. Perhaps there were ambushers coming from the dense foliage or the top of the trees.

He wanted to give out instructions to prepare for an ambush but at that moment —

Perhaps if there was an Elf, a citizen of the forest, they might have noticed the trees’ strange nature, and the results would be different.

But there were nearly no Elves were living in the kingdom Castaal, and the army did not even have a single Elf recruited.

— And thus the outcome was a tragedy.

The sound of a large object cutting through the air reverberated behind Rafael’s back. He had sensed the danger and immediately crouched. However, it was not an ugly orc that jumped down from the tree, but a large branch was cutting through the air.

(A huge tree branch? Is it a trap!?)

Screams broke up one after another. When he turned to the soldiers, he saw tree branches and vines attacking them.

(Trap…… No, that’s wrong!)

[Gaaaah!!]

A soldier was struck in the abdomen by a tree branch and fainted while vomiting out blood.

[No! No! S-someone help me!]

Another soldier pawed desperately at the ground in order to escape and screamed because he could imagine the near future’s horror, but his desire to run away was not successful as he was thrown in the air; his arms were flailing wildly before he landed on his neck, breaking it and was killed.

[Guh……. khh…..]

Several soldiers were bound tightly as the vines bound them around them repeatedly and strangled voices of anguish could be heard.

[d.a.m.n you, d.a.m.n you — Ahhhh!!]

A soldier was bravely cutting up the tree branches, but a huge root crushed him.

The trees were attacking as though they had a clear will. Indeed, they were……

(d.a.m.n it! These are monsters that mimic trees!)

It was not because they could not see the enemies. It was no wonder that they had been observed all the time.

It was because the figures were always visible.

There were currently no sightings of monsters that could mimic trees in the kingdom. That was why the army was unable to imagine that the trees ambushed them. Rafael was furious at his own carelessness. However, if he continued to do nothing, then the damage would spread.

[Don’t be afraid! Gather up and move together! Our opponents are made of wood, wizards and archers are to deal with them with fire! The priests are to heal our injuries! The rest are to defend tightly!]

He raised his voices to the limits, and his words were transmitted over to the soldiers who were running everywhere due to the ambush, and they started moving collectively.

Not all the trees were monsters, and their numbers were few. Rafael could only see about ten of them from his line of sight. But the immense slow-moving bodies of these creatures coming from both sides were a threat to them.

[Haah!]

Rafael temporarily strengthened his physical might and climbed up the tree by jumping on the tree’s trunk and branches.

[Striiiiiike!!]

He leaped up into the air, used his whole body weight to put into his sword while combining it with a mighty swing. He cleaved the tree monster into two, and the two equal parts fell violently onto the ground and caused the area to shake.

[See this! These are opponents that are not unbeatable! Don’t be afraid and attack them!]

The commander’s figure made the army’s morale rise. Their offense was increased with fire magic and fire arrows.

As expected of plant type monsters, they made bizarre groaning noises when they were showered in concentrated fire volleys, and were finally felled by the soldiers overwhelming them. At the same time, the soldiers evaded the toppling of the trees by moving to the left and right in order to avoid being crushed by the monsters’ bodies.

Suddenly, roars could be heard.

The orcs which had been laying in wait attacked the kingdom’s army.

(d.a.m.n it, the orcs were waiting for this timing?!)

If he thought about it, the orcs and tree monsters moved and attacked together with intentional timing, making it a collaborative fight. Indeed, their actions were entirely coordinated.

Rafael noticed that the tree monsters were moving in a way that would separate them when they collapsed onto the ground.

[s.h.i.+t! The soldiers are being divided, if that’s the case–!]

The orcs were striking all sides, and the small numbers of the divided army’s troops had to face them. It was a strategy to isolate and defeat them bit by bit.

— This was the start of the army’s suffering.

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