FF 02

Episode 2

The western basin of Romjeson contained the great canal that had once cut through the continent, and along its course, a vast broad leaf forest had formed. The Durain Kingdom was originally near the equator, but due to its high altitude, it wasn’t very hot and wasn’t jungle terrain. Rather, as if gathering the world’s trees in one place, a colorful and harmonious mixed forest stood in this area. Because people normally traveled along the great canal, the forest was peaceful. But today, unexpected visitors seemed to disturb the peace of the woods.

“Huff… huff… huff……”

“A little more! Anyway, chasing us on horseback in this mixed forest is impossible!”

“But……”

“Are you going to talk weakly now?!”

About half a dozen elves were sprinting through the forest. A woman who seemed to be their leader encouraged the others as she ran. A black-haired woman who appeared more rational and strict compared to the other elves. She was Lair Eunasia, a High Elf who had to go out to meet Dahan procession. And right behind them, beast men Orcs were in hot pursuit. Surprisingly, these Orcs also seemed to have received regular military training, running systematically in pairs of two and harassing the elves by shooting crossbows from strategic points. If they didn’t do that, the Orcs, being lightly equipped, would inevitably lose the elves who were faster in the forest.

These were the elite soldiers of the Skael Orc tribe. Their commander, Brankus, drew his great bow repeatedly as he ran. Each time, long bloody lines were carved into the bodies of the elves in the rear. Considering these were arrows shot while running, merely grazing them was a tremendous skill. The elves felt a chill run down their spines. It was the first time they had been pushed this hard by Orcs, whom they dismissed as insignificant.

“Ha! The contract’s completion is now in sight, Kuronbis!”

Brankus, the Orc who had been continuously pursuing, shouted that and ceased his attack. Then, a sharp orcish voice came from within the bushes.

“Attack!”

In response, bowstrings were drawn in succession. The Orc elite soldiers had anticipated the elves’ range of movement and lay in ambush. The elves panicked and fell back, shielding their leader, the Rayer. At that moment, an Orc wearing an ominous robe emerged from the bushes, extended both hands forward, and chanted a magic spell.

“Ice Storm (A spell that uses dust as a catalyst to create a blizzard.)!”

A single orb spewed white smoke, flew through the air, and exploded, turning all the elves into pillars of ice.

“Kekekekeke… You never thought there’d be a mage of this level among Orcs, did you?”

That Orc laughed, speaking the common tongue with quite accurate pronunciation. Judging by his ability to control his facial muscles fairly well, he was a considerably humanized Orc. But right now, surviving was more important than his strange facial muscles. Layair Eunasia, who had narrowly avoided the magical attack, angrily chanted a spell at the Orc mage.

“I’ll show you eleven magic too! Lightning Bolt (A spell that forcibly creates a potential difference to form a lightning bolt trajectory; a frequently used spell.)!”

A bolt of lightning leaped forth and struck the Orc mage. It was an immense lightning bolt that flashed with light so bright it was impossible to look at directly. There was no way an Orc’s body, made of flesh and blood, could withstand such a thing. But the Orc mage stood unfazed, still smiling.

“You don’t know how to keep your cool, young lady.”

The Orc mage left those words and simply vanished. Only then did she shout in surprise.

“An illusion?”

She was more shocked by the fact that she had been toyed with by the Orcs’ ploy than by having been deceived by an illusion. She looked around blankly. Her escort soldiers were either already hit by arrows and dying, or turned into pillars of ice. She knew that if she kept casting spells, she too would be riddled with arrows. The lightning bolt spell she had just used was meant to catch them off guard before they could reorganize, but to have it wasted so meaninglessly…

She calmed her mind and, shield raised, cautiously surveyed her surroundings. There were about twenty Orcs. Against ordinary Orcs, her magic would suffice, but these were elite soldiers and they even had a mage. Eventually, she decided to summon her griffons (Creatures with a lion’s body and an eagle’s head, wings, and talons. They are elegant and beautiful but have a fondness for horse meat and a habit of collecting shiny things.). Concentrating her mind, she sent out a telepathic call. Originally, her party had ridden the griffons here, but as they neared Romyeson, worried that the griffons, unable to suppress their wild nature, might cause an accident, she had deliberately sent them back. If they had the griffons with them, they wouldn’t be chased by these wretched Orcs…

Griffons were immensely brave beasts, monsters that could bite and tear apart horses. If she brought griffons into a large city, driven by instinct, they would devour every horse they saw. Of course, Griffon-Knights trained their griffons thoroughly not to eat horses, but her case was different as she rode them with permission. It was only because she was a High Elf that she could ride griffons at all; Gray Elves would never ride on the back of a beast. Anyway, now was not the time for such thoughts.

“Hmm, pretty? I’ve heard there are many beauties among elves, but I didn’t expect this level.”

Brankus, flaring his snub nose, grinned lewdly. Yellow mucus dripped from his jaw, which was as wide open as a boar’s. Oh, the Orc’s aesthetic sense didn’t seem too different from a human’s. Rayer felt she had made a new discovery, but it also made her feel absolutely terrible. Brankus, drooling, approached Rayer with half-closed eyes. Then Kurongbis, the Orc mage who was much more thoughtful and wise compared to Brankus, shouted.

“Brother! I understand your taste for humanoid women, but this would be a breach of contract. We just need to do our job.”

At that, Brankus flew into a rage.

“Damn it! Anyway, those Croad cultists, after they extract information with magic, they’ll end up owning these elves themselves! I’m going to get a little taste first…”

“Absolutely not. If you do that, you’ll end up dead immediately. Just imagine, Her Excellency the venerable elf councilor, being mounted by an Orc. Hm, she’d either bite her tongue off and die on the spot or die from sheer fury.”

Kurongbis retorted fiercely. Then one of the Orc archers snickered.

“At the climax…”

At that moment, loud laughter erupted among the Orcs. Oh, to be able to make jokes of this level! Whoever said Orcs were stupid? Rayer felt like asking that, but unfortunately, there was no one to ask. Just then, Kurongbis, who had been giggling, threw a dagger, piercing the archer right between the eyes. As the other Orc archers looked at Kurongbis in surprise, he spoke with a cold expression.

“Interrupting my words, you’ve got some nerve.”

A tense atmosphere now swirled among the Orc archers. Originally, to the ignorant Orcs, Kurongbis, who used magic, was considered a coward. And now that coward had killed their comrade. If things continued like this, the Orcs would try to kill Kurongbis. And that would be a golden opportunity for Rayer! But then, a Half-Orc stepped forward to block Kurongbis.

“Anyone who dares! If you want to harm Lord Brankus, you’ll have to go through me, Gyuu first.”

Rayer was momentarily speechless at the sudden turn of events. This guy, Gyuu, showed immense concentration, as if he were some kind of Eastern warrior. And being a Half-Orc, his build was more imposing than the other Orcs, and the weapon he used was a sharp scimitar. Even Rayer, with her limited combat experience, could tell that someone like that was highly skilled. Ah. What would happen now?

“Hmm… Gyuu… I’ve been thinking I should have a go at you sometime.”

As one Orc shouted this and stepped forward, the Half-Orc named Gyuu snorted derisively and swung his scimitar. The opposing Orc’s head was severed before he could even swing his weapon once. While the Orcs were thus distracted, half a dozen griffons, having received her telepathic call, appeared in the sky. It was much faster than Rayer had anticipated.

“Fire Ball (A spell that creates a massive explosion at the target point; a very common attack spell.)!”

While the Orcs were consumed by the chaos, Rayer chanted a spell and launched a Fire Ball at the Orc archers. With a tremendous explosion, the Orc soldiers were torn apart, flying through the air scattering chunks of meat throughout the forest. As the smell of roasting pork spread through the woods, Kurongbis, coming to his senses, drew his sword and charged towards her. Seeing this, the griffons circled in the sky and then dove steeply with a long shriek to protect her. But before the griffons could reach her, Rayer, cursing in a most unelflike manner, swung her sword at Kurongbis.

“I’ll kill you at least!”

“Try it! Kekekekekekekeke……”

Brangcus, living up to his Orc nature, swung his sword brutishly.

Thud.

Brankus sword, which had even whistled through the air, was deflected by Rayer shield. Rayer blocked Brankus strike and then repeatedly thrust her short sword, forcing him back. Then she leaped at him and struck his head with her shield.

“Happy, happy!”

Brankus, once again letting out a characteristically Orc scream, tumbled to the ground. Rayer raised her short sword to finish him off.

“Too bad, but I’m not a Layair Eunasia who would die to the likes of an Orc!”

Just as Rayair shouted that, a clear voice came from behind. It was definitely not that of the Orc mage Kurongbis.

“Terror!”

That spell was a cleric’s spell. Immediately, the griffons that had been diving to shield her became terrified and began to flee. It was divine magic that instills fear in living creatures. Not that she could blame the griffons.

Startled, Rayer turned around. Standing there was a red-haired human woman and two human men who seemed to be guarding her. The human woman wore plate armor and carried a large scythe, which seemed questionable as a usable weapon. The men beside her held pitch-black swords and wore pitch-black armor. They were priests of the Croad cult.

The red-haired woman, who seemed to be their leader, perhaps intending to unsettle Rayer, smiled seductively and clapped her hands.

“Oho, excellent. But you look like a pretty girl, yet you fight quite roughly.”

Rayer was so frightened she wanted to run away immediately, but she held it in and glared at the woman.

“You use an oddly eccentric weapon too, unlike your appearance.”

“Oh my, you’re so attentive you notice details like that?”

“……”

Just then, Brankus, who had been knocked out by the shield, got up and punched Rayer in the head, knocking her to the dirt ground. A surprised Curongvis quickly tried to restrain his leader. Only then did Brankus realize the Croad cult priests had arrived and hurriedly stepped back in fright.

“Heeeeek! C-Croad High Priestess, Heindel Kisenea!”

Brankus immediately adopted a fawning posture, bowing obsequiously. With his tusks jutting out as if declaring, “I am a boar,” he truly seemed the epitome of servility! But for a dark priestess of Croad, that level of groveling didn’t work. The priestess, holding her long scythe, gave a cold smile.

“We were having such a pleasant conversation…”

A startled Kurongbis quickly chanted a spell.

“Create Stone Wall!”

A stone wall surged up from the ground. But the priestess’s scythe lightly sliced through the stone wall. Proving that the large scythe was not just for show. The dark priests stared at Kurongbis with surprised eyes, then withdrew their killing intent.