“I never thought I’d miss a smartphone this much.”
It wasn’t because he was suddenly feeling homesick.
He was simply wondering whether his comrades were carrying out their tasks properly.
“Considering how that damn orc suddenly started roaring last night, it’s certain one of the mediums was destroyed. But did it happen according to plan?”
Jun muttered to himself as he watched the advancing orc army from afar.
“Phew. What’s the point of worrying about it now?”
Whether it succeeded or failed, it was already out of his hands.
Jun decided to focus on what he could do from where he was.
“If it worked, we live. If it didn’t, well…”
He had done everything possible to increase their chances of survival before leaving.
“Whatever the case, I just need to do my part right.”
There were fifteen days left until the Orc Lord reached the next medium.
It was going to be a lonely battle.
“Tsk.”
For no particular reason, he suddenly found himself missing his comrades.
***
Rumbleee—!
Hargon opened his eyes at the sound of thunder crashing down and immediately turned his head toward the direction it came from.
“Him again.”
Ten days had already passed since he had found the second medium.
During that time, the despicable enemy had harassed the orc army in a variety of ways.
He had predicted their route and spread poison. Most of it was weak, something that could be dealt with by roasting well or boiling thoroughly.
Still, it inevitably delayed their progress. Even starting a fire took time.
A few times, when he didn’t spread poison, they ignored it…. only for him to spread it again like clockwork.
Hargon had sworn to Orcutas that once he caught the bastard, he would chew him up alive, from feet to arms.
When poison had little effect, the enemy appeared just as suddenly as he had before Takuda’s cave, firing off fireballs before fleeing again.
He had done this for two days. Even with Hargon and elite warriors deployed, there was no way to match that mobility.
So, they changed their route entirely.
They had realized that the enemy’s mobility was at its best in open, obstacle-free terrain.
So instead, they chose to move through forested areas with plenty of trees, even if it meant taking a longer path.
In response, the enemy set the mountains on fire.
That lunatic.
A few times, Hargon had attempted to personally eliminate the bastard, but every time, the enemy would go around to the opposite side from where Hargon was and launch fireballs before escaping.
Eventually, Hargon positioned elite warriors around the perimeter.
Even the fireballs couldn’t deal with the elite warriors.
The only consolation was that the area they were in was a rocky plain.
This terrain made it harder for the enemy to use his mobility. Fires couldn’t be started either.
That meant Hargon had a chance of catching up. His strength had also returned to a fair extent.
If he approached in a single leap, the enemy wouldn’t be able to respond.
That was what he had thought…. until the lightning began to fall.
Unlike fireballs, lightning could be cast from a distance.
And the enemy came three times a day. From morning, noon, and night….and sometimes even at dawn, killing three to five orcs each time before fleeing.
He truly was a lunatic.
Boom! Rumble!
“Grrrrr…”
Four orcs lay on the ground, charred like coal.
Lightning had struck three times. The same scene had unfolded in two other places—
Craaaaaash!
A fourth strike.
By this point, Hargon had already figured out what the enemy was after.
You dare to stall for time right in front of me?
Time was a resource that belonged to everyone equally. From now on, Hargon intended to teach the enemy that lesson.
***
“Damn. That guy’s crazy too.”
If Hargon had heard it, he would’ve grabbed the back of his neck in disbelief at the evaluation Jun gave.
“You looked away for a second and they split their forces?”
Overnight, the enemy’s strength had been cut in half.
Nine times out of ten, they had likely sent a strike team targeting Jun’s group.
They had deployed over three hundred just to take down fewer than thirty enemies.
“He even sent all his elite orc warriors, huh?”
They hadn’t gone so far as to send a medium, but even without it, the ones sent were more than enough of a threat to Jun’s group.
“Hmm…”
Of course, it wasn’t going to end in the group’s total annihilation.
After all, it wasn’t easy to spot just over twenty people in such a vast plain.
The orcs would have to split up to scout, which would only restrict the group’s movements, nothing more.
But with fewer enemies here, their marching speed would increase.
As he walked, he unfolded the map.
“Considering the orcs’ current pace… we’ll reach the third medium within ten days.”
Once they obtained the third medium, Jun wouldn’t be able to maneuver against the orc army the way he had so far.
“I probably won’t even be able to use [Burning Step] to put distance between us.”
If he let his guard down even for a second, he’d end up cleaved in two by Hargon’s glaive before he knew it.
“Another moment of decision, huh.”
Would he keep interfering with small attacks like before?
Or should he go all out with one massive blow?
If I use that, I can deal meaningful damage to them.
If it went well, he might even be able to destroy one of the mediums the enemy possessed.
But it’s too much of a gamble.
That was a trump card that had to be saved for the most critical moment.
In other words, it meant selling the future to buy the present.
“That would be putting the cart before the horse. I need to find another way…”
Thankfully, he had prepared several plans for situations like this.
“Let’s think. How would this guy move? If I were the Orc Lord? He’d think he’s bought himself some time. Then…”
***
“We’ve bought some time. So we’re moving around the enemy.”
He had sent a force of three hundred to the rear.
That included one hundred elite soldiers and two hundred field orcs.
“If they move while going around the canyon, their march will slow down significantly.”
Despite Takuda’s words, Hargon shook his head.
“Heading into the canyon is a death sentence.”
Hargon hadn’t forgotten how the entrance to the cave, where Takuda had been sealed, had collapsed.
He could easily imagine the steep canyon crumbling down.
Hargon and his generals had tough bodies, so they wouldn’t die. But the regular field orcs were a different story.
Those bastards hadn’t even properly developed their bodies.
Most of them would probably die just from falling rocks.
“This is where we’re going.”
“The Silent Plains? But that place is…”
By nature, orcs had tough bodies. Part of it was innate, but their muscles were also infused with magical power.
However, the area Hargon spoke of was a place where the flow of magical power was blocked.
Not a single blade of grass grew there, and the soil held no nutrients.
There was no wind, no signs of life. It was, quite literally, a land of death.
“The bastard used power similar to witchcraft. So if we go there, he won’t be able to use his powers either.”
***
“If he has a brain, he’ll head for the Silent Plains.”
The orcs would lose much of their strength, but for a mage, that place was pure poison.
Without mana, a mage was no different from an ordinary person.
But on the flip side, the orcs’ march would slow down drastically.
“If they go through the Silent Plains, it’ll take four to five days just to get through.”
Naturally, there was no way to secure food or water during that time, so they’d have to prepare in advance.
“That preparation alone will take a few more days.”
Damn that orc bastard. He had factored all this in when he reduced the number of his troops.
By bringing fewer soldiers, he saved time on preparing food and water. And with fewer troops, the march would speed up.
As expected of someone called the Conqueror King, he didn’t just brute-force his way through with sheer strength.
It felt like Jun had been outplayed.
“But I guess it was only a light jab I took?”
It didn’t hurt that much.
It was only natural. After all, Jun had stalled for time precisely for this very moment.
“Hmm.”
Jun’s gaze turned toward the vast plains.
That was the direction his allies would likely be coming from by now.
Lost in thought, Jun kept his eyes fixed there for a while.
“By now, normally…”
“That one” should have been on their way.
If things had gone well, someone should have arrived yesterday at the earliest or by today at the latest.
“The fact that she hasn’t come… did she fail to convince Leon?”
Was she not coming because she judged their forces too weak as a result?
As the sun set and the river of stars began to spread across the sky, a growing sense of unease began to build.
If that one didn’t show up now… Jun would have to fight alone, with his life on the line.
“Ah.”
Off in the distance, a tiny dot appeared.
The [Keen Eyesight] skill told him that something or someone was headed in his direction.
The tiny dot gradually began to take shape as time passed.
“You’re late.”
Jun let out a crooked smile.
And the one who arrived in front of him from far away was none other than Maya.
“I saw some pigs on the way here. Had to take a detour, so it took me a bit.”
At her words, Jun let out a sigh of relief.
If Maya had made it here, then things must have gone well on her end too.
Which raised the question. How had she managed to join up with Jun so quickly?
The answer lay in the creature beside her panting heavily.
“How’s the ride?”
“Terrible.”
Grrr…
“But the speed’s great.”
Maya had ridden in on a wolf nearly the size of a tiger.
It was one of the wolves once tamed by the orc riders, and Maya had succeeded in taming one of the survivors.
“So this guy really could be tamed, huh?”
“It’s a method our tribe used.”
As she spoke, Maya pulled a fruit from her coat.
Maya split open a fruit dyed red, took out the seed inside, and stuck it into a chunk of meat she had also pulled out.
“Eat.”
When she tossed it over, the wolf opened its huge jaws and gulped it down.
“If you do this, these guys calm down. But it only works on males.”
“That’s fascinating.”
Jun made a note to ask more about it if he got the chance later.
In any case, Maya had separated from the others and joined up with Jun separately.
Maybe it was because it had been a while since he’d talked to another person.
Jun spoke in a slightly elevated mood.
“Should we cook something first?”
“Is there enough time for that?”
“That wolf looks really worn out too. We should let it rest a bit.”
“Understood. Gale. Sit. Rest.”
Grrr…
“Seems like he doesn’t know ‘sit’ yet.”
“You get what I’m saying?”
***
While interfering with the Orc Lord, Jun had killed well over three hundred orcs.
That meant he’d killed around ten a day for nearly a month.
So, was it impossible for Jun to destroy the medium all on his own?
Jun could say it with certainty.
It was impossible.
“Why’s that? Isn’t leader’s magic strong?”
“Unfortunately, it won’t work because of a compatibility issue.”
“Compatibility issue?”
“The last medium doesn’t have elite guards. Instead, he’s just one insanely strong guy lying dormant. But that guy…. he has pretty high resistance to magic.”
That was why Maya was needed.
“With the power you have, you should be able to kill him easily.”
“Hmm. Did my value go up in leader’s eyes?”
“It was always high. You’re our mercenary group’s main damage dealer.”
“Between Aiden and me, who’s better?”
“Are you feeling lonely, by any chance?”
It seemed Maya’s personality had softened a bit compared to the past. She was even asking questions like this now.
“Come on, be honest. I won’t tell Aiden the result.”
“Eleanor is the best.”
“..…?”
Well, of course. She was a high-ranking priestess, after all.
Anyway.
“That’s enough small talk.”
“Why are you dodging the question?”
“Because the battle’s about to begin.”
“You better tell me later, for real.”
As if.
She would never hear the answer to that question, not even if she waited her whole life.
Leaving Maya behind, who kept looking at him from behind, Jun made his way toward the temple where the final medium was sealed.
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