Clouds appeared in the night sky, blocking the moonlight. It was ideal for a night attack. Each member of the Orc subjugation force moved to their respective positions under the cover of darkness.

Around the Orc settlement, to the north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-west, west, and north-west, each party took up their positions.

According to the strategy Hobbes had explained, first, since the settlement was still under construction, Axe of the Thunder God would draw the enemy’s attention by launching a flashy attack from the east. Once Orc reinforcements headed east and the defences weakened, the other parties would move in. That was the plan.

Naturally, as Axe of the Thunder God would be the ones attacking first, the general consensus was that the fighting would be fiercest there as the Orcs gathered. Elk, who led Axe of the Thunder God, had said, 「Believe in us, we’re an A-rank party,」 and with that, the other parties had all agreed. Securing everyone’s consent with a single sentence was proof that his experience and track record were deeply trusted.

Rei, utilising Set’s mobility as a Griffon, was placed in charge of guerrilla attacks and was not assigned to any of the eight locations.

「Set, it’s about time. Are you ready?」

「Guru~」

In the darkness, Set gave a short cry as the dim moonlight, filtered through the clouds, illuminated his body.

At first, Rei had wondered whether a Griffon might have poor night vision since it had the upper body of an eagle, but after spending a night in the Forest of Monsters, he found there were no problems at all.

「Orcs, your lives end today. Disappear and become food for Set and me.」

Almost simultaneously with Rei’s mutter, several lightning bolts rained down on the eastern part of the Orc settlement. It was the spell of Min, the mage of Axe of the Thunder God.

「It has begun. Set, our main aim isn’t the high-ranking Orc Mages, Orc Archers, or Orc Generals. Our top priority is the individual leading the Orcs.」

「Gururu~!」

On the ground, a group of Orcs could be seen heading east, roughly organised amidst the panic from the sudden raid. Seizing that opportunity, the other parties attacked the Orcs from behind, storming the Orc settlement from various directions and advancing towards the east.

Watching the action unfold from the sky, he searched for the appearance of his target……

「There!」

Rei spotted five Orc Archers drawing their bows fully back to attack an adventurer party they had discovered to the south-west. Because the surprise attack was carried out at night, the adventurers had not even noticed they were being targeted.

「Set!」

「Gururu~!」

At Rei’s sharp shout, Set gave a shrill cry as he dived towards the ground, reminiscent of a bird of prey swooping down on its quarry.

The arrows fired by the Orc Archers struck the man at the rear of the adventurer party, piercing his left leg, torso, and right arm. Even so, he could be considered fortunate, as the two remaining arrows struck the ground away from him. The adventurer collapsed after being struck by the three arrows, and his companions dragged him towards cover in a panic. Dissatisfied that they had not managed to kill anyone, the Orc Archers fired a volley of arrows towards the adventurers’ hiding spot.

The leader of the archers searched for his prey, firing arrows at different locations from time to time in an attempt to pinpoint the hidden targets.

Because this was their settlement, the Orcs held the home ground advantage. Failing to use it would have greatly reduced their combat effectiveness, and their tactical use of the terrain was proof that high-ranking Orc species were present.

However, while closing the distance to archers was difficult, they were notoriously weak in close combat. Therefore……

「Haah!」

Leaping from the diving Set, Rei poured magic power into the Death Scythe and swung it downwards. The Orc he targeted was sliced cleanly in two like a stalk of bamboo. Before it even realised what had happened, the two halves of its body fell to the left and right. With a squelching sound, the freshly severed entrails of the Orc spilled out and splattered onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Set used the momentum of his dive to swing his forelegs, crushing an Orc Archer’s head with his claws.

Glancing over, Rei saw the Orc Archer’s head strike the ground with a heavy thud as its body collapsed. Swinging the Death Scythe upwards from below, he targeted another Orc Archer that had yet to comprehend what was happening.

At the same time, Set landed and tore out an Orc’s throat with his beak, following up in the next instant by cleaving its torso with his front claws.

「Bumoo~!?」

The final Orc Archer finally realised they had come under attack, but was only able to let out a confused cry. The next moment, its head tumbled to the ground, neatly severed by the swinging Death Scythe. Several seconds later, as if only just noticing its head was missing, the Orc Archer’s body collapsed to the ground with blood gushing from the neck.

「Set, are there any more?」

「Gururu~」

When Rei asked Set to check the surrounding area for enemies, Set shook his head from side to side. Judging that the Orc Archers here had been dealt with, Rei quickly stored their corpses, bows, and arrows into the Misty Ring.

「Rei, is it? Thanks for saving us.」

Just as he finished storing everything, a member of the Orc subjugation force called out to him. It was the leader of the party that had been attacked by the Orc Archers.

Pinned down by the Orc Archers and unable to move, they had planned to advance once the barrage of arrows subsided. Following behind the leader was an ordinary warrior equipped with a sword and leather armour.

「Where’s the other person?」

「He’s treating the guy hit by the archers.」

「Are the potions enough?」

「Yeah, the supplies we received are sufficient for now.」

Rei had distributed the health and mana potions he carried in the Misty Ring to each party earlier that evening, and the wounded man was likely being treated with those supplies.

「What happened to the corpses of the Orc Archers?」

The warrior behind the leader asked curiously, as it seemed strange for defeated monsters to leave no corpses behind.

「I’ve already stored them in my item box. Since they’re a high-ranking Orc species, doing this avoids any disputes later.」

「Well, that’s true.」

The warrior nodded, agreeing with Rei’s reasoning.

「Then I’ll return to the sky as part of the guerrilla force and check on the other parties.」

「I understand. Thanks again for saving us.」

「Don’t worry about it, it’s my job.」

He replied lightly to the leader before getting onto Set’s back.

「Set.」

「Guru~!」

Taking a few running steps and flapping his wings, Set kicked against the air and soared into the sky.

「It seems to have become very noisy.」

「Guru~」

As Rei ascended, he saw flames blazing in several locations throughout the settlement. Someone had likely used fire magic, which had then spread to the Orc buildings. The illumination allowed Rei to take in the overall state of the battlefield.

「Hm?」

As Rei surveyed the ground illuminated by the firelight, he noticed an adventurer party heading towards a shack in the north.

They were likely heading to rescue the woman he had spotted during reconnaissance, who had been captured by the Orcs for breeding.

Unfortunately for them, they ran straight into a group of Orcs emerging from the shack, and a clash broke out immediately.

The adventurer party assigned to the northern sector had three members, and they were facing five Orcs. One of the Orcs was substantially larger than the others and clad in armour. It was an Orc General, a high-ranking species.

「It seems I can’t abandon them.」

The sight of the Orcs he had observed during the day still angered him, making this a welcome opportunity to vent his fury. Coming to that conclusion, Rei wore a fierce grin as he guided Set towards the next clash.

「Set, we’re heading there next.」

「Guru~!」

Responding to Rei’s command, Set dived towards the three-on-five battle below. When their altitude dropped to 10m above the ground, Rei leaped from Set’s back, activating the Shoes of Sleipnir to step on empty air. Readying the Death Scythe, he plummeted straight towards the Orc General commanding the other four Orcs.

「Bumo~!?」

As expected of a high-ranking species, the Orc General picked up the sound of Rei’s rapid descent and reflexively raised the great sword at its waist above its head.

Under normal circumstances, that would have been more than enough. The blade wielded by the Orc General was the size of a great sword, fully capable of parrying an ordinary weapon. But……

「Don’t think you can block my attack!」

Rei swung the Death Scythe downwards. The Death Scythe was a magic item born from Rei’s vast magic power during the invocation of the Magic Beast Art. In addition to having its sharpness enhanced by magic power, the scythe, which weighed over 100kg, felt as light as a pair of chopsticks in his hands. What happens when a weapon weighing over 100kg and imbued with supernatural sharpness strikes an ordinary great sword that is not a magic item? The result unfolded right before Rei’s eyes.

The descending Death Scythe sheared through the Orc General’s raised great sword without the slightest resistance. It continued through the helmet fashioned from monster hide, slicing through the head, torso, and armour before crashing into the ground. With a roaring boom, it threw up a massive cloud of dust and carved out a crater two metres in radius.

「Bumoo~!?」

The Orcs that spun around at the sound were greeted by the sight of their commander split in two, its bisected armour and body collapsing to either side of the crater.

Dropping down behind Rei, Set did not miss the opportunity while the Orcs were frozen in shock. Carrying the speed of his dive, he swept his claws forward just as he had done against the Orc Archer earlier, crushing an Orc’s head in an instant.

「Now, do it!」

Spurred by Rei’s sharp shout, the adventurers regained their composure and attacked the remaining Orcs from behind while the monsters were focused on Rei.

The two vanguards wielded a sword and spear, while the adventurer in the rear fired arrows. A sword cleaved into the back of an Orc’s neck, killing it instantly. Arrows from the archer struck another Orc’s back in rapid succession, and before the creature could endure the pain, a spear thrust with full force pierced the back of its head, destroying its skull.

「Bumo~!」

With their commander, the Orc General, slain, a terrifying Griffon dropping upon them, and the humans they had been fighting striking them from behind, only a single Orc remained. Realising it had no hope of victory, the monster abandoned any thought of fighting. It hurled its sword towards Rei and bolted at full speed.

The adventurers moved to pursue the fleeing creature, but Rei, having deflected the thrown blade with the Death Scythe, called out to stop them.

「Leave it alone.」

「But why?! That’s an Orc!」

At the spearman’s shout, a fierce grin appeared on Rei’s face. The adventurers felt a fleeting, overwhelming pressure from his gaze, yet still looked back at him, demanding an explanation for letting the Orc go.

「Either way, every Orc in this settlement will die tonight. The only difference is whether it happens sooner or later.」

Under the weight of Rei’s intense presence, the adventurers fell silent.

「And your objective isn’t to chase that Orc, it’s to rescue the women held in that shack, isn’t it?」

「……Yeah. That’s true.」

The swordsman nodded. Looking closely at his face, Rei recognised him as one of the adventurers who had attended the briefing with Hobbes. He was likely the leader of this party.

「Then I’ll leave the shack to you. Take them back to Hobbes. From what I saw from the sky, there are no enemies in the immediate vicinity. I’ll hold off any Orcs here until you return.」

「Thanks, we’re counting on you.」

The three adventurers nodded respectfully before heading towards the small shack. Watching them go, Rei let out a small sigh.

Originally, he had intended to rescue the women held in the shack after the settlement was completely subjugated. However, seeing the fires spreading, the three adventurers had judged it too dangerous to wait. Orcs were intelligent enough to act in groups, and things would turn disastrous if they took hostages in a panic.

While Set kept watch on the surroundings, the men emerged from the hut a few minutes later.

Two women were with them. The one Rei had spotted earlier during the day was limping but managed to walk on her own feet. The other, however, was already unable to stand and was being carried on the spearman’s back.

「We’re counting on you for a bit longer. Come back as soon as you can.」

「Yeah.」

After exchanging brief words with the party leader, Rei and Set watched the three adventurers escort the women out of the settlement.

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