Like a large herd of wildebeests stampeding in an open field, Grey and Yuna left massive dust clouds on their wake as they ran at breakneck speeds, rivaling those of bullet trains.
Currently, the two are on a special quest to exterminate a horde of orcs threatening a village east of Galderia. It was a quest brought upon the sudden entrance of a man pale as a sheet of paper coming from the said village.
With an Orc General leading the horde, it was like a flood of destruction which devoured everything along its path. A terrifying force which can compete with a whole order of knights.
According to the man who delivered the news, the orc horde came without warning from the nearby woods. They came from the direction of a nearby cave and just marched straight to the village, trampling everything they met and killing every living thing on sight.
It was a race against time, a race which could cost the lives of hundreds even if Grey and Yuna were to be late for even a minute.
Knowing this, Grey and Yuna traveled in a straight path towards the village, covering a distance that would have taken a fast horse to travel almost quarter an hour in less than three minutes. Not to mention, neither of the two broke a sweat during the trip.
The moment the village came into sight, large columns of smoke had already risen to the sky. The village was already ravaged and ruined.
It was a scene which reminded both Grey and Yuna about the tragedy almost 3 years ago. The only difference was that there weren't large flames engulfing the houses, only orcs tramping over everything.
Thankfully, according to the man, the villagers had already started evacuating. Coupled with the slower movement speeds of the orc, it should have given them enough time to escape.
Still, Grey and Yuna didn't become complacent. After all, there could have been misinformation from the news the man brought to them.
Inside the ravaged village, multiple variants of orcs ran rampant as they destroyed the houses swing after swing by their large maces. Even reinforced stone pillars stood no chance from the orcs' brute force.
In just a single glance, Grey was able to tell that the orcs' numbers exceeded a thousand.Though most of the horde consists of normal orcs, there were also quite a number of high orcs, but what bothered Grey the most was that...
'Why are there 5 of them?'
... there were more than one Orc General within sight.
The report was even worse than he thought. It wasn't an Orc General which was leading the horde, it was an Orc King! A B-rank monster capable of destroying villages all by itself!
What's more worrying was that not all the villages have escaped, there were still some left behind as they try to save some necessities as they evacuate. A foolish act which could cost one to forfeit their lives.
"Yuna, head to the village and save the ones left behind. Once you're done, come help me. I'll be intercepting the horde up front and the Orc King." ［Grey］
"An Orc King?!" ［Yuna］
"Yeah, it seems like the villagers mistook it for an Orc General. So, can you do it?" ［Grey］
For a moment, Yuna became silent after learning the reality of the situation. But she was able to snap quickly back to reality, and with a smile on her face...
"Of course. I am your partner, after all!" ［Yuna］
... Yuna answered Grey confidently, making the latter heave a small sigh of relief.
"And Yuna, be careful." ［Grey］
"Un!" ［Yuna］
With a confident smile on her face, Yuna vanished into thin air as the two split ways, moving as fast as they could to not waste any more precious time.
'Tsk, this is going to be harder than I thought.' ［Grey］
Grey clicked his tongue as he monitored the situation with "Heaven's Eye". It showed that the horde was more scattered than he thought.
If only there was no need to consider the village and the villagers, Grey could have ended the horde in a single wide area attack. Sadly, the villagers would also be caught up in the spell if he ever did so.
"Well, if I can't blow you all away at once... then I'll just slaughter you pigs one by one! ⟨⟨Gale Waltz⟩⟩!" ［Grey］
As Grey released the spell, a strong burst of winds formed into blades and decapitated each and every orc along the easy path, not sparing the orcs any time to retaliate.
⟨⟨Icicle Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
On Yuna's side of things, she was treading quietly and swiftly along the village, Firing a barrage of ice towards every orc she met, ending their lives in a single shot.
No matter how many orcs she came across, Yuna ended the orcs' lives with a face of indifference. At the same time, she was also keeping a sharp eye and ear for any villagers left behind.
Buhhiiikkkk Guraaakkkk
'That's another one dowー' ［Yuna］
"He-Help!!"
"Aahhhh!!"
Just as she finished off another orc, screams of people filled the air.
Yuna quickly followed the origin of the scream, arriving at a scene where two soldiers were keeping the orcs occupied as they tried to let the others escape. There were even children crying in fear from every strike an orc delivered to the soldiers.
But even when they were full of wounds, the two soldiers did not flee and kept protecting the villagers behind their backs. One of them even has a bleeding head, yet he didn't stand down.
⟨⟨Icicle Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
As the orc raised its hand to strike the soldiers once again, Yuna arrived at the nick of time, firing off a spell which immediately ended the orcs' lives.
Before the villagers could even notice her arrival, the ocrs had already turned into pincushion which was skewered by multiple chunks of ice. Shortly after, the orcs fell to the ground and vanished into thin air, leaving a few drops behind.
The villagers, witnessing the scene, became frozen from shock and confusion. In their eyes, large chunks of ice suddenly appeared and finished off the orcs. Not a single one of them understood what just happened.
"Is everyone alright?" ［Yuna］
Undoing her ability, Yuna appeared before the villagers, making the latter snap back to reality as they saw a young lady appear before them. It seemed like the second shock canceled out the first one.
Of course, the villagers were still wary of her sudden appearance, as the wounded soldiers quickly pointed their weapons at her.
"Don't worry, I'm an adventurer from Galderia. I've come here to exterminate the orcs and lead you to safety." ［Yuna］
"Gido? He made it?!"
"So help has arrived... Thank God, thank God..."
"Our efforts were not in vain."
Hearing Yuna's words, tears fell down the villagers eyes. Tears which symbolized the relief they felt. Their hearts which were once filled with fear are now brimming with hope.
"Umm... this might be rude... but when are the others coming?" ［Soldier］
"Aside from me and my partner fighting in the front, no other adventurers are coming here. We're the only ones sent by the Guildmaster." ［Yuna］
But hope didn't last long, as after hearing Yuna's words, their hearts once again sank into despair. After all, no sane person would think that two people could win against a horde of orcs.
While Yuna wanted to calm them down, they wouldn't believe her from words alone. There was only one thing she could do to assure them.
"By the way, are there still others in the village?" ［Yuna］
"N... No, we're the only ones left. The others have evacuated. Why...?" ［Soldier］
Towards the soldier's question, Yuna did not utter a single word to answer. Instead, she only smiled lightly to them as she closed her eyes.
With a flick of her finger, Yuna erected a simple barrier to protect the villagers. Moments later, large clouds formed in the sky and snow started to fall towards the ruined village.
⟨⟨Icicle Shower⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
As a cold voice emanated from Yuna's mouth, the snow which was falling suddenly came down at a much faster rate. Seconds later, the snow was turned into hail. Lastly, the hail converged into large chunks of ice resembling javelins as sharp as real ones.
The javelins of ice then rained down to the ground and razed the already ruined village, piercing everything in their way and killing the orcs which were helpless against it.
It was a one sided massacre which brought upon complete destruction to the ones against it. It didn't matter if it was a high orc or an Orc General, it was the face of death, all are equal.
Witnessing the spectacle before their very eyes, the mouths of the villagers hang wide open in agape. It was as if a goddess of ice had descended to pass judgement upon the impure world.
When the downpour of ice javelins stopped, not a single orc could be seen in the horizon. All of them had turned back to mana as they vanished into thin air.
"Don't worry, as you can see, the two of us are enough." ［Yuna］
With a smile on her face, it was difficult to imagine that Yuna was the very same person who laid waste upon a horde of orcs. It was as if she was a completely different person when she's in battle.
Of course, as they had witnessed such a scene, there was no more doubt inside the villagers' hearts. All that's left was awe towards the elven maiden before them.
"All those orcs.. in a mere instant... Miss, just who are you...?" ［Soldier］
"Me? I'm Yuna, just a rookie adventurer." ［Yuna］
Although Yuna didn't say a single lie, the villagers were in disbelief from her answer. After all, there was no way a "rookie" would be capable of such overwhelming power.
"Then, I'll be leaving now." ［Yuna］
As quickly as she appeared, Yuna activated her ability and vanished once again, leaving the puzzled villagers behind for themselves.
As if there wasn't any end to them, every time Grey defeated an orc, another one would just rush at him, replacing the defeated one before it.
But of course, even when he had defeated a couple hundred of them, Grey didn't show any signs of exhaustion. Rather than exhaustion, annoyance was the one which was evident on his face,
⟨⟨Magnum Caliber!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
With a single shot, multiple orcs were blasted away, hitting their kin behind them, but even still, the orcs still surrounded Grey from sheer numbers alone.
One after another, Grey delivered a fatal punch to every orc that came into his range. Even when he was just using basic-level arts, the orcs were obliterated all the same.
"Grey!" ［Yuna］
Just as Grey finished off another orc, a voice called out to him from behind. The origin of it was none other than Yuna.
"How are the villagers?" ［Grey］
"They're safe already. By now, everyone should have evacuated away from the village into the nearby hills." ［Yuna］
"Good. Now, I can finally let loose!" ［Grey］
With the villagers' safety secured, there was nothing holding Grey back anymore. It was finally time to deal with the orcs once and for all.
⟨⟨Tectonic Cemetery!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
Following Grey's words, the ground suddenly shook violently as cracks appeared along the earth. A few seconds later, a large earthen spikes came out of the ground, piercing the orcs' bodies as if they were thin sheets of paper.
⟨⟨Twin Spiral!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
There were some that survived, but as they stood up, they were instantly shredded to pieces as a massive spear of wind bypassed them, flattening the once jagged ground back to its original state.
Buhuwaaaaakkkkk
The only one who survived was the Orc King, but while it did survive, it was covered in all manners of wounds and injuries. It took all its strength just to stand back up. It was on its last breath.
"Time to say goodbye. ⟨⟨Twin Spiral⟩⟩ !" ［Grey］
Seeing another "Twin Spiral" coming its way, the Orc King tried to defend itself, but from all the injuries it sustained, it was impossible to stop it.
With unparalleled power, the spell tore through the Orc King's body, ripping it to shreds and tearing each and every muscle in its body. After the spell ended, not even a single body part was present.
The only thing left behind was the proof of its defeat, its drops. A large mana crystal, a mass of leather, and an Orc King's necklace. They were all materials which would fetch a good price in the market.
But now that the orc horde is defeated, Grey and Yuna are facing another problem. An annoying one at that.
"So... how should we deal with this..." ［Grey］
In front of their eyes was a ravaged village, a disfigured terrain, and a huge number of drops from the orcs they defeated. Although the second one was easy to fix with magic, the other two are a huge pain in the ass.
"Haah... Let's just get this over with..." ［Grey］
"Uuu..." ［Yuna］
With reluctance in their hearts, Yuna and Grey started picking up the drops from the orcs which were scattered all throughout the battlefield. And with the help of Grey's "Heaven's Eye", they were able to locate all of them.
Grey and Yuna had started picking up the drops early in the afternoon, and by the time they finished, it was already late in the afternoon. It was an arduous task which was even more difficult than defeating an orc horde.
With the orc drops on their hands, the special quest was finally finished. The only thing left to do was to report back to the guild. But first, Grey and Yuna went to the villagers to tell them the good news.
"I-Is that true?!" ［Chief］
An elderly man screamed in shock as he heard the situation from Grey.
"It is, and if you don't believe us, you can see for yourself." ［Grey］
"N-No, just confirmation from you is enough. After we witnessed Lady Yuna's powers, there's no way we wouldn't believe what you say." ［Chief］
Apparently, the other villagers were still near enough to witness Yuna as she rained down a torrent of ice javelins down to the orcs. A scene which sent shivers down the villagers' spines.
But there was something which had bothered Grey. A strange honorific was attached to Yuna's name.
Grey looked at Yuna for answers but the latter just shook her head lightly. It seems like she was also confused about how she came to called "Lady",
"But the village is already ruined, huh..." ［Chief］
By the chief's words, an atmosphere of gloominess fell about the villagers, as they reminisced about their once lively home.
As the villagers were being crestfallen, a gentle tug was pulling onto Grey's coat. It was Yuna who seemed to be signaling Grey about something.
"About that.. Me and Yuna were actually thinking of giving the money earned from the drops to the village. I hope it can help you rebuild the village." ［Grey］
"R-Really?!" ［Chief］
Grey's words brought hope to the crestfallen villagers. Although they were happy, most of them were shocked by the generosity of the two youths who saved them.
Before Grey and Yuna met up with the villagers, the two had already decided to donate the money towards the village's reconstruction. It was an agreement the two reached after seeing the poor state of the village.
After all, Grey and Yuna weren't in dire need of money, and remembering the tragedy almost 3 years ago, they just couldn't abandon the villagers and leave them in a sorry state for their own benefit.
"T... Thank you... Thank you very much..." ［Chief］
Tears trickling down his face, the chief thanked Grey and Yuna with a heart full of sincerity. Not only him, the other villagers also thanked them as they sang praises of them.
Having saved a lot of lives, Grey's heart became lighter as the guilt of not being able to save Yuna's previous home was lifted a little bit. He was finally strong enough to save others.
With the sun starting to set, Grey and Yuna led the villagers to Galderia, making sure they arrived safe and sound.
It was also worth noting that Grey and Yuna healed the wounds of the villagers, returning them back to their healthy state. Once again earning them the gratitude of the villagers.
"Everybody, look! We're almost there!" ［Soldier］
A soldier in the front relayed a message towards his fellow villagers, as he spotted the city over the horizon.
As the sun was about to set, large stone walls came into view. Illuminated by the amber sunlight, the hearts of villagers were filled with happiness as they could finally settle down.
It wasn't only the villagers who were happy at the sight of the city, Grey and Yuna also felt great joy seeing the familiar scenery unfold before them.
"We're home." ［Yuna］
CHAPTER 16 END