The Orcs that saw these weapons and nearly fell over in shock.
"… This must be one of the human cities, right?"
One Orc grasped a sword in a daze. Though caked with dust, its surface still gleamed, reflecting his face better than any mirror he had used before. Its blade was sharp, and its edge wouldn't dull from your average blow. These were weapons made with great care by the greatest craftsmen among the humans.
"… My god… are these even weapons!?"
"This edge, it looks like it could even slice through Ogre hide!?"
The Orcs shouted in awe.
"Ey, you guys asked where this was?"
The Orcs all turned to Karakul. They didn't say a word, still recovering from the shock. Karakul turned to those dazed Orcs and replied simply.
"Lania. This is the former capital of the Holy Empire."
***
"Load all of it!"
"Move quickly…!"
The Orcs held equipment with both hands and stumbled along to load everything into the carts. The carts creaked as their wheels struggled under the considerable weight.
"Amazing! We managed to get equipment!"
"Hah… Those human bastards are truly frightening. They had these kinds of weapons? It's obvious now why we couldn't win!"
The Orcs recalled the Hero dispatched by the kingdoms and shivered. They were on different dimensions: one side was fighting with crude weapons made of wood and bone, while the other had access to steel armor and swords. Wasn't the result obvious? It was truly an uneven playing field.
"But, what happened? These weapons… they don't compare to the weapons that the Hero's forces had!"
"Is it because they're meant for Holy Knights?"
The Hero's allied forces were an army formed around the soldiers of the various kingdoms. The Hero was dispatched by the Holy Kingdom, but in reality, there were many times that the Hero had different nationalities.
As the Holy Kingdom often elevated ordinary knights to Holy Knights on a temporary basis, to fill the ranks of the allied army, they were often not properly equipped. When Lania was still the capital of the Holy Kingdom, they had stored the weapons meant solely for the members of the Golden Cross in this place. These weapons were so precious, that after the Golden Cross was disbanded, the weapons were collected again and sealed here for safekeeping.
"Weapons specifically for Holy Knights… It's a bit creepy."
"We can just reforge them later."
"What if we touch 'em wrong and it rubs off on us?"
"Ey! Did you grab the blueprints for the siege weapons as well?"
"Can we even make all this? It's extremely complicated."
"It's also in a strange language. I don't really know human letters."
Equipment was loaded into dozens of carts. They finally had proper supplies. Swords and shields, bows and arrows, crossbows and bolts, spears and axes. Not only that, but they also had blueprints and parts to produce siege weapons. The Orcs likely couldn't handle everything provided right away, but it would be their job to research how. Orcs had the tendency to absorb the strengths of others through their boundless curiosity.
"We've got everything so we're pulling out. We can't leave the Demon Kingdom for too long."
The carts began to move on Karakul's command.
***
A pair of Ajin raced through the forest. A boy with short white hair, and a girl with white hair that reached her shoulders. They had human appearances save for the rabbit ears on top of their heads, making it obvious they were part of the Moon Rabbit tribe. The Moon Rabbit tribe were a rare species of Ajin, who made use of illusions and other such trickery to survive. The siblings were small-statured. However, their positions were much grander than their size would imply. They were the maid and servant charged with looking after the Demon Lord, Lily Golt.
They were currently fleeing through the woods, their outfits tearing on branches as they continued running with ragged breaths.
"… Brother, I'm tired."
"Hold on for a bit longer!"
They were normally of a cold and indifferent disposition. However, their expressions were now steeped in despair.
Lulu, the brother, held Luli, the sister, and pulled her along. He peeked back over his shoulder as they ran.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…"
Shadows pursued them, though Lulu had been able to make out a few details of those chasing them. Silver fur and manes, hands with massive claws, and long lower legs which propelled them forward. They were Werewolves. They deftly sprinted through the dense woods in a zig-zag pattern, evading obstacles or climbing on top of branches at a rapid pace. With even breaths, they didn't tire, despite their bulky bodies. Slowly but surely, they were closing the distance between them and the siblings.
Luli glared at them with her rosy red eyes.
"Please… stop chasing us!"
The surrounding trees began to rustle and move. Their roots pulled erupted from the earth like legs and massive branch-like arms swung toward the Werewolves.
The Werewolves stopped to fight back, slashing at the branches with their claws. However, they simply passed through them.
"… Illusion?"
It was the special ability of the Moon Rabbits: conjuring illusions and mirages. The Werewolves growled as they ignored the trees and began their chase once more, but collided into something as they tried to run through what they believed to be an open path. A tree had appeared in that empty space.
"… It's annoying. They keep making illusions, so I can't tell what's real or not."
They created enemies through illusions and created paths that didn't exist with mirages. The distance between them grew once again.
Lulu, who had been using his illusion magic, began to bleed from his nose. Exhaustion made him tremble.
"Brother, stop!"
Luli shouted when she noticed her brother's condition.
"N-not yet. Just… a bit more! We're almost where Her Highness is…!"
As they struggled, a Werewolf burst forth from a tree before them.
"… Eeek?!"
Lulu froze in surprise.
"… Let's just stop now."
The Werewolf's sharp claw flew forward. Lulu pushed Luli with the hand that once held her, and the claw penetrated him. It ran through the stomach of his small body and pushed out through his back. His intestines were torn, causing thick blood to pour out of his stomach.
"Cough…!"
Lulu quaked. Blood poured from his mouth while other fluids spilled out of his eyes and nose. He couldn't even scream, trembling in fear like a small rabbit.
Luli collapsed as her legs gave out. The Werewolf looked at Lulu and tilted his head.
"… Warm. And the scent of blood. Could this be real, and not an illusion?"
"S-stop… chasing."
Lulu used all his strength and held the Werewolf's arm. The Werewolf merely narrowed his eyes at his response.
"… Sorry. We have to follow orders, and we were ordered to hunt. Your sister is mine."
"R-run… away…!"
Lulu shouted to Luli.
— Ω —