Evan D. Sherden makes his Gorgeous Debut (5)
Shine hated all living and breathing monsters. Even though that hate seemed weathered from the joyful days he had spent with Evan, it was still clearly engraved in his heart.
"Is this a great flood?"
However, at the sight unfolding before him now, he didn't have the courage to show off his hatred blindly. The number of enemies now was too much for that.
"This can't even compare to the dungeon!"
"Since the dungeon is narrow…"
Shine was enchanted by the tens of thousands of orcs that filled the plateau ahead.
"But I've experienced a dungeon backflow, so I thought it would be similar."
"The backflow is well suppressed in its initial stages, so something like this is rare."
Shine laughed at the way Evan puffed up. Even with such a tremendous amount of foes, when he saw Evan acting so casually, his agitation vanished. Even while the two were talking, the battle horse ran without slowing down. They were being thrown into the waves of those monsters as they conversed.
"As the duke said earlier, our role isn't to reduce the number of orcs but to take out the boss. It should be an elite monster like an orc chief, though it might've grown stronger due to the great flood…well, let's see." Evan nodded. Considering the enhanced level of the orcs, the orc chief should be weaker or similar to the hidden boss on the 20th floor. He may be stronger than Evan expected, but there couldn't be an enemy so strong the party couldn't hunt him.
"So that's the goal, but defeat as many orcs as you can on the way."
"The master will find him soon, so we only have to focus on protecting him."
"This child…"
Evan's ability to search was the best, so that wasn't wrong. After examining the monster meter once, Evan let out a sigh and put it away.
"I can't tell where the boss is with this. It's just a trial version, so the performance is a bit inferior."
"Is that poor performance…?"
"Okay, everyone, come with me. Let's rush to the place where it is strongest."
"It's nice that you're so passionate!"
"Ha!"
Evan sharpened his senses and spurred on his horse; Shine, Arisha, and Dain followed closely behind.
[They keep running away!]
[But over there…]
[What can we do?]
Meanwhile, the orcs chasing them down faltered as the group rushed past them. The orcs could fully grasp what they were aiming for. If they followed them like this, it would open up the orc legion. Those who were excited by the sight of blood regained a brief moment of clarity.
"Lua, open the way."
"Yes. Fire Rain!" After seeing the orcs stumble, Evan gave a brief command to Belois, who had been waiting. Dark red clouds bloomed into the sky, and blood-red flame poured down like rain to melt through the orcs.
[Ahhhhhh!]
[Fire from the sky!]
Fire Rain was a wide area of effect magic that could only be cast after mastering the intermediate fire magic to its utmost limits. The mana consumption could be reduced by limiting its range with the magic manipulation ability, which was one of the witch's specialities. However, because the orcs were concentrated in a narrow place, the damage was still enormous.
"Belois, when did you learn this…"
"Before, but this is the first time I've used it. It can't be used in the dungeon."
Belois replied calmly to Shine's amazement. Evan only smiled at the words. It was the first time she used Fire Rain, one of the most representative forms of magic. It was high-level magic that even those who learned intermediate magic couldn't handle easily.
[It's a witch!]
[Kill them!]
[Before they get to the chief!]
Belois's magic was extremely effective. Hundreds of orcs had been wiped out in a moment, and the orcs began to rush in recklessly toward them. Evan frowned at something in their shouts that caught his ear.
"Witch? How did they know that?"
"The magic I use has the unique trait of a witch, master. But it is a little surprising that the orcs found it out."
"That means…"
The fact that they recognized it meant they had experienced the magic of a witch before. That meant…
"Lua, Mother didn't say anything before you came here, right?"
"Yes. However, she taught me a technique to recognize people like me. She encouraged me to establish friendly relationships whenever possible."
Evan had heard about witches roughly from his mother. In the past, they were an ancient race that lived in small cities, but now most of them had been split off to live alone. He was wondering if this was like Yo-ma Great War 5, which had related to the existence of witches and the places they lived.
"A technique to recognize the descendants of witches…I don't know how long it'll take to use."
"I see."
Belois twisted her mouth, conscious of the thousands of eyes upon her back. She was also interested in other descendants like herself.
'I need to meet them at least for the sake of the young master…'
She leaned on Evan's back, giving more strength to the hands wrapped around his waist. He looked back in surprise.
"Lua?"
"Because I'm shaken."
"….Wow." Arisha's eyes quietly sharpened, but a second after, Dain let out a loud shout
"Young master, we'll collide with their main unit soon!"
"I'm going through! Everyone with me!"
The five-member team rushed the orc legion head-on.
[What are these things?]
[They are little human kids.]
[They are still young humans? How easy!]
Orcs who hadn't been hit by Belois's magic or Evan's beads were speaking boldly in front of them. The tension mounted as the distance narrowed. No arrows flew out to greet them out of fear of the orcs coming in from behind them. Both sides were preparing for the collision. Meanwhile, Shine clicked his tongue as he felt something off.
"I'm not used to this. Master, can I sacrifice one battle horse? I don't think this will work without it."
"Oh, I can ask for forgiveness later."
"Thank you." Shine drew his dagger and put it in the horse's neck. No blood fountained up, however, as all the blood was absorbed into the dagger as Shine used Blood Shadow.
"It's a high-quality battle horse, so the effect is good. Then I'll go ahead!"
Shine jumped off the back of the collapsing horse, two daggers flashing with blood in his hand. Blood Shadow was a skill that allowed one to move faster and recover stamina as more blood was absorbed. Of course, it was a skill that worked well in dungeons, but its true value was clearly revealed in a large-scale battlefield like this one.
[One guy took the lead!]
[Kill him!]
The orc threw their weapons and fired arrows toward Shine, who floated high in the air, but he rolled up and rotated to avoid them all.
"Ha!"
[Kh?!]
[Something like this rat…ugh!]
The moment his daggers flashed out, several rocs were torn down in the blink of an eye. His speed kept accelerating with each orc he killed.
"I haven't even located the chief yet."
"Once you make it in, we'll find him!"
Shine shouted as he faced the orcs crowded around him. With that, Evan let out a laugh and fired off his battle bead. It punched a hole through the orcs that Shine couldn't handle as he produced another one.
"Alright, let's follow. Dain, Arisha support me on the sides. Shine, run fast if you don't want to be left behind!"
"Alright!"
"I will protect you!"
"Compared to the blood orc warriors, this much is easy!"
The party proceeded to break through the wall of the orc legion. Shine was in the lead, cutting down orcs as the ones coming in from the side were crushed by Dain and Arisha. The rear was completely covered by Belois's foxfire, and Evan fired off successive battle beads to take care of the orcs at a distance.
[Block them! Kill them!]
[A legion of great orcs can't give way so easily!!]
The orc commanders were beginning to panic in their attempts to stop them, which only added to their casualties.
[Kiji!]
[Witch, kill the witch!]
[Where is she?!]
"Belois, clear them out."
"Frozen Ground!"
Intermediate ice magic completely froze a specific area to incapacitate the enemy with ice. It was a flashy type of magic like Fire Rain, but it was best used in a melee. The orcs were trapped in the ice and unable to move, more orcs trampling over them in an attempt to break through.
[It's a witch!]
[The witch has appeared!]
[Kill her, kill her!]
The rage on the battlefield grew, but Evan only smiled.
"It's not as scary as Maybell."
"That maid is too scary."
With his party completely protecting him, Evan couldn't help but feel reassured despite the chaos around them.
'Of course, it is the usual pattern of Evan's death scene to appear after victory seems certain.' Evan meticulously checked that he had everything properly equipped and ready before letting out a satisfied sigh. Okay, he won't die on this battlefield, at least.
"Shine, rush that way! Their boss is over there!"
"Okay!"
Shine let out a bold yell and sped up. Evan's party spurred their horses to sprint after him. They thought that the orcs were the only ones to pay attention to them, but that wasn't the case. Their movements were too flashy for that. The changes happening in the battle were noticeable even from the innermost wall of the Duchy.
"Then, let's go!" Ah, Arisha, I'm sorry, but could you stay by my side?"
"… Evan, say that one more time."
"I mean, stay right there. Could you focus on the battle?"
"Only five people were cutting down the terrible catastrophe that came once every few years. One of the many legends that the Dungeon Knights would achieve had come about in earnest.