Chapter 20: Battle for the Territory, Part 3
A roll call was conducted before dawn, and we were mobilized once again.
We proceeded on the same side road as yesterday, guided by the faint light of a few torches. Although I had acquired the riding skill, I had no skill in maneuvering the Triuma in the darkness, so ultimately, I left it to the Triuma's control.
The Triuma advanced in a single file, consisting of a total of twenty people, including regular soldiers and us, the slaves. Carina and Cecily were not present. Leading the vanguard yesterday was Knight Commander Zagu, a sturdy man with a mix of white hair and beard, giving him a middle-aged appearance.
It seemed that some people had been sacrificed or suffered injuries that couldn't be healed with recovery spells yesterday, and it appeared that the composition of the expeditionary force had changed slightly.
Since the Triuma proceeded on its own accord, I took the opportunity to nibble on the black bread we were distributed while mounted. It was a little satisfying to find fillings inside. It was probably some kind of bean paste. It had a hint of sweetness, similar to "uguisu-an" in my original world, in terms of taste.
During the journey, I grasped the details of the "Map" skill.
When I focused, a black screen appeared in my mind, and I could see myself moving forward, with the visible area being depicted as a map. It was a kind of automatic mapping function. My position was plotted as a point of light.
Furthermore, when I concentrated and activated the "Detection" skill, those I could sense were indicated as small additional points of light on the map. This could be quite useful.
Upon reaching the same spring as yesterday, about twenty men armed with bows and axes had gathered.
It seemed that instead of the guild adventurers who had withdrawn, they had gathered the local hunters and lumberjacks. If monsters roamed the mountains and forests, it would be difficult for them to pursue their livelihoods with peace of mind. Therefore, in coordination with the Lord dispatching troops, they planned to collectively hunt the monsters.
Knight Commander Zagu and others were in discussion with the leaders of the hunters and lumberjacks. They were probably discussing the areas they were responsible for and coordinating the arrangements.
Meanwhile, we lower-ranking individuals quenched our thirst with water from the spring.
Soon, we were called together and divided into groups again.
I was in the same team as Bes, led by Muharem once more. However, there were no soldiers from the territory this time; about ten hunters and lumberjacks were with us.
"It seems we'll be hunting Magic Boars. The main force of the troops is heading towards the Kobold den," Beth informed me.
Magic Boars are around level 1 to 3, so they are leaving it to the unarmed civilians without armor, apparently. They divided into two teams and assigned two to three soldiers to each team to oversee the operation.
Kobolds are a bit stronger, ranging from level 2 to 5, a little weaker than Orcs, it seems.
However, do we really not need to bring the only mage to the stronger monster?
Well, I guess it's because Beth was only level 1 until yesterday, so she wasn't considered part of the main force. She seemed timid herself and had an air of being looked down upon by the soldiers.
Even if the lord is a woman, the military might still have a male-dominated hierarchy. It's probably a world that doesn't know about modern democracy yet.
By the way, Beth has leveled up to level 3 overnight.
Since she defeated an Orc Leader at level 8 alone, she must have gained a significant amount of experience points. The knight captains might not be aware of that yet.
Our group and another group for boar hunting are advancing through the forest in different directions than yesterday when we headed towards the Orc's nest.
Although scouts are not accompanying us, the hunters are guiding us. They seem to have a detailed understanding because monsters have started appearing in their hunting grounds.
That's fine, but they are accustomed to the mountains, and they wear light armor, so they have fast feet.
Dawn is finally breaking, but it's still dark, and we extinguished the torches, making the footing uncertain. Moreover, the uphill slope is steeper than yesterday, making it a serious mountain climb.
It's tough.
Even the petite Beth is walking without complaining. The map skill only shows the area I have personally traversed, so I don't know where the endpoint is.
Before I knew it, I ended up at the back of the line, but I managed to keep up somehow, thanks to the "HP Increase (Medium)".
It's just an "increase," and it probably only reaches a moderate level for someone like me who originally has low stamina. I'm disappointed.
Around the time morning dawned, Muhalim finally gave the order to rest.
I sense something beast-like with my detection skill, but I can't see anything beyond the thicket.
No, I saw it, or rather, I felt it.
That area with particularly thick undergrowth. The thicket is bulging, and there, a hole stands out in my mind, flickering with light.
This must be a skill.
It seems like a "discovery" skill. Instead of sensing the presence of people or monsters like detection, it's a skill to find special "objects" among inanimate things.
In my mind's map, the location where the thicket is bulging is marked in red.
The nocturnal boar apparently returns to this nest to rest in the early morning.
The hunters are spreading out, moving stealthily. It seems like they will semi-surround it from the downwind side. Muhalim and I join them.
Lina's face peeks out from the leather bag. Don't get caught.
And the lumberjacks quietly made their way through the trees, heading upwind. Beth was in charge of leading them, at least in theory. But following the well-built lumberjacks, Beth looked like a child.
Then, perhaps sensing a scent, a demon boar emerged from a bushy hole.
It's huge.
Rather than a boar, it's about the size of a small bear.
With its blackish fur and red eyes, it's definitely not an ordinary boar. It's a monster. Its long fangs are probably as big as the swords we carry.
So this is a
It's about as strong as an orc, but if it's alone, it seems stronger than an orc.
The boar sniffed the air around it and showed signs of vigilance. Then, two or three slightly smaller demon boars appeared. They were grayish in color. Even at LV1, their physique is not something you'd want to fight one-on-one.
Muhalim and the head of the hunters gathered everyone and whispered. The first one that appeared was the leader male, and the females came out later. The group is a harem with one male and many females, and it seems to be the breeding season.
The lumberjacks, who had completed their positioning upwind, raised their voices in a coordinated manner to intimidate the leader male.
Should we run? I thought, but the demon boars barked and headed towards the lumberjacks.
The lumberjacks avoided a direct charge by not standing in front and surrounded the boars in groups, attacking with their axes. However, they could only graze the boars at best while keeping their distance to avoid the fangs.
Meanwhile, Beth attacked from a distance with magic.
The fireballs were larger than yesterday and seemed to be faster. Does the power increase when the level goes up for the same magic? However, the control is still lacking, and the opponent's movements are quick, so although she managed to graze them and inflict burns, it seemed that she couldn't make a direct hit.
On the other hand, as the large one headed upwind, the smaller gray demon boars, along with many even smaller ones about the size of ordinary piglets, started running in the opposite direction, downwind.
The smaller ones have stripes. They are definitely wild boars.
It seems that when attacked by enemies, the leader of the group fights while the females and young escape.
However, the hunters were already prepared and had laid an ambush.
Muhalim and I were also on this side.
Without Muhalim giving a signal, the hunters, who had been hiding in the shadows of the trees, simultaneously released their arrows.
The demon boars let out screams of agony.
Some arrows hit, and there were fallen young ones, but the adult ones continued to charge with the arrows stuck in them.
I was also given a bow, but I couldn't hit anything at all. I gave up and started throwing hardened ceramic balls, one after another.
Yeah, I don't think I can defeat them with these. It's just a bluff to make them change their direction and run away.
And when there was a demonic boar trying to escape the encirclement, I created a clay wall in front of it to block its path. An arrow flew again to where its feet stopped.
By repeating this, we gradually whittled down their numbers.
However, the boars were faster than humans, and when they entered thick bushes, their figures were hard to see, and the arrows couldn't reach them.
One of them tried to run through the gap between Muhaalim and me. Muhaalim also had a bow, but he was slow to draw his sword when they approached, and they slipped through.
I couldn't help but shout, "Lina, grow bigger! Become a female warrior!"
Lina, who jumped out of the leather bag, transformed into a female warrior in chainmail.
Muhaalim exclaimed in surprise, "Cecily-dono?"
Yeah, it's my mental image. As soon as I tried to dress her up as a female warrior, she ended up looking exactly like Cecily. I don't have any other specific examples, you see.
The chainmail, in fact, was made of soft vinyl, so it had no real defensive power. It was just for show. But...
"Clay! Turn into a hardened sword!"
A hardened ceramic sword appeared in Lina's hand. This one actually had a sharp edge.
Lina swung the sword, which I had practiced how to use in the morning, and struck at the demonic boar rushing towards her.
Startled by the sudden appearance of a person in front of it, the boar tried to change its direction.
That's when I finally attacked.
I swung the sword down, intending to cleave it from the back, but the sword stopped with a solid resistance.
"Fugii!"
A cry echoed. I anxiously waited for a counterattack.
At that moment, Lina slashed at its body from the other side.
Of course, she was an amateur girl, so it shouldn't have caused much damage, but the demonic boar that was coming towards me changed its direction.
I also swung the sword again. This time, it tried to face me.
By continuously attacking together to prevent it from focusing on one target, we managed to defeat it somehow.