Aldes and Wallo were in the same bivouac group. When they finished their watch, they switched with Dalbry and Vaibo and entered their tent.
As Aldeth stood watch, he strained his ears for any sounds from the Welcome Fang Forest, but all he could hear were grasshoppers and birdsong.
Aldeth was sure the orcs had no way of knowing that a large army had come to the borders of the Fang Forest.
"Aldeth, are you asleep?"
Wallo said as soon as he entered the tent, lying down immediately.
"I don't know. I don't think I can sleep."
"I'm sleepy. I'll sleep."
Wallo turned over against the tent wall.
Ever since the expedition had come near the Welcoming Fang Forest, they had kept their shoes on and their clothes on, whether sleeping or resting, in case battle broke out at any moment. Aldeth stood up and took a quick inventory of the 26th's position. They were about a hundred meters from Aldeth's 5th Company.
The orcs were tall and very strong, so Aldeth figured it would take four soldiers to take on a single orc. When Aldeth was being educated at Castle Grifenstein, the bachelor Aris told him that Wallabach had long been a peaceful city, and he didn't understand why, in recent years, orcs had suddenly appeared and threatened the city.
The Forest of Illusory Fangs was a vast, dense forest with abundant game, and it was a favorite hunting ground for the nobles and commoners of Wallabach.
However, after the arrival of the Orcs, it was no longer safe to go hunting in the Forest of Welcome Fangs. This is because you could be hunted by the orcs.
The orcs were expanding their territory from the forest toward the city of Wallabach. If left unchecked, Wallabach would eventually fall to the Orcs.
Aldeth continued to sit, then lay down on the ground to rest his back. It was uncomfortable to lie there in his clothes, which were not comfortable. Next to him, Wallo was sleeping soundly, snoring soundly, and Aldeth was lost in his thoughts, when he heard a dull thud in the distance outside his tent.
- Puck, puck, puck.
- An orc appeared. An orc.
Aldeth quickly shook Wallo, who slept next to him.
"Wallo, wake up, there's an orc."
Wallo sat up quickly at Aldeth's shaking.
The screams and clashing of weapons continued from far outside the tent. Aldeth and Wallo rushed out of the tent and toward the sound.
The orcs had known of the expedition's approach to the forest, and had planned a surprise in the depths of dawn.
- Pooh, pooh, pooh
The sound of a ram's horn echoed long and loud. The air was filled with shouts where only minutes before there had been the sound of grasshoppers and birds.
As Aldeth had predicted, the soldiers pinned down one-on-one by the orcs were losing ground. Aldeth rushed to one of the overwhelmed soldiers.
The orc's warhammer was slamming down on the soldier's head from above. At that moment, Aldeth blocked the blow with his sword.
This was Aldeth's first encounter with an Orc, and he had been given a warhammer as a sword. It certainly had a different weight than a human sword. Aldeth snapped his sword upward, and the orc's warhammer snapped back. Aldeth didn't miss the opening in the orc's front. Quickly, he plunged the tip of his sword into the orc's throat. The orc's neck was thick, so Aldeth took another step forward and drove his blade deeper into its throat.
Then he pulled the blade out. Red blood spurted from the orc's neck and it stumbled backwards. Aldeth looked around. The soldiers quickly realized that they couldn't take on the orc one-on-one; it was moving around in groups of four or more. One or two soldiers would run sideways, backwards, and to the side, and it wasn't until four or more soldiers were together that the orcs would strike back.
The chaos began, and soon the bodies of soldiers and orcs began to pile up around them. Aldeth ran forward and attacked the orcs. Dodging and blocking warhammers flying up and sideways, he aimed for their throats.
Aldeth used his skills to the fullest. Despite the battlefield, it was refreshing to be able to unleash the aggressive instincts he'd been suppressing.
Aldeth needed to decapitate the orc with a single blow. With so many orcs to deal with, he had to be efficient. Aldeth concentrated his attacks on the neck, which seemed to grow larger and larger. Aldeth's sword strikes became more and more accurate.
Aldeth continued to run, mowing down orcs as he went. Wallo followed doggedly behind him. He believed that the safest place in this forest was near Aldeth.
When Wallo saw Aldeth attack, he aimed for the orc's throat. Wallo chased after Aldeth and took on the orcs that Aldeth missed. Whenever Wallo was in danger, Aldeth would help him take out the orcs.
The entire expedition entered the Forest of Illusory Fangs and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the orcs. The forest was so dense with trees and grass that there was no room for the tactical maneuvers envisioned by their commander, Arich.
They had to rely on the combat skills of each soldier. For three hours, the battle raged on. The orcs became fewer and fewer in number. The expedition's wounded and dead were mounting.
Soon, the orcs were nowhere to be seen around the expedition, and two hours had passed without them. Arichi ordered his troops to regroup. The ram horns sounded loudly again. The bodies of the dead and wounded were sent to the rear.
The cavalry marched into the forest where the expedition had advanced, pitched tents, prepared meals, and administered first aid. The men sat on the ground, resting, waiting for tents and meals. Russo went to where Aldes was sitting.
"Aldes, are you injured?"
"No, sir. How about you?"
"A few cuts, but nothing serious, just a tourniquet."
A rag was wrapped around Russo's right forearm. The cloth was soaked with a thick layer of blood.
"What about the others? Wallo, who's been with me the whole time, is fine."
After urinating in the corner, Wallo came over to where Russo and Aldes were.
"I'm alive, thanks to Aldes. What about the others?"
"Dalbry is dead. Vaivo is fine."
"Oh, my God. Did you see for yourself?"
Wallo asked.
"Yep. I identified and marked him, and I don't want to do any more marking. .... Aldes, I saw you fight. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't joined the expedition, and I hope you continue to do well."
"I counted the orcs he killed while I was with him, and he killed over forty of them."
"That's great. Aldeth. The orcs took advantage of the night to ambush us. They're smarter than they look."
"In the first battle of the expedition, we suffered heavy losses, but so did the orcs. We must march deeper into the forest, and take them out by the roots."
Aldeth said.
When the meal was ready, the soldiers ate. They took turns standing guard and resting. The orcs did not attack that day.
Arich, the commander-in-chief, had to march deeper into the forest, even though it would mean more casualties for his men. There was no telling how many more orcs were in the Forest of Welcome Fangs.
The next day, the expedition marched into the forest. The cavalry led the way, moving quickly in and out of the forest, searching for more orcs.
Five hours into the march, a report came in. A report came in from the vanguard. Orcs were gathered two kilometers from the expedition.
Arich ordered everyone to draw their weapons and march forward. The party marched another two kilometers deeper into the forest.
The orcs had noticed the party's approach and were preparing for battle. The orcs and the expeditionary party were facing each other, about 100 meters apart.
As they marched, Aldeth kept a visual track of where the 26th Division was, and he also checked the position of the moon cannon.
The rhino horns blared. The expedition rushed toward the orcs. The battle began again. Aldeth swung his sword as best he could. Wherever he passed, orcs fell in a heap, spewing blood. The Orcs he felled grew in number. Fifty, sixty, eighty, one hundred, one hundred and twenty.
There was a cavalcade near Aldeth. They were on horseback, using long spears against the orcs. Aldeth watched Wulfo fight. I thought his spear skills would be terrible, but he was better than I thought.
He watched him slay a few orcs, then looked back to Wolffo's side, where a half-dozen orcs surrounded him. The other cavalry were too busy dealing with their own orcs to help Wolffo.
Aldeth kept killing orcs. 130, 140, the numbers kept growing. 130, 140, and the numbers kept growing. Wolffo was thirty meters away from Aldes. Aldes could see that if he stayed, Wolffo would be killed by the orcs.
"Aldeth, help me, Aldeth."
Wolffo called out Aldeth's name, calling for help. Aldeth and Wolffo were 30 meters apart, but in an instant, Wolffo's eyes met Aldeth's.
"Help. Aldes."
Aldeth turned his head and ran forward, slaying orcs again. Wolffo's screams could be heard in the distance, and then there were no more screams.
Aldeth looked back to where Wolpo had been. There was nothing but a large horse, and no Wolffo in sight. The orcs were pointing their warhammers at the ground.
Aldeth wanted to see Wolffo's body for himself, so he ran to where Wolffo had been and killed six orcs. Then he looked at the man lying there. A man lay with his head and abdomen crushed.
"Wolpo, this is my revenge for Burgelia.
The remaining orcs retreated. Warchief Arich ordered the retreating orcs to pursue.
"Pursue them to the end and kill them all."
The expedition continued to pursue the retreating orcs. Aldeth was at the forefront. Aldeth attacked the fleeing orcs from behind; it was much easier to attack from behind than from the front.
Aldeth's attacks kept the orcs falling. The expedition only chased after Aldeth. As Aldeth chased the orcs, he suddenly remembered a dream he had had at the base of a giant ash tree in the Boundary Forest.
'I wonder if this is a precursor to Ragnarok'
Aris of Castle Griffenstein was unsure why the orcs had suddenly appeared in Wallabach, but Aldeth, fighting on the front lines, sensed something.
If the orcish invasion of Wallabach is a harbinger of Ragnarok, there is no telling where or how the demonic invasion will come from.
Aldeth gained strength from a dream he had in the Boundary Forest. The power the ash tree gave him was to be used to stop Ragnarok.
The expedition is impressed with Aldeth's performance at the front.