Chapter 159

Chapter 159 - Blackout (1)

Have you ever placed food right in front of the nose of a dog fast asleep? Especially something like a sweet-smelling sweet potato.

A series of processes that transpire in such cases is happening to the sleeping Homi.

Sniff.

Twitch, twitch.

First, her sculpted nose flares cutely.

Nibble, nibble.

Before she knew it, her lips, which were fading of their girlishness and transforming into those of a woman, also moved.

When the tips of her fingers and toes wriggled once each, and her voluminous tail, which had been hanging limply, stood up like a snake.

"..."

Homi was completely awake. The piercingly blue eyes unique to Snow Leopard beastmen saw through the darkness of the middle of the night.

Homi's lips changed into a unique shape and shot out a short whistle. It's a faint sound almost inaudible to the ear, but it contained a unique wavelength that tenses the endocrine system of mammals.

Thrill!

The Dark Elf guards got goosebumps as if a lion's breath brushed against the napes of their necks. However, they didn't get scared and reacted calmly.

"Homi. We still don't see anything with our eyes..."

"Is it an intruder?"

Because they knew it was a warning the world's best scouting expert sent them.

The guards, glaring forward together with Homi, discovered lights approaching from afar a moment later.

"Halt! Halt! This is the campsite of the great Meyer family! Who are you?!"

Even though a Dark Elf with a young face shouted, the torches in the distance continuously approached without reacting.

"The bastards are ignoring the warning! I, isn't this an ambush?!"

The young guard nocked an arrow on his bowstring with trembling hands and took aim. With this being his first mission, plus the situation of following Eugene's army, he couldn't help but be completely on edge.

Tap.

A long and thick tail wrapped around the hand gripping the arrow and lowered it. The soft and fluffy sensation was as gentle as could be, but the strength contained within was extraordinary like a giant snake.

"Calm down, rookie. The opponents are an army of humans, right? They're bastards whose eyes aren't as good nor ears as sharp as ours."

A veteran soldier, looking at Homi's tail movements as if finding her incredibly cute, spoke.

"They likely didn't even hear what you said, right? If they come closer, try saying it again."

"Ah!"

"Nothing to be embarrassed about. I was exactly the same as you at first too."

Despite the veteran soldier's comfort, the young warrior's face flushed. Because it felt like making a big fuss after shooting an arrow at a deer far out of range.

"Damn it... why does this bullshit only happen when I'm on the 2nd watch?"

Since it hadn't been long since the order to sleep was given, everyone woke up immediately.

"Is it monsters? Or people?"

"People. Looking at the height of the torches, they all seem to be infantry."

Eugene and Cassandra also walked out of the commander's barracks.

"Could it be an ambush?"

Cassandra asked while putting a breastplate on Eugene.

"If so, they would have approached with the torches extinguished. However, we cannot discard the possibility of them being bandits either."

Mercenaries seeking work past the lull of winter, knights who crossed over from the peninsula belatedly seeking the dream of being a Lord, native nobles who lost their territories and turned into bandit bosses, and even mercenaries colluding with them.

Armed groups harboring a full measure of either unfairness or ambition roaming around is the current Sicily. It was suspicious from the start that they were marching in the middle of the night.

However, upon seeing the appearance of the approaching individuals, they soon realized it was needless worry.

"We are not enemies!"

"Please do not attack!"

Defeated soldiers, dirty with sweat, dust, and blood as if having gone through a bout of night combat, were fleeing towards them.

* * *

"You were ambushed during camp? And by Orcs, at that?"

"...That is correct, Viscount."

At Eugene's reaction looking as if it was absurd, Knight Matteo deeply bowed his head.

'Damn it.'

He crossed over for success as the second son of a noble family from the peninsula.

Due to circumstances, he couldn't participate in the decisive battle against the former Count, but Sicily was still a land of opportunity. The dream of acquiring even a single small village and becoming a Lord tempted numerous individuals.

Thinking this was the time with the Hydra even appearing, Matteo hired mercenaries with money he obtained by pleading with his father and crossed the sea.

- I shall absolutely become a Lord! I will plant our family's flag on this island!

Matteo, who came running ambitiously, became a complete wreck from an ambush by Orcs before he could even unfold his dream.

Matteo, who came to have a face-to-face talk with Eugene in the commander's barracks, tensed up tightly. Because knights looking tremendously trained even at a glance stood lining up.

'What kind of posture is that?'

They maintained a unique posture of gathering both hands behind their waists with their two legs slightly spread. Even though it was definitely a stance of standing at attention, a tremendous vigor was felt.

"Look at this."

"Yes. Viscount."

Matteo stood in front of a complex map he was seeing for the first time in his life.

"You said it was near a pond close to the mountain entrance, right? Is this the place where you were ambushed?"

"That is correct."

Eugene accurately pinpointed the place where Matteo had stationed after hearing only a brief explanation.

"It's not a good campsite. It's easy to procure water and close to the highway, but vulnerable to ambushes from the mountain."

"I never thought the Orc bastards would launch a night raid in such perfect order."

"Is there an ambush that you know and suffer?"

Matteo became even more despondent. Because although he didn't show it, Eugene was Matteo's idol.

Even when making a name for himself as the invincible knight of the Bonyard, he was a knight with merely a single retainer as his everything.

Yet establishing achievements wherever he went, in 1 year he took charge of the left wing of the Sicilyn expeditionary force and became the leading figure of the great victory.

Even though starting in a much poorer situation than himself receiving support from his family, he rose to the position of Viscount with a single sword.

To show such a miserable sight in front of such a knight. He wanted to hide in a mouse hole if he could.

"How much is the damage?"

"41 out of 52 people remain."

"You salvaged it excellently. However, it seems it'll be difficult to lead the troops anymore."

He somehow led the troops and escaped despite suffering a night ambush. However, a situation where he lost most of his supplies, including food and warhorses.

"You suffered. Spend tonight with us. Hey, distribute water and medical supplies to them."

"Thank you truly for the help."

Matteo's face is depressed.

The remaining food is merely two days' worth of dry rations. The mercenaries' morale is at rock bottom, and the lost supplies must be bought again. However, if he did that, he wouldn't be able to pay wages. The unit disintegrating was a determined future.

"It will be bleak from here on out at this rate, so would you serve in my army? While you stay, I will share food and consumer goods."

Therefore, when he received Eugene's proposal the next day, Matteo almost shed tears.

"When the Viscount recommends it, how could I refuse? I am merely grateful."

After Matteo left the commander's barracks, Rex asked.

"Is there a need to treat him that well?"

"I came out to catch a single Hydra, but the situation changed."

On the map, Eugene's finger pointed to a certain village. It is a location not far from where Matteo was ambushed.

A place just outside the Meyer family's sphere of influence, located alongside the highway, its prosperity is quite good.

"It doesn't seem like the Orcs would have just left this place alone. I should stop by briefly."

"Even though it's not a vassal, that much?"

"It's near the direction the Hydra appeared anyway. If the village is safe, we can receive supplies, and if not, we can bestow a favor."

"So that's why you gathered up the knight from earlier. To set him up as a shield."

"That's harsh. I'm merely trying to prepare for unexpected battles."

Eugene's army is an army exquisitely set up anticipating the Hydra subjugation from the start.

If battles against Orcs are added to that, new supplies become necessary, and Matteo's unit wasn't bad to fill that in.

By the way, it wasn't only Matteo's unit that was ambushed.

"What kind of guys are you?"

"We are monks of the Fara Monastery! We received an attack from Orcs while camping..."

"..."

About 30 armed priests joined Eugene's campsite. It seems the Orcs intend to have a proper bite, taking advantage of the confusion from the Hydra's appearance amidst the war between humans.

Marching while leading the expanded troops like that, Eugene expressed admiration at the mountain peaks seen in the distance.

"The peninsula is like that too, but the topography of this island is no joke either."

A large mountain is situated in the center of Sicily island. It is no less high and dense than the Appen Mountains spanning across the peninsula vertically.

"The Orcs that ambushed Matteo's unit are also guys inhabiting there."

"Strictly speaking, they were the original masters of this island. They were pushed out in the competition with humans who crossed the sea and chased into the mountains."

"Calling mere monsters masters, sir."

Rex had a hard time getting completely accustomed to only Eugene's attitude of evaluating all worldly affairs neutrally.

Perhaps thanks to that mindset not thinking anthropocentrically, he can also get along well with Dark Elves like family.

* * *

"We're late."

The village they arrived at was quiet without a single small noise despite it being morning. Because all the residents had become corpses and were strewn about.

A significant portion of their bones were exposed, which was because they were torn off and eaten, not because decomposition had progressed.

"Oh gods!"

"The Orc bastards shall pay the price!"

At that terrible sight, the armed priests wept bitterly.

Even if the Apostle State was cursed at for being violent or secularized, there was a reason they were respected. The point that they are the only faction genuinely shedding tears for the weak in this age of barbarism. Because no one can deny that alone.

The armed priests began gathering the bones scattered here and there into one place.

Traces of chopping limbs into pieces to eat comfortably, then throwing them away while tearing into them. This is a commonly seen sight in villages ambushed by Orcs.

"Such ugly monsters! May they receive divine punishment!"

An old priest kneeling on his knees became furious while clenching his fists.

In front of him are two severed arms holding hands. One seems to be about 10 years old, and the other belongs to an adult woman.

It's a trace of a mother and daughter who were fleeing holding hands being murdered by Orcs, then having their arms severed exactly like that and being eaten. The desperation right before death and rigor mortis combined, so even after being severed, the hands are still connected.

Caw.

The only existences moving in the village are crows. Landing on human corpses strewn everywhere, they were enjoying a rare feast.

Nonchalantly tearing out eyeballs before the priests approach within a certain distance is not the experience of having rolled around a battlefield once or twice.

"Mmm?"

Eugene, feeling something suspicious from that sight, clenched his fist.

"Halt!"

"Unit halt!"

The unit members repeated the order and stopped. Thanks to riding on Might, Eugene's hand signals can be seen immediately by the troops in the rear as well.

"Priests, return immediately as well!"

At Eugene's order, the armed priests recovering corpses returned in a flurry.

"Wh, what is the matter?"

"I don't see any rats or wild dogs."

"Yes?"

"Corpses are strewn about everywhere like this, so why are there only crows?"

"Well, isn't it because those guys can fly away and escape at any time?"

"To me, it sounds like beasts that cannot fly cannot enter this village."

"...!"

At that moment, Homi stood stepping on Sandy's back. Her long tail is standing up straight diagonally without shaking.

Ping!

Homi, glaring at the ground of the village, shot an arrow somewhere. It pierced through a pile of straw laid on the dirt ground and disappeared exactly like that.

"Guek-!"

Along with the sound of flesh tearing, a faint groan was heard. The long ears of the Dark Elves pricked up simultaneously.

"It's an ambush!"

"Assume formation!"

At that moment, the straw, leaves, branches, and such covering the ground as camouflage flew up into the sky. Orcs hiding in pits underground revealed themselves simultaneously.

The bastards were meticulous enough to even apply mud here and there on their bodies to hide their body odor.

"Matteo getting hit wasn't simply because he let his guard down. They're far more cunning bastards than I thought?"

Rex nodded his head toward Eugene clicking his tongue.

"Considering only intelligence and technology, they are guys at the very front among monsters."

Possessing unique smelting and weaving technologies, and even knowing how to ferment alcohol, are Orcs.

"Prey rolled in on its own feet!"

"Spill their guts!"

The Orcs roared fiercely without being intimidated at all even in front of Eugene's army.

Monsters armed like humans, forming a society, and using the same language. Orcs are in a certain sense humanity's most dangerous competitors. Although it would be the same from their perspective too.

"Dark Elves!"

"Smooth meat!"

The Orcs smacked their lips, sticking their black tongues out between protruding teeth. Because what Orcs enjoying human flesh highly value the most is Elven flesh.

Lacking body hair, maintaining youth for a long time, and having no skin diseases, it is truly a delicacy among delicacies.

Even facing such Orcs, Eugene's army remained composed.

"They're calling you smoothys too?"

"Shut up and just focus on the battle!"

When the heavy cavalry giggled, the tribe warriors shouted forcefully.

- Hey, smoothy.

- What are you saying, monkey. Is it a pride to have a lot of hair?

Human mercenaries teasing them every time they bathed after joint training. At first they snorted, but hearing it continuously, they somehow got annoyed. They didn't really know the reason though.

The Orcs thoroughly revealing their appearances from the village and surroundings were slightly larger in scale than Eugene's army.

"They remarkably hid this much."

"If we had entered the village and gotten ambushed, there would have been casualties."

The tribe knights looked at Eugene with admiring faces. Evading such an ambush is observation skills and beast-like intuition. It was only possible when one possesses both.

Fighting under such a commander is the greatest blessing. Because dying in a situation where one cannot even properly display their skills due to a surprise attack is the most resentful thing for a warrior.

An Oracle two heads larger than the others among the Orcs stepped forward holding a huge butchering axe.

Kkuweeee-!

The bastard is riding a Hogzilla, born from crossbreeding a domestic pig and a wild boar. It is a monster where the tusks and ferocity of a wild boar are added to the size of a domestic pig improved to yield a lot of meat.

"Grond!"

"Grond!"

Other Orcs raised their weapons and cheered.

"Grond?"

"It's a title pointing to the strongest warrior within the Orc tribe. It takes the vanguard when engaging in a frontal showdown between armies, not ambushes or plundering."

"I told you they're different from other monsters as expected. Such points are more dangerous though."

The Grond riding the Hogzilla stepped forward confidently and aimed its axe toward Eugene's army.

"Keuwooooo-!"

The bastard let out a battle roar as if implying words were unnecessary. What that means is obvious.

"Viscount. Please grant me an opportunity for payback."

Matteo immediately gritted his teeth and volunteered for a duel.

"Where is a moocher meddling?"

"Lord, please grant me the honor of the vanguard!"

And then he was rebuked by the tribe knights and became crestfallen.

"I will step forward."

"Ah..."

"Mmm..."

And they too became quiet behind Eugene stepping forward.

'It's dangerous. The Commander must preserve his precious body...'

They couldn't possibly let out such customary words from their mouths. Because it didn't make sense even when they thought about it.

"I am sorry it seems like I am stealing your achievements. However, this is my first time fighting Orcs of this scale, so I want to thoroughly dominate them."

When the Lord comes out like this, what can they say to stop him?

"Keuuuu-!"

"Guwooooo-!"

When the human army parted and a knight tried to emerge between them, the Orcs roared. That howl contained faith in the tribe's strongest warrior and mockery towards the human who would soon become a corpse.

"Uuuu...?"

"Woohooooo..?"

And the Orcs' shouts rapidly shrunk.

A giant warhorse appearing spewing steam from a mouth sprouted with bloody teeth. Because they were overwhelmed by the vigor of the knight riding atop it.

The axe the knight was holding looked so vicious it made Grond look shabby.

"Hahahaha!"

"Why did those bastards suddenly get quiet?"

When Eugene's army laughed heartily and mocked them in reverse, the Grond, whose pride was hurt, gritted its teeth and kicked the wild boar's flanks.

The contest between the two great warriors narrowing the distance like that ended in just two clashes.

Chwaaaaak!

When a black flash glinted, the large Orc's upper body and lower body were separated along with its armor.

Twirl.

The gazes of both armies gathered on the upper body flying up into the air spinning like a top.

"Bamboo dragonfly?"

Someone muttered unconsciously.

The sight of the two muscular arms spread out according to centrifugal force and spinning lacked a sense of reality.

The rider disappeared, but a Hogzilla is a dangerous beast in itself. The bastard launched a body tackle at Might, putting its massive weight into it.

Thud!

And nothing happened.

"Gguweeeeek-?"

A shock as if crashing into a pillar made of iron lumps. A black axe blade fell above the head of the dizzy Hogzilla.

Crack!

As it was cleanly split from the spine to the head, the Hogzilla's upper half was smashed into the ground. The hind legs of the pig bouncing up from that recoil were truly pitiful.

"..."

"..."

Silence descended upon the Orcs' camp in an instant. On the other hand, thunderous shouts erupted from Eugene's camp. The sound of stomping feet while clashing weapons and shields shook heaven and earth.

"Entire army, commence attack!"

When Eugene, riding Might, raised the blood-soaked axe, arrows and sling stones poured toward the Orcs from behind him.

The mercenaries under Matteo, and the armed priests of the Fara Monastery too were swept up in that heat.

"For Meyer!"

"In the name of Saint Fara!"

Even though it hadn't been long since they met, they became one lump with Eugene's army and charged toward the Orcs.

* * *

Slaash!

As a black flash glinted, the torso of an Orc at the very front was split diagonally.

Thud!

The Orc hit by the head of the axe vomited blood as all its ribs shattered.

Eugene was viciously sweeping away the Orcs in front of him. That was closer to a one-sided slaughter than a battle.

"Spread out wide!"

At the tribe knight's shout, the cavalry retreated from Eugene's kill radius. It's far from the sight of typical vassals protecting their Lord, but it can't be helped.

The Lord swings abnormally large weapons including the large flail. If they stick close trying to protect him, they might get swept away together.

However, they faithfully fulfilled the role of restricting attack routes so that multiple Orcs couldn't pounce at once.

"Block the guy on the left!"

"The guy crawling on the ground over there! Not dead yet!"

Hind thrust his spear piercing a certain Orc's heart, and the heavy cavalry trampled with horse hooves an Orc crawling harboring venom despite having its legs severed.

However, to the current Eugene, it seems it wouldn't matter even if multiple Orcs clung to him.

"Kuek-!"

As the massive axe was swung horizontally, two Orcs in the path collapsed spraying blood.

One collapsed with its neck and shoulder sliced diagonally, and the other flopped down with its chest split halfway.

The Hell Axe, meeting Eugene's monstrous strength, chopped enemies in its path into pieces all at once. Like this, multiple individuals pouncing had little meaning.

"Luden! Dodge!"

"What? Uaak!"

A tribe knight who had just blown off an Orc's neck and pierced another's chest suddenly blocked an object flying at him with his shield.

Splat!

Luden, a Dark Elf knight, looked with an absurd face at the Orc's upper body stuck to his shield using blood as glue.

Behind the dead Orc with hollow eyes, he saw Eugene who had brought down the massive axe.

"Sorry. Didn't think it would fly that way."

"It, it is fine!"

Slither.

The Orc's upper body stuck to the shield fell to the ground as if slipping.

The most important things in a battle are flow and atmosphere. Eugene was incredible even when swinging the flail, but right now swinging the axe, his presence pierced the sky.

The visual effect of comrades being slaughtered, and the smell of blood vibrating enough to pierce their noses. The Orcs, who had been running amok without fearing anything in the world, screamed like sheep.

Meanwhile, Eugene realized the axe blade wasn't simply cutting Orc flesh and severing bones.

'I can see it.'

When the metal of hell chopped the Orcs' bodies into pieces like a guillotine, the spirit dwelling within it was biting into something else.

'The emotions of the bastards being ripped apart.'

Eugene finally reached the front of the Orcs' Chief. A bastard that was the father of Grond who died first.

When the Hell Axe hoisted high in the sky dropped, the bastard tried to block it by raising the large sword it was holding.

Scattered with shattered iron pieces, the Orc Chief's body was cleanly bisected horizontally from the crown of its head.

At that moment, Eugene witnessed the Orc Chief's soul screaming, bitten by the spirit's teeth.

[Kiyaaaaaa-!]

All Orcs behind the place where the Chief was cut stopped for a moment. As if their vision and hearing were paralyzed.

The Orcs' souls were swept away like an ant swarm by a massive torrent of fear.

The middle of the battlefield. A blackout as if time had stopped occurred in the center of the Orc army.