Chapter 121 - Episode 120: Waiting for the Return ⑤
Against the crossbow bolts flying toward them, the giant orc instinctively swung its club, knocking several aside. The orc child could not show such reactions.
The bolts that were not blocked by the giant orc's club pierced the bodies of the two creatures. Not all of them hit, but there were more bolts that struck than those that missed.
Normally, even with the superior power of a crossbow, it would be difficult to deal significant damage to an orc. However, a change was seen in the orcs that had been hit.
"Yes! The 'Angel's Honey' is working!"
Dant's voice, shouting from the rear, reached Radley's ears.
The bolts had been coated with the undiluted essence of "Angel's Honey." Normally, taking "Angel's Honey" out without Noein's permission was strictly forbidden, but it had been deployed in this actual combat under Clara's authority and responsibility.
As the liquid entered their bodies, the movements of the orc child first became clearly sluggish.
If it were a human, a single hit should have paralyzed the entire body, but orcs possess thick fur and a muscle mass greater than a human of the same height. Being monsters, they also possess magic stones in their bodies, giving them some resistance to the magical medicine "Angel's Honey." It seemed it did not reach the point of silencing them instantly.
While the orc child slumped down in apparent pain, the change in the giant orc was not as extreme.
"Guboh! Buoooo!"
It wasn't that its movements hadn't slowed at all. However, it was still standing firmly on both legs and swinging its club, remaining in a state that could be called a sufficiently formidable enemy. Since it was enraged by being shot with something strange, it might even be more dangerous.
"Tch, is it impossible with one this big...?"
While keeping his distance from the giant orc, Radley clicked his tongue. With a body of this size, the fur would be exceptionally thick, and the hair itself should be considerably hard. A sufficient amount of "Angel's Honey" likely hadn't reached the interior of its body.
"Radley-san! I'll—"
"Don't come here!"
Having confirmed that the orc child had fallen incapable of combat, Bart ran forward to provide support. His movements were by no means careless toward the giant orc, but Radley shouted instinctively.
A bad feeling—something that could be called a warrior's intuition had triggered.
However, the warning was too late. The orc, whose movements should have been somewhat slowed, moved with surprising agility and swung its club toward the approaching Bart.
Bart reflexively stopped his feet and tried to retreat backward from there, but he was one step too slow. The tip of the orc's club struck the sword Bart had put forward to protect his body, and Bart's body was blown away along with the sword. Bart was slammed straight into a tree behind him.
"Hey, Bart!"
At Radley's voice, Bart responded by raising one hand. Perhaps by jumping backward at the last moment he had killed the momentum of the attack, as he did not seem to have lost consciousness. However, the hand he hadn't raised was bent in an impossible direction, and his sword was broken. He would not be able to return to the fight.
Meanwhile, the orc stood in the middle of the forest path as if to protect the immobilized child, and let out a roar toward Radley, who was still standing before it. The instinct to protect its own child seemed to have produced the movement that exceeded its previous limits.
"...Tch."
Thinking that this was a pain, Radley took out a small bottle from his breast pocket. Pulling out the stopper, he poured the contents of the bottle—the undiluted essence of Angel's Honey—onto the tip of the spear he held.
Setting his spear, he closed the distance to the orc in one burst. At such a bold action, a stir arose from the crossbow unit in the rear.
Normally, an orc is surrounded by ten or more spearmen and finished off by raining down many shots from strong bows or magic. Just because its movements were slightly slowed by "Angel's Honey" did not mean it was something that could be faced by a single person with a single spear.
Though he had charged the orc alone at first, that had been to create an opening by using a feint. It was different from challenging a proper melee fight.
But now, Radley closed in. He dodged the orc's club swing by a hair's breadth, jumped back when the creature tried to crush him with a body slam, and approached again by taking advantage of the opening after that big move.
If he took even one hit, he would likely die. However, Radley approached the orc repeatedly without hesitation. While dodging the fierce onslaught unleashed by that giant body, he searched for an opening to land his own attack.
Radley's body was exceptionally sturdy. Relying on this durability, during his mercenary days, he had often engaged enemy soldiers in quite reckless close-quarters combat on the battlefield. The result of that was the acquisition of this abnormal amount of damn courage.
The giant orc also fought desperately to protect its child, but swinging a body infested by "Angel's Honey" would eventually lead to fatigue. It would reach a limit that spirit alone could not overcome.
Taking advantage of the opening created thus, Radley's thrusting spear pierced deep into the orc's leg.
"Bugaa!"
Toward the orc that roared as if complaining of pain and swung its arms irritably, Radley let go of the spear to create distance.
The orc, with the spear still stuck in its leg, soon slowed its movements and fell to its knees. Since he had pierced it so deeply, it seemed the "Angel's Honey" had worked properly. Confirming this, Radley raised his hand as a signal to the rear.
The orc, leaning its body over, glared at Radley with eyes full of hatred even while breathing heavily.
This orc was likely desperate because it had something to protect behind it, but it was the same for Radley. Behind him was the subjugation force, and behind them was the capital city of Noeina. There, his wife Gina, who was pregnant with Radley's child, also resided.
"...Don't hate me."
At the same moment Radley muttered that, a thick bolt pierced the orc's torso, taking its life. It was the second shot from the Ballista that had finished loading.
.....
Once the giant orc was defeated, it was easy to finish off the orc child, who had already fallen asleep due to the effect of "Angel's Honey."
The subjugation force, having successfully defeated all the orcs, sent Dant and several others as messengers to tell the mining village that it was now safe, while the rest returned to the capital city of Noeina for the time being.
Orcs, whose magic stones, meat, and fur bring great profit, had to be collected later, but transporting such a giant body would require a corresponding amount of manpower and preparation.
Returning to the capital city of Noeina, when Radley recounted that the orcs had been successfully killed, cheers erupted from the residents.
"Bart-san! Such... such terrible injuries..."
"I'm okay, Michelle. It's not as serious as it looks. Only my right arm is broken... and maybe my left leg is a bit off too."
Amidst this, Michelle rushed to Bart, the sole casualty. Bart spoke thus to his wife, who looked as if she were about to cry. He was smiling, but since he was covered in wounds, he lacked persuasiveness.
"You idiot, that's plenty serious. Selfers-sensei, please look after him."
"Yes, leave it to me. Let us go to the clinic."
Radley threw blunt words toward Bart, then asked Selfers, who had been waiting for the subjugation force's return while preparing for casualties. Nodding to this, Selfers had several male residents help him carry Bart on a stretcher, and Michelle accompanied Bart as well.
The territorial army soldiers who participated in the subjugation and the labor slaves like Zadrek headed to the army barracks for the time being to return their equipment, while receiving words of appreciation from other residents. Leaving the care of them to Rick, Radley headed to the lord's mansion to give an urgent report.
"Radley-san! I am so glad you are safe!"
"...Oh. What's with that crossbow, you?"
The one who greeted him at the mansion was the maid Mary. Her appearance, wearing her usual apron dress while possessing a crossbow, was somehow mismatched and imposing.
"If the subjugation force and the orcs had crossed paths and the orcs entered the capital city of Noeina, and in the unlikely event they reached the mansion, I intended to protect Clara-sama even if I had to become a shield! This is a piece of equipment for the mansion's defense! Normally, it is something Matilda-san uses!"
Though remaining army soldiers stood as guards at the mansion's gate, it seemed Mary had prepared for an even worse scenario.
"...I see, good work. But it's fine now, the orcs are killed."
"I understand!"
Appreciating the admirable Mary, Radley headed toward the lord's office. For safety, and because she could look out over the state of the capital city of Noeina from the window, she was said to be in this room on the second floor.
.....
"—And so, we successfully killed three orcs. Since orcs rarely gather except for mates or parent and child, I believe these were all the ones appearing nearby. Since orcs themselves rarely appear, I don't think much about other mates or parents being here."
"I understand... And, how is Bart-san's condition?"
"Only one arm is broken. Since breathing and speaking seem to be no problem, his internal organs are likely safe. There might be a crack in one leg too... but he's at a level where he can stand up on his own; if he can be seen by Selfers-sensei immediately, he'll be fine."
Hearing that there were no deaths and no injured persons who would be left with aftereffects, Clara breathed a sigh of relief.
"You truly worked hard. Thank you for protecting the Arqvist territory and its people. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"No, this is my job. I only did what was natural."
To Radley, who replied in a clumsy tone, Clara smiled faintly.
"After this, I will head to the army barracks and offer words of appreciation to everyone else as well... With this, I can report to Noein-sama that the Arqvist territory was splendidly defended from an unexpected crisis. My own contribution is a trivial thing, but..."
Clara said and smiled. Perhaps because she was forcibly suppressing the anxiety of still not knowing Noein's life or death, her voice was somewhat unnaturally bright.
Radley too was worried about the expedition group, but as someone who had lived through battle, he had made his peace the moment he saw them off. However, how great was the loneliness in the heart of the lady of the house, who had known no war until now? Radley could not imagine it.
"...Yes. I'm sure Noein-sama would also be proud of Clara-sama."
At times like this, he resented his own clumsiness. To Radley, who managed to give a safe answer while thinking this, Clara returned a faint smile and said, "Yes, thank you."
A few days after that, a herald reached the capital city of Noeina stating that "the Arqvist territorial army will soon return, all safe."