Chapter 381 Saratens Scream

Is Saraten a G.o.ddess? Oh well, she might be a G.o.ddess or a restive horse, Ill ignore her anyway.

I focus on

, trying to call Saraten back into my left hand, but

Kuuh, thought manipulation, eh!? I wont lose! Im a magic swooord! Besides, Im no cursed sword! 1

As soon as such a bad-pun-like telepathic voice reaches me, Saraten splits by making its blade slide apart. Now it looks like a fan with multiple blade copies which overlap like a multipurpose knife. Above that fan of blades float illusions of girls clad in angels raiments with their figures also overlapping.

The illusionary girl has also split into several clones? Are they Saraten?

The illusions stand atop Saraten. Their movements look as if theyre regarding Saraten as a surf board. Then, just like that, they set out to ride across the sky waves while creating pretty mana trails on Saraten.

That d.a.m.ned sword opposes my will once again.

Albeit inferior, blood is blood!

Saraten with its three blades sends a telepathic message my way. And then fiercely heads straight for a nearby deer monster, just to collide with it.

Saraten pierces through the monsters body, but far from just opening up a hole in the monster, it filets it into three parts. A thrusting attack by three sharp blades, resulting in the monsters body, bones and all, being cleanly cut apart. However, the attack doesnt end there.

The holy sword freely moves back and forth to the left and right, piercing, penetrating and killing deer monsters. While the sword keeps absorbing the blood sprays whirling through the air, it continues to spiral and fly around.

Once Saraten has eliminated all deer monsters within a set range after racing through it at a terrifying speed, it lets an eerie echo sound roar across the vicinity as it drains down the blood in satisfaction.

But, right now Im in the middle of a battle. Theres still other armed soldiers of the Tree King of Wonders around. I can even see a giant-like deer monster among them. They might actually belong to the same unit of Sea of Trees spear troopers we confronted before.

I clad my whole body in Magic Combat Style as if to rally my fighting spirit once more. And after concentrating on hitting a cl.u.s.ter of mana into my left palm, I firmly order Saraten, Dont be such a pain, and get back here!

Saraten makes its blades stand upright while trembling, apparently opposing my will.

Gunununu, I received as a thought. And then, after inclining towards me as if being pulled by a string, Saraten

doesnt return into my left hand.

Suddenly Divine Beast Rollodeen stands in front of me.

Garururu She growls and then bites into Saraten.

Puyuyuyu!

I cant see it from my position, but I can also hear Puyuyus voice. It looks like Rollodeen has followed me after catching Puyuyu.

Once I look at the path Rollodeen tookI can see how a part of the forest has been destroyed. Trees have snapped and fallen to the sides. With things like this, this looks like a highway continuing from Cydales path into the Sea of Trees, doesnt it? Since the hill road into the village is a narrow path that winds its way through a rocky area, it doesnt change the fact of it being a perilous pa.s.s though

Agyaaaaah! Im soooorry, it was my baaaaaad!

Saraten screams. Stuck between Rollodeens sharp fangs, you can hear sounds similar to grinding and crunching from it. Rollo doesnt chew on Saraten, but the sword seems to be in quite a bit of pain nonetheless. Creating three G.o.ddesses of fate by chewing through Saraten like Amaterasu Oomikami might also be entertaining.

Haha, how funny. But Rollo, let go of it. So far it goes, this one is an ally of ours.

Nyaaa

Rollodeen opens up her muzzle, releasing Saraten, and then transforms herself into her black panther mode. Rollodeen stands out after having suddenly shown up as a huge divine beast and now having become a smaller panther.

Beginning with the orcs, the deer monsters also stop moving. The Sea of Trees becomes peaceful and silent. Its such a silence that the divine beasts breathing sounds awfully rough and loud.

Puyuyu? Puyuyuyu!

Puyuyu, apparently riding on Rollodeens head, squeals in surprise, too. Quickly moving its small legs like a ninja, it nimbly runs off Rollodeen while unleas.h.i.+ng b.u.t.terflies from its wand, taking refuge on a tree.

Alright, Im free! Im not acknowledged as sacred treasure for nothing!

Saratens telepathic message reaches me at the same time as Puyuyu moves.

You sure love to talk. Now be a good sword, and get back here

Humph, it might have been inferior blood, but I got a fill of it. Ill now teach thou what it means to be a sacred treas

At that moment, the sword is sucked into my left hand. Rollodeen seems mystified by the sword vanis.h.i.+ng like that.

Nn, nyaaa~ She comes up to my feet while meowing, lifts her upper body with a huff, and sniffs my left hand. She also pushes a paw against it. Once I show my palm to her, she licks it.

A spear user who manipulates a sword? Besides, that black beast is The big orc swordsman comments, and then relaxes after having apparently confirmed that the number of enemies around him has drastically dropped in number, getting rid of the blood clinging to his silver longsword with a swing.

He looks at Rollodeen, and then examines us. Hes a very calm orc.

The black-haired spear user and woman using water and darkness magic are allies?

The language of the orc somewhat resembles ancient dwarvish. He sheathes his s.h.i.+ny longsword into the long scabbard in his hand. The instant the sword fully and smoothly glides into the scabbard, a metallic click can be heard from the sheaths mouth.

Then he exchanges the scabbard for the conic hat on his back by affixing the scabbard to his back and taking the hat into his hand. This casual performance of sheathing his weapon and exchanging it with his hat reminds me of a samurai. It also makes me remember Yui and Kaldo.

He must be the orc the Burning Knights called an irregular swordsman. A picture of an orc face with a special, red triangle pattern on its forehead is visible on the hat in his hand.

Hes different from the skull-mask-wearing orc soldiers who are strewn across the ground as unmoving corpses.

Its impossible for us to have allies on this canopy-less land where thieves and cannibals are rampant

The voice of the flute-blowing orc belongs to a woman. I mean, shes obviously wearing a kazuki as well 2

A black-haired spear userif its just the usage of a red magic spear, Dean the Flame Spear of the Tree Kings spear unit comes to mind

Theres no way for a strong spear user, whos killing the troops of the Tree King, to be connected with Flame Spear and Violent Dust.

Then, Quema-sama, are you saying one of the humans who devour uswho are hostile to usis an ally of the orcs?

The swordsman calls the leader orc Quema. Quema holds out an arm with the flute in its hand.

Solobo, couldnt you call him currently remaining silent without attacking us, despite being one of the humans who regard us as food, the best proof of that? Also, youve seen his terrifying spear mastery which would immediately remind anyone of that devilish G.o.d, havent you?

Certainly, if its himhe might also be able to crush the commander of the Tree Kings pursuit unit.

Correct. Im also quite curious about the black beast which shrunk down, buttheres still some of the Tree Kings soldiers left. Only very few of us remainbut, we cannot afford to disappear just like this! Until I hold Kisalame-samas statue and book in my handsIll keep clinging to life. Thats why well use them in the current situation, even if one might be a human. Quema fervently declares with a high-pitched tone of voice.

I guess shes got to be a woman after all.

I understand.

The swordsman, Solobo, nods while trembling in excitement, apparently having been infected by Quemas drive. He looks my way while slowly inclining his head. Hes emitting a rather rough aura.

Speaking of swordsmen, Moga has most recently become my party membermaybe hes an even match for Solobo.

Still Quema and Solobo have talked about various things, seemingly believing that I dont understand orcish. For now, Ill do as they wish

I begin to clean up the remaining troops of the Tree King of Wonders while sending an eye signal towards Helme. Receiving it, Helme lifts the corners of her mouth into a beautiful smile. And then she extends

towards a trees branch, twining the strings around it. While creating several small water spray rings at her feet, she swiftly travels through the air.

Meanwhile I advance on the ground.

Rollo, I leave the right side to you. Puyuyu, you watch from over there.

Together with Helme, we aim at a large monster. She from the air, me from the ground. Its a monster with a disgusting head reminiscent of a wart on a shoulder. Moreover, it possesses multiple legs and arms.

At once kicking off the ground with Magic Combat Step, I close the distance to the monster. After a

, I unleash a low

. I summon Ganghis and erase Baldok while launching a series of attacks. I summon and erase back and forth between Ganghis in my left and Baldok in my right, delivering a barrage of spear thrusts with the idea of keeping the time between the switches as small as possible.

After a few milliseconds, I crush the base of the multi-legs that are growing out of the dear heads lower half. At the same time, Helme, whos been moving through the air at high speed thanks to

, makes a barrage of ice spear spells crash into the monster with the force and speed of a machine gun. The ice spears come down on the monster like a storm of hail.

However, the huge deer uses its countless, thick arms for defending, hiding its deer head. Its still alive and kicking.

Helme

Okay.

Immediately after Helme stops her barrage upon my signal, I unleash

. Im going to sever the arms alongside the ice spears stuck in them. After readying Baldok by holding it above my head, I powerfully swing the red ax blade down. Just as I planned, the ax blade servers the huge head vertically alongside the arms and spear. Splitting into two chunks of meat, the monster collapses.

I can see how Helme continues to drill ice spears into the two, slowly falling body halves.

Be Za-sama was ! By the human spear user and magician who are with the orcs!

Crooked monsters with deer heads on their shoulders, who were still alive, scream. Their words are corrupted.

A panther is over here! The one which was previously a black beaaaaaast!

Rollodeen sinks her fangs into the neck of a deer monster. Her sharp forepaw claws, which seem like theyve been sharpened by a rasp, dig deeply into the monsters torso while a thick thud is audible from the monsters neck. In the next instant, I can hear a crunching from its neck, and the head is uprooted.

Its not like those movements of Rollodeen, which look just like the hunting of a wild beast, are the reason, but the surviving deer monsters lose their last bits of morale. Just like the orcs have said, the huge deer monster, which Helme and I defeated, seems to have been their commander. It looks like it was called Be Za.

Be Za, who belongs to the seven of Wonders, too strong! looks human, but that the reincarnation of Fierce G.o.d Kisa me handed down by the orcs?

That or an incarnation of the Ancient Premo King

The female ? That blue hair and her magic powerits possible! But, Be Za-sama has died! Run !

Yeah! Run aaaaaaaaaay!

Retreat, ret! Le the orcs b!

The words of the Tree Kings soldiers are more corrupt than the other day. I can understand them to some extent, but the translation doesnt keep up.

The Tree Kings troops fully withdraw. Therefore I erase Baldok for the time being, and stare at the orc called Quema.

The two eyes peeking out of her skull mask are glaring at me as if shes trying to coerce me. Its only natural for her to be cautious. Its evidence of her high intelligence.

After signaling Helme with my eyes, she remains on standby in the air. I take a step towards the orcs, and after bowing, I greet them with a h.e.l.lo while putting a smile on my face.

Wh-!? Your language Solobo yells out in surprise.

The likes of a human, who eats us, has bowed his head?

Naturally, Quema is just as surprised.

He might be scheming something

Solobo readies his hat, seemingly wary of me, and steps forward in order to protect Quema.

As if saying that he wouldnt need Quemas help, Solobo steps even further in front. Shes wearing a breastplate with a bulging chest part beneath her garment. Though I cant quite see her head because of the skull mask.

Well, shes going to have the face of a pig anyway, so Im not going to get my hopes up here. I kinda want to see it and then again not.

Several pouches are affixed to her waist belt, and a long-handled spear, similar to the ones of the other orc soldiers, is visible on her back. The lower part of her legs is covered by protective leggings which form a set with the old-styled cuira.s.s.

Quema comments, There are also other humans who can understand our language. But, for starters, could you tell us why a hostile human like you has saved us orcs of the

Fierce G.o.ds Squad

in the first place?

This woman appears to be rather smart. The swordsman in front of her is coldly glaring at me, however.

The reason is simple. But, I guess I should first start with giving you our names. Im Shuuya. A spearmaster. And the black panther currently lying at my feet is Rollodeen. The one you see above is Helme.

Nn.

Rollodeen shows off her belly, apparently not feeling cautious of the orcs in the least. Shes rubbing her back against the ground, seemingly feeling itchy. Ive left out Puyuyu.

A Puyu? is audible, its fine for you to stay up there.

Yes, Im Helme. If you orcs show any intent to attack His Excellency, Ill butcher you in a way that makes you experience such a terrible dread that the time when you attacked the village will seem like playing around to you, so please choose your actions wisely, okay? Helme hisses with a cold look, and ama.s.ses mana in both her hands.

Quema has seen her previous magic barrage. I cant see her expression because of the mask, but her shoulders are trembling. Its obvious that shes scared.

The language of the floating woman is dwarvish with a heavy accent? I cant understand her.

Is it an underground language of sorts? It does resemble the language used by humans too

Quema points her bone flute at Helme. Apparently vigilant of Helme, Solobo retreats a few steps.

Shuuya and Helme, right? My name is Quema Ghul Totokhun. Despite my small stature, Im the one leading the orcish clan Totokhun. And just like I mentioned moments ago, I represent the

Fierce G.o.ds Squad

.

Im the Great Orc Solobo Ghul Kaibacz, a very, very distant relative of Commander-in-Chief Kaibaczs family

A very, very distant relative of the Commander-in-Chief, huh? I recall having encountered a distant relative in the Pel-Heka-Line. But, the past is just that, the past.

I look at them with calm and clear eyes as if watching the ocean during a gentle evening.

Its a pleasure. Then let us talk about the reason why we rescued you. We want to know the reason why you attacked our village, and it seemed unclear whether communication with the Tree King of Wonderss side would be possible.

Lets leave out the semi-transparent orc for the time being. Ill talk politely to them, butfor the sake of showing my stance that battle is possible at all timesI adopt the Palm Law stance Im currently learning from Kisara.

I focus on the knees and the acupuncture point below the navel, bend the left and right leg slightly forward, and stand there in a relaxed manner.

If youre talking about a village we attacked, it must be the village with the slightly elated mountain that contains a path to the

Bee Formulas Tool

, something a faction of the Hexa Ghul Gungh Clan desires

Quema shakes her shoulders and places a hand on her mask. Her hands fingers resemble those of humans.

We had been forced to partic.i.p.ate in a raid, but we suffered a defeat in that battle. Its a village with a silver-haired monster

And bone knights who release smoke and are called Zemetas and Adomos

So he was the orc who fought Adomos and Zemetas, as expected, huh? It sounds like they also fought against Catiza.

I see. So thats the reason. How about you fight us here if you still aim to take down the village?

I summon Baldok after saying so.