Chapter 121: of Grim Reality: Ambush on the Village

“They haven’t spotted us yet from the looks of it. That’s good.”

“Only a matter of time until they will, Captain.”

Korwen and Merim watched the occupied village from behind the trees, keeping their profile hidden as much as possible. Similarly, everyone else was either crouching or outright sitting on the ground.

“That they will. That they will for sure… But not in a pleasant way. For them, of course.”

The distance to the village was… still quite far. Not so far that it would take hours to reach. It was close enough that anyone could now see into the village reasonably well. Just… it was still too far.

“The magician is too far away… We can’t reach him from here. Haaa… Things are never easy.”

“Even if we could, the other guards would notice the bolt.”

“That’s not a problem. If the ogres rampage like we hope them to, they’ll have other issues.”

“That means... we need to get closer.”

“Mhm…”

With furrowed brows, Korwen stared at the village for a few seconds, completely in silence. At one point, he turned around and beckoned someone to come over. A mercenary came over, crouching, as to not get spotted.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Get Ria and her two lackeys here. And be quiet.”

“Understood, Captain!”

The man, still crouching, saluted and left. Seeing a man saluting while they were crouching was… weird to look at. Though I was slightly impressed he could keep his balance like that.

But still… If he calls for Ria, will we go with the brute force approach then?

I peeked over the bushes hiding us. The sight still made me uncomfortable.

“Don’t look at it directly unless you need to.”

“Nn?”

With a bit of surprise, I turned around, only to see Merim crouching next to me.

“We can’t have you barfing right now.”

“... I won’t.”

Such little faith… But I couldn’t say with all my confidence that I wouldn’t. I was thankful that the plan didn’t include me storming into the village but keeping away a little. I was confident that a close-up of the… dead villagers wouldn’t do well on my stomach.

“Seeing anything new?”

“No… Still the same…”

A few guards, one magician and the ogres. It was surprising to see how few guards they had. As if they weren’t worried about getting attacked at all. I opened my mouth to ask Merim but then thought better of it. Talking too much would only raise the chance of getting spotted prematurely.

Unless they have someone with night vision, that probably won’t be an issue…

In that case, we’d be screwed anyway… Actually… night vision was unrelated to sound—obviously—so even if they had someone with it… Ah, but they might have someone with good hearing? Maybe…

“... Nn?”

Just then… something happened over at the village. The door of one of the buildings opened and a few people walked out.

“Merim, look.”

“Saw something?”

“Nn. That building.”

I pointed at the one where some people had just walked out of. It was in the back, the one with only a few people inside. But the door was in good sight from our position.

“New ones… Did they wake up? Keep watch.”

“Nn.”

Merim turned around and scurried over to Korwen, most likely to inform him. A moment later, he returned, together with Korwen.

“Let me see… Those four in the centre?”

“Nn…”

The new people stood near the door, talking with each other. The guards had turned around, to look at the new arrivals. They seemed to have said something, because a moment later, some of them started laughing. Loud enough that we could hear them.

“... I hope they aren’t going to start some nighttime ritual or something.”

“Do the worshippers do that?” I asked Korwen.

“How should I know? Wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Ria might know but… she would have informed me ahead in that case. Anyway, keep the unnecessary questions down.”

“... I’m sorry.”

And moments ago I held back to keep quiet… that was a little short-lived... Habits… Habits die hard…

“Yumi, did the door open again?”

“... Nn, it did. Someone is coming… out?”

What in the blazes… something came through the door… something big… Or rather, something huge.

“Now, that’s a rare sight… A giant.”

“... Giant?”

That was… a giant? Okay, that… person… was twice as large as anyone else there… In fact, they could use the building’s roof as an armrest if they wanted to.

“It’s a race from beyond the ocean. We call them giants… for obvious reasons. Strong and heavy. And as smart as any other person.”

“So… dangerous?”

“Yes.”

Great… just when we thought the magicians were our biggest problem.

“Yumi, can you make out anything on that giant. From the clothing or something? Weapons, equipment, anything.”

“Uhm, one moment…”

To check for such details, I had to change my eyes back... Would be hard without.

Let’s see… The mantle… Wait, that’s the worshipper’s robe, isn’t it? Too small so they wear it like a mantle, huh… The clothes are… just common clothes… Oh, it’s a woman.

Despite her size, she sported a rather meagre chest… At least, compared to her overall height. But it was still enough to be notable.

Other than that… Nothing… No, wait.. .that belt… An emblem?

“There’s an… emblem on her belt. A red… animal? I think… On a round shield”

“... You don’t say.”

“Nn?”

Did Korwen know that emblem?

“Merim, do you recognise an emblem with a red-coloured animal on a round shield?”

“No, Captain.”

“Mhm… Too bad.”

So he didn’t actually know…

“Yumi, do any others wear the emblem?”

“Err, let me check.”

I returned my attention to the people in the village. While trying to avoid the view of the corpses as much as possible, I gave each of them a look over… Although, the guards were all wearing their robes so there was little to see. The new arrivals, however, were wearing those robes in a relatively casual manner or not at all. But that was all. No emblems.

“No, Captain. Nothing.”

“Nothing, you say… Then… A runaway noble from beyond the ocean?”

“Huh? A runaway noble?”

“That or something similar. Like a clan. Some military families have emblems too. Anyway, have you seen any weapons?”

“No. No weapons on the new people. The guards… I am not sure. Maybe under their robes…”

While I could exclude any heavy or bulky weapons, they could still wear swords or daggers below the robe.

“Mhm… Odd… They’re a little too casual about this… Mm? Yumi, what are they doing now?”

“Uhh… They’re… switching positions, I guess? Nn, the previous guards are entering the building.”

“So it was a switch of the watch. Well, as long… Yumi, what’s that now? Oh shit! Quiet!”

“Nngh?!”

I wondered what he was talking about but I found myself immediately muffled by a hand covering my mouth. From the corner of my eyes, I could barely see him waving with his hand to the mercenaries behind us.

“Say nothing. You see those two over there. Nod if you can.”

Those two over there? Which two… Ah, there!

A pair of two was leaving the village and walking right towards the forest. The guard they had passed by was shouting something after them, then laughing.

Since I spotted them I nodded to Korwen.

“Keep an eye on them and down on the ground. Slowly. And get ready to move. No sound now.”

I nodded again and he finally let go of my mouth. Then, I slowly laid down onto the ground.

This is… pretty bad, isn’t it?

Korwen laid down on the ground next to me. Same for Karen behind me. And all the other mercenaries as well. But… would that be enough?

If they actually go into the forest, they’ll definitely see us. There’s no way they won’t.

And then they’d alert the others…

Unless… they can’t…

I followed the two people, or rather their souls, with my eyes. They’d enter the forest a little away from where we were. Since there were so many of us, however, they’d still see plenty of mercenaries hiding there.

Everyone was silently waiting for something to happen, with nobody saying even a word. The rustling leaves, the wind and the occasional animal cry were the only sounds surrounding us.

They’re… inside the forest now…

The two people continued to walk and then suddenly stopped. Had they seen the mercenaries? Or were they doing something else? There were plenty of mercenaries around them, after all. They might have made some space but they were maybe half a dozen steps away from each other.

Can’t see… but I can’t hear anything either…

If they had seen someone, they’d probably either raise a fuss or run back to the village. Neither happened, however. In fact, nothing happened for a good minute or two… until a dull snapping echoed twice in succession.

Was that… a crossbow?

As I wondered, what the sound could have been, the two souls dropped to the ground… their light dimmed a little but it was still there… It might have been just my imagination though, that’s how small the difference was.

But the surrounding mercenaries moved in on the two worshippers, so I was fairly sure they had done something.  In my attempt, to get a better overview I reflexively raised my head and was promptly pressed down to the ground by Korwen.

“Captain. They’re dealt with,” whispered a mercenary behind us.

“... Well, that was a surprise for sure. Do you know what they were doing?”

“Nighttime fun.”

“... Figured.”

Night… time fun? Seriously? They had gone into the forest for that? When they were in the middle of… Okay, they couldn’t know that we were here, but they were seriously carefree… At the very least, you could say that they had a… happy end… A pretty final happy end.

“Get everyone ready. And bring me our two best shots.”

“Understood, Captain!”

“Quiet, you idiot.”

“... Understood.”

With a salute, the man left, being replaced immediately by someone else. Someone, I knew well.

“Ria. That took a while.”

“Mm… I judged… it better to… keep low…”

“Which was right. Anyway, we have a problem.”

“Mh?”

Korwen beckoned her to come over to us so that he could point at the village.

“The magician keeping the ogres in check is too far away. The crossbows won’t reach him.”

“Ahh… I see… You want me… to help them… reach?”

“Yes.”

“Mhm… It should… be fine... but they… will likely notice… if I do…”

“I thought as much.”

They’ll notice… So, the moment she casts her magic, we have to move quickly…

“Very well. They’ll notice the absence of those two before long. We need to get everyone into position and then we’ll start the attack.”

So, it’d begin soon…

“Yumi.”

“Nn? Captain?”

“We’ll all stay behind for now. But once we begin, I’d like you, Karen and the Elder to prepare the banner.”

“... Nn. Understood.”

The preparations went by incredibly quickly. Or rather, it’d be bad if they wouldn’t. Most of the mercenaries already had been in position along the edge of the forest. To my left and my right, I could see several mercenaries preparing their crossbows.

“So, you think you can reach that?”

“Mm, normally? No way. But with dear Ria’s support, sure we can. Leave it to us, Captain.”

“As long as that dude keeps still, that is.”

Korwen was exchanging a few words with the two crossbowmen that would attempt to snipe the magician. Most mercenaries had other weapons along with the crossbows, but these two only carried a crossbow as well as a quiver filled with bolts.

“Good, get ready and shoot on my signal.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Got it, Captain.”

The two immediately began to prepare their crossbows. Seeing them, Korwen nodded to himself once and turned to Ria. Behind her were now Wenners and Krutz as well.

“You three ready as well?”

“Yes… Captain.”

“...”

Ria answered in her usual lethargic voice, while Wenners and Krutz simply nodded in acknowledgement.

“Good. On my signal, then.”

Korwen faced towards the village, staring at it for a few seconds.

“This part always gets me nervous as well… Haaa… Here goes nothing.”

He took a deep breath, straightened himself and lifted his arm.

“On three,” he announced, his voice lower than usual.

Soon, it’d begin for real…

“One…”

“...”

“Two…”

“...”

“Three.”

Ria, Wenners and Krutz started muttering words, and the two crossbowmen took aim. The mana stirred, moved violently like a storm. There was no way the magician in the village wouldn’t notice. And noticing he did.

He’s looking here!

But he was only looking, not moving or anything. Most likely, he was confused. Not for long. The chant behind me finished and the mana stirred in waves, spreading out in front of us.

“We’re done… May the fortunes of the wind carry the stake to victory.”

“Good.”

Korwen quickly acknowledged it then turned to the two crossbowmen.

“Take aim.”

The magician in the village seemed to have understood something was going on. He walked to the centre of the village. That… might not have been the wisest of his choices.

“Fire!”

With the dull sound of the band snapping back into place, the crossbows let go of the bolt. With astonishing speed, they flew straight into the village.

A second passed, then another and another… And then… the dirt behind the magician got thrown into the air.

Did they miss?!

I was worried. If they missed now... but just then, the magician toppled to the side and fell to the ground.

“Hit confirmed, Captain.”

“Both hit.”

Both? But one hit the dirt behind the magician, did he not? I glanced at the magician and quickly understood why that had happened… Blood was spreading out from the chest but there was no bolt in sight at all… It had punctured through. Looking for the other bolt, I could see it lodged in his head, at the top half of the forehead…

They both… hit him at the most lethal points…

I couldn’t imagine that the man had even realised what was happening to him…

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“Yumi. The ogres. Check the ogres.”

“Nn? Ah, right.”

The ogres… We had targeted the magician because of the ogres… Those monsters had been just behind the magician…

“... They’re looking… at the magician…”

“Looking?”

“Nn.”

They stared, their gaze not wavering a single bit. As if they were fixated on something there. Alas, another, inevitable worry came up. The other guards obviously had seen what happened. The giant woman was stomping her way towards the dead magician. She lifted the man with one hand and scrutinised his wounds from close up. Her gaze suddenly snapped in our direction. She threw the magician corpse down on the ground and dove into cover, likely scared of follow-up shots.

“Still nothing?”

“Nn. They followed the corpse with their eyes but none of them are moving.”

This was bad… They weren’t rampaging at all, were they?

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and watched the situation in the village. The other guards had positioned themselves in the front entrance. They didn’t take cover, for some reason, and just watched intensely in our direction. The only guard that hadn’t either jumped into cover or was watching the forest, ran towards the house where the other worshippers were sleeping in.

“You two, can you do another shot?”

“Sure can, Captain.”

“All clear.”

“Shoot the ogres. But aim at a non-vital point. On my signal.”

“”Understood!””

The two men aimed once more.

“On three.”

“...”

“One…”

“...”

“Two…”

“...”

“Three! Fire!”

For the third time already, the dull sound of the snapping string entered my ears… The bolts flew through the air. This time, I could follow them a little better, as they flew through the air… Whatever magic Ria and the others had used, it still seemed to be in effect. The bolts were… riding the waves of mana… That's how it seemed, at least.

The two bolts each hit a different ogre. One got hit in the shoulder, the other was strafed on the leg. In an instant, the ogres stopped staring at the corpse of the magician, instead, their face contorted in anger. A deep deafening roar shook the surroundings, all the way over to us. Not only from the wounded ogres but also the other few behind them.

“Finally. Now, let’s watch what happens.”

A wide grin was on Korwen’s lips. He clearly enjoyed watching his… But it wasn’t surprising he did. With only a few shots, the village was about to turn a little more chaotic. The enraged ogres grabbed their weapons and flailed them around. They hit the debris of the collapsed buildings, launching wood into the air. They roared and ran towards the guards. One of the ogres smashed a guard with his club-like weapon before the latter could dodge or defend themselves. Only the legs were left of the man. The swing was so fast, I hadn’t seen where the remainder of the guard disappeared to. Assuming, there even was anything else left…

“Ugh…”

“It’s fine to look away, for now, Yumi. We’ll watch out,” said Korwen.

“... No. I’ll watch.”

“Are you sure?”

“Nn…”

I had to get used to this… Or at least, I had to be able to deal with it. Thankfully, we were at quite a distance. I probably wouldn’t have been able to bear it otherwise. Just now, another guard got smashed by an ogre.

“Good, good, this is going well.”

Korwen chuckled to himself as he watched the door of a building slammed open and several worshippers running outside. As well as from one of the other buildings, where the front was facing away from us. Some armed worshippers attacked the ogres. They stood in front of the pile in the village centre as if they were defending it.

“Captain, are they… defending that… corpse pile?”

“Mhm? That… might be the case… They’re probably protecting the Crystal Flowers rather than the corpses.”

Right, those drugs…

“More importantly… Can you see the other magicians?”

“Err, one moment.”

The other magicians… were likely those that had a similarly muddled soul. I had seen two of them before…

“Ah, there. He’s trying to… get to the corpse of the other magician.”

“Hee, then it probably is just as I expected.”

“Nn? As expected.”

“They’re controlling the ogres not necessarily with magic, but with the help of a tool. You’d think they’d take back the control, otherwise.”

“Ahh…”

That was true… But they hadn’t taken back the control...

“You two, can you take that magician out?”

“... No chance, Captain.”

“Don’t even know who it is. Can’t see as far as the girl.”

“Tsk, well, can’t be helped.”

Well, the ogres and the worshippers were now engaged in a rather chaotic melee… Much to my surprise, the worshippers held themselves rather well… I’d seen about two or three more getting killed by the ogres but after that, the armed men managed to defend and keep the ogres busy.

“Captain, isn’t this bad? If they manage to get them back under control…”

“It’s not bad but I would like it if they don’t…”

Korwen furrowed his brows, then turned around to Ria and her two followers.

“Ria, is that magic effective for the other crossbowmen as well?”

“Mm… It should… work for… everyone… close by…”

“How close.”

“Around… twenty steps… I think…”

“I see.”

Nodding once, he then raised his arm, gesturing towards the mercenaries on our right.

“The next ten of you, get ready!”

Having confirmed that the men followed his command, he did the same on our left. The two crossbowmen next to us also took aim.

“Take wild shots, just disturb them as much as possible. Fire at will!”

A second later, a cacophony of crossbow shots echoed through the forest. Nearly two dozen bolts soared towards the village. Some fell short and never even reached the village, some hit the buildings or the debris. Only a few actually reached their target area, where the armed worshippers were fighting the ogres.

The worshippers noticed the attack, but they couldn’t do much other than defending themselves. The magician that was trying to get to the other man’s corpse crouched down, his arms in the air. It was hard to see but I was fairly sure he was using magic right now. Not that I could discern its effect, right now. Considering the situation, he probably was defending himself.

But where’s the other magician?

I was fairly sure there had been two in the buildings… For a total of three…

“Captain.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t find the third magician.”

“... Nowhere at all?”

“Nn.”

“Mhm…”

The muddled soul was nowhere to be found. I checked another time, just to be sure, but still nothing.

“Look out for him. Immediately report when you see him.”

“Nn, got it.”

Just then, the crossbowmen had finished reloading and were taking another shot at the village. This time, however, the shots weren’t all going together, probably because the men were reloading at slightly different speeds. Or maybe it was intentional. It still achieved its effect. The unarmed worshippers took cover, trying to stay out of sight. The armed worshippers, however, didn’t have the choice. They couldn’t run away while fighting the ogres.

This… If it keeps going like this, maybe we won’t even need to fight them directly… Woah! Those crossbows are scary.

I watched in horror as a bolt penetrated a piece of wood, injuring the man behind. The bolt stuck in his upper arm, he fell to the ground, flailing wildly and screaming in pain.

“It’s like the cover doesn’t even matter…”

“It does matter. But it’s not definite protection. A crossbow can even puncture regular armour and shields up to a certain distance.”

“... That’s quite scary.”

“But effective, as you can see. It also needs less training than a bow. They’re great weapons. Whoever invented them, they’ve got my thanks.”

Just then, a loud roaring sounded through the village. Not the roar of an ogre or a monster, however, it was the roar of a weapon.

“Now, colour me surprised. They got firearms.”

“... Firearms?”

“Like that pistol. Can’t see the one who took the shot though. Yumi, look for him.”

“Ah, yes.”

Someone with a firearm… A firearm…

“There, on the left… I think. He’s holding something that looks like a long rifle. And he’S facing in our direction.”

“Huh… Any others there?”

“No, only that one person.”

“I see. We’ll need to keep an eye on him but at that distance, he’s not a threat.”

Not a threat? But it was a ranged weapon, wasn’t it? He was bound to hit someone given time.

“Won’t he hit someone soon, though?”

“That thing isn’t accurate enough to hit us. We’re hidden behind the bushes and trees as well. As long as he doesn’t come closer, that is…”

“Captain, should we aim at him?” asked one of the crossbowmen.

“Mhm, actually, yes, if you can, do that.”

“Got it!”

And not even half a minute later, the man carrying the rifle was on the ground, dead… The difference in effectiveness was… scary… Really...

But you still need to be pretty skilled to hit someone at that range…

Those two were good at this… The other mercenaries were shooting mostly blind into the village, hoping for a lucky hit. But these two were able to take proper aim and hit someone.

“Mhm, seems they’ve given up on the ogres.”

“Nn?”

My thoughts were brought back to the present by Korwen’s comment. My eyes wandered back to the village, just in time to see an ogre falling to the ground, dead.

“Eh? What is happening?”

Just a moment ago, the ogres were still attacking the armed worshippers, forcing them to defend constantly. And then, the sides turned in a single moment.

“They’ve stopped trying to retake control. You should be able to see it better than me, however. Too dark, too far.”

Well, that was true… Wait, right, it was dark for them as well… I barely noticed because I could see as clear as in the day right now…

That makes those crossbowmen even more impressive…

Respect… Seriously…

“Okay, it’s time to get ready, Yumi.”

“... Nn.”

Korwen stood up and stretched his arms.

“Karen, Miss Elder, prepare Yumi’s banner.”

“Yes, Mr Captain.”

“Okay, Mr Korwen.”

The two behind me stood up as well, Karen lifting the banner from the ground.

“Wenners, Krutz, protect us from any attacks.”

“”... Yes, Sir.””

“Ria, keep in the back and prepare yourself to fight.”

“Mm… Understood…”

Still a little wary, I also stood up. Soon, it would be time for my part in all of this… I had to prepare as well… Although, Karen and the Elder were already getting the banner ready for me… But I still had to prepare myself mentally as well...

“Yumi.”

“Nn? Captain?”

“Stay right at my side, understood?”

“... Nn.”

“Good.”

He grinned, then pressed his large hand onto my head.

“Now the fun part will begin.”

“The… fun part?”

I wasn’t so sure if I could call that fun…

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Err, would I?

“Mr Captain, should we pull off the cloth as well?”

“Will it light up when you do?”

“No, it will not. They will only glow in accordance with my will, Mr Korwen.”

“Then do it.”

The two girls pulled off the cloth that was covering most of the banner and its shaft. Several plants were fixated on it. The glowing plants the Elder had prepared.

“Yumi, here you go.”

“Thank you, Sis.”

I received the banner from Karen. It was still heavy and I had some trouble keeping it straight up like this…

“Yumi.”

“Nn?”

“I’ll stay right behind you.”

“Nn, thank you, Sis.”

Clutching the banner in my arms, I returned a smile to her kind words. Seeing me like that, Karen smiled as well, then bowed down a little.

“Good luck.”

“... Ah.”

A slightly wet sensation on my forehead…

“... Thank you, Sis.”

I was sure, my smile had turned into a full-width grin. I felt happy. Despite the time and place, I felt happy. All my nervousness and my worries were gone in an instant.

“Sis, I’m going.”

“Got it. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Nn!”

By the time, I turned around to catch up with Korwen, the situation in the village had drastically changed. The ogres were dead and the few armed worshippers… had grown in numbers... The buildings were mostly empty now, with nearly all the worshippers out. Armed and wide awake.

“It’s time, Yumi.”

“Nn…”

“Let’s send them off to some… pleasant dreams, shall we?”

Rinne

I got a slightly important announcement to make, mostly in regards to my Patreon. If you don't care about that, you can ignore this.

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Well then, that's already all I had to say.

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