The central kingdom of Eileen, as its name suggests, is a kingdom located at the center of the continent. It is the most advanced and strongest kingdom with a territory that extends from the east coast to the west coast of the continent.
However, even with its wide territory, more than half of its land is still uncolonized and under the threat of monsters. Eileen was only able to expand its territory thanks to the three nations that support the kingdom: the elf nation in the northwest forest, the dwarf nation in the east mountain range, and the beastkin nation in the south plain.
It was all the information that Arezu learned while listening to the story of the guards who invited him to join them for breakfast while he was waiting for his party for the goblin slaying quest.
Right at the first bell, at six in the morning, Lynn arrived at the west gate and uninvitedly joined Arezu and the guards at their breakfast. An hour later, at the exact time they had set for their departure, Alex, Liz, and Hannah arrived riding a horse-drawn wagon.
On their discussion yesterday, it was first proposed that they would hitch a ride on a wagon heading in the direction of Mead village. But when Liz mentioned that she could borrow a wagon for free with her connection, Lynn immediately dropped their original plan off the table.
It was a simple wagon with ragged cloth as a cover for the roof, without any tire suspension or seat cushion to make the ride more comfortable, but it should be enough for the job. Most important of all, it allows them to save their travel expenses.
After offering his gratitude for the extra breakfast and saying goodbye to the guards, Arezu got on the wagon. Lynn, who took the reins from Hannah, sat in front as the driver. Inside the wagon, Alex has squeezed himself between Liz and Hannah, leaving Arezu to sit on his own beside their equipment and bags.
'I'm not being outcast, aren't I?' Arezu thought while looking at their sitting arrangement within the wagon.
With everyone in their seats, Lynn raised a cheer to signal the start of their departure.
"Are you ready, everyone?... As the adventurers' saying goes; survive and return alive! Let's make sure none of us dies in this quest!... Yeah!"
'Please don't raise a death flag right from the start.' Feeling that Lynn might have already jinxed their quest, Arezu and everyone else uneasily heave a cheer in response to Lynn.
*Yeah~*
The journey from the capital towards Mead village has been uneventful so far. Arezu and his party stop for a break at a village they have passed by and have their lunch. After resting for half an hour, they continue their journey until they encounter a group of orcs on the forest road.
Orcs are ranked as mid-level monsters. They can grow around 2 meters in height or even bigger, depending on their evolution. They lust for any female humanoid species and are gluttons for anything they can chew and swallow. Their average intelligence is limited to using weapons and wearing what can be considered as armor to protect their vitals, while the evolved ones have the quirk of learning magic.
One orc is strong enough to obliterate a party of inexperienced copper-rank adventurers, and a pair would be a treat to a newbie iron-rank adventurers' party. With two orcs blocking the road ahead and one orc behind to cut their escape, Arezu's party seems to be at a disadvantage. Yet Alex, Liz, and Hannah confidently get off the wagon to face the two orcs in front.
"Maybe we shouldn't have taken this shortcut after all."
It was agreed upon by everyone during their discussion yesterday that they would take the forest road, which is a shortcut towards Mead village, instead of the regular road on the open plain.
They bet their chance on the gamble of encountering monsters in the forest, with the prize of reaching Mead village before sunset on the same day of their departure to avoid camping outside at night. Though the odds are against them, they are only expecting to encounter low-level monsters like forest wolves or goblins. That is why they are willing to take the risk.
With the orcs appearing on the forest road, they indeed had lost the bet. However, from Lynn's perspective, their party is starting to be favored by luck. After all, they have just encountered the extra income they are looking for.
"Should I cast a spell to turn back time, Mr. Arezu? At least before the moment when you agree to take this route?"
Lynn's sarcastic remark should have pissed him off. But somehow, Arezu found himself responding with a wistful smile. That even surprises Lynn, as it is not the reaction she is expecting from Arezu.
"If only that kind of convenient magic existed..."
Arezu gets off the wagon, and so does Lynn. Then, as they had planned, they took their position to defend the rear against the orc blocking their escape route.
"You're gonna help me fight that orc, right?"
They should be fighting together. But still, with Lynn's remark in her introduction about entertaining her as they struggle with their lives, Arezu wanted to hear a bit of assurance from her.
Lynn, who is standing, or rather, hiding behind him, stares at Arezu with a look as if she doesn't know what he is asking of her. Then, with her eyes widening as if she had solved a great mystery, Lynn clenches her hands in front of her face and gives her response to Arezu's question.
"Don't worry, Mr. Arezu! My heal blessing is at the level that it can fix you up as long as you don't die."
"Oi, don't make that kind of bad joke right now. Can't you see that my hands are trembling?"
"Mhm! In excitement."
"In fear!"
Arezu has faced monsters before, yet no matter how many he has defeated, the feeling of fear that he felt when he first fought a monster has never disappeared and continuously makes his hands tremble every time he fights another monster.
He was originally a timid person, after all. Every time he fights, he needs to find his reason to have enough courage to stop his hands from trembling and confidence to move towards his enemy. And this time, that reason is to fulfill the role assigned to him by his party members.
Arezu took a deep breath, his hands holding onto his halberd had stopped trembling, and his feet steadied him on the ground, ready to move forward.
Seeing the changes in Arezu's demeanor, from his laid-back to a more composed expression, Lynn also readied her twin-arrow crossbow to assist Arezu against the orc that was already marching towards them while brandishing its wooden club.
"You can choose the target this time, Mr. Arezu."
"Then aim at one of its eyes."
Following Arezu's request, Lynn imbues her arrow with mana and uses her combat arts skill at the same time she pulls the trigger of the crossbow.
'Pierce'
Lynn's arrow flew at twice the speed and power a crossbow could release. Though it didn't hit its mark as the orc instinctively guards its face with its wooden club the moment it notices her aiming with a crossbow, her diversion has managed to accomplish its goal.
The moment the orc's vision was blocked as it raised its wooden club in front to guard its face from Lynn's arrow, Arezu swiftly dashed towards the orc.
Before the orc can put down its wooden club, Arezu has already covered a dozen meters and intercepted the orc. Arezu halts his dash and swings his halberd in a horizontal slash using not only the strength of his arm but also the momentum he has built up.
The orc's unprotected abdomen was split open as the blade cut through from its right to left flank, then a screeching scream came from the orc as its blood gushed out from its open wound.
Arezu jumps back to avoid getting splashed by the orc's blood and prepares for his next attack while waiting for Lynn's follow-up.
'Pierce'
Lynn's second arrow has successfully hit its mark, piercing the orc's right eye. The orc screams not only in pain but in anger. With its remaining left eye, it looks in front, trying to find the prey it should be tormenting. There should be two of its prey, as the orc thought, but what it could see in front was only the girl holding an empty crossbow.
Arezu has jumped mid-air, above the 2-meter tall orc, the moment it loses track of him upon getting distracted due to the pain of the arrow embedded in its right eye. As he builds up momentum through his fall, Arezu imbues his halberd with mana and uses his combat arts skill to enhance the sharpness of its blade.
'Cleave'
Without even knowing where its other prey had gone, the orc lost its life with its head split in half.
Arezu kicked the orc as it fell down to make its body fall backwards and avoid the blood gushing out of its head. However, the blade of his halberd got stuck in the orc's skull, and he ended up dragging the orc forward as he pulled out his halberd.
It should have been easy to avoid the splattering blood after Arezu landed on the ground. But when he tried to step backwards, his back hit something or, rather, someone who stopped his retreat.
"What are you doing, Ms. Lynn?"
"It's all your fault, so let me use you as a meat shield."
"Please move... Gaaahhh!~"