Chapter 65

As Lord Radyard and Al were confirming the goblins' expected attack route and setting up lights with light spells where necessary, Sigmund, his son, returned.

"Father, Lord Oliver is still busy investigating the surrounding area of the current camp. The barbarian group said they will continue the investigation for a while."

"Did you tell them about the possibility of higher-level enemies?"

Lord Radyard asked in a slightly irritated tone.

"Yes, of course. But they said the safety of the camp is a priority now. They said it's fine to investigate the barbarian village tomorrow morning. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that we are using magic to investigate. Besides, it depends on how strong those Goblin Slayers are. If the three of us—me, you, and Lord Narech—can handle two of them, it shouldn't be impossible. I'll leave the Goblin Mages to Al. Is that not acceptable?"

Sigmund's energetic words made Lord Radyard frown.

"I have never fought a Goblin Slayer. I don't know how strong they are or what their weaknesses are. They are a higher-level species than Hobgoblins. Even if they are goblins, they might be tougher than Kilolizardmen."

Al had never fought a Goblin Slayer, nor had he fought Hobgoblins or Kilolizardmen. According to what he heard from Orson, Hobgoblins can still be defeated with ordinary swords, but Kilolizardmen have very hard scales and can only be injured with special techniques called "combat skills." They are probably like the large, big-mouthed lizards he fought before, but the Goblin Slayers might be even stronger.

"We don't have enough fighting power. It might be safer to focus on defense. Al, use magic to check on the goblin group again. We'll prepare to counterattack based on that. The enemy might think we are fatigued and off guard. We should use that to our advantage."

Sigmund nodded in agreement with Lord Radyard. Al nodded slightly and moved to a spot under a tree where he was less likely to be shot at, and began to cast a spell.

"The floating eye spell takes time to find the target, so please wait."

"Understood. I'll prepare the knights in the meantime."

-----

Al used the floating eye spell to first look around the hill where they were. The terrain was gentle, and there weren't many trees, so the visibility was not bad. He could see the Holdan River about 300 meters to the east of the hill. The barbarian village he had seen earlier was probably about 1.5 kilometers upstream along the river. There were no barbarians in sight within the range Al could see.

From the current campsite, which was on a high ground, it was possible to see a wide area around. It seemed that building a fence and setting up watchtowers would make it a safe place. Currently, groups that seemed to be adventurers were scattered around the high ground. There were about ten tents set up, including the one where Narech was, and one of them probably housed Wald and the other mages who were on guard.

'Enhanced Perception' - Enhanced Touch

He crouched in the shadows, took off his left leather glove, and placed his palm on the ground. Since the area was quite large and there were many allies, it was difficult to distinguish, but the group Al was looking for was also quite numerous. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the vibrations in the ground.

...?

There were vibrations as if a group was moving, but it was hard to pinpoint the location because it seemed to be echoing somewhere. Al tilted his head and pressed his cheek to the ground, feeling it.

"Is something wrong?"

Sigmund, who was nearby, looked at Al curiously.

"The barbarian group might be multiple. Please wait a moment."

Al took off his other leather glove and placed his palm on the ground. He focused his senses.

There were two groups of barbarians, one to the south and one to the east of the hill where Al and the others were. The goblins he had initially found were probably to the south, about 2 kilometers away, which was probably where the barbarian village had been. The new group to the east was on the bank of the Holdan River, about 500 meters away, which was probably not visible from the hill.

Wald and the others should have been using the floating eye spell to investigate the area, so why hadn't they noticed this group? If they had, they wouldn't be so relaxed. Al regretted not taking the initiative to scout on his own and leaving it to the knights.

It seemed that Lord Radyard's concerns were justified. Now that he thought about it, swimming was a specialty of the lizardmen. Over the past three days, they might have used their mobility to move along the river, staying close to but not too close to Al and the knights, and repeatedly attacking in small numbers to fatigue the knights.

Al briefly informed them of the existence and location of the two groups and decided to use the floating eye spell again to check the details of the new group to the east. It wasn't that far away. The group consisted of about 300 lizardmen, about half of whom were in the river. There were two larger creatures on the riverbank, which were probably Kilolizardmen. And there was one goblin with red skin, floating in the air over the river. It was probably a Goblin Mage who could use a flying spell.

A group of about 100 goblins, including higher-level ones, and a group of about 300 lizardmen. There were about 170 people in total, including those carrying supplies, but they were on the hill without any protective barriers. If they were attacked simultaneously, could they defend themselves?

When he relayed this information, Lord Radyard's expression changed. Sigmund, who was standing next to him, seemed to tense up for a moment, his face turning pale, but then he suddenly opened his eyes and started laughing.

"Father, this is a golden opportunity to earn glory. We should launch a surprise attack on the nearby lizardman group. There's no other choice."

"No, but we should at least inform Lord Oliver first."

"How? What do you tell him? That Al used magic to get this information but kept it hidden? If asked why, are you going to say you didn't tell him because Emerson was annoying? That would be a mistake. We'd miss our chance. Are you getting rusty, Father?"

Lord Radyard looked at his son Sigmund intently.

"Hmph, am I getting old? You're right. We'll leave the report to Craig. If the two of us attack, we can take out about half of the lizardmen."

The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

"Wait, wait. Are you saying that because there are too many enemies, you're going to attack without telling Lord Narech and try to take down as many as you can before dying?"

Al asked in a panic. Lord Radyard and Sigmund nodded as if it were obvious. Seeing this, Al shook his head in disagreement.

"No, no, no, no, that's too hasty a decision, isn't it?"

Lord Radyard smiled at Al.

"Didn't you hear what Sigmund said? Given the enemy's positioning and numbers, it's clear we've been lured here. We've prepared for this expedition for years, but we didn't hide our movements. The barbarians must have predicted we would set up camp here. This is the result of underestimating their intelligence."

So, are they just going to rush in and die easily? Al tried to think hard about what his father would do in this situation.

"Can't we surrender... or retreat honestly, or something?"

Lord Radyard shook his head with a pleasant smile.

"Surrendering to barbarians is out of the question. We'd be cut up and used as food. You know that, don't you? Besides, given the state of the troops, retreating is impossible. We'd be caught for sure. Fortunately, we have this information. If we can take advantage of this timing and find a weakness, we might be able to break through this death trap and withstand the barbarian attack. I believe this is the only way for the expedition force to survive."

Sigmund nodded in agreement with Lord Radyard. There was no choice but to fight... If it were just Al, he could use a concealment spell to escape, but he didn't really want to do that.

What should Al do if they fight?

"If we fight, I can use the magic tornado spell. I'm good at running around, so maybe there's something I can do?"

The magic tornado spell is a spell that emits a rotating white mass of magic that causes severe injuries upon contact, hitting any living beings within its range. It was a popular spell that he received from the head of the Revi Guild as a thank you for rescuing Ruella. It was more powerful than magic arrows and could instantly kill goblins and significantly damage lizardmen. With Al's proficiency, the effective range was about 10 meters in diameter. If he aimed at a concentrated area, he could take down a significant number. If he could use it 2-3 times by surprise, and take down the Kilolizardmen, they might retreat.

Lord Radyard's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Al's suggestion.

"Why didn't you say you could use it before?"

"Well, it's because Lord Emerson..."

He almost said "because he's a pain in the ass" but quickly shut his mouth. However, it seemed that Lord Radyard and Sigmund understood what he meant and started laughing loudly.

"Got it. That changes everything. I'll discuss it with Lord Narech right away."

Lord Radyard started heading back to the tent where Narech was preparing. Al and Sigmund followed behind.

"Lord Narech, the situation has changed."

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