Chapter 75

My work, "The Expelled Healer from the Party, Actually the Strongest," went on sale on January 30th!

A few seconds later, Narseena and I had already reached the front of the horde of monsters.

Being in front of them made the overwhelming number of monsters even more intimidating.

Better than the mutated Hydra.

That thought didn't change even now that we were closer.

...But I couldn't imagine a future where we could dispatch this many monsters and defeat the lich who was casting a spell.

Still, if we didn't stop this spell, the Labyrinth City would surely be destroyed.

There was no other way but to defeat the lich.

I encouraged myself and slashed at the orc standing in front of the horde.

"Get out of the way!"

Unlike the hobgoblins, the orc reacted to the movement of my dagger.

Lifting his thick arm, he tried to protect his vital points from the dagger.

However, the momentum of the dagger, swung as I ran, was too much, and his arm and head flew off.

"Ugh!"

Catching the orc's head flying to the edge of my vision, I was certain that this orc, like the hobgoblins, had been enhanced.

At the very least, the orcs I had faced before couldn't react to my slashes.

Still, even the enhanced orcs weren't formidable opponents.

In the past, I might have struggled a bit, but with my enhanced body, they weren't a challenge.

While attacking the next orc, I felt a bit relieved.

...But that sense of ease quickly vanished.

"..."

"Ugh!"

The next orc I attacked also tried to protect his neck with his arm.

Like the last time, the orc's arm flew into the air, but the dagger didn't cut through his neck.

"Koros!"

In an instant, thinking I had exposed a weakness, an orc nearby attacked.

His arm, as thick as a log, swung to sweep me away, but I dodged by crouching at the last moment.

This time, the orc who had swung his arm left a large opening, and I stood up, leaning against his body, and stabbed his heart.

"Shh!"

Even with his vital points pierced by the dagger, the enhanced orc was still alive.

He desperately tried to resist, reaching out with his arm.

Ignoring him, I kicked his body to forcefully pull out the dagger, and in one motion, I cut off the head of another orc who was trying to attack me with one hand.

The monsters around me showed signs of confusion as they saw their companion killed instantly, and I reaffirmed my belief.

Orcs of this level wouldn't catch me off guard.

The same went for Narseena and Sieg.

However, the more I fought the orcs, the stronger a thought grew in my mind.

--The thought that it might be impossible to break through this horde of orcs and kill the lich in a short time.

"..."

Just fighting wouldn't lead to defeat, but dealing with this many in a short time was a different story.

The orcs were definitely reacting to my movements, and I couldn't overwhelm them like the hobgoblins.

Although they didn't have weapons like the hobgoblins, the orcs had a strength that couldn't be matched by such things.

As a result, the valuable time I spent fighting the orcs was being wasted, and I grimaced in frustration.

"...At least, if I had a greatsword..."

Regaining my composure, I cut off the arm of an orc attacking me with my dagger.

This dagger was far from a crude weapon.

In fact, it could be considered a near-magic sword, a fine piece of craftsmanship.

Even so, the dagger was clearly lacking in terms of firepower.

While slashing at the orc's neck, I reinforced this thought.

With a greatsword, I could have killed this orc in one blow, even if he tried to defend with his arm.

"Chokomakato!"

I bit my lip as I dodged a punch from an orc behind me by moving to the side.

Moreover, that wasn't the only problem.

"..."

Even though I thought I had dodged, the orc's punch grazed my shoulder.

At that moment, I realized the difference between my mental image and my actual movements.

My current self could move much more than when I was using both magic and qi to enhance my body.

I hadn't noticed, but I still hadn't fully controlled my enhanced body.

In other words, I was over-moving.

In my current state, I couldn't reach the lich.

Realizing this, I glanced at Narseena and Sieg, hoping they might be able to do something.

I thought they might be able to handle the situation.

--But that was a naive thought.

"Haah!"

Narseena was skillfully evading the orcs trying to surround her and knocking them down with a single blow.

Her technique, honed through years of training, was precise, and the orcs, fearing friendly fire, couldn't even launch effective attacks and were falling one by one.

...Yet, despite this, Narseena's face showed unmistakable signs of frustration.

Indeed, Narseena, with her martial artist skills, was formidable against individual enemies, and the orc corpses at her feet proved it.

However, martial artist skills weren't designed to overwhelm multiple enemies with overwhelming firepower.

Narseena would also find it difficult to reach the lich.

She understood this herself.

On the other hand, Sieg's situation wasn't any better.

Among us, Sieg had the slowest movement speed but was the only one with a greatsword, a high-damage weapon.

...However, because the ogre was directly restraining him, he couldn't use his weapon's firepower at all.

"GAH!"

"GAAAAAAAAAA!"

The ogre and Sieg, each letting out a roar, clashed at the front.

Without a weapon, the ogre was clearly at a disadvantage.

Still, the fight wasn't over quickly, and relying on Sieg in this situation was impossible.

Seeing their conditions, I wasn't optimistic enough to still have hope.

I resolved to reach the lich myself and charged at the orcs.

"Uooooo!"

Minimizing my dodges and focusing on attacks with my enhanced body, I smashed through the orcs' defenses, breaking their arms and legs as I advanced.

As a result, my body was covered in more and more wounds, but I was gradually making progress.

The orcs ahead should have been weakened by the lich's magic.

Once I reached them, the situation would surely improve, I believed.

"..."

...But that was the time limit.

The magic circle visible through the orcs' heads.

Seeing it emit a sudden burst of intense light and magic, I was forced to understand.

A tactical-level spell was about to be completed in a few moments.

"Damn, damn!"

I frantically swung my dagger at the orcs, trying to push forward.

Behind me, the sounds of battle grew louder as Narseena desperately tried to advance.

...But it was clear that her efforts were futile.

Knowing this, we still struggled desperately.

Even if the spell was cast, we would be safe since we were close to the lich.

However, the Labyrinth City would suffer immense damage.

The people in the city, who had no combat ability, would almost certainly die.

Therefore, we couldn't give up.

Battered and bruised, we fought to move forward.

"Get out of the way!"

Just as I shouted, the magic circle emitted an even brighter light.

--At that moment, an out-of-place, light voice echoed from above.

"Sieghart, you still can't handle the magic sword properly, can you?"

"......What?"

In the next instant, a clear cut appeared in the glowing magic circle.

Before I could understand what the cut meant, a massive amount of magic power burst out, and all the creatures, including the monsters, froze.

Then, in the midst of everyone's attention, the magic circle shone brightly and collapsed.

"YOU! YOUUUUU!"

A moment later, the lich's shrill scream brought me back to my senses, and I finally understood.

The voice I had heard had cut the magic circle.

The tactical-level spell aimed at the Labyrinth City was no more.

Feeling relieved, I looked up and saw a man floating in the air, wearing full armor and swinging a greatsword.

His short blond hair, glasses, and narrow eyes.

Recognizing his unchanged appearance from a few years ago, I opened my mouth in astonishment.

"Mr. Ronaldo? W-Why are you here...?"

Not understanding why one of the top-tier adventurers was here, we were stunned, but Ronaldo smiled at us.

"Hello, it's been a while, both of you. There's a lot to talk about, but let's do that later. For now, you need to run from this place as quickly as possible."

Just as Ronaldo said that, I sensed a surge of magic power and a chill.

Thinking it might be another spell from the lich, I turned my gaze in the direction of the magic power and saw a woman with bright red hair.

"...Ah, I see."

We wouldn't have to face the monsters anymore.

Understanding this, I called out to Narseena and Sieg.

"Hurry and fall back!"

Narseena and Sieg, still confused, reacted to my voice and tried to move back.

"Korose! Don't let them escape!"

But at the same time, following the lich's orders, the monsters, who had been frozen, started moving.

Narseena and I quickly put distance between us and the orcs with our enhanced bodies.

However, Sieg, who was still fighting the ogre, couldn't move immediately.

Sensing the danger, I tried to reach Sieg, but Narseena had already moved.

"Get away!"

"GA!?"

Narseena's punch hit the ogre's exposed back, causing him to freeze.

Seizing the opportunity, Sieg's magic sword cleaved the ogre in two.

"Thank you, I owe you one!"

"Hurry!"

Using their enhanced bodies to the fullest, the two quickly put distance between themselves and the advancing orcs--and at that moment, a loud explosion echoed.

Turning around, I saw an explosion that rivaled a tactical-level spell.

The monsters caught in the explosion were obliterated, and the sheer power was evident.

Yet, the spell didn't affect us, who were close to the monsters, demonstrating the skill of the top-tier adventurer, Ralma.

"...Really something, Master."

For a moment, we could only stare at where the horde of monsters had been.

It was the master's voice, lacking his usual composure, that brought us back to our senses.

"Foolish disciple, I'm going to the guild now. Explain the situation to me before I arrive."

"Y-Yes, understood."

Overwhelmed by the serious atmosphere, I managed to respond.

Glancing at me, the master, still floating in the air, opened his mouth with a bitter expression.

"I'll explain my situation on the way. For now, let's head to the guild."

What his demeanor indicated, I didn't understand at the time...

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