Chapter 13

Chapter 13 (13/324)

13

Squawk!

Goblins began to surge forth from all directions, charging at the soldiers.

"Fire!"

Noble Jerome.

With his loud command, dozens of arrows flew towards the goblins.

Squawk!

Crunch!

From goblins with arrows piercing through their heads to those rolling on the ground with arrows in their legs, it was a truly bloody battlefield.

Of course, I wasn't just standing idly by.

Lightning.

I cast the spell, activated in a hybrid method, and hurled it at the charging goblins.

Zap!

The speed of the lightning was like a flash.

Ordinary Lightning spells would only slightly char the goblins' skin, but mine was different.

The lightning bolts left trails as they swept away more than five goblins.

Their bodies were thoroughly cooked, making it clear they were no longer a threat.

‘Easy.’

Thanks to the phrase "the body remembers," not only was the power different, but the casting speed was also on a different level from a regular mage.

The speed at which I cast a spell was similar to the speed at which an arrow was fired.

After the second Lightning was instantly completed,

The lightning once again cut through the goblins.

In the brief moment before the soldiers were approached,

More than half of the goblins were swept away by arrows and magic.

The formation waiting for the goblins that managed to break through the attack was intricately arranged, leaving no gaps.

Square shields, reinforced with wood and iron, and long spears protruding between them. Some goblins bravely charged at the formation but were only met with painful screams as they were impaled by the spears.

At this point, even if they were stupid, they must have realized something was wrong.

The bodies of their fallen comrades scattered around them.

The sight of humans, far more numerous than themselves.

Ke... Ke!

Krrr...

Perhaps due to the belated fear, the remaining goblins dropped their crude daggers and clubs and began to flee in a panic.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Arrows and magic began to chase them down.

The first battle was surprisingly easy.

* * * * *

Before entering the forest,

Some soldiers stood guard, while the rest began to rest.

Considering the time it took to travel from the estate to here, it was to recover to their best condition.

The soldiers were skillfully removing the goblins' eyes, teeth, and ears from their bodies.

These, though low-grade, were used as magical materials, providing a decent side income. The tradition was to gather all the monster parts and sell them, then distribute the proceeds according to the number of participants.

It was one of the methods to boost the soldiers' morale.

Thus, despite the tedious work, their eyes were bright.

Of course, as the son of a wealthy family, I was resting comfortably.

Eating the lunch box Ersiel gave me.

‘Delicious.’

With high-quality ingredients and plenty of effort, it would be strange if it weren't delicious.

The nearby noble, having removed his helmet, was swallowing bread and jerky.

While eating,

Noble Jerome began to speak.

"Was the magic you used just now the 1st Circle Lightning?"

"Yes."

"I was truly amazed. To show such power with a 1st Circle spell... I had heard rumors that you had overcome Hermes, but seeing it in person, your talent is truly awe-inspiring. Hehe."

His sincerity was evident, as the favorability meter above his head pointed to 36.

His favorability had increased by 4 points after one battle.

"No, it was just a small help. If it weren't for the well-trained soldiers, how could we have repelled a hundred goblins without a single injury? My brother is indeed remarkable."

My words brightened Jerome's expression.

Praise and admiration for Adolph.

Seeing this, he must have judged that it wouldn't be too difficult to persuade me.

"Haha! Indeed, that is true. Although the second son is still young, his sword skills are already renowned throughout the empire. The ability to train soldiers into such formidable warriors is due to consistent effort and research."

Jerome then began to enthusiastically speak about the second son's potential. Skilled, level-headed, and with a warm heart for the soldiers.

My response was set.

Nodding appropriately and letting it pass through one ear.

Was it that good?

The noble's mouth was full of smiles.

If left alone, he would have praised Adolph all day.

It seemed I needed to change the subject.

"By the way, how far will this extermination force advance?"

"Probably to the middle of the forest. Given the small number, it would be risky to go all the way to the end."

The middle of the forest.

I wish we could go all the way inside.

So that no one could easily escape.

Inside the forest.

If ogres were to appear there,

They could sweep away most of the soldiers trained by Adolph, along with the knights and the noble.

‘If this unit is eliminated, it would be a significant blow to the boy.’

Not a fatal blow, but enough to make him feel extremely dirty.

"Then, how long do you expect it to take?"

"Probably about four days. From entering and sweeping away the small settlements to returning."

"Given the vast forest, finding them will be a challenge."

"Yes. We need to discover traces like excrement and then narrow down the search area. Moreover, the risk of ambush is high given the location."

After finishing the meal and having a brief conversation,

The soldiers began to advance into the forest after a one-hour rest.

‘Search. Helping might not be bad.’

I knew a spell that could assist in the search process, from the beginning to the end of dealing with the monsters.

If I helped, the advance would speed up, and the extermination force, once on a roll, wouldn't easily turn back.

The soldiers would become greedy as they collected more and more monster parts.

The officers would benefit from reporting higher achievements.

On a lucky day, greed naturally arises.

To do this, I needed to call out a creature to help with the search.

‘Can it be summoned?’

Summoning magic.

One of the branches of magic.

The activation method was very simple.

After drawing a magic circle that could summon the desired creature and infusing it with mana, it was done.

The difficult part was knowing the shape of the magic circle. However, I was already proficient in most of the magic circle shapes.

Since the method used in the game worked here, the summoning magic circle was likely to function similarly.

I began to move the mana in my circle.

After creating a magic circle with various symbols near my heart and infusing it with my mana,

A blue mass emerged from my body.

The summoning was successful.

"What... what is that?"

The noble, startled, drew his sword at the sudden blue form that emerged from my chest.

The knights around him did the same.

They must have been truly shocked.

"It's fine. I summoned it."

"…Yes?"

"It will be a great help in the upcoming search."

The form, which had been wobbling, began to move and shape itself like clay.

A moment later,

A small dog's form began to appear.

Squish.

The creature, which had been writhing on the ground, immediately leaped onto my shoulder.

"…What is that?"

"A summoned creature using magic."

Magic dog.

It had almost no combat power but showed remarkable results in tracking.

‘Finding the magic circle to summon this creature took some effort.’

It was one of the well-hidden Easter eggs.

It took about a week.

I remember investing that much time to finally find it.

It didn't provide much help in combat, so I hadn't used it much.

However, it seemed quite useful in this situation, given its excellent sense of smell.

"…Is there such a summoned creature? Usually, other creatures are summoned…"

The noble showed a surprised look.

Well, it wasn't strange for him to react this way. He knew about summoning magic, but he had never seen a blue dog summoned.

"It's a summoning magic I created."

"Really?"

"Yes. It focuses more on searching than combat. It will be a great help. Its sense of smell is better than a wolf's. Let's find some traces."

Heck heck!

The noble, seeing the dog panting with its blue tongue, reluctantly nodded.

"Everyone, find the traces of the goblins!"

Ten minutes after the soldiers began searching the forest,

"Here, there's excrement!"

A soldier shouted loudly.

After moving to the location,

‘Find it.’

I gave a simple command to the magic dog.

Woof!

The dog, having caught the scent, began barking in one direction.

"That way."

"Already found it?"

"This creature has an excellent sense of smell. Give it a try."

The noble nodded.

He probably wanted to see if my words were true.

The soldiers began to follow the magic dog, and soon, crude huts appeared in the distance.

"…Really…"

"Now, do you believe me?"

"…Yes. With this summoned creature, the search will be much easier."

"Let's finish it quickly. I'll start the fire."

"Understood."

Whoosh.

As the fierce flames engulfed the huts, goblins began to emerge from all directions.

The goblins, caught off guard, began to fall helplessly.

* * * * *

Two days had passed since entering the forest.

The advance was relentless.

The moment even a small trace was found,

Within an hour, the locations teeming with monsters were discovered.

From goblins to gnolls and orcs.

The seeds of the monsters at the forest's edge were quickly eradicated. Naturally, the soldiers' morale soared.

Being able to find the monsters first.

It was as good as having the initiative.

The saying "first strike, sure victory" wasn't for nothing.

With my magic providing steady assistance, the pile of monster parts grew higher.

"Phew. The amount we'll earn this time will be quite substantial."

"Let's go for a drink after this is over."

The soldiers, with satisfied smiles, were removing the parts from the bodies. Adolph still seemed to be in control.

They looked like ordinary soldiers to anyone.

But it was impossible to suppress their evil tendencies indefinitely.

‘In two months, it will be worth watching.’

The succession ceremony.

At that time, those boys would go wild.

They would unleash the tendencies they had suppressed all this time.

Even if the current thousand were reduced, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the entire 5th Legion.

Eventually, they would all need to be captured.

‘Is there a way?’

While pondering, the noble approached me.

"I have something to say."

"Yes, please speak."

"Originally, we planned to return after reaching this area, but the soldiers' morale is very high, and the extermination process is going smoothly. I think we can advance a bit further and capture more of them. What do you think, young master?"

Greed was evident in the noble's eyes after he finished speaking.

Indeed.

Choosing to retreat in such a situation would be difficult. Greed would naturally rise.

Since he was willing to fall into the trap, there was no reason to oppose it.

I smiled at him and replied.

"If you think so, it should be fine."

Thus, the thousand-strong army continued to advance into the forest.