Chapter 38
The three members of the “Sky-Cleaving Sword” faced down a High Orc—a pig-man clad in metal armor and wielding a great hammer.
Misa and Elle were out of magic and couldn’t do anything.
Guy had no choice but to face it alone.
That said, Guy was out of magic, too.
He would have to fight without Skills.
When Guy jumped out of the carriage, he’d been confident.
He’d fought High Orcs many times before, but he’d always beaten them easily with a single Skill.
That was why he’d assumed they wouldn’t be much of a threat even without his Skills.
But then――.
Now, standing before the High Orc, Guy was sweating nervously.
The High Orc’s imposing presence overwhelmed him, and he felt fear unlike anything he’d ever known.
He had to keep his guard up or he’d start trembling.
Guy glanced over his shoulder.
Misa and Elle were there, trembling with fear.
“Tch...”
Guy tightened his grip on his sword, thinking, I’m the only one who can do this.
He let out a mighty roar as if to steel himself, then charged at the High Orc.
It was a reckless charge, without a plan or technique.
Unable to spare a thought for anything else, Guy swung his sword down with all his might――.
But the High Orc easily knocked aside his full-force strike with its great hammer.
“What?!”
Guy’s face twisted in shock.
He’d been convinced that even if he couldn’t take it down in one blow, he’d at least deal a decent amount of damage.
He’d never imagined it would brush him off so easily.
The High Orc slammed a shoulder into Guy, who was off balance and defenseless.
“Gwaah!”
Though Guy was a large man, the High Orc’s tremendous strength sent him flying with ease.
His body soared several meters through the air, crashed into Misa and Elle, and sent all three of them tumbling across the ground.
“Aah!”
The impact had cracked Guy’s mithril armor.
The High Orc’s shoulder charge had certainly been powerful.
But under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been enough to crack mithril armor.
The problem was that he hadn’t maintained it lately.
His funds were nearly gone, and he couldn’t even afford to buy Repair Liquid.
“Ugh...”
His head was spinning, and his vision swayed wildly.
Even so, Guy desperately forced strength into his trembling legs.
But by the time he managed to stand, the High Orc was right in front of him.
“Eek...”
The High Orc swung its great hammer sideways at the cowering Guy, catching him in the torso.
The blow hit him squarely. His armor crumpled with a screech, and he fell to the ground once more.
The High Orc closed in on Misa and Elle, now without a frontline fighter.
“Aahhh!”
“Please, stop!”
The High Orc loomed over the helpless pair, raising its great hammer high with a cruel smile――.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Meanwhile, the five members of the “Twin-Headed” faced another High Orc.
The two silver-haired adventurers kept their eyes on the High Orc while checking Guy and his companions from the corners of their eyes.
The two mages stood frozen, while Guy had charged recklessly.
That was hardly how B-rank adventurers should fight.
“What a mess,” said Sinistra, whose silver hair was long.
“We need to finish this quickly,” said Destra, whose silver hair was short.
Then their voices rang out together.
“Same as always. We’ll take it down as fast as possible.”
They had slain more High Orcs than they could count.
Sometimes, they’d faced several at once.
They’d already perfected their strategy for taking down High Orcs.
All that remained was to put it into action――.
The scout was the first to move.
He darted in front of the High Orc, drawing its attention entirely to himself.
Next, the healer cast a support spell on the two silver-haired adventurers.
“—Speed Up.”
Wrapped in blue light, the two raced around to approach the High Orc from either side.
Seeing this, the female mage began chanting――.
The scout thrust out his knife, drawing the High Orc’s attention.
He didn’t intend to hit it.
His job was to keep it occupied and buy time.
With its attention fixed solely on the scout, the High Orc failed to notice the silver-haired swordsmen closing in from either side――.
“—Double Bind.”
As their voices overlapped, magical chains extended from their two swords――and bound the High Orc tightly.
The mage finished her chant and unleashed a spell at the immobilized High Orc――.
“—Fire Tornado.”
The scout timed his move perfectly, rolling sideways to dodge.
A torrent of flames swept past him――and engulfed the defenseless High Orc.
Wrapped in raging flames, the High Orc was reduced to charred remains with a piteous death cry.
As always, the “Twin-Headed” took down the High Orc in record time, without leaving a single opening.
But they didn’t let their guard down. They surveyed the battlefield.
“The knights are holding their own,” said the long-haired one.
“The ‘Sky-Cleaving Sword’... Yeah, they’re in trouble,” said the short-haired one.
The two escort knights displayed excellent teamwork with their long spears, never letting the High Orc approach.
They hadn’t dealt much damage, but they were fulfilling their role of buying time.
Meanwhile, the “Sky-Cleaving Sword” was in a truly pitiful state.
Guy had charged the High Orc, only to be sent flying backward and crash into Elle and Misa at the rear, leaving all three caught in a melee against the single monster.
Guy’s swordsmanship couldn’t withstand the High Orc’s attacks, and all three were already battered and covered in blood.
Judging by the situation, they should go help the disadvantaged “Sky-Cleaving Sword.”
The knights still had some leeway.
But――.
On one side were escort knights who put their bodies on the line and risked their lives for their country and its people.
On the other were arrogant, outrageously rude adventurers whose strength didn’t match their attitude.
There was no need to think about which group to prioritize.
“Well, they probably won’t die,” said the short-haired one.
“Let’s finish this quickly,” said the long-haired one.
The two silver-haired adventurers ran toward the back of the High Orc being held at bay by the escort knights.
Their Speed Up buffs were still active, and they raced forward, cutting through the wind――.
Meanwhile, the mage began chanting.
Fire Tornado was still on cooldown, so she couldn’t use it.
Instead, she cast――.
“—Thunder Shock.”
Lightning lashed out and ensnared the High Orc.
The two silver-haired swordsmen closed in while it was stunned.
Their two swords plunged into its back and pierced its heart, killing the High Orc.
The sword strikes that killed it hadn’t been Skills.
They were the result of years of honing their swordsmanship.
This was what B-rank adventurers were truly capable of.
It was a display of fighting ability grounded in their own strength, not reliant on Skills.
After pulling their swords from the corpse, the two turned their gaze to the last High Orc.
In the direction they looked, the three members of the “Sky-Cleaving Sword” lay sprawled like rags――.