Chapter 43
Even as he commanded the forces, Fahrenheit was puzzled by the decreasing reports of orc encounters.
“For their numbers to be decreasing at this point… It’s hard to believe the cause of the Stampede has been resolved. Should I assume someone is sealing off the dungeon?”
“But who would seal it off in this situation? We’ve confirmed that the dungeon management unit is still present, but they’re hardly in a condition to have the spare strength for that.”
“The last unit to make contact with Claude was here, huh. Considering they were heading steadily towards the dungeon, could it be Claude and his group doing the sealing? I told him not to do anything reckless, but that younger brother of mine is quite a handful.”
“Reorganizing the collapsed units and sealing the dungeon… Your younger brother is quite capable, isn’t he?”
“Indeed. I’m glad my brother is on our side. He has no qualms about shattering both strategy and tactics. Stragglers are a concern, but now that their numbers are decreasing, this is a golden opportunity. Let’s issue orders to the various feudal lords’ armies to quicken their pace.”
Claude was, understandably, feeling fatigued.
“Claude-sama. Please rest soon. We will take over from here.”
Kallion and the others, as well as the remaining Kingdom troops, hadn’t fully recovered from their fatigue, but thanks to the valiant efforts of eight-year-old Claude, they had recovered enough to fight.
“Alright. There’s no need to defeat them. Fortunately, the dungeon entrance is narrow, so set up a good rotation and seal it off.”
After giving the minimum necessary instructions, Claude lay down behind the defensive barricade and quickly fell asleep.
Being able to sleep in any situation was a special skill he had acquired while traveling around various places with Netzal.
Fahrenheit, while monitoring the overall movements of the forces, was gauging the timing for deploying the knightly order.
As the encirclement tightened, the density of soldiers deployed in various locations was increasing.
He wanted to send a significant force to Claude and his group, who were likely sealing the dungeon with only a few people.
However, if the knightly order were to withdraw now, there was a possibility the central part of their formation would collapse.
He told himself that impatience was to be avoided and prayed for Claude and his group’s safety.
Finel entered the Rimtech Domain, and in a village he passed through on the way, he was greatly thanked, as it seemed they had been rescued by the knightly order he had sent as an advance force.
Since Fahrenheit should be the one commanding the central forces, this was an achievement of Claude, who was operating as a separate detachment.
Absorbing the defense unit that Claude had reorganized, Finel continued his advance.
The condition of the absorbed defense unit was good, and though he deployed them to the rear, they weren’t slowing him down, and his advance was proceeding smoothly.
The infantry unit led by Finel had a low encounter rate with orcs, and as a result, within the entire encircling army, they had become somewhat exposed.