Chapter 128: Monster Village
“I can’t believe it actually exists.”
Before my eyes, the forest had been cleared, and a bright, open space spread out. Here and there were buildings resembling pit dwellings, and Goblins and Orcs were striding about. It looked like a joint village of Goblins and Orcs.
In the game, monsters were depicted as enemies of humanity, and this aspect of their lives was never in the spotlight. It feels incredibly strange.
But, come to think of it, since monsters are living creatures too, it’s not surprising they’d have this kind of living foundation.
“What shall we do?”
“Let’s annihilate them.”
I answered Eleonore’s question concisely.
I have no interest in the ecology of Goblins or Orcs. They’re just in the way, so I’ll get rid of them. That’s all there is to it.
“There seem to be a lot of them. My arms are itching for a fight.”
Claudia is full of fighting spirit, huh? Well, even if there are many, they’re just Goblins and Orcs, so there’s probably not much danger.
Still, we should take safety precautions.
“First, let’s have Lily reduce their numbers with her magic. I’ll leave it to Lily to decide which spell to use.”
“Mm.”
Lily’s reaction was as faint as usual, but it seemed she was fired up in her own way, with a little ‘hmph’.
“Any other questions? If not, let’s go.”
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Kaboom! Thud-crack! Bzzzap!
Even though the sky framed by the forest was a clear blue, lightning had been striking down with incredible force for a while now. It was truly Hekireki (Thunderclap) from a clear blue sky.
The lightning pinpointed the Goblins and Orcs, steadily reducing their numbers.
The Goblins and Orcs were in a complete uproar. Even if they tried to avoid the lightning by entering their crude houses, the lightning effortlessly destroyed them. There was no safe place anywhere.
The once peaceful village was now a scene of chaos, with Goblins and Orcs fleeing in panic, like a stirred-up hornet’s nest.
It looked like we could annihilate them with just Lily’s magic at this rate.
It’s safe, and I’d like to continue this way, but the vanguard wouldn’t be satisfied with that.
“Lily, that’s enough for now. Thank you.”
“Mm.”
When Lily’s lightning magic stopped, the village’s appearance had completely changed. The pit dwellings were ablaze, with black smoke rising. Corpses of Goblins and Orcs struck by lightning lay scattered throughout the village.
After that, it literally turned into a mop-up operation.
We quickly hunted down the surviving Goblins and Orcs. The Goblins and Orcs were in a state of panic and offered no organized resistance. It was an easy job.
Well, even without that, the Goblins’ and Orcs’ civilization level is stuck in the Stone Age. Even if they had mounted an organized defense, it would have been troublesome, but we would have broken through.
“Somehow, I feel unfulfilled…”
Claudia, along with the rest of the vanguard, seemed dissatisfied with the lack of challenge. I think it’s fine if things are settled easily, but… When did they become such splendid battle maniacs?
We cut off the right ears from the Goblins and Orcs we mopped up, and even after searching the village, there weren’t any particularly noteworthy items. What a stingy village.
“Well now, what to do… Shall we spend the night here today?”
It was still too early for sunset, but since there were buildings available, spending the night there seemed like a good idea.
“Sleeping in a place where corpses are strewn about is…”
“Indeed. It’s not a very pleasant thought.”
It seemed like a good idea to me, but Eleonore and Claudia apparently disapproved.
“Besides, the inside of the buildings looks smelly too…”
“Onii, doesn’t it stink to you?”
Cornelia and Lily also voiced their complaints. It’s true, the village stinks. Inside the buildings stinks even more. The smell is certainly hard to bear, but I thought a house that could protect us from rain was worth enduring the stench.
However, they probably didn’t want to stay in such a smelly and dirty place any longer.
Can’t be helped.
“Alright then, shall we start looking for a suitable place to camp? If there’s a village, there should be a water source like a river or pond nearby. Let’s try to find a water source first.”
Drinking raw water directly is dangerous, but having water is convenient for many things.
We can also generate water with Lily’s magic or Cornelia’s Holy Sword, but we’re in the middle of an adventure right now. We want to conserve Holy Power as much as possible.
“Lily, how much Holy Power do you have left?”
“Mm. About half.”
“I see.”
It’s about time we started thinking about conserving Lily’s Holy Power. A magic user with no Holy Power in a pinch is useless.
“Lily, let’s hold back on using magic. Vanguard, assume you won’t have Lily’s support as a basic rule. From now on, I’ll provide support.”
I showed them the red orb I was holding in my hand by gripping it.
Well, if it comes down to it, my Healing Gift also has a skill to transfer Holy Power to others. Even if Lily’s Holy Power runs out, it won’t be the worst-case scenario.
Besides, what I’ll be doing is strictly support. I’ll leave the finishing blows to the vanguard, aiming for their Gifts to grow.
But, I’ve thought this since my game days, a system where only the one who lands the finishing blow on a monster gets Gift growth is a crappy game design. I’m not saying it should be distributed by contribution, but I wish they’d at least divide the experience points equally.
“Well then, shall we depart?”
“””Yes.”””
“Mm.”
And so, we ventured into the forest in search of a place to sleep for the night.