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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Protagonist Must Make an Entrance
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"We're too late."
"Damn it! What in the world happened!"
When we arrived at the location of the signal flare, all we saw were the corpses of orcs and soldiers. But that wasn't all. There was also the body of a knight, his armor crushed like a tin can.
"Impossible!"
"Why is a knight dead!"
"A knight who can use aura died to mere orcs?"
Orcs were not particularly strong monsters. As long as a knight wasn't careless, a single one could cut down dozens of them.
"What on earth..."
So, to find the mutilated corpse of a knight here was incredibly strange.
"Where did the next signal flare go off!"
"To the south, sir."
"Leave a marker here for now. We'll have to come back to retrieve the bodies later."
"Understood."
"We move south immediately. Don't be rash. Proceed slowly and with caution."
"Yes, sir!"
Ilia's face was also one of bewilderment, but she was careful to avoid greater losses by rushing.
"Grand Prince, isn't this getting a bit dangerous?"
"Don't worry. I won't die here."
"H-Here? Then where will you die!"
Giranox glanced around nervously, as if searching for danger.
*That monster should be moving clockwise, so we probably won't run into it even if we go south.*
"Kill them!"
"How can a mere orc break through aura!"
"The knight is down! Run!"
"What is that monster! Argh!"
Focusing my internal energy into my hearing, I could hear the sounds of battle. The others hadn't heard it yet, as they showed no reaction.
"Ilia, let's move a little faster."
"No. Moving without caution is dangerous."
"I can hear fighting right now. There won't be an ambush."
"What?"
Ilia and the knight, still unable to hear the sounds, looked at me strangely.
*The sounds are fading. The battle is almost over.*
*Clang!*
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Only after advancing a good deal further did Ilia finally hear the sounds of combat and draw her sword.
*Shing!*
*Clang!*
Seeing this, the knights and soldiers also drew their weapons and followed her lead.
"Giranox."
"Yes."
"From now on, stick close to my side."
"Yes, sir!"
According to my predictions, there wouldn't be a fight this time, but just in case, I warned Giranox.
"Full speed ahead!"
"Yes!"
Ilia could no longer hold back and started running. It was a wonder she'd waited this long. As she ran, Ilia kept glancing back at me.
*Is she surprised that I heard the noise?*
"What the..."
"They're all dead again."
"This time, two knights are dead..."
The scene we ran into was the same as what we'd seen in the west—a field of corpses. Judging by the churned-up forest floor, the orcs hadn't left long ago.
"Damn it!"
"Filthy pigs!"
"Aaargh!"
The soldiers lost their composure at the sight of their fallen comrades. They looked ready to charge into the forest at any moment.
"What in the world happened here!"
Ilia knelt and cradled a soldier who was still clinging to a thread of life.
"Cough! We... we were chasing the orcs when we were ambushed from the other side..."
Even as he was dying, the soldier was trying his best to relay information.
"Even if the orcs ambushed you, they can't defeat a knight! There were two knights, so why did this happen!"
As she said, unless they were stabbed from behind, knights who could use aura wouldn't fall to ordinary orcs.
Each squad had been assigned one or two knights, and we had already seen three dead. This was impossible for ordinary orcs to achieve.
"The... the orcs that ambushed us from behind had different colored skin."
"Skin color?"
"They were orcs with red skin."
"Red Orcs! But even Red Orcs can't defeat knights. These were official knights!"
As expected, Ilia knew about Red Orcs.
"N-No, sir. The knights were handling the Red Orcs with ease. They were killed by an orc with dual swords that appeared suddenly."
"Dual swords? An orc was wielding dual swords?"
"Yes. It had red skin, wielded dual swords, and looked twice as big as the other orcs."
*That's him. Twice the size of a normal orc, wielding two greatswords. The Orc Champion, Ka-ruda, is today's boss monster.*
The Orc Champion wasn't just strong in combat; it was also a skilled strategist. It was likely scouting even now, targeting only the knights who posed the greatest threat.
"Reform the ranks. Spearmen to the front!"
"Yes, sir!"
"We move to the next location as quickly as possible!"
"Understood."
With three knights already dead, Ilia's composure had shattered. Her face showed nothing but rage.
*Since Ka-ruda is constantly on the move, I doubt there are more than six knights left.*
*At this rate, we'll be annihilated. Should I try saying what the protagonist said to Ilia?*
"Ilia."
"What is it?"
I called out to Ilia, who was right beside me.
"We should fall back and fire a signal flare to gather our forces."
"What?"
"It's obvious we're being picked off one by one. We have no chance of winning like this. We need to gather our troops quickly to even have a chance to escape."
"Damn it..."
Ilia chewed on her red lips.
"That's enough!"
The knight behind her shouted at me.
"Isn't this whole mess your fault, you nuisance!"
The knight, having lost his senses over his comrade's death, was yelling at me, who had done nothing wrong.
"You truly don't grasp the situation. The best way you can help is by staying quiet."
*The protagonist got cursed out here. And I got flamed for making the story so frustrating. I remember now.*
"What do you know about combat..."
"Shut your mouth."
"Gah! Wh-What..."
I summoned the internal energy of the Myriad Poisons Magnetic Divine Qi from my dantian and unleashed it upon him.
"Ugh... c-can't... breathe..."
Under my heavy pressure, the knight couldn't even lift a finger, his entire body trembling. His eyes, bloodshot from the force of my internal energy, looked as if they were about to burst.
"Yuren?"
"Know your place."
"Gasp! Hah!"
As I released the pressure created by my energy, the knight collapsed to the ground.
"Yuren, what on earth are you..."
Ilia, who was standing next to the knight, seemed to have felt a faint wave of my internal energy, as she looked startled.
"Ilia, if you want to save even one person, you need to fire the signal flare from the center right now."
In the novel, Ilia stubbornly stuck to her own ideas and refused to listen to the protagonist. I was curious to see how she would react to my words now.
"All units, move to the initial location at full speed."
"Yes, sir!"
Perhaps because she sensed something from me, Ilia accepted my advice, unlike in the original story.
"You're right. I acted calm, but I wasn't. After taking a hit like this, the right move is to regroup and then retreat."
Ilia remained at the very front as we moved.
"Th-That was amazing, Grand Prince."
"What was."
"You stepped forward when everyone else was at a loss."
"Enough talk, just run."
"Ugh! Yes."
The knight next to Ilia kept looking back as he ran. He seemed so scared of me that he couldn't look at me directly, instead darting his eyes around.
"We've arrived."
"Fire the blue signal flare!"
"Yes, sir!"
*Swoosh!*
*Boom!*
After reaching our initial position, we fired the blue signal flare, the signal to gather.
"They'll be alright, won't they?"
"Given the timing, everyone except those we've already witnessed should be alive."
"Please..."
That was a foolish thing to say. If my thoughts were correct, there were only four knights left, including the ones here. If the Orc Champion had moved faster, the two knights with us might be the only ones remaining.
"Th-They're coming. But..."
A soldier spotted troops heading our way. However, a large horde of orcs was chasing them from behind.
"All units, prepare for battle!"
At Ilia's cry, everyone gripped their weapons.
"G-Grand Prince."
"Don't worry, just stay behind me. Agnes!"
I pushed Giranox behind me and called for Agnes.
[It's been hundreds of years since my last real fight!]
"It's my first."
My first real battle, yet my heart wasn't racing. I didn't feel at all like this was the end.
"Spearmen, forward!"
At Ilia's command, the soldiers holding spears stepped forward, trembling.
"Yuren, come over here!"
After giving the order, Ilia called me to stand behind her.
"I'm fine."
"What?"
*Whoosh!*
I threw Agnes toward the orcs chasing right behind the soldiers.
*Thwack!*
*Thump!*
The dagger shattered the head of an orc pursuing a soldier and embedded itself in the head of the orc behind it. Two orcs died in a single blow.
[Yuck! The smell of orc blood is as disgusting as ever!]
"Yuren? What was that just now..."
I didn't answer her, instead throwing the dagger in my left hand as well.
*Thump!*
The second dagger also killed two orcs.
'Agnes, return.'
After retrieving Agnes, I continued throwing the daggers to save the soldiers being chased by the orcs.
"Yuren, what in the world is that? You didn't miss a single shot."
Seeing my throwing skill, Ilia's already large eyes looked as if they would pop out of her head.
"A-Amazing!"
"I've never seen such divine skill."
"Thank you. You saved us."
Everyone was so shocked by the power and accuracy of the daggers that their mouths hung open.
"What, why aren't there any knights?"
"They were killed by the red orc with dual swords."
"Damn it, that thing again?"
The squad that reached us had also been hit by Ka-ruda. Something must have changed for the Orc Champion to be acting so much more aggressively.
"Is that him."
At the rear of the orc horde, a red-skinned orc, a head taller than the rest, stood out. In each hand, it held a greatsword, from which warm blood and chunks of flesh dripped.
"What is that monster... Is that an orc?"
Ilia's teeth chattered as she felt the Orc Champion's fighting spirit.
"Yuren, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here."
Believing no one would survive this, Ilia was apologizing to me.
"Krrrk!"
"Kraaaah!"
"Krarara!"
Dozens of orcs and Red Orcs roared before us, trying to intimidate us.
"We-We're all going to die!"
"Ughhh!"
"Aaaah. I want to live!"
Compared to the orcs' fighting spirit, the soldiers, already convinced they were going to die, grew even more terrified.
"Don't be afraid! Form up! You are soldiers of Marcus! We can win this!"
Ilia tried to forcibly boost their morale, but the soldiers were already drowning in a swamp of fear. At this rate, we would be annihilated without a proper fight.
*I was going to step in later, but I have no choice.*
*Woong*
I transformed Agnes into a black sphere, about the size of a baseball.
"Time to kick things off. Blackiron Blast!"
*Swoosh!*
*Thud!*
I threw the Blackiron Blast, hitting the face of a Red Orc in the center of their group.
"Kruk?"
The Red Orc, hit by the blast, seemed unfazed and looked at me with an expression that said, 'What are you doing?' The surrounding orcs chuckled mockingly.
"Laugh all you want. You won't be laughing for long."
*Snap!*
As I said that, I snapped my fingers. At that moment, a light began to erupt from the entire surface of the Blackiron Blast.