Chapter 25: If You've Got Numbers on Your Side, Don’t Hold Back Your Trump Card

Just as expected, six Blood Ogres showed up in the village.

They had been a tough match for just Raiga and Karen-san, but now that they had Rizel as an additional frontliner, the monsters didn’t stand a chance. In no time at all, all but one were wiped out.

Following my rather ruthless orders, they left the last one alive, deliberately injuring it just enough so it wouldn’t die, then let it go.

After seeing the three of them off, I returned to the house where Rizel and the others had been staying, and waited for the good news.

We held our breath as we tracked the fleeing giant ogre.

It seemed like it knew the terrain well, escaping so quickly it was almost like we were the ones missing things—until suddenly, it tried to squeeze through a narrow cave and got stuck.

“What the heck is that?”

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

“Maybe its sense of size hasn’t caught up with how big it’s gotten,” Karen suggested.

“Ahh, yeah, that’s dumb. Real dumb,” the other woman chimed in.

I had to agree with them.

Ogres grow quickly as a species, but I’d heard it still took about five years for them to reach adulthood. The 'Demon Dragon' only appeared a year ago, and even accounting for the miasma, there’s no way they’ve had time to fully cycle a generation.

In other words, these guys had originally been lower-tier ogrelings, forcibly mutated into massive hulks by the miasma.

Their twisted bodies carried a hint of tragedy… but honestly, they looked more ridiculous than anything else.

One muscle-bound ogre stuck in the wall, wearing an expression like it had no clue what just happened—it was hard not to laugh.

Still, I brought myself back to focus.

—Isn’t wasting time here dangerous?

With most of our combat strength diverted to this pursuit, Elna Village’s defenses were paper-thin.

I couldn’t shake the thought that the village—and Yuto—might be attacked.

In that case—

“Hold it! Ogre!”

Ignoring the other two trying to stop me, I leapt out ahead.

Then—

“Flames, rise and burst to shatter the rock! Explosion!”

I cast an offensive spell, using the bare minimum amount of mana necessary.

A deafening crack rang out as the rock wall trembled violently.

By sheer luck, the restrained Blood Ogre managed to break free—and now aware it was being pursued, it bolted, half-crazed with fear.

“After it!”

I barked at the two still frozen in place, and the chase resumed.

After that, we made it to the ogres’ nest without any more hang-ups.

It was a massive cave.

It must’ve once been decently spacious, but with all the ogres bulked up to that size, they were crammed in wall to wall.

“…This is disgusting.”

Karen’s muttered words earned my silent agreement.

A bunch of muscle monsters packed so tightly their skin was practically touching—it was visual violence.

“Let’s finish this quick.”

“Let’s start things off with a bang~!”

Karen gave us a nod, then said,

“I’ll put everything I’ve got into the first hit. I probably won’t be able to move after, so I’ll leave the rest of the cleanup to you.”

She closed her eyes and began chanting softly.

And then—

“Water into storm, wind into thunder—gather in my hand and rage wild! Lightning Storm!”

Concentrated magical energy whipped up a violent tempest inside the nest.

The ogres, caught off-guard by the sudden attack, lost their composure and fell into chaos. Bolts of lightning tore into them, one after another. By the time the screams stopped, the nest looked like a vision of hell.

“G-GOAAAAHHH!”

The last survivor locked eyes with us and roared.

It was a cry soaked in rage and hatred.

“Let’s go! Don’t let a single one escape!”

“Roger, roger~”

With that relaxed reply breaking the tension, the battle began.

“—There’s no end to them.”

Even though Karen had taken out more than half of them with her first strike, the ogres kept pouring out of the nest without pause.

Fortunately, we’d positioned ourselves right at the narrow entrance to the nest, so we’d avoided being completely surrounded. Of course, that also restricted our ability to dodge their attacks—but the ones suffering most from the tight quarters were the ogres, not us, with our smaller frames.

“I think I’m getting a little tired~”

Even Rizel, usually so composed, was starting to show signs of strain.

For someone like her, whose fighting style relies on speed, this cramped battlefield had to be exhausting.

“I’ll fire another spell!”

Karen, somewhat recovered thanks to the time we’d bought, shouted with renewed determination.

“It won’t be as strong as before, but it should still do the trick!”

She began chanting once again.

While she did, we focused everything on holding the line against the ogres trying to break through.

“Wind, become lightning, and pierce our foes with a single beam! Lightning Cannon!”

This time it was a shot designed for raw piercing power.

The bolt of electricity roared in a straight line, mercilessly skewering the line of hulking ogres that had formed at the nest’s exit, trying to flee.

I tore my eyes away from their charred remains and glanced back into the nest.

…No new reinforcements.

“Did we finally get through it?”

I muttered, hoping this meant the worst was over.

But then—

Thud. Thud.

Heavy, thunderous footsteps echoed through the cave.

Even when ogres—easily twice the size of a human—had stomped around, they hadn’t made sounds like this.

“Grrrrhhh…”

A deep, heavy growl, thick with rage and darkness, rumbled from deeper inside the nest.

And then, it stepped into view.

An ogre—massive, easily twice the size of even the others.

In its hands wasn’t the crude club the Blood Ogres had been wielding—but a battle axe.

No, not just any axe. The blade gleamed dully under the light, and at the end of the shaft was a sharply honed spike. A halberd—a weapon capable of cleaving or thrusting with equal lethality.

Of course, such a weapon also came with massive weight. Wielding it required monstrous strength.

And this thing was swinging it like it was a toy—

“No way… a Lord Ogre!?”

It could only be him—the king of the great ogres.

I quietly continued to use Sonar Search on my own.

Naturally, I was staying alert for any ambushes.

That said, deep down, I considered the possibility rather unlikely.

If the enemy intended to deploy a large force, they would’ve done it before we joined up with Rizel. When you have a numerical advantage, you don’t even need to count heads—you press it immediately.

Unless, of course, they were deliberately trying to drag the battle out. But if that wasn’t their intent, then it likely meant something was forcing them to send reinforcements piecemeal. That was my read on the situation.

Even so, I couldn’t let my guard down—not against the worst-case scenario. That’s why I kept activating Sonar Search every few minutes. The miasma had shortened its effective range, but it was still enough to watch over the distance needed to maintain a proper defense.

It was getting close to dusk—time to start preparing dinner.

“I won’t be able to cook tonight,” I told the villagers. “I have to keep using Sonar Search until Raiga and the others return.”

That earned me some very visible disappointment.

…I had the spare time at lunch, so I’d made stew with goat’s milk. I guess that raised expectations.

—Well, the food the elves make is really good, too.

To me, their cooking somehow reminded me of my mom’s gentle, comforting flavors.

Swallowing the saliva that had gathered in my mouth—

“…So they’ve come.”

I detected a wave of magic signatures approaching.

One group—large in number. And one other, slightly apart from them, but massive.

I immediately rushed to the village chief’s proxy and explained:

That enemies were approaching.

That this time, there were twenty of them—unlike the usual few.

That if they made it here, the barrier likely wouldn’t last long.

And then—

“I’m leaving the village.”

That I would be stepping away.