Three days had passed since we left town. The trees were thinning out, indicating we were near the marshlands. We were ahead of schedule, thanks to keeping our luggage to a minimum. There were no watering holes on the way, so I supplied the force’s water from my Stomach stores instead, and that apparently gave the liquid a strength-boosting, fatigue-reducing effect. It let the wolves run longer with fewer breaks in between.
I should have thought about that, actually. The water in my stomach must’ve been packed with magicules, which can affect monsters in all manner of ways. Maybe that morphed the water into some sort of healing elixir.
For now, though, we were resting here. I figured we would chill a bit, checking out the area before we contacted the lizardmen. We weren’t due to meet with the chief for three days, and if we were this far along, there was no need to hurry. I ordered everyone to stand by, make camp, and rest up.
Time for a little recon work.
“I will scope out the area, Sir Rimuru,” Soei quickly offered. He was definitely the man for it.
“All right, Soei. Let me know what you find. And try to figure out where the boss of the pigs is, if you can.”
I’m sure he could, what with his consummate scouting skills. Once I saw him off, Benimaru approached me. “Sir Rimuru,” he asked, “is it all right if we go all-out in this battle?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. Even if I did, I still didn’t know what kind of “battle” we’d be facing.
“Huh? Well, sure, but if I give the signal to retreat, you better follow it, okay?”
Benimaru flashed a fearless smile. “Oh, I doubt you’ll need to, my lord! We’ve made it this far, and we’re ready to annihilate them all! Right?”
He certainly sounded confident, at least. It was a good match for his naturally rugged looks. Hopefully we’d have a victory to back that up. It wouldn’t look cool if he gave me all that bravado and lost. I was sure he’d be bursting with shame, but I wondered if the thought of losing had even occurred to him. I doubted they ever worried much about such things. But ah well.
Shion, meanwhile, was still marveling at her sword, smiling as she whispered “I’ll let you crack as many skulls as you want soon” and other creepy reassurances to it. At times, she acted mega-ditzy, and other times she exhibited this serial-killer streak. The more I knew about her, the more danger I sensed from her. Let’s just pretend I didn’t see that, actually.
Hakuro, for his part, was as cool as always. As serene as a mountain pond, you could say, the sign of a well-seasoned veteran of battle.
Then I heard him whisper, “I do hope some of them will provide a challenge.”
Oh great. Him too? I was at a loss. Where did all this ogre self-confidence come from? They’re about to fight an army they’ve already lost to once—I’d figure a little more caution would be in order, I thought as I sighed.
✦ ✦ ✦
About an hour into our camping prep, I received a message.
Is now a good time, sir?
My Thought Communication sprang into action as I rested, watching everyone at work.
What is it? Did you find something?
Well, I found a group engaged in battle.
What?! Gabil?
No, not him. There’s only one lizardman, someone I believe to be a close aide to the chief. Here against a group of orcs—one high-level orc, plus more under his command. Around fifty in all.
A close aide? All alone?
Yes, my lord. The battle has only just begun, but I feel the outcome is already clear. It would appear one of the higher-level orcs is seeking to torment the lizardman in order to show off his strength. What should we do?
Could you defeat this higher-level orc and his men?
It should be simple, sir.
More of that confidence. I figured I could trust Soei on that. But what about that lizardman? I couldn’t just let him die, but if the orc wanted a fight, now would be a good time to scope out their abilities.
Thought Communication allowed me to see the world through Soei’s eyes—a pretty handy feature, in my opinion—but unlike myself, Soei couldn’t keep the link going indefinitely. He needed to rest that muscle, so to speak, on regular occasions. This applied to everyone else, too; they could receive all the thoughts they wanted, but sending them was subject to certain restrictions. If anything, the fact I could send all I wanted made me a freak of nature. We could’ve linked together more closely if Soei weren’t so far away, but no point complaining to him about that.
All right. Try to observe them for as long as you can and relay what happens afterward. I feel bad for that lizardman, but keep your distance for the time being. Step in if you think the battle’s gonna turn fatal.
Yes, my lord!
The connection expired. Sounds like something’s up, then. No way a lizardman would be alone in the outer regions of the forest otherwise. I was hoping to rest and take my time gauging things, but I guess that wasn’t going to happen.
I gathered everyone together. “Listen, people,” I said, “we’re not camping. It sounds like something’s going down.”
I saw the faces of the goblin riders tense up. “So we’re fighting?” one asked.
“Likely, yeah. Our enemy numbers approximately fifty, so I want to see two of you tackle each one. Remember, the orc lord’s capable of absorbing the abilities of dead enemies. So don’t push it. If you think you’re in trouble, get out of there. Are we clear on that?”
““Yessir!”” they cheered, Gobta leading them on.
“Right. I’ll get their position from Soei. Once we’re there, I want you to surround them, then rub them out as quickly as possible. And remember, don’t push yourselves.”
“Aren’t you worrying a little too much about this, Sir Rimuru?” Benimaru interjected. “Because I think we have an extremely capable crew of riders here, to say nothing of us.”
“You think? Well, I suppose it’s up to you guys, then. Get moving.”
“Yes, my lord!”
I watched as Benimaru and Hakuro led the riders off. Shion was staying with me. The riders could handle the infantry-level orcs, but I wanted to see this “high-level” officer for myself. The more I knew about our enemy, the more I’d have to work with in the upcoming battle. I had Soei and Shion working on my side—I doubted it’d be too dangerous for me.
Thus, we mounted Ranga and made a beeline for Soei.