We proceeded north down the cobblestone highway. No—we were retreating, so it would be more accurate to say we were receding north. Both tired horses and tired men stared at the ground with weary expressions, dragging their feet. I couldn’t blame them. Ever since the defeat of the previous day, they had been marching without rest or sleep.
The only thing that kept them going was fear of the enemy’s pursuit. Humans captured by orcs were apparently flayed alive and had their flesh devoured right before their own eyes. Quite a bone-chilling thought.
The road had been abandoned for quite some time and the stones were worn, but it was still faster than riding through the plains. We’d covered some distance, but the enemy probably had as well. Luckily, the orcs had yet to catch up. A backward glance revealed at most the smoke of a burning water mill.
Sir Rigel was in a state of despair. Despite the fact that she had willingly sacrificed herself, he couldn’t bear the thought that he failed to protect the princess, whom he had served since she was young.
“If we are to count our blessings, we’re lucky that our army fell beyond the hill,” Rigel muttered in a self-deprecating tone.
“Yes, I guess so.”
What would have happened if that slaughter had taken place where our remaining forces could see it? I suspected the noncombatants would have scattered and fled from fear, to be shamefully captured not far from the battlefield.
Luckily, that wasn’t how it went off. We managed to make an orderly shift to retreat. This was likely thanks to Rigel’s level-headed command, and we were fortunate for it. After all, priests were, in a sense, more valuable than knights. Extracting them largely unscathed was a huge accomplishment, although we did end up abandoning a large portion of our food and supplies.
We also had the Knights Templar to thank for the enemy’s delayed pursuit. The survivors of the allied forces reported that the Templars fought magnificently. Brandishing their spears of light as they stampeded through enemy lines, only five hundred riders in three columns, they pressed on and on in an attempt to take out the orc’s strategic headquarters. Unfortunately, they were too greatly outnumbered and lost momentum with each corpse they trod over. Once they had lost two of their columns, they ran out of steam, their feeble remnants swallowed up by the enemy horde, flag and all.
The hundred surviving knights of the allied armies managed to make use of the confusion. With the help of the foot soldiers who had remained atop the hill to treat the injured, they managed to break away. Of course, that information only served to darken Rigel’s spirits further. He had been protected by the death of the person he was supposed to protect.
What were her final moments like? I’d heard that a horrid fate awaited women captured by orcs, different from how they treated the men. I found myself praying that she met a warrior’s end.
Now a warning rose behind us. I turned to see a pack of bizarre creatures leaping out of the forest we had just passed through. They were similar to wolves but boasted sharp, falcon-like beaks where their mouths should have been. And on their backs rode those irksome orcs. It looked like there were roughly a hundred of them. Their vanguard had finally caught up to us. I could see the forlorn survivors in our rear guard preparing to flee.
Perfect. This was just the chance I needed to test out my hero’s powers. An excellent opportunity to see how effective they were against my foes in this world.
“Rigel, I’m going to fight.”
“Be careful! They have short guns!”
I spurred my horse and activated my shield of light. This was the same magic the Knights Templar used. I had the ability to instinctively pick up the flow of mana and understand how to apply it, which allowed me to replicate nearly any of a world’s spells after seeing them once. This was one of the graces bestowed upon me by the mysterious entity who sent me to this world.
At a full gallop, I leapt over the knights who were frantically forming a line opposite the orcs. A one-eyed orc at the front—presumably their leader—immediately fired on me. A metallic ping resonated as the bullet was deflected off the shield of light.
The orcs spread out around me, guns pointed. I deployed shields on both hands and waited for them to fire. The next instant, shots assailed me from all sides. A shrill shriek echoed in my ears and the shields glowed under the barrage with a light that dazzled my eyes.
I managed to endure it, and when they saw that I was unharmed, the orcs were clearly flustered. That was my chance. I dispelled the shield on my right hand, replacing it with a spear of light. Then I threw the spear at the orc closest to me, piercing its heart.
I quickly manifested another spear and searched out the orc with one eye. He had already turned his back and was retreating with the other orc riders who had used up their shots. Was he going to reload and reengage? Not on my watch, he isn’t. I locked my aim and lobbed the spear. It left a trail of light in its wake as it flew at my foe.
But the instant before it made contact, the one-eyed orc wrenched his body to the side. The blade grazed his flank as it flew past and, although thrown off balance, he managed to cling to the saddle. Apparently, he could evade a surprise attack from behind on pure instinct. What a monster!
Before I could go after him again, orc riders flooded into the space between us from both flanks to shie***ld him. I threw the spear that had already manifested in my hand at a different rider and manifested shields on both hands again. The spear grazed my target’s cheek, and half the orcs fired upon me in unison.
Under twice as many hits this time, the shield finally reached its breaking point. I could feel the sensation of vast quantities of mana draining from my body. So that was why the priests looked so depleted in battle. The greatest loss of mana is when the shield breaks.
The remaining orcs maintained their position, their guns fixed on me, but clearly more wary of the possibility of an attack coming from behind me. I see. I definitely do look like a decoy, judging by my actions. What splendid coordination.
Looking back, I saw that my allies were still quite a ways away. It was time to call it quits and rejoin them. I lowered my speed and fell farther back from the orcs. In my irritation, I manifested a spear and hurled it at One-Eye as he raced to the front once more. The light weakened as the spear flew, dissipating entirely before it reached him.
The orcs disappeared into the forest. I halted my horse and waited for my allies to catch up. I’ve driven the enemy off for the time being, but I didn’t do any significant damage. They’ll attack again soon.