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Just moments ago, his brother was laughing.

Slice!

The moment his brother’s head soared into the sky.

“…Huh?”

The world began to spin.

He was seeing it with his eyes, but the sensation was surreal.

It felt like a dream.

But then…

“Pomeeeeeeeeeeeeen!”

Homen cried out his brother’s name and glared at the Ork in front of him.

A red gleam shone within his black pupils.

In the face of his brother’s madness, Homen’s mind went blank for a moment.

“You bastard! My brother!”

Homen thrust his spear.

It wasn’t one of the moves he had been trained to perform countless times.

Reason had flown away, replaced by an attack filled with a determination to kill.

Maybe that’s why.

The overpowered attack drove into the shoulder rather than the intended heart.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

For a moment, his body jolted.

The Ork easily broke the spear and raised its axe high into the sky.

“…Ah.”

He could sense it.

He was going to die.

The shouts of his comrades behind him were distorted, like echoes underwater.

But just then.

“Snap out of it, you idiot!”

“…!”

Someone yelled directly into his ear, and he suddenly came to his senses.

Homen snapped out of it and looked ahead.

It was the rookie from the Neokalitz unit with whom he had quarreled earlier.

Thud!

The rookie swiftly pierced the Ork’s neck, then turned and looked at him.

Slash!

A searing pain caused Homen’s head to turn in the opposite direction.

Homen widened his eyes at Damian.

“Are you back to your senses now?”

Nod.

Homen reflexively nodded. Then Damian spoke.

“Now look around you. Think about what you need to do and move quickly.”

Homen glanced around.

The Ork unit had already gotten close.

Homen was startled by the sight of over twenty of them and picked up the axe of the fallen Ork.

This was a battlefield.

* * *

Damian looked at the Ork he had just killed.

The Ork had been struck down precisely with a pierced neck.

However, even piercing the weak skin of the neck wasn’t easy.

Moreover, the first soldier who had died.

His head had flown off along with the spear.

An impossible feat for an Ork.

‘These guys are several times stronger than typical Orks.’

Damian assessed the battlefield.

The fortunate part was that there were only about twenty Orks.

In contrast, the guards numbered seventy.

Numerically, they had the advantage.

‘But it’s not an easy situation.’

Three or four men were needed to fend off a single Ork, and judging by the way things were going, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Everyone, form combat positions!”

Basil shouted as he drew his sword.

“Group in teams of three to block the Orks; the rest will cover any side that’s getting pushed back!”

“Yes!”

“Phil, Uros, Tarion! You three protect the Priestess. Make sure not a single hair on her head is harmed!”

“Understood.”

Basil gave his orders swiftly.

Even in this urgent situation, his orders were precise.

‘He’s got quite a bit of field experience.’

He hadn’t just been given the title of guard captain for the show.

‘As for me…’

Damian turned his gaze to the battlefield.

A few soldiers had been injured in the initial ambush, but under Basil’s command, they were starting to form a proper formation.

But then.

“Aaaaah!”

At the sudden scream, Damian’s head turned.

One of the soldiers protecting the Priestess had fallen to the ground.

“Graaaaah!”

“Ah, aaah!”

A soldier hastily raised his shield to block the Ork’s axe.

Bang!

But it seemed he was overpowered, and he rolled pathetically on the ground.

‘…Damn it!’

To make matters worse, three Orks were charging towards the Priestess.

It seemed that the opposing energy from the Priestess had drawn them in.

“You bastards!”

The remaining soldier swung his sword frantically.

Crunch!

Without offering any proper resistance, his helmet and head were crushed.

“Priestess!”

“Protect the Priestess!”

The remaining two soldiers urgently shouted as they rose to their feet.

But at that moment.

Woooom!

A white aura rippled and emanated from Claire, who had clasped her hands together.

Divine power.

The unique force wielded by the priests.

As the light radiated, the charging Orks grimaced and staggered.

“Now’s our chance!”

“Aaaaaah!”

The two soldiers charged at the Orks with all their might.

The Orks, who had staggered, roared and swung their axes at the soldiers.

Clang! Clash!

Sparks flew as swords met axes.

The previously overwhelming Ork attacks were now being blocked.

Thanks to Claire’s divine power just moments ago, the Orks’ strength had weakened.

“Graaaaaaah!”

Still, it seemed that two soldiers alone were struggling to fend off the Orks.

If there had been one more, maybe, but hadn’t one already died?

“Damn it!”

“You bastards…!”

The hands of the soldiers gripping their swords trembled.

The suffocating atmosphere of the battlefield pressed down on their chests, making their breathing ragged.

At this rate, they would die.

Their comrades who could assist were all preoccupied with their own battles.

Grrrraaaaak!

The axes and swords clashed, grinding against each other in a struggle of strength.

But then.

Thud! Thud!

With a flash, two Orks collapsed to the ground.

Large holes had suddenly appeared in their necks.

“Huh?”

“You, you…!”

Damian appeared behind the fallen Orks.

The two soldiers stammered in surprise, but Damian spoke first.

“Help the others, quickly!”

“B-but the Priestess…”

“I’ll handle it, now hurry!”

“Yes, understood!”

Without realizing it, the two soldiers replied formally.

They quickly ran towards their comrades who were still in battle.

Damian looked at Claire.

“Are you all right?”

“…Ah.”

Her eyes were dazed.

Was it only natural?

‘Is this her first real battle?’

If so, that was understandable.

It’s not easy to keep one’s sanity in a life-or-death situation.

The divine power she had just used was probably an instinctive reaction in the moment of crisis.

Damian bit his lip tightly.

Thud.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

Damian grabbed Claire’s cheeks with both hands and lifted her chin to meet her eyes.

“Are you planning to get everyone here killed?!”

“Huh? N-no!”

A spark returned to Claire’s eyes.

With her response, Damian quickly moved close to her and looked at the fighting search team members.

“Look closely. Release your divine power towards them like before. Right now.”

“O-okay.”

Claire steadied her pounding heart and clasped her hands together.

Then, kneeling on one knee, Claire murmured softly.

“Father in heaven, your lambs are in danger. Please, share your mercy with us.”

With her prayer.

Woooom!

The magic in the atmosphere trembled slightly.

Fwoooosh!

Holy light began to radiate out around them.

A power incomparable to before.

At the sight, Damian gulped unconsciously.

‘W-what is this woman?’

He thought she was just a regular priestess…

‘She has the divine power of a High Priest…?’

What’s her true identity?

But regardless of Damian’s doubts, Claire’s divine power spread, causing the Orks they were fighting to stagger as if in agony.

In contrast, the search team members seemed invigorated, their eyes gleaming as they pressed harder against the Orks.

“Graaaaaah!”

“Die, you bastards!”

Thud! Thud! Thump!

With a dull sound, an Ork collapsed to the ground, and three soldiers pounced on it.

As one Ork after another fell, the battle was quickly nearing its end.

And before long.

Slice!

As the last Ork’s head hit the ground, the soldiers panted heavily.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

“They’re… all dead. Haah…”

The battle was over.

Basil immediately looked at his subordinates and spoke.

“Report the dead and the wounded. Are there any among the injured who cannot walk?”

The soldiers quickly reported their statuses.

Fortunately, there weren’t many injuries.

But in that short time…

“…Eight have died.”

“Gather their bodies properly. We’ll take them back with us.”

“Yes, sir.”

A heavy sorrow weighed on the soldiers’ hearts.

The death of comrades.

No matter how much experience one has, this was something they could never get used to.

They began gathering the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

Basil approached Claire.

“Priestess, do we need to go further in?”

The purpose of this search was to confirm the presence of the Magi.

Seeing the corpse that Taron had brought only led to speculation; they couldn’t be certain.

At Basil’s question, Claire shook her head.

“No… There’s no need.”

She walked towards the corpse of a fallen Ork and placed her hand on it.

“It’s the Magi. They were definitely infected by the Magi.”

Claire looked deeper into the forest.

What greater dangers might lie further inside?

“This forest seems to be tainted with the Magi. I’m certain that worse things are happening further in.”

Claire stood up.

Then she said,

“We need to report formally and assemble a subjugation squad.”

Claire held the authority to make the final decisions on the search situation.

Damian watched the scene and let out a small breath.

‘Finally… a subjugation squad will be formed.’

A large-scale subjugation squad with the participation of many priests would be assembled.

The Neokalitz unit would be at the forefront.

Damian thought about what would come next.

And at that moment.

Step.

Someone approached Damian.

It was the one who had almost died earlier—Homen.

“…?”

“…Thank you for saving me.”

Homen bowed his head to Damian in gratitude.

“And… I apologize for my earlier remarks.”

Ah, he was the one who shouted about picking herbs earlier.

‘I wasn’t even bothered by that.’

But following Homen, the two soldiers who had been guarding the Priestess earlier also approached Damian.

“Thanks to you, we were able to survive. Thank you.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“…Forget it, it’s nothing.”

Ugh! So embarrassing!

Damian waved his hand dismissively and looked at the search team soldiers.

Although no one was severely injured, some had clearly sustained wounds.

Seeing this, Damian let out a deep sigh.

“Damn it…”

Damian opened the sack containing herbs useful for healing.

He transferred about half into another sack and approached Basil.

“Can you please do something about the herb dealers in Erkal?”

“…What?”

“Do you know how much they rip people off with their herbs in Erkal? They charge five times more than in other cities.”

Their hard-earned wages would be entirely spent on herbs at this rate.

Basil looked at the bundle of herbs Damian handed him.

“Use these to treat the wounded.”

“…Thank you.”

Basil accepted the herbs.

Then…

“We’re pulling out! Gather the bodies of our fallen comrades and take care of the injured!”

“Yes, sir!”

Knowing that more enemies could be drawn by the scent of blood, the search team quickly began retreating from the forest.

And in the midst of everyone’s retreat.

“……”

Claire was watching Damian with an unreadable expression.

—