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There were two routes leading northeast to Carne Village from E-Rantel. 

 

One headed north and then east along the outskirts of the forest. The other was eastwards, then north. 

 

This time, they went with the first route. 

 

Traveling along the edge of the forest meant that there would be a higher chance of encountering monsters. It was the wrong choice from a bodyguard’s perspective. 

 

That said, they still went with the route. This was because Yuuji wanted to fulfill the job Peter and his friends offered them; that of monster hunting. 

 

Peter and the rest of the Swords of Darkness were not worried, as although they were taking a greater risk, the presence of the mighty Alexander and his comrades had given them a peace of mind. 

 

Another reason was that Momon had demonstrated the spell [Thunderball] outside the city to prove he was capable of casting 3rd-tier spells. 

 

Thus, they all accepted Yuuji’s request and went on the route along the edge of the forest. 

 

The group arrayed around the wagon as they moved forward.

 

Nfirea, naturally, was driving the wagon. Lukrut the ranger walked ahead of him along with Peter, acting as the vanguard. Momon and Lupu was on the left of the wagon, the one closer to the treelines marking the edge of the forest, while Dyne and Ninya took the right. 

 

Yuuji and Aika brought up the rear. 

 

Visibility was good, so everyone was not too tense. Yuuji and Aika also knew when exactly would monsters begin to appear, so they took the chance to treat this as a mini outing/date, and held hands. 

 

“Mm~ It’s been a while since we went on a walk like this, huh hubby~?”

 

“Yeah. The last time we did was when we were in Tatsuya’s world.”

 

“Fufu~ And it has been longer for you too since you went on the quest in Lelouch’s world~ Did you miss me~?”

 

“I do. Of course I do. You never left my mind.”

 

“Hehe~”

Yuuji held her hand tighter and caressed it with his fingers, eliciting a cute little giggle from the Empress of Evil and World Disaster. 

 

And as they whispered to each other, flirting, the gazes from a certain “boy” was not missed by Aika.

 

Her eyes narrowed under her fox mask and her lips curled into a thin smile.

 

“Hey, hubby~ You notice it, don’t you~?”

 

“...”

 

Yuuji’s silence was a confirmation in itself for Aika, and she began to giggle once more. And Yuuji could not help but sigh inwardly… This was all because Aika told him to remove his helm. 

 

“Well, it’s not all that bad, right~? She’s a nice girl, talented, and I’m sure she’ll be cute once I turn her into a succubus~”

 

“...Are you planning on turning her?”

 

“I do~ Of course I won’t do it if she doesn’t want it. But I’m sure she will.”

 

“...”

 

Yuuji could not deny her words, because he knew Ninya would take the chance in a heartbeat. 

 

She will do anything to gain the strength to save her sister… 

 

And if they help her save her sister, she will be eternally loyal to Nazarick. 

 

“...Let’s see.”

 

Yuuji did not plan on forcing her. For subordination through means of force would never yield to true loyalty. 

 

Well… he’s sure Aika would somehow arrange everything to make sure the outcome she wanted would occur naturally. And if Ninya did end up according to her wishes, then there won’t be any lost for him nor Nazarick. 

 

“Hehehe~”

 

Yuuji couldn’t help but wonder when did Aika turn into such a mastermind… perhaps, she had always been like this, long before he even met her. 

 

Perhaps, this was her true personality that was shrouded by her outward display of perversion in the anime and didn’t get the chance to be shown off.

 

The journey continued for a while. But just then, Lukrut stopped and alerted the rest of the group with a single word. 

 

“Movement.” Lukrut suddenly said, in a voice which held a hint of tension. It was completely different from the flighty attitude he had taken while flirting with Lupu. In his place was a professional, seasoned adventurer.

 

“Where?”

 

“There, over there.”

 

Lukrut answered in response to Peter’s question as he pointed at the corner of the forest. The Swords of Darkness could not see anything through the clutter of forest. Momonga and Lupu also couldn’t physically see them yet, although they could sense it. 

 

While Yuuji and Aika could see them with their Elemental Sight. 

 

“What should we do?”

 

“We shouldn’t force our way in. If they don’t leave the forest, then we’ll leave them alone.”

 

As they discussed their next move, however, the movements in the forest became more apparent as monsters slowly revealed themselves. 

 

There were 15 creatures the size of childrens surrounding six huge creatures. 

 

The first group were demihumans called goblins. They were ugly creatures who had twisted faces and flattened noses, and two fangs thrusted out of their ravening maw. Their skin was bright brown, while their filthy, matted black hair looked like it had been styled by wax. 

 

They wore tattered clothes, which were dirty brown though it was unknown whether it was dyed that color or stained that way by dirt. On top of that, they had fashioned tanned animal hides into a crude form of armor, and each held a wooden club in one hand and a wooden shield in the other. 

 

They were evil-looking monsters, born out of the twisted mating between humans and apes. 

 

The less numerous creatures were huge, roughly 3 meters in height. 

 

Their lower jaws jutted out, accentuating their already retarded looks. They were heavily muscled with arms looking like tree trunks. Their hands nearly dragged on the ground due to their hunchedbacked stance, as held within it were logs used as clubs. They wore animal hides around their waist.

 

Their tanned brown skin was covered in warts, and they reeked so much that every single one of Peter and Yuuji’s group could smell them despite their distance. 

 

The monsters watched the adventurers warily as they advanced onto the grassy plains. They might have been some distance away, but there was an unmistakable hostility on their ugly faces. 

 

“...There’s quite a number of them. Looks like we can’t avoid a fight.” 

 

“Mm, that’s right. Goblins and Ogres are the kind who’ll attack once they outnumber their opponents. Or rather, I should say that intelligent beings would probably not judge their opponents’ strength simply by their numbers.”

 

Peter immediately looked back towards Yuuji. 

 

“Then, Alexander-san.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Earlier, we agreed to divide them in half, but how shall we assign them now?”

 

Yuuji thought for a moment, before answering.

 

“I shall be in the forefront and block the enemy’s main charge along with my party. May I ask your party to deal with any fish which may “slip” the net?”

 

“Yes! Of course!”

 

Peter readily agreed. He did not even think for a second that Alexander and his comrades could not handle the monsters before them. 

 

The way he proposed of blocking the enemy’s charge head on so calmly and without any sign of boasting or baseless confidence… He meant every word he said. 

 

“I’ll hold down the Ogres with the martial art [Fortress]. Dyne, you’ll handle the Goblins. Ninya will cast a defensive spell on me and use attack spells whenever possible. Lukrut, go take care of the Goblins, and if any Ogres make it past the defensive line, you’ll have to block them too. If that happens, change your priority to wiping out the Goblins, Ninya.”

 

All of them nodded at Peter’s words, and began their preparations for the assault. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Lukrut drew the string of his composite bow to its limits, until its limbs began creaking. Then, with a whoosh, the bowstring sliced through the air, launching an arrow in a straight line. 

 

It struck the dirt ground 10 meters away from the goblins. 

 

The goblins sneered at Lukrut from behind their shields. And with the vast disparity between the attack they had received and their numbers, the goblins’ instinct swelled  and they charged with wild abandon, the ogres following closely from behind. 

 

Driven into a frenzy by their bloodlust, they did not form into ranks, nor did they protect themselves with their shields, turning it into a useless decoration. 

 

Seeing the results, Lukrut smiled thinly, and let loose another arrow. This time, hitting a goblin straight on the head. 

 

But, the death of one of their own did not stop their charge. They did not even realize that the first shot Lukrut made was an intentional miss in order to lure them into a reckless charge after seeing the accuracy he was truly capable of. 

 

“[Reinforce Armor]!”

Ninya cast a spell from behind Lukrut, reinforcing Peter’s defense, and Lukrut ocked another arrow to his bowstring, and fired off another shot. 

 

Another goblin fell. 

 

Although goblins were agile, Ogres had large strides, and so their speeds were roughly the same. That said, a charge of nearly 100 meters across the grassy plains, the Ogres ended up in front while the Goblins lagged behind. 

 

Dyne decided to make his move, and his first objective was to pin down one Ogre. 

 

“[Twin Plant]!”

 

Upon casting the spell, vegetation moved under the feet of one of the Ogres, turning into vines that tangled around its feet. Immobilized by the abnormally resilient plant life, the Ogre roared in frustration. 

 

The distance between them shrunk quickly, but there was no worry in Peter’s hands that were holding his sword and shield. That’s because he was confident that his comrades would protect him as he did to them.

 

Two goblins quickly neared him, and Peter raised his shield. 

 

One raised its crude, wooden bat into the air and swung down, hitting Peter’s shield squarely at its center. 

 

And while a Goblin’s strength was incomparable to that of something like an Ogre, Peter knew that its attacks would still be enough to crack a bone, or even break them, if he wasn’t careful. 

 

However, with Ninya’s spell, increasing his defense, and his preparedness, he caught the swing with his shield and parried. 

 

Losing its balance and having its attack parried, the goblin became flustered, giving Peter an opening to stab his sword straight into its torso, killing it. 

 

The other goblin charged his flank, taking advantage of its comrade distracting him with its life. But before it could reach him, pure arcane energy that had been formed into sharp arrows of mana stabbed its body, killing it. 

 

“Thank you, Ninya!”

 

The immediate threat was over, but none of the Swords of Darkness let their guard down. 

 

The bulk of the enemies were still headed to their location. 

 

And just then, they all saw Yuuji, followed by Aika, Momonga, and Lupu, stroll leisurely forward and towards the creatures. 

 

They walked like they were simply taking a stroll, not standing fast against the charging monsters. 

 

At that time, Yuuji reached behind his back to grasp the hilt of his sword, and drew it. 

 

The brightly gleaming edge of a beautiful, white-gold sword shined as the light of the Sun was reflected upon its surface. 

 

He held the sword up with both of his hands, and a wave of warmth emanated from him. 

 

His body glowed with golden light as his sword began to shine brighter and brighter, before a ripple of golden energy spread wide from around him. 

 

“This…!”

Aika, Momonga, Lupu, as well as Peter, Lukrut, Ninya, Dyne, and even Nfirea, began to glow with a similar golden light. 

 

Like a comfy blanket, the light shrouded them with warmth, soothing their heart, erasing their fears, and energizing their bodies. 

 

“T-This is…?!”

“So warm…”

 

“I’m feeling energized…”

 

The slight tingle Peter felt in his shield-wielding hand from receiving the goblin’s strike disappeared. The slight sting Lukrut felt in his fingers from pulling his bowstrings to its limits also faded. And Ninya, as well as Dyne, felt their lost mana quickly recovered completely. Even the pain on their feet from the hours of walking had disappeared. 

 

They all looked with eyes wide in shock at the figure holding his sword up into the sky, shining with divine golden light. 

 

A phrase came to mind.

 

“Holy Knight.”

 

A divine warrior brought upon by the heavens to protect the weak, heal the wounded, and slay evil. 

 

Ninya had read many stories with the cliche of a knight in shining armor saving a princess. 

 

And now that she saw one right before her, she could hardly believe the true might of one such figure. 

 

Holy Aura [II] - Fortitude. 

 

A skill equivalent to [Despair Aura] that Momonga and Yuuji could unleash from his Devil side, but its polar opposite. 

 

Instead of instilling enemies with fear or despair amongst many other debuffs, Holy Aura buffs allies with mental and physical fortitude, as well as restoring a slight amount of HP and MP, cleansing curses and disease, and slightly increasing their stats. 

 

It was a skill that Yuuji could unleash with his angelic side.

 

Despite not having any deterring effects on enemies, even the unintelligent goblins were terrified by the sight of the shining holy warrior, their legs slowing from their mad dash. 

 

Only the ogres, who were too stupid to be afraid and who were supremely confident in their brawns, continued to charge towards Yuuji. 

 

As they closed in on him, the Ogres raised their clubs. 

 

Yuuji’s long sword, which size could categorize it as a great sword, was huge. But the ogres, with their massive great clubs, had a longer reach than him. 

 

Despite still being more than two meters away, an Ogre swung down its great club. From its trajectory, it was sure to hit Yuuji. 

 

“Alexander-san!”

 

Peter shouted, his eyes wide in shock and panic when he saw the man in white gold armor not moving from his spot. 

 

But before he could do anything, the ogre’s club struck with a devastating impact, sending shockwaves all around them and winds to blow. 

 

Peter raised his shield to protect himself from the shockwave and winds. 

 

For a moment, fear struck his heart. As a front-liner, he had experienced being in the forefront of danger just like Alexander. He had his fair share of block attacks from various creatures and monsters… But none like an ogre. 

 

When against an ogre who had far superior strength, he would’ve been squashed to death even if he had Ninya’s Reinforce Armor and an iron shield if he were to try and block against it. 

 

Just seeing it swung its club down and feeling the shockwave it created raised goosebumps all over his body. 

 

Peter wondered what happened to Alexander, who seemed to have directly received the ogre’s swing.

 

He didn’t have a shield equipped, so perhaps, he managed to dodge at the last possible moment, or block it with his sword. 

 

While it was unthinkable for Peter to do so, he could tell that Alexander was no ordinary adventurer. The copper plate hanging down his neck was clearly unindicative of his true strength. So perhaps, he was capable of defending against it with just his sword. 

 

As the wind subsided… Peter slowly looked up from his shield, and his eyes widened in pure shock.

 

“What the…”

 

Before him, he saw Alexander raising his left hand up, clutching the ogre’s wooden great club as it struggled to take it back. 

 

Every single member of the Swords of Darkness gawked at the sight… And for a moment, they all wondered if this was a dream.

 

But then, a loud crack and shattering snapped them out of their daze. And when they looked, the massive wooden club Alexander was holding had shattered. 

 

Then, with speed almost imperceptible to Peter even Lukrut, Alexander swung the greatsword in his right hand upwards. The shining blade left a golden line afterimage in its wake as it cleaved through the air and the ogre before him in half.

 

It was over in a single blow. 

 

The two halves of the ogre slowly fell down in opposite directions, allowing Yuuji to see the other ogre, frozen behind it. 

 

The ogre had been literally cleaved vertically in half…

 

The battle was still going on, but both sides were motionless, staring at the awesome and harrowing sight. 

 

And before the silence broke, Yuuji’s sword, which he still held up high in the air, shined once more. 

 

Then, with a casual swing, a wave of brilliant golden light flew from its edge. 

 

“Aura Saber.”

 

The golden slash cleaved through the air, and hit the ogre in the distance. 

 

There was silence. And in the next moment, the ogre also split into two right at the center, and fell down with a disgusting plop as its entrails and blood spilled to the ground. 

 

It was an unbelievable sight. 

 

But little did the Swords of Darkness know, it was simply the beginning for them.