Chapter 42
Mutant
In the middle of a forest, there is a black-clad group dressed in light gear.
They are hidden in the shadows of the thick jungle, and they are on the move to complete their mission.
“…… I found them. …… Listen, even if the enemy is a monster like a reptile, you must not let your guard down. They are always hungry and insatiable.”
The elite troops under Cassius’ command nodded speechlessly at the troop leader’s instructions.
Then, in front of their eyes, which seemed to be looking at something dirty, was a group of Orcs who were marching through the forest.
They had heavy snorts and rocky, ugly features, and huge, imposing, green bodies.
The Orcs were hated for their ugly appearance. They live in rocky fields, forests and caves, establishing territories in all sorts of places.
They are a type of demon that has caused much debate as to whether they belong to the human or subhuman species.
However, they also have companions, family and kin.
They are creatures with feelings.
“Let’s go.”
Raising their swords and bows and pouring magic into them, the elites set off.
………
……
…
“……. What a waste of time, just some Orcs.”
In front of the man who had spoken the slur, an Orc, bound several times in chains, knelt there.
“Ugh..ugh…”
Around it were the bodies of several Orcs.
They were Orcs who had come out to hunt for food for the females and children of the herd.
They were brothers to the Orc who had been captured.
It was a ravaging drama that passed in a flash. The men in the troop did not even break a sweat on their faces.
Orcs with their strength and their ability to use weapons, in groups they should have been quite a problem, but they were nothing to the men.
“Do it.”
At the lieutenant’s command, a man pulled his dagger from its sheath, revealing the bloody blade.
And then…
“–Guaaaaahhh!”
The sorrowful roar of the monster resounded throughout the forest.
The figure of the Orc who had been stabbed with the dagger unnaturally became even bigger and thicker.
From his eyes, a large amount of tears flowed out.
Gradually, that sorrow turned into anger, and with the strength of his rapidly rising wrist, he easily broke the chains.
With this confirmation, Kujaro’s troops quickly began to flee, following the route mentioned in the battle that had been set out earlier.
In order to lure them to the village for the battle experiment.
♢♢♢
Gadda gadda, the carriage carrying Chrono and Lulu Noah and the girls was moving along.
Matching the horse’s gait, Shannon, who was left sweating because of the sunny weather, held the reins in her hands.
“…… phew, a little more.”
The horse and Shannon were both looking fatigued, perhaps because they had to gallop so fast this time.
“Are you okay? How about finding a place to take a break?”
Lulu Noah asked as she poked her head out from the roofed cargo platform on the sunny road, seeing the shaded paths shaded by trees on both sides.
“It’s all right. I can see the village already, so I’ll just make it there in one go.”
“You’re so excited. What do you think, like I said, that’s good, right?”
“If you mean the bow, I admit it.”
The reason the second sister looked so cheerful was because the boy had fixed the bow very well, which was obvious to anyone.
“…… It just a fluke (マグレ).” (Chrono)
“Hoo hoo, how could that be? It couldn’t have been fixed in one night if it was just a fluke.” (Lizlitt)
The only one who is in a bad mood is the third sister, Lizlitt, who says with a frown, and Lulu Noah smiled when she heard that.
“Thank you, Boy. But it’s about time you told us your name, isn’t it?”
She asked the hooded boy who sat quietly at the back of the wagon’s cargo platform.
“Not interested…”
“If you say you’re not interested again, I’ll kick you off.”
The three women with furrowed brows uttered a threatening admonition.
“…… don’t care.”
“Damn you.”
Crono tried to struggle to the end this time so as not to reveal his true identity, but Lizlitt, who didn’t know this, just jumped in with her diminutive body.
“Hey, hey..”
“Muuhh..”
Even though she was just a child, Lulu Noah was able to lift Lizlitt by the collar with ease.
(I bit surprised here, so Lulu Noah is a child?
Raw: 子供とは言え軽々とリズリットの襟えりを掴み上げて止めるルルノア。)
The same arm strength that had once broken down a stone tavern with her empty hands from drunkenness was now being put to good use here.
“Sorry Boy.”
“It’s okay… all I care about is able to expand the production of bows and swords.”
Crono replied coldly.
“If you want to sell them, be more gracious.”
“The master who taught me how to forge once said. You can’t trust a chatty blacksmith. A really good sword will be sold to someone who really wants it.”
Faced with Lizlitt, who was lifted up like a cat, hCrono conveyed to her the teachings he had received from his stubborn master.
If you have a lot of time to talk, you should use your time to hone your skills, doing your ironwork honestly…. said this I can’t help but miss the days when I was taught so hard.
“Etro~. I feel like I can understand that. After all, it’s a weapon that you’ve entrusted your life to, so maybe you don’t need any eloquence. But just telling the name …… Boy?”
Chrono, who was in front of Lulu Noah’s sight, was looking at the back of the carriage for some reason.
“You guys go ahead to the village, I’ll be there soon.”
“Ah, wait!”
After saying that, he floated down from the carriage as light as a feather and ran towards the road he came from.
“…… Why did you go back?”
“Runaway.”
Chrono fled away.
“Although I don’t think that’s the case. …… Could it be, he…”
The thought that it might be a biological phenomenon that could not be explained to girls made her stop talking.
In the end, the question was not solved, and they had already passed through the forest and seen the village that was their destination.
However ……
“…… ah. Shannon, hurry up. I can already hear the wailing and howling.”
“Eh, okay.”
Shannon used the reins in her hands to speed up the horse, and Lizlitt wordlessly began to prepare Shannon’s bow and her staff.
“……”
Without a word, Lulu Noah gazed ahead at the village.
She thought back to the howling she had heard earlier.
It did resemble that of the Orcs, but it did feel a little out of place.
Then the reason for the dissonance was revealed as they reached the centre of the village.
“Aaarhh!!”
The adult villagers were flying lightly in the air.
The spear in their hand were broken unceremoniously, and all the bones in their body were shattered.
“Roaaaaahhh!!”
The huge figure in the centre of the trembling villagers let out a shocking roar.
“…… What the heck, that is. Is it really an Orc? I’ve never seen one like that before ……”
What was there was something that had a slight shadow of an Orc left in it.
Although it also had the face of an orc, it was larger than the average individual, covered in scales, and its tail, which was supposed to be non-existent, had grown halfway out.
It looked like a monster that had forcibly fused a half-orc with something else, only incomplete.
“Ah, those are the scales of a dragon ……”
Lizlitt tilted her head in the face of the overly ugly form and muttered in a low voice.
“I’ve been tricked. That’s the monster that was commissioned, right? That narcissistic man …… looks like a bargain for that amount.”
Nevertheless Lulu Noah flew out of the carriage and with a roar wielded the thick, long, heavy war club and jumped in front of the monster.
“Back off, you lot. We’ll take care of the rest. Can you spread out as much as possible?”
“You, you are.” (Villagers)
Even after witnessing the monstrous strength that was completely unmatched of an Orc, still she smiled margin as she raised the club in a smooth motion.
“Oh yeah! I haven’t felt this hot in a long time.”
With that, the eldest sister went head to head with the monster.
“Gaaahh!!!”
“Hap!”
She caught the huge hammer-like wrist with her club, letting her body to follow the force of the blow and release it.
“Eat this!!!””
Then, taking advantage of the momentum, she turned the stick around and struck the pivoting foot that was supporting her weight.
“Guooo!?”
And then at the head of the monster that had fallen over–
“Haa!!!
A blow with more powerful force was added, destroying the forehead along with the scales.
“.……” (Villagers)
“Phew! …… It’s been a long time since I couldn’t defeat my opponent with a single blow.”
The villagers became dumbfounded.
The villagers were dumbfounded. In the face of the powerful monster they had seen for the first time, she had killed it instantly.
They could just looked at the monster and the dark elf, who lay there like a mountain, without saying a word.
On the other hand, the sisters, who knew how powerful she was, pulled the wounded around them and took refuge as if they had nothing to worry about.
“That guy, I’ll never forgive him.” (Lizlitt)
“You mean about the boy? Indeed, we need some help now.” (Shannon)
Shannon and Lizlitt were already in a post-war mood.
The possibility that Lulu Noah would fail didn’t even exist in their minds.
“…… eh?”
In their ears, Lulu Noah made a somewhat stupid sound.
And at the same time, Chrono they mentioned was…
♢♢♢
“Sorry about that~”
“It’s okay, there’s a saying in the countryside where I live that “you rely on your travel companions when you’re out and about”. It’s important to help each other out.”
I was pulling the cart uphill in place of the old lady.
“Even though it’s almost there~”
“Yeah… I saw it from distance, but didn’t you couldn’t climb this slope at all, Grandma? You didn’t seem to be making much movement so I can’t stand it.”
Even though she was only about 10% from the top, I took the old woman, who still wanted to show off, and headed for the village.
According to the old woman, her son and his wife lived in the village, and they seemed to be delivering some vegetables.
“Grandma. There are demons and bandits here. It’s dangerous to walk alone, isn’t it?”
“I’ve been having a lot of knee pain lately, so you should be careful too.”
“…… Well, I’ll tell your son later. I can easily shatter rocks with my knees, so don’t worry.”
From time to time, the conversation with this old woman would not hold up. I made up my mind to tell her son in the village what she had said, and then picked up my pace and hurried on.
There were signs of a commotion in the village ahead.
Note:
マグレ= Magure
Being lucky by chance. Become the top by mistake