Chapter 17 – Demon King
The village gates burned and crumbled in front of him.
But perhaps due to the defense magic, the walls of the village were not burning. And behind them, pillars of fire were still rising towards the sky. The minotaur could feel the heat, even at this distance.
“The troops have finished regrouping.”
“How is the damage?”
Comos scowled and then shook his head.
“Most of the archers have survived, but there are only about thirty spears left. As for those who can fight, there are around ten.”
“They were prepared to abandon their village. I underestimated them. And what of those positioned by the north gate?”
“It is finished, as you ordered.
The Hero’s movements and decisions were impressive. After leading the evacuees out, the attack route near the south gate was burned down with magic, and he used houses to create walls of fire to block their path.
After that, he dealt with the ogres who were gathered on the north side. He wanted to let as many villagers escape as possible. He had already unleashed a chain of great magic, but considering the power the Hero had, he might be able to use more.
“After destroying the gate, have the ogre units spread out. Tell them they can eat any villagers they find.”
“Instead of focusing on one target, you want to distract the reinforcements.”
“Have the rear unit stand by until given the signal. And call back the guerrilla unit in the forest and have them merge with the remaining troops.”
“…We don’t need to watch the forest anymore?”
Cosmos looked puzzled as Berganda picked up his battleaxe.
“Aye. It’s not necessary now.”
It appeared in front of him like an illusion.
A single kobold riding on a star wolf. With flames blazing in the back, he glared at Berganda.
—
Sheto gritted his teeth as he watched the giant monster in front of him.
He was taller than an ogre, and had the head of a bull. And he was wearing armor that was clearly enhanced with magic.
Not only that, but he was chain mail under it like a human knight. In fact, the only part that was exposed was his face.
“Salia, what…is that?”
‘A Minotaur… A rather special monster. As they only exist in a few worlds. They are powerful and prefer to fight with axes. Aside from unique types, they are usually not good with magic… Clearly, this one is the leader of this army.’
The minotaur wielded an axe that was nearly as long as he was tall. And behind him, the surviving archers and spears stood ready.
Sheto looked at his own weapon from the corner of his vision. He had a long staff that had a hatchet strapped to the end.
The last weapon that a hunter relied on.
‘However, there is no need to fight him directly. Just keep running around!’
“Let’s go, Guto!”
He stepped into the stirrups, and the star wolf dashed forward towards the enemy. Sensing the movement, the minotaur moved back while the archers nocked their arrows.
“Guto! To the left!”
He leaned forward, and the wolf made a turn that was nearly at a right angle. The archers could not keep up with the sudden change, and some of them even dropped their arrows.
When shooting, it was necessary to puff out your chest and draw your elbow back. And you had to stay in this posture. This made it easier to follow an enemy that tried to go around to your back, but harder to target an enemy trying to move around to your front.
“Stay calm! Don’t try to follow it, but predict its movement and block its path!”
The minotaur roared. The arrows fired with increased ferocity, grazing Sheto’s body. The archers were now positioned in a circle around their commander.
They were changing formation to match his movement. That was how wild animals in packs protected themselves from enemies.
It was the Nagayubi’s role to make them do that.
“Keep the kobold away! Magicians, start your chants!”
A few hobgoblins raised their staffs. And just as they began to chant…
‘Now! Keita!’
Said Salia, and a silver light flashed in the darkness.
“Ann ambush!?”
To the left of the burned gate, magic shot out from the shadows of the wall, and slammed into two of the magicians.
“Hahhh!”
While passing through, he swung the Nagayubi, cutting down a single archer as they ran.
“He was luring the Hero towards us!? Impossible. But what about protecting the village!?”
While the minotaur watched in shock, Sheto put away the Nagayubi and swiftly pulled out his bow.
“Keita! Deal with the magicians!”
“Got it!”