After what I imagined was nearly two hours of agonizing silence we arrived at the outskirts of Ans Village, in the distance I could see a large and intimidating forest which must be the Ansel Forest. Nearly half of the village was in ruins. Besides a few homes, the village church, and a farm house everything else had been reduced to rubble. Entire crops of produce were rendered completely useless leaving the village with the one farm left to provide the food they needed.
Most of the villagers who had lost their homes were held up in the church. From what the village chief had told us the death toll was in the 50s.
“Allow me to apologize on behalf of both the Erdmont Kingdom and the Old Order. Unfortunately, things have been difficult in the capital so I was unable to arrive sooner.”
The village chief, George Donner, became overwhelmed at the sight of Stormglass bowing her head before him.
“Please, Commander, do not apologize! We understand the capital is more important than some small village. We are just happy to have your help regardless of the timing.”
“Chief Donner, in my eyes, all of the villages and people under the Erdmont Kingdom are equally important to me. I feel the loss of your people reflects poorly on me, and will do my utmost to avenge them.”
Stormglass may be a pain in the ass but I admired her. Nothing about her words were fake. She was the ideal of a chivalrous knight through and through. Even if she was a bit of a goody two shoes.
Once pleasantries were out of the way Chief Donner began explaining more about the situation.
“It started one moon ago. Local hunters were in the forest hunting deer to provide meat for the village when they were attacked by a newly formed tree ent. At first it was just one tree ent that we thought we could handle ourselves, but soon more of them appeared and before we knew it we were being attacked. You see, we rely on the forest for many things, not just meat but berries and plants for medicine. In spite of this we thought if we stayed clear of the forest we would no longer incur their wrath, alas, they continue their attacks.”
“They must see you as some kind of threat to their terrority, considering how close the village is to the forest.”
“Commander, do you believe it best for us to move away?”
Stormglass shook her head at the chief’s suggestion. “Whether you move the village or not I fear the issue will remain unchanged, in fact, it may get worse. The more tree ents there are the more the mana in the forest continues to distort, which in turn creates more tree ents. It’s possible that with time the entire forest could become ents, creating a serious problem for not only your village but perhaps the entire kingdom.”
It's starting to make sense why a Knight of the Old Order was sent to this village. An entire forest's worth of monster trees attacking the capital would be difficult to deal with, even for her and those other knights.
Before long Stormglass was making battle plans. Based on what the chief told us there were about ten tree ents. Despite the large number Stormglass seemed satisfied with the amount of soldiers she had brought with her, ten in total. She would lead five of the soldiers towards the forest to lure out the tree ents. The other five would flank the exposed monsters once they all appeared. The four priests she had also brought along were to stay in the back to provide healing and once the battle was over they would purify the mana in the forest.
She then turned her attention towards me with a sigh, as if she had forgotten she was forced to let me tag along.
“You… You shall stay in the back with the priests.”
Oi! You’re really just sidelining me like that?! I know this hunting request is above my rank and the only reason I’m here is because of the Commander but I really can’t stand her looking down at me.
“C-Commander Stormglass! I was under the impression that I would be participating in the battle.”
“Hmm, is protecting the priests not participating? Do you look down at them too?”
Ahh, I get it now. She’s still pissed about the whole helmet thing. I know I should probably apologize but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Sure, once I saw her exposed and timid face I did feel a bit of remorse and I will admit I do admire her “knightlyness” but dammit she still pisses me off.
For thirty years I never said the words “I’m sorry” to anyone, not even my parents and I’m not starting now!
…
Still… I guess I do feel bad, and I know we’re never going to get anywhere if I continue to butt heads with her. I should just swallow my pride and say it.
“Commander Stormglass…”
“What is it?”
“I’m… uh…”
Ahhhh! Why is this so difficult?! I mean, I know why, I know I’m spoiled and selfish and don’t like losing but I can’t live out my power fantasy like this! So, I have to say it. Even if it means losing to her.
“I’m sorry, Commander, for my earlier transgression.”
“Hmmm? You’re not just saying that so I’ll let you actually join the fight?”
A part of me instantly thinks of lying and flat out denying her accusations but I had a feeling I’d only dig this hole deeper if I did.
“I won’t lie to you, Commander, there is some truth to that. What you said before, about me being ‘selfish’ and ‘like a child,’ is true. The fact you conceal your identity despite your distrust of me for doing the same really aggravated me. I think even you can admit the unfairness of that.”
“S-Sure, I suppose so.”
“I have my own reasons for wearing this mask. Yet in spite of that, the thought had never occurred to me that you should have your own reason for wearing that helmet all the time. For that, I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head at the silent knight for a solid few seconds before bringing myself back up.
“And… you really don’t know the reason I wear this helmet? Even from seeing my face and hair?”
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“I do not.”
“I see… I will place you with the flank. Is that satisfactory?”
“Yes, Commander Stormglass.”
Well, no, not really but hey it’s better than being stuck in the back. At least now I’ll finally be seeing some action. Now that everyone was aware of what the plan was we all went to our starting positions. The five soldiers and I who were meant to flank the tree ents headed to the right of the clearing before the forest near the farm house. Hiding behind the building we waited while Stormglass and her team slowly approached the forest.
Since Stormglass’s plan involved drawing out the ents she made no effort to rush into the forest. While we waited the soldiers around me began applying “buffs” to their swords and armor. Each of the five soldiers’ weapons and armor were alchemic tools imbued with a few spells, albeit, lower tier spells due to the fact that the kingdom had to mass produce these.
The swords were imbued with the tier 1 [Harden Weapon], tier 1 [Lighter Weapon], and tier 2 [Razor’s Edge]. While their armor were imbued with the tier 1 [Harden Armor], tier 1 [Agility Boost], tier 1 [Lighter Armor], and the tier 3 [Lesser Magic Resistance].
As the soldiers were finishing up their preparations the trees of the forest began to rustle about before parting to reveal four tall beings. These beings were no doubt tree ents. Unlike the monsters I’ve seen before these matched exactly what a tree ent usually is in fantasy. They were trees twisted into the forms of tall giants with hollowed out eyes. Every step they took caused the earth to slightly quake. Based on my estimation they were as tall as the farm house which was roughly three stories tall.
Stormglass stops and puts up a fist to signal the soldiers and priests to the far back to also stop. And then she signals the soldiers around her to start using the tier 1 martial arts [Slash] which sends out a slash of mana at the target. Their targets of course being the tree ents.
The battle had begun but Stormglass and her soldiers did not advance further. She needed the rest of the tree ents to appear before they could properly engage. One of the tree ents let out a rough roar, not out of pain but as if it were merely annoyed at the attacks coming its way.
The four tree ents began their advancement on the Commander and her soldiers, and yet no other ents appeared. Stormglass had said that this may happen, that they may not see them as enough of a threat for all to appear so she'd have to make them see.
Leaving behind the five soldiers Stormglass leaped towards the tree ents with incredible speed. Within the blink of an eye she was in front of them but there was something different about her. It was hard to see from this distance but it appeared as if sparks were coming off her body. Not just her body but her sword as well. In fact, it was as if her entire sword was coated in electricity.
Her assault began as she let out slashes of electricity at the tree ents. Unlike the attacks from the soldiers this seemed to do more than just annoy the ents. It was hurting them. The tree ents began wildly grabbing at her while she weaved about effortlessly at a speed that was difficult to keep up with.
It was hard to believe she was moving so fast considering her heavy set of armor. I could only imagine it had something to do with the lightning. No doubt her amor was imbued with some higher tier spells but her sword as well. Her sword was definitely a cut above the rest of these soldiers.
With the combined efforts of the soldier sending out [Slash] and Stormglass’s attacks two of the tree ents were down. Once they had collapsed on the ground it didn’t take long for the six remaining tree ents to show up.
Now that the eight remaining tree ents were gathered at the same spot the soldiers and I hidden behind the building made our presence known as we flanked the tree ents. The soldiers with Stormglass also rushed towards the group of monsters. Now the battle was truly beginning.
Several of the soldiers were still sending out [Slash] while others were repeatedly striking at the legs of the ents while trying their best to dodge any attacks. At this point the tree ents were becoming enraged and confused at the situation, especially once Stormglass cut down another tree ent. There were seven left and they all began wildly swinging their trunk like arms around while stomping about on the ground. While Stormglass was caught in the middle of all that chaos she was still able to dodge with immense speed.
Unfortunately two of the teen soldiers had been crushed by the tree ents but it didn’t seem to deter the other eight so they continued their assault. All the while, I found myself unsure of what to do. I was so excited to finally be part of a big battle like in the fantasy novels I’ve read but now that I’m here I find my legs unable to move.
I was scared. Up until this point I’ve taken on things roughly my own size but now faced with these giants while surrounded by the commotion and sounds of battle, I feel frozen. I was so arrogant and sure of myself that I jumped at this without even thinking. What could I do in this situation? The best I can do is punch things!
No. I need to calm down. Considering I’m undead I was pretty sure I couldn’t die, at least by normal means, and not only that but I’m an Abnormality of the World. I have the potential for power that surpasses even the Knights of the Old Order.
If I’m committed to my power fantasy life I can’t get nervous during a small skirmish like this! Weren’t the Old Heroes able to take on entire armies by themselves?! So, I can’t have doubts now. I have to steel my mind. I have to think and fight.
Finally, my legs began to move. There was still one problem. I didn’t have a lot of offensive capabilities beyond strengthening my punches. That’s when I started thinking about the lighting around Stormglass’s sword. Was it possibly for me to do something like that with my fist? I assumed so but how easy could that be? Do I just imagine electricity surrounding my fist?
I decided to take a moment to watch her blade. I watch the sparks of mana as they dance about her sword. I… I think I can do this. I try my best to imitate what I see her mana doing and before long my arm is completely engulfed in sparks of lightning.
Oi! This feels amazing! I can do this! I want to continue celebrating my achievement but the battle was getting more intense and there was no time to sit on the sidelines any longer.
Another two soldiers were dead but by this point three more of the tree ents were slain. There were just four left against our eight including myself and Stormglass. Surely with our numbers we had this in the bag, however the tree ents were quickly understanding the gravity of the situation and were no longer focusing on the lesser soldiers sending out [Slash] but were now setting their sights solely on Stormglass.
Someone of her caliber should surely have no issues with four tree ents on her own but it seemed even she was getting overwhelmed. It was as if she wasn’t putting her all into the fight. Like she was holding back. One of the tree ents was finally able to land a blow which sent Stormglass flying a good distance.
I was now in front of the cluster of monsters and seeds of doubt began to sprout. Could I really do this when she can’t? That’s when one of the tree ents notices me and proceeds to take a swing. There was no time for doubt. Only action.
I instantly dodged the attack while activating [Full Body Fortress]. I try to circulate the electricity around my body to increase my speed and reflexes. Stormglass and I found ourselves back to back within the circle of tree ents which was becoming increasingly smaller.
“Are you sure you can handle this?”
“Yes, Commander. I’m sure now.”
“Hmm, good, I can’t have you dying on me. It would stain my honor as a knight.”
With that I could feel a mutual understanding between us. Stormglass would take on the two in front of her and I would do the same. I had a feeling that the next few moves we made would ultimately decide the outcome of this battle.
As if we were synchronized we both leaped towards our targets. All the feelings of nervousness, doubt, excitement, it was all culminating into a lust for battle. I wanted to end this one with a singular move. All I could think about was how cool and badass that would be. So I had to do it.
To end it all with one punch would require me to send out my electricity in a way that would completely annihilate them both. My mind instantly went to one thing. There wasn’t any time to mull it over. I had to act based on instinct.
I gathered the lightning into my arm and fist and without a moment’s hesitation released it.
“[Storm Dragon’s Roar]!”
The burst of lightning took on the form of an enormous dragon that completely devoured the two tree ents. Once the two bodies collapsed I could also hear the sound of two others falling behind me. I looked to see Stormglass was also victorious in her battle.
Silence filled the field as all eyes turned to me. Even Stormglass was taken aback, though it was hard to tell due to the helmet covering her facial expressions. However, soon enough the shock wore off and the remaining soldiers began cheering.
The battle was finally over. And the village was saved.