I Was Reincarnated as the Villainous Knight Commander Who Betrays Everyone at the End, So I Plan to Leave the Fake Hero’s Party with the Exiled Girl Who’s Actually the True Hero! ~While Watching Over the Protagonist Up Close, I Somehow Ended Up Destroying the Whole Scenario~ - 24

Chapter 24: The Villainous Knight Commander Raises a Death Flag

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The plan to raid the orc settlement and whittle down their forces little by little had succeeded. The orcs, who initially numbered over 150, had already been reduced by about thirty percent to around 120.

I wanted to keep cutting down their forces as much as possible like this if possible…

“But, well… At least, that’s my original plan, but…”

“If I were the enemy commander, I’d do this too. After realizing we can’t win by only taking hits, the only logical course of action should be to go on the offensive instead.

“Why are you two so calm about this!? The village is surrounded by orcs right now!!”

“Ciel-sama, there’s no need to panic. The defensive wall surrounding Cottolk Village may be made of wood, but the private soldiers include users of barrier magic. In terms of defense, this village is practically a fortress.”

I climbed the watchtower in Cottolk Village with Ciel and Sakuna, looking down at the ground below. What surrounded the village was an army of dozens of orcs. The orcs couldn’t break through the barrier magic, leaving them stymied on how to attack the village—but the same could be said for us as well.

“Hmm, even if we rain arrows on them, it won’t do much to reduce their numbers,”

Sakuna said with her lips pursed. Under her command, the private soldiers fired arrows from inside the barrier surrounding the village. But the orcs took almost no damage from it.

“Orc skin is thick. Even if an arrow sticks, it won’t cause significant damage.”

Occasionally, an orc would reel in agony when an arrow struck its eye or groin, but it never finished them off. If anything, it only enraged them, intensifying their attacks on the barrier.

“Now then, what should we do from here? The thing that concerns me most is…”

“The absence of one of the generals, right? The one I saw isn’t here.”

“…You can actually tell orc faces apart?”

“Hmm? Ah, I’m pretty good at remembering people’s faces. If you look closely at the number of wrinkles or the shape of the jaw, they’re actually quite different.”

I was stunned. Not only that Sakuna could recognize orc faces, but more importantly, that she saw orcs as people. Well, given that these monsters could speak just like humans, it wasn’t unreasonable to think of them that way…

Still, despite viewing them as people, Sakuna cut them down without hesitation. That was the scary part. Thinking calmly about it, I hadn’t intentionally created her character to be that way. But now that I recalled it, I definitely wrote scenes where Sakuna “treated monsters as people before cutting them down.”

So does that mean this world operates more on the actual narrative I wrote rather than the background settings I planned?

The mystery only deepened. Whoops, not good. I had drifted into my own thoughts again, turning my eyes away from the problem at hand. That was a bad habit of mine.

“For now, we have to do something about the orcs surrounding the village. I’ll charge out to draw their attention. Sakuna-dono, I’ll leave the King to you.”

“Oh? Is it truly fine for me to take on the big one?”

“Your face says you’re itching for a rematch after last time.”

“Kakaka!! Very well. Leave it to me. I shall claim his head with my secret techniques!”

Sakuna drew her sword from its sheath, and I gripped my shield and spear in both hands.

“Eh!? Are you two really planning to charge into that horde!?”

““Yes.””

“U-uhh, then please take this with you!!”

Ciel thrust a pouch filled with potions into our hands. The small bottles inside had been specially crafted so you could tell their contents by the feel of the cap with your fingers.

“This is… Healing potions and stamina potions. And this one, what is it?”

“It’s a strength potion!! I made it using plants growing around here!! It’s my first time making one, so I can’t guarantee it’ll work perfectly, but… It should at least give you a bit of a boost!!”

“…I see. As expected of Ciel.”

A strength potion, huh? I was stunned at the appearance of a potion that never existed in the original story. In the original, Ciel only sold healing or stamina potions, and in combat, she used poisons or explosive potions. A strength potion—most likely a potion that boosted physical strength and with Ciel’s enhancement magic that she cast unconsciously, its effects were probably multiplied many times over.

Alright, let’s see just how effective it is!

“Nguh…”

I downed the strength potion in one gulp. At first, nothing seemed to change in my body—until suddenly…

“W-what is this!? Power is… Power is surging through me!!”

It was a sensation I’d never felt before. I’d experienced the lightening of my body from the enhancement magic in healing potions, but this was different. It felt like a ferocious energy was rampaging inside me.

“Sakuna-dono!! I’m heading out to the front too!!”

“Oh!! Then let’s see who can claim more heads!!”

Sakuna and I leaped from the watchtower at the same time. We landed outside the barrier and, aiming our weapons at the orcs, shouted from the top of our lungs. 

The pre-battle declaration is important!!

“My name is Lars!! I shall claim your lives with my spear!!”

“I am Sakuna!! Witness the sword techniques of the Silver Sakura Sword Style!!”

We shouted our names together and charged the orcs head-on. Perhaps recognizing our faces from the nightly raids over the past few days, the orcs glared with murderous intent.

“Those humans!! Kill them!!”

“I’ll eat them!!”

“Die!!”

I swung my spear with all my might at the charging orcs. Come to think of it, Lars’ physical abilities were already far beyond human. To be specific, Lars could block the full-power attacks of colossal monsters like Gigantes from Death Mountain Range with his shield.

So what would happen if Lars drank a strength potion and swung his spear at full force?

“““Guaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”””

Answer: just the wind pressure alone could send enemies flying. But sending them flying wasn’t enough to finish them off. What sealed the deal was—

“—Silver Sakura Flash!!”

Sakuna. Her sword slashed through the orcs, who were floating helplessly mid-air from my attack, cutting them clean in half.

O-oh, what a brutal combo.

My attack launched them into the air, leaving them unable to dodge, and then Sakuna’s slashes carved them up.

So strong—unbelievably strong!!

“Nuooooh!! What’s wrong, orcs!! Weren’t you going to eat us!? Weren’t you going to kill us!?”

“Don’t get cocky, humans—ugh!?”

An Orc General seemed about to start a long rant, so I preemptively rammed my spear through his throat. I hoisted him into the air, swung him around, and smashed him into the ground. Throwing a General weighing hundreds of kilograms… I really was inhuman at this point.

“Come on!! Hey, why are you running!? Don’t you hate me for killing your comrades!? Don’t you want revenge!?”

But after instantly killing the General, the orcs started fleeing at the sight of me. Then, through the scattering of orcs, an especially large one stepped forward. This orc was even bigger than the General. He casually swung a massive club that looked like it was carved from a giant bone.

There was no mistaking it—this one must be…

“The King!!”

The orcs’ monarch: the Orc King. The Orc King glared at me while his subordinates fled, probably intending to buy time for their escape.

“That’s right, me da king. I’ll eat ya, and I’ll get even stronger!!”

“Then you’re more than worthy of being my opponent!! Deiyaaahhh!!”

I used the spring of my legs to thrust my spear with all my might. The Orc King sacrificed his hand to catch the strike. With my attack restrained, the Orc King grinned and raised his club.

Should I block his attack with my great shield? —No, I’ll attack!!

“Hunnooooaaahhh!!”

Without pulling back the spear lodged in his hand, I shoved it forward!! The unexpected follow-up pierced straight into the Orc King’s throat.

“Gah!”

Blood spewed from the Orc King’s mouth. Victory!!

“End of Part Three!!”

Ah, crap. I blurted it out in the heat of the moment—but did I just raise a death flag? The next instant, the orc’s body began to shine. This was a phenomenon that occurred, though extremely rarely, when a monster survived long enough…

Yes… The Orc King was going through… Evolution. 

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