*Just a heads up. The POV is much more disjointed this chapter. Nazarick characters will be referred to by adventurer names (Momon, etc.) when it's an outsider talking or describing their feelings.*
The Great Forest of Tob was in chaos. Something had showed up recently between the territories of the Beasts of the South and West. It had slaughtered every creature in its wake. This made everything flee to the relative safety of the plains. As they ran large groups of monsters started to form around quasi-powerful individuals. The modicum of protection and strength provided drove them to assert new territories on the plains.
This was one such group. It was led by a hobgoblin and a mated pair of trolls. The trolls provided muscle alongside their much weaker but more numerous ogre cousins. The hobgoblin chieftain and his subordinates were the brains. They had collected a huge number of monsters of various sizes into a single force. Their numbers were so great and their strength so potent they could challenge one of the Three Beasts and win. But it still wasn't enough.
They now rushed away from the forest, hoping to escape to another land all together. To do so they had to cross dangerous human territory, so they tried to minimize the amount of human contact. Any witnesses would become food for the ravenous horde to protect their secrets.
The group before them looked like easy prey. They had already taken out a similar group with ease. They had the intelligence to focus on the vanguard first. The smaller goblins and faster barghests would then swarm the rearguard in the hopes of taking out their support and retreat. They knew there would be losses, but their fear of what was behind them drove them on. It just wasn't right for a goblin to scream like that.
As soon as they were in position Veres opened fire with her bow. From four hundred meters away, she had no trouble sniping the large ogres. Her powerful shots brought them down in one hit. It barely stymied the tide as the monsters charged forward. The faster barghests reached their lines first. Soon, as many as a dozen at a time would swarm Ainz and Yuri, hoping to find a purchase. The two undead just mechanically started to slaughter them.
A lazy swing of his massive longsword and two barghests were cut in two. Their magic chains didn't even slow down his terrible blade. On his side, Yuri moved with uncanny grace and speed. With a powerful swing of her armored fists the head of one of the magical canines exploded. It caught the beasts completely off guard to suddenly be outdone in speed. No matter how fast they tried to attack, Ainz and Yuri were always faster.
With a terrible howl a Greater Barghest charged the two fighters. It's size and speed were incomparable to its smaller companions. With a mighty lunge it jumped at Ainz' armored fame. He deftly maneuvered one of his swords to block the blow before countering with a powerful swing. The chain on the large creature acted like armor, taking much of the force of the blow before it broke. As the beast was flung back by his powerful swing Ainz swung again before it could recover, bisecting the monster at the waist.
The wolf-like creatures soon gave up attacking them, instead using their speed to try and go for those in the back. Those who attacked them were cut down by Narberal's blade as she defended Veres, who was still thinning out the ogres' numbers.
"[Electrosphere]!" With a mighty cry she cast her deadly magic. The orb of arcane energy landed in the middle of a large swarm of the barghests that were preparing to attack. The electricity arced between their metal chains, killing half a dozen of them at once. Narberal was nearly caught in the throat by the swipe of a Greater Barghest. The creature had tried to catch her by surprise to take her out of the fight.
"[Lightning]!" She once again cast her deadly magic. The energy went in a straight line right through the creature into the monster behind it. But it didn't die. It struggled to stand, making a desperate but powerful bite towards the magic caster to stop her from fighting.
Veres caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. Placing her spent bow on her back, she drew her sword and swiped at the injured creature. Her speed and power were no match for it in its injured state. As the flash of her sword arced through the air, its head fell to the ground independent of its body.
It wasn't long before the goblins and ogres reached the front lines. The bulky bodies of the ogres and the shear numbers of goblins were the only thing slowing down the warrior and brawler. The humans watched in awe as soon dozens of monsters were slaughtered with ease.
The two warriors put their skills to the test, using their whole bodies to fend off the hordes of monsters. At several points they would have to drop all pretense of form and just use raw strength to bat aside the scrum.
Yuri picked up an ogre by its ankle before wielding it like a baseball bat. By the time she dropped it the ogre looked more like a wet noodle. When several goblins rushed Ainz' feet he started drop-kicking them to clear out his legs. Their tiny bodies went sailing at least a dozen meters before slamming down, completely broken.
"Orichalcum, no Adamantite. There's no way such power is anything but." Peter could only watch in fascination at the crescendo of slaughter before them. Lukrut was intensely focused on picking off any goblins that started to head their way.
Soon, it became clear to the monsters the first lines wouldn't go down easily, so the goblins and barghests switched targets to the more vulnerable wagon. The group of Silver plate adventurers were embroiled in the fight of their lives as they fended off countless attacks.
Peter found himself struggling to hold back a pair of barghests. There incredible speed and sporadic magical attacks made it hard for him to effectively counter. Eventually, he made a choice. When one of the barghests attacked he intentionally overextended. This provided an opening for the other to go in for the kill.
It lunged towards him, ready to bite down on his throat. He moved quickly, barely able to keep up with the creature's impressive speed. His arm came up and he activate the Martial Art [Fortress]. Its jaws uselessly closed on his protected arm. Taking the initiative, he thrust upwards with the sword in his other hand. It's metal blade easily pierced the barghest's unprotected stomach.
With one enemy dead, Peter was able to soon overpower the other one and slay it before he was once again swarmed by monsters. All he could do was keep fighting. Even as one minor wound became three, he had no choice but to keep going.
Dyne was struggling. The only way he could effectively counter the shear numbers of goblins coming at him was to draw in a number before binding them. He'd then have to race to kill them all before they broke free or more showed up. He had already suffered a broken arm and light slash to his leg for his troubles.
He was the team's mid-liner. He had a lot of versatility, but now was being overwhelmed by being locked into one style of fighting. He had to waste precious mana healing his, and others, most serious wounds. He could already tell that he was running out of mana very quickly and would soon be useless, too exhausted to fight off his enemies.
Lukrut bounced around as much as possible. By using his speed and flexibility of weapons, he was used to plug the gaps that formed in their lines. One minute he'd be killing goblins with his sword, the next he would have to shoot down barghests that tried to make it past their lines.
He was good, and he knew it. But in the end, he could only glance at Mel's back in envy and respect. She danced across the battlefield before his very eyes. She had no trouble outpacing even the fastest monsters, and he gaped in wonder when she effortlessly launched into the scrum around the wagon to clear it out, giving all of them a much-needed breather. She then jumped right back into the front without pause.
Lukrut was a man of pride. He just couldn't bring himself to give up in the face of greatness. So, every time he slew an enemy, he moved right on too the next. Every time his friends needed help, he moved just a bit faster to aid them. He lived to improve and gain recognition for his efforts, other people's opinions of him be damned.
Ninya pushed harder and harder to clear out the stragglers. She didn't have any skill as a support to aid her friends. She could only watch silently as their wounds accumulated. She was struggling herself and barely had time to send the occasional attack spell to relieve the pressure on the heavy fighters.
"[Magic Arrow]!" With a shout, she sent out two bolts of magical energy to take out a pair of goblins who had gotten past Peter. As their bodies crumpled, Ninya collapse to one knee. The demands made on her magic so far were exhausting and she didn't have a great constitution to begin with.
With a mighty shout she stabbed her dagger into the chest of another goblin. Her black blade went to the hilt as she poured all her strength into the attack. Struggling to stand, she tightly gripped her staff in support. She couldn't give up now. She had finally seen the light. Finally seen the strength necessary to find and free her sister, consequences be damned.
Nifirea crouched on the top of his wagon. Every so often he would cast one of the few attack spells he knew or throw a bottle of alchemical products to take out what enemies he could. He kept his head down to stay safe. A hobgoblin archer and some regular goblins had started shooting at any target they could see. It proved a dangerous distraction that had already injured Lukrut once.
He wasn't a fighter, and he knew it. But he couldn't just abandon those who were protecting them. There was no hope of escaping, and if they fell he stood no chance of survival. Finding a prime target in a barghest fighting Dyne, he aided the flagging druid by binding it with a solution of alchemical glue. He looked down in despair as he noticed it was the last of the bottles he had.
Suddenly, he had a really bad feeling. As a large shadow grew over him, he turned to face the open maw of a Greater Barghest leaping through the air towards him.
Ainz watched The Swords of Darkness fight for their lives. He was impressed by their ability to coordinate and cover each other's weaknesses. It reminded him of the days of old, adventuring and exploring as a guild with his friends.
A primal shout drew his attention back to the fight. With his strength he had been butchering these low level beasts with ease. It had become so monotonous that he zoned had out. Now, charging straight at him and Yuri was the pair of trolls and a team of hobgoblins.
'*Sigh*, What a pain.' Dealing with the regeneration of the trolls was going to be annoying. His attacks weren't imbued with any magical properties, so any wound would be recovered quickly. He would need to get Veres or Narberal to finish the trolls off once he had weakened them.
The two trolls rushed towards Yuri, hoping to use their size to overpower her. They soon got into a slugging match as the two demi-humans tried to beat down the Dullahan. It would have been comical to watch a tiny woman like her boxing with trolls, especially as she struck heroic poses and sent the beasts flying.
"Haah-!" with her fist outstretched, she uppercut one of them, her incredible strength sending it flying. When the other struck out at her, she jumped on its arm, racing up the limb before headbutting it. A sharp crack signified its broken neck.
The other troll had recovered, swinging a stone tipped club down on her. With impressing speed, she stepped into its reach and struck a solid blow to its abdomen. There was such force behind it that its stomach seemed to explode out its back. Until they could be finished off with magic, the trolls were out of the fight.
Ainz on the other hand was getting frustrated. The right hobgoblins in front of him were the elites, and their skilled showed it. While their stats were inferior to his by far, they worked well in tandem to deflect lethal blows and protect each other.
Finally, he'd had enough. With a mighty heave he threw one of his swords at a hobgoblin druid that kept trying to bind him. Shock appeared on its ugly face as the sword cut through the air, impaling the druid on its haft when it stopped several meters away.
With a hand now free, he used his higher stats to grab one of the hobgoblin warriors by the skull. With ease he crushed it like a grape before tossing the corpse at a ranger. The heavy corpse moving at high speed slammed into the ranger, taking it out of the fight.
With fewer people to block and attack, Ainz was able to bear down on the remaining hobgoblins. It only took him another minute to bisect or behead them all. With the deaths of their leaders, the remaining monsters got desperate. They now tried to kill any of the weaker humans with panicked movements, hoping to strike one down to provide an opening to escape.
Ainz was finally free from the nuisances. Observing the battlefield, he took note of the many corpses piled up around his comrades. They had fended off every attack with ease, not even suffering a minor injury. The exertion did show though. The lower-level Narberal was breathing a bit heavier than normal.
He turned to watch as the humans tried to finish off the last enemies. They were obviously tired and injured, but they should come out alive if they didn't make any egregious mistakes. But, his kinetic vision caught movement in the back.
'Crap! If he dies we won't get paid! Plus, we won't learn any more from him!' Indeed, A Greater Barghest was lunging at Nifirea. Its massive frame and open jaw bore down on him at an alarming rate. There was no way one of the humans could fend it off and he was too far to do anything in the moment. With Veres distracted, he only saw one way to kill it before it could harm the boy.
"Nabe! Save him!" He shouted, drawing her attention. She noticed the beast and understood her Master's orders. A regular lightning would be too weak to kill it in one hit, so it might still be able to harm the insect (Nifirea), causing them to fail their mission. They had already arranged what she could do if they were ever pressed too much.
"[Dragon Lightning]!" Her hand outstretched, a dragon-shaped arc of energy poured forth. It surged forward like a charging beast, maw open to swallow its prey whole. It raced past the shocked Swords of Darkness, slamming home into the creature. The force of the bolt thrust it away just before it could hit Nifirea, saving him from injury.
Electricity arcing through its frame, the Greater Barghest shuddered and fell still, dead. It was the last powerful monster, and the other beasts had been using its opening as a chance to escape. Now that that opening was gone, the fled as fast as they could in any direction, hoping to get away from the slaughter.
With a nod from Ainz, he and the rest of his party hunted them down to the last. The Swords of Darkness were too beat up to help so they stayed to watch Nifirea. While they tried to recover, they looked at the bloodbath their traveling companions had wrought. Disbelief was present on their faces as they saw the veritable sea of corpses around them.
When they were finally done hunting down the stragglers, Ainz' team finished off the trolls before going to help the humans. When they saw all of the wounds, and that their only healer was exhausted and probably out of mana, Ainz decided to help them.
"Here. This should heal you." He handed Peter and Dyne healing potions. The two had been the most grievously injured and he didn't think they should use whatever consumables they had when Ainz could help them and raise some good will.
"Thank you." Peter said with a grimace. The two sighed in relief as their wounds healed instantly with the application of the potion.
"[Light Heal]" Taking the que, Veres healed the other injured with a minor spell. She only used a first-tier spell to conceal her higher abilities. They had already had to reveal Narberal's ability to cast fifth-tier spells. Too many questions would be asked already, so minimizing their perceived ability was needed.
The spell wasn't quite strong enough to heal all their wounds, but it made them able to function properly again. Lukrut and Ninya were thankful for the healing. Nifirea hadn't been injured from where he'd been in the wagon.
"Amazing. Amazing. I can't believe someone as young as you can use fifth-tier magic. That's in the realm of heroes. Only the leader of Blue Rose has been able to do something like that." Ninya looked at Narberal with eyes full of adoration.
"Seriously, how did you all get so strong? I don't think I've ever heard of anyone as strong as you all. I was jealous of you for having beautiful women following you around, but after seeing your strength I can see why they follow you. You really are amazing Momon-san." Peter heaped accolades onto the most perfect warrior he had ever seen. Ainz could only embarrassedly deny it.
"Of course." The pride in Narberal's voice as she praised Ainz with her first genuine smile they had seen just made the embarrassment worse.
"W-well. We should get moving as soon as we can. We can search the bodies while you rest up and prepare the wagon. We should try and leave from here as soon as possible." Ainz said, sobering the relieved and joyful mood. They had to get to Carne village to make sure it was okay then get back to the guild to report on the strange events. If there were more hordes like this then every village in the region was in danger.
*And that's a wrap. I don't write fight scenes a whole lot so let me know how I did. In other news, I know I have been gone for a little while. Real life can be absorbing and I can be lazy. The next chapter is started and I hope to keep the release under 2 weeks.*