Chapter 32 Orda of monsters (part 3)

-Oriana Mengral's Perspective

Sunlight was streaming in through the large windows right behind me. I was looking at a stack of papers right in front of me with information about the villages, dungeons and the monsters they were disturbing. It's a very long list of things and even though I have one of the highest positions right behind my sister Gloriana, it's just boring to be reading papers every day and not being able to do anything.

"I think... I wish he was here."

"It was always fun with him, I could beat him up and let my frustration out because of him."

Who else I'm talking about, of course, is that brat named Asher Frostblade.

For six months, every day I trained that kid and we even had hand-to-hand combat. But other than that...

"He's too incredibly talented."

A child who adapts to combat can also learn any combat technique and swordplay in a single day. That's why I always wondered, where the hell did that kid come from? Who is his family? Although that would be impossible for me to know, since he is an orphan child, one without a family.

At first it pained me, as I knew the story of that child, though it was little. I felt sadness just thinking: a talent that cannot be compared to him had to have such a difficult life all this time. Even to get into that Mage Academy, he has to go through hard times, even being close to death.

"I shouldn't think about that..."

"Knock" "Knock."

Suddenly, the door that was about ten feet away from my desk resounded with a small knock.

"You may come in."

Then I quickly left my thoughts and looked down at the papers I was holding as a man in a black suit walked in. He was an old man with a beard, brown eyes and long white hair, with a very well trained body while his black suit was very formal.

"Oh, Mr. Ian, you were looking for me for something important?"

"I brought you an application, although I wasn't supposed to deliver it to you, but this is important."

Ian handed me a piece of paper and I looked at all the contents on it. Then my eyes widened like saucers at the information contained in the document.

"This... Is it real?"

"Of course, that's why I brought it to you, Miss Oriana."

"I see, so grade 9 monsters appeared in the Dry Forest and they are two breeds of monsters that shouldn't be together, but.... why do you say their numbers are in the thousands?"

"We're not sure, but it's a letter of help that a group of adventurers asked for. There are also the names of the people in the group," Ian mentioned.

It was then that I looked further down and there was a list of the people who asked for help. My eyes again widened like saucers, but I quickly returned to my normal form, with a cold expression.

"Okay, you're dismissed."

"Have a good day, Miss Oriana." Ian bowed in a form of farewell and then left the room.

"Clak."

I blinked several times before I saw the name I was remembering moments ago.

"Asher Frostblade."

"Heh, I thought I wouldn't see you again for a long time, you even gave me a job."

So, I quickly left my office and called the imperial knights. Finally, after half an hour, a whole army composed of knights of rank "Guardian of the Order" and also ten knights in command of rank "Captain of the Sword" gathered. It was definitely a strong army, but if it wasn't for the incredible number of monsters, all of them wouldn't be here.

Slowly, the knights began to enter through the large teleportation door that emanated a blue glow. All the knights were entering and then it was my turn.

We finally arrived at the city of "Merpil", one of the five great cities on the mainland of the empire. Of course, the Mengrana city is the imperial city and the one that controls the continent and the empire, while the five great cities are another story.

"Commander, it will take us four hours to reach the Dry Forest."

"Alright, then everyone on the march, we don't have much time," I shouted for all the knights to hear.

Then, quickly, the whole army consisting of a hundred knights and ten in command to lead troops began to move on horseback, while I was in front of them all.

According to the report, the situation was difficult. There were barely four people trying to defend the town of Nortil. The Dry Forest is right next to Nortil, that must have been what drove that group to start a resistance in the Dry Forest.

That's why we had to get there as quickly as possible. Nortil is not only a place of commerce, it is also the town that provides us with the most resources. Therefore, this town is a very important point and must be protected at all costs.

A few hours passed and we had already entered the forest when....

"Explosion!"

The first thing I saw were craters of a strangely gigantic size, as if a seventh or eighth circle wizard had made them. Then, I looked at a green-haired woman with a wizard's robe and a staff, while a green-colored sphere was near her back. As the monsters approached her, tentacles with thorns emerged from the sphere.

"A curse mage," was what came to my mind after seeing the curse mana on the sphere and the mage. Then, I quickly looked at a man, this one with a very well trained body and a large sword, was fighting many more monsters at the same time as the green-haired woman from before.

"A knight, perhaps."

Again I looked in another direction and saw a blonde-haired woman with two daggers and also a bow on her back. After looking at her closely, I noticed her pointed ears. That woman was killing monsters very quickly and, using her bow that caused explosions, she was taking out many monsters at the same time, even more than the knight.

"An elf."

"Burst!"

That's when a smile broke out on my face after seeing a dwarf wearing a black suit and mask, while I could see his silver hair. But...

"Where did he get that sword?"

He was holding a black colored sword with purple lightning bolts coming out of it. Also, I noticed that he was in a trance-like state, but that was when I could see his strength.

"You've improved a lot in a week," I thought after seeing his strength as he swung the sword with more speed, strength and fluidity.

He is definitely a talent that cannot be described so easily. Then I looked back at the green haired woman and she looked straight into my eyes as hundreds of arrows started falling from the sky, they were some knights. I raised my hand and made a gesture, and the knights started to move running in the direction of the monsters.

I looked at the large amounts of monsters on the ground; they had killed thousands of monsters in just four hours.

"If they had more stamina, they wouldn't need help," I muttered as I looked at the bodies of the monsters scattered everywhere.

Again, I sketched a smile and turned my gaze to where Asher was swinging his sword. At his feet lay a pile of giant monster bodies and many more behind him.

"Swhoss."

Then, I quickly moved at incredible speed and stood right in front of Asher. I briefly looked at his face.

"He's definitely in a trance state. I wonder how long he's been like this."

I raised my hand and quickly moved it to the back of Asher's neck, but not before adjusting my strength to one that would only serve to knock him out.

"Punch."

His body froze and he lay still for a few seconds, then his head turned and we exchanged glances as I smiled and he stared at me, until finally he closed his eyes and fell backwards. I picked him up and carried him on my back.

"Hrrrnnng-AAAAAAAAAARRR."

The roars of the approaching monsters echoed as they ran in my direction. With only my middle finger pressed down with the big toe of my hand....

"Clak."

I released my finger and a blizzard, which resembled a hurricane, blew in. The strong scorching wind shattered everything in its path, as monsters were pulverized and fell to the ground in pieces. The wind reached me and my hair gently moved, then Asher's head came so close that it was right next to me.

I turned my gaze and could see his face hidden in the mask.

"You did a great job."

I had never said anything like that before, but for some reason I felt I had to say it. After all, all this effort would be rewarded with an achievement, but for my position it would be two knight achievements.

"Hrrrnnng-AAAAAAAAAARRR."

I looked again and was surprised to see more monsters appearing in the distance. It was then that a question popped into my head.

"Someone definitely put these monsters together, but who?"

I started walking and looked at Asher's group who had already finished fighting, as the imperial knights were giving their all to kill all the monsters. Then, I walked up to the group.

"You did a great job all of you, you can rest."

Up ahead, some knights were setting up oversized tents and there were also some healers in case the situation became troublesome.

"He's all right, isn't he?"

"Of course, I'll take care of this dwarf. You guys go with the healer..."

That's when my gaze locked on a small, tiny curtain of dark-colored mana that drifted to Asher's arm. Then I lifted the sleeve of the suit and looked at his arm: a black moon-shaped tattoo was there.

"What the hell...?"

Then I noticed that the black and purple colored sword was gone. I looked back, but it was nowhere to be found. My gaze quickly returned to the tattoo.

"It could be..."

I paused at the thought. Once Asher woke up, he might know something about the tattoo. In the meantime, he needed to be treated, as he had extensive internal injuries and some external ones. He was also in a state of great exhaustion that was the result of his trance.

I quickly took him to a tent and a healer was inside.

"Heal him until he is fully recovered."

"Understood, it will take an hour for him to be as good as new."

I got out of the tent, which was large and held down with ropes from the ground. Its material was plastic, so the rain didn't get in. Then I looked at the gentlemen.

"To put up with all this time.... They had it tough," was all I thought.

Before the sight of all the terrain, with large trees and, most importantly, the craters that were deep and almost a hundred meters wide, there were not just a few, but dozens. But, despite their great damage, the monsters emerged, which meant that the number of monsters was no joke.

But who made these craters? Only a wizard of seventh circle or higher could do this. So who the hell did it and for what purpose? Although, looking at the corpses of the monsters on the ground, there were some grade 8, 7 and 6. Whoever it was, it helped quite a bit in killing the stronger monsters.

"It's still a mystery though."

Then my gaze settled on Asher's group. Maybe they know what happened and who is responsible for these craters.

I quickly approached them and spoke.

"Do any of you know what happened to those craters on the ground?"

"..."

No one answered instantly and they looked at each other. Then their gazes turned back to me.

"We...we're sorry, we don't remember any of it. It's like someone erased a few seconds of our memories."

"..."

Although almost no one would believe this, to me it could be real. Whoever caused all this land in a destruction didn't want them to discover his identity. Assuming, it looks like he erased a few seconds of these three's memories. So, but only if there's a slim chance.....

"Maybe he didn't forget anything," I thought as I looked in the direction of the tent where Asher was.

Maybe he might know, but in case he didn't, then it would be a search problem.

"Reports," a gentleman came quickly towards me and I looked at him as his hand was on his head in greeting.

"How is the situation?"

"Commander, the monsters are being eliminated quickly, but they are still appearing in large numbers. It won't be a problem."

"That's too many monsters."

"We also found traces of a fight with a demon further away from here. It looks like he fought a paladin and both are dead. At that location there is a crater similar to the ones here. We believe that the same guy who caused these craters is also responsible for killing the demon and the paladin. In addition, there is a carriage with nine dead people and an archbishop of a church at the site," the knight reported.

"All right, stand down," I replied, and my thoughts went out of control. A strange situation had occurred in this forest....