Entourage

"—this is wide…" Chiaki muttered, standing by my side.

The first floor of the keep had a high ceiling. It was wide. It was so wide that it felt like the whole floor was just one open area.

There were staircases in the four corners, with the one we came down being in the southeast. We'd have to go up the stairs from the first floor to reach the watchtowers. That meant the other three sets of stairs, in the northwest, southwest, and northeast, should lead to the watchtowers.

There were also four doors on the walls, all of them open. Had they already been searched, then? I'd stepped on or jumped over a number of orc corpses in the corridor, but that was nothing compared to this first floor. In the time it took us to get here, a fierce battle must have been fought.

There were ten—no, more than that—dead orcs, as well as a number of fallen volunteer soldiers. Some were being treated by their comrades, while some others weren't. They were dead.

"Now then, which way's the jackpot?" Kajiko called.

Kajiko and her Wild Angels looked ready to assault the northwest watchtower. Team Renji had chosen the southwest watchtower. Having seen that, most of the other volunteer soldiers were gravitating towards the northeast watchtower. Some stay still on that floor. 

Suzune didn't hesitate to say "We'll stay here."

"Huh?" Ken was the first to react. He had been the most excited up to this point. "Why, we have a chance to kill some big shots! Isn't that our aim?!"

"I do remember saying that. But coming out of this alive is more relevant than anything else."

"So what, we're just going to sit tight?"

"If you wish to leave, I won't stop you. That goes for everyone else."

"Kiyotaka...! Are you okay with this?"

"Yes."

"Kh!"

Ken scratched his hair in exasperation. He didn't do it in the end.

'Had Suzune realized the same thing?'

Britney mentioned that Zoran and his close guards were assumed to be in one of the watchtowers. Alterna had taken Deadhead Watching Keep several times, so it was natural for them to know the intricacies of the fortress. Watchtowers are also the farthest locations for our side to reach. 

However, the orcs weren't stupid. Will they let their mistakes go uncorrected? No. Even now, the orcs managed to pull off a decent move to keep the main army from breaking through the Deadhead with a who-knows-what tactic. 

The likelihood of Alterna being able to take Deadhead Watching Keep so easily in the past was probably due to the keep itself being a mere surveillance keep. But Riverside Iron Fortress was at their back to lend them a hand. When they found out Riverside Iron Fortress' situation prevented them from sending help, what would they do?

"—ah!" Chiaki turned back.

I quickly did the same. 

Multiple orcs emerged concurrently. One wouldn't need any help to tell the difference between them and the ones we faced previously. Their equipment, their build, and the aura they gave off were several orders of magnitude more overwhelming.

"Are they Shamans...?" Kikyou muttered, referring to the number of barely armored orcs among the soldiers. They had pots of some sort hanging from their waists and a mace in their hands.

"Agh?!"

"Gahh...!"

"Wahh!"

A number of volunteer soldiers who were close to the entrance and had lowered their guard fell victim to the guards. 'The elite soldiers.' That's what I thought. 'Where is Zoran Zesh, then?'

"Everyone...!" Suzune not only addressed her comrades but also all the volunteer soldiers on the first floor. "Spread yourselves apart! Don't limit your movements by gathering close together by using the vast terrain of the first floor to your advantage! We should hold out until the volunteer soldiers in the three watchtowers or the frontier soldiers arrive...!"

It was a logical decision that you could expect from Suzune. Having them cooperate with each other was likely to have a worse effect due to the volunteer army style that was more prevalent in small groups. The enemy army 'should' be no more than twenty. We have about twenty ourselves. Even if the number of enemies exceeded what we thought, they could at least hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

But still, it was pretty surprising. That the volunteer soldiers did what Suzune said immediately. They tended to judge their fellow volunteer soldiers by their achievements. Suzune and others hadn't acquired any. Was it because of the leadership aura she gave off? I can't deny that. But there should be more to it than that...

We're pulling away from the wall and the first-floor exit. We are currently the closest to them. When we did so, the figure I wondered about appeared in the lineup. 

"He's huge, huh?" Kei blurted out in surprise.

Yes, he's huge.

His suit of deep red armor and helmet make him conspicuous as well. His black and gold hair came out between his helmet. He held two scimitars in each hand. 'Zoran Zesh. The Keeper of the Keep.'

Ken laughed out loud, thrilled. "Hell, yeah! So you're out here? Come at —Ohh?!"

The guards scattered, as did the shamans, meanwhile Zoran Zesh raced towards us— or simply Ken— and swung the scimitar in his right hand at the warrior. Ken was caught by surprise, perhaps due to Zoran's movements betraying his physique. Ken is the kind of guy trapped in his preconception. He clearly did not think Zoran Zesh would be that fast. Either way, he managed to raise his greatsword in time to block his attack, albeit with a single hand and in an awkward manner.

"Whoa...!"

He went flying sideways, barely falling in the process. But Zoran still had one more weapon. He sent in another savage swing. While Ken escaped a direct hit, his one hand grasping his weapon emitted a fracturing noise, as the bones surrounding his chest were pressed by the blunt part of his own sword. Ken had trouble breathing instantly. It had also caused a serious dent in his red armor.

"!" Yousuke made his move at once. He had drawn a hexagram on his forehead while he did.

I launched a strike on Zoran Zesh to get his attention. He deftly parried it. 'It sure is heavy...'

My party won't be able to put up much of a fight against him, frankly. Same for the other volunteer soldiers here. Perhaps only when Renji and Kajiko the Wild Angels' team arrived would the volunteer soldiers be able to put up a meaningful fight. That first contact was enough for me to come to that decision.

Zoran Zesh changed his expression slightly after the contact. He seemed wary. 

"Kiyotaka-kun...!" Suzune voiced anxiously.

"—I'm fine," Zoran delivered two simultaneous blows. With both hands on the Butcher, I blocked them just fine. "I can deal with him. Take care of the elite warriors and shamans. 'You' are going to lead the party for this kill."

The shamans, in particular, caused a huge constant disturbance to the allies. The volunteer soldiers were clearly having trouble dealing with them.