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The situation on the battlefield has turned around.

Everything began after Edelin retrieved the arrangements made by her predecessors that she was so determined to recover.

‘Edelin definitely wanted to retrieve this arrangement.’

Among the few cards they held to oppose the demons, this was one. For that card, she crawled out of the protective barrier that was safeguarding the city into this dangerous situation in order to reclaim the arrangement.

She even brought Shione, the most important key, to this perilous place separately for the sake of retrieving the arrangement.

I was continuously curious about what it was that made her bring in Edelin and the elite forces.

Finally, I could see and understand what she sought in this forest that had turned into a demonic realm.

‘…It’s only natural to retrieve something from these monster-like spirits, no matter what it takes.’

The arrangement left by the old nobility could be termed a price paid for selling their souls to their spirits without any shortage.

All of them were top-tier spirits. The number of high-grade spirits exceeded one hundred. These were the spirits of the nobility who fought in the wars long ago.

The reason they could manifest in this place again is that many nobles from the past promised, as a condition of their soul contracts, to assist the King of the Great Forest whenever desired.

─What are you spacing out for!

As I was overwhelmed by the spirits filling the sky, Tania started to get irritated.

─That noble lady told you to find one just like your master!

“Ah.”

─Since Shione has woken up, hurry back!

“…What?”

Shione woke up?

As I quickly turned to check where Shione was supposed to be, I finally heard our spirit Orna’s shout.

“Meow!”

Chop! Chopchop! Chopchopchop!!

“Ow, it hurts! I said stop… No, this is really…!”

“…….”

At that moment, I could finally see Shione, awakened, playing around with Orna, seemingly in high spirits.

“…Have you awakened?”

“Uh…? Ray?”

“If you’re awake, you need to help me quickly.”

I swiftly gathered Shione’s bow and quiver that had fallen to the ground and handed them to her.

“Meow.”

Orna also decided to stop slapping Shione’s cheek and, fitting the mood, climbed onto her head while remaining silent.

“From now on, we will go to recover not only the arrangements left by the first head of the clan but also those left by the Grand Elder, which were made by an unknown person.”

“That monument has a small flower drawn on it, right?”

“Correct. As it stands now, it would be best to hurry and retrieve it while the Grand Elder has taken control.”

Just then, Shione glanced around the area to assess the situation.

Hundreds of spirits and the monsters that were just beginning to emerge from the shadows.

Now was the right time to thread through the enemy and dig underneath the monument.

“I might be speaking out of turn, but I’ll take a moment to guard you.”

At those words, Shione brushed her fringe back and nodded.

When she was getting slapped by Orna, she seemed not to be fully conscious, but now that we were face-to-face in this situation, her dazed eyes were gone.

She had returned to her cold and sharp archer demeanor.

This was more than enough to leave some guards around.

“Changsik, Tania. Come and stick by my side.”

─Okay. Let’s go, Changsik.

─…Just call me whatever now.

The two spirits that were floating in the air and burning enemies returned to my side.

In perfect timing, I placed an arrow from the quiver onto the bow and took a deep breath.

I channeled mana. Through my legs and eyes. In that moment when clearer vision and agility seeped in, the rush finally began.

Whoosh─!

The ground shook.

Surroundings started to change rapidly.

I had to find the monument. The one with the small flower drawn on it.

“Changsik, search for the monument with the flower while supporting me.”

An oversized monster that the spirits Edelin was controlling had bypassed without notice.

It had the form of an orc but exuded an even stronger scent of blood.

“Tania, focus solely on assisting my attacks.”

Whoosh!

As the arrow ignited, I pulled the string back.

With just my index and middle fingers, I slid the string as I pulled it.

In a lightning-fast strike, the creature let out a roar, but its head was pierced before it could scream.

Bang─!

I trampled over the back of the creature that collapsed.

It was only natural that the deafening sound drew the attention of several other monsters.

“Oh no, damn…!”

A beast rushed at me. I pulled an arrow but had to hold back shooting due to the distance being too close.

I switched my steps with light, bouncy movement.

As if dodging, I stepped aside and stabbed the sharp arrowhead into its neck.

“Elvis, quick.”

I enhanced my body’s elasticity and lunged forward again.

An enemy appeared out of nowhere in front of me.

I drew my sword.

Swish─!

“Tania.”

Slash!

As I beheaded the creature with flames surrounding my blade, I dashed forward.

The blood staining my sword disappeared in the flames of Tania, and I merely sheathed my sword again.

Shione, with Orna’s help, was diligently picking off enemies one by one as well.

Now that the monsters had thinned slightly, I had the leisure to focus on the monument.

“Elvis, have you found the monument?”

“That way! Over there!”

Elvis flew ahead to guide us.

Following Elvis, we stood in front of a monument. As Edelin said, a small flower was drawn in one corner.

I, just like Shione, placed my hand on the rock.

As soon as I touched it, the engraved words began emitting a glowing blue light as if waiting for this moment.

‘This is─’

Once the conditions were fulfilled, the magic would manifest.

This technique required much higher magical specifications than I thought, as if merely touching the monument fulfilled the conditions.

It began responding even more vigorously.

‘This is not ordinary.’

I felt a greater power than that of the arrangements left by Shione’s ancestors.

Although the monument was not as large as the magic circle that Edelin had conjured, an incredibly precise and beautiful geometric pattern entirely filled the space.

From the mysterious space before the monument suddenly emerged an object left behind by someone unknown.

“A spear?”

A long spear with a sharply honed tip.

The spear radiated a mysterious aura. Even during my time as a hunter, I hadn’t seen many weapons of this caliber.

It didn’t take long to grasp the value this spear held.

Upon closely examining its shaft, I could only stare in shock.

“…It’s not in the common language of the continent.”

What was engraved was none other than English—the name of the famed craftsman who once dominated the weapons of the age. The initials clearly signalled the spear’s value, and as I realized this, I sucked in a breath.

“No, what’s this? What if a spear comes out?”

I’m a damn archer.

If anything was coming out, it should’ve been a bow.

*

After gathering the numerous spirits and the arrangements left by Shianella, as well as Edelin’s words regarding those left by a being with a different soul, Edelin, now fully aware, called out.

“All arrangements have been secured! All survivors, gather around me!”

The concentration of mana thickened. Death after death, monsters that continued appearing to fill in the places of fallen comrades. Even if hundreds of spirits were sweeping them away under Edelin’s command, they couldn’t last forever.

Upon hearing her call, the elves scattered around began to regroup towards her.

As they got closer to Edelin, the number of remaining monsters shrank. At a certain distance, it was no longer possible to find any hostile beings.

Once all the elves who survived gathered around her, Edelin spoke.

“Royal Guards, report the damage status.”

The first place her gaze turned was towards her direct Royal Guard commander.

A woman, covered in dirt yet with a focused gaze despite her wounds, shouted with a fierce voice.

“Among the twenty of the direct Royal Guard dispatched, three are injured! Two are critically wounded! Four are deceased! There are sixteen survivors!”

After hearing the report from the commander of the Royal Guards, Edelin’s gaze shifted to the Ianette’s Airine. Simultaneously, her expression slightly contorted.

Everyone present turned to look at Airine.

‘… It’s devastating.’

Devastating. That would be the most fitting way to describe her current state.

Her left arm dangled lifelessly, seemingly broken, swaying feebly in the wind caused by the spirits still engaged in battle. The right leg, having been bitten by a beast, bore a visible wound where the armor had been wrenched away.

It seemed that her leg had completely given up strength. Supported by a nearby servant, she barely managed to stand. She looked up at Edelin with a pale face from blood loss.

Just a few days ago, it was unimaginable to see her in this pitiful state as the firstborn daughter of one of the leading families in the Great Forest.

However, despite that, as Edelin gazed at her, she attempted to straighten her back as much as she could, squeezing out a withered voice for her report.

“The Ianette family’s thirty…! Twenty-three deceased, one injured, four critically wounded. Total survivors are seven…!”

Edelin quietly stared at her for a moment before she spoke.

“You and Ianette shall receive due rewards after thorough commendation based on your contributions.”

“… It’s an honor.”

“Furthermore.”

Edelin’s gaze shifted, finally landing on Shione.

“The hero of the Count’s house who absorbed pieces of the soul of Shianella, and the hero who retrieved the spear of an old comrade should converse separately afterward.”

As Shione and I silently nodded to her words, Edelin finally turned her head toward the World Tree visible in the distance.

“Royal Guards, those who still have strength left, assist Ianette.”

At those words, the guards began to help the injured elves, or lifted the critically wounded.

“Now, we will return to the city.”

Now that all arrangements have been secured, preparations for war are finally complete.

 

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