Like a rge herd of wildebeests stampeding in an open field, Grey and Yu massive dust clouds on their wake as they ran at breakneck speeds, rivaling those of bullet trains.

  Currently, the two are on a special quest to exterminate a horde of orcs threatening a vilge east of Galderia. It was a quest brought upon the sudderance of a man pale as a sheet of paper ing from the said vilge.

  With an eneral leading the horde, it was like a flood of destru which devoured everything along its path. A terrifying force which pete with a whole order of knights.

  Acc to the man who delivered the news, the orc horde came without warning from the nearby woods. They came from the dire of a nearby cave and just marched straight to the vilge, trampling everything they met and killing every living thing on sight.

  It was a race against time, a race which could cost the lives of hundreds even if Grey and Yuo be te for even a minute.

  Knowing this, Grey and Yuna traveled in a straight path towards the vilge, c a distahat would have taken a fast horse to travel almost quarter an hour ihan three minutes. Not to mentioher of the two broke a sweat during the trip.

  The moment the vilge came into sight, rge ns of smoke had already risen to the sky. The vilge was already ravaged and ruined.

  It was a se which reminded both Grey and Yuna about the tragedy almost 3 years ago. The only difference was that there weren't rge fmes engulfing the houses, only orcs tramping over everything.

  Thankfully, acc to the man, the vilgers had already started evacuating. Coupled with the slower movement speeds of the orc, it should have given them enough time to escape.

  Still, Grey and Yuna didn't bee pt. After all, there could have been misinformation from the he man brought to them.

  Ihe ravaged vilge, multiple variants of orcs ran rampant as they destroyed the houses swing after swing by their rge maces. Even reinforced stone pilrs stood no ce from the orcs' brute force.

  In just a single gnce, Grey was able to tell that the orumbers exceeded a thousand.Though most of the horde sists of normal orcs, there were also quite a number of high orcs, but what brey the most was that...

  'Why are there 5 of them?'

  ... there were more than one eneral within sight.

  The report was even worse thahought. It wasn't an eneral which was leading the horde, it was an Org! A B-rank monster capable of destroying vilges all by itself!

  What's more w was that not all the vilges have escaped, there were still some left behind as they try to save some ies as they evacuate. A foolish act which could cost oo forfeit their lives.

  "Yuna, head to the vilge and save the ones left behind. Once you're done, e help me. I'll be intercepting the horde up front and the Org." ［Grey］

  "An Org?!" ［Yuna］

  "Yeah, it seems like the vilgers mistook it for an eneral. So, you do it?" ［Grey］

  For a moment, Yuna became silent after learning the reality of the situation. But she was able to snap quickly back to reality, and with a smile on her face...

  "Of course. I am your partner, after all!" ［Yuna］

  ... Yuna answered Grey fidently, making the tter heave a small sigh of relief.

  "And Yuna, be careful." ［Grey］

  "Un!" ［Yuna］

  With a fident smile on her face, Yuna vanished into thin air as the two split ways, moving as fast as they could to not waste any more precious time.

  'Tsk, this is going to be harder than I thought.' ［Grey］

  Grey clicked his tongue as he monitored the situation with "Heaven's Eye". It showed that the horde was more scattered thahought.

  If only there was o sider the vilge and the vilgers, Grey could have ehe horde in a single wide area attack. Sadly, the vilgers would also be caught up in the spell if he ever did so.

  "Well, if I 't blow you all away at once... then I'll just sughter you pigs one by one! ??Gale Waltz??!" ［Grey］

  As Grey released the spell, a strong burst of winds formed into bdes and decapitated ead every orc along the easy path, not sparing the ory time to retaliate.

  ??Icicle Shotgun!?? ［Yuna］

  On Yuna's side of things, she was treading quietly and swiftly along the vilge, Firing a barrage of ice towards every orc she met, ending their lives in a single shot.

  No matter how many orcs she came across, Yuna ehe orcs' lives with a face of indiffere the same time, she was also keeping a sharp eye and ear for any vilgers left behind.

  Buhhiiikkkk Guraaakkkk

  'That's another one dowー' ［Yuna］

  "He-Help!!"

  "Aahhhh!!"

  Just as she finished off another orc, screams of people filled the air.

  Yuna quickly followed the in of the scream, arriving at a se where two soldiers were keeping the orcs occupied as they tried to let the others escape. There were even children g in fear from every strike an orc delivered to the soldiers.

  But evehey were full of wounds, the two soldiers did not flee a proteg the vilgers behind their backs. One of them even has a bleeding head, yet he didn't stand down.

  ??Icicle Shotgun!?? ［Yuna］

  As the orc raised its hand to strike the soldiers once again, Yuna arrived at the nick of time, firing off a spell which immediately ehe orcs' lives.

  Before the vilgers could even notice her arrival, the ocrs had already turned into pincushion which was skewered by multiple ks of ice. Shortly after, the orcs fell to the ground and vanished into thin air, leaving a few drops behind.

  The vilgers, witnessing the se, became frozen from shod fusion. In their eyes, rge ks of ice suddenly appeared and finished off the orot a single one of them uood what just happened.

  "Is everyone alright?" ［Yuna］

  Undoing her ability, Yuna appeared before the vilgers, making the tter snap back to reality as they saw a young dy appear before them. It seemed like the sed shock celed out the first one.

  Of course, the vilgers were still wary of her sudden appearance, as the wounded soldiers quickly poiheir ons at her.

  "Don't worry, I'm an adventurer from Galderia. I've e here to extermihe ord lead you to safety." ［Yuna］

  "Gido? He made it?!"

  "So help has arrived... Thank God, thank God..."

  "Our efforts were not in vain."

  Hearing Yuna's words, tears fell down the vilgers eyes. Tears which symbolized the relief they felt. Their hearts which were once filled with fear are now brimming with hope.

  "Umm... this might be rude... but whehe others ing?" ［Soldier］

  "Aside from me and my partner fighting in the front, no other adventurers are ing here. We're the only ones sent by the Guildmaster." ［Yuna］

  But hope didn't st long, as after hearing Yuna's words, their hearts once again sank into despair. After all, no sane person would think that two people could win against a horde of orcs.

  While Yuna wao calm them down, they wouldn't believe her from words alohere was only ohing she could do to assure them.

  "By the way, are there still others in the vilge?" ［Yuna］

  "N... No, we're the only ones left. The others have evacuated. Why...?" ［Soldier］

  Towards the soldier's question, Yuna did not utter a single word to answer. Instead, she only smiled lightly to them as she closed her eyes.

  With a flick of her finger, Yued a simple barrier to protect the vilgers. Moments ter, rge clouds formed in the sky and snow started to fall towards the ruined vilge.

  ??Icicle Shower?? ［Yuna］

  As a cold voice emanated from Yuna's mouth, the snow which was falling suddenly came down at a much faster rate. Seds ter, the snow was turned into hail. Lastly, the hail verged inte ks of ice resembling javelins as sharp as real ones.

  The javelins of ice then rained down to the ground and razed the already ruined vilge, pierg everything in their way and killing the orcs which were helpless against it.

  It was a one sided massacre which brought upon plete destru to the ones against it. It didn't matter if it was a high orc or an eneral, it was the face of death, all are equal.

  Witnessing the spectacle before their very eyes, the mouths of the vilgers hang wide open in agape. It was as if a goddess of ice had desded to pass judgement upon the impure world.

  When the downpour of ice javelins stopped, not a single orc could be seen in the horizon. All of them had turned baana as they vanished into thin air.

  "Don't worry, as you see, the two of us are enough." ［Yuna］

  With a smile on her face, it was difficult to imagihat Yuna was the very same person who id waste upon a horde of orcs. It was as if she was a pletely different person when she's in battle.

  Of course, as they had witnessed such a se, there was no more doubt ihe vilgers' hearts. All that's left was awe towards the elven maiden before them.

  "All those orcs.. in a mere instant... Miss, just who are you...?" ［Soldier］

  "Me? I'm Yuna, just a rookie adventurer." ［Yuna］

  Although Yuna didn't say a single lie, the vilgers were in disbelief from her answer. After all, there was no way a "rookie" would be capable of such overwhelming power.

  "Then, I'll be leaving now." ［Yuna］

  As quickly as she appeared, Yuna activated her ability and vanished once again, leaving the puzzled vilgers behind for themselves.

  As if there wasn't ao them, every time Grey defeated an orother one would just rush at him, repg the defeated one before it.

  But of course, even when he had defeated a couple hundred of them, Grey didn't show any signs of exhaustion. Rather than exhaustion, annoyance was the one which was evident on his face,

  ??Magnum Caliber!?? ［Grey］

  With a single shot, multiple orcs were bsted away, hitting their kin behind them, but even still, the orcs still surrounded Grey from sheer numbers alone.

  Oer anrey delivered a fatal punch to every orc that came into his range. Even when he was just using basic-level arts, the orcs were obliterated all the same.

  "Grey!" ［Yuna］

  Just as Grey finished off another orc, a voice called out to him from behind. The in of it was her than Yuna.

  "How are the vilgers?" ［Grey］

  "They're safe already. By now, everyone should have evacuated away from the vilge into the nearby hills." ［Yuna］

  "Good. Now, I finally let loose!" ［Grey］

  With the vilgers' safety secured, there was nothing holding Grey baymore. It was finally time to deal with the ord for all.

  ??Teic Cemetery!?? ［Grey］

  Following Grey's words, the ground suddenly shook violently as cracks appeared along the earth. A few seds ter, a rge earthen spikes came out of the ground, pierg the orcs' bodies as if they were this of paper.

  ??Twin Spiral!?? ［Grey］

  There were some that survived, but as they stood up, they were instantly shredded to pieces as a massive spear of wind bypassed them, fttening the once jagged ground back to its inal state.

  Buhuwaaaaakkkkk

  The only one who survived was the Org, but while it did survive, it was covered in all manners of wounds and injuries. It took all its strength just to stand back up. It was on its st breath.

  "Time to say goodbye. ??Twin Spiral?? !" ［Grey］

  Seeing awin Spiral" ing its way, the Org tried to defend itself, but from all the injuries it sustained, it was impossible to stop it.

  With unparalleled power, the spell tore through the Org's body, ripping it to shreds and tearing ead every muscle in its body. After the spell ended, not even a single body part resent.

  The only thi behind was the proof of its defeat, its drops. A rge mana crystal, a mass of leather, and an Org's neckce. They were all materials which would fetch a good pri the market.

  But now that the orc horde is defeated, Grey and Yuna are fag another problem. An annoying o that.

  "So... how should we deal with this..." ［Grey］

  In front of their eyes was a ravaged vilge, a disfigured terrain, and a huge number of drops from the orcs they defeated. Although the sed one was easy to fix with magic, the other two are a huge pain in the ass.

  "Haah... Let's just get this over with..." ［Grey］

  "Uuu..." ［Yuna］

  With relu their hearts, Yuna and Grey started pig up the drops from the orcs which were scattered all throughout the battlefield. And with the help of Grey's "Heaven's Eye", they were able to locate all of them.

  Grey and Yuna had started pig up the drops early iernoon, and by the time they finished, it was already te iernoon. It was an arduous task which was even more difficult thaing an orc horde.

  With the orc drops on their hands, the special quest was finally fihe only thio do was to report back to the guild. But first, Grey and Yuo the vilgers to tell them the good news.

  "I-Is that true?!" ［Chief］

  An elderly man screamed in shock as he heard the situatirey.

  "It is, and if you don't believe us, you see for yourself." ［Grey］

  "N-No, just firmation from you is enough. After we witnessed Lady Yuna's powers, there's no ouldn't believe what you say." ［Chief］

  Apparently, the other vilgers were still near enough to witness Yuna as she rained down a torrent of ice javelins down to the orcs. A se which sent shivers down the vilgers' spines.

  But there was something which had brey. A strange honorific was attached to Yuna's name.

  Grey looked at Yuna for answers but the tter just shook her head lightly. It seems like she was also fused about how she came to called "Lady",

  "But the vilge is already ruined, huh..." ［Chief］

  By the chief's words, an atmosphere of gloominess fell about the vilgers, as they reminisced about their once lively home.

  As the vilgers were being crestfallen, a geug ulling onto Grey's coat. It was Yuna who seemed to be signaling Grey about something.

  "About that.. Me and Yuna were actually thinking of giving the money earned from the drops to the vilge. I hope it help you rebuild the vilge." ［Grey］

  "R-Really?!" ［Chief］

  Grey's words brought hope to the crestfallen vilgers. Although they were happy, most of them were shocked by the generosity of the two youths who saved them.

  Befrey and Yu up with the vilgers, the two had already decided to dohe moowards the vilge's restru. It was an agreement the two reached after seeing the poor state of the vilge.

  After all, Grey and Yuna weren't in dire need of money, and remembering the tragedy almost 3 years ago, they just couldn't abandon the vilgers and leave them in a sorry state for their own be.

  "T... Thank you... Thank you very much..." ［Chief］

  Tears trig down his face, the chief thanked Grey and Yuna with a heart full of siy. Not only him, the other vilgers also thahem as they sang praises of them.

  Having saved a lot of lives, Grey's heart became lighter as the guilt of not being able to save Yuna's previous home was lifted a little bit. He was finally strong enough to save others.

  With the sun starting to set, Grey and Yuhe vilgers to Galderia, making sure they arrived safe and sound.

  It was also worth noting that Grey and Yuna healed the wounds of the vilgers, returning them back to their healthy state. Once again earning them the gratitude of the vilgers.

  "Everybody, look! We're almost there!" ［Soldier］

  A soldier in the front reyed a message towards his fellow vilgers, as he spotted the city over the horizon.

  As the sun was about to set, rge stone walls came into view. Illuminated by the amber sunlight, the hearts of vilgers were filled with happiness as they could finally settle down.

  It wasn't only the vilgers who were happy at the sight of the city, Grey and Yuna also felt great joy seeing the familiar sery unfold before them.

  "We're home." ［Yuna］

  CHAPTER 16 END