(Luke side)
We arrived near the forest, and I could see with my own eyes that several houses here had already been destroyed, some nearly leveled to the ground.
There were a few still standing, but their interiors had been completely ruined.
We also found traces of something burned beside one of the houses, and we couldn't guess what had happened.
"Oi, Luke, what should we do?" asked someone behind me.
By the way, I had already introduced myself to them as one of the members of the hero's party.
Since in the group that would be assigned to this forest, most of them were adventurers who were already part of my group.
And there were only around forty to fifty soldiers sent by Marcen-sama. That meant I was the one with the highest status here.
I had discussed this with them beforehand, and they asked me to take over the position of leader so the group's movements wouldn't become chaotic.
"Traces of monster attacks are still here, but we don't see any right now. Maybe they've all gone back inside—" before I could finish my sentence, a soldier shouted from inside one of the houses.
The house hadn't been completely destroyed, so a few people could still enter through the door hole that had been smashed open.
"Y-you guys! Look over here!" he shouted, calling us to come quickly.
"Stay in formation and don't lose order," I said to the people behind me.
I went into the house with a few others who followed me, to see what had happened to the soldier who was shouting.
Inside the house, I could smell a foul stench, like that of a living creature that had died and not yet been buried.
Besides that, I also saw splatters of red and purple blood on the walls, though not in large amounts.
This blood… that means it belongs to both a human and a monster. Damn it, was there someone who hadn't been evacuated by the guild back then? Tch.
I went further inside and finally found the soldier who had been shouting for us to come.
I saw him standing there, staring at something with an expression filled with fear and unease.
He was inside a fairly large empty room that only contained furniture like a wardrobe and chairs, and when I entered—
Thump.
I saw an elderly man lying dead on the floor of the house, drenched in blood. His body was covered in wounds, with blood flowing from his back.
In the corner of the room, I saw a monster that wasn't very large, but I suspected it belonged to the orc category.
I could say that because its body shape was very similar to a typical orc, though this one was smaller, perhaps about the height of an adult man.
The foul stench inside this house was quite strong. The man had likely been dead for one or two days.
And because the wounds were quite deep, his body had begun to rot, even though the time of death couldn't be considered very long ago.
"What should we do, Luke-san?" asked the soldier who had shouted earlier.
"Take two of your comrades and go to the guild immediately. Bring a stretcher back here," I said.
"Yes!" he replied, immediately running out of the house and heading to the guild with two others.
Now, only three others and I remained, the ones who had entered with me.
"With wounds this big… could this be the work of a monster like a bear?"
"I can't be sure of that, because it's impossible for a bear-like monster to enter this room. The door isn't broken, and there's no hole in the walls," I replied.
"Then… does that mean a humanoid monster attacked this man? But looking at it again, that monster doesn't have hands or claws big enough to cause wounds this large on his back."
"For now, we need to keep moving. The matter of this man will be settled soon. Let's head outside first; I want to explain my plan," I said to the three of them.
"Understood," they replied.
I would talk about this man with Lancer-san later when we met. He would surely be able to help me.
——
I divided them into three groups, each consisting of around thirty people.
Honestly, I still couldn't believe that the soldiers sent here by Marcen-san didn't number in the hundreds.
The forest inside this city was quite large, and even when we came with an adventurer group some time ago, it took many people to check every area.
"I want all of you to open your status screens. I'll share the information I've gathered," I said.
They followed my instructions and began opening their status screens.
There was a skill that allowed us to share things through the status screen, but I didn't want to go into that.
I gave them the marked point of the magic circle that Yuu-chan had shown me earlier, so they could see its location themselves.
"This point—" "Is this where the monsters are gathering?"
The people in front of me began asking each other in curiosity.
"That red point is the position of the magic circle, which is suspected to be how the Abbys are summoning monsters here," I said.
"This forest is very wide, so with only three groups at our disposal, I've thought of a plan that might work."
"I'll be joining one group that will move directly toward the magic circle," I continued.
"W-wait, isn't that too dangerous?!"
"The monsters might be hiding and waiting for us to enter their territory before ambushing us!"
In this situation, I was a bit unsure what to say next—
When suddenly, a young male adventurer from group two raised his hand.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I can use Find Area," he said.
I was slightly surprised to hear that. Find was one of my abilities, used to see someone's identity.
But Find Area was an advanced version of that skill, allowing the user to detect things by extending their senses of hearing and smell across several areas.
"In that case, your group will become the main group heading to the magic circle. And I want you to be its leader, using that ability," I said.
"I-I don't mind, but…" he muttered while glancing at his own group.
Perhaps he felt that some members of his group didn't like him, or perhaps he didn't want to be the main group in this plan.
"No problem, kid!" "We agree with your decision."
The people in his group didn't seem to mind the decision he had made.
——
I finally had leaders for each group.
The first group would be led by a soldier to whom I had given a red cloth to tie around his arm—Fork.
The second group would be led by that young man, who turned out to be only fifteen years old—Vonky.
And the last group would, of course, be led by me, since I would definitely be going in with them.
I gave two flares to each group. When a flare was fired, a red signal would shoot high into the sky.
The soldier I had sent back to the guild earlier brought a fairly large box filled with flares, which was why I was able to distribute them.
These flares were to be fired by each group leader if they were attacked by monsters and became overwhelmed.
If they fired the flares twice from slightly different positions, it meant their mission had succeeded and my plan had worked.
—
(Luke side, explaining the same thing to the troops under his command)
So, the plan is this: I've already assigned the areas each group must go to.
First, group one will guard the outer part of the forest, while also observing and providing information if any reinforcements arrive.
I want each of you to maintain a maximum distance of six meters between one another, understood?
This forest stretches outward beyond the city, and there is only one entrance—the place where we're standing right now.
If the Abbys forces try to trap us as we move in, that's why group one will stay not far from the forest entrance.
"So that means we'll be guarding near the road and watching for any movement from monsters on it?"
"Yes, that's right," I replied.
Also, try not to be too visible from the road, and stay alert to your surroundings. Don't lose sight of your comrades or yourselves.
"Alright, understood!" said Fork.
Next, group three with me will enter together with group two. Here's how it goes.
In group two, Vonky will attempt to detect the surrounding situation, and he'll do so from about ten meters away from the magic circle.
"I can detect up to one kilometer. Why not do it from farther away?" asked Vonky.
"I'm doing this deliberately, so we can strike faster and catch them off guard," I replied.
Group two's task is to erase the magic circle by attacking it with any kind of magic until it starts to crack.
Once it cracks, I want someone from group two to use their sword, imbue it with magic, and stab it into the center of the magic circle.
(This is one of the ways to eliminate a magic circle on the ground, unless someone can use seal-breaking magic.)
Naturally, that magic circle will be guarded by a large number of monsters, and I suspect there may even be giant orcs among them.
The monsters and the Abbys forces have likely prepared a place for themselves to stay, coming out only when the magic circle is attacked.
That's why group three will take a safe detour route, one I've traveled before.
"Are you sure?" asked someone in my group.
"Yes, I've taken this shortcut before, and it comes out not far from where the magic circle is located," I replied.
———
Simply put, when the guild parties were searching for missing people a few days ago,
Luke saw Yuu-chan in a different group, not far from where he was standing.
———
That route passes along the edge of a river, and we can climb up to slightly higher ground to attack the Abbys who are already prepared at their position.
They'll surely be gathered in one place, and we'll attack them quietly from behind, killing them one by one.
Another task for group two is to protect Vonky, so that no monsters can attack him while he's detecting.
"If that's the case, why don't I just join group three instead? I can tell you the positions of the Abbys members, right?" asked Vonky.
(I knew he would ask that.)
"That's why, specifically for you, I want you to fire your first flare as a sign that you're engaging the enemy, and that means there are no enemies around group three," I replied.
"The distance between group two, group three, and the cluster of monsters and Abbys should be no more than two hundred meters, because the monsters don't move individually—they stay in one large group," I continued.
If group two detects monsters near or behind group three, don't fire the flare, so we'll know what's happening next.
By that time, we should already be on higher ground, just as I explained earlier.
Then we'll definitely be able to see hundreds of monsters moving toward you, and that will be the signal for group three to attack from behind.
——
"Luke-san, did you come up with this plan a long time ago?" asked Vonky.
"No, I just thought of it now, but I can guarantee its success," I replied.
"The hero's party really is amazing. I'm counting on you!" said Fork.
"Alright, return to your respective formations. We're moving out!" I said.
Their ranks had become messy earlier when they heard my plan, but they quickly returned to formation and waited for my orders.