Chapter 43

“Golems have appeared behind our camp.”

I didn’t believe my ears as the kobold made his report.

“Golems? How? No, from where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where are they now? How many are there?”

I was confused. I had never considered that the enemy would come from behind.

“The news came from the town of Eg. They said that there were about fifty of them.”

Eg was the town where the Cherry Ents had remained.

“Fifty… This is bad.”

That wasn’t so different from the number of ogres that we had. And we didn’t have any walls.

If we were pincered here, our defenses would crumble easily.

However, how did they manage to get behind us?

Did the townspeople betray us? No, everyone had fled, except for the old trees who couldn’t move.

And I had kobolds keeping watch over the area. There was no way that they would have missed them.

And surely the Cherry Ents would not have betrayed me.

“The Corps Commander’s base is west of that town. And the east is covered in miasma… No, wait.”

“Hey, Rig. How far does the miasma zone near Eg reach?”

“It extends very far, but I don’t know how far exactly.”

“Do you know if it reaches the enemy camp?”

“Hmm. I believe that it does.”

“Don’t Golems have resistance to miasma?”

“To a degree. But they are also very slow. I do not think they would have been able to get through it.”

But if the enemy didn’t come from the direction of the capital, that meant they had to have come through the miasma zone.

Even if they were slow, was it possible if they had resistance…? No, that would be difficult.

“It’s a suicide mission. That Gigant Centaur lost in a one on one battle. And so he’s resorting to such temporary measures.”

“What do you mean?”

“He ordered the Golems to charge into the miasma. And he doesn’t care if some die or they become weak. You said that fifty of them appeared?”

“Yes.”

“He must have sent many more. Perhaps eighty or even a hundred.”

“Th-then they just left those who could not move and came here?”

“Aye. That’s the only explanation for their appearance. …Damn it. I don’t like his methods. He doesn’t protect his subordinates, but uses them as disposable pawns.” 

It made me ridiculously angry.

“Hey, Saifo.”

“What?”

“I’m leaving you in charge. Go wild.”

“Oh, finally. You’re awfully generous today.”

“I’m sure you’ve been itching to destroy. I’m giving you permission. Go crazy.”

“Alright! Then I’ll do as I please.”

“But keep our own losses at a minimum at the same time. And Beka.”

“What?”

“You come with me. We’re going to hunt some Golems.”

“Yay! And I can do what I like, right?”

“Of course. Don’t hold back. Crush ‘em into pulp.”

“You bet I will!”

“Painy. I want you to lead the Reapers out of our base. Go around and smash the Evil Spirits and Corpse Demons in the third wave. They are a bad match for ogres.”

“I understand. We will annihilate them.”

“You don’t have to annihilate them. They should be in great numbers, so be careful.”

“I am aware. But we are used to battling superior numbers.”

“I see. Well, I have to go now. Saifo, Painy, and Rig. I leave the rest to you.”

“Don’t worry!”