“Oi! Seriously! What happen in here, Astra?!”

“That’s exactly what I want to know here, Bard-San! It is too fast so I don’t even know what happen exactly!”

“Why there is more than 60 Monster general appear in the same time?!”

As I asked to Astra about our condition, he didn’t give the answer that all the members wanted. In fact, Astra not have a leeway to answer that kind of question. Because right now, he just barely hold the Monster General with the appearance of a pig and the size is about of 5m tall by himself. Not just that, around our party there are more than a hundreds of wolves, Minotaur, Orc, and even Ogre. Of course every kind of monster that appeared in here with their general as the leader.

Why we got trapped in this worst situation?

The answer lay in 1 hour ago….

***

After we arrived at the entrance to the dark forest, the raid group immediately split to our position as we discussed before. Of course because our group in here is the strongest member in the raid we got the center position. It means exactly in the middle of the dark forest where the very dangerous monster wait.

In the dark forest, even a slime can become a very dangerous creatures because of the dark miasma that surrounding this forest. From what I heard, even the goblin in here can give a small dragon a hard fight. What a joke right? But for me, it is not a joke or even an exaggerate story. Because I am the one who saw it 10 years ago when a herd of goblin actually hunted a small dragon. Even we a [Silver] tag adventurer have a hard fight to actually hunt a small dragon, and here… there is a herd of goblin the almost weakest existence of monster evolved to be a dragon hunter. Really I can’t laugh of this matter.

“So, Astra… it seems we already found a herd of wolves in front of us and from what I see, there is 4 general who lead them. So, what should we do?”

“Hmm… I think we must split the 4 general so we can fight it one on one when the other member dealt with the normal one? What do you think?”

After I give my report, Astra give his opinion and the other party nodded to his opinion and trying to split the member who can defeat the general alone.

“Then I, Bard-San, Jean-San, and Theo will fight one on one with the general and split them from the group while the other dealt with the normal one.”

After that clear instruction, I kicked the wolves general’s right eye which stay in the right side without looking around. Of course the big dark wolf with the red eyes see me as its enemy and chase after me. In this kind of situation we can lost our life anytime so we must focus only on our task. Of course I too… still want to live even a bit longer.

I think in here its fine.

After I lured it far enough from the group finally I looked to the direction of the wolf general’s behind me.

Crap! He bring 3 follower with him!

When I see there are 3 followers that chase after me make my cold sweat started to pour from my bodies.

The normal wolves have brown fur and the size of its body is small different from the general whose fur is pure dark. Their eyes is different while the general has red eyes, their followers have green instead.

The normal wolves starting circling around me while the general stay still in the back. I’m started to draw my Magic Sword and release a wind element from it. Just for your information, my Magic Sword have 7 attribute include Fire, Light, Lightning, Wind, Water, Dark, and Earth. This sword I find it in the dungeon around here when I’m still 23 years old.

After my sword change color to the green and the shape already change to a 3 wind claws, I use a special spell [Target Lock] to literally locked my target… the 3 followers that surround me before I swing my blade.

When the wolves starting charge onto me, my blade that I already swing do the rest of the cleaning job. The every blade slice the wolves body silently and before the can even reach me, their body already split in pieces. Why I only lock 3 wolves you said? The answer is because of this special skill can only lock the target while the number is Nx3. It means 3, 6, 9, 12….

I think I swing the sword below 10 seconds, huh. Its still safe.

Yes, another handicap that I have is that I can only wield my sword around 30 minutes or if you convert it, it is around 200 swing. Then,

“Why you just stay still in there?”

“Grr!”

After the general see its follower died so powerlessly, the general finally charge onto me. This time I can’t use that special skill so I can only face it with my pure skill.

The general trying to bite me while its ramming its body toward me but I splendidly avoid while rotate my body to the right side and slice its exactly at its dark fur.

I got its tail… its not even worth for swing. Crap!

With this I already swing my sword twice. When the general still feel pain and slowly lost its balance, I charge toward the general and slice him cleanly from the left side.

“Phew~ it took me 3 swing in this place”

After I finished the general, I cut its left ear as a proof of the quest and go back to where my party before. When I arrived, there still a lot of normal wolves around.

It seems Jean, Theo, and Astra already finished the general too huh….

After the generals were defeated, the wolves will lost their unity as a herd so their move will turn fragile and easy to understand. Not long after we finished all of the wolves around without left any single one of them, we gather again to give the opinion.

“It is too strange for the general from the same kind to move in the same time like this”

“You think so too, Jean?”

“I feel the same too, Bard-San, Jean-San”

“I think its as the king predict, there is something happen in this forest”

When Jean, Me, Theo, and Astra give our opinion, suddenly we heard a very loud voice around us. The ground itself is shaking and when we realize it, we’re already surrounded by more than hundreds monster around us.

***

That’s the condition before we got trapped in this worst situation. As Astra said, it is too fast so we didn’t even know what happen in here exactly. After all, just a moment ago there is only a herd of wolves around here and now… they are already turn into a lump of meat though.

“If this condition goes on, I think it is pretty bad though”

“Even if you don’t say it out loud, I already know about that… Bard-San”

“Then… what if we split up? Isn’t our chance of survival will increase?”

When I give my opinion, Astra scolding me a little bit. But then suddenly Theo give his opinion. From my point of view, split up itself is not a bad idea and as Theo said our chance of survive will increase significantly because every one of us will lure them and the total of the monster who will chase us will also split into 9 group. But that means,

“There will someone who will die, right?”, of course even I don’t state this opinion, we are in here already know about that. That’s why…

“Ok, then I’ll be give a sign when the time comes… but can you buy a time for a bit? I’ll give them a little bonus though”

The other party member just nodded to my opinion. While they are trying to buy a time for me, I try to use my special magic once again.

With this swing, it will left me around 10 until 15 swing left huh… I think it enough for now… but really if I use it in this large scale target… there must be a cost I take, huh.

Even then, I still use this skill of mine.

[Target Lock]

As I thought I can’t lock all of them, but it is enough for us to run away from this place. I activate my flame sword form and swing this sword once but this once swing itself cost me equal 90 swing at the same time.

Not short after I swing my sword, a lot of flame pillar with the height around 5 meter appear from the ground where the target already got locked. Even they realize it, they already can’t do anything about that because this skill is already bind their shadow after all. A sure kill technique that I can’t use several times because of the fatigue that I got is not that simple.

“Now!”

When I say that, all of the party member as soon as possible left the place… except me.

“Bard… -San? What are you doing?”

Asked Jean to me worried. Really the cost to use this kind of large scale special skill is too great after all.

“Sorry… I think I can’t move for several minutes. That’s why don’t worry about me! I’ll chase later!”

“But—”

“—Just go! Don’t worry I can still swing my sword around 50 times!”

I scream to her so she won’t come back to save me. Of course, about I can swing 50 more times is a lie.

After all of them already left, in this place only me who can’t move my leg and the monster that already surrounded me.

Haha~ really, what kind of joke is this….

While I make a dry smile, I change my sword again to wind element because with this form, I feel more comfortable.

Slash and slash again. Cut one enemies after another. The blood of the Wolves, Orc, Ogre, and Minotaurs splendidly dance in the night sky make a very beautiful yet disgusting crimson color which colored the crescent moon indirectly. Every time I swing my sword, my hand slowly but surely started to become numb. Even my breath started become rough.

What kind of festival is this? Why all of the monster gather in here in the same time?

If I can give a name to this event, I will gladly to say that this event is called as “Crimson Crescent Night Festival” though.

I can only swing my sword 3 times and there is around 40 monster general in front of me, really what should I do? …Ah! It seems I can already move my leg a little bit though.

When I want to swing my sword before I leave this place, suddenly a very dazzling light shining very beautifully in the middle of this dark forest.

The location is near from here… maybe that’s the gathering signal but… I assume it is another group huh, but I can’t go there because the generals will chase me.

That time I heard a sound that I mustn’t hear in this forest. The sound that reverberate in the middle of the night. It is,

A crying voice of a baby? Seriously?!

Without a second thought, I use my swing to cut the ground so it will make a thick dust to cover my position. I dashed to the location of the sound and there I found a baby who has one horn that almost got crushed by a minotaurs and the other baby who crying in the ground.

Whenever I see this kind of situation, it almost made me remember the time when I were still a kid that leave in the orphanage.

Ha~ what a bad day!

Before I realize it, I swing my sword once again to cut the hand of the minotaurs and run to save both of the babies while the other monster still confused. First I take the baby in the minotaurs hand and after that I take a baby who lay in the ground crying while kicked the wolves in the same time.

I run as fast as possible. Even my hand already become numb I pinch my hand as strong as possible to make sure I got the feeling of my hand again to carry both of the babies. I run until I see the entrance to the dark forest. Even I don’t look back, I can feel a lot of monster still chase after me. But like I have a time to wait for them. I just run before I lost my eyesight that already goes blur.

When I arrived at the dynami country, I straightly go to the orphanage and kicked the door without any concerns. After the door opens—

“Li… lina-Chan… this!”

“Bard-San… W-what happen?!”

“This—”

—I lost my consciousness in Lilina-Chan’s chess because of fatigue I got and from what i heard when i'm awoke, all of my party is save but in total there is 30 casualties and the raid itself is... failed.