With my monster forces assembled it was time for us to set off. The ones that were to be left behind were a bit nervous about being left in town with the humans. I assured them things were going to be alright.

  They weren’t entirely convinced though, so I relented and offered to leave behind one of my orcs for self-defense, as well as a few of my wolves since they would also need their help with distribution. Of course, the orc I chose didn’t seem to happy about that. He seemed excited to be able to go out to fight but I had promised him that he would be able to attend the next one and he agreed, making sure to remind me next time.

  That seemed to finally calm them down a bit, though one goblin had one more concern to address.

  “S-sir…. Are you sure it’ll be alright to bring V along as well? …. aren’t they a little young to go to something so dangerous?”

  I nodded as I looked at V, who seemed to be happily discussing going on this little ‘trip’ as they described with Mordred. “Of course, V’s an important henchman and they seemed quite excited to join with us. Don’t worry, they’ll be with Mordred at all times.”

  Upon hearing his name, Mordred came up pointing himself with his thumb with one eye open as he laughs “Hahahaha yeah the kid is in good hands!”

  The goblin watched Mordred for a bit, only slightly calming down upon hearing this. “A-alright if you say so…”

  With my minions’ concern alleviated it was finally time to face the enemy kingdom. I left with my monster minions as well as my three loyal henchmen, leaving the town behind. Not many of my human minions saw us off. It was mainly the blacksmith, the mayor, Otis, and the ex-soldiers. They had a mix of relief and worry across their faces though. Though I am sure their expression will change once we return.

  It’s been almost a day since we had set off to ambush the Mivtic kingdom’s counterattack. I had made sure for us to pack our rations, it should have been enough to last us a few days though I did have to make sure my orcs, and especially Mordred, understood they would have to be more mindful how much they could eat.

  They seemed rather disappointed though they didn’t complain, I’d have to make a note to watch things to make sure our rations don’t go down too fast just in case.

  As for our sleeping arrangements, it was as simple as using [Material Forge] to create some make-shift dirt shelters. Not the most luxurious shelters but it should get the job done. After all, most of us were used to sleeping in the caves, this wasn’t any different for us.

  Once we were settled in, I talked with V to confirm if they detected any enemies in the direction we were going at with their [Map].

  “Hmmmmm…. Oh, there does seem to be some bad guys at the edge there Mr. Vlad!”

  “Good job V, that means we should expect to fight them by the morning. Alright minions we’ll be turning in early for the night. Make sure you all are well rest for tomorrow we face our enemies!!”

  Everyone cheered, even my kobold and goblins were more excited than I expected them to be. It must be because of Damian’s training sessions with them, it probably gave them a boost in confidence. I must remember to thank the black bear properly when we have the chance though… I should prepare for the inevitable hug as well….

  As we turned in for the night, my mind started to drift into unconsciousness and soon enough I heard several voices inside my mind. They seemed to be talking to me though I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying

  “…wh…a…ser…”

  “….su…a…chi….eam….”

  “…gr…. up…”

  Despite not fully understanding what they were saying, my own emotions couldn’t help but build up in…. sadness? But why....

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  I tried to focus on their voices, but the more I concentrated the more the feeling of sadness built up… But I needed to know…. I kept at it until finally I managed to hear a sentence.

  “…. just face reality already.”

  That voice was familiar! There was no way I could mistake it wa-

  But before I could finish my thoughts a voice, louder than all the others screamed out in a panic.

  “Boss…. boss wake up! We got trouble!!”

  I suddenly jolted awake! My head was shaking frantically as I searched my surroundings, wondering what was going on before I quickly noticed I had another tear in my eye and wiped it before someone could notice. It was then I noticed Mordred at the opening of my own shelter. He had his ax in his hands and the look in his eyes was easy to tell.

  We were under attack!

  Without a second thought I grabbed my gear and jumped on Mordred’s shoulders and asked him for more details on the current situation. “I need a report on casualties as well as who we’re facing.”

  Mordred answered while keeping his guard up for any oncoming enemies. “A few of the weaklings are injured but otherwise no one’s dead yet. As for who’s picking a fight with us well it seems our prey came earlier than expected!”

  Alright at least I didn’t lose any minions, I instructed Mordred to lead me to the heat of the battle and sure enough they were engaged in combat with the group of human soldiers we were planning to ambush.

  I could only click my tongue upon seeing the irony of us being ambushed instead. It just means we’ll need to change tactics a bit. I scanned the battle for more details, it seemed each orc of mine was surrounded by a squad full of humans while the reverse was true for the kobolds and goblins who had decided to outnumber the small group of soldiers instead. Though I can see their nervousness was getting in the way of their fighting, it didn’t help that more of the soldiers started to regroup with them restoring to their numbers. As for the wolves, they managed to keep themselves from being harmed with their speed, even keeping the soldiers from using their horses to trample them. Meanwhile Damian was holding his own with a few strong-looking knights. They were struggling to get a scratch on him but still managed to keep him from getting any breathing room, especially since they had a single advantage over him to keep him from going full force.

  “Keep it up men, even the Quiet Black Beast can’t hold out for long when he has to protect the little monster!”

  Indeed, behind Damian’s leg was the young goblin V who was cowering in fear. Luckily it seemed they didn’t sustain any injuries, otherwise I doubt I would have been unable to control myself. After understanding the situation, I unsheathed my [Silver-Tipped Copper Falchion Sword] and gave out my orders.

  “Mordred. I need you to support my weaker minions and make sure they aren’t overwhelmed. But make sure to leave them a few for themselves.” Can’t have them rely on my henchmen too much.

  Mordred nodded after hearing my orders and was about to go fulfill them before I interrupted him. “Before that I need you to do one more thing.” I then pointed at the direction to where Damian was fighting with my sword.

  “…Throw me. As fast as you can and right above them.”

  Not even questioning the ridiculous order, Mordred gleefully grabbed me and aimed at my target location. “Right away boss!”

  He pulls his arm back, making sure not to hold on to me too tightly as I braced myself, unlike the last time I was prepared. And with all his might my minotaur flung me up in the air, my body flying up with no sign of slowing down until I found myself on top of Damian and his opponents. They all noticed of course and once I got their attention I called out to my black bear.

  “Damian! [Shockwave] now!!”

  Without hesitation he did as he was told, causing a burst of energy to push back everyone but him and V. as soon as he activated his skill I then used my [Dimensional Box] to pull out a lot of the [Rock] I had stored making sure to reshaped them from their ground up state into spheres of various sizes as I let gravity do its thing causing them to all fall down below making my own makeshift rockfall!!

  Noticing this, the knights Damian was facing began to panic as one of them began to yell. “Wh-what the Inferno!! Everyone disband now!!”

  They didn’t need to hear him twice as they all immediately began to scatter away from the avalanche. Unfortunately for them they were not fast enough as many of them had already begun to come face to face with rocks in their face. Taking the opportunity, I let myself drop with the falling rocks using my [Basic Elemental Magic] to conjure up some wind and manipulate it to slow my descent and maneuver myself towards Damian and V, Damian made sure to release his [Shockwave] for a moment to allow me to land next to them.

  Upon seeing me appear V’s expression changed from one of fear to relief. “Mr. Vlad you’re here!”

  Damian himself simply nodded as he released [Shockwave] after making sure the rock fall had ended. The ensuring results being at least less than half of the soldiers that had them surrounded were knocked out. The rest soon came back to continue the fight though showing more caution over what I could do.

  Well, I was about to do just that. With my planned ambushed turned over me, I have no choice but to make this work.