Lydia, who had started to use her power in earnest, was stronger than anyone could imagine.
“Ugh.”
With a blank expression, she swung her greatsword, sending a crescent-shaped aura burning along the blade.
Boom!
A sound close to an explosion shook the ground. Nearby goblins were sent flying along with their small huts.
A lucky goblin that survived stared blankly at Lydia, so she shot her wrist crossbow right at its forehead.
Squeak…Thunk!
It was her first time using it, but the power exceeded her imagination. The creature fell down with its brain pierced so deeply that the feather was barely visible.
“…Jonah. Just leave the pesky ones. I’ll pick up the speed from now on, so focus on keeping up, or better yet, just ride along.”
“Okay?”
“Even though you’re quick, you can’t keep up with me yet.”
“……”
Given the previous strike, it seemed right, so Jonah silently hopped on.
The half-bikini armor felt like it was clinging to her skin. The warm sensation and soft touch were directly transmitted, and for a moment, he flinched at the sweet scent of her skin.
“Hold tight.”
With that one line, the world accelerated.
“Waaah!”
He instinctively buried his face into Lydia’s neck. Otherwise, he felt like the pressure would snap his head off.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
Maintaining a terrifying speed, Lydia shot her aura at the Hobgoblins in sight, kicking away anything that got in her way.
Right now, Lydia was like a living tank.
All Jonah could do was cling to Lydia’s shoulder and watch her chest bouncing violently with her intense movements.
…This is amazing.
But good times never last long. Even though it was a relatively wide area occupied by the Hobgoblins, they were still just goblins.
In ten seconds of serious running, Lydia could rush from a corner straight to the chief’s house in the center.
Thinking that there might be someone inside, she aimed slightly above the house rather than demolishing the entire place, preparing her stance.
He patted her shoulder and shouted.
“Lydia! Just blow off the roof, will you?”
“Why? There might be traps, but they shouldn’t be dangerous for me.”
“No, it’s because we’re going to rescue Hans or another man who might be captured!”
“Right.”
“If you think about the reason he might’ve been captured, it’s obviously because he’s naked!”
“…That’s true?”
“I don’t want you seeing any other man’s naked body!”
“……”
Lydia loosened her grip on the greatsword, looking as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“But you just saw Selly’s naked body earlier, didn’t you? And you even saw the Elf sisters, Lemon and Apple, naked and slapped them!”
“I-I saw that?! But I was fine! They were cute!”
“……”
Lydia fell silent, looking incredulous. He nudged her head as he continued.
“I’ll definitely ask for help if things get dangerous. But if possible, I’d rather not! Is that okay, Lydia?”
“…I’ll handle the goblins rushing in. That aside, I’ll keep my senses open in case I need to dive in.”
“Thank you! And don’t be too disappointed! I can at least offer you my underwear as a gift!”
“I don’t need it.”
“Huh? It’s not been washed, but are you really okay? Don’t you need something like a handkerchief?”
“…I really don’t need it.”
With a serious tone, Lydia swung her greatsword. The crescent aura burned away half of the large chieftain’s house.
Boom!
With that as a cue, he got up. Standing on Lydia’s shoulder, he crouched down as much as possible.
As Lydia felt something touch the back of her head, she momentarily squeaked, but it wasn’t too important. He tightened his thighs and, like a spring, unleashed all his muscles at once.
Boom!
His vision rushed forward. Flipping in the air, he looked inside the building and saw a chieftain who looked to be at least 1.5 times larger than other Hobgoblins and two naked men tied to the wall.
One more was captured.
Clicking his tongue, he aimed the reloaded wrist crossbow at the chieftain.
The chieftain was half undressed, clearly enjoying himself. As he reached for a nearby weapon, which he desperately tried to grab, she wasn’t about to let him arm himself.
Squeak!
The quickly shot arrow pierced the chieftain’s palm.
“Gghh!”
Holding the injured hand, the Hobgoblin chieftain screeched. Before he could react, she landed gracefully and drew her Unicorn Dagger.
Buzzing—
The dagger vibrated as if it was displeased with the situation. Gripping the handle tightly, she crouched down.
Without giving the chieftain a moment to recover, she charged in. Of course, the chieftain wouldn’t just stand there.
He swung his injured arm like a whip, trying to hold her back while successfully grabbing a large club with his other hand in an attempt to retaliate.
“Kiyaa! Little human!! I won’t forgive you, Gob!! I’ll smash you until your lower body breaks, Gob!!!”
“Yikes. This is troublesome.”
He slid low to the ground, dodging the attack. But since simply dodging felt unsatisfying, he slyly used the dagger to slice the arm that swung overhead.
Pshht!
Blood surged out like a fountain. Luckily, it didn’t splash into his eyes, so if he could just slip down and slice through the Achilles tendon…
“Gah…?!”
The Hobgoblin chieftain wobbled as he tried to lift his club, making a gasping sound as he fell backward.
Thud!
“…Huh?”
Unsure of what just happened, Jonah seized the opportunity and stabbed the dagger into the chieftain’s side, pulling it down.
Guts spilled out everywhere. But still, the chieftain showed no signs of life.
“???”
Confused, he leaned in closer to inspect the fallen creature’s face.
His already ugly face turned pale, froth from his mouth, eyes rolled back in their sockets.
It looked as if he had died from extreme poisoning…
“Oh.”
He looked at the Unicorn Dagger in his hand.
“Is it you?”
Buzz—
It vibrated once, as if in affirmation, and then it went silent. It seemed satisfied with erasing a malevolent and unvirtuous being from the world.
“Having a weapon this powerful seems like a problem.”
Until now, he had decapitated or stabbed every Hobgoblin he had encountered, so he hadn’t realized… at this rate, he wouldn’t even get a fair chance to fight. Naturally, he wouldn’t improve.
“No, I shouldn’t obsess over techniques for fighting face-to-face.”
With stats as pathetic as his, there was no need for fair swordplay. As long as he could stab them from behind, that’s all that mattered.
Feeling a glimmer of insight about the path he needed to take, he nodded contentedly and headed toward the captured men.
“The cleanup can wait a bit.”
“Oh.”
Seeing the captured men up close was quite a sight to behold.
Their bodies were marked with all sorts of bruises, covered in a substance he didn’t want to identify. Whether it was a drug or some side effect of the chieftain’s torture, their eyes were blank and vacant.
Hmm. At least it seemed that none of them were in immediate danger to their lives.
He smiled brightly at the captives.
“Hey. Who’s Hans?”
“…Huh?”
“……”
One of them flinched and lifted his head, while the other continued staring blankly into space.
He pointed his dagger at the one who seemed to recognize him.
“Oh? You must be Hans!”
“Waaah! Please help me! Please!”
“Don’t worry! I’m here because Selly sent me!”
“Selly…?”
Hearing Selly’s name, the man hesitated at the sharpness of the dagger, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
Giggling at his wide-open eyes, Jonah swung the dagger.
“Ahh!”
Crash!
“……?”
Hans reflexively shut his eyes, and when he cautiously opened them, he saw broken shackles.
One leg had been shackled to the wall, so Jonah first freed him.
“Now you’re safe, so just wait for a moment. I have to get this one out too.”
“Uh, yes. Yes….”
Hans nodded in a daze. He also freed the other person’s shackles, but that one still showed no reaction.
“…Do you know why he’s like this?”
“I think it’s because of the drug the chieftain gave him. It must be some strong hallucinogen…”
“Hmm. That’s unfortunate. It’ll be tough, but could you carry him? I’m still small, so I can’t carry an adult.”
“Uh…actually, I can’t stand up either…”
Hans cautiously showed Jonah his arms and legs, which still had fresh, deep cuts.
“Did they cut your tendons?”
“…Yes.”
Hmm. This complicates things.
“For now, wear this.”
He ripped leather from the chieftain’s house and wrapped it around the two men’s bodies.
“Help me, Lydia!”
Boom!
As soon as he shouted that, the wall burst open, and Lydia appeared.
Quickly assessing the situation, her gaze shifted between the fallen chieftain and Jonah, who was covered in blood, as she tilted her head in confusion. He smiled brightly at her.
“Could you go fetch Selly for me?”
“……”
With a blank expression, Lydia glared at him, as if someone had yelled for her to hurry and return, only to ask about turning off the lights.
