That battlefield was the most gruesome thing Luda had ever seen in her entire career as a Hunter.
She couldn't help stepping down from the carriage and scanning the plain.
Countless monster corpses were heaped upon one another, and a stench like burning meat drifted over the whole area. Dozens of soldiers in armor were laboriously gathering the remains, but there were far too many for them to make any real headway.
Only the roadsides had been roughly cleared — and that fact only underscored just how nightmarish this battlefield truly was.
Most of the corpses were orcs, but among them were armed fighters and large magical beasts as well. The majority were relatively low in subjugation difficulty, but when this many gathered together, the result was staggering. Luda, for one, wouldn't stand a chance.
"What on earth could have caused something like this…?"
Gilbert stared at the carnage in a kind of daze.
According to the information they'd gathered in Eran, the orc horde was still far off. No — this devastation clearly wasn't the product of a planned, many-against-many battle.
Some of it had surely been cleaned up already, but even what remained was far more than an ordinary Party could handle. The deduction practically made itself.
This was — the power of a high-Level Hunter…?
Back at the White Wolf's Den, Klye had barely fought at all, so Luda hadn't gotten a real sense of his strength. But seeing this scene, she could now understand why he was a companion of the Peerless Shadow.
Luda steadied herself and gave a small cough.
"…W-Well, he's Level 8, so I suppose he could handle something like this…"
"…Yeah, that tracks. The road seems right… Dammit, let's move."
Gilbert nodded with a somewhat frustrated expression at Luda's half-disbelieving words.
§ The town of Gra was brimming with vitality. Back in Eran they'd heard that war banners had been raised, but there wasn't a trace of that now.
Overall, there were plenty of people who looked like Hunters or mercenaries, but that tense, pre-battle atmosphere was nowhere to be found.
Whether townspeople or merchants, everyone looked relaxed. Near the gate, a cluster of street stalls had been set up and were drawing big crowds.
Watching it all, Luda let out a small sigh.
"No banners… So that mess we saw on the road really was what was left of the orc horde after all…"
"Hmm… But why did a fight break out in a place like that? Didn't they say in Eran that a fortress had been built nearby?"
"That… you'd have to ask them directly…"
At Luda's curt words, Gilbert scowled.
"…What? You're not curious, Luda?"
"I wouldn't say that… but right now, the letter comes first."
Luda was indeed curious about what tactics had been used to lure a horde of intelligent orcs out to the plain. That knowledge could prove useful in her future Hunter work, and any opportunity to learn the methods of high-Level Hunters was precious.
But first, the commission had to be fulfilled.
The quest Gaark had entrusted to her was a letter delivery.
She'd followed faint clues to get this far, but Klye was moving incredibly fast. If she didn't catch up soon, they'd cross paths again. And if — god forbid — that led to another ordeals like what happened at the White Wolf's Den last time, she couldn't bear it.
That adventure had certainly given her a lot, but she never wanted to experience it again. On that point alone, Luda sympathized with Tino, who apparently kept getting dragged into ordeals over and over.
So, while Gilbert had gone to the town's registration office to confirm their information, the leader of his Party — the Blazing Gale's Carmine Cyan — returned.
Carmine was about the same age as Luda, but his composed demeanor made him look older. Unlike the slight Gilbert, he was tall and wore a dull-colored suit of armor that looked thoroughly sturdy.
Originally, Gilbert — the strongest of the group — had served as leader, but he'd apparently stepped down and handed the role to Carmine when they restructured the Party.
Carmine jogged up to them and spoke to Gilbert.
"Gilbert… I checked, but it doesn't look like any such Hunter has come to this town."
"What? There's no mistake, is there?"
"We have a warrant from the Explorer's Guild. There shouldn't be any deception… in theory."
The Explorer's Guild wielded considerable power in Zeberdia. And this commission involved a noble — Count Gradius. The chance that the town of Gra was lying was slim.
But whether Klye had already left or simply hadn't arrived yet, the answer wasn't what they expected.
"…Then where did Klye go? …Wait, hold on — so who actually defeated that orc horde?"
Luda had been utterly convinced it was Klye's doing. But if he'd never arrived here, then someone else must have fought it.
At Luda's question, Carmine crossed his arms and nodded gravely.
"A Party called the Thunder Dragon of the Mist. Apparently, a single Party took down the entire orc horde and all the rampaging monsters, saving the whole town of Gra."
The Thunder Dragon of the Mist…?
Luda searched her memory, but the name didn't ring any bells.
Whoever could subjugate a horde of monsters that size had to be a high-Level Hunter, no question — but she'd never heard of them.
Gilbert furrowed his brow and said with a suspicious look.
"…Don't know them. I thought I'd looked into the names of reputable Hunters and Parties, but… newcomers?"
"I hear they're Hunters who recently arrived from abroad. They say their leader is a formidable Level 7."
"…Level 7… That's below Thousand Transformations, but still respectable."
At Carmine's words, Gilbert nodded repeatedly in a somehow self-important manner.
A Level 7 Hunter. Since she'd recently learned of a Level 8 Hunter — and one who didn't even look particularly strong at that — it was hard for the number to feel all that impressive. But Level 7 was still firmly in the realm of top-tier.
Compared to Luda at Level 4, the gap was worlds apart.
But that wasn't what mattered right now. Luda's target wasn't a powerful Hunter — it was Klye Andrich.
She'd acted on Tino's words, but she'd lost track of him entirely.
"Oh, what do I do… Gaark told me to deliver it before he enters Gradius territory if possible…"
Of course, Gaark probably hadn't expected Luda and the Blazing Gale — a Party averaging under Level 4 — to actually catch up to Thousand Transformations at Level 8. When she'd accepted the commission, he'd even said it might not matter if she didn't make it.
Still, Luda had been hoping to meet the requirements and make a name for herself, so this was a bitter pill.
Gilbert crossed his arms and spoke with a puzzled tone.
"But then… that means Thousand Transformations saw the banners but still didn't stop at Gra… No, could they really not have noticed? It's hard to imagine someone like that wouldn't know."
"…Right. Something must have come up, but…"
The fact that Gra was in crisis had been common knowledge even in Eran. A Level 7 Hunter could have found that out with minimal effort.
In other words, Thousand Transformations had known about Gra's predicament and deliberately chosen not to intervene.
Rather than strange, it was unnatural. A Hunter's certified Level was a mark of strength, but it also indicated their contributions to the nation and society. An ordinary Hunter might be one thing, but a Hunter who had built up enough accomplishments to reach Level 7 ignoring a town in crisis — that was hard to fathom. Even if pressed for time, they'd at least stop to hear what was going on. And it didn't match up with the "Mastaa Review" Tino had shared with her.
Gilbert opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it and looked at Carmine.
"…What do we do, Leader?"
"…Well, there's nothing to be done about the fact they didn't stop. We don't have any other leads. I guess we have no choice but to head straight for Gradius territory."
Carmine looked at Luda, looked at the Party members, and finally turned a grim expression toward Gilbert.
There were limits to how much luggage they could carry, and traveling outside town was taxing on both body and mind. The basics of a journey were to stop at towns along the way and restock and rest properly.
If Klye had indeed skipped the town of Gra entirely, it meant he was in even more of a rush than they'd assumed.
On top of the gap in their abilities, catching up to him on foot was going to be extremely difficult at this point.
All they could do now was pray they'd make it in time and push on to Gradius territory at full speed.
Then, without warning, a voice came from behind them.
"Thousand Transformations… Did you just say Thousand Transformations?"
The man who'd addressed them was tall, middle-aged, with sharp eyes. He seemed to have been out shopping, carrying paper bags in both hands.
His clothes were plain fabric, but his bearing and the muscles covering his body marked him as a fellow professional — and, judging by all appearances, one of considerably higher standing. His skin was sun-tanned, and long gray hair was tied back behind his head. Given his age, his years as a Hunter far exceeded Luda's.
He didn't radiate the same overwhelming pressure as the Peerless Shadow, but he was clearly no ordinary person.
"…Who are you?"
Gilbert shot back with a blunt tone. There was no malice in it — Luda, who knew him well enough, could tell. Gilbert simply didn't know any other way to address people.
But that didn't mean the other man would take it well.
Luda tensed, bracing for confrontation, but the man didn't seem to take any offense. He merely looked them over as if sizing them up, then relaxed his expression into a grin.
"Sorry about the sudden approach. Couldn't help overhearing… We've got business with Thousand Transformations too, you see."
"…For starters, could you tell us your name? You're a fellow Hunter, right? I'm — Luda Lunder. And you are?"
It was too early to let her guard down, but at least he seemed willing to talk.
"Heh heh heh, right. It's been so long since I bothered introducing myself that I forgot — my apologies. As you've guessed, I'm a fellow Hunter. I'm — Ei Larier. Second-in-command of the Thunder Dragon of the Mist, led by Arnold Hale — Ei Larier."
The man answered Luda's guarded self-introduction with a fearless grin.
§ It was pure chance that Ei Larier had caught that remark.
The battle against the storm spirit in the town of Eran. The brutal fight against numerous monsters including the orc horde — after all of that, the Thunder Dragon of the Mist was in an absolute slump on every front.
Every member was drained both mentally and physically, their stock of potions and other consumables was nearly depleted, and the carriage they'd just purchased was damaged. Weapons needed repair or replacement from wear and tear, and getting back to peak condition would take time.
They weren't in dire financial straits, thanks to compensation from both Eran and Gra — but there were plenty of things in this world that money alone couldn't fix.
As the Party's second-in-command, Ei had been rushing around town trying to restock supplies and gather any information that might lead to Thousand Transformations' whereabouts.
That was when he caught the name in passing.
It was a group of six young Hunters — mid-ranking in ability, by the looks of it. They didn't wear the Beginning Footprint emblem, so they weren't members of the same Clan.
He hesitated briefly, then decided to approach.
If they were going to turn the tide, they needed something — anything. And this Party, right here, dropping that name could be that something, whether they were enemies or allies of Thousand Transformations. In Ei's estimation, the odds of the former were pretty slim.
The Party's current state was close to rock bottom.
Consumed supplies, and mental and physical exhaustion from one hard-fought battle after another.
Logically speaking, picking a fight with a high-Level Party in this condition wasn't the smartest move.
But at the same time, Ei understood his leader's conviction that they couldn't simply back down as Hunters.
Arnold was losing his cool under the relentless provocations — but he wasn't misjudging the important things.
Ei and Arnold went way back — all the way to before Arnold became a Hunter and formed his Party.
Throughout their history, it had always been Arnold making the calls while Ei provided the support. That was how they'd operated as a team.
Arnold Hale was an exceptionally skilled Hunter. He was gifted, fierce and courageous, and while he could be somewhat headstrong, he had the magnanimity to listen to his companions. He understood better than anyone that the current situation was unfavorable for the Thunder Dragon of the Mist.
But the problem was that the situation had already gone past the point where they could simply retreat.
They'd been threatened, had monsters pinned on them, and been taunted in the most showy way possible. If they backed down now, it wouldn't just damage the Thunder Dragon of the Mist's reputation from the outside — it would leave a festering wound within the Party.
The Thunder Dragon of the Mist was held together by Arnold's charisma. The Mighty Thunder Flash had to be the strongest. Had to be fierce and courageous.
The fact that they'd fled without even putting up a fight would inevitably breed distrust inside the Party and create a serious rift.
What the situation called for above all else was "satisfaction."
Something that would satisfy the Explorer's Guild, the outside Parties, the Party members, and Arnold himself.
The quickest route would be to cross swords with Thousand Transformations. If they won, problem solved. If they lost, then Arnold would accept it as his own lack of strength, and the Party members couldn't fault a leader who'd boldly challenged a superior foe.
Ei wanted to say he had no doubt about victory, but the opponent had been far too slippery. The way they'd casually evaded pursuit had felt almost natural, and he still had no idea how they'd managed to get the orc horde to attack.
But as second-in-command, all he could do was trust his leader and devote himself to the Party.
Meeting an acquaintance of Thousand Transformations was the single stroke of luck since this journey began. If Thousand Transformations was hostile, they could potentially fight together. If allied, they could be used for a feint.
Ei listened as they walked. The newcomers had been wary at first, but whether it was because he'd revealed himself or because they recognized they were in the same boat, they quickly relaxed and told him their purpose.
"So… Gradius Territory… A noble, huh… They told us this was supposed to be a vacation, but I can't believe they're calling a noble's commission a vacation…"
"We were supposed to meet someone in this town, but we missed them…"
At Ei's thoroughly exasperated words, Luda furrowed her brow in a helpless expression.
A letter delivery. Now that they knew the destination, that was a stroke of luck. Even if they lost the trail, they could simply wait at the destination and they'd eventually cross paths.
As Ei walked and mentally formulated his plan going forward, Gilbert spoke up from beside him.
Unlike Luda, Gilbert seemed to have largely stopped caring about the commission itself, and his conversation focused entirely on Ei and the Thunder Dragon of the Mist.
"Man, so a Level 7 Hunter is chasing that guy too? Hey, so Level 7 means they're crazy strong, right? I saw that battlefield. Is it true they really fought all that with just one Party?"
"Yeah, that rumor's accurate. It wasn't exactly a cakewalk, though. I'd fought against odds before, but never that many."
The final fire spirit had been the worst. It had scorching the plain into a wasteland and burning through the rampaging monster horde, but more than half of the Thunder Dragon of the Mist's injuries came from that.
Spirit conjuration stood at the very pinnacle of a Mage's arts. The difficulty skyrocketed even further when it involved summoning and commanding the spirits themselves to fight rather than merely borrowing their power. It seemed unlikely that Thousand Transformations — who apparently wasn't a Mage — could pull it off, but if they could, the rematch would be incredibly difficult.
Ei found himself grimacing before he noticed he was being watched and forced a smile.
"Right. I'd have to check with the Leader, but… we're heading the same way, aren't we? If you're up for it, why don't we travel together? Having more people might make them think twice about pulling anything."
Arnold might not be thrilled about it, but now wasn't the time to be choosy about their methods.
At Ei's proposal, Gilbert and Luda exchanged a look.