The enemies weren't sending a strike team to attack the Hero Party, but rather, from their perspective, they simply encountered them during a "patrol" and engaged in combat.
From that moment, the positions of attacker and victim reversed. Now the prey would hunt the hunter. Isabelle crouched in ambush, gripping her sword hilt with sweaty hands amid the tension.
-Rustle.
A noisy sound came from the underbrush. It was the presence of someone forcibly pushing through dense tree trunks.
Soon after, the clanking friction of metal was heard. The sound of heavy armor and a staff periodically tapping the ground.
Ah, so this is why the old man emphasized focusing on sounds.
Isabelle finally understood. Yes. The overwhelming superiority that transcendents have over other "humans" isn't just because they're faster and stronger.
Hearing, sight, touch, spatial awareness, cognitive ability. When strengthening nerves with mana, all sensory systems transcend human capabilities.
In the Domain of the Transcendent, non-transcendent beings can never "ambush" a transcendent.
Detecting an opponent's position through sound and smell is "common sense" for transcendents.
-Tap.
Isabelle calmly made a hand signal. It was a pre-planned code. Opening her hand and waving it twice meant [WAIT].
Soon, four orcs appeared in their field of vision.
'Four of them.'
Two more than before. They probably reinforced their numbers as their "scouts" kept disappearing. It was predictable.
If they had encountered them initially, it would have been difficult to handle. But not anymore. They had already experienced enough close combat with orcs.
What was it again?
Ah.
'A sufficiently trained agent doesn't struggle in the same situation.' That's what he said.
Isabelle tightened her grip on her sword hilt, recalling Ivan's voice.
Just a little closer. Just a little more.
A long "line" invisible from the orcs' field of vision. The moment they crossed it.
'Now!'
Isabelle clenched her open hand and waved it back and forth three times.
-Wheeee—!!
With a thin sound cutting through the air, an invisible small dagger flew and cut the "line." It was Elfihera's shot.
The orcs reacted immediately, gripping their spears upon hearing the sound. They were agile. Indeed, they would be difficult opponents to face head-on.
They were elite soldiers capable of infiltrating deep into Krasilov. Isabelle swallowed hard and rose to her feet.
"Oskar!"
"Yes!!"
From different directions, Isabelle and Oskar charged simultaneously. The orcs could be seen screaming in a bizarre language as they raised their spears.
And between them.
-CRASH—!!
A thick tree trunk fell like a stamp. One orc was crushed instantly, while the other three jumped in different directions in panic.
"Essie!!"
Isabelle shouted as she swung her sword at an orc leaping toward her. Soon, Asidis, who had been crouching behind shrubs, sprang out and struck down on the orc's back.
-CLANG—!!
"Khuuk?!"
The orc lost balance, staggering in mid-air. Isabelle quickly thrust her sword into a gap in its armor, then twisted away.
What about Oskar? Isabelle and Asidis immediately turned their gaze toward where Oskar had rushed.
-WHOOSH!!
They saw a fist-sized fireball plunging into the head of an orc that had been bringing down an axe-spear on Oskar's shield.
"The finishing touch?"
"It's already done over there!"
"Good."
The fleeing orc had fallen into a trap prepared by Asidis and was dead. At least it wouldn't feel wronged since the trap used spears that its comrades had wielded.
Isabelle wiped away beads of sweat as she surveyed her gathering party members.
"Anyone hurt?"
"If we got hurt after all this preparation, we wouldn't be human anymore."
"Wasn't Miss Elfihera in a safe place?"
"In this forest? Safe?"
"That's true. Anyway, it seems no one is hurt, Miss Isabelle."
Isabelle smiled contentedly as she surveyed the party. They were becoming more coordinated. The role distribution was seamless, and their teamwork was excellent.
I wonder if this is why our parents traveled together.
It feels somewhat fulfilling.
Isabelle wiped the blood from her blade and smiled brightly.
"A trap in a place where a trap was avoided. Your adaptability is impressive, Miss Asidis?"
"Hehe, that's just 'common sense'! Please call me Essie, Oskar."
"For the record, I'd prefer not to be called by a nickname. If possible, address me properly as Lady Grikenkos rather than using familiar speech like Miss Elfihera."
"Someone please give her a smack."
Despite saying this, Elfihera was giggling. Seeing this, Isabelle and the other party members all chuckled together.
In a forest full of traps and enemies. In the process of unraveling the plots of demons whose identity and purpose were unknown.
It wasn't so bad to be gathered with one heart to expel the demons who had stepped on human land and to rescue the teacher to whom they were indebted, even if it felt somewhat awkward.
"Eye?"
Ivan asked, putting down his saw. The orc (or what used to be one) was looking up at Ivan with unfocused eyes, breathing heavily.
With a click, a bottle cap was torn off. The orc trembled and foamed at the mouth.
"It's true! It's true! Put that, put that down!! R-rather... rather kill me!!"
"What a disappointing thing to say. I still have many questions."
"Everything, I've told you everything I know! Really. Please, spare me. No, no, kill me! I really don't know anything more!"
"I commend your loyalty and patience."
Ivan slowly tilted the Healing Potion over the orc's wounds as he spoke.
"The fact that you endure such severe hardship without opening your mouth proves you're better than many worthless individuals in my country."
"What nonsense is that!! I really told you everything I know!!"
"And you expect me to believe that?"
Ivan nodded toward a long rod lying beside the orc.
It was a magical artifact that looked highly suspicious, with what appeared to be a well-polished obsidian crystal embedded at its tip.
Naturally, such items should not be touched or moved directly. This was due to the evil wisdom demons had realized during their long war with humans.
Humans have a habit of collecting mysterious or unusual objects.
After realizing this trait, demons began mass-producing "objects that merely looked impressive" and embedding all sorts of curses in them.
The already retreating frontlines, devastated national bodies, poorly educated and starving conscripts could not easily resist the temptation of these "treasures."
Even Ivan had lost his sight for three days once. It happened right after grasping an incredibly sharp steel axe. Fortunately, at that time, Ivan could substitute hearing for vision, so he overcame the crisis without incident. (Enrique lamented why he had picked up such a trivial thing and gotten cursed.)
Anyway, the most important lesson from that era is this:
Never touch suspicious artifacts dropped by demons without detailed appraisal.
"It's true. Really. That... just hold that once..."
"Do you think such tactics will work?"
"I'm really going crazy. Just kill me."
The orc seemed to have given up. Even the fear of the Healing Potion couldn't open this steadfast warrior's mouth.
Ivan inwardly paid his respects. The amount of Healing Potion poured onto this giant's body had already exceeded a lethal dose. (Since Healing Potion isn't poison, the concept of a lethal dose doesn't exist. Because it's good for the body.)
No, you need to say something that makes sense.
This artifact called an "eye" at the end of this staff suddenly ordered an army to come here.
And this artifact showed "the future" from time to time, providing routes to infiltrate while avoiding the gaze of the Krasilov military?
Does he think anyone would believe such words? Even after enduring all that torture... the friendly process?
The "friendly process" of the counterintelligence command, especially the Annihilation Squad, was not something one could endure with a sane mind.
"Here's what I think, orc."
"...?"
"Someone in Krasilov's military, or a high noble. Perhaps multiple nobles were dissatisfied with the royal family. The reason is probably resentment over the recent purge, or a check on royal authority."
"...?"
Ivan continued speaking, looking down into the orc's eyes.
"In the process, they thought of using you as mercenaries. Using humans would leave a trail, but demons would just be targets for extermination. Even if they captured you and obtained testimony, how clean it would be since a demon's testimony couldn't be used as evidence in a human court."
"...???"
"But they must have thought that such a small force couldn't violate Pritzenkaya. A larger army is needed. But how to summon an army? The answer is simple. Assassinate the children of the Hero Party."
"He-Hero Party's children...? What... what does that...???"
How disgusting.
Ivan frowned as he watched the orc attempting the sophisticated act of "acting." He was even performing quite admirably, making an expression that looked genuinely wronged.
However, a trained agent never judges a situation by outwardly displayed emotions.
All matters must be resolved rationally through common sense and evidence.
"What you didn't know, or... what those who bribed you concealed from you, was that I and my subordinates were here. So tell me. Who is it?"
At this point, the orc shaman closed his eyes tightly and gave up answering.
Ivan nodded and granted this loyal demon a comfortable end.
-CRACK!!
Ivan turned his head, swinging the blood-dripping axe.
There were still four more living orcs in this place. They had clearly chosen ones that seemed too strong for Isabelle's current party to defeat.
And in demon society, where strength proves authority, being a strong individual meant being of higher rank.
In other words, commander-level individuals of this "assault team" were gathered here. Unlike other warrior classes, these ones were likely to know something.
-Thud!
The headless shaman collapsed into the underbrush. At that sound, the orcs with gags all flinched simultaneously.
Ivan stepped toward them and said:
"One."
Ivan placed his hand on the gag of the closest one.
"Only one needs to live. Just one who can testify."
"Mmph...! Mmmmph...!"
"I want you to live. Do you want that too?"
"Mmph! MMPH!!"
"Let's check."
Ivan displayed several completely harmless tools in front of his eyes while removing the gag.
The pants of the other orcs waiting their turn turned black.
"The Demon King's eye...?"
"Yes, yes! The eye of the Demon King... no, that horned bastard's eyeball, sir! Master!! It's, it's an artifact known as that! It, it shows the future...! Yes, yes!!"
"This shows the future, you say."
"Yes! Yes! That's right!!"
"And it told you to come here."
"Yes!!"
"Why?"
"Th-that... we also..."
After removing three corpses, Ivan fell into thought.
If all five creatures say the same thing, even after going through the "friendly process," it becomes evidence supporting the reliability of the information.
Testimony is like a blurry image, and when the resolution drops due to torture, overlaying the same testimony multiple times improves the overall quality.
In other words, when the same testimony from different individuals comes together, it approaches "believable fact."
"The Demon King's eye sees the future, huh."
It's possible. Even if I can't understand the principle, that "Demon King" might have been able to see the future.
But for these ragtag individuals to possess such a remarkable artifact as the Demon King's eye...
'No, that's not it.'
Each individual is slightly challenging but beatable at the level of an ordinary knight.
But these creatures succeeded in infiltrating to the center of Krasilov. That's the more important matter. If mere orcs, these idiots with no relation to infiltration operations, infiltrated without being detected by anyone.
If there was no internal collaborator, then it's these creatures' skill. These might have been the elite formation of an organization called the Orc Infiltration Unit.
In fact, if these creatures had encountered Isabelle's party without incident, they could have easily guaranteed victory.
'The stage difficulty increase is too steep.'
And Isabelle's party is still too fragile. If he hadn't actively engaged in "level design," Isabelle's party wouldn't have survived until now.
Moreover.
'The Demon King's eye, if this artifact is really the Demon King's eye. If the dead Demon King can still project some "will" to his subordinates.'
What did he hope to achieve with such complicated and useless actions?
Ivan suddenly flinched as he recalled a certain "common sense."
'Did he want the protagonist party to grow...?'
The Demon King. Or someone among the demons who created that artifact.
Wanted the protagonist party to grow...?
As if telling Ivan:
'I'll provide the ingredients, so prepare them and feed them to the protagonist party.'
This is as if... as if they predicted that Ivan would lead and train the protagonist party. Selecting troops that would be difficult to handle but somehow possible to defeat.
Considering even the deserting forces in the process, sufficiently numerous yet elite enough in small numbers to avoid the eyes of the Krasilov military. Balancing that subtle equilibrium.
Ivan felt a chill run down his spine as he glared at the staff embedded with the "Demon King's eye."
He pressed behind his ear and whispered:
"Headquarters. This is O1."
-Headquarters receiving.
"I need a mage capable of curse removal and mental protection."
-Curse removal, mental protection. Situation confirmed.
"Estimated time?"
-3 hours. Can be deployed to headquarters command and control center by 2130.
"Confirmed."
-Confirmed.
After finishing the brief order, Ivan cut the rope binding the orc's body.
The orc flinched in fear as Ivan's axe cut through the air, then struggled to raise his head.
In the darkness of the forest, with the moonlight behind him, Ivan's expression was invisible.
His blue eyes gleamed beneath the shadows.
"From now on, you are the boss of this stage."
"...?"