A group of humans are walking through the Great Forest.

　Each of the humans is armed and has a somber air to it.

　They were soldiers in the service of the Countess Astraeus and mercenaries hired by the Countess Astraeus.

　There were about three hundred of them in all.

　If I were to take weak soldiers with me to a place called the Great Forest of Frases, I'd be quite slowed down.
　That's why the three hundred men here were the best of the best.

　Still, they had walked a long distance through the forest and there were still some injuries and deaths.

Now, we should be there by now.

　Walking in the lead, in charge of the soldiers, Beld muttered to himself .

　He was wearing a rather heavy-looking armor, and the sword he carried on his back was quite large.
　He was confident in his muscles.

"When we get to that village of goblins, how will you attack it?

　Beld asked the one-eyed man walking next to him, who wore an eye patch.

I don't know. I think I need to see the village to find out. I've got a good scout.

　That's what he says to Berd.
　This man's name is Van Sieg.
　He is the leader of the mercenaries.

　He is an experienced and highly skilled fighter, Juan.

　Although Berd was in charge, he would occasionally ask his fans for advice, and they would give him the right advice.

Please.

　Berd says yes.
　Juan tells him to bring the scouts.

　Later, a slight man, slight in stature, is brought in.

"Rick. Find out what's going on down there. If there's a goblin village, see what kind of force it has.
Yes, sir!

　The scout, called Rick, replied cheerfully and sprang into action.

"Well, let's just stay here until we get some news.
Yeah.

　Juan says so, and Berd agrees.
　We're going to stay here for a while until the scouts come back.


　I'll be back in a few hours.

How did it go?

　Juan asks.
　Rick's expression is slightly hard.

"No, it's ...... and it's .......
What's going on?
It's not quite what I was told... or is it ...... that there were demons other than hobgoblins?
We were told there were orcs in the area.
There were orcs, but more than that, there was a white ant-like monster. There were big white ants walking on two legs and carrying spears.
I've never heard of the ...... ant monster. How many are there?
I don't know. Did you get a hundred? Anyway, they were guarding the perimeter of the village. There were a lot of them, but we managed to hide behind a tree to avoid detection.
"Hmm. That village was a hobgoblin village? You've checked the village, haven't you?
"There were definitely hobgoblins. It was surrounded by a wall, so it's hard to tell what's going on inside, but there were several hobgoblins standing on top of the wall as guards. And it wasn't just hobgoblins that were guarding the wall, there was also Arraune.
Arlaune?

　A nasty demon known as Alraune.
　Hearing that it's there, Fan frowns.

That doesn't sound like the information. Is that really the village?
I know I'm going in the right direction.
Hmmm. Well, if there are hobgoblins, then maybe they're real. You don't see hobgoblins in the Great Forest very often, so it's hard to imagine there's more than one village with them. It would be natural to assume that the number of inhabitants has increased over time.

　Juan came to that conclusion.

But that would make it difficult to attack them legitimately with this force.

　Juan said, a difficult look on his face.

"Then I guess we need to think this through.
'Yeah . The hobgoblins here are talking about helping humans. ...... It's going to be a bit of a cowardly operation, but it might be easier if you put that on.
''Cowardly, ...... Well, as a knight, I'd prefer not to take any cowardly measures, but ...... it's no use.

　Berd then heard the plan from a fan and decided to use it to go on the offensive.