A bolt of lightning shot out from the space at the end of my staff with a roar.
A flash of lightning quickly illuminated the surrounding walls, and the blinding light dyed my vision a golden color.

Lightning bolt.
The lightning bolt produced by this spell penetrates in a straight line and burns and melts anyone in its line of fire.
It is an intermediate level spell, but if the situation is right, its power can surpass that of the fireball spell.

And now, in this 'straight tunnel', six normal Orcs, three higher-ranking Orcs, and even the commander, the Orc General, all of the remaining Orc forces were lined up in a line.

The lightning bolt I fired pierced all of those Orcs and burned and melted the flesh of each target, focusing on the part that had been pierced.
The Orcs that were fatally wounded by it fell one by one.

'Wow, ....... Will's magic is amazing ......'

Satsuki, who had been in a prone position, commented as she slowly stood up.
But...

''Guaruaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

The orc general at the end of the line shouted.
In response, several Orcs who seemed to have barely survived also let out a yell.

I suppose that's true.
No matter what, a group of Orcs that boasted of their vitality - a group of Orcs mixed with a higher level species - could not be wiped out by a single spell.
Depending on where the lightning struck, even normal Orcs could survive.

I silently counted the number of Orcs that remained without falling.
There was one Orc of the normal species, one leader class, one mage class, and a general, for a total of four.

In other words, the Lightning Bolt spell that I fired sank up to six of the ten Orcs with a single blow, and caused serious injuries to the rest of the Orc force.
As a result of a single spell, it could be said that the result was satisfactory enough.

'There are four of them left... let's attack, Satsuki.

'Okay, I'll leave it to you then!

The small Satsuki ran over the corpses of the Orcs that had fallen to the ground in the tunnel, and made contact with the first Orc of the common species.
I provided magical support from behind her.

Soon after, Satsuki cut down the general, leader, and mage Orcs with a single sword.
Originally, Satsuki's individual strength was far superior to the enemy's, and since all of the enemies had already been seriously injured, it was almost as if she had kicked them away.

And then...

'Gruaaaaaaaaaah!

The Orc General, enraged by the annihilation of his men, threw down his weapon and attacked Satsuki.
The general tried to grab the girl's body with his large hands.

The general's hands were large enough to grab the girl's body.

The general's movements are agile enough, even for an orc.
He swung his stiff arm in an attempt to restrain Satsuki's movement.

'But I can't deal with it, it's ...... not moving!

But Satsuki's movements are sharper than that, and the Orc Generals' attacks cut through the air one after another.
It seems that the Orc General's movements are somewhat lackluster due to the fact that he has already been seriously injured by the Lightning Bolt.

And then...

'Haha!

Satsuki's sword thrust took advantage of the enemy's gap.
It finally caught the orc general's left eyeball.

The sword went straight through the brain and into the back of the head.

No matter how you look at it, it's instant death.
When Satsuki pulled out the sword, the Ork General collapsed in a heap.

Good.

All the Orcs have now been defeated.
I head over to Satsuki to write her a few words of thanks.
But..,

Huh, huh. ...... Are the higher species of Orcs this fast? ....... d*mn it, I'll never be able to catch up with the princess if I'm struggling with this ......!

Satsuki was not satisfied with the current results, and her words showed a hint of impatience.

I didn't think that was a very good sign.
So I walked up behind Satsuki, who was breathing heavily on my shoulder, and placed my hand on her beautiful black hair, stroking it.

'Wafu! What the hell, Will......!'

Satsuki looked up at me with the eyes of a frightened puppy.

'Satsuki.'

'So, what?

'I'm glad you're here. Thank you.'

'......!'

Satsuki's eyes filled with tears.

I patted her head again.
Satsuki seemed to accept it and did as she was told.

I told Satsuki what I was thinking.

'Satsuki, I think it's good for you to aim higher. But please don't be hasty. I don't want Satsuki to lose her life on the battlefield because she's in a hurry. I don't want to lose you.

'......! ......You know what, Will?'

But when Satsuki heard my words, her expression changed from time to time, and then she looked up at me with tears in her eyes, this time with a pouting expression.
And when I asked her what she meant,

'You idiot! Thanks for the .......'

She then removed my hand from her head, crossed her arms and turned away.

I was so embarrassed that I just scratched my own head with the hand that Satsuki had removed.