After retaliating against the soldiers, Tenma flew on for about an hour, and as it gradually began to get darker, he saw smoke coming from the direction of the village.

''What the hell is that smoke!''

　He continued to fly with a bad feeling, and Tenma was astonished at the sight that eventually came into view.



---Back in time, a few hours before Tenma came back---.

'Shelia, Merlin, when I give the signal, unleash your fire range magic on those heading towards the gate! After that, we'll hit the guys who leaked the shots with warriors and swordsmen.

　I'm going to instruct him and time it.

"Still, let go!

"'Firestorm,'

　The advanced magic of fire attacks the zombies. However, the zombies had no way to avoid the magic and most of the group was burned out.
　The 500 or so zombies in front of me are reduced to charcoal, leaving 2 to 30 in front of me.
　I see this and run off with 30 warriors and swordsmen.

"Look, you can cripple them with a single blow! When you've done that, we're leaving immediately!

　As expected, the vanguard is fortified with strong guys, so everyone is slaughtering them with a single blow. Even though the opponents are goblins and orc zombies without weapons, things are going well.
　The problem is that the number of weapons, especially arrows, stockpiled in the garrison is low.

　Normally there should be more than fifty soldiers in the garrison, so they should have a certain amount of food and weapons stockpiled, but this time there weren't even thirty. d*mn it, if you want to cut costs, do it somewhere else!

　For the first year and a half, the garrison was always packed with about 5-60 people, and it wasn't unusual to see more than 100 people when a replacement came, but when we went into the forest to search, we only saw goblins and the occasional orc, so the number of people was gradually decreasing, and nowadays there are 2-30 people, at most 40 or so It was as if the situation was a disaster, and there were only a small amount of food and weapons left in the stockpile because the fleeing soldiers had taken enough food and weapons to fill their wagons.

　In addition, there was only a small amount of food and weapons left in the stockpile because the fleeing soldiers had taken enough food and weapons to fill their wagons.
　So the villagers fought with the weapons they had brought with them.

'Alright, stand down!'

　Yes! My friends replied and ran into the gate.
　If we keep going like this, we can stick around until backup arrives, but it will be impossible. In fact, this is the sixth attack since Tenma flew away. The number of people we've defeated is probably more than three thousand.
　Those d*mn soldiers even cheated on the number, it's obvious that the number is not even a thousand.

　I'm not sure if it's because of the stress, but I can't be bothered to pay attention to the tone of voice that is returning to the adventurer's days.

''Hey, Ricardo!''

What's up, Mark?

　Mark's voice was harsh as he stood guard.

'Oh no, now there's an ogre! That's about thirty of them, and an estimated thousand goblins and orcs behind them!

　That's certainly not good.
　The ogre is a large demon that is about 3 meters tall, class B. If there were thirty such things, such an improvised fort would be invaded in less than five minutes.

''Shelia, Merlin!

Yes!
I'm on it!

　The two men immediately understand and reply.

"'Fire Arrow'.

　The two of them fire a series of Fire Arrows at the goblins in succession, although they are a bit far.
　They will be able to use their magic to target only the ogres, but the ogres still won't stop, so they will fire two firestorms at the approaching ogres and attack the entire goblin population.
　It's not possible to wipe them all out, but they are reduced to less than a tenth of the total, and there are only five ogres left.

''Charge!

　My friends run out at my call. The demons are all wounded, so I can easily kill them.

　I take a break from the waves and drink some water while I catch my breath. Shelia and Merlin still seemed to have plenty of time to spare, but they were drinking a little magic potion, just in case.
　After that, there were several more raids, and finally the number of raids at one time exceeded a thousand.

　If this is the enemy's strategy, it's really a nasty attack.
　At first, they start with a few weak enemies, then gradually increase their numbers and bring in stronger demons.
　The person controlling the zombies is probably a very clever one.

"Ricardo, the enemy is leading away.

Did he get away?

　I ask Mark, hoping that's the case.

'Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be. 'It looks like we just retreated into the woods,'

Well... but it gives you time to rest.

　I'm not so sure if it's a good idea, but I tell everyone to take a break and be ready to move at any time.

　I've had a light meal and while checking my armor, I've been thinking that if all is well, Tenma is on her way here, and if possible I don't want her to come back, but she will come back and try to fight with me.

　It will start to get dark in another hour, I thought, and told the men who were waiting behind me to start a fire.
　For fuel, I would use wooden planks from the destruction of stables and other buildings.

　Just then, I hear the zombies screaming again from the forest.

'Oh, my goodness! Ricardeau!

　I heard the screams of those who had been waiting on the wall with the shouts of Mark.
　I ran up the wall and looked in the direction of the forest, where

'What! That number, no matter how you look at it, must be five thousand... or nearly twice that many!

　I shouted to myself as I watched the zombies come out of the forest one after another.
　Goblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres and dragon snakes of all kinds are coming out of the forest, and it's a disaster.

　It was a zombie disaster.
　Not all of them were coming out of the forest, so it was impossible to know how many of these hordes would be there.
　It's close to ten thousand just to be seen. When I think about the fact that they're also in the forest, I feel something akin to despair.

　But I can't escape. The only way to survive is to buy a little time and wait for support.

''It's a hopeless battle...''

　The front is swarming with so many zombies that it's hard to count them, and they are gradually spreading out to surround the fort.
　And it's close to night. The zombies can move day and night, while humans are at an overwhelming disadvantage because their movements are restricted in the dark.

'Gangs of fire! We need to get a little light!

　If we burn it at this rate, there will be no more wood to use tomorrow night.
　But if we don't survive now, there will be no next time. The only way to improve our chances of survival is to take a gamble.

　I thought to myself as I watched the smoke rise.