Chapter 33 Stronger Than Steel

Choice number 1 has won with 22 votes.

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I decided i would let the slimes tail them for vision while hoboku and i started following them ,i thought of calling the other goblins and hob-goblins but decided to not do so because they were a bit too far away and of course most of them were probably going to evolve right now meaning they needed some rest which could take 5 to 8 hours,the only people who i could deploy over here were hobusaku and hobuhiko but i felt really anxious leaving the female goblins without protection while they were evolving in their sleep so i didn’t call for them…over this could be very risky because the orcs were far more better equipped then us and they also had someone like a mage in their group making me more hesitant about the plan i was trying to make out.

-Lord sorron…

While i was thinking about it hoboku got closer to me and grabbed onto my arm,her breasts were almost touching me but i felt reassured for a second,yeah calm down i have her here i just need to trust her and my judgment and everything will be alright.

I nodded towards hoboku smiling at her,i was thankful towards her and the others and without i was sure i wouldn’t have been able to survive this whole mess of course i was the one who gave no choice but to join me but i could feel that hoboku and the rest never regretted to become my companions and i never did either.

-Lets go…slimes follow them!

I steeled myself and gave the slimes the order and like this we started following this group of orcs going towards that artifact they were talking about…if the humans really did come here because of this then it must be something really valuable as he orc mage had judged.

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After 45 minutes of walking it seemed like we had finally reached the destination which was the side of a cliff,the orc mage more than once stopped in his tracks to look at his scroll or map i assume,to find the right direction,they also took a 10 minute pause to get something to eat and surprisingly the orc mage used something like a pouch that acted like mine skill but when i looked closer i also noticed that it must have some sort of restriction because 2 of the orcs were using normal backpacks while the orc mage alone used that magical pouch which was really interesting on itself.

-Lord sorron do we attack now ?

Hoboku asked a bit impatient,she was smart and decisive in most cases but when it came to fighting it always fired her up even now she seemed excited about and this trait was something i only noticed after her evolution.

-Not yet we still don’t know where the artifact is

Hoboku nodded to my answer and got a little bit closer to me…her breasts were brushing my arm…focus we can’t afford to lose them and actually we were a bit far away from our base so help wouldn’t come as fast as i like it to be so we had to be patient.

With that thought i continued to stare at the 5 orcs..they were a bit tired because on the way they had encountered some beasts which they disposed of easily but at the same time it took stamina to do so getting them tired.Compared to the soldier orcs the orc mage was fine though he didn’t need as much to move a finger other than cast a fire-ball spell and kill animals in one shot there were also times were he didn’t participate in the fight…maybe to preserve mana i guess.

I looked at the orc mage a bit more closer,he was standing next to the cliff wall brushing off some moss and herbs that grew on the side he was searching for something on that wall while looking at his map…what was he searching for ?

Damn,i couldn’t let the slimes get closer and take a peek it would look too suspicious and if the orc mage notices that they are surrounded by slimes he will obviously get vigilante by it…

As i was brooding over it i could hear the sound of a laugh coming from the orc mage he had stopped brushing the moss aside and grabbed something on the wall pull it towards him…a lever ?

With that action suddenly the side of the cliff started to shake and finally a gap started to appear on the wall revealing a wide entrance towards the tomb,the orcs were amazed and gaped at it even i was kinda surprised while looking at the slide door….but this wasn’t the time to gawk…they are about to go in if i don’t do it fast i may miss my chance to catch them off guard !

-Hoboku its now…aim at the orc mage and try to kill him first using your spell i will order the other slimes to obstruct the soldier orcs you have to kill the orc mage no matter what understood ?

-yes lord sorron !

Hoboku raised her wand and started channeling her spell,the reason she didn’t use her wand previously was because there was no need in doing so but because it was important to kill the highest damage dealer first,she had to be sure about her kill.

While she was preparing her spell i also started ordering the other slimes to get ready,i would start the obstruction when she was ready to shot the spell in that moment i would let the slimes lose.

I looked towards the orcs for a second it seemed like they didn’t notice anything strange so far but in the corner of my eyes i noticed the orc age was looking at us grim…he noticed somehow !

-Spear Of The End !

Hoboku shouted as she shot off her spell i also ordered the slimes to charge and try to tie them up or use their tentacles to attack from a safe distance while trying to entangle them by they legs to trip them over.

The spear hoboku shot out flew and whizzed through the air,it passed the other orc soldiers completely without them realizing it and was about to hit the orc mage until he himself raised his staff and like that something like a light blue sphere started to surround him,the spear hit the sphere but it wasn’t enough to block it but it was enough to change the trajectory of the spear hitting the orc mage on the left shoulder making him fall down out of pain…he wasn’t dead yet which made me even more so anxious but he was bleeding very hard and i knew he wasn’t going to survive this !

I ordered hoboku to shoot off another spell onto the mage to be sure while i was focusing on the orc soldiers who only now realized that their leader had been shot and was injured heavily they were slow and only just now noticed that slimes were about to surround them,the first to react was that orc soldier called “Senjin” he raised his halberd and was about to hit a sole slime until a second slime used its tentacles to grab onto the orcs hands pulling it over and making it fall down dropping its weapon to the ground…..even thought the slimes were over all weak using their mid-ranged reach they were able to subdue 1 orc with 3 slimes making them unable to stand back up,the slimy substance covered their whole body making it hard to stand and hold onto their weapon and like so the orcs were already defeated very easily.

I sighed..this wasn’t so bad as i thought it would be the only reason it ended so fast was because the mage didn’t notice us until the end and the orc soldier were just too unorganized to be able to do anything correct

With that thought i looked towards the orc mage while i was instructing the slimes hoboku had already shot a second spear at him and this time he couldn’t block it using his light blue shield that he had conjured previously leaving a gaping hole on his chest as he sat on the ground leaning on the wall while bleeding out…i stared at his lifeless face for a second thinking about how it had all come to this but at the same time i didn’t really think of it as much,they had something valuable that i was interested in and thats why they died,in this forest only the strong survive while the weak die as food or on a whim.

Now that the danger was eliminated i ordered the slimes to consume the orcs while filtering their equipment i wanted to hide the stench of blood and the slimes were the fastest cleaning too there was in this forest meaning it didn’t take long for them to finish leaving behind a massive stack of orc bones which they generally didn’t eat…i kinda felt creeped out because of the bones but tried to ignore them for a bit as i first of all pulled out the map that the orc mage used to get here…there was no trace of slimy liquid on the paper because of the slimes perfect liquid control no,it more like seemed that the paper was more cleaner then before becoming a light brown color…huh this is something worth researching when i get back…

I put that thought behind my head and started to look into the map only to realize that…i can’t read anything…the map was written once again in that strange wiggly language but what i could understand was the layout from the forest leading up to this place by the side of the cliff…

-Hoboku can you read this to me

-yes lord sorron

Hoboku took the map and started reading out loud while i was looking at the entrance to the tomb that had been opened by the orc mage.

-Stronger Then steel,and older than time;They are more patient then death and shall stand even when the starts ceased to shine.Their strength is embedded in roots buried deep.Where the sands and frost of ages can never hope to touch or reach…thats the end.

Hoboku looked up to me a bit confused by the words but for me it was clear it was a riddle which came with the location of this place but even i am not that smart to figure out something like this in a short amount of time and going in there right now seems really suicidal so i should come tomorrow…no wait i can’t waste even more time what if the other orcs notice ? I don’t know the set amount of time their leader set onto them and they could send some kind of reinforcement after all this is also important to the other orcs…wait no i am the only person who was the map…or am i ? I shook my heda for a second no matter what i think about it won’t matter i have to act before its too late.

-Hoboku it seems like we are going to camp out tonight

I turned towards hoboku who seemed delighted for some reason when she heard that nodded her head up and down i also looked towards the slimes who were now a bit more larger then before its no wonder they already finished eating the orcs and it gave them quiet a bit of mass to be able to split again resulting in a total of 72 slimes that i had available right now and with this i was going to make them scout the tomb for a second.