Chapter 52

I activated my Assassin and Stealth techniques and rushed towards one of the Ogres.

With the momentum, I swung my sword down.

"Ah!?"

"U, my arm—!?"

As I cut off his arm, the Ogre let out a scream.

The remaining Ogres were on guard, but they hadn't noticed us yet.

It seemed that the increase in my Assassin level and the darkness were deceiving their eyes.

With that opening, it was easy to take down the three remaining Ogres.

Having taken out four of them in an instant, I then deactivated my skills.

The Dryads, who had noticed me, looked at me in surprise.

"I am Crest, a human who has come to rescue the sub-humans. Have you heard from Katrina?"

"Y-Yes... I have heard."

Despite their slight confusion, the Dryads nodded in agreement with my words.

"If that's the case, it's quick. I will remove the collars from everyone, so please let me touch them."

From here on, it's a race against time.

Without further ado, I approached the Dryads' necks, touched their collars, and used the Key Magic to unlock all of them.

"Everyone, head immediately to the house where the sub-humans are staying. Wait there until the operation begins."

"U, understood."

For now, there were no signs of Ogres around.

It was a favorable situation, but the Ogres still hadn't realized they were under attack.

With this, more than half of the operation was completed.

I launched a magic spell into the sky as planned.

From here on, it's war.

As the fire magic shot into the sky, a roar-like voice echoed from outside.

At the same time, monsters emerged from the building where the sub-humans were staying.

I activated my Assassin and silently observed the scene.

The battle was progressing in our favor.

In this situation, my task was to take down the enemy leader.

Until then, I had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention.

I waited patiently, watching for him to appear.

An Ogre that had come out of the house was punched and knocked out by Gorga.

In its place, the Ogre leader, Rugar, appeared.

"You bastards! Why are the collars gone!?"

Rugar, who had appeared shouting, immediately glared around.

He coordinated with a few other Ogres who were still unharmed and attacked the nearby sub-humans.

His strength was real.

He cut and kicked the sub-humans one after another, advancing.

Gorga swung his fist in resistance.

Rugar met Gorga's blow. He swung his sword with great force and deflected Gorga's attack.

With a stern expression, Gorga faced Rugar, who smiled more intensely.

"Hah! Is that all you've got? I'll put those collars back on all of you!"

Rugar shouted and lunged at Gorga.

Gorga's body seemed to harden, but he wasn't completely unscathed.

As other sub-humans moved to help Gorga, I continued to wait for Rugar to show a weakness.

And then—my moment came.

I rushed at Rugar from behind.

As I swung my sword, he jumped to the side.

Did he dodge the attack? Rugar frowned and glared at me.

"You... are the one pulling the strings behind this?"

Rugar's question was clearly directed at me.

I deactivated my Assassin and glared at Rugar.

"I didn't think you would notice."

I had completely concealed my presence, but it seems that a strong opponent like Rugar could still detect me.

"Hah, that's to be expected. When you're as strong as me, you can sense these things. You... I see. You're with the monsters from the south. ...I didn't expect a human to be leading them."

Rugar glared at me and the Goblins, Werewolves, and Slimes, then readied his sword.

"What's your purpose?"

"To free the sub-humans who are being used as slaves. ...If you can do that, I have no intention of fighting here."

When I said that, Rugar laughed out loud.

"Hah! You know it's impossible, which is why you're resorting to force, right? Of course, I refuse! I'll kill you and make all the monsters from the south my slaves!"

Rugar shouted and lunged at me with the same momentum.

I met his strike with my sword.

It was a heavy blow.

But... it wasn't too heavy to counter.

I put strength into my arm and deflected it.