The four of them—Rei, Marina, Vihera, and Byune—entered the grove, retracing the path Rei and Byune had taken earlier.
After a glance at Byune leading the way, Rei looked up through the gaps in the branches.
He caught a fleeting glimpse of Set flying overhead. Relieved, he turned his attention back to the grove.
"A cave, though... That's a little unusual for a place like this," Marina murmured, perhaps recalling what Rei had reported from his reconnaissance.
Even so, the fact that she stayed alert to her surroundings was typical of the capable Marina.
Normally, if anything seemed off, Set would be the first to notice—well before Byune, or even Rei, whose senses were sharper than any ordinary person's.
But Set wasn't with them right now.
Correction: Rei had spotted him overhead just a moment ago, so it was more accurate to say Set simply wasn't nearby.
With that in mind, they advanced cautiously, careful not to alert the bandits or any monsters.
"There!"
Rei suddenly thrust the Thorn Spear into a nearby bush.
"Kyupi!"
A dying shriek rang out.
When Rei pulled the spear free, he found a rabbit-like monster with three horns jutting from its head.
...Assuming you could still call it a rabbit with fangs like those.
(A baby Gamelion? ...No, that's not right. Still, it's the first time I've taken one down. I think it was in the Monster Encyclopedia...)
As Rei studied the impaled corpse on the spearhead, Marina spoke up.
"Oh, isn't that an Owl Rabbit?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
Owl Rabbit. An E-Rank monster distinguished by its three horns and fangs. It had the shape of a rabbit, but as those fangs made clear, it was carnivorous. It used powerful legs and quick footwork to attack with the three horns on its forehead and its fangs, but it wasn't a particularly dangerous monster.
However, like Orcs, it yielded meat far tastier than its rank would suggest, which made it a popular quarry among adventurers.
"For now, I'll field-dress it later. Needs proper bleeding anyway," Rei muttered. He slid the spearhead free from the Owl Rabbit's corpse and stowed it in his Misty Ring.
Since the meat was good quality, it would make a fine treat for Set, who was flying solo overhead.
"Alright, let's move. Byune, lead the way."
"Mm."
Byune gave a curt reply and resumed walking, leading them deeper into the sunset-dyed grove.
(I'd like to finish this up and get back as fast as possible. ...We'll see how it goes.)
From what Rei had observed during reconnaissance, the private soldiers they were about to fight weren't all that strong. It would be a letdown for Vihera, who was eager for a good fight, but Rei suspected this wouldn't be the satisfying battle she was hoping for.
(Well, the man they called Captain seemed reasonably competent. I'll leave him to her.)
If these were monsters, Rei couldn't afford to give up a single kill—not when he needed their Magic Stones for Beast Magic absorption. But his opponents this time were human. Defeating them wouldn't yield any Magic Stones, so there was no need to insist on taking down the strongest enemy himself. He could let Vihera have that one without any issue.
"Mm."
They had been pushing through the grove for a while when Byune, still in the lead, let out a short sound. It was no different from her usual clipped speech, but Rei and the others could sense the sharp edge of alarm behind it.
Given the current situation, there was no mistaking what had put her on guard.
"...They're there," Marina murmured. Rei, Vihera, and Byune all nodded.
Byune, with a thief's sharp instincts; Marina, with the keen eyesight of a Dark Elf; and Vihera, whose vision had been enhanced after absorbing Unbris—all of them had spotted the targets. The several men posted as lookouts around the hideout.
In a grove like this—a monster's habitat—it was only natural.
Without lookouts, there would be no way to know when a monster might come charging out of the trees.
To avoid that, posted sentries were essential.
Though, truth be told, Rei and Byune had slipped right past those same sentries a short while ago, infiltrating the hideout and making it back out undetected.
"What's the plan?"
"I'll handle it," Rei murmured, gripping the Thorn Spear.
The other three nodded without a word. Everyone knew Rei was the strongest among them. If he said he'd handle it, there was nothing more to discuss.
"Alright. Once the lookout is down, we move in force. There's bound to be more than one sentry, so they'll catch on soon enough anyway."
"The enemy Captain is mine, right?" Vihera asked, seeking confirmation.
Rei nodded.
Vihera looked satisfied, and a moment later, a fierce grin spread across her face. She was looking forward to the fight ahead.
Understanding that, Rei leapt from the shadow of the tree where he'd been hiding, quietly hoping the battle would prove satisfying enough for her.
"!?"
The moment the lookout realized something had burst from the trees, he opened his mouth to shout.
But Rei had already closed the distance before a single sound escaped the man's throat.
What's more, Rei's weapon was a spear. In terms of reach, it held a clear advantage over the longsword the man carried.
Long-hafted weapons were normally unwieldy in a grove, but a thrust-oriented spear was a different story.
The lookout crumpled to the ground, unconscious, struck in the solar plexus without ever making a sound.
It was fortune enough that Rei had struck with the spear's butt cap rather than the blade.
Not that Rei had spared the man out of any reluctance to kill. He needed as many sources of information as possible to learn who was pulling this private military company's strings.
...And there was also the undeniable fact that capturing enemies alive would likely mean a bigger reward.
From there, they pressed toward the hideout without a word.
If they could land the initial ambush, they could steamroll the enemy in a single push.
That was why they'd taken out the lookout before he could cry out. But the effect was less than Rei had hoped.
The moment the men in the hideout saw an unknown figure appear—Rei—they snatched up their weapons and attacked.
(Huh.)
Rei was slightly impressed by the quick reaction.
When he'd sneaked in earlier, they hadn't noticed a thing. But the instant they spotted Rei, they identified him as an enemy and attacked without a moment's hesitation.
Of course, given that they'd set up base in a monster-infested grove, they knew full well that even with lookouts posted, an attack could come at any time. Being prepared for exactly this kind of situation was only natural.
"Enemy—"
But even so... they were too slow.
Before the man could shout a warning about the attack, Rei's Thorn Spear caught him in the flank and sent him flying several meters sideways.
Since this was a hideout, the clearing was wide enough to swing a spear horizontally—which was unfortunate for the man.
Though whether it was better to lose consciousness from a thrust to the body or from being blasted sideways was probably a matter of personal taste.
Even so, the unconscious man's cry echoed through the hideout.
Those who heard it immediately sprang into action, grabbing weapons and rushing out to mount a defense.
"What the!? Not a monster!?"
"A kid!?"
Seeing Rei with the hood of his Dragon Robe pulled low, several of them let out bewildered exclamations.
But that moment's hesitation proved nearly fatal.
Rei, utterly unconcerned with their confusion, pressed forward.
The Thorn Spear sang through the air.
...If Set had been at his side, they might have recognized Rei as the adventurer with the alias of Crimson. But unfortunately, Set was circling high overhead.
In the end, the man who'd called Rei a kid was sent flying by a blow from the Thorn Spear before he could even process what was happening, crashing into another man beside him.
With things having escalated this far, the entire hideout erupted into chaos.
But Rei wasn't the only one fighting.
Marina used her bow to pin enemies' limbs, shooting through arms and legs so they couldn't move.
Vihera struck down enemies one after another as she searched for her target—the Captain.
Byune, unlike the other three, moved through the battlefield unseen, hurling Long Needles and exploiting openings to slash with Hakumo, supporting the others.
"Calm down! Everyone, form up! They're few in number—don't panic!"
The Captain's voice rang out as he watched his subordinates being dropped one after another.
The shout seemed to snap them back to their senses. The private soldiers quickly regained their composure.
After all, this group possessed a level of skill worthy of being called an elite unit.
Given that, recovering from a momentary panic wasn't all that difficult.
"Huh."
The sound of admiration came from Rei.
Using the Thorn Spear to rob the consciousness of each man who came at him, he took another look around.
There, Vihera—who had sharp-eyedly spotted the Captain—was already closing in for the attack.
"Captain!"
One of the nearby men tried to move to his superior's aid, but—
"Gah! Damn it!"
An arrow punched through his leg.
With that, there was no way he could support the Captain.
Before the man's eyes, fists, feet, and weapons were flying at a speed he could barely track.
A man with a pierced thigh trying to back up the Captain would only get in the way.
And by the time the man noticed, Rei was already standing right in front of him.
"What—!?"
Before he could even register that someone was there, a blow from the Thorn Spear snuffed out his consciousness.
Rei watched the man crumple to the ground, then gripped the Thorn Spear and swept his gaze across the area.
(Since I didn't even use the Thorn Spear's Special Ability, maybe the Twilight Spear would've worked just as well? ...Well, I guess it's good to give the Thorn Spear some use once in a while.)
As the thought crossed his mind, he caught sight of several men ducking into the cave at the back of the hideout.
...Strictly speaking, the cave wasn't just part of the hideout—they'd chosen this location as their base precisely because the cave was here.
Either way, Rei already knew what was inside from his earlier infiltration.
After all, recovering those materials was the very reason he and his party had been hired.
Seeing men heading into the cave where those materials were stored, at a time like this, triggered a distinctly bad feeling.
"Rei!"
A brief call. But when Rei turned toward Marina, she was already looking at the cave—and Rei understood exactly what she meant.
By now, most of the men in the hideout had been neutralized.
Some were still conscious, but nearly all of them had their limbs pinned by Marina's arrows and could barely move.
Given the situation, Rei judged there'd be no problem if he went after the ones who'd slipped into the cave. He gave Marina a small nod and set off toward the cave mouth.
"Ahahaha, not bad at all! More, faster, stronger, sharper!"
Vihera's ecstatic voice rang out behind him as he walked away.
(The fact that they were skilled enough to satisfy Vihera... well, that was lucky, I suppose."
With that thought, Rei followed the men into the darkness of the cave.
As he entered, he suppressed his presence to avoid detection—partly to squeeze even a little more information out of them, and partly because a surprise attack would make victory that much easier.
"Hey, what do we do with this!?"
"Burn the flammable materials, and make the rest unusable. Or at the very least, make them hesitate to use it!"
From that exchange, Rei learned that the men had come into the cave for exactly the purpose he'd predicted. A small smile formed on his lips.
Given the current situation, the only reason to enter the cave where the materials were stored was to ensure they couldn't be recovered.
During Rei's reconnaissance, they'd been talking about someone coming to collect the goods. But if that proved impossible, they'd clearly been ordered to destroy everything.
Having confirmed that much was enough. No—if he waited any longer, the materials themselves would actually be ruined. With that judgment, he opened his mouth.
"That's going to be a problem."
"What—!?"
Rei launched himself at the men as they recoiled in shock at the sudden voice.