"Orcs again?"

"What the hell? Is there some higher-tier orc near Chilture?"

"It's barely been any time since the last attack."

Unlike when they first heard news of an attack, the adventurers were not particularly alarmed. After all, they had the slime, an immensely reassuring ally on their side.

But that reassurance shattered at the next words from the man who had brought the news.

"I-it's different this time! There are t-two Blue Orcs and t-two O-Orc Champions!"

"What?!" they cried together.

Blue Orcs were a rare variant of orc with blue skin. As rare variants, their strength differed from that of ordinary orcs, earning them a B-rank classification.

Though stronger than Orc Warriors, they were not terribly dangerous. Chilture had B-rank adventurers, after all.

What troubled the adventurers most, however, was the appearance of not one but two Orc Champions.

Orc Champions were the strongest higher-tier orcs apart from Orc Kings, which might appear only once every several decades, if at all. Combining the formidable strength characteristic of orcs with masterful weapon attacks, they were classified as A-rank monsters.

A-rank was reserved for the most dangerous monsters outside those considered legendary. The appearance of two such monsters was truly devastating news.

"H-help! We need to send for help...!"

"What good will that do now?!"

"Hurry and evacuate the villagers!"

The situation was hopeless. Even if they called for help, it plainly would not arrive in time for the battle.

Yet the adventurers made no attempt to flee. Their eyes held determination as they prioritized evacuating the villagers.

They knew that if they ran now, every villager left behind would die. Even if they fled together, they would soon be caught.

That was why the best way to save lives now was for them, the adventurers, to stand and fight, taking down even one more orc.

Meanwhile, the Orc Champions had become the topic of conversation in chat as well.

[Squishy Queen]▶What is the meaning of this?! Why did you send two of these Champions?!

[Tailwind King]▶What, is there a problem? It's more exciting now.

[Squishy Queen]▶Excitement be damned! What if my kin gets hurt?!

[Tailwind King]▶Ah, come on. A little danger makes it fun. If it never gets hurt, huh? How's that supposed to help it?

▶You do need some danger to keep things juicy lol.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Please don't let Squishy get badly hurt~.

[Noblesse Fire]▶Why worry so much over some measly orcs?

[Slam First Ask Later]▶For Squishy, who I trained myself, this is nothing!

▶The slime's movement has been looking pretty slick lately.

Of course, most viewers other than Squishy Queen were not particularly worried about the slime. To their eyes, it did not seem significantly outmatched by an Orc Champion. Besides...

▶Won't Smartass help if things get dangerous anyway?

Smartass had already rescued the slime from danger once before.

Had he never done so, they might have worried that this could needlessly cost them the stream. But having already witnessed his intervention, the viewers were not terribly concerned.

At present, Smartass had made a crow his familiar and was waiting for Nellin's party.

'I'd better give him a firmer warning.'

Smartass, too, did not think two Orc Champions would put the slime in mortal danger. However, considering that an enraged Orc King might intervene personally after this attack was overcome, he typed into chat.

[Free Spirit]▶Yep, I'll step in if the slime's in danger. And if you go too far over the line, I won't let it slide.

[Noblesse Fire]▶What, are we getting an IRL fight?

▶Maybe it'd be okay for the slime to get in danger, then?

▶Please stream the IRL fight.

The Orc King ground his teeth at those messages.

'Can't you read the room?! Don't say that out loud!'

It was not as though the Orc King had failed to consider that possibility. If the slime was truly in danger, Smartass would appear.

But if they deliberately left that unmentioned, he could watch Squishy Queen and the other viewers fret even more!

'Why are you killing the mood?!'

Losing an opportunity to enjoy himself as a troll irritated the Orc King. Still, he could not openly complain.

Smartass, the moderator, held the power in chat! Expressing his discontent could get him blocked.

Above all, the Orc King did not want to give Smartass a reason to come after him personally. In his estimation, Smartass was no easy opponent. He could not create a situation that might end with his own death.

'A shame, but I'll have to end this bit of content here.'

[Tailwind King]▶I wasn't planning to send any more anyway. This is just the right difficulty.

▶Scared?

▶This bastard got scared lmao.

'Laugh all you like. Staying alive is what matters in the end.'

Ignoring the mocking messages, the Orc King focused on the stream. Onscreen, the adventurers were preparing to face the approaching orc horde.

+++

While preparing to evacuate the residents, the adventurers first asked the guard who had brought the news for details.

According to his information, the horde was smaller than the previous one, numbering roughly a hundred orcs. Among them were two Orc Champions, five Blue Orcs, and fifteen Orc Warriors. The remaining orcs were all ordinary ones.

The information had come from a merchant who had been driving his wagon out on a trading trip. He had spotted the orc horde in the distance along the way and hurried back to Chilture.

"They'll arrive in another hour."

Learning how much time remained, every adventurer thought the same thing: it was nowhere near enough.

Of course, the previous battle had been more urgent, but this time their opponents were far too powerful. Even a lone Orc Champion, an A-rank monster, attacking the village would be an enormous crisis. This horde had two.

If there was any hope in this desperate situation...

"Hey, Snowflake Fist."

Povin, currently the strongest adventurer in Chilture and a B-rank adventurer like Claire, addressed her.

"What?"

"That slime... How strong is Bouncy?"

"Stronger than me."

"No, I want a definite answer, not something that vague. ... Can the slime take on an A-rank monster?"

Claire shook her head at Povin's question.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"All I know is that Bouncy's stronger than me and can take down a B-rank monster in one hit. I've never seen it fight an A-rank monster, so I don't know."

Claire spoke only of what she had personally witnessed.

Fortunately, her words gave the adventurers hope. If it could defeat a B-rank monster in one hit, at least it did not seem likely to fall easily to an Orc Champion.

Povin looked at the slime perched on the table.

"Bouncy, I have a favor to ask. In this battle... please take on the Orc Champions. We need your strength."

He clenched his fist as he asked the slime for help. It frustrated him.

Povin had used Chilture as his base for several years. To him, the village was a second home.

If he could—if he had the strength—he wanted to save the village from this crisis with his own hands. If he had the power, he wanted to defeat the Orc Champions himself.

But Povin knew his own capabilities well. As he was now, he would struggle to face even one Orc Champion.

And Chilture mattered more to him than his pride. Even if his request was directed at a slime, asking for help was nothing if it meant protecting Chilture.

"Please help us."

'Okay!'

The slime bounced and answered immediately.

▶All right, this is where you're supposed to cry.

▶Sob, sob, little hooman. This is so moving.

▶"Sob, sob," my ass lmaooo.

▶Ah! Sob-sob s*x!

[Squishy Queen]▶What an insolent attitude! When he is the one receiving help! He ought to show reverence!

[Noblesse Fire]▶His tone does rub me the wrong way.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Can't we go outside already instead of listening to that hooman? Let's go hit them first!

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶What if Squishy ends up in danger? Haven't you ever been scolded for letting your children go out and play unsupervised?

[Slam First Ask Later]▶...

▶He's been nagged before lol.

▶Look how fast he shut up lmao.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Shut it!

+++

One hour later.

"Ah, finally in sight."

"Really? Whew, what a fucking slog."

The orc horde commanded by the two Orc Champions had arrived near Chilture. Like the orcs who had departed before them, this newly arrived horde was seething with irritation and discontent.

"What the hell? That hooman village is fine. What happened to the ones who went ahead?"

Orc Champion B looked at the village in puzzlement. Surely, if the first horde had inflicted any damage, at least the wooden palisade around the village would have been broken.

Yet the village looked entirely intact. Not only that, the hoomans had come out and were standing ready, as though they had been waiting for them.

"Can't you tell? They weren't strong enough and got killed. Now I get why the boss sent me too. He saw the first lot get their asses kicked and got pissed."

"How'd the boss know that?"

"How should I know?"

Orc Champion A rested the heavy greatsword he held in one hand on his shoulder.

"Let's hurry up and attack those hoomans. I'm starving to death."

"Yeah. We need to breed more to make up for the ones who went ahead and died."

Making thoroughly orc-like remarks, the horde drew steadily closer to Chilture.

A slime bounced along toward them, entering Orc Champion A's field of view.

'What's that? Why's there a slime?'

It was strange, but hardly worth paying much attention to. A mere slime would get trampled to death by the orcs at the front before it could get here anyway.

That was what he thought.

Once close to the horde, the slime bounced high into the air and landed on an orc's head. Then, hopping from one orc's head to the next, it drew steadily closer to the Orc Champion.

'Huh?'

At the sudden appearance of this acrobatic slime, Orc Champion A instinctively sensed something was wrong.

But before he could react, the slime sprang into the air.

BOOOOM!

The slime unleashed the strongest attack it was currently capable of: a tackle combining Bounce Tackle and Bounce Jumping.

The orc it had used as a springboard collapsed with its head caved in, while the slime hurtled toward Orc Champion A at tremendous speed.

"...!"

CLAAANG!

Orc Champion A reflexively blocked the attack. But...

"Urgh!"

Unable to fully absorb the impact, he was driven backward, still gripping his sword.

'What...?'