Just as I turned my back on Ilga, who had started walking at the front, and was about to return to the rear—

A shiver ran down my skin.

A slight distortion in the air. The scent of a beast and breath that did not belong to a human. By the time I sensed it, Oujin had already snapped his gaze upward and shouted.

“Stop, Ilga!”

“Huh…?”

The sound of metal crashing against metal roared through the air immediately afterward.

It wasn’t Ilga. It was directed at me, who had already started running toward the rear—Bernard’s massive body came hurtling toward me at high speed.

He had been struck by something and sent flying.

“Ngh…!”

Just barely, I twisted my small body and managed to dodge his massive frame. In my vision, I caught sight of the halberd in Bernard’s hand, broken clean in two.

“Bern! Are you hurt!?”

“No problem. But my halberd’s broken. More importantly, everyone, draw your weapons. Prepare for battle.”

At his command, everyone unsheathed their swords in unison.

But their hands were trembling. That wouldn’t do.

“Hoo…”

Bernard nonchalantly discarded his broken halberd and pulled out a spear from his back.

He spun it a few times in both hands before pointing the tip backward. In that direction stood a single creature, roughly the same size as the towering Bernard.

It held a weapon similar to the iron chunk Ilga had discarded earlier, its bulging eyes glaring down at us.

Drool dripped from its large, sharp fangs, emitting a nauseating stench.

Someone screamed.

“A-An ogre! An ogre has appeared!”

Its body was somewhat human-like, but it wore nothing more than tattered rags. Its feet were bare, and its limbs were swollen with muscle, so thick they appeared rounded. Its neck was nearly the same width as its head. Most distinctively, it had a horn protruding from its forehead and the fangs of a carnivorous beast.

—Grrrrrrrrr…!

The students flinched at the sound, fear twisting their expressions as they took a step back.

The heat radiating from its body spread through the cold dungeon along with its beastly stench. Compared to the omnivorous goblins, the carnivorous ogre’s presence was overwhelming. In the confined space of the dungeon, the smell alone was enough to induce nausea.

“Ugh…”

The students gasped as if the ogre’s body heat was pressing down on them. They were completely intimidated.

But there was no time to worry about that. None at all. Because—

I shouted.

“Don’t come, Oujin! This one isn’t the real threat!”

“I know!”

Yes, this one was just a distraction.

The first to appear was this ogre in the rear, but its purpose was merely to draw all of our attention. Proof of that lay in the numerous presences gathering ahead of us, just a short distance away.

This ogre, which had deliberately made itself known, was nothing more than a decoy. Even for a monster, this was an annoyingly clever strategy.

The real threat was in front—where Ilga and Oujin were. Shadows writhed in the darkness, their numbers increasing.

The moment nearly all of the first and second teams had their focus stolen by the rear ogre, the front line was suddenly stormed by a horde of them. Their thundering footsteps reverberated like an earthquake, accompanied by a roar loud enough to paralyze the soul.

—GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

“Hh…!”

We were being surrounded. But it wasn’t a surprise attack—because Oujin was there.

Still, this was bad.

The rear wasn’t too concerning, but the sheer number of ogres in the front was overwhelming. If they had been goblins, we could have held formation, but against this many ogres, formations were useless. We’d be trampled.

Oujin and I had originally planned to support the first and second teams, but now wasn’t the time for such luxuries.

We needed to move to the front and reinforce them immediately—but!

“Damn it!”

The moment I hesitated, the rear ogre kicked off the ground. Clicking my tongue, I drew my gladius.

“No choice…!”

I had to take this one down immediately and rush to the front—!

But before I could move, a massive figure leaped forward, shielding me. The ground trembled as Bernard lunged, his spear’s tip piercing straight through the ogre’s right arm from well beyond the reach of its iron chunk.

A sickening squelch of flesh being pierced rang out, and the ogre’s weapon slipped from its grasp.

“Now. Do it.”

With the ogre immobilized, four students, including Letis, slashed at it—

But the ogre roared, abandoning its weapon and wildly swinging its arms, knocking them all away.

“Guh…!?”

“Ah…!”

Even a glancing blow sent them flying. Letis, having rolled across the ground, was about to be crushed under the ogre’s foot.

“Ah…!”

But before it could happen, Bernard drove his spear through the ogre’s foot and slammed his shoulder into it with full force.

“Nnngh!!”

A heavy thud echoed as flesh crashed against flesh, sending the injured ogre stumbling backward. Yet, it immediately snatched up its fallen weapon and bared its fangs once more.

Bernard murmured to me.

“Go, Eremia. I’ll handle this.”

At the rear, five second-team members were holding off one ogre.

In the front, five from the first team and Oujin.

But—

The footsteps echoing through the dungeon shook the very ground. The number of ogres within the illuminated area alone had already exceeded ten. They would reach the front line within seconds.

“Sorry. I’ll leave it to you, Bern.”

“May the earth spirits bless your path.”

Turning my back on Bernard and the rear ogre, I dashed toward the front.