Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 1: A Girl in Another World - Chapter 31

When Aldric had said he wanted fifteen soldiers to go with him for the monster subjugation, Connor had thought his lordship was mad. They'd be dealing with hordes of orcs and trolls, and thirty of even the strongest Norsewood warriors wouldn't even be able to withstand the attacks, let alone half that. But alas, it was Aldric, a Templeton with blood blessed by Isaris, the Goddess of Strength and War, the man who had been through many battles and came out not only alive, but the winner, too, and Connor obliged, recruiting only those who were very lightly injured. Indeed, he had been surprised when Aldric alone had charged off upon their encounter with a group of orcs. In fear for the lord's life, he shouted at the men to charge, too, as he himself took off, but only to halt again when Theo's voice rang out commandingly, "Stop! Don't move."

Hence, Connor and the men watched, stunned, at the sight of their lord swiftly and lethally slaying every single one of the fifty orcs within a mere few minutes.

Connor had wanted to ask Theo what had happened to their lord after a year away in battle at Forddon but knew now was not the time. Cleaning up the woods was a top priority, for orcs' blood and corpses, with their diseases, were detrimental to the environment. Burning them with magical flames immediately was the only safe method of cleansing the area.

Theo summoned his fire magic as well as Connor, the only two of the five captains of Norsewood warriors blessed with elemental magic abilities, and after the piles of corpses turned into ashes, they moved on, deeper into the woods, closer to Blackfield territory, thus pushing monsters that had invaded Norsewood back.

During the course of the next five hours, they had encountered many hordes of orcs and trolls, at the speed in which Connor could never imagine was possible. To get this far and annihilate this many hordes, they normally needed at least five hundred experienced, strong warriors and a two to three months' time frame to complete the task. Aldric, and occasionally with the aid of Vincent and Theo, however, could do so with a mere half a day?

Connor, alert as usual, watched Aldric jumping into the air and then lightly landing once again on the ground as he swung his mighty sword, precisely and cleanly slicing through a troll's neck, decapitating it, its body and head falling to the ground separately. When he swung his sword again, it was to halve another troll and then another and another.

Despite his trained eye, having around thirty years of experience as a Norsewood warrior and having been through many battles, both with humans and monsters, Connor found it hard to keep up with Aldric's swift movements. Indeed, the more the lord fought, the faster he seemed to move, so much so that at times Connor missed Aldric's position entirely, only to sense the man again some distance away a split second later. Once again, he wondered just how was that possible. And he marveled at how strong their lord had become. If the man's strength were to keep growing just that little bit more, he just might be able to battle head-on with Hellfire, the ancient dragon that had destroyed their town four years ago.

Connor glanced at the men, noting that some looked lost and confused as well as awed. Those with less experience in battles couldn't keep up with the fight, and they were shocked when Aldric returned moments later, the monsters falling to the ground around him, dead.

Because he damn well couldn't help himself, Connor asked Theo, "What the hell happened to our lord? How is it possible that he became such a monster himself? Was it because of his experience at Forddon?"

Theo burst out laughing and slapped the friend at the back. "No need to be so shocked, Connor. You've seen him kill many monsters for the past half a day."

Connor shook his head. "No, I'm still very much shocked." He looked around and noted that the other men were dazed, and the younger ones had sparkles in their eyes. It was obvious they were now idolizing their lordship.