Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Haimken (4)
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“Shall we keep going?”
Suhyun no longer pinned down the orcs with telekinesis, but none of them dared to rush in recklessly. They were utterly terrified by what he had just shown them.
There were superpowered users among the orcs too. That was precisely why they were even more shocked by Suhyun’s abilities. It wasn’t just firing off telekinesis or creating a transparent barrier—he had subdued them like it was child’s play.
Suhyun slowly walked over and placed his foot on Kazak’s head, who was still lying face-down.
“Calm down and let’s talk…”
“I’ve been calm this whole time. Yeah, I’m curious what story you’re going to tell me.”
Suhyun’s voice was soft but laced with threat. Herkul barely restrained himself from instinctively reaching for his waist. Even charging in with superpowers wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like that.
He’d guessed they weren’t ordinary when he heard about their group, but he hadn’t expected this level.
“If you cause any more trouble, it’ll be a hassle for both of us, right?”
“It’ll be a hassle for you. And for this guy under my foot. But I don’t feel hassled at all? In what way would it be a hassle for me?”
“Haimken is under treaty.”
“Ah, that treaty. That only applies if you’ve been abiding by it. Mogok, come forward!”
Mogok, who had been waiting tensely, jumped at Suhyun’s call and stepped forward. Suhyun pointed at him and said,
“This guy here says you beat him up for no reason. Is that true?”
Herkul rubbed his forehead. A throbbing headache was coming on. He’d been pushed into issuing the punishment when Goriks had strongly demanded it, but he hadn’t thought it would blow up like this. They weren’t even human—they were orcs.
“Do you want to make this bigger? Bringing up the treaty? I don’t mind. But before handling it by the treaty, I’ll make sure to collect my due compensation first.”
“…”
After a brief silence, Herkul asked,
“What compensation are you talking about?”
“Don’t orcs have a saying like ‘you reap what you sow’? If you beat someone up, you should get beaten up the same way.”
“There were unavoidable circumstances.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
Suhyun lifted his foot off Kazak’s head and kicked him aside as he spoke. The orcs grew even more flustered when Suhyun said he understood. At least until they heard what came next.
“I sometimes feel the uncontrollable urge to beat people up too. Probably the same reason, right?”
“…Will you let me explain the situation?”
“Bow your head and explain politely first, and I might listen.”
“This isn’t the place to talk, so let’s move somewhere…”
Bam!
“Who’s the other bastard who came looking?”
“Your underlings’ management is a total mess. What is this, a public restroom? Anyone can just waltz in?”
The ones who had kicked down the door were a group of armed orcs. They exuded a qualitatively different level of murderous intent from the guards. They looked ready to pounce on anyone in sight.
The orc who seemed to be their leader spat as he shouted,
“Lord Herkul, don’t fall for the humans’ tricks! You know what they did!”
“Is that the guy?”
Suhyun pointed at him and asked Mogok.
“Yes?”
“The one who took the lead in beating you up. The chieftain wouldn’t have done it himself.”
“Yeah, that’s him. That’s right.”
While the two conversed, the orc stomped heavily inside. At the same time, the armed orcs behind him fanned out to both sides.
“Human, how dare you show your face here so shamelessly? Because of what you did… Gahk!”
It was a repeat of what had just happened. Suhyun shook out his hand like it was a nuisance. With that single motion, the orcs bounced back like rubber balls.
Suhyun lifted the orc who had just been talking and set him in front. Then he snatched the rifle the orc was holding and gripped it upside down.
“I’m curious why you came here, but first, let’s start with a few hits.”
“Big brother?”
“What?”
Suhyun wondered if this orc was crazy. But the orc wasn’t talking to him. He was addressing Gorgan behind him.
“Was it your little brother?”
Suhyun subtly lowered the rifle. If it was Gorgan’s brother, he could at least hear him out before beating him. But Gorgan shook his head firmly.
“I have no little brother.”
“Big brother, wait…!”
“You lying orc bastard?”
Dull thuds began echoing through the hall.
* * *
The hall had been completely taken over by the mercenaries. After retrieving their weapons, the team members had tied up the orcs and shoved them into a corner. They shrugged.
“They’ll survive, right?”
“The team leader’s not gonna kill them.”
Suhyun sat in the seat where the chieftain would normally sit. With all the nuisances cleared out, he could finally ask.
“Alright, explain convincingly why you beat up Mogok.”
“It’s a long story…”
“Then summarize it briefly.”
“…Understood.”
When survivor Malrok arrived in Haimken, Herkul had treated him kindly. He didn’t have any camaraderie just because they were both non-humans, but a victim of human aggression was different. Herkul had a fairly broad perspective.
He knew well that prosecuting a human in court for a crime against non-humans involved a long and complicated process. If Malrok didn’t want it, Herkul respected his decision.
But then the situation changed. Goriks got involved.
Goriks, who had the support of the tribe’s young warriors, argued that Malrok could be used as an important political card. Crimes against non-humans drew public interest, so they could gain more from it.
“Sounds plausible.”
Suhyun nodded as he glanced at Goriks, who lay sprawled in the back with a battered face. There weren’t many orcs who could think that way.
“So, what does that have to do with beating up Mogok?”
“Goriks thinks we should cooperate with China. He’s an extreme pro-China hardliner even within Haimken.”
Suhyun’s internal evaluation of Goriks plummeted.
“Instead of filing directly with the Korean side, cooperating with China to use Malrok…?”
The answer was obvious. It wasn’t about asking the Koreans for the truth and compensation. It was about handing Malrok over as a political card the Chinese could exploit and getting compensation from them. An issue like non-human massacres could become a hot potato if handled right.
“The tribal council meetings lately have been all arguments about that. One side respects Malrok’s own wishes and questions why we need to involve China even if he wants a proper resolution, while…”
Herkul glanced back as he spoke. It was clear who he meant.
“The other side wants to use this incident to deepen ties with China and resolve the Malrok issue at the same time. They call it killing two birds with one stone.”
“You’re the former?”
“I am. Not only does Malrok himself not want to escalate, but there’s no need to drag in the Chinese and blow up the conflict. We’d be the only ones who lose out.”
The chieftain position wasn’t given lightly. Herkul saw the situation clearly. Handing initiative over this incident to China would only benefit them, while the orcs risked being used.
“Then that orc showed up in the middle of it. He said he came looking for the survivor. And since he said where he was from, the young orcs naturally got excited…”
It was an incident from the Korean side, and people from the Korean side had come, so Goriks’s faction was thrilled. They branded Mogok a traitor colluding with the humans.
“I barely managed to keep them from killing him. I barely convinced them it could cause treaty issues.”
“Is failing to control your underlings something to brag about?”
Suhyun scolded him pitifully. Herkul flushed and bowed his head.
“By the way, China…”
An unexpected force was getting involved. Suhyun couldn’t guess how they planned to use Malrok. It was clear there was a way since guys like Goriks wanted to hand him over, but Suhyun had no idea what it was.
‘No need to know every detail anyway.’
What Suhyun and the Chinese wanted were at odds. Since he planned to take Malrok anyway, he could worry about why they wanted him later.
“Positions in orc society come down to blood ties in the end. Is that guy someone important? Enough to speak out like that?”
“It’s less blood ties and more that the Chinese behind him are backing him heavily. That’s why he has followers.”
“Hmm, if I just kill them all now…”
“I absolutely cannot allow that!”
“Just testing. You think I’d actually do it? With all these eyes watching.”
“…”
Suhyun looked at the orcs tied up with Goriks. He had a rough grasp of the situation. Goriks’s faction, backed by China, versus the traditional forces, fighting over Malrok.
‘This is a bit tricky.’
Ideally, he’d sweep away all the obstacles, grab Malrok, and leave, but with China behind them, that could backfire.
“Gorgan, what’s your relation to that guy?”
“Yes?”
“I let it slide earlier, but he wouldn’t call just anyone ‘big brother.’ Hard to talk about?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I cut ties with that guy long ago.”
“Why?”
“He sold out his own village.”
During Cameron’s development, non-humans were either collaborators or obstacles. Gorgan’s brother Goriks fell into the former category. Very proactively.
China and Russia’s methods were far rougher than other nations, and Gorgan’s village collapsed as a result. A pittance in compensation was all they got.
“What a piece of trash. Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?”
“No. It’s fine.”
Suhyun stopped talking and walked over to Goriks. Goriks glared at him, then turned his head away—a sign he wouldn’t talk.
“Does it hurt a lot? Well, our team member got beaten too, so let’s call it even.”
“I won’t let this slide! How dare you pull this insanity in Haimken’s inner castle!”
“What insanity?”
“What you’re doing right now!”
“I subdued you without killing a single one—how is that insane? Insanity would be killing you and all your friends from here to there and burying you in the back mountain.”
“…!”
Goriks shut his mouth for a moment. Suhyun’s expression was nonchalant, which made it all the scarier. It felt like he really could do it without a second thought.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do that. Honestly, it’d be better for you to just let it go.”
“Ha! Why would I?”
“You probably want to run to your Chinese friends and tattle that I did this, but if you do, I’ll publicize our team member getting beaten. A non-human who struck first wouldn’t be advantageous in a human court. If things get messy, I doubt your Chinese pals will stick by you to the end. Go ahead if you want to get discarded like a worn-out shoe.”
“…!”
Goriks ground his teeth. He was an orc seasoned in human dealings. He knew right away Suhyun’s words weren’t mere bluffing.
‘Damn human bastard!’
“You should’ve thought before you acted.”
Suhyun patted him and returned to Herkul.
“Alright. I’ve convinced that guy roughly, so let them all go. No one will try anything after that, but if someone does…”
“I’ll stop them, so it won’t happen. But what about Malrok?”
“I’d love to take him right now, but that’d just make things annoying in all sorts of ways, right?”
The Chinese would jump at the chance to tie Suhyun up with Goriks. They were already itching for an excuse to check him.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a bit of a hassle, but we’ll have to do it officially.”
“?”
Herkul tilted his head, not understanding Suhyun’s words.
“The situation’s split between those siding with Goriks and those against, right?”
“That’s right.”
“In cases like that, one incident can flip public opinion in an instant.”
Goriks’s supporters and opponents were essentially Haimken’s pro-China and anti-China factions. They had their reasons and opinions, but Suhyun didn’t care—he had a bomb he could detonate.
‘Who knew Luiril’s theft would come in handy in a situation like this…’
Shock Wave Sword. The sacred relic stolen from Haimken’s orcs. If that artifact was found in the Chinese delegates’ luggage?