Chapter 18: Sacred Duel
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: Sacred Duel
My consciousness was fading, but I held on as tightly as I could. Despite my efforts, my body continued to fall. I glanced around and saw everyone staring at the battle in disbelief. It was hardly surprising. It felt strange to say it myself, but I was one of the strongest warriors in this settlement. Publicly, I was considered second only to Goff. The other goblins might not admit it, but I felt that if I fought with all my strength, I could even defeat Goff now.
So, their disbelief was understandable. My opponent was a human woman—a creature from the very bottom of the food chain, someone they considered ‘weak.’ The chieftains of the other clans had finally acknowledged that my earlier words had been no joke.
Mev was on the verge of tears, and the loyal Five Goblin Siblings wore grim expressions. No, it was more than that—it was utter shock. Goff was the same. His face was a mask of restraint, holding back the urge to rush over at any moment.
And just like that, I was completely defeated. I felt the impact as my body hit the ground, but the pain in my chest was so intense that I couldn't feel the ache from the fall.
All strength drained from my body. It was a familiar sensation, very similar to what I’d felt when I was human. The sounds around me grew faint, but I strained my ears to listen.
“The… Sa… cred… Du… el’s… vic… tor… is… the… hu… man… wo… man!”
“Bl… ood… Dag… ger… has… fa… llen…”
The roars of the Green Skins pierced my ears in slow motion.
The victor is the Queen of the North.
It was absurd, but tears suddenly streamed from my eyes. It wasn't because of the pain or the fear of death, of course. It was childish, but I was furious that I had lost to the Queen of the North.
I turned my head slightly to look at her. She had already turned her back, as if she’d lost all interest. The Green Skins who had formed the arena began to part, clearing a path for her. It was a sign of respect for the winner of the Sacred Duel.
The war was won.
From the moment we broke through their walls and arrived here, the enemy, with their high proportion of archers, never stood a chance against us. The battle had unfolded just as expected. But in contrast to our victorious collective, I, personally, had been defeated.
My vision grew blurrier. More than that, the fact that I couldn't even see the Queen of the North’s shadow was agonizing. It felt as if she was getting farther and farther away. I had managed to close the distance from six steps to three. But now, even that distance was widening again. I wanted to get closer, but I couldn't reach her.
Just as she disappeared from my sight, a voice echoed in my ears.
[Quest Complete.]
[Quest - Conquer the Tutorial’s Northern Forest!: Conquer the Northern Forest. (1/1)]
[Excellent. You have succeeded in defeating the northern horde with a crude strategy! A special class has been unlocked. You won the war but lost the battle! A new special class has been unlocked for you. You have successfully completed the quest. As a quest reward, you will rank up. Please select a being to evolve.]
It seemed the Queen of the North leaving our settlement was one of the conditions for the quest’s completion. But the announcement didn't bring me any joy. I didn't even have time to think. As I heard that voice, I lost consciousness.
*
“Krrrrrk…”
“Krrrrrk…”
My eyes snapped open. A flood of images filled my vision. Not that there was much of a scene to take in. I was in a house in the village the humans had used. I turned my head slightly and saw Mev and Jung Hayeon slumped over, fast asleep. They must have been waiting for me.
“Krrrrrk…”
The growl of an Orc continued to drill into my ears.
Who…
I slowly raised my head and saw the face of none other than Goff. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed to have gotten a little bigger. I vaguely remembered hearing the quest completion announcement just before I passed out. He hadn't evolved into a different species, but I could tell for certain that he had grown stronger. I guessed there was a high probability he had become an Intermediate Orc Warrior or gained some other special class. Noticing I was looking at him, Goff spoke.
“You’re awake…”
“Yeah… I am.”
The fact that I could speak meant the goblin shaman must have treated my wounds to some extent. I grimaced as I looked down at my injury, and Goff spoke again, as if he’d been waiting.
“That woman brought you shame. But that is the sole right of the victor. You must live. You must survive and repay her.”
“…”
“You did not die with honor in the Sacred Duel. Krrrrk…”
It seemed they considered it a dishonor not to die in a Sacred Duel. It was ridiculous; I wanted to thank the Queen of the North for sparing my life.
I can fight her again.
Because I had survived, I would have another chance to face that woman.
Seeing my silence, Goff patted my shoulder as if in understanding.
“Krrrrk… You must be heartbroken…”
Even as he tried to comfort me, Goff continued to growl. I could sense his current state. It was the same emotion I had felt toward the Queen of the North.
A fighting spirit.
Goff was feeling the exact same thing.
“You… want to fight…”
“…”
“I do.”
“Any Green Skin who saw that woman and didn't feel that urge wouldn't be a true Green Skin… But she is truly strong. The Queen of the North… Even for you… now…”
“No. Not the human woman, Blood Dagger. She is certainly strong, but it’s not her.”
Goff cut me off. I looked at him quietly. His eyes burned like embers, a low growl constantly escaped his lips, his muscles bulged as if they would burst, and a torrent of fighting spirit poured out of him. Every emotion flowing from Goff was unmistakably directed at me.
“The one I want to fight is you, Blood Dagger.”
“…”
“I’m honored…”
“For now, you must focus on reclaiming your lost honor… I spoke out of turn… Krrrrk… Pay it no mind.”
It was a bit anticlimactic, but after finishing his words, Goff rose to his massive height. He was a busy Orc, yet he had gone out of his way to come here and wait until I woke up. It seemed he had been worried about me, which was uncharacteristic of him. We hadn't fought, but I couldn't help but smile. Goff, worried?
I slowly began to check my own body. I didn't know if the Queen of the North had shown me mercy or if her strike had simply missed a vital spot by chance, but I was definitely alive. Whether it was thanks to my Orcish vitality or not, my body was fine.
I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position. My torso was covered in crude rags. For a bandage, it was quite sloppy.
A jolt of pain shot through me as I moved the wrong way. The pain brought the Queen of the North’s face back to my mind once more.
I lost.
That final blow wasn't because I had been careless. Thinking back on it now, her letting me close the distance in the first place felt like foreshadowing for that final strike. It was highly likely she had repeatedly shown me the move of blocking an attack by raising her spear, conditioning me to expect it. I couldn't be sure, but her movements had been that clean. It was a move she had thought out and simulated beforehand.
She really is strong.
Still, I had reached her. I hadn't landed a decisive blow, but my sword had definitely touched her spear. I was replaying the battle in my mind when I heard a sound.
Jung Hayeon, who had been lying beside me, slowly began to open her eyes. When she saw that I was awake, her eyes went wide as she stared at me. Then, her lips slowly parted.
“Y-Y-You’re awake.”
“I am. How many days has it been?”
“You… You were asleep for a full day.”
“I see…”
“I… I thought you were going to die.”
“So did I.”
A brief silence fell between us. Looking at Jung Hayeon’s face, I got the feeling she wanted to say something but was holding it back. As the silence stretched on, she finally began to speak.
“Please… please don’t die. Don’t get hurt. If you’re gone… I have no one else to rely on.”
As she spoke, her face turned strangely red. She had put her faith in me and chosen the life of a monster, so it was true that if I died, she would have nowhere to turn. We hadn't had many personal conversations, but since we had shared a bed, it seemed she had developed some affection for me.
I couldn't help but smile faintly.
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Yes… I-I’m sorry for saying something like this.”
“Don’t be… More importantly… what happened after I fell?”
“The… the goblins and hobgoblins made way for her. I didn't hear everything clearly, but I think they said something about the rights of the victor in a Sacred Duel… She even took all the other humans with her when she left. The Goff Clan… and the other clans didn't lay a hand on the departing humans.”
I had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed left me with a strange feeling. It seemed the battle had ended immediately after I lost the duel. The Green Skins must have accepted it because their chieftains had gathered and declared it a Sacred Duel.
As for the Queen of the North, she must have realized that with the tide of battle already turned against her, it would be impossible to wipe out all the Green Skins. In the end, she chose to leave with her forces. If she hadn't read the mood and had charged in recklessly, there might have been a disaster, but she didn't seem that foolish.
I had no way of knowing if she went south, east, or west, but I was sure we would meet again someday on the continent.
The sound of my conversation with Jung Hayeon finally woke Mev.
“Chief…?”
“Ch-Chief! Chief!”
“Ugh…”
The moment she woke up, her small body crashed into me in a hug, sending a jolt of pain through my wound, but I didn't say anything. I was more concerned about the Blood Dagger Clan. I wasn't entirely sure about their customs, but according to Goff, I had ‘lost my honor.’
They weren't normally a group that cared much for honor, but a Sacred Duel was a different story. Worried that my subordinates might have been disappointed and left the clan, I asked Mev. The answer came quickly.
“Where are the clan members? Did anyone leave?”
“No. No goblins left. In fact, they were all shouting about helping Blood Dagger reclaim his honor.”
The unexpected result was enough to make me laugh. It wasn't that I felt no affection for these creatures whose faces I could barely distinguish, but to know they thought of me this way made them seem a little more endearing.
A smile spread across my face as I imagined the goblins and hobgoblins rolling on the ground, throwing fits of rage.
“A-And I’m not going to leave either. So you don’t have to worry…”
It was so unlike the Mev who had been asking to mate since we first met. Her shyness was a little hard to get used to, but I figured it might be a side effect of her class change into a Fairy, which made it easier to understand.
For now, the fact that Mev and Jung Hayeon were alive and hadn't left the clan was a huge gain. And then I remembered the voice I heard just before I passed out, announcing the completion of the quest.