The Price of Defiance
When an average adult man and an average adult orc clash, the orc wins. The orc’s unique physique overwhelmingly surpasses that of an adult human. However, if a well-trained human soldier fights an average adult orc, the soldier wins. They might be slightly outmatched in raw strength, but the virtual enemies in the training simulations used to prepare soldiers for monsters are almost always orcs.
So, what happens when well-trained humans fight orc soldiers? That depends on the level of training. Humans try to defeat orcs with technique, while orcs try to crush humans with brute force. Ultimately, the outcome of both the battle and the war is decided by who is the more elite force. And all those assumptions are rendered moot in the face of overwhelming power.
"GRAAAAAH!!"
Everything is torn apart. Thud. I bury an axe into the collarbone of a cavalryman sitting on his horse. I sink one axe into his neck and swing the other over his shoulder.
"Aaaargh!"
The cavalryman lets out a shriek and raises his sword. It’s commendable that he’s still holding his blade even with an axe embedded in his neck, but unfortunately for him, I have two axes. Using the embedded axe as a brace, I swing the other one horizontally.
Slash—!!
A fountain of blood erupts. The world, already reddened by my tattoos, looks even more crimson. My face burns. The sickening smell of blood stings my nose.
"Aaaargh!"
A cavalryman who had fallen into a trench abandons his horse and tries to flee. He tosses aside his weapons and tries to jump out of the pit. Not on my watch. I kick a corpse to dislodge my axe, then hurl the other one I was holding behind me straight forward.
Thwack—!
The axe embeds itself into the earthen wall. The cavalryman’s forearm is severed halfway up, and he collapses to the ground, screaming.
"Aaaargh, aaaaagh!"
His agonizing screams are incredibly noisy. I wipe the blood from my face with my arm, approach the soldier, and stomp on his neck.
Crack.
The vibration of the soldier’s neck bone snapping travels up through my combat boots. I grab the handle of the blood-drenched axe and pull it from the wall.
"Hup!"
I hook the blades of both axes onto the ledge and jump. Clearing the two-meter-high ledge in one bound, I emerge from the trench and survey the battlefield.
Clang, clang!
Battles between human soldiers and my orc subordinates are raging everywhere. While my subordinates are qualitatively superior, unfortunately, there’s no overcoming the difference in numbers.
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Die, you monsters!!"
The humans are screaming and swinging their swords at the orcs. For some reason, I can see faces in theirs that resemble the guards I killed earlier.
"I see."
Whether it’s because they want to protect their land even if their knight is dead, the humans aren’t retreating an inch. I have no reason to retreat either.
"This is my land—!!"
Since I conquered it, it’s my land from now on. I grip my axes in both hands and march forward.
"Tristan, finish off the humans in the trench! Everyone else, hold your sectors! Do not let them break through!"
If our crescent-shaped defensive line is breached, enemy forces could circle back through the alleys and strike our rear. But more and more orcs are suffering minor injuries or exhaustion from fighting the human soldiers on the front lines. Accordingly, I rotate the orc units in each sector.
"Arthur, swap with Gareth! Lancelot, fall back to the rear! Your squad is exhausted!"
I sever the wrist of a soldier lunging at me with my axe. His sword hits the ground, and I lower my upper body, holding the other axe horizontally.
Slash!
Both of the soldier’s ankles are cut off. His stance collapses, and I shove the falling soldier toward my shoulder with my arm.
"Hooo."
My axes still have plenty of fight left in them. The knight is dead, and the cavalrymen are trapped in the trenches, unable to escape. The rest are just a ragtag bunch of soldiers. I fight on, determined to kill them all. I overlap my axes in reverse. Gripping both ends of the axe handles tightly, I run forward like a baseball player bunting.
"Follow me, Arthur!"
At my shout, Arthur’s squad charges forward. From the moment I dash in, the humans begin to falter, and I swing my two axes as if they were a double-bladed weapon.
Slash!
If a soldier has a shield, I split it in two. If a soldier tries to block with a sword, I deflect the blade and slit his throat.
"Die, you monster!!"
A sharp spear thrusts between a soldier’s armpits, aiming for my heart. It didn’t feel like it would kill me even if it hit, but—
Clang!
Arthur raises his shield and deflects the spear. I grab the helmet of the soldier I just killed, toss it aside, and throw my axe at the soldier who thrust the spear.
Thwack—!
The blade of the axe splits the soldier’s forehead perfectly. All I have left in my hand is the bloody axe handle.
"Thanks, Arthur!"
I use the handle like a club to strike the temple of a soldier rushing from the side. I couldn’t kill him because the handle shattered, but Arthur’s squad members finish him off with their swords.
"Legion Commander, your axe!"
"It’s fine!"
Most of the weapons in this city’s armory couldn’t withstand my strength to begin with. I hold the remaining axe in one hand and snatch a shield from a freshly killed soldier.
"Aren’t there weapons everywhere?!"
I run forward with the shield. After deflecting the spear of a guy trying to poke me, I slam the axe into his exposed knee.
"Aaaargh!"
The axe embeds into the back of his knee, and the soldier collapses, screaming. I hold the shield horizontally toward the face of the soldier who lost his footing.
Crunch!!
The soldier whose neck is pierced by the shield rolls his eyes back and collapses. If it hadn’t been a round shield, his neck would have been pierced through and killed him instantly. Stab, stab. He dies anyway, pierced by the swords of the squad members following behind me. I pull the axe from the soldier and catch my breath.
"Hoo."
The number of soldiers who entered through the main gate has dwindled significantly. While I catch my breath, the other orcs do the same.
"Are there any idiots who have already kicked the bucket—!!"
"""None!!!"""
My subordinates respond to my roar. From the moment the battle began until now, the orcs haven’t had a single casualty.
'Though a few got stabbed pretty deep.'
At a glance, I count ten seriously injured. Most of them, unfortunately, are from Ryun’s squad.
'They’ve been fighting too hard, leading to a loss in combat efficiency.'
Even though Ryun’s squad is the one racking up the most achievements. Of course, most of those achievements are Ryun’s own doing.
Phwip-phwip-phwip!
Ryun, hiding on the watchtower, is unleashing indiscriminate fire toward the soldiers trying to enter from outside the wooden fence. Her wind arrows, which even shields can’t block, are one-shot, one-kill. She might have killed more soldiers than I have.
'The squad members got badly hurt because they were separated from their squad leader.'
"Arthur. Are you alright?"
"Legion Commander, I can still fight!"
"Good, I was just asking if you could!"
There are still too many soldiers left to kill. If I killed them all, it would easily be over 800, but aside from the knight, there aren’t any truly threatening soldiers.
"Ugh, ugh, uaaaah!!"
A young soldier, looking quite green, sits on his butt and scrambles backward. He looks like a fresh recruit, and I grip my axe handle with a sense of pity.
"Be born as someone stronger in your next life."
Or strong enough to kill me. I raise my axe high.
"Aaaargh!"
The young soldier sheds tears, points his sword at me, and charges. It’s a strike aimed precisely at my eyes, and I take a deep breath.
"Yes, come on!"
I raise my axe to send the youth off in one blow—
Pew.
A wind-hole appears in the youth’s head. I’m left standing there with my axe raised, feeling rather awkward.
Ryun. She’s supporting me by turning her body inward even while firing outside. It wasn’t strictly necessary, but since I received help, I should return the favor. I stick my tongue out twice, and Ryun smiles at my signal.
'She’s really firing the hardest out of everyone.'
I didn’t even promise a reward for merit. But since she’s working so hard, I’ll have to give her a strong reward later.
'There are 60 orcs capable of fighting now. But there are still nearly 400 humans left.'
I could tell just by glancing around. The orcs are already quite exhausted, and the humans are looking around, only thinking of ways to run away. It’s time to wrap this up.
"As expected, the ending should be an explosion."
I signal toward the watchtower on the opposite side of Ryun. The red-haired woman, who had been hiding and waiting since the start of the battle, stands up. The flower of war in medieval fantasy—a 'Mage'.
"Gremory! Psionic Storm!!"
"There’s no such magic!"
Gremory raises her staff high toward the sky with a sullen face.
Crackle!
"This is Chain Lightning!"
A massive amount of electricity erupts from Gremory’s staff. With a flash, the human soldiers beyond the wooden fence collapse without even being able to scream.
"Ugh, ugh, uaaaargh!!!"
Terrified by the presence of an elementalist, the soldiers try to flee. But thanks to the mountain of corpses created by Ryun and Gremory, they have to step on the bodies to escape.
Thud, thud-thud!
They actually step on them to run away. And those who haven’t managed to escape are huddled together, crying. Even knowing that a boulder or spell would kill them all, they cling to each other, determined to make a final stand.
"Hoo—"
I catch my breath once—
"Those who throw down their weapons and surrender shall be spared—!!"
I issue a call for surrender, something a demon shouldn’t do according to common sense.
* * *
Late afternoon. After sending 20 severely injured orcs to the rear via the portal, I check the status of the prisoners. The 50 men tied up in the square are waiting for my judgment with their hands bound by ropes.
"It was good that you threw down your weapons. Otherwise, you’d all be dead."
At the moment I issued the call for surrender, there were over 200 enemies left. Most of them declared they would fight to the end, claiming it was a deception by the Demon King’s army or that they would just be killed as sacrifices anyway.
"You prisoners have two choices. Become slaves of my legion, or die right here."
If I were facing the real Demon King’s army, it would have been a glorious last stand, but unfortunately, I am not that kind of Demon King’s army. If someone wants to join our legion, I’d welcome them even if they were a figure like Lu Bu. It would be even better if they were a female Lu Bu.
"Of course, you were probably dragged here from farming, or you joined the army just to fill your hungry bellies. Who joins because they want to? But regardless of the reason, I cannot forgive those who pointed swords at my legion."
I don’t have time to listen to everyone’s sob stories. I force a choice upon them.
"Will you become members of my legion, or will you bury your bones with your comrades?"
I give the choice to those who surrendered once more. I’m curious to see how many will join our army. How many would betray the human alliance to join a legion whose entire strength consists of only about 100 orcs?
"Those who wish to become part of the legion, stand on the left. Those who wish to die, stand on the right. I’ll give you three minutes."
The soldiers stir, shuffling their feet. Those who know each other pull their acquaintances, hoping to stay together. Some whisper to just survive for now, while others remain adamant, saying they cannot live under the demons even if they die.
Three minutes pass quickly, and the orcs stand in the middle, drawing their swords. Among those who chose to die, some stand with dignity, while others cry out in terror.
'More went than I thought.'
The number of people who chose to survive and plan for the future is less than twenty. The remaining thirty or so humans wished to die as humans. So, I decide to kill them.
"If your lives are tenacious, you might survive somehow. Gareth!"
"Yes."
"Take the prisoners and go through the portal. Then, put them into the 'poultry farm' in Gremory’s Dungeon."
"What should I do if they resist even that?"
"Then, it’s really this."
I draw my hand across my throat. It’s a hassle to dispose of corpses here in Las Vegas, but it’s easy to handle in the dungeon.
"Alright, let’s go."
Gareth leads the prisoners through the portal with his squad members. They will now either 'happily' die or reject their last lifeline and die anyway.
"...Geez, what is this all about."
Gremory, standing next to me, lets out a deep sigh. I slap Gremory’s butt with my palm. It’s just a clone, but she seems to be paying more attention to her figure lately; it’s firmer than before.
"Thanks to you, I can collect food to my heart’s content. Thank you."
"If you’re thankful, you should do something else. Do you know our dungeon is a total Las-fest right now? I’m going crazy because of the bird noises."
"Hehe, isn’t it great? Thanks to that, we’re getting tons of eggs."
The 'poultry farm' inside Gremory’s Dungeon. I mobilized magic stones to summon avian monsters indiscriminately and them all to Gremory’s Dungeon, creating a massive resource production facility.
'I can’t just kill them.'
I’ll squeeze them dry to the bone marrow before letting them go. Hoping they make a choice that helps my legion, I take Gremory and head to my mansion. Gremory brushes her lips with her finger.
"I think it would be much better if I came as my main body..."
"Be satisfied with the clone for today."
I pinch Gremory’s butt and enter my mansion. Inside the room, Ryun and Eila, dressed in white silk dresses, were already waiting for me.
"Well... there might be a night raid, but for now, let’s enjoy the victory."
I take off my robe and toss it carelessly at the front door.