The Orc Slave of the Dungeon
The entrance to the dungeon opened in the worst possible place: the territory of the Aries Border Earl in the Zodiac Kingdom. Countless adventurers had stepped forward to conquer it, but this was the 30th dungeon of the Demon Lord Solomon. The clearance rate was a mere 24%. Even though it had been nearly three years since the dungeon appeared, adventurers had failed to make any real progress. The dungeon's master, the demon Forneus, hadn't even shown her face, and every adventurer who entered was slaughtered and returned as a corpse.
In the end, the Aries Border Earl dispatched a massive subjugation force, led by his eldest daughter, the knight Eila, along with five other knights and two hundred elite soldiers. "I will certainly conquer the dungeon, Father," Eila Aries declared, brimming with confidence. Having earned her knighthood through her own merit, Eila possessed strength unmatched in the territory, and during her time as a squire, she had even explored dungeons with higher ratings than the 30th.
"Make sure you return alive." The Border Earl had no doubt in his daughter's victory, yet a nagging premonition tugged at him—a fear that if he sent her away, he might never see her again. The young lady squeezed his hand, comforting her worried father. "Do not worry. I will not be reckless. If there is any danger, I will ensure everyone returns alive."
"My lady..." A small boy standing next to the Border Earl approached her. The much taller blonde knight knelt on one knee, finally bringing their eyes to the same level. "Do not worry, Prince. I will return alive."
"Y-you must return in two weeks...! By then!"
"Yes, that is the day of our engagement ceremony." The knight bowed her head toward the prince. Though she did not kiss his hand, the fact that Eila—known for having pride that reached the heavens—had bowed her head was as good as a vow to dedicate her entire life to him.
"Ah..." The young prince blushed, and Eila stood up and mounted her horse. Everyone in the Count's household believed in the subjugation force's victory, dreaming of the day they would return in glory after clearing the dungeon. "Let's go! Monsters like those are no match for us!" Eila's confidence, shouted with bravado, was sky-high, and her momentum seemed as if it could sever the head of the demon Forneus at any moment. And the moment they stepped into the dungeon, they realized something was terribly wrong.
Pahuu... At the dungeon entrance, in a wide clearing, an orc stood panting heavily, facing the force of over two hundred. Unlike the typical orcs they knew, this one had a belly that bulged prominently, and he held a blunt mace in his hand.
"Commander, what should we do?"
"It's a trap. It has to be a trap. Otherwise, there's no reason for such an ugly creature to be standing here alone." Eila scolded her subordinate knight and scanned the cavern. The orc wore a leather vest, but his upper body was so massive that it barely covered his nipples, and he seemed to have no pants that fit, so he had wrapped rags around his waist to cover his front.
"What a truly filthy dungeon. Why couldn't the other adventurers return alive even with something like that in front of them?"
Pahuu. The orc stood still, panting heavily. Eila, not letting her guard down, scanned the surroundings thoroughly. Realizing there were no traps, she declared to the soldiers, "Proud sons of Aries! Is there no one who will kill that insolent orc? Whoever earns the merit, I shall reward personally!"
The soldiers did not step forward. Since they had been mobilized for the subjugation force, they showed no signs of acting proactively. "Tsk."
"I will go."
"Oh, Sir Scouter. I leave it to you." To boost the soldiers' morale, a knight whose face was hidden by a helmet pulled the reins and charged toward the orc. "Standing still, you stupid—"
Crunch. Sir Scouter was turned into a pulp in a single blow. The orc, having swung his mace, grabbed the horse by the neck to choke it, then tossed the corpse of Sir Scouter, whose head had been crushed, behind him.
Kya-gya-gya! Dozens of monsters hidden on the ceiling swarmed the subjugation force. Buhi-eek! Using Sir Scouter's corpse as a signal, the orc began the interception.
***
Crunch! With a single swing of the mace, a soldier lost his life in an instant. The mace, brought down on the crown of his head, turned the soldier's skull into mush, and another soldier who thrust his sword at the orc's belly was deflected and pinned to the floor. Splat. The orc stepped on the chest of the fallen soldier to keep him from escaping. The massive weight pressed down, crushing the soldier's ribs, which pierced his lungs and heart, causing him to vomit blood and die.
"Do not run! We must break through!" Eila shouted, spitting blood as she tried to bolster the soldiers' morale. Being on the verge of total annihilation right at the entrance was a humiliation, but humiliation only mattered if one survived. Staying here was a death sentence. One of the five knights had been killed in a single blow by the pot-bellied orc, and the condition of the others was not much better.
"How can an orc that hasn't even reached adulthood...!"
"Is this really a 30th-rank dungeon?! This is impossible!"
As the knights fell into terror, the chaos intensified. The soldiers trembled, thrusting their spears toward the monsters, but the wavering spearheads touched none of them. Ki-hik! The monsters surrounded the subjugation force with systematic movements. The force, which had numbered over two hundred upon entry, was already less than half, and those who remained were paralyzed with fear.
Pahuu. Heavy breathing echoed from the darkness. Every time that wheezing, phlegm-filled breath was heard, someone died, and the knights suffered wounds. Clatter, clatter. Among the goblins, the particularly large orc dragged his mace across the floor as he approached the humans. Snorting, the orc raised his mace and aimed it at Eila.
"Surrender."
"...You insolent monster!" Eila drew her sword. The knights around her tried to block her path to stop her, but Eila had already leaped, stepping on the soldiers' shoulders to stand at the front. "So you are the leader of this pack! We shall cut off your head and return alive!"
"We're still at the entrance, though."
"Shut up, you wretch!" Eila channeled her mana into her sword. The soldiers' eyes lit up at the sight of the aura, a technique unique to knighted warriors. "I am Eila, eldest daughter of the Aries Border Earl and a knight! I am not someone who will die in a place like this!"
"You won't die in a place like this." The orc rested his mace on his shoulder and mocked her. "Instead, if you resist, you will be tortured until you die."
"Will you not shut your mouth!" Eila charged at the orc. Her posture, rushing forward with her sword held horizontally, was similar to a cavalry lance charge. "Haa—!" Eila thrust her sword, imbued with blue mana, toward the orc. The blade sank deep into his bulging belly, and a fountain of blood erupted from the orc's body.
"Eh...?"
That was how it should have been. Eila's sword hadn't even pierced the orc's skin, and before she knew it, the orc was gripping the blade with his hand. Snap! The orc twisted his grip. The fine sword bestowed upon her by the prince became a piece of scrap metal in an instant, and Eila's eyes shook violently.
"This is impossible—"
"It is possible." Thwack! The orc's hand, as large as a cauldron lid, struck Eila's head. With an impact like being struck by a hammer, Eila's consciousness faded. "No..."
In her blurring vision, Eila collapsed to the floor. The only thing she remembered at the end were the words the orc uttered as he caught her and laid her on the ground. "Something like Forneus."
What did the orc mean? Strength drained from Eila's entire body, and she fell. The leader of the subjugation force had fallen. The aftermath was clear as day. "Aaaargh!" "I don't want to die, k-kuaaaargh?!" "Save me, save meee!" Ki-gi-gi-gik. The monsters ravaged the humans, and the orc sat down, planting his mace into the floor. After that, not a single member of the Border Earl's subjugation force returned alive.
***
"As expected of my precious ones, hohoho! To defeat the kingdom's subjugation force so easily!" Forneus praised the tribe chief. The overall commander of this battle was our tribe chief, and he knelt before Forneus with a stern face. "It was only natural for us, who receive the grace of Lady Forneus, to do so. There is no need to let such filthy and ugly human trash sully your sight."
"Hohoho, your words are smooth. Very well, tell me what you desire. I shall grant you anything." Forneus stroked her own thigh with a suggestive gaze. It was a gesture inviting him to the bedroom, but the tribe chief reached out with an unwavering face. Toward me.
"This is the first-class contributor who achieved great merit in this battle."
"......You, what are you doing, being so insolent?" Forneus frowned as soon as she saw me. As I had discussed with the tribe chief beforehand, I bowed my head deeply, and the tribe chief spoke with a face more tense than ever. "All the operational planning and combat of this battle were directed by this young orc. Lady Forneus, please..."
"Mm, yes. So you tried to survive by earning merit? The thought is quite commendable. Though you're so insolent I want to kill you." Forneus flicked her finger, wrapping a whip around the tribe chief's neck. Lightning crackled, and the tribe chief's body was roasted, and Forneus pulled the whip to grab him by the neck.
"Good. In recognition of the merit of killing 200 humans and five knights, I will give you one chance. Yes. Besides, you even took a human female knight as a prisoner, didn't you? Hohoho! Then let's make a very interesting bet."
Forneus licked her lips while touching the tribe chief's toned abs. On Forneus's lips, the juices of the wild boar roast that Tural had made according to my recipe were glistening. "Since they are the young ones of your tribe, you must take responsibility, right? If you can make me finish within an hour, I'll think about sparing those two. Let's see—Kyaa?!"
The tribe chief grabbed Forneus and headed into the bedroom. All the monsters in the dungeon were shocked by his action of grabbing the dungeon's legion commander without permission and throwing her onto the bed. Tural, who was prostrate next to me, also dropped his head. "Brother..."
"Our tribe's lives depend on the tribe chief's crotch." If the tribe chief couldn't win against Forneus in the bedroom, we would all die. But I believe in the tribe chief.
"Then it's our victory."
"Ek, w-wait! Who said you could touch there, Kyaaaargh!!" The fruits of telling him to do a thousand squats a day were revealed today. We survived. For now.
***
Three hours later. "Haa, haa. Good. You two should know you're alive thanks to the tribe chief. Heuu..." Forneus lay on the bed and deactivated the magical guillotine aimed at me and Tural. The tribe chief was still thrusting his waist on top of Forneus, and Forneus gestured for us to stand up with a languid face.
"I'll spare your tribe. Did you say your name was Tural? Ufufu, you also look quite delicious..." Forneus licked her lips while scanning Tural from top to bottom. It was clear to anyone that the next person to get on the bed would be Tural, and Tural trembled in genuine fear.
"Phew." The tribe chief let out a sigh of relief at that. He was glad to have another comrade-in-arms to face Forneus on the battlefield of the bed. Even though he was still thrusting his waist.
"And you... turn your back. You're the same tribe, but it's unsightly... No, look this way again. I can't stand looking at your back."
To turn a person 360 degrees as she pleased. I couldn't forgive it, but I was a life that would end if Forneus just flicked her finger. I had no choice but to take petty revenge on Forneus by secretly teaching modern techniques to the tribe chief, who was winning consecutive victories on the bed.
"Yes. I know you struggled to survive. But even so, I gave you three years, and yet you still have such a filthy body, which I cannot forgive."
"This is...!" I tried to argue out of frustration, but Forneus was faster, creating a rope that choked my neck and lifted me into the air. "Ku, ku-huk...!"
"Geez, you're so heavy that it uses up more mana. If I kill you like this... Kya-ung..." Thwack, thwack, thwack. The harder I suffered, the faster and harder the tribe chief thrust his waist. It was a silent pressure to save me, and fortunately, at the climax on the bed, Forneus released the rope wrapped around my neck.
"Ku-heo, heu, hu-uk...!"
"You should really know you're alive thanks to your tribe chief... Haa. I won't kill you right now in recognition of your merit. But there is a condition."
Forneus clapped her hands while lying down. Mana rippled on the wall, and an illusion appeared. There, a human woman was seen, gagged and constantly shaking her body in resistance. Eila something-or-other. She was the woman I had beaten and knocked unconscious.
"Extract information from this woman. There's no way the subjugation force ends with just this, right? If you get some decent information, I'll spare you. The time is..." Forneus pointed to an hourglass. "One day. Tomorrow is the coming-of-age ceremony, right? Hoho."
The time given to me was now exactly one day.