Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (9)
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-Whooosh!!!!
An arrow sliced through the air, piercing the orc warrior's chest. The hydra venom melted through its thick hide, bubbling around the wound, before the moonstone arrowhead punched straight through to embed in its heart.
-Kweeeeeek!!!!!
The orc warrior let out a grotesque scream from the agony of its punctured heart. But it didn't last. One, two, three, four, five. Exactly five seconds. After those five seconds, the scream cut off abruptly, and the orc collapsed right there—onto the corpses of the soldiers it had trampled to death.
-Thud!!!!
They say a single drop of hydra venom can put even an olapunt to sleep. No matter how mighty an orc warrior, if hydra venom strikes the heart, it's defenseless. One pump of the heart spreads the poison through the entire body, leaving only one future: death. Returned from death once, only to return to its embrace again.
At the sound of the orc crashing down, every orc in the unit—mid-massacre of the soldiers—turned to stare. Most of them gaped, mouths half-open, unable to believe one of their own had fallen. Who? How? Their dumbfounded faces seemed to ask. I nocked the next arrow to my bowstring while watching them.
...!
That's when my eyes met one orc's. The necklace dangling with ears and noses adorned its thick neck—it had to be the leader.
"Archer! Kill it!!"
It bellowed. To ordinary ears, it might sound like "Kuwaaagh!" but thanks to my [Interpreter] trait, I understood the orcish perfectly.
"Elf later—that one first!"
'Smarter than I thought.'
A true 'warrior,' huh. Ignoring the elf entirely, it zeroed in on me. The orcs' sharp eyes—all gleaming with predatory hunger, vowing to deliver death—locked onto me.
"Hoo...."
But it was pointless against me. My [Bane of Evil] title made fear, confusion, shock, and the like stories from another world entirely. Unshaken, posture straight, I drew back the next arrow with force. Fresh wind from the Sequoia Forest spirits tickled my cheeks. I aligned with its direction.
-Twang!
I released the string.
-Whiiiiiish!!!!
Of course.
-Thunk!
Bullseye.
The arrow pierced the throat of the orc to the leader's left. Again—one, two, three, four, five. Exactly five seconds later, it toppled sideways with a heavy thud. White foam bubbled from its mouth in that brief span. I swiftly nocked the next arrow. Every motion flowed naturally, like water.
"Hoo...."
Regulate breath.
-Twang!
Release.
-Whiiiiiish!!!!
The arrow flew like it was magnetized.
-Thunk!!!
Hit.
My arrows were the true predators.
In those five seconds it took them to return to death's embrace, I nocked another. Already two orcs felled by mere 'arrows.' They grew restless. And amid that uneasy murmur, two disruptions flipped everything.
-Squelch!!!
-Slash!!!
Lloyd's greatsword severed green limbs, while Callisto's twin blades sliced arteries. Before two exchanges passed, blood sprayed—making those two seem like the monsters, not the orcs.
Raw skill disparity rendered numbers meaningless. The orc warriors were skilled, too. Against regular soldiers, they'd have lived up to their reputation with a massacre. Unfortunately, their opponents this time were Lloyd and Callisto—the real monsters.
'Five arrows left....'
Moonstone was so rare that even one chunk yielded only about seven arrowheads. Two down, five remained. Without these tips, no arrow could pierce orc hide—plenty of others, but useless.
'...Finish before they run out.'
Thirty-plus, under forty orcs left. Five arrows couldn't handle them all. But with Callisto and Lloyd, and...
'That method, too.'
About ten orcs rode karaks. Karaks were beasts the orcs tamed as mounts—resembling massive boars. Cow-sized, horns behind the ears, six tusks: four upward, two downward. Despite bulky frames, they moved fast, with thick hides and tough constitutions that feared no battle. Even maple bears avoided karak habitats—need I say more?
Only orcs would dream of taming karaks. Brute force and weapons subdued them. Even captured young, their wild nature made breaking them hard. So orcs brutalized juveniles near death, keeping only survivors that submitted as mounts. No 'bond' or 'friendship' possible between orcs and karaks.
That's the gap I aimed for.
-Whiiiiiish!!
-Thunk!
-Whiiiiiish!!!
-Thuuunk!!
-Thud! Thump!
I focused on downing warriors around the leader. After three, it roared, and the rear karak unit charged me. Dust rose; the ground shook like an earthquake. Calmly, I nocked the next. Aimed at the foremost, largest, fiercest karak rider.
-Whiiiiiish!!!!
-Thunk!!!
Arrow straight to the forehead center. It flipped backward—but saddle and body linked by straps, so it didn't fall free.
The karak charged me, orc corpse strapped to its back.
"Theodor!"
Callisto called my name, poised to rush over. I shook my head. She stared, baffled, but no time for explanations. Blocking the charging karak head-on, I locked eyes with its red glare.
-Kweeeeeek!!!!
As it bellowed and lunged, I used the Sequoia spirits' wind to leap high. Landed lightly—very lightly—on the orc corpse atop its back.
Swiftly, I drew my dagger and severed the rings linking body to saddle. The corpse dropped; saddle flipped free.
...!
Peering underneath, I couldn't help but be shocked. Dozens of spike-like metal nails protruded from the saddle's underside. How long embedded? Old and fresh karak blood crusted the sharp points.
I knew orcs were cruel, but this? To break karaks, they inscribed pain and fear into flesh. That tamed wild beasts like karaks, honing them sensitive and vicious for battle. Brutal method.
-Kweeeeeek!!!!
As expected, it bucked wildly—enough to fling off a mere human. Nothing like taming Storm....
"Calm down, calm."
But I wasn't mere human. A druid—one with hefty experience. Far beyond Storm's taming.
My base [Affinity] skill had grown potent with levels. Plenty for a karak. Gripping its coarse mane, I activated [Affinity]. Pale green mana flowed from my buried hand, seeping into the karak. Moments later, it stopped bucking to throw me.
The other orcs—waiting for it to crush me—looked panicked. They whipped their karaks at me, but those mounts didn't charge mine. Couldn't, rather. Mine clearly held higher rank.
If you'd understood them even a little, idiots, this wouldn't happen.
[Affinity] didn't work on enemies or their tamed beasts—strong bonds or trust overrode it. But orcs ruled karaks through fear, terror, abuse—no bonds. So my [Affinity] worked.
Even with [Submission] to force beasts, I chose this for that reason.
"Good, good boy."
-Shiiiik....
"Hurt a lot, huh?"
-Grrrrr....
Sudden relief? It shook its head, front legs fidgeting—anxious tic in abused animals. I pressed my palm to its back wound—oozing blood and pus—and used [Forest Healing]. Sequoia essence flowed through me, settling over the gash. A wound bled so long it defied measure began to knit.
Pain? Joy? Thick tears streamed from the karak's madness-reddened eyes.
"You're free now."
-Grrrr....
"So, help me a bit?"