Chapter 17
The horse with the axe buried in its neck lay sprawled on the ground, while Ion's mount, Yan, whinnied in alarm beside him.
Almost instantly, a red dot appeared on my map, circling and encircling the area. Soon, the orcs surrounding the clearing emerged into view.
They weren't just any orcs chased from a village. These were the battle-hardened troops of the orc village lured by the baron's forces!
Ferdi, startled, spotted me, and Lotte, ears flattened in tension, pressed close to my side.
“T-this, Sir Ion…”
I stared silently at the surrounding orcs. Even with the blessing that amplified my strength, facing twenty of them at once was impossible.
So I had to find another way.
‘But there is a way!’
One orc stepped forward from the group, larger-headed than the rest.
“Chwik! Humans are cowards! The human lord lured us and fled! Then he took the captured humans and ran away! Humans are cowards!”
The orcs behind him echoed the words.
―Cowards!
―Cowards!
―Cowards!
The orc strode over and yanked the axe from the fallen horse's neck.
Then he pointed at Ferdi and me.
“All of you die!”
I leveled my sword at the leading orc.
“I accept your challenge!”
“Chwik! What?”
“I challenge you!”
The orc marked by my finger grinned, revealing even sharper fangs.
“Chwik! A human's challenge! I accept!”
I took several steps forward and planted my feet.
“I am Ion Rise, a free knight of Bergen!”
“Chwik! I am Kumar, a Surma of the Baharit tribe!”
Baharit sounded like a tribe name, but I didn't know what Surma meant. Kumar continued with a laugh.
“In human terms, Surma are like knights! But while knights are weak, Surma are strong!”
From the tone, he sounded like a senior knight or higher in rank. Anyway, it meant he was powerful.
Though I couldn't read every orc expression perfectly, Kumar's was clear. That was pure confidence. The other orcs watching seemed to believe him.
They chanted his name.
―Kumar!
―Kumar!
―Kumar!
Kumar scanned the others and raised his hand.
The clearing fell silent.
With a wrist-twist flourish, he spun the axe in a circle around me while I gripped my sword two-handed and matched his every move.
“Chwik!”
Kumar suddenly swung his axe in a wide arc.
I met it with my sword in perfect timing.
Kaang! A ringing sound split the air as the weapons bounced apart.
My body staggered from the recoil.
He was definitely stronger than the others.
‘Among every opponent I've faced, he's the strongest!’
Still, I had to beat him.
I dropped into a crouch, kicked off the ground, and leaped.
My sword sliced toward his lower body as his axe came down from above.
Whoosh! Gathering all my strength at the leap, I planted my feet. The axe whistled past my nose.
The sudden stop left my thighs burning.
I leaped again and sliced upward.
Kumar snatched his axe back just in time to block.
Klang! The sword locked, and I twisted while driving it in.
Kumar spun the axe-head to parry and shoved the blade away.
I retreated, spinning on my right leg and slashing diagonally across his chest. Kumar blocked with the axe and swung a fist with his left.
‘…!’
I arched my back to dodge as the wind whipped past my head, whipping my hair.
I had seen humans swing fists like that in duels, but I never expected an orc to do it.
I rose and slashed again, only for Kumar to block with his axe.
Both of us sprang apart at the same moment.
“Chwik! You're strong for a human!”
“You too!”
“Hah, different from a cowardly human. This challenge is worthy!”
“Glad you noticed.”
Kumar flashed a fang-filled grin.
Our eyes locked. We both pushed off the ground and charged, weapons swinging.
Kaang! After the clash and a quick pass, we spun and charged again.
Kakakakang! We darted around the clearing, weapons slamming together in rapid succession.
I had worried before about my sword getting nicked, but now the concern ran deeper. The impacts were so violent that I feared not just chips but broken blades.
With the other orcs, I could have deflected attacks, but Kumar's blows carried too much force; a wrong parry could send my sword flying.
I crossed paths again, slammed the ground, and spun to drive my sword at him. He lifted the axe to block, then twisted his wrist to spin the blade.
While doing so, he drove the flat of the axe into my sword and gouged it aside.
“Chwik?”
The axe head looked set to bore a hole through my blade, so I jerked back. I closed the gap and slashed sideways.
Swish! The longsword sliced clean through the haft.
Clang! It was a single piece of iron.
The axe head hit the ground, and Kumar, along with me, stopped dead.
Kumar frowned, stared at the broken haft, then flicked the remainder aside.
I studied him closely. The axe was ruined, but he wasn't yet defeated.
If he got mad and fought again, I'd have no way out.
Watching tensely, his mouth opened.
“Chwik! My weapon is destroyed! I-I lost to a human!”
What a relief. He had admitted defeat.
“Chwik! Human… get out of here! I won't chase you until you're gone!”
The orcs murmured.
―Chwik! Can we let them go?
―Yeah! Their companions died!
―There are still alive orcs, but if they can't fight, they're not warriors!
―But they challenged us, right?
Kumar raised his hand.
“Chwik! I am Kumar of Baharit!”
The murmuring stopped.
“That human challenged me! I honor my word! I will send the human who defeated me!”
Kumar spoke proudly without a weapon, looking at the orcs.
“If you don't like my decision, challenge me! I accept with my bare hands!”
The orcs avoided his gaze and bowed their heads.
―Chwik! A promise is a promise.
―Yes. When you lose, you keep your word!
Satisfied with the silent orcs, Kumar nodded at me.
“Chwik! Human! Leave!”
“Thank you.”
I nodded, turned, and sheathed my sword.
He had promised to spare our lives in exchange for defeat. I would trust his word.
I climbed onto Yan, and Ferdi, whose horse had died, mounted behind me.
As Ion Rise and Ferdi vanished into the forest, Kumar picked up the axe head and broken haft from the ground.
“Chwik! Many orcs are returning without us! We can't escape alive!”
Kumar grinned with bared fangs, and the others nodded with laughter.
Kumar, watching Ion's direction with narrowed eyes, muttered to himself.
“Chwik! If you run, I'll catch you soon!”
* * *
Riding down the mountain path at a fast pace, Lotte led ahead as a guide. Though mounting took some stamina, Ferdi's strength had recovered enough that he simply rode behind me without needing to control the reins.
As strength returned, the memory of being carried by me flashed across his face.
He straightened and spoke.
“T-this, Sir Ion. Thank you for bringing me here without abandoning me.”
“We're fellow quest members. It was only natural.”
“…Still…”
“You are not safe yet. The greetings can wait.”
“Yes… I see.”
Ferdi might be narrow-minded, but he wasn't ungrateful. If I hadn't had regression experience, I might not have understood.
The problem was that those who resented help simply vanished and fell on their own.
And we still had far to go to reach safety, and we hadn't found the missing companions.
The sky was already streaked with sunset. We needed to get out before darkness fell.
We descended the silent mountain path quickly until Lotte suddenly barked.
―Kung-kung-kung!
“What did you find?”
Keeping her focus on one direction, she leaped forward.
Orc corpses lay scattered on the ground. The group had indeed come this way.
Lotte kept running and found more corpses, the third one after Ion's ears picked up distant fighting sounds.
―Chak-chak!
She ran faster.
Chak! “Creeek!”
Hardwin, hacked by an axe, staggered backward.
His horse was nowhere in sight.
Martin, the hostage, leaned against a tree, while Stipe, Emil, and Hardwin held their swords, shielding him.
All three were wounded and bleeding, especially Emil, whose left arm was injured so he could barely lift his sword with his right.
Two orcs lay dead, three held axes and attacked.
I slowed Yan slightly, dismounted to one side, and charged straight at the ground.
Shoulder forward, I leaped at the orc.
Whoosh! My shoulder armor slammed into the orc's side hard enough to collapse ribs. The orc collapsed, and the other spun in surprise, drawing his sword.
My blade sliced through one arm and the other's chest.
“Creek! My, my arm!”
I didn't stop, slicing the startled orc's neck and driving my sword into his chest.
Killing three orcs flooded my body with strength.
While I finished the orcs, Ferdi dismounted and watched the knights.
Tension eased; Emil and Hardwin sat on the ground. Stipe's chest plate was dented, and he winced in pain.
“We took a long time chasing you.”
“Umm… I'm glad you're all alive.”
“You left us to die, yet here we are alive. Surprised, Sir Stipe?”
“Umm, mission first.”
Ferdi glanced at Martin leaning on the tree.
“Let's finish this. We got paid to earn money.”
I came up to the group.
“We can't keep bleeding. Let's treat the wounds quickly.”
Following my words, the knights searched for hemostatic powder, sprinkled it, and bound with cloth for quick care.
We dried forest fungi and willow bark into powder, mixed with clean bone meal or flour, and sprinkled on wounds. The bleeding stopped at once.
It was one of the standard medicines carried by knights or mercenaries. The difference was noticeable.
While the knights treated wounds, Ferdi found a horse that had fled.
Stipe, after treating wounds and helping Martin, staggered.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes, I'm fine.”
I saw Stipe's dented chest plate.
“There might be bone damage.”
“No choice here. We should leave quickly.”
“Yes.”
Martin, with no wounds but too weak to eat, sometimes regained consciousness, sometimes lost it again. I wasn't sure he would return to normal even if rescued.
Stipe told Ferdi.
“Martin is having trouble walking alone. Ride him on the horse.”
Ferdi looked displeased but nodded and passed the reins.
“All right. Ride him.”
“Thank you.”
Stipe called in Emil, whose arm was too badly injured to fight, had him mount, then took Martin behind.
“Hold on a little longer. We'll get out of here soon.”
“Yes. Understood.”
I took the lead, Lotte and Ferdi beside me. Behind, Stipe and Hardwin followed, and at the rear, Emil and Martin rode slowly. In the back, Yan, my mount, happily grazed and strolled as if nothing had happened.
Kung-kung-kung!
We walked the narrow forest path in the darkening woods when Lotte, who had been ahead, sniffed the air and barked. I raised my hand to halt the group.
“Halt!”
A red dot appeared on my map. It was on both sides of the mountain path.
“You guard here!”
I drew my sword and leaped into the forest.
My animal senses—night vision, smell, hearing—were superior to the orcs, but my map filled in what was lacking.
I hid in the thicket and moved quickly. Unlike fights in open areas, Lotte followed. She had been chasing a wild boar.
Kung-kung-kung!
Following Lotte, she barked and darted to another spot.
―Where is it?
―Chwik! There!
―Catch them!
The clustered red dots scattered as they chased Lotte.
I circled behind an orc chopping small trees with an axe and leaped.
I slammed my knee into its back and drove my sword into the base of its tail.
“Cree…”
I forced its head into the ground to silence it and slashed across its neck.
Feeling strength return to my muscles, I moved on to the next orc.