An Unexpected Commander

Either way, the situation had improved, so he had no intention of complaining.

'I just hope the weaker ones head toward the Atali Kingdom. Even better if they get cleaned up before they even get here.'

"Damn it!"

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He racked his brain, but no good ideas came to mind.

'Is there no other way? Do I have to accept the penalty for abandoning the order?'

Closing down the newly established religious order was a bitter pill to swallow, but no matter how much he regretted it, he couldn't hold onto it and sink with the ship. If push came to shove, he would have to abandon the order and run.

The rest of the article was of little consequence.

In the meantime, a message arrived. It was from Jeong Su-hyeok.

Jeong Su-hyeok hesitated, which was highly uncharacteristic of him. It was a rare sight for someone who usually spoke without a moment's hesitation.

Tae-hyun sensed something was off.

Currently, Jeong Su-hyeok was in the Uruk Region to complete a quest to increase the influence of Archisus.

His targets were the factions that had poor relations with the Orcs.

Under these circumstances, a massive quest involving the movement of the Orc army had been triggered, so it wouldn't have been surprising if Jeong Su-hyeok had failed to complete his quest.

Slightly annoyed, Tae-hyun asked Jeong Su-hyeok for his location.

It was a bit of a distance from the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, but riding the winged demons would get them there in no time.

"I don't get it. He's not the type to act like this."

"Did he betray us?"

"Do you think Su-hyeok is like you?"

"..."

'So you're saying I'm the type to betray you, you bastard?' Cain grumbled inwardly. He was working so diligently by his side right now...

"In my opinion, it looks like he caused some sort of trouble."

"Trouble, huh..."

"Otherwise, there's no reason for a guy who's usually so energetic to act like this. But I have no idea what kind of trouble he could have caused. He's not the type to make mistakes."

"Unlike me?"

"Exactly. Unlike you."

"..."

Though Cain spoke sarcastically, Tae-hyun agreed without a second thought. Cain simply gave up on talking. He felt like he would only lose if he kept going.

"Gasp! Orcs!"

Terrified, Cain flattened himself against the back of the winged demon. Below them, a swarm of Orc warriors could be seen marching past. At a glance, they weren't wild Orc warriors, but disciplined soldiers split off from the main army!

Since the continental quest had been activated, Cain was the one suffering the most. He had even dreamed of Orcs aiming for his throat while sleeping in real life!

Tae-hyun looked at Cain as if he were pathetic. They were flying quite high. There was no way the Orcs, who were distracted as they moved through the trees, would spot them.

"You pathetic fool..."

"You try having your life targeted by Orcs! Wait a minute. In the first place, the reason I'm being chased is because of you!"

Cain finally remembered the most crucial fact. Yes, the reason he was terrified of the Orcs was ultimately because of Tae-hyun!

"Why do you keep bringing up the past? You're more narrow-minded than I thought."

-Indeed. For someone so large, he is surprisingly timid.

Yong-yong, who was next to them, chimed in to support Tae-hyun. He was currently shrunk in size, lying flat on the back of the winged demon.

"Stop talking nonsense, you bastards! My life is on the line right now, how is that in the past?!"

Of course, Tae-hyun ignored him completely. He turned to Yong-yong and asked, "By the way, didn't you hate riding on demons?"

-I do not let personal feelings ruin my duties.

"No, I mean, can't you just grow to your original size and fly?"

-......

Yong-yong looked momentarily shocked.

"Did you seriously forget?"

He had become so accustomed to flying near the ground in his shrunken state! As a result, even though he had regained his power, he had overlooked the obvious.

-N-no, I did not. I was merely conserving my energy...

"Sure, whatever you say."

-It is true! Master! How could I possibly...

"Quiet down. Look, those Orcs are moving. Is that guy the commander?"

"The scale isn't as large as I expected. Is that the vanguard? The ones moving ahead..."

"You read the article too?"

"Yeah."

Grit! Cain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠replied, grinding his teeth.

"Why are you grinding your teeth?"

"Of course I'm grinding my teeth after reading that article! Don't you know what it said?!"

"No. I closed it after reading the parts I needed."

"...At the end of the article, that bastard leaked my location!"

Indeed. Tae-hyun hadn't paid attention because it wasn't important to him, but the article contained other details. Specifically, Cain's location!

Fuming, Cain opened the article and showed it to Tae-hyun again.

"Isn't 'Kim Tae-hyun's Son of a Bitch' insulting me?"

"Is that what's important right now?!"

An article openly targeting Cain!

"Do you have some kind of grudge against the reporter who wrote this?"

"I don't know, you bastard! How should I know?!" Cain grumbled.

In the first place, back when he was the guild leader of Red Zone, he had committed so many reckless acts without looking back that it wasn't surprising people hated him. What felt unfair was that Tae-hyun did similar things but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠received completely different treatment!

"Anyway, if that's the Orc vanguard, it's actually for the best. We can deal with them before the main force arrives."

"Should we go down and fight now?"

"Wait. Let me check a bit more."

"I think we can just fight..."

"And that's why you're Cain."

"..."

Cain couldn't understand why "that's why you're Cain" was being used as an insult, but he chose to shut his mouth.

"Chwiik! Chwiik! I caught a venomous centipede!"

"Chwiik! Such a precious thing!"

"If we boil it, it's good for mana! Let's bring it to the Great Shaman!"

"Chwiik! An excellent idea!"

This was a surprising attitude for Orcs, who were usually greedy and hated giving away what they had to others.

Tae-hyun tilted his head.

"Is there an Orc who commands that much respect from other Orcs?"

"Maybe he's an incredibly Orc-like Orc."

"An Orc-like Orc... what kind of guy is he? I thought they were weak because they're the vanguard, but maybe not."

Listening to the Orcs' conversation, he sounded like an Orc Shaman who was highly respected and capable of using powerful magic.

'If it's an Orc Shaman, it's dangerous to leave him alive... Should we kill him first?'

While he was contemplating, the Orcs halted.

And the figure of the highly respected Orc Shaman (?) was revealed.

"..."

"..."

-......

It was none other than Jeong Su-hyeok.

Tae-hyun let out a deep sigh and composed himself. Then he looked up at the sky. The sky was so blue!

'Right. Things like this can happen... No, they can't... but well, let's just pretend they can.'

He quickly gathered his thoughts. Although Su-hyeok had been sent to proselytize and had instead returned leading an Orc army, Tae-hyun managed to accept it somehow.

Even though it was an Orc army borrowed from the Great Chieftain, he could command them directly?

This meant that in the meantime, he had become incredibly close to the Orcs and had earned their utmost respect!

It was beyond imagination what on earth he had done to build up such loyalty and obedience from those Orcs.

It was a rare, completely exhausted voice from Tae-hyun.

The Primitive Human Tribe, the Red Sea Outlaw Tribe, and the Old Tunnel Goblin Tribe.

These were the factions in the Uruk Region that had become Jeong Su-hyeok's targets.

Jeong Su-hyeok's first target was the Primitive Human Tribe of the Uruk Region!

The Red Sea Outlaw Tribe was on the sea, making them hard to find, and the Old Tunnel Goblin Tribe was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠underground, which made them equally difficult to locate.

The Primitive Human Tribe of the Uruk Region was a tribe that used powerful ancient magic.

Jeong Su-hyeok had hoped that, as a fellow mage, he might be able to get close to them.

'After all, we're both mages!'

"Um, I'd like to complete a quest. May I look around for a bit? If I meet any NPCs, I'll bring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them back!"

"Please do. We will be waiting."

The Demer Order was too kind. Jeong Su-hyeok felt his conscience prick as he set off.

Unlike the other two tribes, the Primitive Human Tribe of the Uruk Region was easy to find.

"Chwiik! Human bastards who use strange magic?! Go toward that mountain peak and you'll find them!"

"Chwiik! Ugly human bastards with terrible personalities! Go around that valley and you'll find them!"

If he grabbed any random Orc and threatened them, the location came out immediately! They were a famous tribe among the Orcs.

As he drew closer to his destination, Jeong Su-hyeok began to feel anxious.

Every Orc he met described them as "eccentric," "like madmen," or "not wanting to deal with them." Could a normal tribe really elicit such reactions?

If they were humans who received such descriptions from Orcs...

"Chwiiiiik! Save the Orc!"

"It's not 'Chwiiiiik'! You Orc bastard. I told you to drop the 'Chwiik'! Now, say it again! Without the 'Chwiik' in front!"

Right before his eyes, a bald human man, stripped to the waist, was holding an Orc and casting spells on him repeatedly. The Orc was screaming and thrashing!

"U-um, excuse me..."

"What's this? A traveler? What brings you here?"

"Well, uh, I'm a mage, and I've come to share the god's..."

"What? A mage? Perfect. Let's see you cast a spell!"

"Pardon?"