Chapter 136: Harvest Day (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136: Harvest Day (4)
The atmosphere in the meeting hall had been grim from the moment the survivors in the city were mentioned. It hit a boiling point when the orcs refused to negotiate.
Duke Pabir, whose family and citizens were in peril, was naturally distressed, but even the nobles on our side, sensing things were about to get complicated, wore dark expressions.
Only Gis and a pale-faced noble sitting beside him remained unconcerned.
The pale noble spoke.
“As I stated earlier, the orcs have no intention of negotiating with us. They don’t want something so lukewarm. Those savages crave only battle and death.”
“Then why have they kept the citizens alive?! If they’re alive, that means—”
“They’re hostages. A warning not to try anything foolish while they hold them in their grasp. If we do, they’ll kill them. That is all.”
The pale noble’s cold words cut through Duke Pabir’s voice, which had gone beyond desperation to outright pleading. Despair settled on the duke’s face.
Sheesh, you could have phrased that a little more gently. Why be so blunt?
Just like a vampire.
No humanity. None at all.
I tapped the table. Once all eyes in the hall were on me, I spoke.
“Tonight, we infiltrate the city and kidnap key orc personnel.”
“...?”
Everyone either looked confused or narrowed their eyes, as if they couldn't comprehend my words.
Seriously? Why can’t they understand something so simple?
“You said they don’t want to talk, right? Then we’ll make them want to talk. Our targets will be the shamans. They’re high-ranking but the easiest to abduct. Knocking out a warrior would be a massive pain.”
“W-Wait a moment, Sir Hero. Are you serious?”
Duke Pabir was visibly flustered. I tilted my head.
“Of course I’m serious. Do you think I’d be cracking jokes in a situation like this?”
“Well, no, but…”
What’s with this guy?
He was so resolute when he showed his determination yesterday. Why is he suddenly shriveling up?
“I doubt Sir Cloud was listening to the conversation properly.”
The vampire suddenly decided to pick a fight.
“I heard you just fine.”
“Then you must remember what I just said. That if we try anything foolish, they will kill the hostages.”
“And you also said the orcs only crave battle and death. You implied they’re using the hostages as a deterrent. By your logic, the hostages are going to die even if we do nothing, right?”
“...”
“Stop with your petty schemes and listen up. I don’t give a damn what you or the ones behind you want. All I care about are the people inside that city. So if you’re not going to cooperate, then get out of the way and stay quiet.”
I slammed my hand on the table and stood up.
It was my way of saying the meeting was over. As I headed out of the tent with my party, already planning the infiltration team in my head, someone spoke up.
“Sounds good. I’m in.”
It was Gis, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meeting, speaking with a sly grin.
He wants to come?
I smiled and shook my head.
“No. You just get some rest. I’ll handle this troublesome task.”
“What?”
“I don’t need you, so stay the hell away, you bastard.”
“You son of a—”
The plan was simple.
Infiltrate the castle through the secret passage Duke Pabir told us about.
Kidnap as many shamans staying in the castle as possible.
Ignore any shamans outside the castle.
Unless we ran out of shamans to kidnap inside, there was no need to risk going out.
Besides, kidnapping too many would also be a problem.
This secret passage was much narrower than I’d expected.
Honestly, it was suffocating just coming in.
‘Found one.’
About twenty minutes after infiltrating the castle, I spotted a totem placed in front of a room’s door.
Totems were a symbol of shamanism.
Considering none of the other doors had one, the probability of a shaman being inside was high.
The fact that orcs were guarding the door made it even more certain.
“What now?” Katarina asked. She was wearing black clothes instead of her miko outfit, which I’d had her change out of since it was unsuitable for stealth.
“We found one, so we kidnap one.”
“What about the orcs guarding the door?”
“We’ll take care of them. Just knock them out, don’t kill them.”
Killing them would give the orcs leverage in the negotiations later.
“Shedia, you’re with me. The rest of you, wait here. Come slowly when I give the signal.”
Katarina, Eri, Mars, Neria, Leslie, Ophelia, and Marietta all nodded.
As you can see, I brought my entire party.
Obviously, a smaller team is better for infiltration. But you never know what might happen in a real situation. So I brought them along as insurance.
I muffled my footsteps and crept toward the orcs, hiding in the shadows. The two were either yawning or chatting idly, so they didn’t notice my approach.
It might look like they were slacking on the job, but…
No, they were definitely slacking.
To not notice me until I was this close.
When I was about three meters away, I shot up from my crouched position and lunged at them.
They finally noticed, but it was too late.
Before one could shout, I wrapped my arm around its neck and choked it. Simultaneously, Shedia emerged from my shadow and struck the other orc’s jaw with the flat of her blade. As it staggered, she leaped onto its shoulders and choked it just as I was doing.
The two orcs struggled to break free, but they weren’t strong enough to shake us off.
Thud—
Eventually, the two hulking bodies collapsed.
Their pulses were steady, so they were just unconscious.
I gestured for my companions to come forward, and they approached in a single file line.
‘No spells on the door.’
It would have been a pain if there was some kind of security spell, so that was a relief.
I slowly opened the door and went inside.
The interior was an ordinary guest room.
There was a table, a drawer, and a wardrobe for a guest’s convenience, and finally, a bed.
A scrawny orc was asleep on that bed.
“Hyung, here.”
Mars handed me a sack, urging me to quickly knock the orc out and bag it. Instead of taking the sack, I spoke to Eri.
“Put up a soundproofing spell. As fast as you can.”
“Huh…? Oh, okay.”
Eri quickly cast the spell. Now, as long as the magic held, no sound would escape the room.
I walked toward the bed.
The moment my foot crossed a line drawn on the floor around the bed…
—Who goes there!
—Who goes there!
The large wooden totems standing beside the bed opened their mouths and began to shout.
—Step back!
—Step back!
When I didn't retreat despite their repeated warnings, the totems scowled and charged at me.
Physical damage, not magic?
I calmly gripped my scabbard. The drawn sword traced a blue arc, splitting both totems in a single slash.
Instead of sheathing my sword, I placed it against the shaman’s neck.
The shaman’s hand, which had been reaching for a staff, froze.
The shaman gulped, his eyes fixed on the sharply honed blade.
“Now, I won’t ask how you got here. If you leave now, I’m willing to let this go quietly.”
“...”
Instead of answering, I struck the shaman’s head with my scabbard.
He was as frail as he looked, going down in one hit.
“Mars, the sack.”
“Here.”
Mars handed me the sack, looking at the sundered totems with fascination.
“I thought they were just weird decorations, but I never expected them to shout and charge at us.”
“You’ve seen gargoyles, don’t act so surprised. Anyway, let’s go. We need to grab at least three more.”
“That many? That hero, Gis, came too, right? Considering the orcs he’ll catch, wouldn’t one more be enough?”
At the mention of Gis, Neria and Ophelia’s expressions soured. Haven't they gotten over it yet? Then again, after a beating like that, it wouldn't be strange for it to become a trauma.
“Just pretend he’s not here. I wasn’t going to bring him in the first place, but he followed us on his own.”
I shouldered the sack containing the orc shaman and headed for the door.
“We don’t know what kind of trouble that guy will cause, so let’s hurry up and finish—”
CRASH!
Something smashed through one wall, flew across the hall, and slammed into the opposite one. The one groaning like an idiot as he slumped to the floor was Gis.
“Ah, that fucking bastard…”
How does he cause trouble the second I mention him?
I let out a deep sigh and told my companions, “Everyone, prepare for battle.”
I drew the sword I had just sheathed, debating whether I should bother recovering that bastard or just leave him.
“Did you crawl all the way here just for revenge? I’ll give you this much: your persistence is admirable.”
An orc walked out from the hole Gis had made in the wall. Covered in scars from head to toe, he had a face that was all too familiar to me.
“Brother?”
Hearing my voice, the orc—Lugar—flinched and turned his head toward me. His eyes widened in shock when he saw me.
There was only one thing I could ask him.
“Brother, what are you doing here?”