Chapter 143: Harvest Day (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: Harvest Day (10)
The night of the second duel.
Two warriors guarding the door to the Great Chieftain's quarters were talking in low voices.
"To think I'd get to see the Great Chieftain fight with my own eyes."
"Haven't you seen him fight a few times already? What's the big deal?"
"Is killing a bunch of weak-ass humans the same as fighting the Hero? We might get to see the full extent of the Great Chieftain's hidden power tomorrow!"
"And what good will that do you? It's not like it's your power."
"You've been getting on my nerves... huh, wait. Someone's coming."
Seeing dark shadows approaching from the other end of the dim corridor, the two orcs took a defensive stance.
They only relaxed when the torchlight revealed the figures' faces.
"What the—it's the chieftain of the Red Bear Fang tribe."
"What's Octan doing here?"
"Let's just ask him."
Just as one of the curious orcs was about to greet Octan, it happened.
Shunk—
A spearhead burst through his chest.
Struck directly in the heart, he died without so much as a single scream.
"What the—"
Before the other stunned orc could shout, Octan punched him in the solar plexus. As the orc bent over from the sickening sensation of his organs rattling, Octan grabbed his head with both hands.
And twisted his neck a full ninety degrees.
—Crack.
The orc with the broken neck collapsed limply to the floor.
"...Octan. Is this truly the right thing to do?"
Octan's right-hand man, Luken, wore a grim expression as he looked at the two dead orcs.
They had just killed two innocent young warriors.
No matter how they tried to justify it for the greater good, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Is this really the best way? Was there no better method? Like, for instance, telling the Great Chieftain about him."
"Lugar would not have accepted it."
"How can you be so sure? Our methods may differ, but our ultimate goal is the same: the good of our people. Octan, I honestly feel like your actions right now are born from nothing more than jealousy toward Lugar."
"Luken."
Octan's brow furrowed as he glared at Luken.
"What's done is done. If you're going to ruin the plan with your half-hearted sentiment, just go back. The rest of us will finish it."
"...No. As you said, since we've started this, we must see it through."
No matter the outcome.
With a hardened face, Luken gripped the hilt of his sword. Octan signaled to a shaman, then slowly opened the door to the Great Chieftain's room. Lugar was asleep, covered by a large leather blanket.
Octan drew a normal-sized sword, not his usual axe.
If the wounds on the body were too large, it would be difficult to pass it off as an assassination plotted by humans.
Octan held the sword in a reverse grip and aimed for Lugar's heart. There was no apology or mourning born of guilt. The moment he was about to strike without hesitation, Lugar's eyes shot open.
Lugar was truly a great warrior.
To think of twisting his body to dodge the blade in that split second. However, having just woken up, his reaction was a fraction too slow, and he couldn't evade it completely. The sword pierced his right chest.
"Guh..!"
Just as Lugar's right arm, which had grabbed the sword, began to glow, Luken severed it. At the same time, another of Octan's men cut off Lugar's left arm.
Their movements were swift, as if choreographed.
Lugar's pained groans grew louder.
He took ragged breaths as he stared at Octan.
"Octan... what is the meaning of this?"
"I am simply doing what must be done for the prosperity of our orc race."
"For the prosperity of the orcs, I must die?"
"Not just you. The humans you went to such lengths to protect will all die as well."
"You're insane."
Lugar let out a hollow laugh. Ptui. He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and continued.
"Have I not told you time and again? If we provoke the humans too much, the Empire will intervene. And when they do, it won't end with us just being driven back to our original lands. Countless warriors will die a dishonorable dog's death!"
"That will not happen. I swear it. The humans will fall, and our orcs will prosper under his rule."
"Him? Who is that?"
"The Millennial Mage. The Undying. The Necromancer. There are many titles used to refer to him, but this is the most famous one."
Octan grinned.
"The King of Death, the Lich."
In contrast to Octan's expression, Lugar's face hardened.
"A Lich? Are you talking about one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings?"
"So you know of him. Then you must also know of the immense power he possesses. Such a being has extended his hand to me. The Empire is no longer a match for us orcs."
"It seems that bastard has brainwashed you, for you to be spouting such nonsense."
"I am of sound mind."
"You're of sound mind and you came up with this? You're a fool beyond measure."
The tattoos on Lugar's chest began to glow.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave erupted from Lugar, blasting everything around him. Octan and his men were pushed back, some sent flying into the walls.
"Kugh...!"
Octan, who had barely managed to hold his ground by bracing himself with his axe, lifted his head.
Black flames erupted from the stumps of Lugar's severed arms. The blazing black fire formed into new limbs, which he used to pull the sword from his right chest.
Tossing the sword aside, Lugar smirked at the orcs still reeling from the shockwave's aftereffects.
"And you weaklings who crumble from something like this think you can stand against the Empire and the Hero?"
"...We may be like this now, but when he descends—"
"Silence!"
Lugar's roar cut off Octan's pathetic excuse.
"You were swayed by the sweet words of the Demon King's lackey and tried to endanger our entire race. This is a grave sin among grave sins, one that cannot be forgiven. Therefore, I, Lugar, as Great Chieftain, shall deliver your punishment."
All the tattoos on his body began to shine.
"You are all to be executed on the spot."
Lugar picked up the great curved sword he kept beside his bed. The moment he swung it toward Octan, black smoke appeared from nowhere and instantly filled the room.
The next day, the orc army declared war on the kingdom's forces.
*
In a world where magic existed, it was only natural that there was also magic used to protect castle walls and gates.
Most walls and gates were reinforced with protection spells, and the quality of this magic often determined the status of a city.
And 'Avila,' Duke Pabir's city, was among the higher-tiered ones.
There were generally two ways to conquer a city with such powerful protective magic.
Mindlessly batter it with siege weapons.
Or mindlessly batter it with magic.
Both were inefficient methods, but there was no other choice. Siege warfare was always far more difficult for the attackers than the defenders.
Still, the kingdom's army was in a much better position than most.
They had two of the most renowned mages on the continent with them.
"Fire!"
The orcs on the walls let loose a volley of arrows.
The arrows hung in the air for a moment before raining down on the kingdom's army at high speed.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-!
The arrows were blocked by the knights' dense shield wall.
But it wasn't just a single volley. The orcs, holding the high ground, fired relentlessly.
Occasionally, a lucky arrow would slip through a gap in the shields, but most failed to penetrate the knights' full plate armor.
Thanks to this, Leslie and Eri, hidden behind the shield wall, could focus on their incantations.
Of the two, Eri was preparing her spell with particular intensity.
'I can do this. I succeeded last time.'
It was a spell the genius mage had spent years creating.
Using this magic, she could cast spells several tiers higher than her own rank.
'Focus. I have to succeed, no matter what.'
She had to break through the gate with a single spell.
Only then could she push aside that annoying white-haired girl and solidify her position as the party's mage.
If she did, Cloud would surely cherish her a little more.
More than those unknown girls he suddenly brought along one day!
...Though she supposed she couldn't compete with his lover, Katarina.
'Come to think of it, I never got to ask him about what I saw that day...'
Eri had witnessed Cloud and Lorraine kissing. She had been too shocked at the time to ask, but she decided she would casually bring it up once this was over and they had grown a little closer.
With that thought, Eri finished her incantation.
A large, purple magic circle formed before her eyes.
It was a type of spell that fired a straight beam of mana that had been condensed to its absolute limit.
A simple spell, but more than enough to destroy a castle gate.
While waiting for Cloud's signal, Eri glanced to her side. She intended to scoff at Leslie's magic, which was sure to be far inferior to her own.
But what was this?
Leslie's spell was in no way inferior to Eri's.
She didn't know what kind of magic it was, but judging by the amount of magical power gathered, it looked like it would produce a similar output to her own.
'Wha-what? How...?'
That girl's skills shouldn't be this advanced, should they?
While I was researching magic, she was doing chores. It's only right that her skills are below mine.
Eri's bewildered eyes took in the magic circle Leslie had cast. It was a different spell from hers, so of course, the form was different. But the core foundation of the magic circle was the same as hers.
"How is this..."
"Are you both ready?"
Cloud suddenly appeared between the two women.
Eri snapped back to her senses and answered.
"Y-yeah."
"I'm ready too."
Cloud nodded and shouted to the knights.
"Open up!"
The moment he yelled, the knights at the front parted to the sides. The two women fired their magic into the suddenly cleared path.
The condensed purple mana sizzled against the gate, melting the protective magic.
The gate's protective barrier gradually weakened.
Troll-sized lances of ice poured out from Leslie's magic circle, hammering against the weakened gate.
Even the protective magic of 'Avila' couldn't withstand two grand spells at once.
The barrier protecting the gate collapsed in less than three minutes.
Cloud, who had been deflecting the arrows flying toward them, patted the two women on the shoulders.
"Good work. Your part is done, so fall back to the rear and rest with your escort."
After giving his near-unilateral order, Cloud quickly mounted his horse and yelled.
"The target is the cathedral! We will rescue the hostages held there! Charge!"
With Cloud at the lead, the knight order charged toward the broken gate.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-
The thundering of hooves kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring the surroundings.
Ignoring the dust settling on her, Eri glared at Leslie as if she wanted to kill her.
"You... what are you?"
Leslie smiled sweetly.
"What do you mean?"
Her nonchalant attitude made the back of Eri's neck ache with tension.
"What do I mean~?"
No, it was more than an ache. The heat rushed all the way to her head.
This was unbearable.
Eri swung her staff, aiming for Leslie's jaw.
"Eek?! What is this barbaric act?!"
"Shut up, you spell-stealing bitch!"
Eri swung her staff again and again without stopping.
Strong, weak, medium~strong, weak, strong... STRONG, STRONG, STRONG, STRONG!!!!
The staff moved rhythmically.
She was perfectly recreating the staff techniques she had learned from Cloud in a dungeon long ago.
That's right.
In that moment, Eri had become the Battle Mage Cloud had always wanted.
"How did you steal my spell? Spit it out, now!"