Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Orc Lord Hargone (1)
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It was a fierce battle.
The orcs, strengthened by the orc shaman, were tough enough that even the prisoners' swords couldn't pierce them properly. Unlike our side, which struggled to maintain formation, they held their lines and fought systematically.
And they were brave to boot.
If we'd only been facing the prisoners against them, we would've been wiped out.
In fact, even with Eleanor's support magic, some prisoners still died.
"Tch, he's done for."
"Figures. Gotta fight up front to end up like that..."
The total number of dead prisoners was four.
Now, our prisoner count had dwindled to fifteen.
'If things had gone well, not a single one would've died.'
Rather than pitying the dead prisoners, what stung was the loss to our fighting strength.
'Joseph needs to rally the prisoners quickly.'
At least there was some good news.
"Hey, but that group with Joseph..."
"Barely any injuries over there."
"Earlier, I saw them sucking up to each other big time."
"Phew..."
As they said, after Moustache's death, Joseph's group—now down to three—had four prisoners gathered around them.
They were the recent recruits under Joseph's command.
And even after the battle, they were relatively unscathed.
It was only natural.
Joseph had been a soldier himself, so he led them competently. Plus, they had the stamina potions Jun had given them.
"H-Hey, Joseph."
"What is it?"
"...Next time, let me fight with your group too."
"Do as you like. But if you disobey orders, I'll abandon you without mercy."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."
No one wanted to die.
Those who did were already gone.
Everyone left here had a burning desire to survive.
And when they saw a path to life, they flocked to it like moths to a flame.
'With four deaths, he's won over the remaining prisoners' loyalty.'
Not a bad outcome.
Jun approached Barbarata, now a corpse thanks to Schneider and Maya's combined attack.
In the game, this guy weakened whenever his army started crumbling.
That was why Jun had collapsed the building from the start and picked off the orcs one by one.
'Must've been thrown off. The barrier fell, and he tried to bolster his forces all at once.'
The battle had gone exactly according to plan, and the results were splendid.
And then.
'As expected, he had this.'
Jun pulled a grimoire and a single talisman from Barbarata's robes.
He pocketed the talisman separately and handed the grimoire to Schneider without hesitation.
"A grimoire... Mind if I ask you to translate it later?"
"Anytime, sir."
"Thanks."
Since Bright's death, Schneider had become strangely calm.
He no longer showed the same greed toward Jun.
Probably changed by the loss of his cherished apprentice.
'Sad, but what can you do? The living must live on.'
With that thought, Jun reviewed the remaining plan.
'In the game, the Orc Lord starts with three mediums.'
One of them was the shaman orc he'd just killed.
'Another was the scout.'
The ranger orc unit.
Things got messy the moment the Orc Lord took them along.
They'd launch guerrilla attacks constantly, set traps ahead to buy time.
Meanwhile, the Orc Lord would move toward the last medium.
'Luckily, unlike the game, the Orc Lord's choices have diverged. At this point, the sure thing is we can take out the orc rangers smoothly.'
Around then, Jun realized it was time to make a decision.
"Schneider."
"Hm? What is it, Jun?"
"I'd like to discuss the plan going forward."
"...Hold on. Let me get Leon."
Schneider brought over Leon, who was staring coldly at the dead prisoners' bodies.
"What is it, mage?"
"Tell us. Any changes to the plan?"
Jun slowly opened his mouth at the two level 6s' questions.
"I think I need to move separately from now on."
"What do you mean? You'll go alone?"
"..."
Schneider looked uncharacteristically flustered, while Leon furrowed his brow, trying to read Jun's intent.
Ignoring their reactions, Jun unrolled the map.
"Our current position is here. The scout's seal is here. At our travel pace so far, that's about three weeks away."
This was info from prior meetings.
The two stared at him like, Why repeat yourself?
"The day the Orc Lord awakened, his soul headed east."
Whether because there was a suitable orc there to possess, or because he hadn't absorbed enough souls from the group, Jun didn't know.
But.
"In that direction, three mediums lie dormant. By now, he's probably found one."
"And?"
"Judging by the number of orcs sealed with the shaman we just killed, the other mediums likely command about this many orcs each."
By the time they reached the scout's location and faced the Orc Lord.
"Distance-wise, he'll reclaim all three mediums."
150 elite orc soldiers.
"We can't win with our current forces."
Collision would mean instant annihilation.
"But didn't you predict that already?"
Jun nodded at Schneider's question.
"That's why I plan to halt his advance."
"You think that's possible?"
Leon retorted.
"Yes. I'm a mage, after all."
"Arrogant nonsense."
Leon didn't particularly like Jun, but he knew full well how crucial this mage was to their current strength.
"I know mages excel against numbers. But the opponent is the Orc Lord."
Even a goblin lord needed an army—how could a single mage hold back an Orc Lord, far stronger than any goblin?
"I can do it."
"..."
"Sigh."
Jun couldn't explain the details.
But both men knew this mage wasn't foolish or arrogant.
"You sure you can?"
"Yes. So please lead the remaining forces and take out the orc rangers. We'll regroup here."
"...Good luck."
"See you alive."
Schneider and Leon knew full well they couldn't handle the Orc Lord as is.
"And Leon."
"What is it, mage?"
"Don't trust the prisoners."
"Obviously."
"But trust humans carefully."
"...?"
What nonsense is that?
Soon enough, Leon would understand what Jun meant before leaving.
He clenched and unclenched his fist.
The sensation felt pretty good.
Including Moustache, five prisoners had died total.
In exchange for sealing the prisoners' strength, Leon couldn't use most of his own power either.
With the burden lessened, he could now protect himself to some degree.
'Unseal the prisoners' bindings and regain your strength, huh.'
Absurd.
Leon shook his head firmly.
Prisoners weren't trustworthy.
There was no tearful farewell.
Though Aiden looked incredibly, extremely worried.
"I'm fine, I said. Remember that spar with Bern last time?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"I can protect myself. Don't worry about me. More importantly... You know, right? Eleanor."
"Yeah, yeah. Be nice to the prisoners like a proper priestess, got it?"
"Empower Joseph as much as possible."
Even up to departure, Jun kept briefing his comrades on the plan.
To ensure it wasn't pushed aside.
Only after Eleanor's complaints—practically blood from her ears—did Jun finally prepare for the journey.
Throughout the journey so far, Jun had constantly weighed his strengths and weaknesses as a mage.
What was a mage?
Overwhelming firepower spells to crush hordes of foes.
Countless utility spells to support allies.
In Jun's view, a mage was the ultimate all-rounder—a perfect hexagon class.
But veteran players dismissed it as a fantasy, a flashy dud.
They weren't wrong.
Behind the mage's glamour lay countless flaws.
Growth patterns unlike other classes.
Resulting resource shortages.
Stamina so abysmal "low" didn't cover it.
Casting times that dragged on forever.
No frontline meant instant collapse.
Assassin monsters? Useless.
Each weakness was fatal.
Among that wave of flaws, Jun pinpointed two key ones.
First: weak sustained combat.
Limited defense against attacks, few ways to shake off close enemies.
'Solved that with the predator.'
So what was the other?
Mobility.
Warriors leap in and shatter enemy lines.
Hunters shred foes at blurring speeds.
And mages?
'I kept experimenting.'
Ways to gain mobility abounded: artifacts, skills, spells.
But how to use them?
After endless deliberation, Jun had recently found the answer.
Orc Lord Hargone.
The soul, once captured by an outer god in the underworld, had escaped into the world.
Yet he knew he didn't belong here.
Nor that his very existence was forged by another.
It didn't matter.
His moniker was the Conqueror King.
What he lacked, he would seize.
He broke free from the great temple and claimed what he needed: a body.
A pathetic orc leading a tiny tribe caught his eye.
Exceptional physical talent, squandered by idiocy.
He possessed it instantly.
The original owner screamed before yielding to the soul that once stood atop all orcs.
"Follow me."
Thus, Hargone led his scant twenty-or-so orcs eastward.
He recalled the humans from the temple.
Regrettable, but Hargone was a wise king.
Rather than overextend against invaders, he'd build his army.
The march began.
After twenty sun-and-moon cycles.
He found one of his generals.
From a glorious past.
The valiant warrior Half-Moon, always at the forefront of his legions.
Fifty elite warriors awoke from deep slumber with him.
"My king."
Along the way, he gathered scattered orcs from the fields.
Fifty elites, plus 250 tribal orcs of this era.
Three hundred in total.
Enough to deal with the intruders now.
'Not yet.'
But he discarded that option.
He was the Conqueror King.
Confident in his prowess, yet he ruled by leading armies to crush lands.
"Find Dakuda."
If Half-Moon's blade led the vanguard.
Dakuda was an unbreakable shield wall.
With him, the army would take shape.
Another thirty sun-and-moon cycles passed.
"Hello?"
A single human blocked the orc legion.
By then, their numbers exceeded five hundred.