Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Orc Subjugation (3)
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While the orcs attempted their ambush, Demian was on the move to pinpoint the location of their main camp.
Blindly charging into the forest without locating the enemy would only put them in danger.
He climbed the watchtower to keep a close eye on the orcs' movements or spread out his mana to scan a wide area.
During the second ambush, he spotted a bald-headed black mage hiding in the woods.
‘Judging by her actions, that woman must be from the Mutant Strain Faction.’
Demian immediately gave chase. That was how he discovered the orc village and the black mages of the Myriad Poisons Faction.
Demian surveyed the enemy camp to assess their forces. There were over a hundred orcs gathered, with a sizable number of orc warriors standing by.
‘An ogre? Where the hell did they get that?’
An ogre was there too. It was clear they had prepared thoroughly to ensure this subjugation failed.
‘The Myriad Poisons Faction is more dangerous than the monsters.’
The Myriad Poisons Faction grew more troublesome the longer they were left alone.
If they fortified their position or dug traps, casualties were inevitable.
‘Can’t give them time to prepare.’
The moment Demian returned to the castle, he rallied the knights.
“I’ve found their camp. We’re launching a surprise attack right now.”
At the sudden order, the knights were flustered but quickly geared up.
“Make sure you’re fully equipped! There are black mages in the orc village too!”
The mention of black mages left the knights even more baffled. They had come to wipe out an orc horde, not expecting black mages to be involved.
But no one doubted Demian’s words.
The knights had already found the orcs’ use of poison suspicious.
They weren’t fools—they’d been pondering it all along, and Demian’s report cleared up the mystery.
If black mages were commanding the orcs, it all made sense.
“Move out!”
Riding horses would make too much noise and give away the surprise, so they attacked the orc horde in basic armor.
The orcs hadn’t dreamed they’d be the ones ambushed—they hadn’t even posted sentries.
“Press the attack! Don’t give them a chance to regroup!”
Thanks to that, Demian and the knights seized control in one fell swoop.
Demian and the knights swept through the village in every direction, cutting down orcs left and right.
-Querrrrk!
-Kweeek!
The orcs were helpless. A few tried to resist, but it was futile.
“These green lumps think they can fight back?”
“Hand over your necks already!”
The knights, clad in armor and wielding aura, were utterly overwhelming. The orcs couldn’t even scratch them.
“Hm?”
In the midst of slashing orcs, Demian spotted two women standing dazed in the distance.
“Black mages! The black mages are over there!”
The instant he saw them, Demian shouted. The knights turned to look at the two women.
Under the knights’ gazes, the women’s faces twisted. The bald-headed one bellowed first.
“You filthy bastards! How dare you touch my orcs? Do you know how hard I worked to gather them!”
Black mana poured from the bald woman. As she formed hand seals, her black magic manifested.
The orcs’ eyes changed. Panic and fear vanished, replaced by vicious killing intent and ravenous hunger.
“You’ll pay dearly for harming my babies!”
The woman didn’t stop there—she unleashed another black spell.
The orcs’ muscles swelled, their skin turning pitch black. Their teeth and claws grew thick and long.
The Mutant Strain Faction wasn’t just about controlling monsters. They used black magic to draw out monsters’ latent potential or grant new abilities.
The cost was the monsters’ life force. The orcs probably wouldn’t survive past today.
-Krurrk!
-Queeek!
Orcs that had been fleeing let out eerie howls and charged back at the knights instead.
“Ugh?”
“What kind of strength...!”
The knights clashing with the orcs had no choice but to panic. They were far faster and stronger than before.
Panic bred openings. The orcs pressed the knights even harder.
“That won’t do.”
With those words, Demian charged toward the orcs.
He accelerated using mana. His body vanished. An instant later, a flash streaked through the air.
One revolution.
The flash traced a circle. The orcs encircling the knights were bisected.
Torsos separated from legs, spilling blood and entrails onto the ground.
“Good lord...”
“Impossible...”
The knights stared in shock.
As knights of the ducal house, they had experienced countless mid-class hunts.
Not a single one could move like Demian.
“Get it together, everyone! They’re stronger, sure, but they’re still just orcs!”
Demian shouted to the knights.
Witnessing his awe-inspiring feat reignited their fighting spirit. They began pushing back the orcs once more.
“T-That bastard...!”
The bald woman ground her teeth. She screamed.
“No choice! You two, get out here now!”
New orcs emerged from the forest. Far larger than the others.
Each wielded a different weapon, but they shared one trait: heat haze shimmered around their blades.
The orc warriors had appeared.
“It pains me to use you all... but no helping it!”
The bald woman unleashed more black magic. The orc warriors grew even larger. Their skin turned grotesque and black.
It wasn’t just their bodies that were enhanced. The aura coating their weapons thickened too.
“Everyone, kill that Demian Haksen!”
The bald woman pointed at Demian. The orc warriors lunged at him.
-Krurrk!
-Kreeeak!
Aura-infused weapons rained down on Demian.
Already threatening orc warriors, now further empowered by black magic.
Each strike carried terrifying power.
“Quite a few, huh.”
Demian activated Berserk Starlight Blaze. His body temperature surged, sharpening all his senses to the extreme.
The world slowed. The orc warriors’ attacks gradually decelerated to a standstill.
Demian stepped forward. He wove through them, severing necks one by one.
Even with heads severed, the orc warriors’ heads floated in the air. No blood sprayed.
Demian broke through the group to the rear. Only then did he release the technique.
Blood erupted from the orc warriors’ necks in unison. Heads thudded to the ground.
“...Huh?”
Disbelief crossed the bald woman’s face.
To her eyes, Demian had teleported, and the orc warriors’ heads had all been sliced off at once.
“I-Impossible...”
“Noctis! Snap out of it! Call those things now!”
At that moment, the haggard woman yelled. She hurled a poison vial to the ground. It shattered, releasing a cloud of toxic mist.
As the haggard woman cast black magic, the mist surged toward Demian and the knights.
“What a nuisance.”
Demian sheathed his holy sword and drew Thousand-Li Sword. He flicked it with his fingertip.
The blade hummed. Demian swung it wide.
The sword sang out. The emitted sword cry shredded the oncoming poison mist entirely.
“What kind of insane technique is that...!”
The haggard woman cried out in disbelief.
“Noctis!”
“I’m here!”
The bald woman bellowed. At that instant, ogres burst from the forest, smashing trees.
-Uwoooo!
-Woooar!
The ogres’ roars shook the entire forest. Knights mid-kill on orcs shouted in alarm.
“O-Ogres?”
“Why are those monsters here!”
Fear appeared on the knights’ faces for the first time.
Ogres, kings of the forest known as brute-force titans, possessed monstrous strength.
They toyed with low-class adventurers to death and posed grave threats even to mid-class ones.
It was no wonder the knights panicked.
“Ogries? Been a while.”
“Wow, they’re huge. Plenty of meat to carve off.”
But not all the knights were rattled.
Michael Ryanbloom and Veronica Sanchez simply regarded the ogres with curiosity.
“Hey, Demian’s lackey.”
“True, but that vocabulary is a bit lowbrow, don’t you think, you vulgar thing.”
“Wanna bet on who kills more? Loser becomes the minion.”
“Don’t regret it?”
The two charged the ogre pack simultaneously.
The ogres swung fists to crush them.
The Ryanbloom Marquis Household was famed for its rigid swordsmanship.
Michael Ryanbloom didn’t dodge the ogre’s fist. He met it head-on.
The ogre’s fist shattered. Pain twisted its face.
In that moment, Veronica Sanchez leaped in and severed the ogre’s neck. Its thick hide and bone parted like butter.
“One for me?”
Veronica Sanchez dashed toward another ogre as she said it.
Michael Ryanbloom stared at her in bewilderment.
* * *
While the two handled the ogres, Demian reached the two black mages.
The bald woman glared at him and asked.
“You planning to take us on alone?”
“And if I am?”
“Ha! You must think we’re pushovers.”
Even cornered like this, the two showed no urgency.
High-ranking mages rivaled mid-class adventurers in combat prowess.
Black mages, unbound by ethics in pursuing power, outclassed regular mages of the same rank.
“We’ll show you exactly who we are.”
The bald woman curled her index and thumb into a circle and blew a shrill whistle.
Suddenly, the ground near Noctis trembled. Something burst through the soil.
Its head was that of a majestic white lion with a lush mane. But it was no ordinary white lion—it stood on two legs.
Not only bipedal, its shoulders were broad like a human’s. Pecs bulged, abs sharply defined.
Its limbs weren’t leonine at all. From forearms and shins down, scales covered fur. Its soles bore eagle-like talons.
Most grotesque was the tail: a massive serpent that writhed, flicking its tongue at Demian Haksen.
“Not a lion—a chimera.”
Demian remarked, sounding surprised.
Chimeras were monsters born solely from the Mutant Strain Faction’s secret arts.
Fusing multiple monsters made them grotesque and immensely powerful.
“What do you think? Cool, right? My precious creation!”
The bald woman shouted from behind the chimera.
“...Chimera’s not all we’ve got. I’m here too.”
The haggard woman opened her bag and dumped out poison vials.
The shattered vials spilled poisons that coiled into massive serpents, wrapping around her body.
Even from afar, it made one’s fur stand on end.
No ordinary poison—this was the Myriad Poisons Faction’s secret ultimate, Absolute Death Venom.
A chimera and Absolute Death Venom.
The worst possible combination.
“...You? The one who’s ruined all our plans?”
The haggard woman glared at Demian.
“You’ll pay for interfering. I won’t kill you right away. I’ll subdue you and make you watch with those eyes.”
Her voice was calm, but her tone dripped venom.
“Watch as the knights you brought beg for mercy, poisoned and dying. I’ll make this the most horrific day of your life.”
A horrific day.
Those words stirred memories from his Death Knight days.
Remodeled into a Death Knight, Demian was a slave obeying Dorgo’s every command.
Self-aware but body-locked, trapped inside, forced to witness his own atrocities.
Burning castles, mountains of corpses, wailing people.
All by Dorgo’s orders—Demian’s hands.
He watched it all, every day without fail.
“Why so quiet? Starting to think something’s wrong? It’s too late anyw—”
Demian’s body erupted with murderous intent. Black energy seemed to blanket the world.
Exposed to it, the two black mages froze stiff.
“That’s why I hate black mages. Every time I meet one, these awful memories flood back.”
It wasn’t just memories. The emotions from back then surged vividly.
As if it were yesterday.
“You said you’d make it a horrific day for me?”
The two black mages stared at Demian, faces pale as ice.
“That’s a great idea.”
A smile crept across Demian’s lips.
A chilling smile, as if ripped forcibly from his flesh.