Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: 20. Hunt (2)
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Yuri raced forward in silence, and Jared, following close behind, shouted.
"Your Highness! What do you know?!"
Yuri shook his head.
"Nothing!"
"Then why are you charging ahead?!"
"We have to find the orcs, don't we?!"
"No, it's not like we can just find them like that! If they run, we need to surround them..."
Yuri pulled something from his pocket and held it up.
It was a necklace embedded with a red gem.
Jared's eyes widened, then he burst into laughter.
"Understood."
Yuri rode on, pulling out a map from his spyglass to check it.
The information wasn't terribly detailed, but he had a rough sense of the direction where the orc settlement lay.
"We spotted some riders on lizards nearby."
Orcs had occasionally watched the Allied Forces' march from a distance.
They would scout the army's movements, then flee the moment the knights gave chase.
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"We just saw some over there."
Rolang spoke up.
"Orc cavalry."
In the vast grasslands, encountering the enemy wasn't common. Once their tail was in sight, they couldn't let it slip away.
"Let's go!"
Yuri immediately veered in that direction. The knights wheeled around in unison.
They charged toward the direction Rolang had pointed.
As he rode, Yuri scanned the ground. He was searching for tracks.
He had learned tracking skills in his previous life. As a mercenary taking on all sorts of jobs, survival demanded a wide range of abilities.
"A pack of Komodo drakes passed through."
"Pardon?"
"Three or four of them. From the state of the tracks, they're ones tamed by orcs."
"Where'd you learn tracking?"
"It's all in the books."
Several Komodo drake tracks twisted together in a winding path.
Following them led to a small lake appearing beyond the horizon.
"There they are."
A group of orcs was resting by the lakeside. They must have come for water.
"Charge!"
Yuri shouted and spurred his horse.
The entire knight order accelerated.
The orc group hurriedly tried to mount their Komodo drakes and flee.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Yuri immediately drew the red gem and activated his Mana Circulation Method.
The orc group froze in place.
"Prepare for battle. We outnumber them, so don't overextend."
"Yes, sir!"
A red glow ignited in the orcs' eyes. They mounted their Komodo drakes and charged straight at the knights.
Yuri raised his hand in signal.
"Scatter!"
"Yes, sir!"
The knights split into several groups and wheeled around.
The berserk orcs, confused about who to target, barreled toward whoever was closest.
Yuri stepped forward.
"Hey!"
An orc wielding a halberd thrust its spear tip as it rushed at Yuri.
Yuri dodged and swung his sword. Blood sprayed from the orc's abdomen.
"Grraaaargh!"
Ignoring the wound, the orc leaped from its Komodo drake, trying to grab Yuri.
The horse nimbly evaded, but the orc stretched out its arm and snagged Yuri's shin.
"You bastard?"
Yuri yanked the reins, making the horse buck and twist. The orc slammed into the ground and skidded, yet refused to let go.
"Let go!"
Yuri kicked the orc's head. But the orc clung on tenaciously.
Yuri glanced back.
The knights were surrounding each orc.
The frenzied orcs, driven mad by the gem's power, swung their weapons wildly, but the knights didn't engage head-on. They waited for openings, struck to inflict damage, then pulled back.
They had grown skilled at handling orcs now.
"Good enough."
Yuri cut off the mana flowing into the red gem.
The mana lingering inside dissipated, and the gem lost its glow, reverting to an ordinary stone.
The berserk haze around the orcs faded.
"Grraaaargh..."
As the frenzy ebbed, a backlash hit their bodies. The orc gripping Yuri released its hold and tumbled to the ground from momentum, lying motionless on its stomach.
"Handy little thing. No idea how it works, though."
Yuri looked down at the red gem necklace in his hand.
It was more powerful than expected.
Even an orc warrior couldn't resist the madness, so it should work on most orcs.
"Kill them all."
The knights systematically cut down the orcs.
Yuri stood before the fallen orc as well.
It rasped for breath through the hole where its nose should be, then looked up at Yuri.
It seemed to have given up on life at a glance, but Yuri wasn't fooled.
He kicked the dirt into its face. The orc winced and flailed.
In that moment, he thrust into its throat, ending it.
Only then did the orc release the stone clutched tightly in its palm.
Yuri sliced off the orc's ear and tucked it into his pouch.
As he remounted, he muttered.
"Do I really have to do this sort of thing...?"
With the Allied Forces' fate hanging in the balance, what good was this hunt anyway?
But he had no choice right now.
He needed Ragnar to trust him until they faced Okua.
"Let's circle the lake more. Orcs need water too."
"Good idea."
With the red gem, any encounter could turn into a fight on their terms.
Yuri mounted again and roamed the plains.
Whenever they spotted orcs, he used the red gem. The groups would flee at first, only to succumb to madness and charge like moths to a flame.
The pouch of ears grew quite heavy.
Then they ran into the Liberda knights.
Wolf Gain greeted Yuri.
"Your Highness, collected many ears?"
"So-so. And you, Sir Wolf?"
"So-so myself."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"I see."
The two faced each other and burst into laughter.
It was obvious they were hiding their tallies from each other.
But Yuri had a way to learn Liberda's score.
"Ah, Sven's here too."
Sven Gain, son of Liberda's commander Wolf and a knight under Yuri's thumb, had been hiding behind the knights but got caught.
"Good to see you, Sven. Doing well?"
"Ah, y-yes..."
As Yuri approached and patted his shoulder like old friends, Sven nodded awkwardly.
While pretending to clap his shoulder warmly, Yuri whispered.
"How many?"
"Th-that's..."
"Won't ask twice. How many?"
"Well..."
Sven finally murmured.
"None."
"Really?"
"They all ran. We missed them."
Orcs were cunning. They avoided unfavorable fights.
Liberda, being outnumbered, had pulled back.
From the looks of it, few knight orders had racked up kills—not just Liberda.
While pretending to pat Sven's shoulder, Yuri slipped him a couple of ears.
"Pocket them."
Sven's eyes widened.
"Th-this..."
"Gotta save face, right? Just hold onto them."
"But..."
"You never know."
Before he could refuse, Yuri pulled away.
"Sir Wolf, good seeing you. Until next time in the Allied Forces."
"Yes, Your Highness. Well done."
The two knight orders exchanged greetings and parted.
After that, orcs barely showed up.
Yuri scanned the surroundings. Jared rode up beside him.
"Your Highness. No more in sight."
"Is that right? Feels like a waste to head back empty-handed."
If some nation got lucky and bagged an orc unit, superiority wasn't assured.
"Nothing on my senses."
At Rolang's words, Yuri looked up.
"Senses, huh..."
The Mana Circulation Method could draw out a knight's abilities in various ways.
Not just boosting strength and stamina—it could heighten the senses too.
So, could it detect orcs too far to see?
Yuri dismounted and drew a dagger.
It was the Earthshaker Blade, one of the four swords of his Four-Wheeled Sword, infused with the power of the earth.
Just as he'd repelled fire qi with the Crystal Sword, maybe he could do something with this.
"Your Highness?"
"Shh."
Yuri plunged the Earthshaker Blade into the ground. Then he extended his senses through it.
He felt the earth's pulse.
The ground throbbed rhythmically.
Through the blade, Yuri tapped into that beat. Thump, thump—each vibration swelled his mana.
The wondrous Mana Circulation Method of Heart-Soul Severing, responsive to his will, soon absorbed the earth's energy.
A flood of pulses rushed in.
First came the hoofbeats beyond the unseen horizon.
He heightened the sensitivity further: beasts crawling on the ground, worms wriggling below them prickling his nerves.
Deeper still.
Yuri applied the perfect mana control he'd felt clashing with Rolang.
Mental strain spiked. Too much information poured in.
Couldn't last long.
"Ngh..."
Just before releasing the blade, Yuri caught something.
Small but frantic footsteps.
Four legs pounding the earth rapidly.
Big and heavy, yet swift. A rhythm utterly unlike hooves—even without seeing, he knew. Komodo drakes.
Quite a few.
Yuri opened his eyes.
"That direction."
"Pardon?"
"Ride!"
As sunset approached, the knight orders returned one by one.
The pouches distributed to each gathered before Ragnar.
He grinned and shook an empty one upside down.
"Whose is this?"
The nation that had caught nothing bowed in shame.
But it wasn't just them. As Ragnar shook pouches, more empties piled up. He tossed them to the ground.
Then two ears tumbled out.
"Two."
Ragnar picked them up.
"Not many, but better than nothing."
He checked the pouch.
"Liberda."
Ragnar's gaze shifted. Wolf standing before it bowed.
"Embarrassing."
"No, well done. A result is a result."
He nodded to his adjutant, who noted it down.
These merits and demerits would be tallied after the Allied Forces disbanded.
Suddenly, Wolf and Yuri's eyes met.
Wolf gave a light nod. Yuri shrugged.
Looks like Sven had handed over the ears Yuri gave him since they had none.
"Next..."
A few ears spilled from Burssen's pouch.
Jonathan spoke.
"We spotted scouts. Got lucky."
"Luck is skill too. How many died chasing that luck?"
Ragnar counted the ears.
"Six. Best so far."
Burssen's waiting knights cheered. Still a lively bunch.
Ragnar opened the next pouches. Mostly empty or just a few. No standout results.
Two pouches remained.
Both looked quite full at a glance.
"Two left."
Ragnar lifted one. It was red.
"The Empire sent out a knight order too, actually. Forgot and started an hour late."
Gazes turned to the Empire's black-armored knights. They stood motionless.
Ragnar shook the pouch.
"Worried you'd shame yourselves, but nice haul."
Ears spilled out.
"Twelve."
Ragnar grinned.
"Well done."
The mood sank.
No one disputed the Empire's strength, but trailing this far despite starting an hour later stung pride.
To avoid being Empire lackeys, they needed results.
"One left..."
Ragnar hoisted the final pouch.
"Hmm..."
He wore an odd expression.
Unlike before, he didn't dump it immediately. He peered inside the opening.
Reached in and rummaged. The pouch bulged and shook violently.
Meaning it was packed.
"This..."
Ragnar chuckled dryly and flipped it. Severed ears poured out in a heap.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded.
Murmurs rose.
"What..."
"How many is that..."
Ragnar sank down and sifted through the pile.
"Blood's still fresh, so today's kills for sure..."
His gaze locked onto someone.
"What's your secret?"
All eyes followed Ragnar's to Brioll's third prince—the knight who had charged with reckless valor in the last battle.
And now, the commander who harvested dozens of orc ears.
Yuri Brioll shrugged.
"Just worked hard, that's all."