Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Who is the True Lord?
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The proud chieftain of the Blue Sword Tribe, Barod, waited for the humans behind the rocky mountains near Gaia.
"Chweek! I wonder if it'll really work. Chweek!"
Barod personally disliked this operation.
How could a great orc win against enemies using such a cowardly method!
Yet when Hatan called for volunteers to act as guides, Barod had been the first to step forward.
"Chweek! Everything for the king. Chweek!"
That's right.
As a warrior, he couldn't endorse such a despicable plan.
But the great king who had drawn out the loyalty not just of him, but of all the southern orcs.
For that king, he could be as cowardly as needed.
He could endure any humiliation.
That's why Barod desperately hoped the humans would succeed in the operation and appear safely, but for some reason, the humans showed no sign of coming.
"Chweek! The sun's rising. What the hell are they doing! Chweek!"
As he stared blankly ahead like that,
Flash!
"!!"
Barod hurriedly gripped his blade at the sudden light and presence from behind.
It might be those wicked cyclopes up to some trick, after all.
"Chweek!"
Strength naturally flowed into his hand clutching the blade, but fortunately, Barod's worries were unfounded.
"Ugh, did we at least escape for now?"
"Damn it, what kind of reckless plan is this! Young Master Jerome, did they even handle rebellions like this in Philador Kingdom?"
"By the way, Lady Aria, I've been meaning to say... your chants are a bit..."
As the light faded, voices poured out in all directions, and the humans Barod had been waiting for finally appeared.
Along with some enormously bulky spoils of war.
"Let's hurry. They'll chase us soon."
They'd succeeded in teleporting out after kicking the cyclops in the face, but there was no time to relax.
"Young Master, may I ask one thing?"
Beskin, who had been silently following until now, finally spoke up.
"Go ahead, Sir Beskin. I have to answer any question from you."
"If I may ask... why did you set the teleport coordinates here? We could've gone straight to orc territory from the start."
It was a valid question; the others perked up their ears too.
Well, anyone would think the same.
"Two reasons. First, it lures them into chasing us."
The cyclopes' mana detection is exceptional.
They couldn't have missed the mana from the teleport magic circle at this distance.
"If the cyclopes don't chase us, this fight drags on forever. We need to draw them out now, while emotion overrides reason."
Everyone nodded at my words. This war had already dragged on for over half a year, after all.
We had too much else to do to invest more time here.
"And the second reason—this one's really important... it's for Hatan's honor."
"...?"
"Chweek!"
Unlike the first reason, everyone tilted their heads, but only one orc let out an admiring gasp.
"Hatan is the king of the orcs. And to orcs, honor is more important than anything. Even from the king's perspective, victory matters, but if it ends in a dishonorable win, there'll be backlash from within."
That's right.
Orc thinking can't be judged from a human viewpoint.
Victory or defeat didn't matter to them.
Even after Hatan was utterly crushed by Minerva in Elunheim, the orcs didn't abandon him because he remained dignified to the end.
But in this fight, what Hatan did could easily look like kidnapping his child as a hostage to force victory.
The epitome of a despicable, petty villain’s tactic.
'A method perfectly suited to sleazy humans like us.'
But we had our own position, so we couldn't just respect orc ways entirely.
Thus, we needed a compromise.
"That's why we haven't laid a finger on that guy. Once we draw out the cyclopes, we send him back unharmed. Absolutely."
That way, Hatan's honor is preserved.
That way, Hatan can fully unite the orcs.
And that way, the picture I envision comes together.
"Hey, why go that far..."
"Chweek! Human, thank you! Chweek! For thinking of our king. Chweek!"
Saladin started to ask why bother, but shut his mouth at Barod the orc's reaction.
He must have realized my thinking was correct from Barod's response.
But not everyone agreed.
"...Foolish, human."
It was the captured cyclops, slung over the lycanthropes' heads.
"Hm? What's foolish?"
The bound cyclops's single eye turned toward me.
"My name is Shu. The only son of the great Cyclops Lord, Arges."
"Yeah, I know. You'd have to be the lord's son with that aura."
It wouldn't make sense otherwise.
"Now that you've kidnapped me, my father will truly rage."
"Mm, probably."
At my nonchalant response, Shu scowled.
"Human. Do you not grasp what it means to anger the great Cyclops King, Arges? From now on, orc territory will be reduced to rubble. Every cyclops will raise their hammers in judgment against the orcs."
When I said nothing, perhaps thinking I'd been scared, Shu spoke calmly.
"It's not too late yet, human. Return me to Gaia and beg my father's forgiveness. The merciful Lord Arges will surely pardon you."
"You, Shu?"
I stared straight into the cyclops's massive eye.
"Looks like you know nothing. Do you think your father fights the orcs out of mercy?"
This cyclops was deluded.
He seemed to believe the lowly orc warriors could still tussle with them solely due to their own mercy.
"Sure, most cyclopes outclass orcs overwhelmingly. You'd need a big village chieftain to even match your warriors."
It wasn't unreasonable to think so.
"But Hatan uniting the Dragon Mountains orcs wasn't luck."
At the very least, I knew Hatan better than that.
"We won't touch you, so don't worry. But don't expect to fend off orcs as easily as before."
The reason Hatan hadn't advanced until now was solely because battles with the lord happened in Gaia. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Half a day after kidnapping Shu, the so-called son of the Cyclops Lord.
We reached Hatan and the orc encampment.
As the lycanthropes dropped the cyclops, their arms trembling, the encampment orcs took over and carried him off somewhere.
Hatan, watching, expressed his gratitude to me.
"Chweek! Jerome, you worked hard. I'll repay this favor."
"If you're grateful, hurry up and finish this, then help catch that wyvern. Can't have you loafing here."
"Chweek! Don't worry. Chweek! I owe that wyvern too. Anyway."
Hatan spoke to me in a serious tone.
"Keep your promise to the end, chweek!"
How could I refuse that resolute expression?
"Don't worry. Just like you said, not a finger on the Cyclops Lord."
"Chweek! Thanks, Jerome."
Hatan bowed his head in thanks.
"Anyone but Arges—I want to break him with my own hands. Chweek!"
Grip tightened on his axe.
"Yeah, we'll back you up as much as possible so your orc warriors don't die in vain."
I patted Hatan's massive shoulder.
"Go wild as you please. No restrictions."
After finishing with Hatan, Saladin approached as I stepped out.
"Quite the orc, huh?"
"What're you getting at?"
Saladin wouldn't praise Hatan without reason.
"Nah, just thinking. If it were that someone we know, wouldn't he have advised surrender the moment we kidnapped the cyclops kid?"
Saladin grinned, trying to tease me, but...
"Yeah, probably. Obviously."
It fell flat.
"...Hey, come on. You're direct lineage of the prestigious Shield Family, right? Isn't this a bit too far from 'honorable'?"
Caught off guard by my instant agreement, Saladin asked.
"So what? Winning is all that matters. This ain't a game."
"Ruthless guy..."
Saladin looked at me like I gave him chills.
"Cut the crap and go check on Mimi and Nene. Cyclopes'll be here in hours if we're lucky."
"Sheesh, yes sir. As if you aren't."
I ignored Saladin's grumbling and checked my gauntlets again.
'The lord's for Hatan. I'll block as many of the rest as I can.'
If Hatan was to establish authority as orc king,
I had to protect the orcs for his reign and earn their recognition as 'warriors' like Hatan.
Only then could I achieve my goal smoothly.
A day after bringing the lord's son Shu. As sunset shyly hid behind Dragon Mountains peaks, the ground near the orc encampment began to shake.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"They're coming."
A little after the quaking started, massive cyclopes appeared in the distance.
"...A lot of 'em. Damn."
Saladin didn't hide his dismay.
But who here wouldn't empathize?
Over a hundred top-tier monsters—ones that treated even ogres like children—gathered, exuding raw pressure just by existing.
Each over 5 meters tall, their mere formation felt heavier than any ordinary army.
One particularly huge, slightly different-colored cyclops stepped forward.
No need to guess. That was the Cyclops Lord, Arges.
"HATAN!!!!!!!!!!"
Hatan— Hatan— Hatan—
His shout was so immense, the ground seemed to vibrate from sound alone.
Echoes carried far into the mountains.
"You coward!! I thought you a true warrior!! To resort to kidnapping my son as hostage, such despicable acts!! I'm truly disappointed in you!!"
Arges's voice held complex emotions.
Not just rage at his son's kidnapping.
The feeling was, as he said, close to 'disappointment'.
Hatan seemed to share my view, stepping forward and raising his left hand.
Then.
Creeak, creeak.
A dozen sturdy orcs pulled out a cart bearing Shu.
"Shu!!"
"Young master!!"
"Filthy pig scum!!"
From Arges to the lowliest cyclops, all flew into rage at the sight of Shu. Some even spat primal curses at Hatan and the orcs.
But Hatan silently lifted the cart that arrived beside him,
Thud, thud!
and walked alone toward the cyclops horde.
"!!"
"Chweek! My king! Chweek! Dangerous!"
The orcs cried out in alarm to stop him, but Hatan ignored them and pressed on.
Reaching the center,
Thump!
he released the cart to the ground and sat.
Sensing something, Arges likewise ignored his dissuading kin and approached the orcs alone.
Thump!
About 3 meters from Hatan, Arges sat as well.
"Chweek! As you see, your son is unharmed. Chweek!"
"...So it seems. Then why this farce?"
"Chweek! Obvious, isn't it."
Hatan rose, gripped his trusty axe, and cracked his neck side to side.
"Chweek! You've been holing up in Gaia, so we couldn't settle things. Chweek!"
He then raised his axe toward Arges's face.
"Today, you and me. Chweek! Let's see who's the true lord. Chweek!"