The Sixth Research - Chieftain Belkan (4)
Convincing others is an incredibly exhausting task. Yet sometimes, it proves to be a far more powerful weapon than an Archmage’s Dominate Person or Meteor Strike.
Especially when the person I’m trying to persuade is the main villain who will one day form the Heteromorphic Alliance. If I can win Belkan over here, I can completely rewrite the flow of the main scenario.
Sinear RPG was an exceedingly grim dark fantasy game. By the time the protagonist began his adventure, the world was already halfway to ruin.
The root cause of that near-apocalypse was the Three-Headed Dragon’s Descent, which begins with the Green Tide. If I can prevent the Descent in advance, I’ll be able to face the main scenario in far better condition.
Therefore, I had to succeed.
“How can I possibly trust you?”
“That is entirely up to you, Great Chieftain.”
But persuasion was never an easy road.
The more experienced the opponent, the harder it became.
“I have spent a great deal of time trying to persuade you. In terms of opportunity cost, I’ve paid a considerable price, yet there is no guarantee of success. I, too, am taking a risk.”
I have taken a risk.
Are you willing to do the same?
Great Chieftain Belkan smiled, revealing his protruding tusks. There was no need to twist the meaning behind Tellorian’s words.
“To be honest, I never imagined there would be a human leader who dreamed of coexistence with our kind. And even if such a person existed, I assumed they would lack the power to act on that dream.”
A human leader.
That was how Belkan saw Tellorian.
“I am truly grateful that you came to me seeking coexistence. But since you stand at the head of humans, you must already understand.”
I don’t.
Because I am not a leader.
I am merely someone who offers advice.
“A leader of a tribe cannot move by heart alone. Cold calculation is required.”
Tap. Tap.
Great Chieftain Belkan tapped the side of his head with a finger. He was intelligent. Not merely smart for an orc—he was one of the finest strategists on the entire continent.
“Tellorian. You have succeeded in persuading my heart. Now try to persuade my mind. If you can do that, I will follow your guidance.”
A reasonable demand. If Belkan had been the kind of impulsive leader who decided his people’s fate based on emotional speeches alone, he would never have united the desert orcs in the first place.
“Very well. What exactly must I persuade you of?”
“I still believe we have a chance of victory if we invade.”
It was simply a gamble.
No better than a coin toss.
“If we raise the Green Tide and it lands heads, we end the age of humans and reclaim our golden era. If it lands tails, our entire race perishes.”
It was the kind of reckless decision that only someone like Blacktusk would cheer for. Still, it was safer than following vague, unsubstantiated advice.
“I need solid grounds for your counsel.”
“Hmm.”
“I know it won’t be easy.”
Great Chieftain Belkan studied Tellorian carefully, trying to see through his true intentions.
“Even so, can you provide them?”
“Of course. I came prepared.”
Snap!
With a flick of his fingers, Tellorian summoned a large rectangular desk. On it lay a highly detailed continental map and a circular mirror.
“The Mirror War of Darmaxes…!”
“Since you studied at the Magic Academy, I’m sure you’re familiar with it.”
“Familiar? I was the champion of my class!”
The illusionist Darmaxes had lived far too long and grown unbearably bored. Having tasted every pleasure available to mortals, the mage had created a war game that felt more real than reality itself.
Acquired lore regarding the Mirror War!
Experience +10
Lore Points +1
10/100 until Level 18
Lore Points: 20
“How in the world did you smuggle out the professor’s equipment?”
“With enough money and connections, anything is possible.”
“You’re more capable than I expected, Grey Sage.”
When he infused the mirror with mana, the inside of the tent grew dark like a theater, and the magical map gained three-dimensional depth. Then the mirror began to emit light, projecting battlefields and game pieces across the map.
“…Good gods.”
Great Chieftain Belkan was stunned. The magical mirror was recreating battlefields and armies across the entire continent—a scale that should have been impossible without Darmaxes himself.
“Just who are you?”
“A mage.”
“…”
The chieftain crossed his arms and focused entirely on Tellorian. He was now certain that what the man had revealed so far was only a fraction of his true power and wisdom.
“…You’ve recorded our military strength with terrifying accuracy.”
Belkan frowned as he examined the desert orcs represented on the map. Every piece of information was recorded with excruciating precision: troop numbers, supply status, training level, equipment quality, morale—even non-combat factors.
“You’ve even included the non-combat population.”
The production-oriented non-combat population had been entered with perfect accuracy. Not even Belkan himself knew the desert orcs in such exhaustive detail.
“How did you obtain this information?”
“Is ‘how’ really important at this stage?”
“I shouldn’t have offered you tea…”
A mage who knew every detail about his enemy.
Could there be a more dangerous foe?
I’d rather fight a dragon!
Had it not been for the customs of hospitality, he would have smashed the mage’s skull on the spot. The knowledge this man possessed was enough to completely unravel every plan he had ever made.
“Is this a fair representation?”
“…”
It went far beyond fair. The map contained all kinds of information that should never have been available to a single mage. Even the hidden daggers Belkan had spent years preparing to stab into the heart of the human kingdoms were laid bare.
“If you have no objections to the displayed forces, we may begin.”
Great Chieftain Belkan nodded and looked down at the desert orcs represented as game pieces. Fifteen thousand warriors, and when including the civilian population, over five hundred thousand combat-capable individuals were on the move.
“No matter how many times I see it, that number is terrifying.”
“Heh heh. It’s something the kingdom has forgotten.”
Orcs were naturally robust. The desert orcs were also nomads who lived in the Great Wasteland. When those two traits combined, it became possible to mobilize the entire population as combatants.
“We may be few in number, but we have many warriors.”
Acquired lore regarding Orc culture!
Experience +10
20/100 until Level 18
Lore Points: 20
“However.”
Yet.
Every advantage has its price.
“Isn’t that precisely your limitation?”
When the entire population consisted of combatants, production naturally suffered. No class of specialized artisans could emerge. That was also why the orcs’ absolute population remained so small.
“Even so, it is more than enough to destroy the kingdom.”
“We shall see.”
“Hah! Then let’s begin!”
The Grey Sage and the Great Chieftain sat down on opposite sides of the table. The Mirror War they were about to wage was no mere game. It was a prophecy of the future.
The Mirror War was originally a card-based minigame. It was used to simulate large-scale battles and wars that were difficult to implement properly in an RPG.
But the Mirror War was no longer a card game. With perfect reproduction created through omniscient knowledge and artifacts, it had become a true wargame.
Acquired lore regarding Mirror War culture!
Experience +10
30/100 until Level 18
Lore Points: 20
“We shall now begin the Mirror War.”
Jingle, jingle!
When the bell rang, fog spread across the map, covering the battlefields. As the facilitator, Tellorian could see everything within the fog, but Great Chieftain Belkan, as a participant, could only see the area around his own avatar. The same applied to the armies under his command. A supreme commander could not exist in multiple places at once.
Solar Calendar, Year 1526, June 1st.
The Green Tide had begun.
“It is your turn, Great Chieftain Belkan.”
“I will step out of my tent and deliver a speech to all my kin. I will expose every atrocity the humans have committed against our people and declare that the time has come to reclaim the ancestral lands that once belonged to our forefathers.”
Great Chieftain Belkan was an S-rank leader with the Orator specialty. The orcs’ fighting spirit blazed, and their morale skyrocketed. Some fell into a Rage state, gaining combat strength but losing control.
“The Ogre tribes are requesting to join us.”
“Accept them.”
“The Alter nomads are also requesting to join.”
“Accept them.”
“The kobolds of Ashen Mountain are requesting to join.”
“Accept them.”
“The Young Lady Collector, Wolfgang, is requesting to join.”
“…A human from the kingdom wants to join us?”
Tellorian explained who the man was.
“Hah! What kind of insane bastard is that?!”
“Humans are a species rich in diversity.”
“I have seen many villains in my time, but he is among the worst of the worst. A man not even worth associating with!”
Disgust was plain on Great Chieftain Belkan’s face.
“…However, he would be extremely useful for fracturing the kingdom. I will accept his defection and order him to lead a detached force and work from within.”
He planned to discard the man once his usefulness ran out. But Wolfgang would not care even if he knew Belkan’s true intentions. As long as he could fulfill his lifelong ambition!
“Then I shall order the advance.”
An endless green wave crossed the Great Wasteland and invaded the border territories. In response, the handsome Duke Allanson rallied the border lords and moved to intercept them.
“Send out Blacktusk and the Oathbearer Legion.”
The handsome Duke Allanson, who had once monopolized the love of countless ladies, mounted his white horse and charged. He had inherited the fame of his ancestors, who had been called Orc Slayers!
I’ve come to collect the blood price! Lord of humans!
…He was cut in half. Blacktusk, using a leaping strike, felled the enemy commander in a single blow and unleashed a storm of blades. Everyone fell in an instant.
“Essil border army. Command staff annihilated.”
“Good. As expected of Blacktusk.”
The border fortresses fell one after another, and countless nobles were taken prisoner. Great Chieftain Belkan ordered them protected, but Blacktusk ignored the command and treated the noble prisoners with horrific cruelty.
“…What is the basis for this judgment?”
Belkan’s brows furrowed. Blacktusk clearly did not like him, but he was not the type of warlord to openly defy the Great Chieftain’s orders.
“It is the result of the speech you gave.”
“…That fool of a warlord got too excited.”
Burning with vengeance, Blacktusk abused the prisoners, and the victorious Oathbearers carried out massive massacres and looting. The horrific fate that had once befallen the orc envoys was now being reproduced in reverse.
“…”
Belkan did not protest the judgment. He had expected something like this up to this point. However, seeing Tellorian’s foresight overlap with reality only made him feel more conflicted.
“The royal relief force arrives belatedly.”
“Send the wolf riders to gauge their scale.”
“They clash with the yeoman cavalry. Judgment result… overwhelming victory for the wolf riders.”
After winning a one-sided victory in the scouting battle, the fog of war lifted. They also obtained perfect intelligence on the exact size and composition of the royal army.
“Oh?”
Having examined the boy king’s forces, Great Chieftain Belkan stroked his chin. A fourteen-year-old child had arrived leading an army far beyond his years.
“He gathered forty thousand elite soldiers?”
“It is the combined force of every noble house in the Essil Kingdom. There are thousands of knights alone.”
Even so, the army Belkan had brought was nothing to scoff at. Even after subtracting the troops scattered for pillaging and sieges, he still had eighty thousand men remaining.
“Still, we outnumber them more than two to one.”
“Both armies meet at Haslum Plains.”
Solar Calendar, Year 1526, August 29th.
A grand battle unfolded on Haslum Plains.
“I will ask the spirits to bring down a torrential rain.”
“The court mages are attempting to disrupt the spell.”
“I will personally preside over the ritual.”
Great Chieftain Belkan.
A superhuman in the 40s level range.
The kingdom’s mages were no match for him.
“Very well. A tremendous downpour falls.”
“Haha! The knights preparing to charge are completely thrown into disarray! I will order the ogre warriors to charge. Target: the spearman formation!”
The bloodthirsty ogre warriors completely shattered the kingdom’s spearman lines. Even as the kingdom’s crossbowmen poured bolts like rain, they could not stop the monsters.
“The Church army led by the Archbishop arrives as reinforcements.”
“Deploy Blacktusk and the Oathbearer Legion.”
“The battle becomes a fierce stalemate. In the middle of the battlefield where corpses are piling up like mountains, Warlord Blacktusk and Archbishop Tomori face each other.”
Archbishop Tomori.
Level 35 combat priest.
Warlord Blacktusk.
Level 35 champion.
“The result of the duel is…”
“This won’t be easy.”
Thud.
Archbishop Tomori vanished.
“The Archbishop is slain in a single strike.”
“…In a single strike?”
“Right before their weapons clashed, the sacred aura protecting the Archbishop disappeared. It appears someone intervened.”
…A horrifyingly ominous insight crept into Great Chieftain Belkan’s mind. But it was already too late. Once you climbed onto the back of a dead man, you could never get off.
“With the fall of Archbishop Tomori, the kingdom’s strongest warrior, the royal army completely loses its will to fight. They are on the verge of turning tail and fleeing.”
At that moment.
The Royal Flag appeared at the center of the formation.
“The boy king’s presence calms the terror spreading through the entire army. At the same time, the knight order composed of nobles finally forms a proper charge formation.”
Oh.
Not bad.
“The knights begin their charge.”
Centered around the white swan banner symbolizing royal authority, countless noble house flags fluttered in the wind. It was not merely a charge of heavy lancers—it was a single strike carrying the entire history and tradition of the kingdom.
“Ogre warrior unit. Annihilated.”
“…”
“Oathbearer Legion. Annihilated.”
“…”
This was the foundation.
The foundation upon which nobles could exist.
“What about Blacktusk?”
“He is holding off the knight order alone, but he won’t last long. The boy king now takes the lead and charges straight toward the main orc army.”
However, Haslum Plains under the torrential rain had turned into a complete quagmire. The charging power of warhorses was severely limited, and the knights’ fatigue accumulated rapidly.
“I will press the attack now. I will lead the counter-charge myself.”
Crunch!
The Great Chieftain’s red hammer burst the boy king’s head open. Before anyone could even be shocked by the shattered skull, the green wave swept over the knight order.
“Kingdom knight order.”
Total annihilation.
“The king and all the great lords have been slain. With no commanders left to issue orders, the remaining troops naturally begin to flee. With this, every noble house in the Essil Kingdom has been toppled.”
Originally, the Iron Count Rodrick would have died here as well.
Becoming a drinking cup for Blacktusk.
“I will pursue and finish them off.”
But.
This was now a changed world line.
“…At that moment, Iron Count Rodrick arrives late to the battlefield. He has conscripted every mercenary band and peasant in the vicinity, so his force is fairly large.”
They were still nothing but rabble.
Especially right after the elite troops had been annihilated.
“Form battle lines!”
“Yes. The two armies clash.”
It should have been an overwhelming victory.
Since their forces weren’t even comparable to begin with.
“…The army you lead is exhausted and drained from prolonged combat. Your losses are also severe.”
That was fine. Aside from the count’s direct troops, the enemy was nothing but rabble. No matter how many there were, they could never withstand the charge of orc warriors.
“Orc vanguard. Annihilated.”
“?”
How?
“Only now do the giant soldiers at the head of the count’s army become visible. They are wearing plate armor and swinging great cleaving blades like toothpicks… It is a troll warrior unit.”
?
??
???
“Trolls?”
“Yes. And they are stone trolls.”
He emphasized the words with weight.
“Monsters possessing such monstrous strength that they can crush orcs like insects, and even if their limbs are severed, they regenerate in five minutes. Five hundred of these monsters are moving in formation under the command of the Iron Count.”
Does that…
Even make sense?
“How could humans possibly command tro──”
“Greetings, wise seer.”
“…What is this?”
The Great Chieftain’s golden eyes widened in shock.
“This humble one, Olgoldugolro, chieftain of the Rootwood Tribe and Baroness of Troll Mountain, serving under Count Harrington, offers her respectful greetings.”
It was a stone troll.
Wearing plate armor.
With a great cleaving blade at her side.
Overwhelmed Great Chieftain Belkan!
Experience +20
Lore Points +1
50/100 until Level 18
Lore Points: 21