New Chieftain
"You've really shit all over the wall. The cleaning fee should be covered by that guy's magic stone."
Kailan muttered indifferently from atop the rampart. He truly saw the orc before him as nothing more than an annoying stain that needed wiping away.
And orcs were the sort to fall for such simple provocations anyway. Not that Kailan had meant to bait him.
"Arrogant human...!! Get crushed under my axe and turned into a lump of meat!!"
Krok let out a beastly roar as he hoisted his massive wyvern bone axe with both hands.
Boom!
Red aura exploded from Krok's entire body.
He might have been dumb as a rock, but his battle instincts were more than enough to claim the chieftain's seat. The brute wasn't just strong—he could wield aura too.
"Kruuk...! Dieee!!"
Krok swung the bone axe down with every ounce of his strength. The heavy blow plummeted toward Kailan's head.
But Kailan didn't dodge. He simply raised his greatsword, Frost Fang, with one hand.
Claaang!
The clash of metal unleashed a shockwave that rippled outward in all directions.
"...Ku, ruuk!?"
Krok's eyes bulged like they might pop out. His full-power strike, infused with every bit of strength and aura...
Kailan had blocked it with one hand. Without so much as changing expression.
"Not bad. I figured you for a brainless pig, but you can handle aura."
Kailan murmured with genuine interest.
If he'd kept taking hits like that, even the rampart wouldn't have stayed intact. Was this guy this strong in the original story?
He was just an extra, after all. But Kailan quickly made sense of it.
Kailan had been too strong from the start in the original. Compared to him, anything short of a boss monster looked like a random mob.
Thinking he's stronger than Tarkan would be ridiculous, of course. Still, this is solid mid-tier.
Solid mid-tier wasn't enough to challenge Kailan, though.
He smirked and infused Frost Fang with his aura.
"Time to pay for soiling the wall."
Whoosh!
A storm of frigid energy erupted from Kailan's body.
Crack!
"Ku, kuaaaak!?"
The one screaming wasn't Krok—it was the other orcs clambering up the rampart.
Just the aftermath of Kailan's aura had frozen their feet to the wall's surface.
They couldn't even swing their axes, let alone pull free. They just shrieked in place.
"Kruuk...! My feet...!"
"C-Cold...! My bones ache!"
The entire rampart area turned into a blue glacier in seconds.
Was the night sun biased toward humans? Or had Kailan's aura mastery reached divine levels?
Only the orcs froze.
"Kruuk...! You dare!! To my brothers!!"
Krok's eyes bulged with rage as he maxed out his red aura, trying to push back Kailan's with his own.
When that failed, he swung his bone axe straight at Kailan.
Clang! Claaang! Boom!
Sparks and ice shards flew everywhere. Krok's attacks were sharp and heavy enough to make every knight around them sweat.
But.
"That all you got?"
"Ku, kruuuk...!"
Kailan didn't budge an inch. His face stayed blank as he casually deflected the storm of blows.
Like an adult indulging a child's tantrum.
But the scariest part? Every clash with Kailan's sword left Krok's weapon—and body—slowly freezing over.
Crack... Craaack!
"Kruuk...!!"
Krok's red aura was being devoured by the icy chill. The cold climbed the bone axe and swallowed his right arm.
"Don't think you've won... yet!!"
Krok clenched his left fist, aiming for Kailan's face in place of his frozen arm.
But then.
Slash.
A blue arc sliced across Krok's vision.
"...Kruuk?"
Krok froze. His gaze drifted downward.
A chill blade had sliced his gut. Rapid freezing spread from the wound, encasing his whole body in an instant.
Not a drop of blood spilled as Krok turned into a massive ice statue on the spot.
"Ku, kruuk...."
Overwhelming might. An untouchable gap in aura.
Krok was crushed, body and soul. He slowly closed his eyes and collapsed unconscious.
With Chieftain Krok subdued, a heavy silence fell over the rampart.
Kailan glanced indifferently at the fallen orc, then swept his gaze over the wall inside and out.
At least two hundred orcs trembled in place, too frozen to flee.
One orc magic stone's worth at least a gold... oh, two hundred gold. Dinner party's covered easy tonight.
Kailan gripped Frost Fang with a satisfied smile, about to behead the nearest one.
"...Kruuk!?"
"Kruuuk!!"
Clatter! Thud!
The orcs dropped their weapons in unison. They toppled forward on their frozen legs and slammed their foreheads to the ground like they were praying, palms flat.
"The one... who beat Krok...!"
"New... chieftain...!"
"Kruuk...! We submit... we submit...!"
The adventurers blinked in confusion, lowering their bows.
"Whoa. The orcs surrendered."
"First time I've seen that, bro."
Cedric approached Kailan, clearing his throat awkwardly to explain.
"Your Grace! It's an ancient orc custom. The one who defeats the strongest leader in single combat becomes the new head of the remaining horde."
Kailan's eyebrow twitched. He knew that, of course. First time seeing it, though.
"Submit to the strong, huh? They live carefree lives."
He stroked his chin, scanning the prostrated orcs again.
Hold up. Killing them for stones is just one-time cash... but
His eyes lingered on their bulging pecs, thigh muscles, and log-thick arms.
Kailan grinned wickedly.
"Cedric. I've decided their fate."
"Yes, Your Grace! Just give the order. Shall I behead them all cleanly and extract the stones?"
"No. Don't kill them."
"...Pardon?"
Cedric blinked in confusion.
"Bind them tight with ropes and throw them in the underground prison. Wrap their limbs good and tight. Feed them just enough not to starve. Execute any that try to escape on the spot."
Kailan nodded at the fallen Krok.
"Keep that Krok alive too. I'll decide his punishment later."
Cedric's eyes shook wildly.
"Y-Your Grace... sparing the stones? First time this year's happened, isn't it?!"
Kailan chuckled, sheathing Frost Fang.
"Figure they're worth more alive."
"Ahh...!!"
Kailan had just stated a fact. But Cedric and the retainers were moved to tears inside.
Cedric clenched his fists, trembling. Hot tears welled in his eyes.
Even these monstrous brutes... he shows mercy! How far does our lord's benevolence extend?!
The knights cheered excitedly.
"His Grace has subjugated even the orcs!"
The orcs meekly let themselves be bound and dragged to the ducal castle's underground prison.
Deep in the Northern Mountains, far from Wintervalt. In Great Chieftain Tarkan's cave.
Shaman Gur trembled, clutching his skull staff.
"Gr-Great Chieftain...."
"Report, Gur."
Gur knelt and spoke.
"Krok... lost. His five hundred elites fell before the sun even rose."
"......"
The orc executives filling the cave gasped.
Krok might be an idiot, but losing five hundred elites in half a day was beyond comprehension.
"Did they fall into a human trap?"
"The power gap was too vast."
Gur swallowed dryly, recalling the horrors he'd seen through his crow's eyes.
"That human ruler, Kailan... just his aura alone froze the legs of dozens of elite orcs. He blocked Krok's aura-infused attacks with one hand and dropped him in a single strike...!"
Gur's voice quivered.
The executives exchanged tense glances.
Humans had their strong ones. But one who could freeze elites with raw aura output?
Could they even wage war against a monster like that?
The orcs fell silent. Unease spread.
"...Kekeke."
Then Tarkan's shoulders shook.
"Kuhahaha!!"
Tarkan's booming, mad laughter shattered the quiet.
"Gr-Great Chieftain!?"
Karak yelped in alarm, but Tarkan kept laughing. His red eyes gleamed with unprecedented glee.
"Finally...! I've found a worthy opponent at last."
Tarkan rose slowly. The cave trembled faintly under his massive frame's pressure.
"Yes. That's more like it. To face me, the great chieftain Tarkan."
He stepped behind his bone throne. A massive something wrapped in black hide stood there.
Tarkan roughly yanked the hide away.
Shh!
It was a colossal battle axe. Forged from the fangs of the Northern Mountains' apex predator, the Black Dragon—slain after losing to the Demon King. Tarkan's alter ego.
Dark, ominous magic poured endlessly from the blade.
"Gur."
"Y-Yes! Great Chieftain!"
"Halt catapult production."
Gur's head snapped up in shock.
"Pardon? B-But Great Chieftain, the humans' walls are far sturdier now. Without siege weapons..."
"No need."
Tarkan hefted the massive Black Dragon Bone Axe with one hand.
Hummm!
Black aura exploded from the axe, blanketing the cave.
The sheer pressure forced even Karak and Gur to stagger back, breathless.
Tarkan's lips split into a savage grin.
"That puny wall? I'll smash it myself."
The same Tarkan who'd mocked Krok's brute-charge idiocy had just voiced the simplest solution of all.