Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Clash with the Orc Scouts
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“!”
Ian's calm voice prompted every member of the Latent Dragon Squad to conceal themselves in the bushes and scan their surroundings.
Thud, thud!
The footsteps were a bit thicker and rougher than a human's.
Orcs with massive axes and blades slung over their shoulders approached slowly.
There were two of them.
They were likely coming to relieve the orcs the squad had already taken out.
Crunch, crunch!
Whatever they were devouring so relishfully, a constant chewing sound emanated from between their enormous fangs.
The Latent Dragon Squad members watched the approaching orcs from afar, their tension unwavering.
But as their eyes fixed on the orcs' mouths, tension gave way to rising fury.
A small shape glinted between the fangs of one orc.
It was unmistakably a human arm.
The arm of a child not yet fully grown, dangling limply with every movement of the orc's jaws.
Likely from one of the village children whose home had burned in the Red Fang Orc Tribe's raid.
“...Those damned bastard sons of bitches...”
Ralph, who had been tense about the mission to exterminate the Red Fang Orc Tribe, spat out a voice thick with rage.
Though they were misfits who didn't blend in with the others back at the martial clan, they were still members of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan, no matter what anyone said.
They couldn't possibly keep their composure seeing the people of Aslan Kingdom—protected by their clan—reduced to an orc's meal.
Ian nodded inwardly as he watched their emotions surge.
Excessive anger was poison, but the right amount could serve as a stimulant to heighten one's battle fervor.
“Ralph, Ryu An. Assault them the moment I give the signal.”
“Got it.”
“We'll do that.”
After issuing the brief order to the vanguard pair, Ian's gaze shifted to Helena.
“Helena. Support Ralph and Ryu An with arrows. Once the fight's over, check their physical conditions too.”
“Y-Yes! Then... what about you, Captain?”
Helena was just as furious at the orcs; even in her tension, she clenched her bow tightly, grinding her teeth.
“Once these two are down, the orcs will sense something's off. We need to prepare for that. Dane and Sylvia, you're with me.”
As Ian gave his orders, the approaching orcs halted.
...Sniff, sniff!
The orcs flared their grotesque noses while standing still, then gripped their shoulder-slung weapons and shifted into ready stances, as if sensing something amiss.
“Keeek! I smell kin's blood!”
“Kuruk, Karak's gone!”
They must have caught the scent of the fallen orcs' blood.
With the element of surprise lost, dragging things out wouldn't help.
“Ryu An, Ralph. Go.”
Ian spoke calmly to Ryu An and Ralph as they eyed the now-alert pair of orcs.
“You filthy pig bastards! I'll smash your thick skulls!”
“Ralph, quiet. This is enemy territory.”
Ralph charged in a fury, while Ryu An burned with silent rage.
Ian emphasized once more to Helena.
“Helena. Support them properly. Those two might still struggle in a head-on fight with orcs.”
“Yes!”
Leaving the charging duo and Helena behind, Ian turned to Dane and Sylvia.
“We move too.”
“You sure we shouldn't help?”
Dane glanced at the battlefield as he asked.
Ralph and Ryu An had begun clashing with the orcs, each wielding their massive halberd and blade.
They were certainly talented youths even within the clan, but that didn't mean they could dispatch orcs in an instant.
Dane figured they should cover the pair like Helena to take them down, but Ian replied coolly.
“Those guys aren't idiots enough to die to that level. And if they can't even handle those two, wiping out the whole tribe is impossible. It'd just be collective suicide, like you said.”
“You have some plan?”
The opponents were orcs who ruled the Mountains of Fire.
No way to win in a straight fight without some stratagem.
Swoosh!
In response to Dane's question, Ian turned and surveyed the Mountains of Fire area.
A nearby gorge came into view.
Staring intently at it, Ian spoke.
“Ruling as a hegemon can sometimes be a curse. No one thinks anyone can threaten them.”
Even he, who had once unified the northern continent Krohoka, had lost everything to Siegfried's backstab from a single moment of complacency.
How much more so for orcs, freshly addicted to the thrill of the Path of Domination in this law-of-the-jungle world? Their vision had to be narrower.
“Too annoying to drag it out. Let's sweep them all at once. For that, I need both of you.”
“Kee-ee-ee-eek!”
Boom!
Ralph parried the orc's thick blade with his halberd.
“Urghhh!”
Gritting his teeth as he blocked the orc's strike.
But his heels dug deep furrows in the ground as his body was involuntarily shoved back.
As expected of orcs, who wielded the strength of two or three grown men after just one year of life.
And these were guards of the tribe—warriors respected enough within it.
Even Ralph, who stood unmatched in raw power among his peers in the clan, couldn't help but be overpowered by a full-grown orc, his own frame not yet fully developed.
Without Sylvia's covering arrows from afar, the fight might have ended already.
Even so, for him to hold his own one-on-one against an orc at his age proved his talent beyond doubt.
But such hypotheticals meant nothing here.
Defeat meant Ralph's shining potential would vanish into the orc's maw.
“Keeek, human! I'll turn you into my guard-shift bento!”
“Y-You pighead...!”
Ralph ground his teeth.
It had been ages since pure strength had overwhelmed him like this.
Crack!
If only I could wield my aura freely...!
He wouldn't lose to that pighead.
He could've sliced through that crude blade like rotten wood and claimed the orc's life.
-All you know how to do is blame others and circumstances? Pathetic. Not even worth a laugh.
Behind his habitual thoughts, the Second Young Lord's words from yesterday's brutal beating echoed.
Damn it! What the hell am I supposed to do!
His once-radiant divine power dimmed even against a mere orc.
Without aura, how was he supposed to take down this monster alone?
...Wait. How did the Second Young Lord beat me back then?
The Second Young Lord had been weaker and smaller than him.
Yet he'd toyed with him, utterly dominating.
How did he do it?
Right... it was definitely...
-So slow and sloppy, you couldn't catch a single fly.
He'd smoothly deflected the halberd, then struck and pinned the knee joint in counter.
Even in the frantic melee, Ian's movements replayed in his mind like a trance.
“Keeek! Human, you've decided to be bento! I'll make it quick and painless!”
The orc swung its blade triumphantly at Ralph's dazed state.
Orc fights were simple.
The stronger, bigger one won.
Winner ate the loser.
And most humans were weaker than orcs, so being eaten was natural.
This human was the same.
Tougher, sure, but that was it.
Its feisty resistance even promised fresher(?) meat.
The orc's blade descended toward Ralph's head, anticipating a full-course nutritious meal.
That long stick blocking its blade had surely reached its limit.
The orc had no doubt of victory.
Just before the blade touched Ralph's head.
Clang!
Ralph's halberd met the orc's blade.
An ordinary clash, no different from before.
But it was different.
Screeech!
Riding the angled halberd, the orc's blade sparked and veered sideways drunkenly.
Weighed down?
The halberd shaft dropped instantly.
In compensation, the massive halberd blade soared high toward the sky.
Falling blade, rising halberd.
The gap between widened, exposing space.
The orc's head lay bare in that vast opening.
Ralph wasn't fool enough to miss it.
“Kee, keeek?! W-Wait...!”
The orc sensed something wrong and tried to continue desperately, but.
...Thrust!
There was no reason for Ralph to wait.
Whoosh!
The halberd blade tore through the air viciously, plummeting down.
And it didn't just cleave air.
Splurch!
The orc's head split in two along the blade, face frozen in shock.
The headless body toppled backward powerlessly.
Thud!
“Hah, hah...”
Ralph heaved ragged breaths.
He'd won.
Against an orc warrior, without even using aura.
“...Damn. Still not thanking you.”
Hard to say pure gratitude when the spots Ian had thrashed last night still throbbed faintly.
Unlike Ralph, Ryu An's battle unfolded differently.
Swoosh!
A single strand of Ryu An's hair was severed by the orc's axe and fluttered in the wind.
The Pallkion Sword Clan's unpredictable swordplay specialized in toying with rigid, straightforward combat styles like the orc's.
Yet Ryu An clashed head-on with the orc's axe and blade.
Boom!
The clash of steel on steel rang in his ears.
“Kee-ee-eek! Human, tougher than you look! Gonna be tasty!”
The orc licked its chops at Ryu An's resistance.
A warrior's body packed with firm muscle was incomparable in texture to ordinary humans.
While the orc rejoiced at this rare treat, Ryu An kept cold reason, recalling Ian's words.
-The blade is a weapon for ending fights in a few exchanges. Training fluid footwork for change mismatches it completely.
Painful, but true.
Swords were straightforward. Light and fast.
Thus, they could tease foes' attacks. But light, so hard to deal lethal blows.
Hence, thrusting strikes dominated to compensate the thin blade and target vitals directly.
But the blade differed.
Its main attacks were chops.
Slow and crude.
Yet capable of disabling foes in one strike.
That's why Ryu An was so enamored with the blade.
Ironic.
Divine-powered Ralph learned to redirect force via Ian, while Pallkion's teasing swordmaster Ryu An battered the orc bluntly instead.
The stalemate cracked as Ralph's halberd felled his orc.
“Kee-ee-eek! Just fall already, human!”
Whoosh!
Impatience bloated the orc's movements, wide-open chest gaping.
...Now!
Ryu An's eyes flashed.
Exactly as Ian said—the moment for a few-exchange finish.
Thrust!
Coiling leg muscles, his body shot forward at terrifying speed.
Closing distance instantly.
Thud!
Planting his foot, he slashed his lowered blade diagonally upward into the orc's exposed chest.
Slice!
A single cleaving sound.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed from the orc's chest along Ryu An's blade line, drenching his face.
“...Hoo.”
Orc down.
Not as a Pallkion swordsman, but as a true bladesman.
“...Hate to admit it, but you were right, Captain.”
Ryu An glanced at his lower body.
His legs, operated fluidly like sword clan footwork, now spasmed relentlessly from the unfamiliar explosive power.
...Rustle!
Helena, who had been pinning the orcs with arrows to aid Ryu An and Ralph, peeked out from the bushes.
Confirming the orcs down, she approached slowly.
“...Heal.”
Hummm!
Holy light from Helena's hand revitalized the pair's weary bodies.
“Uh, over there...”
“Hm? What?”
The two, receiving healing, asked back.
“The captain said... to follow right after it's done...”
Helena answered cautiously, and only then did Ralph and Ryu An—lost in battle, blind to else—take in their surroundings.
“...Yeah, orcs aren't total morons. More'll swarm soon.”
Unlike Helena's stealthy shots or Ian's clean ambush, their fight had been noisy.
Naturally, some orcs in the village might sense the anomaly.
“If even two this strong give us hell, how do we face a whole tribe?”
“Well, let's go first. Captain's got something in mind.”
With Helena's healing done, the three began moving slowly as Ian ordered.
Before they knew it, they had come to naturally accept following Ian's commands.