Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Doubts of the Blue Wolf
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“Chwiik!!”
Jörg stormed out of the meeting hall, letting out a guttural snort of rage.
Several tribe leaders followed after him, trying to calm him down, but he couldn't suppress his boiling frustration.
“What a pathetic state of affairs, truly pathetic!”
Lately, Jörg had been deeply disappointed in Golden Eye.
There was no denying that Golden Eye's feat of uniting the myriad orc tribes under the shadow of Golden Heaven was a monumental achievement that would echo through history.
He had no intention of belittling that accomplishment.
After all, if he hadn't acknowledged Golden Eye from the start, the proud Blue Wolf—who once roamed freely amid the Great Calamity—would never have bowed to Golden Heaven's banner.
But now, with even Mist Mountain fallen, Jörg was beginning to question his decision to join Golden Heaven's ranks for the first time.
What was the essence of an orc?
Endless struggle and battle, culminating in the sweet taste of victory and survival.
That was the life of a born warrior, an orc.
Yet with the rise of the massive force known as Golden Heaven, the threats that once plagued orcs in the Great Calamity had vanished.
The orcs, lulled into comfort, were losing their feral warrior spirit.
“Chwiik! Turka... I'm starting to wonder if this is truly the path we dreamed of.”
The White Ghost, Turka, had always dreamed of a protective barrier for his kin while guarding Mist Mountain.
Knowing that will, Jörg had respected Turka's intentions despite his own misgivings.
But Golden Heaven refused bloody vengeance even after Turka's death... a force that had forsaken a warrior's honor.
Was this truly the shelter that warriors of their generation, like Turka and himself, had desired?
'No, it's not.'
Swish!
Jörg turned his head, glaring at the midway point of Heaven's Mountain where Golden Eye resided, and muttered under his breath.
“Golden Eye, you're wrong. This timid caution... it's not a virtue orcs should have.”
Spitting out the words like they were chewed-up gristle, Jörg slowly made his way toward the Blue Lightning Tribe's territory.
'...For the orcs.'
Stroking his warhammer, Jörg steeled his resolve.
'Dong-ah... I did promise that if the entire tribe staked their lives, I'd speak to the chief.'
The lives of the Blue Lightning Tribe were far from cheap.
But if burning them away could reignite the lost ferocity in his kin...
He would gladly offer this one life.
“Krrrk...!!”
Thud!
The troll, poisoned by Sylvia's toxin, collapsed and began twitching violently.
Krunch!
Ralph's halberd came crashing down on the troll's head with his full weight behind it, instantly stilling the spasms.
No matter how regenerative trolls were, they couldn't move with a shattered skull.
“Hoo! Is this the last one?”
Swish!
Ralph wiped the blood splattered on his face and caught his breath.
“Good work, Ralph. Thanks to you, no one got hurt.”
Woooong!
Helena cast a healing spell on Ralph's wounds to express her gratitude.
“Heh heh heh! Even empty words are welcome.”
Feeling his sore, torn muscles slowly mending, Ralph replied.
'Still... I'm definitely getting stronger, little by little.'
He recalled last year's battle against the Black Rock Trolls.
Back then, even against juvenile trolls, the Latent Dragon Squad had struggled bitterly for their hard-fought victory.
Dane and Sylvia had barely contributed at all.
But in the fight just now, Sylvia and Dane had taken the lead.
They had swiftly triumphed over more than twenty adult trolls—without Captain Ian or Ryu An present—showing terrifying growth.
It was the kind of progress befitting those whose potential had always been acknowledged, despite their reputations as blockheads.
Compared to their leaps, his own growth felt meager.
But... he was growing too. Slowly, but surely.
'...Well, at least my mind's at ease.'
Once they finished their Western Heaven mission and returned to the clan, that trash Manus wouldn't sit idle, no doubt.
But it didn't matter.
Enduring hardships was far better than living like a coward.
“Ralph, what are you doing? Lost in thought?”
Dane tapped Ralph's shoulder as Helena finished healing, snapping him out of it.
“Nothing, just for a second.”
Brushing off Dane's question, Ralph quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, I didn't notice in the heat of it, but trolls showing up here means the captain and Ryu An might have run into some too. Shouldn't we go look for them?”
Swish!
Dane pointed behind them at Ralph's question.
“They're already checking over there.”
Sylvia was pressing her ear to the ground, focusing on the sounds around her.
The Clonen Shadow Clan excelled in agent assassinations and infiltrations due to their family traits.
Tracking targets was basic for them.
How much time passed as Sylvia listened intently?
Amid the cacophony of noises, she finally isolated the sound the Latent Dragon Squad sought.
Boom, thud...!! ...Chiririt!!
The faint vibrations and sounds reached Sylvia's ear.
'...That's it!'
In this monster-infested land where beasts devoured each other like maggots, one might dismiss the vibrations as territorial skirmishes.
But the distinctive “chirrit, chirrit” metallic ring was a sound no one but Ian could produce.
“That way.”
Swish!
Confirming the direction, Sylvia stood and urged the squad forward.
“Hurry. Something might have happened to them.”
“...Something?”
Helena instinctively questioned, finding Sylvia's words far-fetched.
“I can't really imagine the captain in trouble...”
“...Fair enough.”
Helena's reaction wasn't incomprehensible.
Even Sylvia herself struggled to picture Captain Ian in peril, calling for help.
“Then think of it as going to check on Ryu An. Unlike the captain, he's still just a normal human.”
“Oh, right. That could happen, sure.”
Convinced by Sylvia's clarification, the squad hurriedly followed her lead.
“Kraaaah!”
Vwooom!
The great chieftain troll bellowed as it swung its short spear.
The strike, slicing through the air, carried a weight befitting its title.
Ryu An twisted to dodge, but his body—battered by Olka's blows—refused to move as swiftly as he willed.
Riiip!
“...Urk!”
The spear tip tore through his shoulder flesh, making Ryu An wince.
His body might have frozen in pain, but Ryu An unhesitatingly swung his sword at the troll.
Enduring agony was familiar by now, ever since overcoming Sylvia's poison.
Slash!
The troll, unprepared for a counterattack despite shredding his foe's shoulder, watched its head float into the air.
Its severed face bore an expression of final relief.
“Hah, hah...”
Ryu An had felled another troll.
Intimidated by his tenacious fury, the trolls halted their assault momentarily.
“Krrk, you stubborn bastard!”
One troll spat curses at Ryu An.
Three kin had already fallen to this insignificant human.
And for no other reason than his demonic sword swings, even after taking massive hits from Olka.
His body crumbling bit by bit, yet he fought on.
Perhaps they couldn't fathom his blind determination to drag even one more troll down with him.
“Kerrrk...!! Human, why go this far...?”
Even the protected lizardman asked in bewilderment.
Though for some reason, he now moved with Uncle Regulus.
Mudstream and Martial Clan were natural foes.
No matter the temporary alliance, what reason did he have to shield him at such a gruesome cost?
“Huff, huff... Not because I like you or anything.”
Blood pouring from his mangled shoulder, Ryu An painfully lifted his head, straightened his stance, and replied.
His gaze briefly turned to Ian, clashing with Olka.
“Our captain sees you as the key to resolving this mess. That's all.”
As time passed, Ian and Olka's duel intensified.
Zzaaauuuuw!
Ian's longsword scraped the ground, aiming for the adjutant's feet. The panicked adjutant hastily invoked voodoo.
“Krrrk! Darkness descends upon the shade, moss clings thicker to blackened stone!”
Kwadududuk!
Rock piles instantly formed over his feet.
They looked sturdy, like armor plating.
Crack!
But in a flash, Ian's blade pulverized the conjured stones and surged toward the adjutant's leg.
However.
Kwauk!
That split-second was enough for Olka to react.
Driven by resolve to prevent her adjutant's pointless death, Olka's axe swing was vicious enough to give even Ian pause.
“...Tch!”
Clang, clang!
Ian retracted his longsword, igniting viscous blood-red aura from its tip, and met Olka's axe.
First form of the Blood Demon Iron Chain Art: Blood Night.
Boooom!
The clash unleashed shockwaves, shredding the surroundings.
Zzzt, zzzt!
“...Krrk! Damn it!!”
Olka's hand gripping the axe kept splitting open, forcing her to wrap it in defensive voodoo amid curses.
For some reason, that young human's bizarre martial art exacerbated any wound it opened.
Even with a troll's overwhelming regeneration.
'Where did this monster come from...!'
Crack!
Olka's teeth ground in fury until one shattered.
But Ian was equally annoyed.
These two... their synergy was better than expected.
Isolating and picking them off seemed easy, but their coordination was impeccable.
Well-timed voodoo paired with heavy axes thwarted his strikes relentlessly.
'If I just opened one Blood Gate, I could end this in seconds...'
The temptation to unseal a Blood Gate gnawed at him, but Ian suppressed it.
Opening Blood Gates should be his absolute last resort.
Regulus might not be at war yet, but as one of Mudstream's Four Dragon Generals, he was a supreme powerhouse.
If things went south and Ian had to fight him... he'd need every Blood Gate unlocked to his limits.
He couldn't afford to waste them on a few trolls while preparing for that crisis.
Thus, the battle dragged on.
But nothing lasts forever. A turning point arrived.
An event that solidified Ian's resolve.
“...Keurk!”
“Kerrrk! Y-You human!!”
Ryu An, steadfastly guarding the lizardman, finally buckled under the trolls' relentless barrage and tumbled backward.
“Krrk, krrrk... Persistent human. To last this long.”
Ryu An's desperate resistance had disrupted even that horde of trolls' breathing.
It proved his utmost effort... but still.
Facing over ten trolls while injured was beyond Ryu An's current capabilities.
'...No choice.'
No matter how vital Blood Gates were for a potential clash with Regulus, squad lives came first.
Casting aside hesitation, Ian decided to open a Blood Gate. The air around him shifted.
Kuuuuwuuu!
Sensing Ian's ominous aura, Olka and the adjutant tensed up.
But only for a moment.
Rustle!
“...Kekeke! Looks like this is the end for you.”
“Krrk! These fools took too long.”
At the rustling from the rear bushes, Olka and the adjutant smirked mockingly at Ian.
“My subordinates scouting the streams have finally arrived. You put up a good show... but it's over.”
No matter Ian's skill, adding nearly twenty more trolls after losing comrades was beyond endurance.
“...So it seems.”
Growling at Olka and the adjutant, Ian's vision filled with figures emerging from the brush as they confronted him.
“Time to end this tiresome fight.”