Chapter 55. The Orc Hamlet.
Chapter 55. The Orc Hamlet.
After a short wait at the assembly hall, two doctors entered.
"We came right away when we heard you wanted to see us. What's the matter?"
I let out a deep sigh and explained the situation. The obstetrician asked again, puzzled.
"Is that even biologically possible...? One species impregnating another..."
"Yes, they're currently pregnant, and it's an unwanted pregnancy... I called you to ask whether termination is possible."
The psychiatrist beside me spoke up.
"I'm a psychiatric specialist, not a surgeon or an internist. The reason you called for me...?"
"Right now, it wouldn't be surprising if they tried to kill themselves. They've been subjected to something deeply shameful and are now carrying unwanted pregnancies — and the other party is a different species on top of it..."
The psychiatrist swallowed hard, mulled it over for a moment, then asked about the rescued people's condition. I told him they currently showed no response even when spoken to and were practically on the verge of complete mental collapse.
"In a way... that may actually be the more merciful course..."
"Excuse me? What do you mean, more merciful?"
"Because of the severity of the trauma, if dissociative amnesia were to completely wipe away every one of those agonizing memories, that would ultimately be better for them... And with a shock this severe already, they likely wouldn't even retain the fact that a termination was performed..."
"If I were to put them to sleep, could you administer anesthesia and perform the surgery in that window?"
"If it's possible to make them fall asleep without any side effects, then yes — anesthesia and the procedure together only take about twenty minutes, so it's entirely feasible. Still, as a doctor, I do need to know in advance what drug you're using."
"It's not a drug. Please just think of it as an Awakened's ability."
"Understood. In that case, I'll proceed."
And so the course of treatment for the survivors was decided. The doctors paid their respects and left the hall.
"We only searched the area that appeared to be the goblins' storehouse. We still don't know what might be at their main base."
"We'd better bring more drones this time. Also — do we have anyone who can snipe?"
At my question, the Special Forces Commander called over several operatives capable of sniper duty, then asked why we needed snipers.
"The magic-users I mentioned — you don't want to face them head-on. It's easier to eliminate them by sniper fire."
Then I turned to Lieutenant General Go Seong-hyeon, who was in charge of military supplies, and asked how many drones were currently operational.
"If we're talking about simple reconnaissance drones rather than strike drones, we have plenty available."
As the sun set and night came, Terion and Chaeyeon located the survivors, put them to sleep with magic, and the other soldiers began moving them one by one to perform the surgeries. Morning came again, and we landed at the same location and headed back to the site.
"It's clear the bastards noticed their storehouse was raided."
"Did they figure out it was us?"
"Probably not. They'll just assume it was other humans surviving in these mountains."
"Hm... maybe I'm worrying over nothing, but is there any chance the bastards might come down from the mountain and attack the city?"
"Unless they manage to gather sufficient troops through breeding, they'll never strike first. Besides, this is an unfamiliar dimension to them, after all."
First, we decided to eliminate every last one of the ones assessing the situation on-site. If none of them returned to the main base, eventually another would be sent — and we planned to capture that one when it arrived.
— Fwip! Fwip!
— Shnnk!!
And we stashed every one of their corpses deep inside the cave. We needed to lure them in deep to grasp the full situation, after all. We took up positions inside the cave and launched a drone outside to watch for their approach.
They must have realized something was off about how things were unfolding — six orcs approached, not counting goblins. When they had closed to about ten meters from our concealed position, we eliminated all but the one in front, wiping out the other five at once.
"ვაუ!!! ადამიანებო რა ხართ !!!"
"What is that thing saying...?"
'Sigh... When we get back, I'll have to ask Terion to cast a permanent translation enchantment.'
"He's simply asking who we are."
" 【 Hey, pig. I won't ask many times. Where is your base? 】 "
" 【 Khh... How does a human know our language? 】 "
" 【 Does that matter right now? 】 "
— Shhk!
I lopped off one of its long ears with my blade and asked again.
" 【 Lead me to where your tribe is staying. 】 "
" 【 I am a warrior of the Great Orc Tribe!!! No matter what oppression or torment you inflict, I will not sell out my kin! 】 "
"Is that so... Let's see just how long you can last."
I stepped close and tapped the area near its solar plexus lightly with the back of my hand. But what the creature experienced was anything but light. Its green-skinned face flushed red, then blue, over and over, as drool ran from its mouth, piss soaked its legs, and it writhed in agony.
" 【 Guh, guhhaaak!!! S-stop... I will guide you... O great being... 】 "
"Our conversation concluded amicably. He's agreed to guide us to the main base."
'...?'
'That was an amicable conversation...?'
Once the base was near, I cut the creature's throat and hid its corpse in the underbrush. Then we climbed to high ground overlooking their village, and I gave instructions to the sniper-capable personnel and Jia.
"Do you see the ones wearing animal skulls on their faces or with ornaments on both shoulders? Those are the magic-users."
As I spoke, I concentrated mana into my eyes and scanned the surroundings. Fortunately, I saw no evolved entities like generals or lords.
"The moment you hear the grenades go off after we descend, take them out immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
We circled around once more, hid near what looked like the village entrance, and pulled out our grenades. I looked left and right, scanning the faces of my group. Then, all at once, we hurled the grenades toward the entrance.
— Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOM!!
— Bang! Bang! Bang!
The thunderous explosions rang out, and in the same instant, the reports of the snipers on the high ground echoed. Orcs and goblins collapsed as the overlapping blasts threw them into utter chaos.
"თავდასხმაა!!!"
— Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
The sound of their war drums resounded across the entire mountain, and they began pouring out of their huts, each grabbing a weapon. My people concentrated hard, firing aimed shots, and once we had nearly exhausted our ammunition, I ordered a ceasefire.
"We're going in from the front. The rest of you, spread out left and right and just eliminate any that try to escape!"
We entered. From inside came the twang of bowstrings, the flare of magic manifesting, the clash of weapons — the sounds went on for long minutes before finally going quiet. It was all over. I gestured toward the rear, signaling them to come forward. The Special Forces Commander ran up to me and said,
"With primitive weaponry like this, they're certainly far easier to deal with using firearms."
"If there'd been an evolved one among them, it wouldn't have been nearly that simple. They're tough enough that even explosives barely scratch them."
I surveyed the corpses around us and spoke to the group.
"If you look at the ears — the ones whose ears are short, almost like human ears — those are the offspring born from breeding with humans. It seems there are people being held captive here as well... though I don't know if they'll be in any decent state."
The village consisted of huts clustered around an open clearing in the center. It wasn't large, so the group spread out and finished searching quickly. Then one of the soldiers shouted.
"I think everyone needs to come see this!"
The place where we gathered at the shout was a structure several times larger than the typical huts. The group filed inside. It was a house thick with the stench of must, sour filth, and the reek of blood. Inside were men whose entire bodies had been brutalized, and women tied up and hung against the walls. Some of the women's bellies were swollen.
"There are more of them than I expected. We'll need to call for support..."
In response to our support request, a helicopter was dispatched immediately. The personnel who disembarked carefully loaded the survivors aboard and set course for Gimpo.
"Still, it's a relief we were able to wipe out every last one of them."
'No... something's wrong... Goblins and orcs aren't even species that cohabitate in the first place...'
"Given how systematically they've been breeding humans and dividing up tasks, there has to be a commanding entity... Strange."
I was still mulling it over, a puzzled look on my face, when I sensed an immense mass hurtling toward us.
— Fwoooooosh!!!
The moment I registered the axe flying at incredible speed, I leaped forward, spun once, and struck the flat of the axe with my elbow.
— CRAAASH!!!
Keeping all its speed and mass but violently redirected, the axe tore through the trees and huts beside us and buried itself in the ground. I looked ahead. Five orcs stood there.
'A commanding entity... I was expecting a King, but a Lord, is it...'
An Orc Lord could hunt a juvenile dragon on its own. And if the generals under its command joined in, they could readily hunt even a full-grown dragon.
"ჩვენი ტომი შენ მოკლა (You — you are the one who killed our tribe)?"
" 【 That's right. If I did, what are you going to do about it? 】 "
" 【 In the name of my fallen kin, I will tear off your limbs and chew them to bloody shreds!!! 】 "
I glanced back at my group and spoke.
"This one is an already-evolved Orc Lord. With his generals at his side, he can take down a dragon. Do not engage him in close combat under any circumstances."
" 【 But why are goblins and orcs living together? 】 "
" 【 If those are to be your last words, I'll answer you. We made those inferior wretches do the troublesome work, and we protected them. Now then — why did you slaughter my entire tribe?! 】 "
" 【 You attacked and killed humans first. I took revenge. Does that suffice as an answer? 】 "
" 【 Is it strange that we capture inferior humanfolk, breed them, and use them as food? 】 "
The creature glanced back at its generals, barked at them not to interfere, and took a few steps forward. Watching that, I thought to myself: Orcs are immensely destructive and brutish, but they're also instinctively belligerent and a species that revels in combat. They respect a warrior's pride and love one-on-one duels to the point of stupidity.
" 【 If you want revenge, fight me like a warrior!!! 】 "
As it shouted, it began stripping off the armor it was wearing, piece by piece, hurling it to the ground. The thick iron armor came off, and on its forearm I spotted a peculiar bracelet. Well, calling it a bracelet was generous — it was more like an ornament the size of a human necklace.
And it was a necklace with a shape I knew all too well.