Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Orc Must Die 3
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Scott McGreen was devouring several fish that Ismail had caught from the river, crunching them bones and all, while scooping up a heaping ladleful of boiled oatmeal with his other hand.
“If you're afraid of packing on muscle, you could always eat a little less.”
Ismail grumbled.
Thanks to the supplies from Count Lantaric's army they'd found at the bridgehead garrison, they had plenty of food for humans and beans for the horses and goats.
But even so, while traveling, provisions always took up a ton of bulk and weight every time...
Looking at this guy's appetite, the future was looking worrisome. Did he really have to drag this glutton around? Food resupply was going to be a real headache from here on out.
They'd camped right after crossing the Cora River specifically because it was a riverbank where the Herald Clan could easily procure food—stocking up as much as possible to avoid any supply issues down the line.
And it had been a wise choice. Seeing how much this orc was packing away, skipping the campout here would've spelled disaster.
"Wherever I go, someone always bitches about how much I eat. But that's what you signed up for when you hired an orc. With food like this, you're renting my vast knowledge and magic."
"Necromancy's banned by law, so I pass on that."
Azadin took pride in his role as an Emperor's Herald and knew full well that necromancy was forbidden under imperial law—the Emperor's edicts.
"My talents go way beyond necromancy."
"So. You said you'd interpret the New King Scripture and teach it to me or Sir Zibek?"
"Precisely, I'll teach it to that holy knight named Zibek. For you, I'll just point out the path."
"Hm?"
"The way you use it is... different from other Herald Clan members. You're tapping into wild, uncontrolled mana. It's the barbaric elf method."
Scott had clocked that Azadin was using the Kazas Hymnal.
"No choice in the matter."
"How many pages of the New King Scripture do you have?"
"Four."
Azadin said so. Just yesterday, he'd gained one more while facing off against Scott's Night Crawler, bringing it to five—but he had no obligation to get into the details.
"Four? That's a ton! Mind if I take a peek?"
"Hold on. You're going to let this orc necromancer analyze the New King Scripture?"
Zibek panicked and tried to stop Azadin.
"The New King Scripture is the King's Church's supreme treasure, the pinnacle of white magic. If the Kurt Godkin get their hands on it and decipher it, that'll spell doom for the Eight Kingdoms."
"Interpreting a copy of the New King Scripture isn't that simple."
When the Herald Clan had acquired a copy of the New King Scripture, they'd thrown every mage they had at it for over a year, pooling all their resources, and still couldn't produce a proper translation.
This orc doing it solo? If he pulled that off, he'd be every bit the era-spawned genius he claimed—and then some.
"And I suspect you won't even need me to interpret it for you. Right?"
"This is impressive. You already know what I'm planning?"
"It hit me while we were dealing with that shadow wraith earlier."
Azadin pulled out a copy of the New King Scripture and showed it.
"It's just transcribed onto paper, but it's brimming with white mana. That's because the New King Scripture embodies King's Radiance itself, right?"
"Exactly. It's the purest pinnacle of white mana. Even if you drain it a bit now, it'll refill over time by drawing in the ambient King's Radiance. That alone makes it prime material for a magic tool."
"Urk!?"
Zibek, who'd been listening, nearly fainted.
"You're going to turn a New King Scripture copy into a magic tool? Are you insane? The New King Scripture and its secrets are the King's Church's sacred relic—the power that protects every human living in Hubris. Profaning it by turning it into a personal magic tool is utter blasphemy."
Zibek's words made Azadin flinch inwardly.
'I did wrap an arrow in it and shoot it at undead before. If that got out, I'd be in deep shit.'
Luckily, Zibek had been busy commanding the soldiers at the time and hadn't seen just how roughly Azadin had handled the New King Scripture copy.
"Well, since it's come up, why not give it a shot."
Regardless of Zibek's protests, Azadin resolved to make use of the New King Scripture.
*********
Azadin tried directly absorbing the white mana from the New King Scripture copy's page into his own body.
"A normal mana source in a magic tool? You'd never absorb it—too much rejection. You must have insane magic resistance."
"You know your stuff."
"But the New King Scripture's an exception. This world's overflowing with King's Radiance, and you're already attuned to it. Plus, surprisingly..."
Scott examined the New King Scripture page as he spoke.
"These copies recognize you."
"Recognize me?"
"Of course. If you could just kill someone and force a manifestation, no one would go through all that hassle. The New King Scripture and King's Radiance have a will of their own—they avoid the Kurt Godkin and their kin as much as possible. That's why the nagas hired me."
"Why'd the nagas hire you?"
"The nagas are leading the Kurt Godkin alliance right now. The Naga Empire's reviving."
"You bastard!"
Shati, who'd been listening, flew into a rage. This orc, hired for coin and chow, had casually spilled the Naga Empire's biggest secret. It grated on her that he'd blurted out info she'd deliberately kept under wraps.
"Oh. So the Kurt Godkin kin are fusing under naga leadership? Figures."
"Yeah. Only the nagas have the organization for it. The Ogre kin of the King of Fangs? No way they pull off real structure. And those blood-and-meat-starved Mezzeri apostles... Well, plenty of orcs have joined them too."
Orcs suffered the same brutal hunger as Mezzeri's apostles. Those blessed by Mezzeri could stomach rotten meat, so hunger-maddened orcs often pledged to her.
But when it came to organization, nothing beat the nagas who'd once built a grand empire dominating all of Hubris. If the Kurt Godkin kin wanted to reclaim this world, they'd have no choice but to rally around the nagas.
"So, what's it gonna be? Need a hand?"
"Hm. A little... yeah, help me out."
"Got it."
Scott carefully regulated his breathing beside Azadin, who was clutching the New King Scripture copy and focusing his mind.
"Truly understanding a grimoire means brushing up against madness. But grasping that madness without falling in? That's a grimoiresmith's talent—genius. Half the Herald Clan's curse. Your body's got a shattered grimoire inside, unleashing raw, uninterpreted mad mana. Harmonize the New King Scripture's white mana with it—don't clash. Imagine storing it in your body."
"...I said help me. Not talk me through it."
"Focus on the center of your soles. Suck the white mana in through your hands and cycle it back into the earth!"
Scott placed a hand on Azadin, then yanked it back with a yelp.
"I'm a necromancer, remember? White mana's my natural enemy."
"That's reassuring. I was worried you'd pocket it for yourself."
"What, if you gave it? Even clashing with my black mana, it'd have uses. But..."
Scott clicked his tongue as the New King Scripture copy in Azadin's hand began to glow.
"You did it? Damn, not bad for a low-IQ species. Decent skill and talent."
"Praise?"
"Damn right. Write it in your diary: 'Got praised by Scott today.' Call this your rebirth. Second birthday material."
"......"
Azadin shot a glare at the cocky Scott and looked down at the New King Scripture copy in his hand. It had lost its glow, reverting to ordinary paper.
"It's fine, right? This?"
"Should recharge in about a week. And you didn't harm the King's Radiance—in fact, cycling it back to the earth amplified it. Keep this up, and your power'll skyrocket."
"Yeah?"
Azadin stowed the New King Scripture copy back in his bracelet and tested his body.
"Don't feel much difference."
"You don't get full on the first bite. This is just the start. See my value now?"
"No appetite on the first course, so hard to say. Besides, I've squeezed everything useful out of you already."
"Not even close!"
Scott scowled.
"Aren't you curious what the nagas are planning next? Or the next New King Scripture manifestation spot? I can give you all that intel."
"You shameless traitor! Have you no shame? How can you so easily betray the Kurt Godkin alliance and Naga Empire!?"
Shati raged at Scott for sabotaging Naga Empire operations.
"Hey now. Watch it. I'm a mercenary through and through—loyal to my employer. This guy's my boss now, so betraying him would make me the traitor! Pledging to the Naga Empire at this point? That'd betray my current employer."
"...Appreciate it."
Azadin gave a half-hearted thanks to Scott, who vowed his full loyalty.
Meanwhile, Zibek, who'd watched the whole exchange, was flustered. A copy of the New King Scripture—the King's Church's sacred relic, infused with King's Radiance... As a holy knight, he should haul it straight to the church. But letting a Herald Clan member and orc necromancer use it personally?
The problem was, he'd chosen this Herald Clan member himself. He'd picked Azadin over Zekt, and he didn't regret that choice.
'I knew it, but it's awkward.'
"Hoo. Alright then. Shall we do a few more pages?"
That was when Azadin spoke up. Suddenly, a group of armed figures burst through the underbrush.
*********
Guillaume Balt, son of Count Lantaric Garnahair, was an ugly man with a face as long as a horse's.
Unlike his father's other children, who were all strikingly handsome, he'd been born ugly, making him the subject of endless gossip. But he proudly bore his status as the count's legitimate firstborn and loved his father dearly.
Right now, he'd hired adventurers from the Cell Sword Guild and was scouting the Cora River banks.
"Damn it! Those fucking vassal scum!"
Guillaume hacked at the weeds blocking his path, seething with rage.
"Whoa, easy there, Sir Guillaume."
The mercenaries of the Cell Sword Guild—adventurers all—patted his shoulder and chuckled.
"Do I look like I'm in the mood to calm down? We ignored the signal fire at the bridgehead, and now we've lost the fortress?"
To invade Salasma Province, Count Lantaric's army had secured the bridgehead across the Cora River for easy transport of supplies and troops. They'd commandeered a Salasma fishing village and turned it into the garrison.
But yesterday, a signal fire had blazed from that very bridgehead garrison.