Terta (1)
Quite some time had passed since Terta began heading south in pursuit of that mighty presence. He gazed at the scene before him—the shattered, trampled remains of a settlement. This was the work of humans. Terta was certain of it. The scorched marks might have come from the native creatures of this land, but the other evidence was unmistakable. Massive iron slugs had pierced the bodies of his people. They were traces of the guns humans had used when he first descended into this world.
Not only that, refined sword strikes marked the ground everywhere.
“This is the work of humans.”
At Terta’s declaration, Shahan, the great warrior Turha, and the elite orc soldiers—who had been staring at the ruined settlement in shock—began to seethe with rage.
“How could mere humans possibly…”
“The audacity…”
But Terta quietly observed the wreckage and spoke to them.
“Enough.”
“…But, my king.”
“What we need to do now is not stand here fuming at the sight. We track the traces and hunt them down.”
His subordinates seemed to snap back to their senses. They closed their eyes for a moment, then opened them again, their faces still twisted with fury.
“We lost our composure.”
“Shahan.”
“Your command.”
“Track them.”
“As you command.”
Shahan murmured softly. Ancient orc incantations flowed from his lips, and the spirits of the fallen orcs revealed to him what had happened before their deaths.
“So that’s how it is.”
The spirit nodded and pointed in a direction. Follow this way.
“…How coincidental.”
Terta, staring in that direction, spoke quietly.
“What is, my king?”
“The powerful presence I sensed matches this direction. Which means…”
“You’re saying the powerful being is human? That’s impossible. How could such pathetic, weak humans—”
“Indeed. It could simply be coincidence. But… we won’t know until we see for ourselves. Have you forgotten, Shahan? There was a time when we orcs were just as weak and submissive beneath humans. And so was I.”
“…”
For a moment, Terta closed his eyes.
It was the era when the orc race itself had been enslaved by humans. Among those orcs, Terta had been the weakest. Scrawny, he didn’t even know how to grip an axe. Yet unlike the others, he never abandoned his fighting spirit. He willingly became a gladiator slave, throwing himself into that endless crucible of chaos and madness, and grew.
Devouring human malice and desire, he transformed from a clumsy fool who couldn’t wield an axe into a warrior who could shatter skulls with a single swing. The result was relentless growth. The fighting spirit burning inside him kept driving him higher.
He seized an opportunity to escape the humans and gathered those who shared his will. Among them were the orc shaman Shahan, the great warrior Turha, and the elite soldiers now at his side. They suffered countless defeats and injuries beyond measure. Yet their hearts never broke. They grew stronger through every battle, eventually slaughtering every human in their path.
The fusion of their hatred for humans and the orcs’ innate battle lust pushed them beyond the limits of their kind. Having transcended those limits, Terta and his followers clashed with the human armies. And they won. Famous knights, kings, nobles—every human who stood against him eventually fell miserably before him.
When the humans, facing continuous defeats, formed a final desperate unit, even that elite force could not stop the orcs who bore the brand of subjugation. When Terta severed the head of the last remaining human, he placed it atop his axe and declared:
They had exterminated the hateful humans who once treated them as slaves.
Recalling those memories, Terta cast aside any notion that humans were inherently weak. The one waiting ahead had to be a being equal to himself.
“He may be waiting for me. I have that feeling.”
“…The urge to fight?”
“Yes. My instincts whisper that I have met an opponent worthy of a lifetime. I have fought countless battles, yet I have never faced a human who stirred this feeling in me. So there is something I wish to tell you all.”
“What is it…?”
“If the powerful being is indeed among the humans as we suspect, I will face him alone. My burning desire for battle outweighs even my hatred for them.”
“…Understood. We shall follow your will.”
Shahan had always watched Terta claim the head of the enemy commander. This time would be no different. Every subordinate present could only believe the same.
Yusoha shared the anxiety she had felt the previous day with her team. She told them they had no idea how strong the orc king might be, and that even Eclipse could not guarantee victory. She added that if they retreated from this position, the civilian casualties would be impossible to predict.
“…But I can’t send all of you to your deaths either. Anyone who wishes to sit out this battle may do so. I won’t force you. In many ways, I was lacking this time.”
When Yusoha calmly admitted her own fault, the members of Hwanryeong Team 2 looked at her with fresh eyes. The Yusoha they knew had never been one to say she was insufficient.
“So, according to what you’re saying, team leader, if we retreat now, those creatures will chase us all the way, and every civilian along the route will suffer?”
“…Yes. And considering the hatred they’ve shown toward humans, it’s easy to imagine what would happen. So even if some of you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
“What if every team member leaves?”
“What else? I’ll have to hold him back alone. I’m the one who provoked him, and I’m the one who pushed for the North Korea expedition. None of this would have happened if not for me… And since I’m the leader, I have to take responsibility. No matter how blinded I was by reaching S-class, I never intended to cause civilian casualties.”
“…Pfft.”
Shin Seongmin and the others exchanged glances before they began to laugh, as if air had suddenly escaped their lungs.
“Team leader.”
“W-what?”
Shin Seongmin rarely laughed like this. Yusoha answered in a dazed voice, unable to understand the situation.
“How can you stand there with such a resolute expression all by yourself? Do you really think we’d abandon you?”
“…To survive, you should leave. I’ve done it before.”
“No matter how much we value our lives, we’re not shameless enough to swallow everything we’ve been fed and then run.”
“Swallow what?”
“The Soul Armaments and all the other equipment. They all came from your personal funds, didn’t they, team leader? We even signed contracts. How can you say something like that now? We’re bound by those contracts. We have to honor them. You said yourself that you used up all your personal money this time.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“Besides, we’re all Awakened who have received national benefits. In a situation where civilian lives are at risk, backing out would be wrong, wouldn’t it? And… we have Shin Seongmin here, and Lord Eclipse as well. What could possibly go wrong?”
When Chae Gain spoke as if it were no big deal, the other Awakened nodded in agreement.
“Even so, it could still be dangerous.”
Yet Yusoha still answered hesitantly.
“Isn’t this the kind of thing that’s always happened? It’s been like this the whole time. Why are you all acting like this now?”
“Because at least before, I never personally led you into a deadly trap.”
“What deadly trap? We’re just dealing with orcs.”
The team members found Yusoha’s current demeanor strangely endearing. She had commanded them without hesitation until now—what was so different this time?
Yusoha felt a deep wave of gratitude toward them.
“Then… no one is leaving?”
“No!”
Yusoha’s expression finally relaxed.
“Thank you. As expected, I have a good eye for people.”
“Of course. Whose team do you think this is?”
In the end, every member of Hwanryeong Team 2 chose to stand with Yusoha and stop the orc king.
Meanwhile, Eclipse informed her that the enemy would reach the area the following day. Yusoha and Hwanryeong Team 2 made every preparation possible. They remained fully armed, never letting their guard down as they waited for the orc king’s arrival.
Terta finally reached the location of the colossal energy that had been stimulating him. It was the forward base of Hwanryeong Team 2. Of course, their concealment barrier remained intact, so nothing was visible to him. Yet Terta was not naïve enough to believe the area was empty.
“A trick, is it? Humans.”
As expected, they were humans. The owner of that immense energy was likely human as well. He snorted and immediately drew his battle axe. The weapon was as enormous as his own massive frame. Both hands gripped it with crushing strength. When he raised the axe, the very air trembled. Red mana flowed down his arms and poured into the weapon.
Terta brought the axe down.
Kwaaaaang!
The surrounding earth exploded instantly. Every mana mine and trap that had been planted detonated at once. The violent surge of mana shattered the concealment barrier in a single moment, finally revealing the forward base to the orcs’ eyes.
“Do not interfere. I alone should be sufficient.”
“Yes!”
Terta took one step forward… then began to run.
Thud.
With every stride, the ground beneath him erupted, sending shockwaves rippling outward. Of course, Hwanryeong Team 2 was not simply watching. Led by Yusoha, the mages and gunners summoned their Soul Armaments and unleashed a barrage of firepower.
Yet none of it left so much as a scratch on Terta. Even after taking direct hits from mana bullets and spells, the creature showed no sign of damage whatsoever.
“Insane.”
The word slipped from Shin Seongmin’s lips. To be completely fine after that magical onslaught? That kind of power could not be blocked. Simply looking at it was enough to crush one’s will to fight.
The moment the barrage ended, Terta accelerated and charged straight at the forward base. He raised his axe to smash through the barrier surrounding it—only for a knight in battered armor to appear before him and catch the blow.
Kwaaaaang!
Terta realized that the shabby-looking knight blocking him was the very existence he had been seeking. He bared his teeth in a savage grin.
“Found you.”
Facing the somehow satisfied orc king, Eclipse’s eyes gleamed as he stared back at his opponent.