Chapter 87: The Warrior and the Knight

The sun had risen, and the northern army’s advance began.
The target was the village occupied by the orcs.

“Is that it? The village occupied by the orcs?”
“Yes.”
“How dare they. To waste the food that my people have worked so hard to gather and sleep in their beds?”

Grace’s expression twisted into a scowl.
She seemed particularly upset today, taking a deep breath to calm herself before issuing orders to the commanders.

“Since the orcs haven’t fled the village, we’ll proceed with the second plan. Form a wide encirclement, and only I, the guard unit, and the elite soldiers will charge and strike the enemy.”
“Understood.”

Following Grace’s orders, the commanders set off to move their units.
Grace then turned to give orders to the assault unit that remained with her.

“I will take the lead. The guard unit will charge straight into the center of the village with me. Sir Gunter, once we enter the village, divide your troops and clear out the enemies on the outskirts.”
“Understood.”
“As soon as the encirclement is in place, we attack. Prepare yourselves.”

At Grace’s stern orders, the guard unit began preparing for battle.
Elaine and the newly formed guard captain team, including myself, stood closest to Grace, ready to protect her.

“Begin the assault!”

At Grace’s command, the assault unit charged forward in unison.
Like meteors, their intense charge seemed ready to crush the small village in an instant.

“Mm?”

Suddenly, a member of the leading guard spotted something strange from afar and called back.
“My Lady! An orc is coming out unarmed at the entrance of the village.”
“What?”

Hearing the report, Grace looked puzzled, then shouted to stop the charge.
The guard and elite soldiers halted in front of the village, and sure enough, a robust orc walked toward us without a weapon and spoke loudly.

“I request to speak with the leader of the humans!”

At the orc’s call, Grace glanced at Elaine before stepping forward.

“Guard unit 4, stand by. Only my direct subordinates will accompany me.”

Elaine pointed to me, Sophia, and Rigrid, and we followed Grace.
Elaine whispered to Rigrid.

“If he draws a weapon, shoot without hesitation.”
“Understood.”

Rigrid answered with a slightly tense voice, but she drew an arrow and prepared herself.
With her quick-draw ability demonstrated during the evaluation, I was confident that she could pierce the orc’s throat as soon as it drew a weapon.

“So, orc, what do you have to say?”
“I am Glaca of the Blackrock Tribe. I would like to propose a negotiation.”
“Not only have you invaded my land, but you also drove my people out and now you want to negotiate? That’s a bit much for a joke.”
“That’s not what I meant. We came here to fight. However, if we are to fight, we wish to do so honorably, as warriors.”

“As warriors?”
“Our tribe has been starving. We only just managed to eat and sleep. If you withdraw your army, we will wake our warriors and fight you.”

Grace scoffed at Glaca’s words, then replied with a cold smile.

“That’s what you were talking about?”

Her expression was colder than the winter wind.

“You speak as if there’s some grand reason for this. The food you ate was my people’s, and you stole their food. You waited until you were full and rested, then you want to fight us while you’re in peak condition? Don’t you dare speak of a warrior’s battle, thief.”

“It is natural for the strong to defeat the weak and take their spoils. But even though we were starving, we are still warriors. We did take your food, but we had no intention of massacring the weak humans. That’s why we gave you time to escape. And we didn’t touch anything except the food.”

It was true that they had acted quickly, but the lack of casualties was almost miraculous.
The orcs claimed it was out of consideration for the humans.

“We came to fight humans knowing we might die. But if we are to die, we wish to die honorably as warriors, sacrificing ourselves for the survival of our tribe. So, human leader, allow us to fight without regret.”

While the orcs didn’t have the culture of bowing their heads, Glaca stood upright, requesting the chance for an honorable battle.
Of course, Grace wasn’t going to listen to him.
With an indifferent expression, she glared at the orc.

“I don’t care about your name, but I remember the Blackrock Tribe. You were one of the orc tribes that invaded the north alongside demons during the Great War. You managed to survive, huh? Are other tribes with you as well?”
“…The tribes that survived all participated.”
“You attacked the north with demons and failed. Now, you’re nothing more than the puppet of that damn Dolgon, aiming for the north again. Why should I treat you as warriors?”

“That’s…!”

I now understood why Grace seemed upset.
The orcs they had fought before were now attacking the north again as Dolgon’s hounds, and it made her feel disgusted.

At Grace’s words, Glaca seemed to have something he wanted to say but bit his lip and muttered under his breath.

“……We followed the rules of our tribe, which adheres to the strong, and fought alongside the demons against you. I do not plan to apologize for what happened then. But now, things are different.”

“No, it’s the same. If there is any difference, it’s that this time, you will be extinct.”

Just as Grace seemed ready to give the order to attack again, a voice was heard from the side.

“Your Excellency, may I say something?”

Grace answered coldly to the voice.

“Sir Luke, what is it?”

“It seems there is something unusual with the orcs. If we play our cards right, we might be able to use their situation to our advantage. How about probing further?”

Grace sighed before responding.

“I value you, but don’t cross the line. Just because I’ve praised you doesn’t mean I’ll always understand you.”

I’m not an oblivious fool. I know that the reason I can act beyond my position, even since my days as a soldier, is because Grace has often given me leeway due to my results. Because of that, I had once tried to be more cautious.

‘But I’m still uneasy.’

The reason I continue to push boundaries is always the same: to prevent the events that would unfold in the North and to secure a peaceful fantasy life.

In this context, looking at the current situation:

‘The orcs are definitely pawns of the West. Dorgon wanted to use the powerful orcs as part of their forces. But now they say they were starving?’

After the Great War, if they were to save the damaged orcs and turn them into battle slaves, it would require immense support. In fact, during yesterday’s operation meeting, the Northern commanders also suggested that the orcs likely received support from the West to rebuild their army. But now, an orc who lives and dies for battle says they were starving, finally got food, and now wants to retreat and fight later?

‘Something is off.’

Listening to Glaca’s words, I had two suspicions. The first is that there seems to be an issue between the orcs and the West. It’s not just a simple matter of the orcs attacking the North under the West’s command as a condition for racial revival. The second is:

‘Dorgon knows both the orcs’ situation and Grace’s personality. There’s no way he hasn’t plotted this situation.’

Dorgon likely manipulated the orcs to provoke the North, setting up a confrontation between the two.

“I will stake my honor and achievements on this. But may I suggest one thing?”

“I’m sure someone like you wouldn’t speak recklessly. You do know what it means when a knight stakes their honor, right?”

“I do.”

It meant that I was prepared to lose my title as a knight and be exiled. Given the stakes I was raising, Grace decided to give me a chance.

“Your Excellency, as you said, we cannot afford to give the orcs time to prepare. But if we crush them as we are, we are likely to face fierce resistance. How about a duel?”

“A duel?”

“If the orcs win, we’ll retreat as they proposed and avoid fighting. But if the Northern army wins… we’ll make the orcs subordinate to the North.”

“!”

Grace blinked at my suggestion.

“You want to make the orcs subordinate to us?”

“Yes.”

Her sharp gaze pierced me, sending a chill down my spine. But I swallowed my nervousness and explained immediately.

“The fact that the orcs were starving means they didn’t receive proper support from the West. That means they are not an army under the West’s command but more like mercenaries. If we make them our mercenaries, we can steal the West’s prepared forces for ourselves.”

“The orcs are the ones who invaded the North alongside demons in the past. And this time, because of their advance, innocent citizens have suffered. What kind of chaos will arise if we accept them?”

“The orcs are strong and sturdy. They’re not just good soldiers, but also excellent workers. If we use their labor, we could benefit from construction or resource production.”

“Hmm…”

“More than that, the orcs being sent to the North was part of the grand strategy of the great lord Dorgon. If we engage the orcs in battle and lose even a single soldier, it would play into their hands. The cunning Dorgon is using the orcs as pawns in this way.”

Grace seemed to accept the initial points casually, but her expression softened slightly at my final comment.

“I see what you mean. However, putting the efficiency aside, isn’t there a chance the orcs could betray us?”

“From what I’ve read in the literature, orcs are simple-minded but stubborn. If someone beats them in a formal duel, they must submit to that person.”

I turned to Glaca and asked.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, human. Serving the victor in a duel is our absolute rule. That’s why we fought alongside the demons—our former chieftain lost to the demon lord and submitted.”

Even though Glaca admitted this, Grace scoffed.

“Then why didn’t you serve us after you were defeated by the heroes and the Northern Alliance?”

“That was a defeat in war, not a duel. At the time, we were more focused on survival.”

“So now, Dorgon has won a duel and you’re following him?”

“That is…”