Ch.131Chapter 131: The Importance of Magic

Even orcs feel fear, as they hesitate to charge at Valt’s party who had dispatched the Orc General and mages with just three people.

Most of the orcs were fighting at the front lines, and these were ordinary orcs who served the Orc Lord’s group.

There was no intention of letting them live.

That’s what war is.

Besides, these were orcs who couldn’t even communicate with them.

Valt felt no need to keep them alive.

“Warriors of the plains do not spare their opponents. Farewell.”

Some might call Gerungtu barbaric, but while Gerungtu are free in combat, they never spare their enemies in war.

Keep them alive because they’re useful?

Such instances were extremely rare in Gerungtu history.

The defeated simply return to the earth.

Drrrrrr—

Countless Rock Spears form around Valt, and innumerable Blood Spears materialize around Liris.

“Rock Spear.”

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!!

Valt’s merciless magic strikes the orcs, and dozens of them perish instantly.

Now only the Orc Lord remains.

***

“Kuhahaha!! This is truly exhilarating!! Take this, HAAAH!!”

KWAAANG!!

Tunkaio, filled with aura, strikes the Orc Lord.

The Orc Lord’s weapon must be made of decent material, as it was still withstanding Tunkaio’s attacks.

However, the Orc Lord’s massive club was already cracking all over.

Even though it was just aura clashing against aura, Tunkaio’s resonance ability was nearly destroying the Orc Lord’s weapon.

“This is what a man’s battle should be!! Kuhahaha, die with your weapon!! KYAAH!”

Ruktan leaps up in an instant and brings down a crushing blow with all his body weight.

“KUOOOOO!! CHWEEEEK!!”

KAAAANG!!

CHAENGANG!!

Finally, the Orc Lord’s club fails to withstand Ruktan’s attack and shatters.

In that moment of confusion as his weapon breaks.

After his downward strike, Ruktan spins his body horizontally and delivers a lateral slash.

CHWAAAK!!

“Kuk… kuruk…”

And precisely severs the Orc Lord’s neck.

With his throat cut, the Orc Lord clutches at his neck, staggers, and finally collapses.

KUUNG!

“You were strong for a monster. Farewell.”

Ruktan approaches the fallen Orc Lord.

“You know, kid, what strange tradition. For monsters like these, taking their heads is what boosts morale. Brother.”

With those words, Ruktan cuts off the Orc Lord’s thick neck and claims his enormous head.

“No matter what race or species, humans think similarly.”

Having secured the orc’s head, Ruktan was still getting used to his newfound strength.

Honestly, if he had been more accustomed to this power, he could have dispatched a Master-level Orc Lord in an instant.

This was possible because Ruktan could fight at nearly Master level even before awakening his aura.

“Shall I go check on Grace? Well, I don’t think she’d lose, but… it wouldn’t be right to leave my future bride unattended.”

Even saying that, he knew Grace wouldn’t want him interfering in her battles.

That’s the kind of woman she was.

She would be overjoyed if he simply watched her fight impressively and praised her for it.

“Valt’s side… seems finished. It’s quiet. What a monster that guy is. How did someone like him ever get born?”

Though Ruktan had become strong enough to crack an Orc Lord’s skull, he wasn’t sure how he’d fare against his brother.

He had the distinct feeling that his brother had more hidden techniques.

That aerial headbutt attack was so powerful that even Ruktan couldn’t guarantee his survival if hit directly.

Ruktan never imagined that using magic with a Great Warrior-level body could be so devastatingly powerful.

The common weakness of most mages—vulnerability in close combat—was completely absent in Valt.

Thinking about it, Ruktan could only laugh wryly.

“A damn mage with a body like steel—that’s enough to make even a passing black horse laugh.” Kuhahaha.”

With that laugh, Ruktan ran toward where Grace was fighting.

***

“Whew, strangely easy. I wonder why?”

Grace had already defeated her Orc Lord and was recovering from the exertion.

The Orc Lord’s chest had a hole so large you could see through to the other side. It had been penetrated by Grace’s single strike.

Rustle—

Chwang—

The Master’s heightened senses, still alert from battle, didn’t miss the unnatural movement in the forest.

Grace immediately aimed her spear in that direction.

But what emerged was Ruktan.

“Whew~ As expected of my darling. That Orc Lord won’t have to worry about the summer heat. He’ll be nice and cool!”

Grace relaxed her tense body at Ruktan’s joke.

“Hmm… did you really finish yours?”

When alone together, the two were comfortable with each other.

Just listening to their conversation, no one would guess they were a prince and princess of their respective nations.

“Heheh, who do you think I am? I’m going to be your husband, darling, so I have to at least do this much, right?”

“Really? You took it down faster than me? That’s suspicious! What trick did you use?”

Though they were bantering affectionately, Grace was genuinely surprised.

‘Is it true? Can a person change this much in just two days? If so, does that mean he’s stronger than me now?’

Grace, whose dream was to marry a man stronger than herself, knew how difficult that dream was to achieve.

People who reached the Master realm were rare.

And among those her age, even more so. Yet the man before her had shown skills equal to her own Master-level abilities with just his physical prowess, and now with a bit of aura training, he possessed power that surpassed hers.

“Ah, no! Valt taught me about aura, and I swept through them easily. Oh! And my weapon! When I put aura into my weapon, it displayed a strange ability!”

Grace was startled by the mention of his weapon changing. Anyone walking the path of martial arts would be interested in good weapons.

“Really? Let me see! Tunkaio has a special ability?”

It was an ability that was already there, but it had become stronger.

Ruktan proudly showed his beloved weapon to Grace.

“Here, when I do this…!”

WOOOOONG!!

Tunkaio resonated and continued to vibrate.

As a Master, Grace understood well what this meant.

“T-This…! It’s amazing! How did I not notice this before!”

Grace, who had never paid much attention to Ruktan’s weapon because it was so large and the battle axe didn’t suit her, now became interested in it.

Her own weapon was good, but it didn’t have such special abilities.

The divine metal Rupenium was that difficult to obtain.

“I-I’m jealous!! I wish I had a weapon like that!!”

Someday when she became queen, she might get her hands on the kingdom’s sacred spear, but for now, she couldn’t help feeling envious.

“Heheh, you know we have a Rupenium mine in Gerungtu, right, darling?”

Flinch!

The Rupenium mine, known only through rumors, with its existence never confirmed by anyone.

The metal was so precious that none of Kwan’s children, except Kwan himself, knew where it was located, only that it existed.

But being Kwan’s child did give him some access to Rupenium.

“T-That was real? No wonder! No wonder Gerungtu has been developing so rapidly!!”

Development requires money. Kwan’s Rupenium mine provided more than enough to build numerous buildings and infrastructure.

“When I marry you, darling, I’ll bring a fist-sized Rupenium as a wedding gift.”

Grace’s eyes widened more than ever before.

“R-Really!? You mean it!?”

In truth, Ruktan couldn’t guarantee it either. But with an “I’ll figure it out somehow” attitude, he boasted anyway.

“Yes, you think I can’t do that much for you? I’ll get it for you somehow, so don’t be too jealous.”

WHOOSH!

“KYAAAA!! I’m so happy! Ruktan, you’re the best!!”

Though Grace usually maintained a rigid demeanor due to her status as a princess, when in Gerungtu, and especially when alone with him, she often showed this side of herself. Seeing Grace’s cute behavior after so long made Ruktan feel his exaggeration was worth it.

“Kuhaha, just trust me! Now, shall we head back, my princess!?”

“Yes! Everything’s going so well. We took down the Orc Lord too easily, and from the looks of it, we’re overwhelming them! I wish everything would go this smoothly!”

Ruktan stroked Grace’s head as he spoke.

“Yes, it will, darling.”

***

“Hmm… it’s over.”

Having dealt with all the Orc Lords and Generals, the expeditionary force was truly overwhelming the orcs.

This must have been their plan all along.

The human forces, with their magic and various techniques, couldn’t be stopped by a mere 50,000 orc troops.

Was this what the battle between Gerungtu and the humans of the Central Continent was like in the past?

Valt was once again reminded of the power of magic.

He wasn’t sure about Gerungtu warriors with Great Warrior-level bodies like his own, but ordinary Warrior-level Gerungtu were only slightly stronger than these orcs.

And yet those orcs were being mercilessly swept away.

This was true even with orcs who knew how to use aura.

‘Aura alone isn’t enough. Magic is necessary.’

Valt burned with a renewed sense of mission to properly introduce magic to his tribe.