Ch.193193. Kagan (1)

It was during the time when the extermination of the remaining Orc forces in Slovakin was in full swing.

Perhaps it was thanks to Lancelot’s exploits, which had become the stuff of fairy tales in Slovakia—like the story of him cutting down five Orc Great Warriors (mid-tier warriors) in a single battle.

By this point, the vast majority of the warband that had invaded Slovakin had been shattered, their leadership slaughtered, and they had long since devolved into mere individual marauders.

It might seem strange that they would disintegrate like scattered sand just because their leadership died, but this too is due to the Orcs’ unique characteristics.

Orcs, who are more distant from compromise than anyone else, will band together tightly if there is a strong leader who can bind them by force, but without such a figure, they scatter almost instantly and rarely form groups.

This tendency is somewhat better in tribal societies connected by blood relations, but for warrior groups like warbands, it’s a different story.

The complex and subtle relationships unique to Orcs—which can’t simply be defined as “elitism”—mean they never wish to see a fellow Orc who isn’t particularly exceptional rise above them.

Of course, there are exceptions, but they’re not particularly relevant at the moment, so let’s move on….

In conclusion, the remnants of the disbanded Orc warband were being hunted down one by one as time passed.

Considering that there wasn’t even a single mid-tier warrior among these Orc marauders, and they weren’t particularly united, isn’t this outcome rather natural?

As a result, after a certain point, all that remained was essentially the extermination of miscellaneous groups, and we judged that Slovakin’s soldiers alone could handle this sufficiently, so we were about to return to our main duties when….

[[[Master! Master! A high-tier is coming! A high-tier Orc!]]]

“….What?”

Around that time, news that could only be described as sudden came from the squeakers I had spread throughout the great plains for reconnaissance and tracking.

A high-tier, a high-tier Orc. Currently, the number of high-tiers among the Orcs, those they call “Khans,” totals five.

Among them, I personally killed Yesugei with my own hands, and according to reports, another Khan was eliminated by an Imperial Swordmaster. So effectively, only three Khans remain.

And now, one of these three remaining Khans—possibly even the Great Khan El-Temur himself—was approaching this location.

‘I’ll share vision with you. Get closer.’

[[[Yes, understood!]]]

Therefore, regardless of how the situation might unfold, I decided that identifying who this was should be the priority. I sent a mental message to Sophie and then shared vision with the squeakers….

In the squeakers’ field of vision, an Orc army that was clearly unusual had already appeared.

The Orc warriors typically positioned at the center of Orc warbands are, surprisingly, not usually well-armed.

The plains environment has an absolute shortage of wood for fuel, making metal processing difficult, and since they don’t lead settled lives, the only way to obtain processed metal is through plunder.

Moreover, since Orcs and humans differ in build, most Orc warriors typically wear metal weapons and leather armor reinforced with metal.

Even this is only common for warriors who qualify as cavalry; when you consider that ordinary Orcs sometimes don’t even have armor and use stone weapons, it’s not particularly strange.

At most, mid-tier warriors might wear full-body metal armor that resembles patchwork, made by slaves (mostly humans) in primitive forges—that’s about the extent of it.

But… these ones before my eyes were clearly different from such stereotypical Orcs.

Warriors who appeared to be low-tier based on their indirectly perceived life force were wearing custom-made plate armor that showed clear signs of considerable craftsmanship.

Although only the monstrous boar rider (heavy cavalry) at the front was wearing full plate, with most others having such plate armor only on parts like the chest or thighs….

Even considering all that, the fact that the surface of that armor was dyed black was no ordinary matter.

Assuming that Orcs who struggle even to obtain ordinary iron couldn’t use high-grade materials like black iron (adamantium), that armor must have been deliberately dyed black.

But would the dyes of this era be cheap enough for all those Orcs to use?

Even if alchemy could produce dyes cheaply, color remains a privilege of the wealthy, and black, though relatively inexpensive among dyes, is still quite expensive.

Moreover, judging by that armor, the black dye must be capable of coloring metal…. No matter how I think about it, that’s the type of dye specifically created by alchemists.

How on earth could those impoverished Orcs afford such luxury? As I pondered this, suddenly some “information” flooded into my mind.

Something big, big and beautiful was approaching.

It possessed an intimidating pressure and a strange presence that made itself felt despite apparently doing nothing in particular.

So while I was hiding the squeakers with whom I was sharing vision, pushing them into the shadows…

Through the ranks of Orc warriors—who were unbelievably orderly and disciplined for Orcs—mid-tier warriors known as Great Warriors in Orc society, particularly large in stature, began to appear.

While Orcs as a race typically boast muscular builds exceeding 2 meters in height, the bodies of Orcs particularly sensitive to magical power or aura grow rapidly regardless of age as their warrior rank increases.

As a result, these Orc Great Warriors, with their massive, heavy builds likely reaching 2.5 meters in height, looked more elite than any Orc Great Warriors I had seen throughout this war.

Typically, Orc Great Warriors, having reached the mid-tier level and qualified to lead warbands or Orc tribes, occupy socially high positions and are usually armed with quality armor and equipment.

Naturally, the self-centered and ostentatious nature of these mid-tier Orcs leads them to use all sorts of weapons—weapons that might seem impractical until you see the Orc wielding them with practiced ease, which leaves you speechless.

Of course, their armor, which reflects this ostentatious tendency, mostly looks terrible on the outside—frankly speaking, it’s characterized by looking crude due to being covered with decorations, spikes, banners, and severed heads.

But since Great Warriors are usually the highest combat power in the vast majority of Orc tribes or warbands, it can’t be denied that this approach is more efficient from a strategic perspective….

That’s why I couldn’t help but be shocked by the fact that these Orc Great Warriors all had standardized equipment, and even more by the discipline they exhibited.

Ten Orc Great Warriors, armed with clean armor that had at most spikes or severed heads as decorations, stood in orderly formation alongside other Great Warriors as if they were some kind of elite force.

Considering the characteristic of Orcs as a race—that they never truly move unless they want to—these ones must have believed themselves that they needed to maintain such disciplined appearances….

“….”

No matter how I think about it, there’s only one explanation for why these Orc Great Warriors would show such a “respectful” attitude.

He is among them. Among those creatures exists the Khagan who led this great invasion of Orcs.

As I naturally guided the squeakers to an even deeper hiding place after realizing this…

Finally, as I had predicted, the Khagan of the Orcs, El-Temur, revealed his majestic figure from among those Orc Great Warriors.

‘That’s…!’

El-Temur, mounted on the back of a massive wyvern that used its wings as legs to walk on the ground—a “Gigant Wyvern”—was emanating an extraordinary aura.

His armor, which anyone would guess to be made of adamantium, was quite ornate, adorned with various spikes and chains, with hooks at the ends of those chains from which severed heads dangled like keychains.

Additionally, the green sword in one of his hands was faintly glowing and emitting a strange energy—I could sense that the energy from the sword was even more powerful than the Orcs’ sacred relic, the “Bloody Axe.”

I realized that this massive warrior visible through the shared vision of the squeaker was indeed the Khagan who led all the Orcs of the great plains, the Chosen One of the Orc tribal deity, the “Three-Headed God.”