Chapter 49: A Total Mess

Jeon Tae-yeon, intoxicated by the power of authority, began driving the hunters away.

“Alright, everyone. We’re closing up shop here for today. Time to leave.”

“What? Who are you to say it’s over?”

“The Heavenly King Guild has exclusive rights now.”

Wow, that’s impressive.

The power of authority really is something else.

It’s scarier than mere physical strength—an invisible force that dominates.

Maybe I should start my own goddess cult and spread a doctrine even more hardcore than Islam?

Let’s call it the “Skull Doctrine.”

-No, please don’t.

If the goddess hates it this much, it must mean I’m onto something good.

Once this dungeon is over, I’ll start by recruiting the Cheonma as a follower.

But I wonder how those hunters will react?

“What did you say?”

“Who the hell is the Heavenly King Guild?”

Looks like they’re not going to back down easily.

“The government has already approved it. See for yourselves. It’s a two-week exclusive license granted to the Heavenly King Guild.”

Jeon Tae-yeon showed the hunters a permit issued by the Management Bureau.

“What the—?”

“The government reached out to the Bureau and granted us this. Got any more complaints?”

As expected, you have to see someone with authority to really understand its power.

The hunters who had been following us scowled in frustration.

“This is so unfair…”

“Tch, fine. We’re leaving.”

The hunters retreated.

Rumors will probably spread, and they won’t be able to approach for a while.

In the meantime, the Heavenly King Guild’s hunters surrounded the tower.

Though the hunters of Heavenly King Guild weren’t all that powerful, the fact that they had official permission from the Management Bureau mattered more.

“Well, shall we proceed?”

“Wait, are you going too?”

The Cheonma asked, tapping Jeon Tae-yeon on the shoulder as she prepared to enter the tower.

“No, I’m not going in. But I figured my presence here would help reduce any unnecessary conflicts. Instead, I’ll send this drone.”

Jeon Tae-yeon pulled out a drone.

Man, she’s really something else.

“But how did you get the permit?”

“Money talks, no matter how messed up the country gets. Plus, the Tower of Destruction hype is dying down a bit.”

“The hype is fading?”

“Yes. New dungeons usually get hyped up by streamers and hunters who are after money, but we had Heavenly King people spread rumors online that this tower’s just a bubble.”

If she’s helping that much, I guess there’s no issue.

But it’s Jeon Tae-yeon, so there’s probably more to it.

And… I really want to smash her skull.

“Saintess, you want to break my skull again, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I like your honesty. Go out with me.”

“Screw you.”

I quietly flipped her off.

*

Now that the Heavenly King Guild had secured exclusive rights to the tower, we no longer had to worry about security.

Everything was ready, so we started heading up to the fifth floor.

“Wait, what’s this? These symbols on the door?”

There were hieroglyphs on the door.

Unlike the previous floors, this was the first time we encountered such writing.

There hadn’t been any on the third floor.

And these were ancient runes from the Hero’s World.

Luckily, as a saintess, I could read them.

Roughly translated, it said:

[4,000 years ago, the undefeated Orc Legion, who slaughtered human armies in the Great War between humans and demons, shall be resurrected in the Tower of Destruction.]

Hmm, this is going to be tough.

“So, starting from the fifth floor, things are going to get serious, huh?”

Now that I think about it, the Wraith encounter was already pushing the limits.

The fifth floor… If the orcs we face are from the Demon-Human War 4,000 years ago, this is going way beyond our expectations.

These won’t be your ordinary orcs.

This isn’t just about the Demon King gathering strength.

This tower itself is like his new military force.

But how did he gather all this?

“Saintess, you know what this says, right?”

The other returnees seemed clueless.

“Yes, these are orcs from 4,000 years ago who fought in the Demon-Human War.”

They were incredibly strong orcs.

“4,000 years ago in your world?”

“Yes. I know a bit because I was part of a hero’s party. It was likely a dark time for humanity, as they lost that war.”

The first Demon-Human War on the continent of Yucrania took place 4,000 years ago.

The inscription likely rounded off the number, but there were several demon-human wars throughout that era.

If the orcs were recorded in history, they must be high orcs.

During my time in the hero’s party, orcs weren’t that strong, but the ones from thousands of years ago must be different.

If they were the undefeated orcs that slaughtered humans, the boss must be quite powerful.

“So, that means they’re really freaking strong?”

“Probably.”

Honestly, this was unexpected.

The only mystery now is how the Demon King managed to revive something from 4,000 years ago.

It’s likely they’re undead.

If not, that would be a problem too.

As we reached the fifth floor, we were greeted by a gloomy, ashen sky.

Dark clouds drifted ominously, making the place resemble the demonic realm where the Demon King’s territory lies.

“Wow, this must be the orc village.”

“There are orcs everywhere.”

Yeah, seriously.

This is like an army.

The map seems pretty vast—how many orcs are there?

Ah, something just crossed my mind.

If that overweight orc had shown up here, we would’ve been screwed.

“Good thing that orc didn’t show up.”

“Why?”

“Because I might’ve mistaken him for one of those orcs and smashed his skull by accident.”

The colors are different, sure, but if you placed that overweight orc here, he’d blend right in, like an elite orc—basically a mid-boss.

Naturally, I would’ve smashed his skull.

“But why didn’t he come? I wanted to see him.”

Asked the succubus.

I remembered that the orc had said he was going on a matchmaking date.

“He said he’s going to a matchmaking event.”

I still find that hilarious.

Why would an orc even go on a matchmaking date?

It’s not like he’d be of any use.

“A matchmaking date? A low-level game mob like him?”

The succubus was shocked.

But honestly…

“Well, about that…”

I wanted to say “you’re no different,” but held my tongue.

The succubus is one of the weakest monsters, after all.

She seemed to realize this and glared at me.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You better watch it, or I’ll charm you!”

Oh, the charm, how terrifying.

“Uh, if you charm me, I’ll probably smash your skull out of love. That could be dangerous, don’t you think?”

I wonder if our dear succubus’s skull will survive.

“This crazy woman…”

“Of course, the first one to go would be you, dear succubus.”

“You b****!”

Why does the succubus only get louder?

“Hey, quiet down! The orcs heard us!”

Oh, right.

The bloodthirst of the orcs gathered far away now focused in our direction.

“Oops. Sorry.”

“Well, at least that saves us some time.”

I pulled out my mace.

The area was a vast plain, and judging by its size, there must be a lot of orcs.

Should I hit them with a Holy Crash?

“Get ready, they’re coming.”

There are quite a few of them.

I couldn’t count how many orcs were rushing at us from the front.

“Intruders!”

“Humans! A human female! We can propagate our race!”

“Female! Female! Khehehehehe!”

The orcs ran toward us, spouting vulgarities.

Their reproductive methods are quite alien.

It’s not like they don’t have female orcs, but females are scarce compared to males, so they abduct females from other species to reproduce.

And their main targets were human women.

Other species either lacked the physique or reproductive capability, but humans were the perfect match for orcs in many ways.

In orc-inhabited regions, it wasn’t uncommon to see naked women held as sex slaves.

Many of these women ended up pregnant, and all the children born from them were orcs—pure orcs, not even half-orcs.

These creatures were of no help to humanity.

It was better to die than live such a life.

To put it simply, if we get screwed here, our lives are really screwed.

“Looks like orc behavior hasn’t changed over time.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. Are orcs always like this?”

Asked the Cheonma.

Ah, someone from the Martial Alliance must be seeing this for the first time.

Allow me to explain, as someone from the fantasy world.

“Yes. They treat human women as mere breeding tools—no, to be exact, as sex slaves for the purpose of propagating their species.”

“They can’t even tell humans apart from mermaids. Definitely a bunch of idiots.”

The fact that these orcs can even talk shows they’re among the smarter ones.

It’s hard to believe these monsters were the ones who wiped out humans thousands of years ago.

“Pixie, you handle the map. Mermaid Princess, Siren, use your songs and bubbles.”

We didn’t panic at the orcs’ advance.

Calmly, we prepared to do our part.

The Cheonma readied her lightsaber, and I held my mace.

We’d hit them with songs and bubbles first, then finish them off with Cheonma Slash and Holy Crash.

“And what about me?”

The succubus asked, pointing at herself with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Hmm, what should I have her do?

“Uh, how about you go over there and charm the orcs?”

“Wow, you…”

“Oh, that’s true. You know how to use charm, right? If you seduce them, it’ll make it easier for us to take them down.”

The succubus stepped away and began creating an odd atmosphere, casting her usual charm to lure the males.

Classic succubus seduction skills.

It’s simple and effective.

She’s easy to handle—does as she’s told.

Honestly, I’m just teasing her for fun since she’s pretty much here to see the Neko Cheonma’s lightsaber.

Now, what about the Mermaid Princess?

“Ugh, they look disgusting. Hey, Siren, watch how I do it.”

The Mermaid Princess blew bubbles from her mouth.

The orcs hit by them were staggered.

“Graaah!”

Good, that part worked out well.

The Mermaid Princess’s bubbles were highly effective, with a decent range.

But there was another problem.

While the orcs were charging mindlessly, making them easy targets…

“Hehe, is it my turn now?”

The Siren stepped up next to the Mermaid Princess.

And then….

“I am~! Siren! The cute little Siren!”

“Gyaaah!”

Pop, pop, pop!

With that horrendous singing, bubbles floated into the air only to burst mid-flight.

Every bubble the Mermaid Princess launched was destroyed by the sound waves of the Siren’s voice.

“You crazy… why the hell are you doing that next to me?!”

The Mermaid Princess yelled.

“In the deep sea~ the Siren weeps so sadly~”

The Siren continued singing.

There was no answer.

Honestly, their teamwork was terrible.

“My brain is exploding!”

“My eardrums! My eardrums have burst!”

Yet, annoyingly, the Siren’s attack was still strangely effective.

The orcs hearing her tone-deaf song either had their eardrums burst or their brains fried and collapsed right where they stood.

It wasn’t much different from the damage done by the bubbles—both attacks stopped the orcs’ advance and left them unable to fight.

But now, the problem was with our own allies.

“We can handle it, but what about the others?”

Asked the Cheonma, as she wielded her lightsaber against the enemy.

I looked back to see Pixie, kneeling on the ground, still drawing the map.

“Hmm, our mapmaker Pixie is working silently as usual. Pixie? You okay?”

No answer.

“Pixie!”

Still no answer.

Looks like her ears gave out.

What about the succubus?

Surely, she’s fine, right?

“Handsome boys~!”

Nope, she’s lost her mind.

The succubus was now running off, charging into the group of orcs.

What a lunatic.

-It’s a total mess.