Chapter 50: A Total Mess (2)

Watching the succubus charge at the orc felt like watching a moth fly into a flame.

It seemed like she had lost her mind.

At this rate, she’d end up being violated.

Even a crazed orc would still have its primal desires.

With no other choice, I gave her a light knock on the head.

Whack!

“Guaagh!”

It wasn’t ineffective, but it felt like a waste of energy.

Fortunately, we hadn’t alerted all the orcs yet.

I decided we needed to regroup and come up with a plan.

“I think we should just go about it this way.”

“How?”

The succubus asked, rubbing the new lump on her head.

With a calm expression, I explained….

“First, we stop fighting.”

“Stop fighting?”

“Yes. Then, you’ll use your charm to gather all the orcs in one place, like how they lure zombies with car horns in those apocalypse movies.”

I had seen it in a movie once.

They honked the car horn, and sure enough, all the zombies gathered.

Meanwhile, the people escaped, and the person in the car blew up with the zombies!

Though, the succubus wouldn’t die.

Probably.

“Well, you didn’t have to go into that much detail…”

“But wait, they had a car. You expect me to do this with just my body?”

Of course.

What else would she use?

“You mean to tell me that after 100 years, you can’t even run?”

No way, right?

“Hey, are you looking down on me just because I’m old?”

Well, she did look like she was in her 20s on the outside.

Maybe age was a sensitive subject for her.

After all, 100 years was a long time.

She was technically old.

“Anyway, if you’re here, you’ve got to at least earn your keep. After that, the siren will use her awful singing to disable the orcs.”

If that voice of hers could do the trick, even a demon king might retreat.

This wasn’t a joke—it was the truth.

I had never seen anyone among the demon king’s subordinates who could match her terrible singing.

“A-awful singing?”

The siren protested angrily.

I ignored her outburst and continued.

“Then, the mermaid will use her bubbles to apply status effects on them.”

“Bubbles?”

She said incredulously.

Once we go through that process, the orcs will be utterly disabled.

At that point, the Neko Cheoma and I can finish them off.

“We’ll handle the rest, right?”

She asked.

“Exactly.”

We’ll just smash their heads in and slice them with a lightsaber.

One thing I know for sure: in the hero’s world, I once hunted an ancient orc.

That orc was from centuries ago, and the magic stone it dropped was incredibly valuable.

In this world, a few stones like that could easily be worth tens of millions of won.

“But can we really do this? If they’re as strong as you say, shouldn’t we be worried?”

Yes, they are indeed strong, but that’s according to ancient standards.

Based on what I saw earlier, they even fell to attacks from the mermaids, so for us, these orcs are manageable.

To me, they just seem a bit stronger than regular orcs.

All it takes is one clean hit to their heads, and it’s over.

“Hmm, well, they’re definitely stronger than the succubus, but…”

I glanced at the mermaid.

“Ahem. I’ve had years of experience in the sea, you know.”

“Hmph. Same here. I’ve even caught sea dragons before.”

These two were full of themselves.

But considering the state of the orcs earlier, I think we’ll be fine.

Plus, since we’re out on the plains, it’s easier to gather up a horde compared to when there are buildings.

“With that voice of yours, you might be the strongest in the world.”

I teased.

“Yeah, I am the strongest… wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Your mom’s a guppy.”

It was starting to annoy me how they kept bickering.

“Could you both please calm down? Mermaid, let’s ease up on the mom jokes, okay?”

“Fine, but for the record, my mom is not a guppy!”

The siren insisted.

Whether she was a guppy or not wasn’t the issue.

We needed to deal with the orcs.

They must have noticed us by now, given how many there were.

It was time to get moving.

I wasn’t sure how many orcs there were, but there were definitely more than us.

If we let them strike first, we’d be in real danger.

Plus, there had to be a boss around here somewhere.

Every floor had one so far.

On the third floor, it was a golden wraith.

On the fourth, it was some weird cursed creature.

This fifth floor’s boss was probably that ancient orc general.

Even if the regular orcs were strong high-orcs, the general might be on another level entirely.

“Siren, your mother being a guppy is a minor issue right now. Let’s focus on killing these orcs, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever, you guppy.”

The mermaid quipped.

The siren pouted but stayed quiet.

“Alright, let’s proceed with the plan.”

“Wait a minute. What about that young girl?”

“Oh, the young girl.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not a young girl!”

The girl, whose presence was easily overlooked due to her small size, got angry.

Even if she claimed not to be a young girl, who could believe that with her face?

“So, are you equipped down there or not?”

“Well, that’s…”

“If you’re not, then you’re a young girl, so stop denying it.”

“I’m not equipped, and I don’t have any holes!”

Can’t shake it, can’t use it—what’s the point?

There’s nothing fun to enjoy with that.

Then again, looking at her small body, maybe it doesn’t even matter.

“What the heck? That’s terrifying.”

“Anyway, I made a map too.”

“What good is a map going to do?”

Contrary to the succubus’s doubts, the map was actually quite detailed.

It marked the locations of the enemies in the area.

If that wasn’t helpful, I don’t know what would be.

The map even showed the terrain and paths clearly.

At first glance, the plains seemed like an ordinary grassland.

But that was just an illusion.

The orcs we had dealt with earlier were merely guards.

The ones behind them were gatekeepers standing at the entrance of a hidden dungeon.

The map revealed that this wasn’t just a plain but a setup to lure invaders into a massive orc village.

“This map is pretty extensive. I thought it was just a small model garden, but beyond the visible plains is a large orc fort.”

Huh.

If we mess this up, we’ll be in real trouble.

However, our team composition is much better now than when we had Battle Mage and Elf.

The Battle Mage was a damage dealer, and the Elf was a sub-damage dealer, but we lacked support and variety.

Now we have Neko Cheonma who uses Celestial Sword Arts and a succubus who can gather enemies effectively.

Much more useful.

“But this layout looks like it’s forming a giant circle.”

The safest path is on the outskirts of the map.

If we follow that circular path, we’ll be fine, or so Pixie noted.

“Right. If we hug the wall and move along the outermost edge of the map, we’ll reach the gate to the 6th floor.”

“The problem is, if we do that, we won’t be able to open the gate, and we won’t earn any money.”

“There are inner paths, too. That’s where the succubus will need to step up.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. It shouldn’t be too hard. Just charm the orcs and lead them around in circles like a hamster on a wheel.”

“Are you asking me to run around in circles like a hamster?”

“Hamsters are at least cute, though.”

The succubus grumbled, resembling a hundred-year-old demon grandma.

“What?!”

“Just do it already. Show your pride in your ability to seduce countless males! Prove the power of a succubus!”

“Hmph. If you put it that way…”

With an exaggerated puff of her chest, the 100-year-old succubus ran off toward the orcs, her pride visibly swelling.

“You’ve got a knack for handling people, don’t you?”

Neko Cheonma said.

I furrowed my brows.

“I’m not sure if you could call it handling people.”

She’s not even a person.

She’s a succubus, a demon.

“Well, that’s true.”

“If I’ve mastered anything, it’s managing monsters. Most of them are dumb and think they’re stronger than humans just because they’ve got brute strength. But they’re fools.”

Many monsters are like that.

Sure, if it’s only about strength, lots of monster species can overpower humans.

“Is there a trick to managing such creatures? When their superiority complex is so high, they won’t listen to anyone.”

He was right.

Many species don’t even communicate properly.

But with weaker demons like the succubus, we could at least talk to them.

If they drained you in your dreams, though, you’d still die.

“That’s where you handle them with force.”

It’s not so much about dealing with people as it is about knowing how to handle demons.

Instead of ruling over them like a demon king, I’d kill one demon in front of the others, no matter their age or gender, and the rest would follow obediently.

The Hero used to complain about it, but I always blamed the goddess.

-You have no conscience.

I lightly ignore the goddess’s words.

“But that succubus seems different from the others.”

“Well, she was originally a human from Earth. And unlike these lust-crazed orcs, that chubby orc is pretty docile, right?”

In the end, it’s all about what kind of soul inhabits the body.

The chubby orc had a human soul, so naturally, it was different.

As for these orcs, they were possessed by the souls of evil monsters.

“That makes sense.”

We needed to reassess our strategy.

“If we use the map to gather up the orcs like a hamster wheel, the succubus can lure them to us. We’ll keep repeating that until we’ve wiped them all out.”

“The effect will be pretty significant.”

Sure enough, the mermaid princess and the siren glared at each other again.

Hopefully, they weren’t planning to compete with each other again.

“Don’t use both of them at the same time awkwardly.”

“But isn’t the succubus in danger?”

“Well, if we win, she’ll be the hero of the day, right?”

That’s how I see it.

Besides, even if she dies, it’s not my problem.

It’d just be one less demon in the world, wouldn’t it?

And so, the succubus began doing her job perfectly.

She started emitting that strange aura, enticing the orcs.

I watched the scene unfold through a long-range telescope.

“Come on, handsome orc brothers, follow me!”

“Female! Succubus!”

“Lovely! Catch her!”

I couldn’t hear their exact conversation, but the succubus was clearly taking a seductive stance toward the male orcs, flashing them an alluring expression.

Before long, the orcs’ eyes were filled with hearts.

It must be the result of her century of experience.

“Hmm, she’s more useful than I thought.”

Neither the Battle Mage nor the Elf could gather up enemies like that.

The Neko Cheonma is a strong damage dealer, and while I could do area damage, I’m no good at gathering up mobs.

This succubus could be really handy.

After about thirty minutes, she returned, leading a sizable group of orcs.

“Holy crap! Hey, Saintess! Do something!”

For someone so good at seduction, seeing her crying with snot and tears running down her face was amusing.