Chapter 96: Soul Alliance

Originally, I had planned to end it by descending the dueling stage in style to the sound of cheers.

‘I can’t move an inch.’

Simultaneously wielding sword energy and frost magic had clearly taken a toll on my body.
If I tried to move now, I’d probably collapse within seven steps.
That would be terribly uncool.

Standing still in place and holding my pose made me look like someone basking in admiration.
Tap.

Still, it’s really nice to have someone by my side who understands me without a word.

“You did well.”

Elaine had come over at some point and was now supporting me.
Thanks to her, I didn’t end up collapsing disgracefully after doing everything I needed to do.

“To be honest, when that black magic began emanating from the orc chieftain, I was about to rush in to rescue you.
But His Grace stopped me, so I couldn’t.”

Elaine’s hand, supporting me, was slightly damp with sweat.
Was it because she was nervous?

“You fought so well, Luke. I’m so proud of you.”

Elaine gave me a genuinely proud smile, then pulled me into a hug.
She was probably justifying it in her head—something along the lines of It’s not weird for a superior to embrace a subordinate after a fierce battle or It’s fine since I’ve already declared myself his wife.

Normally, I would’ve been flustered by her physical contact.
But perhaps because I had just been handling unfamiliar frost magic so wildly,
I used the need for warmth as an excuse and silently let her hold me.

Right, we danced at the party—so a hug is nothing.

While I was in Elaine’s arms, someone else came over.

“You did great. By the way, that black magic just now—unless my eyes are broken, it looked a lot like demonic energy. What happened?”

Sophia’s serious expression prompted Elaine to release me and respond.

“I felt it too. No—if you’ve experienced the Great War, you wouldn’t miss it.
He changed after consuming something midway through the fight.”

Elaine returned to her usual serious demeanor.

“We need to hear an explanation.”

She glared at the orcs who had come over to retrieve the fallen Glaka.
The orcs flinched when they met Elaine’s gaze.
Since Elaine was supporting me and couldn’t move freely, Sophia stepped forward in her place and approached Glaka.

“We’re not going to hurt him, so stay still.
He’s taken in so much frost energy that if we leave him like this, his blood vessels will freeze. We need to thaw him quickly.”

“……”

“As you saw earlier, I’m the North’s top fire mage. I’m also an elder at the Snowflower Tower, so I’m well-versed in frost magic too.
Now that the duel is over, we have no reason to fight anymore.
Unless you want your chieftain to die, I suggest you listen to me.”

As Sophia calmly explained, the orcs exchanged looks among themselves.

“Human… we entrust him to you.”

It seemed they had come to trust her a bit after the battle.
Zenora, the chieftain of the Vine Swamp Orcs who had clashed with Sophia in the first round, gave her permission.

I knew from experience—having once received treatment from mages for frost—that
Sophia wasn’t just performing an act of goodwill here.
While healing him, she was likely also trying to investigate the black magic within Glaka using her mana field.

“Khrrk…”

At that moment, Glaka opened his eyes.

“Urrgh!”

As the black magic surged again, he let out a painful groan.
Fwoooosh!

Sophia scorched him with her Flame of Purging.
Engulfed in blue fire, Glaka twisted his body in agony.

“Ugh…”

Eventually, he calmed down and regained his senses.
The Flame of Purging, true to its name, had the power to burn away an opponent’s abilities—
and apparently, it could incinerate black magic too.

“Hmm, that took care of the frost. The black magic is gone too.”

Sophia withdrew her Flame of Purging, but her expression remained serious.
In that brief moment, she had already completed her investigation of the black magic using her mana field.

“The concentration is much lower, but… it’s definitely magic of the same nature as that of a demon. How did this happen?”

As Sophia gripped her staff and tried to question the orc—

“Hold on, Miss Sophia.”

I stepped forward, supported by Elaine, and stopped her.

“Before that. Glaka and the orc chieftains.”

“…?”

“I won the duel just now, and with that, all four duels ended in victories for our Northern army. You’re not planning to reject the outcome, are you?”

Originally, Glaka was supposed to act as a judge and declare the winner, but since he had fainted, the verdict hadn’t been officially announced. Still, anyone with eyes could tell who won.

As the orcs cautiously looked over at Glaka, he too rose to his feet with the support of his kin and said, staggering:

“I was defeated. Human Luke, this is your victory, and the duel belongs to the humans.”

A declaration of defeat came from Glaka, the orc representative.

At those words, the Northern army stirred again with overwhelming emotion, but they held back. It wasn’t the time to celebrate yet.

“Then, as promised, the orc race is now subordinate to the North. Any objections?”

“None. In accordance with the strict code of duels, we orcs now serve the humans.”

“No, not the humans.”

“Hm?”

“You’re not becoming subservient to humans. You’re aligning with the North—not as slaves of humans, but as a force called the orcs belonging to the Northern domain. Understand?”

“Hmm… I understand.”

Contracts must be explicitly written to prevent future disputes.

Our enemies are also humans, so if the orcs became subordinates of humanity in general, it would be troublesome. Also, the word ‘s*ave’ feels harsh and negative, which could cause discontent. It’s better to frame it as the orc faction joining under the Northern banner.

“Then, although we haven’t made the blood oath yet, shall I give the first command?”

“What is it?”

“That fruit. What exactly is it?”

I had a rough guess from the fight, but I wasn’t about to let it slide.

The reason I subjugated the orcs through duels wasn’t just to avoid falling into Dorgon’s trap.

It was also to uncover what happened between the orcs and the West—something the novel never mentioned—directly from their mouths.

With a resigned expression, Glaka exchanged glances with the other chieftains and said:

“We must now follow your orders, so we will tell you everything.”

Step. Step.

At some point, Grace had approached as well.

After hearing Glaka’s declaration of defeat, she smiled at me approvingly, as if proud, but postponed her praise and focused on this conversation instead.

“It happened like a bolt from the blue. After the Great War, our race left our homeland and drifted into the western wastelands.”

This was Glaka’s account:

The surviving orcs settled in the desolate, untouched lands of the West.

But life was hard in those wastelands—refugees from their homeland, unable to hunt or raise livestock.

Amidst harsh conditions, the orcs struggled to establish a foothold.

“One day, while the males were out hunting, they returned to find the village in ruins.”

The Western army had found their location and invaded the village.

But what they did wasn’t a mere suppression.

“Our hard-won village was burned to the ground. The females and children who stayed behind were all kidnapped.”

Though they revered strength, the orcs, as shown by their objection to Elaine fighting, had a male-dominated society.

While the males were out, the females guarding the village faced the Western army—and, unsurprisingly, were overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Grace pieced the situation together like a puzzle and asked Glaka:

“So you followed Dorgon’s orders to save the females?”

“That’s right. But their scheme didn’t end there.”

In the process of attacking the village, the West deprived the orcs of resources, including food.

Then they gave the orcs demonic fruit under the guise of support.

“Those who first ate the fruit became strange. They gained great power, but turned violent. That’s when we realized—it was a forbidden fruit. So no matter how hungry we were, we refused to eat it.”

“…So that’s why you were starving.”

“Yes.”

“But even knowing the risk, you ate it just now?”

“I couldn’t afford to lose the duel. If we were subjugated by humans, we’d lose our females—and that would be the end of our race.”

“Hmm…”

Grace nodded, now fully understanding the situation.

“Then what now? You lost the duel. You haven’t taken the blood oath yet. If submitting to us means you can’t save your females, are you going to flee or betray us?”

“…We will not go back on the duel’s outcome. If we did, we would no longer be orcs. We would become nothing more than livestock—without honor or pride.”