episode_0009

I watched as Asia fought against the orcs.

Asia effortlessly dodged the orc’s attacks and began to press on them.

In a short amount of time, other members of the knights joined Asia.

The brief battle unfolded.

Three orcs against twenty-one knights.

Naturally, the orcs stood no chance against the knights.

With the last remaining orc defeated, Asia let out a deep sigh.

“Phew…”

Retired Commander encouraged Asia by her side.

Ignoring the encouragement, Asia came straight towards me.

“How did you figure it out?”

“What?”

What was Asia trying to say to me?

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.”

Asia grimaced and turned away from me.

But then she came back and stood beside me.

“Why are you next to me…?”

“I’m keeping an eye on you.”

With those words, Asia’s ears turned red.

Judging by the color of her ears, it seemed like Asia was getting angry.

***

Deep in the abandoned mine, orcs with green skin gathered.

And in the center of the orc group.

There was a special figure wearing robes, unlike the other orcs.

The orc shaman.

“I failed.”

The orc shaman shook his head.

Because something incomprehensible had happened.

He had failed when there was no way he could fail.

And without causing any harm to the humans.

“The curse was supposed to work.”

The curse had worked.

The humans saw the orcs as injured humans.

But at a crucial moment, the curse had broken.

“But it doesn’t matter.”

The orc shaman didn’t know exactly what had happened since he hadn’t confirmed it himself.

He only knew the general situation.

Despite the irregular situation, the orc shaman was confident.

He had thirty-two followers in total.

They had lost only three ordinary orcs, but there were still twenty-nine left.

“The humans are just twenty-two.”

The orc shaman believed that with his own strength, they had a good chance of winning.

“Everyone, pay attention!!!”

The orc shaman raised his wooden staff high.

“It’s time to attack!!!”

The orc group began to advance systematically at the orc shaman’s command.

And on the orc shaman’s staff, a faint blue light was swirling.

***

Orcs are not powerful beings.

I have faced many orcs myself.

Even a beginner sword user like me, a Sword Expert novice, could handle two of them.

Of course, if they were ordinary orcs.

But…

“It seems like a dangerous situation is unfolding…?”

At my warning, Asia nodded firmly.

“I know.”

More orcs than knights.

And…

“Orc Shaman!”

Even a commander leading the group.

In this setup, who could say that orcs were weak?

Orcs with a command structure, proper armament.

It was clear that the battle would be difficult for the knights.

“Everyone, prepare for battle and take your positions!”

Retired Commander calmly shouted at the orc group.

Although there was still some distance between them and the orc group, the orcs slowly approached the knights.

As they almost reached the front line, all the knights drew their swords.

Asia also unsheathed her sword.

I proposed to Asia, who was staring at the orc group with a serious expression.

“I will fight too.”

“It’s okay…! Don’t underestimate the Knights of Sun.”

I didn’t underestimate them…

It was simply my intention to finish the job without any casualties.

However, since I was rejected once, I decided to stay out of it for now.

There was no time to beg for permission in the first place.

The Orcs.

They were now close enough to say they were right in front of us.

“#@%@#%@”

The Orc Shaman raised his staff.

At the same time, a blue light emanated from the staff and spread widely around.

‘Mana…? What is this?’

Mana spread widely in this space.

But I felt a strange sense of familiarity.

‘Where have I felt this kind of mana before?’

It didn’t take long for me to realize what the shaman had cast, thanks to the strange state of the Knights of Sun.

‘So this was it…!’

Just like when we first encountered three Orcs, the Knights were muttering, ‘Why are injured humans here…?’

The Asian next to me was doing the same.

“Why are there injured humans…? Something’s strange… Ugh!”

Muttering with dilated pupils.

Seeing these pathetic looks, I shouted once again.

“What on earth are you all doing?!!!”

My shout snapped the Knights of Sun back to their senses.

Even Asia, who was momentarily shocked, returned to normal.

With a realization on her face, Asia shouted to the Knights.

“That Orc Shaman is definitely using curse magic! Everyone, raise your mana to clear your minds!!!”

Curse magic?

It seemed that the Orc Shaman had cast curse magic.

‘I thought it was a spell that affected the mind, but it was curse magic.’

Of course, I had already figured out what it was, except for the curse magic.

‘Then, the mana I felt when facing the three Orcs must have been the same mana.’

It wasn’t as strong as it is now, so I didn’t realize it immediately.

‘But why am I unaffected?’

Is curse magic ineffective against the strong?

Anyway, after that crisis-like situation passed, the battle between the Orcs and the Knights of Sun finally began.

***

The Orc Shaman was bewildered.

‘What is this!!!’

The mysterious stone attached to the staff.

It was an enhanced curse magic powered by that stone.

Once someone unaffected by the curse magic shouted, there was no way the curse would be broken.

But – it happened.

The Orc Shaman, bewildered, chanted the next spell for his next magic.

‘!@$#$#!%!!’

As he finished the chant, a red energy began to swirl around the staff.

The red energy left the staff and poured straight towards the Orc horde.

At the same time, the eyes of the Orcs engulfed in the red energy began to turn red.

The Orcs, with muscles pumped to the point where veins were visible, charged towards the human knights.

‘Krooo!!!’

‘Uoo!!!’

‘Geooo!!!’

The Orcs roared as they charged towards the humans.

The clash between the Orcs and the human knights.

The Orcs, empowered by magic, were strong.

They were overwhelming the knights by a slim margin.

The Orc Shaman smiled satisfactorily at the current situation.

‘Indeed, it’s the mysterious stone. With this power alone, we could build the Orc nation!’

Thinking such thoughts, the Orc Shaman carefully watched one particular spot.

The black-haired human.

Unlike the others, he didn’t participate in the battle, but he seemed oddly unsettling.

Whether it was because he wasn’t affected by the curse magic or because he broke the curse.

‘Is he a criminal…?’

The black-haired human in a restrained state.

The Orc Shaman judged him as a criminal.

So, there was absolutely no need to be wary of him.

Being restrained and caught by the previous knights meant he was weak.

But still…

‘I need to be careful of that guy.’

The instinct of an Orc was warning me.

That human was dangerous.

Therefore, the orc shaman never took his eyes off the black-haired human for a moment.

“Hmm…!”

Mana began to swirl around the black-haired human.

A sense of foreboding also crept in at the same time.

Plop.

Thud.

Even though there was a distance between them, it sounded as if the sound of breaking chains was ringing in his ears.

“D-Did we just make eye contact?”

Feeling a sense of unknown terror, the orc shaman took a step back.

“A-Are you smiling now?”

The orc shaman muttered, seeing the black-haired human smiling at him.

***

The situation was assessed.

Orcs and the Order of Knights.

Logically, the Order of Knights should have the upper hand.

After all, they were at least at the level of Sword Expert Novices.

But…

“Milene.”

The orcs, strengthened by the shaman’s magic.

They were individually strong enough to rival a novice knight.

With more orcs in numbers.

If the orc shaman observing me from afar were to join the battle, the defeat of the Order of Knights was inevitable.

“There’s no other choice.”

Awakening the mana dormant within me, I wrapped it around my body.

And exerted my strength once.

Thud.

The broken chains fell to the ground.

“That orc shaman… has a good sense, huh?”

The orc shaman continued to watch me.

Recognizing a strong opponent, perhaps.

Or maybe it was just the instinct of a monster.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Since I had decided to take action, the defeat of the orcs was inevitable.

Smiling at the orc shaman watching me, I murmured, “I’m coming to meet you now.”