episode_0142

We, who had finished preparations in the Holy Kingdom and were about to move towards a new place, began preparing for camping in the middle.

Perhaps because it was a task we had been doing for quite some time now, everyone skillfully began preparing for camp.

“Speaking of which, young master. Where are we going now?”

“Huh?… Didn’t I say?”

“Hmm. You didn’t say.”

Baek-ryeon nodded and replied.

“We’re going to a place called ‘Arkrante,’ where orcs invaded.”

“Orc?”

“Yeah. Um…. It’s one of the non-human races, and we’ll solve the problem there first.”

“Orc… what kind of race is it?”

Perhaps curious about the new race, Seol-lin asks with a curious expression.

“Um…. First of all, they are bipedal creatures that walk on two legs, but they are treated as monsters…, so they are considered a race of goblins.”

“A goblin, you say?”

A race with a pig-like face and a size and height of 2 to 3 times that of a human.

They are generally treated as monsters, but because of their intelligence that allows them to create tribes and live, scholars are debating whether they should be classified as monsters.

Since it’s a game setting, it’ll be the same if it hasn’t changed much.

“Oh, if it’s an orc, I’ve heard of it in a fairy tale my mother told me a long time ago.”

Leviia shyly raises her hand and says.

“A fairy tale?”

“Yes!… The story of a knight and an orc….”

“….”

That’s something….

The title has a stern feel to it.

But seeing Leviia talk so fluently, it probably isn’t a lewd story.

“Anyway, we call them orcs as a large classification, but there are several distinctions among orcs. First, high orcs. They have the intelligence to make their own weapons. They make up the largest number of orcs, and are therefore called the standard type of orc.”

They are the most ordinary guys, but at the same time, they also have the highest potential.

Most of the ‘Orc Lords’ come from these high orcs.

“Second, red orcs. These guys are characterized by having red skin, as their name suggests.”

“Then do ordinary orcs have skin color?”

“It’s green. Green with yellow eyes is a typical feature of high orcs and giant orcs. Among them, only red orcs have red skin.”

Compared to high orcs, they use slightly more primitive weapons, but red orcs use something called ‘engraving magic’ to amplify their physical abilities several times, or use spells equivalent to human magic to attack.

As they are the only type of orc that uses magic attribute attacks, they are quite annoying to encounter.

“Giant orcs are… simple. Big and strong. That’s all.”

Orcs themselves are giants about 2-3 times larger than ordinary people, but giant orcs are a group of enormous giants about 10 times larger than those orcs. If you see them in person, you could almost call them giants.

“Hmm…. So those guys came?”

“If they’re such dangerous goblins, why didn’t they get exterminated first?”

In Yeom-guk, monsters that were threatening to humans had already been exterminated in advance, completely wiping out the seeds of the monsters, so Seol-lin tilted her head, as if she couldn’t understand.

And it was Lucy who answered that.

“There are several reasons, but the biggest reason is that they are not dangerous.”

“Not dangerous? The orcs invaded, didn’t they?”

“That’s a special case this time. The existing orcs never went outside their territory unless someone invaded their territory…. If I had to compare it, it would be like a beehive that’s okay if you don’t touch it?”

As we talked about this and that, it was already starting to get dark around us.

“So, the immediate goal is to exterminate the orcs?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what’s next? Are we going to chase after that witch you saw in the Magic Kingdom? Or do you have other things to do separately?”

“What’s next….”

I couldn’t easily answer Seol-lin’s question.

Once we solve the orc problem, where should we go?

Should we head to the Western Continent as is and look for another fragment of the Demon King that the Pope mentioned? Or should we go to defeat the fragment of the Demon King we already met, the witch Tamiel?

It was hard to decide which one would be better.

“Well. I don’t know.”

“Really? That’s unexpected. I definitely thought you’d be chasing after that witch.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because you said she’s a beauty.”

What does this girl think of me….

As I stared at her with a dumbfounded look, Seol-lin shrugged and said.

“We have a saying in our Yeom-guk, ‘Heroes are fond of women.’ I can generously understand if you want to take a concubine.”

“Um, I feel the same.”

“….”

Baek-ryeon nodded in response to Seol-lin’s words, and Baek-ho also looked at me silently.

Lucy laughed at the sight, and Leviia turned her gaze away in a hurry with a red face.

These guys….

“You can’t say things like that when Leviia is here.”

“I, I’m okay…, I am….”

Leviia mutters in a small voice.

She’s okay with it, what a kind child.

“Stop with the nonsense and let’s eat and sleep.”

* * *

Arkrante.

This place is a country located very close to the Western Continent, and it has served as a connecting passage between the Western Continent and the Central Continent.

It was a country that had been accumulating wealth through such trade, supplying medicines and minerals that only came from the Western Continent to the Central Continent, and vice versa, supplying goods that were often seen in the Central Continent to the Western Continent.

However, this country was currently filled with a mournful atmosphere.

“Hoo…. What should I do…”

King Idmond IV of Arkrante sighed deeply.

Odemon, Lintine, and Debium. These three cities are currently occupied by orcs.

“Even the hero couldn’t solve this problem…. What should I do…”

Not a single vassal could answer the king’s voice, filled with anguish.

They just avoided his gaze and remained silent.

The power of the orcs was beyond their imagination.

Of course, the orc race itself had a much stronger physique than humans from the beginning, making them very difficult to deal with in a direct confrontation.

But… the orcs that invaded this time were different.

Their strength was one thing, but they clearly utilized primitive tactics to attack the city.

Giant orcs threw large rocks to attack the walls, red orcs with particularly strong regenerative abilities pierced through the ranks of soldiers at the forefront, and high orcs filled the paths created by the red orcs, completely surrounding them in a tactical movement.

As a result, three cities were quickly captured, and the people there became prisoners.

“Is there really no other way but to hand over this country according to their demands!….”

The king cried out, as if in sorrow.

Then the vassals dissuaded the king, but the king shouted hysterically.

“Then what should I do!! Do you have a way to save the people who are being held and trembling in the hands of those orcs!!!”

“Th, that is….”

“Ahem….”

“When they start moving again! Are there brave men who can stop them!!!”

There wouldn’t be.

If there were, they would have dedicated themselves to the orcs to retake the city.

Bang!

“A, a letter has arrived from the Holy Kingdom!!!”

The door of the gloomy conference room burst open and a vassal rushed in.

He hurriedly handed the letter with the seal of the Holy Kingdom to the king. The king tore open the letter with slightly rough hands and examined the contents.

Then his eyes widened and his hands trembled.

“Y, Your Majesty. What’s wrong?”

“What’s written on it?”

“A hero is coming.”

“A hero, you say?”

“But….”

The vassals trailed off.

It was only a few months ago that the hero Abel had tried to exterminate the orcs once, almost died, and ran away.

The morale of the orcs rose even higher, and the morale of our side fell miserably.

In that situation, what good would it do for a hero to come again….

“The hero Leon… is coming to solve this problem.”

“!!!”

Hero Leon.

Who in the current Central Continent wouldn’t know his name?

His name, which had defeated the fragments of the Demon King, was rising so high that it would drop even flying birds.

“Q, quickly prepare to welcome the hero!”

“Yes!”

* * *

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of a bonfire burning can be heard.

An old orc with red skin looked up at the stars in the night sky, then coughed and called for someone.

“Chieftain, what’s wrong?”

“…Bring Gorquis.”

“Gorquis, you say? Understood.”

After the red-skinned orc left, a green-skinned orc wearing shiny armor walked over after a while.

“Gororro. I heard you called.”

“Corquis. Through your determination and persuasion, we were able to come to the land of the Central Continent.”

“If you’re just going to say something trivial, I’m leaving. Gororro.”

“Listen. It’s important.”

At Gororro’s words, Corquis stared at him for a moment, then roughly sat down.

“What do you want to say?”

“I saw the stars. Soon, something enormous will overwhelm us.”

“?”

Something enormous?

Corquis, who couldn’t understand Gororro’s words, frowned and said.

“I don’t understand. Please tell me properly.”

“I don’t know what it is either. But… a huge star is approaching. I don’t know if it will be a disaster or a blessing for our orcs.”

“….”

“Our red orcs came here believing in your words. So I had to tell you.”

Corquis nodded at Gororro’s words.

“I understand. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“That’s enough.”

Corquis got up from his seat and turned away.