ALL NOVEL Chapter 31 - Uninvited Guest (3)
15. Uninvited Guest (3)
“I swear on my life to protect this orc.”
“No need, your safety is what matters.”
“Yes!”
Yuri smiled broadly and led the other two knights away.
The sound of explosions and clashing weapons gradually faded away.
“Hurry.”
As they continued, the demeanor of the other two knights, Guinness and Dyke, seemed peculiar.
Perhaps giving too much attention to Simon was the cause. It seemed like these two were experiencing jealousy and a sense of rivalry.
Yuri clicked his tongue.
Why were grown men behaving like this towards an eighteen-year-old boy?
However, he didn’t want to blame them. These knights, who risked their lives on the battlefield, might need something meaningful.
Yuri spoke.
“You two.”
They looked at him with expectant expressions.
However, Yuri was not foolish enough to praise them as he had before.
People needed the sort of attention that was fitting for them.
Yuri said sharply,
“Are you already exhausted? Panting already? Do you think this is a training ground?”
“Well, it’s just…”
“Anyway…”
Their expressions quickly darkened.
Their pace gradually slackened.
“Take this.”
Yuri suddenly stopped and handed the pouch from his waist.
It contained water.
The two looked up at Yuri.
Without glancing at them, Yuri spoke while staring ahead.
“Not that I’m worried about you guys.’
To Simon, who had been scorned as an illegitimate child, Yuri was like a ‘caring older brother’, while for these pampered youngsters, he needed to be a ‘man everyone desired’.
They looked at Yuri blankly, eventually accepting the water bag.
“Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank. It’s just a leftover.”
“Okay…”
“I’m only slightly worried about you two.”
“What?”
Not that he wasn’t worried at all, but only slightly.
Something flickered in their eyes.
Once they drank, Yuri slapped their backs. One choked and coughed.
“If you’re ready, let’s move quickly!”
“Yes!”
“*Cough*, yes!”
Yuri ran, searching for the nearest location.
Three knights and one orc were confronting each other.
He intervened immediately, brandishing his sword. The orc was startled and retreated.
“What are you doing? Come quickly.”
“Yes!”
“Trap it!”
Guiness and Dyke joined in promptly.
Six knights surrounded the orc. It couldn’t resist and was hacked apart.
“In sheer numbers, overwhelming is key. Follow me.”
“Yes!”
Yuri led the group of knights, taking down orcs engaged in battle one by one.
Explosions occurred occasionally, but thanks to the fire protection cannon, damage was minimized.
“Phew…”
Yuri wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The results were satisfactory.
Without the fire protection cannon and without having prepared the knight brigade, the supplies, and provisions bound for Balshad would have burned.
“Clear the dead and bring the living before my tent.”
“Understood.”
Yuri held his aching shoulder and returned to the camp.
Hernando was warming himself by the fire. He saw Yuri and waved.
“All settled?”
“Of course.”
“Anywhere injured?”
“My shoulder.”
“Come here.”
A healing spell emanated from his hands.
“Shoulders are prone to injury. They need proper care regularly. Do you do any rotator cuff exercises?”
“I got hit by an orc just now.”
“Oh dear. You get hit often?”
“You little…”
“Never mind.”
As Hernando withdrew his hands, Yuri rotated his shoulder.
The pain vanished completely. He was indeed better than any ordinary priest.
“Where’s Kori?”
“I sent him on an errand. Oh, he’s coming.”
Kori came running, carrying something.
“Hernando, I brought it.”
“Well done.”
It was a large wooden chair.
A beast’s face was carved on the backrest and armrest ends, encased in dark leather, reminiscent of something a bandit leader showing off his power might use.
“A Commander must have a sense of dignity.”
Placing the chair behind Yuri, Kori explained.
“Where did you find it?”
“I didn’t find it. One of the soldiers is a carpenter, so I asked him.”
“Oh, well…”
Yuri promptly sat down in the chair.
“Good job.”
“Heh heh heh…”
The chair’s back rose tall, even while supporting his body.
The sensation of the leather wrapping him was quite pleasant.
Yuri laid his hands on the armrest and waited leisurely.
Soon, the orcs were dragged in.
Some resisted once they regained consciousness but quieted down after being kicked by the knights.
Those who couldn’t even move in front of the orcs in Jaime’s castle had grown significantly.
Satisfied, Yuri smiled.
He had ordered the Orcbal to be brought last.
“Kneel them one by one.”
“Yes!”
An orc was shoved down in front of Yuri.
Surrounded by knights, it crouched before the fire, growling at Yuri.
“Kori, translate my words.”
“Yes.”
“Who ordered the night raid?”
Kori asked in orcish.
The downed orc turned its gaze to Kori. Then, its face distorted.
The orc yelled in a coarse voice.
Kori flinched for a moment.
“What’s it saying?”
“Um…”
“It’s a threat, isn’t it?”
Obvious.
The orc was surely threatening the half-orc Kori, who spoke their language.
Yuri rose from his seat.
“Your Highness?”
Raymond, standing by, called out to him. Yuri walked toward the orc without responding.
Dragging it out wasn’t his plan.
Torturing a regular orc was merely preparation to instill fear in the Orcbal.
“What, what should I tell it?”
“No need.”
Conveniently, the orc threatening Kori was a long-haired one. He grabbed the creature’s hair.
He thrust the orc’s face into the campfire.
Horrendous screams echoed.
Yuri didn’t release the creature until its face began to melt. When the creature flailed its limbs in resistance, he dislocated both its shoulders.
“Aaaaanh!”
If it opened its mouth, the flames would invade.
Even its screams were consumed by the blaze, crumbling into dust. Perhaps its vocal cords were burnt, as it trembled and fell limp eventually.
Yuri tossed it to the ground.
It wasn’t completely dead. It lay there, grotesquely burned, its heart still beating.
“Dispose of it.”
Yuri gestured with his chin.
When the knights hesitated, Jared stepped forward and dragged the orc away.
“Next one.”
Yuri gestured again and returned to his seat.
Silence enveloped them.
What seemed like a slightly silly chair was now terrifying.
Even the knights were on edge from this unexpected display of brutality.
A new orc was thrown in front of Yuri.
“Kori, ask the same question.”
“Yes, yes.”
Kori repeated what he said earlier.
This orc didn’t curse immediately like the previous one. It only glared at Yuri with gritted teeth.
Yuri rose again from his seat.
As he approached, the orc tried to say something.
“Y-Your Highness. That orc says…”
“No need.”
Yuri waved his hand, indicating Kori to stop.
“These creatures only get one chance.”
Yuri had no compassion for orcs.
From birth, they were creatures that opposed other life forms—not merely a different culture, but a contamination of this world.
When Yuri approached, the orc charged at him, dragging its broken leg.
He swung his blade, Guilty, cleaving the creature’s wrist. The severed hand flew through the air.
A swift kick sent the creature tumbling into the campfire.
The orc’s body caught fire.
As it futilely flailed around, sparks flew. Yuri drew a dagger from his jacket and thrust it into the creature.
It was a dagger with the essence of water, one of the daggers Guillermo had procured, the Water Essence Dagger.
The water essence shielded Yuri’s and the orc’s hands. The flames consuming the orc died, and thick steam rose.
Yuri pulled the orc from the fire. Its body was gruesomely burned, oozing fluid.
“Disgusting,” he grumbled.
Yuri dragged it and dumped it beside the first orc, who remained prone.
The two orcs crawled weakly, halfway to death.
“Next.”
Yuri reclined again in his chair. The atmosphere was solemn as never before.
Another orc was knelt in front of him amid the knights’ silent vigil.
Yuri gestured toward Kori, who repeated the question. The orc responded.
“Says he doesn’t know.”
“Doesn’t know?”
“Yes. Should I press further?”
Yuri surveyed the remaining number of orc prisoners. Two remained, including the Orcbal.
“Jared.”
“Yes.”
“You do it.”
“Understood.”
Jared grasped Yuri’s intent and approached the orc. The orc pleaded for mercy, bowing its head.
But it met the same fate as its predecessors. Ultimately its face was burned in the fire, left half-melted.
Yuri rested his chin on his hand.
“Now, you must relay information as fast and efficiently as possible.”
The next orc quickly spoke. Kori cocked his head, listening carefully.
“What’s it saying?”
“It doesn’t know. It says the Orcbal over there knows about the mission and begs for its life. It claims it only raided under the Orcbal’s orders, asking us to question the Orcbal instead.”
“How admirable.”
That orc was left standing as it was.
Finally, the Orcbal was brought forth.
Kori looked at Yuri. This time, Yuri decided to change his question.
“Did Orcua give the order?”
Kori tilted his head slightly and asked the Orcbal. Upon hearing Orcua’s name, the Orcbal’s eyes narrowed sharply.
But it did not easily open its mouth.
It seemed preoccupied with many thoughts.
“Tell it to answer.”
“He asked if it will be spared if it answers.”
“Tell it yes.”
“It doesn’t trust your words.”
“Then it must die.”
“Says it has a lot of information. If it shares everything, it wants assurance of being spared.”
“The dying one makes it troublesome.”
Yuri muttered, which Kori didn’t translate.
“What assurance?”
“It says humans value oaths, asking for one.”
“An oath, then…”
The Orcbal repeated what it demanded. Kori relayed,
“It says that in front of all your subordinates, make an oath.”
Yuri laughed aloud.
Having fought humans, it had become skillful at dealing with them.
Though an enemy, should the Commander break his word, it would diminish his honor.
“Alright.”
Yuri nodded and rose from his seat.
“Let’s do as it asks.”
Standing with Kori in between, Yuri and the Orcbal exchanged oaths.
Pledging not to attack each other, in exchange for the Orcbal revealing information.
The Orcbal emphasized,
“It says, if an attack occurs, the oath breaks, and honor is assessed.”
“An orc speaks of honor!”
Yuri muttered.
It irked him to hear orcs use that term.
From his mercenary days, Yuri knew that orcs possessed neither righteousness nor reason.
“Fine, let’s proceed.”
Concluding the bargain, Yuri began questioning the Orcbal.
“Was it Orcua’s command?”
“Yes. To clarify, his tribe leader sent him out following Orcua’s orders.”
“How did they know about the Allied Forces?”
“It says Orcua has a method of obtaining information. It doesn’t know how though.”
“Does all the plain’s orcs follow Orcua?”
“It says the largest tribes have consolidated under Orcua, and the others are only a matter of time. It says the influence is expanding.”
What the Orcbal knew wasn’t much. Only what Yuri had already guessed.
After a few more questions, Yuri decided to wrap it up.
“I see. So with or without humans, orcs were preparing for war.”
“Yes. Even without humans, a war was going to happen.”
He did not expect an abundance of detailed information. He was content to understand the nature of Orcua, whom the allied forces had to face.
“It says that’s all it knows. Because it’s an Orcbal but has a low status, it couldn’t help it…”
“Alright, show gratitude.”
Kori relayed Yuri’s words. The Orcbal grimaced.
“It asks if it can leave now.”
“Uhm…”
Yuri looked around.
By now, the knights must have realized who they were facing.
Orcua.
A formidable monster.
When he fell, Orcua had belonged to the list of the top ten strong beings on the continent.
“Anyone has questions?”
Yuri asked the knights. They stayed silent for a moment before one raised a hand.
“How strong is Orcua?”
That was a good question.
Yuri gestured for Kori to ask the Orcbal.
The Orcbal erupted in laughter.
“Says even if a few dozen of his kind attacked him, they couldn’t win. Swears it has no peer across the world.”
The mood sank.
Yuri jerked his chin.
“Tell it to leave.”
“Yes.”
“Tell it to take any of the other orcs it wants.”
“Says it doesn’t need them.”
The Orcbal stood tall, looked around at the knights smiling slyly, and began walking out of the camp.
It carried itself not like a defeated, but a victor.
“Are you really going to let it go?”
Jared asked. Yuri nodded.
“I swore an oath.”
“But…”
“I am a Prince of Briol. I do not break my promises.”
Then, Yuri discreetly revealed something from his pocket.
Jared’s eyes widened, and then he laughed quietly.
“Ah, I see.”
“Exactly.”
It was the red gem necklace taken from bandits.
The item, which could incite frenzy within an orc, currently had its power sealed.
He had asked Hernando to modify it to be activated with mana when needed.
Yuri activated his Mana Method, releasing the energy contained within the gem necklace.
The Orcbal halted its steps.
“Hey, Orcbal!”
Yuri shouted.
“Farewell!”
He waved his hand.
The Orcbal turned around.
The Orcbal’s eyes turned blood red.
“Grrr…”
Its face twisted.
The area where its nose should be twitched and its mouth gaped open.
“Effect is potent.”
The Orcbal appeared to be resisting the madness that engulfed it.
But ultimately, it couldn’t defy its nature.
The Orcbal roared ferociously.
The knights, startled, raised their weapons. The Orcbal charged at Yuri in a frenzy.
“Stop it!”
Yuri didn’t need to intervene.
The knights in the camp rushed forward and intercepted the Orcbal. As strong as it was, it couldn’t match all these knights.
Soon, the Orcbal was cut down, bleeding all over before collapsing.
Even in the end, it glared at Yuri, its red eyes glowing menacingly.
“Kill it.”
Yuri ordered. Laurent, standing nearby, swung his sword immediately.
The Orcbal’s head was severed.
It rolled across the ground and eventually came to a halt at Yuri’s feet.
Yuri grabbed both ears, lifting the Orcbal’s head aloft. Its expression was still wild, the mysterious madness that had possessed it lingering in its eyes.
“Mount it on a stake.”