163-Episode 163: Oak Emperor

The firing zone is this way.

Please bring the demolition material over here!

On the plains far from the town, Elma-san and the other employees of the Adventurer's Guild raised their voices.

They had come as a traveling desk clerk to assess the orc materials I had asked the Adventurers Guild to dismantle on the spot.

The reason for this is that there are about 20,000 orc materials that can't fit into the Adventurer's Guild's dismantling yard.

That's why it was decided to assess them here and take them straight to the merchant guild's warehouse and shops.

''No, when I see this scene, I'm really glad I hired the adventurers,''

Yeah, we wouldn't be here for days if it was just us.

'In the meantime, the orcs we killed will rot...'

Maybe you would have been turned undead on the spot.

Twenty thousand orcish undead I'd like to avoid at all costs.

""Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

We were watching the orc dismantling scene from a little distance.

The smell of 20,000 orcs' blood and guts would be too much to bear if I was around.

''The best part is that I'm the client, so I don't have to help with the work!

Yeah.

"Muggy muggy muggy.

We can hear the sound of the mofos eating oak meat at our feet as we relax.

'It's so peaceful,'

'No, I'm not sure I'd call this scene peaceful, but...'

"Bullying, blah, blah, blah, gefu.

Fluffy Moffy eats it all cleanly down to the bone and screams with satisfaction.

Still, you ate well, Mohumov.

By the way, Aug-san has gone to report to his lord for defeating 20,000 orcs.

Originally, the purpose of today was to explore, but an unscheduled large scale battle occurred, so they have to report it thoroughly.

Saying that, Aug-san, who was heading to the lord's mansion, really looked like a knight in the back.

At that time, the adventurers who were dismantling the building let out a cheer.

''What's going on?''

I was craning my neck to see what was going on when Elma came down to us, looking nervous.

'Mr. Lex, could you come over here for a moment?'

What's going on?

Yes, we found the big one.

Huh, the big ones, like the Orc General or the Orc Wizard?

We're going to see it!

Uh, I think I'll pass on that.

I'll pass. You'll smell blood on me.

I'm going because I smell money.

'Then I'll have to follow you. I've never seen a higher species of orc before.

Liliera, Jairo and Megri will follow you, and Mina and Norbu will stay here.

Okay, let's go then.

You're not going to be able to do that.

This is....

The place where Elma brought me was right in the middle of a group of orcs.

There are orcs there who are bigger than the other orcs or who are wearing good equipment.

They are clearly the main group of the pack.

But even those orcs were hazy.

An enormous body about five meters tall, with log-like limbs, made of demon fur.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this in the article.

''It's an orc emperor.

Yes, the one who was lying there was the Orc Emperor Orc Emperor.

A powerful and matchless orc champion that surpasses the orc king, born on the rare occasions when a huge orc herd is formed.

''Orc Emperor I've never seen an Orc Emperor before.

That's the orc emperor I've never seen an orc like that one.

The adventurers around me shouted in agitation when they saw the Oak Emperor.

''As you can see, it's the Oak Emperor. Since the Orc Emperor is the leader of the pack leading the Orc Empire, the Adventurer's Guild has determined that this pack is the Orc Empire. And with the defeat of the flock, we have completed our request to Lex-san and the others to investigate the Orc Empire.

Elma-san told me and reminded me that this request was an investigation of the Orc Empire.

''..........''

"[Aha!　Speaking of which!

We were honestly surprised that you would not only accomplish the survey so quickly, but also take down the entire orc empire.

I certainly didn't think that the herd I happened to discover was the main force of the Oak Emperor, either.

I just feel like there aren't enough of them for the main body of the Oak Emperor...

'But it saved the town from being attacked by a horde of orc emperors. Thank you, Mr. Lex.

No, no, no. That's our job.

Yeah, it's only about three hours from here to Togai town, so if we hadn't found the herd so late, we might have been in trouble.

As for that, I can only say that my timing was really good.

''Of course, the purchase of material from the orcs, including the orc emperor, will be paid for separately from the reward. Since it's such a large number of individuals, you should expect the purchase price.

Yes, I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Hey, brother!　My job is already done, man!

Jairo-kun is excited that the request is over so easily.

Yes, to be honest, I was surprised that it ended so easily too.

But I wanted to fight the Orc Emperor, too. He must have been really big.

And Jairo, you're sorry you couldn't fight the Oak Emperor....

No, if anything, this Oak Emperor is a little thing.

"What?

Elma and Jairo-kun nod their heads at my words.

'Small?　This is it?

It's so big, isn't it?　Your arms and stuff are really thick, aren't they?

Huh?　Maybe this is the first time Elma has seen the Oak Emperor?

'The original Oak Emperor is much larger. It's twice as big as this one.

''Twice as many?　

Yes, it's an individual that can control at least tens of thousands of orcs. It's because they are strong enough to defeat an entire flock by themselves that the Orc Emperor is able to reign supreme. The orc emperor is a monster of strength and stamina, and if fought normally, he would be a tricky opponent to maintain his strength for dozens of hours.

''For tens of hours?

Yes, the Orc Emperor really does fight the enemy one-on-one for as long as he has the energy to do so, but with the body-strengthening magic and muscle armor he instinctively activates, his muscle strength and defensive strength are tremendous.

You could call it living muscle armor.

''This Orc Emperor is probably a young individual that has only just been born. He only had 20,000 of them under his command.

''Only 20,000?''

When you think about it, it makes sense that there were only 20,000 orcs in the herd.

A true Orc Emperor would have a number of Orcs at his disposal that could literally be called an empire.

That's why when I'm told that I've accomplished my request after defeating an orc empire of this scale, I feel a little too lacking in a sense of accomplishment and wonder if it's really over.

Oh, by asking me to expect a purchase price, could it also be a way of thanking me for minimizing the damage?

With the size of Togai's town, it would be hard to defend it if it was attacked by the general orc empire.

No matter how good Augs are, the difference in numbers is pretty tricky.

The Adventurer's Guild is keeping a close eye on things like that.

The noblemen who were clients in the previous life, even though they fought hard to prevent damage from spreading around them, they didn't know how much trouble they were going through, so they would say that it took them a long time to deal with this level of opponent, or that it wasn't such a big deal since they seemed to be able to defeat this monster so easily, and then they would cut back on their rewards.

When you think about it, an adventurer's guild that assesses all sorts of factors, that's a really good organization!

What's this?

And that's when the adventurers who were dismantling the orc emperor called out.

''What's going on?''

'No, the weapon the Orc Emperor had was so dirty that I had the wizard wash it with water magic, but it doesn't look like a normal weapon.

What do you mean it's not a normal weapon?

When I went to look at the Oak Emperor's weapons, Megri was already examining the Oak Emperor's weapons to cover them up.

'Lex, look at this!'

Prompted by Megri-san, I look at the orc emperor's weapon.

''This is........''

The Orc Emperor's weapon was a rugged, unadorned weapon.

It's really just a tool for fighting with only the necessary functions as a weapon, but there was a huge gemstone embedded in the only part of the peak that receives the blade.

'Ooh, a huge jewel!　This is going to be gold, isn't it, bro?

Although Jairo is excited about the fact that the jewelry is attached to it, the way Megri looks at the same thing is not the same as the way he looks at a gold-eyed item.

Above all, the design of the weapon is too rugged for wearing jewelry as decoration.

''Rather, this is ... scan-echo.''

I touched the orc emperor's weapon and activated the analysis magic.

Then I could feel a regular flow of magic power from inside.

''........This is a magic item, isn't it?''

""Magic item!"

I knew it!

To everyone's surprise, Megri was the only one who seemed to know that this was a magic item.

'I thought so because the sword itself was too rugged for an ornament, and I could sense a faint magic power from the weapon even though I didn't use any attribute enhancements!

That's what I'm talking about, Meguri-san. As a thief, you have a good eye for beauty.

Perhaps her aesthetic eye has been honed by working as a shadow warrior for the princess, Aydra-sama.

The fact that a demon has a magic item...

Maybe it's a demon that's been living in the ruins somewhere.

'So there may be some ruins in the direction this herd came from that have yet to be discovered!

"'Ooh!'

When they heard that there might be new ruins, the adventurers were excited to hear that there might be new ruins.

''With the Orc Empire out of danger, the search for the ruins may begin for a while.

Elma's words made my heart flutter a little.

Searching for ruins, huh? It might be a good idea for us to search for the ruins when we receive our reward.

◆.

A few days later, we came to the Adventurer's Guild with a report that the reward for defeating the Orc Empire was ready.

That's because the number of orcs we defeated was so large that it was taking a long time to assess them.

Then Elma-san led us into a special room that we had been in before.

'Sorry to keep you waiting. This is the orc empire's survey fee for you all, 120 gold coins.

First of all, everyone will be paid for the investigation.

'This investigation fee includes not only the regular fee, but also a bonus for early detection.

Is that a bonus?

Yes, it's an uncommon amount for a normal scouting reward, but considering we're dealing with a horde of 20,000 orcs, we thought it was appropriate to increase the reward.

So we'll all be splitting it up and each of us will get 20 gold coins.

''Furthermore, there will be an additional reward for destroying the Orc Empire. However, this one is not from the guild, but from the lord.

My lord?

Why would the lord offer additional compensation for the Adventurer's Guild's request?

''Originally, our request was a request from the government. But with a horde of 20,000 orcs, it was a critical situation from the standpoint of the defense of the territory. Therefore, it's a token of the lord's gratitude for defending the territory on behalf of the knights. This will be 1,000 gold coins.''

Heh, to go out of your way to give me additional compensation for such a thing, there were some good lords.

Or, are all the lords of this time period good nobles like the lord of this town?

I wish it were.

We'll have to bow out of this one. The one who beat him is Mr. Lex.

Liliera and the others refuse to accept the reward because they are not fighting.

''Another thousand gold coins, brother!

But with 20,000 orcs to kill and 1,000 gold pieces, it's probably more efficient to fight the dragons.

Twenty thousand was too many, you know.

It's true, if the price is the same, fighting a single dragon is less time consuming to dismantle and retrieve, right?

''I mean, everyone, I don't think it's right to bring up a dragon as a comparison in the first place, but...''

""What?!"

'Shit, I've been spending so much time with Lex lately that I've lost my senses.

That was a close call, and we almost ended up like Mr. Lex.

No, they're all terrible, aren't they?　Green Dragon and this small Orc Empire aren't much different in strength. It's true that the Orc Empire was more difficult to dismantle, though.

Huh?　So what's the problem?

This Oak Emperor is an S-ranked demon, so as usual, the purchase price will change at auction.

Oh, it's another auction.

I mean, orc emperors are S-ranked.

''Basic S-ranked demon materials are too valuable, so it's common to auction them off. No, buying S-ranked demons itself is not something that happens that many times. Also, the orc general and orc wizard that accompanied the orc emperor, the orc general and the orc emperor's magic swords of the higher level orcs and orc emperor will be put up for auction. What will be offered as rewards this time are B- and C-rank orcs that are in poor condition, right? However, since there are 20,000 orcs, the amount of money is quite high. This one has a total of 2,850 gold coins. This is the amount after deducting the cost of dismantling them to the adventurers already.

About 3,000 gold coins in total. That's an amount of money for Lex-san to make some spending money.

The guild's annual budget is just under the limit, though.

I don't know why Elma is looking at me so distantly, what's wrong with her?

''Well, the rest of it, yes. The guild will contact you again once the winning bid for the auction is officially known. Until then, everyone is free to spend their time as they please. However, there might be a leak in the Orc Empire, so it would be helpful if you could stay in this town for a while.

Okay, Miss Elma.

I put the reward away in the magic bag and leave the special room.

'Oh!　Here comes the dragon boy!

When I returned to the guild's hall, the adventurers who were stationed in the dining room attached to the guild cheered.

''Thanks!　Thanks to you guys, I've got a lot of pockets!

"Ha-ha-ha, I've never seen so many orcs dismantled in my life!

'I didn't know S-ranked people could do such a great job!

It's a complete surprise to me!

It seems that they are all adventurers who helped me dismantle the orcs at my request.

"Hey, dragon boy, you made a lot of money this time too, didn't you?

That's a lot of money to spend on 20,000 orcs.

The Oak Emperor was there, too!

"Dragon boy!　How did you defeat the orc empire?　Tell me about it!

Yeah, we need a story to go with it.

The adventurers are curious about how I defeated the Orc Empire.

I mean, are people already drinking at this time of night?

''No, no, we didn't do anything that interesting to defeat them.

Well, I guess I'd like to know.

And Gyro-kun walks past me and steps forward.

'Listen and be surprised!　What a surprise, my brother beat the Orcs with a single magic shot!

Wait, Gyro-kun!

"'Oh, wow!　You're kidding?

All this talk about how awesome my brother's magic is.

Come on down and talk to us, kid!

I don't want a shaved head, I want a gyro!

When Jairo-kun walked into the adventurers in the blink of an eye, he recounted the time when I defeated the Orc Empire.

''I was so surprised that the magic that fell from the sky quickly eradicated all those orcs that were there!　But that wasn't the only great thing about my brother!　What a surprise, the body of the orc that was defeated by my brother's magic didn't have any extra wounds on it!

Yeah, I saw that. I didn't see any wounds on those orc bodies. How do you take down a sturdy orc without a scratch like that?

It's not...

No, if I break into that one, I'll definitely be forced to explain myself.

I mean, it's a little too embarrassing to have people talk about your exploits!

I think it's best if you leave this to Gyro and we go back to the inn.

Well, I'm going back to the inn. What are you guys going to do?

I want to get out of here as soon as possible, but I need to check everyone's plans just in case.

The best way to do that is to have a look at a few of your favorite things.

Oh, good. I guess we didn't do anything this time.

It looks like Liliella and the others are going to continue to look for the request.

If that's the case, I guess we're going to split up here today.

As we were discussing our plans for the future, the entrance to the guild suddenly opened with a loud bang.

The people who entered were adventurers in ragged form.

It's a terrible sight, as if we've just been fighting.

You look pretty battered, don't you?　What's going on?

They didn't even respond to the words of the adventurer who called out to them in surprise, but instead shouted under their breath, "Oh, my God!

''Oh, my God........Orcs.......''

Orcs?　Could it be that he was a survivor of the Orc Empire, as Elma was concerned?

No, but is the equipment too tattered for that?

If it was just the remnants of a party, it wouldn't be in such a bad state.

But the next words from the adventurers were something we hadn't expected to hear.

''An orc is flying through the sky and attacking us!

"..........

.... hmm?　An orc flew over the sky and attacked...?

"...Huh...?