Plus the magic that Berigard used earlier was none other than advanced magic.
<strong>GRUAAHHH…</strong> with a loud shout, the orc general crawled out of the hole he made and glared towards Berigard.
He was just about to attack when Berigard spoke once again—"You should stop your pointless attacks. Haven't you realized already that you aren't my match?".
"You!!" Berirock exclaimed in anger and shame. He wasn't a fool to not realize the difference in their strength, in fact after getting hit by that attack, his whole body became sour for a few seconds and multiple of his ribs was broken.
Now the words made him lose his face in front of the crowd. Berirock bit his teeth, unresigned by the fact that the general who was supposed to be beneath him, was suddenly far stronger than him.
Unable to accept it, he tried to attack Berigard once again. However, midcharge he was stopped by three orc commanders that were under Berigard.
"What is the meaning of this Berigard? Are you trying to revolt?" the orc king asked. The army that was brought by Berigard, suddenly sprang into action and encircled the entire plaza.
"Hmph, I want to see how long you can keep this pretence" Berigard snorted and addressed the boggled crowd in the plaza.
"My fellow orcs, please do not be alarmed, my army is not here to fight indiscriminately. We are only here to take down this heinous criminal that has been deceiving us for years. I know that you are angry at my conduct and manner. However, trust me when I say I have proof that will bring the entire truth in front of you guys".
"What are you guys doing, get them out of my way" on the plaza after being stopped by Berigard's orc commanders, Berirock shouted towards his own army.
Immediately, a few burly orcs jumped out of the crowd and rushed towards Bellock, Belmarch and Belsea.
"Leave them to me," Belsea said and turned to face the orc commanders of Berrirock.
Berigards' orc commanders might be extremely competent; however, it was not a joke to face an orc general head on. Thus it needed the two of them just to keep Berirock busy.
"It a pity that you want to go against me. Losing an orc shaman as talented as you will be a huge loss for our diluvian High orc tribe. There is still time, if you bend your knees and swear your loyalty to me once again, I shall pardon all your crimes Berigard".
On the meeting table, the orc king whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Berigard dismissed the offer with a gruffy snort and turned his attention towards the crowd who were cautious of him.
"I have proof that the orc king was the one behind the disappearance of our fellow orc comrades. This is a transmission conch that all of you are aware of. Recorded in this conch is the conversation between the orc king and a human middleman that is responsible for trafficking the orcs from our territory to a human kingdom".
Berigard took a transmission conch from his space and presented it in front of everyone. Seeing the conch, the orc king clenched his hands, the impulse to break the conch flashed inside his head. However, it was quickly suppressed by his rationale as doing so would put him in an awkward position.
Without waiting for anyone, Berigard played the contents of the transmission conch. Since he also used his mastery over tempest magic, the sound travelled across the entire plaza without any problem.
"You told me that you would be sending hundred tonnes of Grade [3] mana crystals in exchange for warriors above level 300? These are only of grade [2] with hardly a few grade [3] mixed in between. Are you trying to scam me?".
A husky voice that was very familiar to the ears of the onlooking orcs, sounded out. It was followed by a voice that could only possibly be of a human.
"Haha… that is true, the deal was for me to provide hundred tonnes of grade [3] mana crystals in exchange for warriors above level 300. However, you failed to keep the end of your bargain. This time's quota was far less than the last time. Naturally, you don't expect us to pay for things that we didn't get right?".
Listening to the record, one could tell from the tone of the two voices that it was not their first time interacting with each other.
"I told you before didn't I, we are currently in a scuffle with the ogre tribe. It is very hard for me to fulfil the required quota at this very time" the orc in the transmission reasoned.
"That is not our problem. A deal is a deal… I will wait for our next dispatch until then, I hope you solve your problems".
It looked like the human on the other hand was about to hang up and the record would end here when—"Wait a minute, you told me that you would be sending the next dispatcher soon. However, I haven't heard from any such person for a while?".
"Hmm? Well he should be there soon. He has the transmission conch and that item, he will be contacting you soon".
Nove l B(in).C OM
The transmission ended here leaving the crowd baffled and stunned. The orcs couldn't believe their ears even after hearing the whole record. The voice in the transmission conch was no doubt belonged to the orc king.
The person that they trusted wholeheartedly and the one they were so loyal to. Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Berigard nodded his head. He could empathise with the ones on the plaza; after all, it was just too much to hear their king, their pillar of faith beraying them.
"GUGAGA… since you were talking so unwaveringly about this proof, I have been wondering what it was. However, it turned out to be a simple transmission conch? Laughable, do you really think you can manipulate the minds of my subjects just like this?"
"Everyone, please do not trust this recording. Those knowledgeable orcs should know that it is very easy to tinker with a transmission conch. This is especially so for those humans. Everyone, do not be swayed by the lies of general Berigard. He must be working together with the ogre tribe and is trying to revolt to overthrow me at this crucial time when the threat of ogre lies just in front of us".
Belgarious didn't rise up to the position of orc king for nothing, he wouldn't just sit still and allow someone to manipulate the crowd against him. With just a few words from him, he immediately shrugged the blame towards Berigard and made the proof he brought out as good as null.
The crowd who was about to be swayed by the sounds in that transmission conch, snapped out of it.
The words of the orc king made more sense to them. The transmission conch wasn't a definite evidence against their king and just as Belgarious said, it could be easily tampered with.
The crowd started to become suspicious of Berigard's intention, it made them wonder if he really sided with their enemy tribe to overthrow the orc king at this delicate moment.
Seeing the momentum he had garnered revert back to the Orc king's side, Berigard was silent. Nevertheless, he wasn't too upset by this situation since he knew it wouldn't be this easy to sway the dozens of years of faith and belief the orcs had in Belgarious.
Therefore, when he came here, he was resolved in all sorts of situations.
"What now, the proof that you had was rendered mute by me. Now according to the laws, I can punish you for slandering and trying to revolt in any way I want. But I will still give you another chance in the accord that you are still useful to me. Bend your knees and swear your loyalty to me. Do so and I will pardon all your crimes".
The orc king smiled in victory. However, his smile soon crumbled apart when he saw, Berigard signal something towards his army. Immediately, they brought out something that was wrapped in a cloth from head to toe.
Seeing how it writhed from time to time, it was no doubt a living thing.
"I never said that sound transmission was the only evidence that I had" Berigard declared and took out yet another thing from his space ring—"Everyone, please look at this. This is what we have found inside the space ring that man had on him".
The crowd finally understood what that thing wrapped inside the cloth was, they turned their head towards the object in Beriogard's hand. It was a common pouch that was carried by humans and was used for storing small miscellaneous items.
What was so unusual about this item for a general to bring it out at this moment?
"Everyone, this is no ordinary pouch, stored in it is the leaf of a plant that could only be found in the deep regions of our territory. You all know it as a plant that has the medicinal property of healing wounds. However, when it is mixed with another item, it gains the property of cleansing all kinds of scent. It is also something that I found out after investigating the person over there".
HUSTLE… BUSTLE… the crowd went into a frenzy after they were made aware of this. What did cleansing all kinds of odour meant? Didn't it mean that the sense of smell that the tribe of orc took so pride in, was meaningless in front of it?
Didn't it mean that using this anyone can intruide their territory without even them being aware of it?