CH 178

Orc warriors were strong. It wasn’t only their physical strength either. Their stamina and reflexes were far superior to humans as well. They could achieve the same level of power by simply breathing and eating while human knights had to train their bodies day and night with tremendous hard work. Unfortunately, their natural talents and physical abilities made orcs extremely arrogant. Furthermore, they hadn’t faced any real knights in a long time, since the knights from the continent failed to make it over the snowy mountains before losing.

And now, the orc warriors of the Tolo tribe were facing a ‘real knight’ for the first time in their lives. Moreover, he was a vampire knight with weapons and armor unparalleled from those made in Brantia.

Clang!

“Kuhahahahaha!” Galfredik burst out laughing after bashing the head of an orc warrior with his mace. The mercenaries shuddered when they saw his blood-stained eyes colored with madness. However, they had no time to hesitate.

The big knight had defeated three orc warriors in less than ten seconds. However, he wasn’t their only opponent.

Kuwuuuuugh! Kyaoo!

The beowulf warriors roared while slashing at random with their long claws. They could truly be called a disaster. Brantia’s level of civilization could be considered lower than that of the continental kingdoms. However, the northern part of the country was even more primitive compared to the rest of Brantia.

Even though the mercenaries wielded metal spears, swords, and axes, their weapons were quite crude. In addition, most of them only wore simple leather or cloth armor. This was because it was impossible to produce metal armor, which required highly precise, meticulous work, with the smelting and crafting technology that the orcs possessed.

It was impossible for such shabby armor to block the claws and fangs of the beowulf warriors, which could even easily slice through chainmail. Meanwhile, the beowulf warriors were equipped with specially made plate coats. Their armor would prove effective even against the fearsome attacks of knights. As such, it was only natural that the mercenaries couldn’t even leave a scratch on the beowulfs with their crude weapons.

All in all, it resulted in a one-sided slaughter.

But the most terrifying of all was Eugene who had transformed into the champion monster, ‘Lycanthrope King.’

Kuwuuuuuughhhh!!!

Several orc warriors were forced to their knees when they were met with an overwhelming roar. Although orcs were courageous, it was impossible for them to stand up to an Origin’s Fear. The orc warriors were instantly crushed by Eugene’s roar. They trembled in place while the large claws of the Lycanthrope King sliced toward them, tearing them into pieces.

“Retreat! We’re retreating! Kweeeugh!” Kunderima shouted with a squeal. He felt utter desperation and absolute shock at the current situation. His ambition was to first lead the vanguard of his tribe to establish great achievements, then to go on to become the king of the Bayman Orcs. However, his hopes and dreams were completely torn to shreds.

In fact, Kunderima was a tough, ferocious, strong warrior. He had defeated several monsters in evil lands, and famous warriors of other tribes had their fangs broken by the blade of his axe. However, neither the pride he had as a member of the royal family nor the courage he had as a pure-blooded warrior could be found in face of the Origin, who had transformed into the Lycanthrope King.

“W-wait… Please wait for me! Ah! Kuwegh?!” The orc sorcerer, or rather, the con-orc, shouted desperately while hurriedly running after Kunderima. However, he tripped and fell on the spot.

“Kuweh?! Kuee…” He crawled backward while leaving a trail of yellow on the white field of snow. The horrors of a massacre filled his eyes with fear. The white of the snow became spoiled with the orc warriors and mercenaries’ blood, looking as if red flowers were in full bloom.

He recalled the phony prophecy he had made earlier.

- Red flowers will bloom near the foot of the White Fang Mountain.

“I’ve never accurately predicted the future before, so… so how could I get the last one right?1” He felt wronged. These were his final words before the swindler’s upper body was separated into two.

“Kuwegh! Kuwegh!” Kunderima breathed heavily while running away. He did not care whether the fraudster and the warriors died or not. However, even though he possessed good stamina, running fast in such deep snow was impossible. Meanwhile, a lycanthrope could run on all four to quickly cross the snowy field. As such, Eugene caught up with Kunderima in no time.

Fwooosh! Thud!

“Kuweggh?!”

Eugene caused a flurry of snow as he landed near Kunderima. The orc warrior’s eyes filled with shock, but he reflexively grabbed the handle of his axe. His battleaxe had split the heads of numerous warriors with its wide blade until now, and Kunderima was very proud of his weapon.

However, each of the Lycanthrope King’s claws were as long as the blade of his axe, which was longer than two palms. For the first time in his life, Kunderima found his battleaxe, an unappealing weapon in his eyes.

“Y-Tou Who are you?! Do you really think you can possibly live after leading a member of the Tolo family into a trap? This is the North! The warriors of the tribe will find you and kill you!” Kunderima raised his voice, although both his hands and feet were trembling.

Eugene responded, “They will find me? How? All of you will die here anyway.”

“Kuhugh!” Kunderima was taken aback. In the heat of the moment, it occurred to him that someone had referred to the lycanthrope as ‘sir’ before he transformed.

He shouted in desperation, “A-are you not a knight!? Right! Chivalry! Honor! Do you not value such things? If you are truly a knight, then raise your blade! If you are a true warrior, let us speak with steel!”

Kunderima’s strategy was quite good even though it was improvised. Although he had never crossed the snowy mountain before, he had heard stories about the breed of knights ever since he was but a child. He knew exactly the type of people they were.

Knights were hypocritical creatures who surrounded themselves with the strange and useless pretense of honor and chivalry. Kunderima could not understand why knights would try to find meaning in murder when murder was murder all the same. However, if the monster in front of him was a knight, it would probably react to his words.

“Hmm…”

‘I-it worked!’

Kunderima cheered inwardly when he saw the monster scratching its chin with one of its long claws. If he could fight a duel in the monster’s original form, then he could…

“Why should I treat an ignorant little orc as a knight?” the Lycanthrope King asked.

“...?!”

“You said that you would slaughter everyone once you crossed the mountain, regardless of whether they were nobles or knights, right? You said you would moisten your throat with their blood and chew on their hearts,” Eugene stated.

“No, that was an…” Unfortunately, Kunderima was an ignorant orc, and he couldn’t explain himself because he couldn’t remember the word ‘idiom.’

Eugene smiled while revealing fangs much longer and larger than an orc’s, “Besides, you said you would kill me in a single blow, right?”

“What…?” Kunderima said.

“I’m the little fang you talked about, Duke Batla,” Eugene revealed.

“…!” Kunderima’s eyes filled with shock, and a snowstorm appeared before his eyes.

Thuck!

His words came to fruition, as a single blow laid him to rest. Unfortunately, the roles were reversed, and he died under Eugene’s blow instead.

***

Eugene’s group finished off Kunderima and all of his troops. They collected about fifty corpses and all their belongings as well. Then, they tossed everything into a valley that was almost impossible for anyone to climb out of unless they were monsters or beasts.

Knowing that the rest would be handled by the wild animals and monsters of the snowy mountains, Eugene and his group returned from where they had come. Eugene entered the hunter’s cabin, then smacked his cheek to wake him up.

“Hueek?!” The hunter opened his eyes with a strange squeal, then looked around before making eye contact with Eugene.

“M-m…”

Thuck!

He started begging for his life, but he reflexively caught the gold coin that Eugene had tossed at him. He immediately lay flat on his face before changing his words.

“M-My greatest achievement in life is to have met someone as generous as you, sir!”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen a hunter who is as quick on their feet as you,” Eugene responded.

“Uh, well, t-that’s…”

“It’s fine. I didn’t give you that money to shut you up,” Eugene declared.

“What? Then…” The hunter responded.

“You’ll help me with a task,” Eugene said. The hunter gulped when he met Eugene’s crimson eyes.

***

“What? What did Kunderima do?”

“Yes. Five days ago, he led the warriors and the mercenaries to Balmund.”

“I ought to pull all of his fangs out!” the chief of the Tolo tribe exclaimed in fury as he jumped from his throne, laden with an ogre’s hide. “No matter how blinded he is by his desire for achievements, there are things you shouldn’t do! How dare he crawl out of here without my permission?!”

“Chief, please calm down. Sir Kunderima must have been overcome by the heat of his youth.”

“That’s right. Now that Riwad’s half-fang is dead, Sir Kunderima is the one most suitable to represent our tribe as a candidate to become king. He must have been a little impatient to take the lead in the competition by making accomplishments.”

“Moreover, I hear he’s got the support of a sorcerer and a seasoned guide. Just think of it as if you sent him ahead as the vanguard.”

The elders of the tribe provided reasonable arguments to appease his anger, and the chief could only return to his seat.

“Ehem!”

His expression remained dissatisfied. He was unhappy with the fact that Kunderima had taken as many as fifty soldiers of the tribe without permission.

“Although Sir Kunderima is a bit short-tempered, he is not a warrior who would recklessly rush into things. If he does cross the mountain safely, then we will be procuring a safe passageway. We won’t have to sail on boats like the other tribes,” one of the elders said.

“Hmm.” The chief nodded while stroking his fang. Unlike other races, orcs could not swim at all. As such, they were very afraid of deep rivers, lakes, and seas. This was why traveling by boat was a life-threatening gamble for orcs.

In addition, orcs weren’t in possession of any fancy boats. They only had small galleys which required twenty to thirty people to row. However, since orcs were inexperienced seamen, they were easily frightened by slightly taller waves and other small changes while sailing.

Nevertheless, some of the seven tribes had decided to travel south by boat. It was due to their desire to invade the south before the Tolo family.

‘But what if that disobedient fang really does open up a path?’

The other tribes would take at least fifteen days, but if everything went according to plan, the Tolo family would get there much faster than them.

“Good! Once we have gathered all the soldiers, we’ll depart for the village that Kunderima was in charge of…”

“Chief! Chief!” A group of warriors rushed in and interrupted the chief’s command.

“What’s the matter?” the chief asked with a frown.

“The messenger is here. Sir Kunderima has sent a message!” the soldiers continued.

“What?”

“Oh!”

The tribal chief and the elders reacted with delight.

“It’s this man.”

An orc standing among the warriors quickly rushed out and bowed deeply.

“I greet the magnificent fang of Tolo. I am but a humble orc who had been hunting near Balmund. I was hired by Sir Kunderima as a guide a few days ago,” the orc said.

“Hooh? So you are the experienced guide my eldest son hired?” the chief asked.

“Yes, yes. My humble self and a few companions guided Sir Kunderima safely over the White Fang Mountain. So…” The hunter recited the words he memorized. The attention of the chief, the elders, and the burly warriors caused his back to become drenched with sweat, but he suppressed his fear and focused on only one thing.

‘Gold coins! Think about gold coins!’

“…And that is why I am here to report to the magnificent fang under Sir Kunderima’s orders,” the hunter concluded.

Kuwoooo…!

The orcs of Tolo appeared delighted at the hunter’s words. However, the chief glared at the hunter with suspicious eyes before asking, “It has only been five days since my son departed. Are you sure you’re a messenger from Kunderima?”

Kwaaaaa!

A fierce fear erupted from the chief’s eyes.

‘G-Gold coins! Gold...’

The hunter thought of the ecstatic glow of gold coins and desperately suppressed his fears. He kowtowed before shouting, “I-it’s true! My humble fang has been hunting for ten years in Balmund! I-I can prove it to you!”

“Is that so?” the chief asked.

“Yes! There must be a half-blooded sir named Sir Maxenne here. He knows me. H-He wanted to prove his bravery by hunting a gray wolf, so he hired me as a guide!”

“Maxenne? Is there a fang with such a name?” the chief asked.

“Uwweh? T-That’s me,” A half-orc raised his hand. He had been watching the situation with curious eyes at the end of the chief’s entourage.