Chapter 37. Orc

KRAAGH!!

First things first.

I headed towards the male Orc that spotted me coming down the hill.

I parried the blood-stained wooden club swinging at me and, in the same motion, swung my sword, separating its head from its body.

*Thud!*

The Orc’s massive frame crumpled to the ground.

Thinking, *'Familiar feeling,'* I ran deeper into the settlement.

Orcs were already crawling out of their crudely built wooden houses, alerted by the commotion.

The stench aside, it was a somewhat welcome sight.

Even bad relationships are still relationships. The memory of seeing them constantly in the Colosseum came to mind.

Which meant...

*Shhwaack!!*

...I was an expert at dealing with these Orcs.

With a spin, I grazed the necks of two Orcs with a single swing of my knife, then ducked low, dodging a flying club.

*Slice-*

I plunged my sword deep into the chest of the Orc that swung the club, then pulled back.

*Kreagh… Thud!*

Orcs collapsed, spilling copious amounts of blood.

At this point, the thick, coppery scent of blood was starting to overpower the Orcs' foul odor.

Naturally, this was another familiar smell.

I regained my stance and looked around.

The mercenaries who had just come down the hill were clashing with the Orcs behind me, while the Orcs that had popped out from the sides and front were all rushing towards me.

Probably dozens of them.

But they were just small fry.

Amidst the charging Orcs, I focused on a single Orc standing alone in the distance.

Significantly larger than the others, wearing a hood and carrying a staff.

That one seemed to be the Orc Shaman.

I’d fought Orc Warriors before, but never a Shaman.

Shamans weren’t really suited for the Colosseum. Who would bring one in, not knowing what kind of shamanism they'd pull?

More importantly. Was that the only Upper Species?

*Whoosh-*

I dodged the attack of an Orc that had gotten close, leaping high into the air.

*Kreagh?*

Stepping on the face of the surprised Orc, I launched myself higher.

My body reached a noticeably higher vantage point.

From there, I looked down.

I could see over all the shoddily built wooden houses. A good place for an Upper Species to live would be… Hm?

I spotted a cave that I hadn’t seen from the hilltop.

*'...Might be something in there?'*

*Thud!*

I landed back on the ground.

*Woosh-*

I swung my sword in a wide arc at the Orcs that had surrounded me.

*'Rush.'*

This time, with a bit of Aura infused into it.

*KABOOM!!*

A large explosion erupted, and the Orcs near me staggered back with various injuries.

I brushed past them and ran straight towards the Orc Shaman, who was now raising its staff and seemingly performing some kind of ritual.

Just then.

KRAAGH!!

An Orc burst out of one of the wooden houses in front of me.

Large in size, wielding a massive, albeit worn, greatsword. Probably an Orc Warrior.

Was it hiding?

*THUD!!*

I dodged the downward swing of its sword.

Then, using the momentum of my spin, I jumped.

Even an Orc Warrior was only a little over two meters tall. A small leap brought me to eye level with it.

*Slice-*

I sliced through a significant portion of its neck and continued past it.

*Thud!*

Hearing the heavy thud of the massive body falling behind me, I continued my run towards the Orc Shaman, who was now aiming its staff at me.

But then.

"[ГАЗРЫН УУРЛАЛ-!!]"

A light emanated from the staff, accompanied by unintelligible words.

Immediately after.

The ground around the Orc Shaman trembled, and shards of rock shot towards me.

*Hmm, so that’s how it is.*

Fast and sharp, but not impossible to deflect.

*Clink, clink.*

I parried the larger shards aimed at vital points and used my guard to deflect the smaller ones.

The impact was considerable, but the thick leather of my Buff Coat held.

Closing the distance.

I immediately swung my sword.

But.

*CLANG!!*

The bastard blocked it with its staff.

A cornered rat will bite a cat. True to its status as a seasoned Orc, it seemed to have some skill in close combat.

No, its stance was even better than the Orc Warrior from earlier.

However.

*'Fleet.'*

An Orc was still an Orc.

*Stab!*

In the blink of an eye, I was behind it, my sword piercing its heart.

*Gurgh! Thud!*

The Orc Shaman collapsed with a gasp.

"Hah."

Took it down easier than I thought. Considering the reward, this was practically a steal.

I pulled my sword from the Orc Shaman's body and looked at the remaining Orcs charging towards me.

Their Shaman being dead must have really pissed them off, judging by the bloodshot eyes of the incoming Orcs.

"Let's get this over with."

It didn't take long to wipe out the rest of the Orcs.

***

"Jebeon, how are you?"

"Just a few minor injuries."

After taking care of all the Orcs around me, I joined up with Jebeon and the rest of the mercenary group.

Judging by the Orc corpses piled up around them, they'd done a pretty good job themselves.

Figures they could handle a bunch of Orcs without breaking a sweat.

"I noticed some of the corpses have cleanly severed limbs..."

"Yes, the newbie took care of those."

"Not bad."

Those Orcs have thick limbs. Hacking them off like that must take a lot of stamina.

I glanced at Haguro. He was a little breathless, but that was it.

Either he's got incredible stamina, or he's just that efficient.

Well, it looks like we've mostly cleaned up.

"Where was that screaming coming from earlier?"

"The house in the center, over there."

"Go rescue them. The rest of you, collect the ornaments and staff from the dead Shaman."

"Yes, sir!"

I gave the mercenaries their follow-up assignments.

It's already evening. Let's finish up quickly, spend the night at base camp, and head down the mountain tomorrow.

And so...

"Captain! We found a man and a woman!"

"We've retrieved the ornaments!"

They brought back the bloody, unconscious mercenaries, along with the mission objectives.

"Where's the staff?"

"Right here."

"Good."

I took the staff for myself.

This material gathering is going pretty smoothly.

If things keep up, I might be able to commission that sword sooner than I thought.

This rental sword I'm using is already pretty good, but I'm really looking forward to a custom-made weapon.

"Captain, about these people..."

"What about them?"

"They're the Silver Wing Duo."

"What? Really?"

The expressions on the surrounding mercenaries' faces were strange as they looked at the unconscious pair.

"Do you know them?"

"Yes... They're famous in the Capital."

"Why are they famous?"

"They're Gold Rank Adventurers, known for working as a pair..."

"What? Seriously?"

Gold Rank? And Adventurers to boot?

I took a closer look at the unconscious mercenaries.

I spotted gold badges bearing the symbol of winged boots.

"No kidding."

How did Gold Rank Adventurers get captured by Orcs?

"Wake them up."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Just splash some water on them. It's not like they're missing any limbs."

Sure, there are a lot of Orcs here, but these two were dragged here from the forest.

There has to be a reason. I splashed some water from my canteen on their faces.

"Gah! Hack!"

"Cough! Splutter!"

The pair woke up immediately.

Both had silver hair, which explained the "Silver Wing" part.

"What the... Where...?"

"Huh?"

They looked around, quickly taking in the Orc corpses and us.

"Yeongyeok's Jebeon?"

"J-Jebeon?"

Surprisingly, they recognized Jebeon right away.

"As expected of Yeongyeok's Jebeon. Your reputation precedes you."

"...Our areas of operation overlap."

Anyway.

I gestured towards the surroundings.

"They were just small fry. How did you get captured?"

"You're... No, never mind."

Then, the man abruptly stood up.

"W-we'll thank you later. W-we need to get out of here!"

"Yes, that's the plan. But first, tell me why you were captured."

"T-there's a strange one among the Orcs."

"A strange one?"

There wasn't anything like that here, at least not that I saw.

I wanted more details, but his face was quickly paling.

"A-a monster unlike any other Orc..."

"Uh-huh."

A mutant Orc, maybe?

Or perhaps the Orc Chief from this area?

Then where would it be staying... There, maybe?

My gaze shifted to a cave nestled between the hills.

It hadn't shown itself while its tribe was getting slaughtered.

Maybe it was out hunting.

Whatever the reason...

"Let's get going. We have a base camp."

They seemed to be on the verge of panicking, so I gestured for the other mercenaries to help them up.

"Let's go."

Just as we were about to climb the rocky hill back to base camp...

*Thump...!*

The ground trembled.

"Eek!"

"It's him! It's him!"

The two adventurers practically started having seizures.

Are these guys really Gold Rank?

They must be too injured to think straight.

"Get the injured ones up the hill. Now!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

I sent the wounded up the hill first.

"The rest of you who are still in fighting shape, stay here."

"Sir?"

I ordered the remaining mercenaries to hold their positions.

Because...

*Thump!*

"Looks like there's still one more left."

The most valuable one, it seemed.

From the depths of the cave...

I could see a silhouette emerge, accompanied by heavy footsteps.

This must be the one the adventurers were talking about.

I waited, curious to see what kind of creature could terrify Gold Rank Adventurers this badly.

And then...

*Grooooan...!*

The creature squeezed out of the cave entrance, its form illuminated by the fading sunlight.

It was much larger than a normal Orc, clad in battered armor.

And...

"Wh-what is that?"

"Looks like an Orc Champion..."

Three on each side.

A total of six arms, each wielding a weapon.

"So Champions get four extra fucking arms, huh?"

Didn't happen to me. Go figure.

What the hell.

Its size, almost twice that of a normal Orc, and its six arms made it look like nothing less than a monster.

First, the Alpha Wolf, and now this. Why do I always run into these things in the mountains?

No, the whole mountain range just seems fucked up.

I suddenly remembered Lowell's warning about the Kain Mountains. And something about increased Orc attacks on mercenaries during the briefing.

Well, with something like *that* around, it's no wonder.

Anyway, the next moment...

*Rooooar!!*

Perhaps enraged by the sight of its dead brethren, the creature roared and charged towards us.