Episode 196. Orc Hunter (1)
The next day.
Push it.
Kuje poured water and put out the campfire. It was time to set off again.
Kaaaaaaah.
Benik’s Roinekrow Verde was circling in the sky, scanning the surroundings, but Tina was at peace.
In the form of Roynecro, he is enjoying the food that Benic personally prepared for him last night.
“Kuje! This is still delicious the next day! I guess I can sell it as a swamp seahorse dish?”
“Tina, we have to leave now. And you ate a lot yesterday.”
“You ate it in cat form yesterday! Oh, was it a fox? Anyway, don’t you know that your sense of taste changes depending on your transformation? If you eat it in Roinekrow, it tastes different.”
“Ugh.”
Kuze let out a sigh, but even that sight was funny. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had seen the Hwanhyeol clan.
“You won’t be bored during your adventure, Kuze.”
“Lord Benard, to be honest, I wish I could be bored for just one day.”
“Still, I have to admit that the Hwanhyeol Tribe are amazing people. They will definitely be of great help to you, Young Master.”
Tina couldn’t help but feel good about being praised so early in the morning. She raised her beak toward the sky and started bumping into things.
“You knew it! But I need to correct you a little, Benik. You were wrong when you said that I would be a great help to Rubin in the future. Why? Because this body is already a great help to Rubin!”
“Tina!”
It might be rude, but Benic didn’t care. He just laughed and had fun.
Just then Rubin returned with the horses he had tied to one side. Benik received the reins.
“But you slept with a cold sweat last night. Did you have a nightmare?”
Tina asked Benick with sparkling eyes. She was so toxic that she would worry about others just because of a single compliment.
“Yesterday you only talked about my traits and didn’t tell me about my curse.”
“curse……?”
“When I don’t look to the future, I always have nightmares. They’re nightmares where the most painful moments are replayed.”
“Every day?”
“Even when I’m napping, without fail.”
“Phew… Then it really can be called a curse.”
At that moment, Kuze got on the horse. Tina, who was next to him, also transformed into a cat and took her place on the horse’s back.
“It’s almost as if when I die I’m being sucked into a nightmare.”
“… … .”
“That’s why sometimes I’m really jealous of Damon, who went straight to the post.”
It was an unexpected name. What does Damon have to do with nightmares?
“As far as I know, Damon became a 6-star and gained eternal insomnia. The concept of sleep disappeared. But it’s unclear whether that’s a trait or a curse. He’s a very reserved vassal.”
“It’s a curse, a curse! What’s good about not being able to sleep? Isn’t that right, Kuze?”
“… … .”
Kuze didn’t answer, just shrugged his shoulders. Then he looked at Rubin quietly.
The characteristics of the 6-star dark smoke, and the accompanying curse.
He had no choice but to admit it, but it was a distant story for him and Tina. Even if he trained his whole life, he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to reach the 6th star.
But Rubin was different.
Rubin was now standing in front of the five-star wall. He was pounding desperately to get over the wall, to break it down.
‘Perhaps, my lord will rise to the rank of 6th star while carrying out this task.’
It was just a matter of time. In Kuze’s mind, there was no such thing as Rubin failing.
Many heads of the Assassin Sword Family were frustrated because they couldn’t get past 5 stars, but Rubin didn’t have that kind of future.
‘The man who stands against the emperor.’
Kuze recalled the conversation last night. Thanks to Benic, everyone here had learned of a scene from the future.
The confrontation between the Empire and the Assassins. A moment in that fierce war.
The scene was certainly shocking, but Kuzena and Tina were able to accept it calmly. They had known Rubin’s intentions from the beginning.
The painting I saw yesterday only strengthened my confidence in Rubin Roinen.
‘If that’s a scene from the future, then the young master’s realm doesn’t end at 6 stars.’
Unique traits and curses, maybe that’s where it all starts.
It didn’t matter to Kuze whether he himself existed in the future scene. Apart from that, he was stimulated by the future of the master alone.
I wanted to be a solid stepping stone for Rubin’s explosive growth.
‘What Lord Benar said is true. Lady Tina is a formidable weapon as a member of the Hwan-Blooded Tribe. Then what about me?’
As expected, it’s only research on female genitals.
When the young master faced the emperor, it was my role to help him acquire not only the characteristics of a six-star man, but also the magical powers that rival them.
As Kuze clenched his fist, Rubin signaled and advanced his horse.
“Everyone, let’s go.”
Not long after leaving the swamp, a new jungle appeared. If you went through this jungle, you would immediately reach the commercial city of Avern.
“It’s a crossroads.”
Now it’s time to part ways with Benic.
Benic looked relieved. It was enough to make you feel the weight of the future he had been carrying.
“Recently, orcs have been appearing in this forest… Well, I guess this is pointless advice for you, young master.”
“Benik, I’ll see you next time.”
Benik shrugged. He was already in his nineties, so it was natural that there was no guarantee that day would ever come.
‘It would be better not to talk about the three black shadows.’
Regarding Lil, Anon, and Deathril. As Rubin’s trust in Benik grew stronger, his doubts about the three dark shadows also grew stronger.
But that wasn’t Rubin’s concern now. He could come forward later if the truth came to light.
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“Oh, and.”
Benik handed Kuze something wrapped in cloth. When he unfolded it, he saw that it was cut swamp seahorse meat. It was cooked and ready to eat.
“Let’s eat on the way. Tina seems to like it too.”
With those words, Benik turned his horse around. The old lord bowed his head to Rubin and slowly rode away.
“What a pity. I also wanted to know my future. Should I turn into an orc and make a surprise attack right now?”
Rubin chuckled at Tina’s words.
“Tina, you can’t live anyway.”
“…who knew the path to peace and non-violence would be so arduous.”
As they exchanged a few words, Benik had already disappeared from their sight. Soon, Rubin also entered the jungle.
* * *
The eastern outskirts of Avern.
Compared to other commercial cities, Avern’s security posture was unusually strict.
It wasn’t always like this, but it was temporarily strengthened due to the recent orc incident.
Some time ago, some orc tribes moved south from the north, making the eastern jungle their main base.
“Hey, keep an eye out for the orcs coming.”
“Even if I wash my eyes and look, I still can’t see it.”
“If you kill one, you get 30,000 reels. You know that?”
“That requires you to hold an orc head and get it certified. There have been many cases where people died while trying to pick up a head.”
The soldiers guarding the eastern outskirts chattered. There was boredom in their speech.
Since free entry and exit is a characteristic of a commercial city, it would not have been necessary to stand guard under the blazing sun like this in peacetime.
“Brother, I was thinking about it. What if we brought in the illegal gladiators from the underworld and used them to subjugate them?”
“You idiot, don’t you know that not long ago all the gladiators and gamblers were kicked out?”
“Ah… is that so.”
This was also a recent incident. An incident related to the wizard city of Capotini on the western side of the continent.
One of the magic school professors there died, and it turned out that he was involved in Avern’s illegal gladiator gambling. The one who killed the professor was also said to be one of the gladiators.
Naturally, they didn’t know what the truth was. It was a setup that Rosenthaler had killed Gaizen in a fit of rage, and that the Imperial Order and Rubin had set up to cover it up.
Since it couldn’t just be a rumor, the Imperial Department actually enlisted the help of other organizations to turn the entire underground gambling world of Avern upside down.
Gladiator gambling was a major part of Avern’s underground economy, and is still talked about by the locals to this day.
“Don’t worry, this tiresome security work will be over soon.”
“Have you heard any news?”
“Whether it’s a swordsmanship center or a military city, wouldn’t they come forward and wipe out those orcs? The jungle over there is connected to Adyen, so if those orcs are sitting around there, it’ll be a huge hindrance to trade.”
The commercial city was ultimately driven by profit. Whether it was merchants buying up mercenary bands or a famous swordsman coming forward, it was only a matter of time before the orcs were wiped out.
“Hey, bro!”
The attention of the soldiers who had been chatting away soon shifted to another place. They called out to another man standing next to them. Compared to them, he was standing guard with a more serious attitude.
“yes?”
“So don’t be too scared. They’ll all disappear in a few days.”
“…yes.”
“Anyway, he’s quite reserved.”
It wasn’t just regular soldiers who were in charge of the eastern outskirts. There were also civilians who volunteered in exchange for a small amount of money, and this man was one of them.
It was not common for citizens to volunteer. This must have meant that their living conditions were poor. Perhaps that was why the soldiers’ gazes toward the man were not without a sense of sadness.
Whatever.
The man looked intently ahead through the telescope that had been provided to him.
‘…miss.’
Normally, the place he should have been looking at with his telescope was the jungle ahead. However, he was looking somewhere else.
A point quite far ahead of the jungle. Even when looking through a telescope, it is only overgrown with weeds.
‘A day has already passed. I told you it’s really exclusive.’
The only thing the men on guard duty know is that there is a girl hiding in the weeds.
Even if an ordinary person, not a drone, approached it, they would not be able to detect the slight sound of breathing.
No matter how hard you look through a telescope, you won’t be able to tell that there’s a person hiding there.
‘As they say, the Orcs will be coming soon. We must hurry before then.’
The man closed his eyes and let the smoke drift to one side. Soon, his smoke reached the girl who was hiding.
Two resonating dark clouds.
Soon, the girl’s voice rang out.
-What’s wrong, Burso?
– Miss, it looks like the orc hunt is only a few days away. I think the punitive force will arrive soon.
-… … .
Burso imagined Blanet’s regretful expression. Orc hunting had been a good source of income for the two men, after the gladiator gambling business had failed.
The soldiers’ compassionate gaze. Strictly speaking, the situation of the two people was such that it wouldn’t have been strange to receive such gazes.
Poverty. Poor conditions. The two of them had been living like that for over a year.
The early days of his life as a disguised person were relatively easy, thanks to the support of the Krieger family. Burso’s income as a merchant was not bad either.
However, when Blane declared that his specialty would be ‘sniping assassination’, the Krieger family’s support was cut off.
‘It’s not like there aren’t any precedents for someone like you who chose the path of sniping and assassination. It’s just hard to find a successful case.’
It was Burso who recalled that day again.
The Krieger family, who had visited Blane’s annex, took his daughter’s declaration as a challenge. He could not tolerate Blane escaping from his control.
‘Let’s see where and how much performance is achieved.’
The support of the Kriegers was cut off like that.
Living in hiding without support from one’s family was a series of hardships. Support from the imperial edict was also insufficient.
Rubin was an exceptional case, but the Imperial Order originally had little to do with the undercover life with the Roynens. Their support was limited to independent assassins who could carry out elimination missions.
Moreover, the problem was that the city that Blane chose was the commercial city of Avern.
A commercial city is a place with many opportunities to make money, but it is also a place with many risks of losing money.
‘Why does everything I touch end up ruined?’
Roynenser Burso, who specialized in tracking, had very poor commercial talent. All the investments that seemed promising at first went down the drain.
However, when there was gladiator gambling, it became a good source of income for them. Bursos with their faces covered would come out and make a lot of money, and sometimes Blanet would come out too.
With their last source of income gone, they now had to hunt orcs as well.
‘Young lady, you took it as an opportunity to practice, but… … .’
It is also true that Blanet’s upbringing was smooth, except for his life of poverty.
To Burso’s surprise, despite the Krieger family’s distrust, Blane had excelled at sniping assassinations.
‘Patience, persistence, accuracy, meticulousness, calculation… Miss Blane’s specialty is clearly sniping assassination. But how did Lord Rubin recognize her talent?’
The person who recommended the sniper assassination to Blane was none other than Rubin Roinen.
Having already taught Blanet several classes for two years, Burso had no choice but to admit that he had found his specialty without trial and error thanks to Rubin’s advice.
‘… … !’
Burso, who had been lost in thought for a moment, came back to his senses. He sensed a change in Blane’s darkness. If so, that meant another orc target had appeared.
Meanwhile, Blane is hiding in the bushes.
Now her darkness was focused on sniping. Her vision was amplified, and her breathing was controlled.
It was frustrating that the darkness wasn’t as abundant as I wanted it to be. If only the darkness could follow the circle, I could read the flow of the wind by lengthening the darkness.
Still, Blanet overcame the difficulties with his own clever methods.
‘In the original sniper assassination, Roynecro’s role was to protect the assassin.’
Even if you look at Blane himself, his defenses were weak.
Since she had focused all her energy on sniping, she wouldn’t have been able to detect anyone approaching her. Even if the enemy had launched a surprise attack, she would have been helpless.
For that reason, in sniper assassination, it is standard to have Roinecrow’s protection, but she was different.
Roinecrow is connected to my master by a dark connection. Thanks to this, I can sense danger from my master faster than anyone else, but the opposite is also true. I share a certain part of Roinecrow’s senses.
Blanet took advantage of that very point.
Like a kind of yardstick, so to speak.
Rustle rustle.
Just then, another prey appeared, and Blane and Roinecro ‘Ojos’ showed off their skills once again.
‘Now, oh ho!’
An orc emerged from the jungle, catching Blane’s eye.
“… … ?”
The orc soldier was searching, and found countless of his own people lying dead before his eyes. It was evidence that Blane had successfully used the same method to snipe them the night before.
Step by step, an orc soldier approaches the corpses of his own kind.
In Blane’s eyes, he sees the orc mumbling something. In the orc language, it must be ‘what is going on?’
And then, in the next moment, the orc soldier suddenly saw a giant crow appearing in front of him. The crow was rushing forward with its wings folded.
Wow-
The moment the orc screamed, the crow spread its wings.
The feeling from that moment was transmitted to Blane. Using Roinekrow’s feeling as a gauge, he pressed the trigger of the crossbow. Not even a single movement, not even a wavering look in his eyes.
Fighting-
“What the hell is this? Where and who is chopping wood?”
The soldiers only thought so, because the sound of a crossbow being fired was similar to that.
‘Hmm, I missed the mark… … .’
Blane bit his lower lip.
She wanted to pierce its head, but the arrow went through the orc’s collarbone. In the end, it was still dead.
Sniping using Roynecro. Blane knew that this method was still inadequate.
‘But next time, do it properly.’
Bracing himself, Blane once again blended into the scenery. He had killed a total of fifteen orcs since yesterday, but he was not satisfied with that.
After a while like that.
Rustle rustle.
Another person appeared through the jungle. Blane and her Roinekrow Ojos prepared for the next moment.
however.
‘uh?’
