Episode 244. Raging Anger
It was as Rubin had expected. Kalanta stationed the legions and sent out search parties in various directions.
A scouting party composed of half heavy infantry and half light infantry. Judging from the weight and material of the armor, the movement speed of the heavy infantry would seem to be significantly reduced, but that wasn’t the case.
Creak, creak, creak.
The heavy breathing characteristic of orcs was emanating from their nostrils. The heavy infantry orcs were running alongside the light infantry. It seemed possible to run ahead of the light infantry if they wanted to.
Clan differences. The heavy infantry were the rough and tumble Schonbart Orcs from the southern part of the continent, even among the Orcs.
If Kalanta lost control, they would be the first to devour the Orc forces, but they were also the most reliable fighting resource.
That is why the imperial army deliberately manufactured and provided heavy armor tailored to their body type.
“(Stop.)”
The search party, which had been running wildly, stopped.
In front of them, rocky mountains rose up strangely. Most of the grassland was a wide, flat land, but here and there, there were rocky areas.
“(It’s as the human adjutant said. We’ve reached a rocky area.)”
“(These are the only places in the meadow where you can hide.)”
“(We need to explore as quickly as possible.)”
The leader of the heavy infantry, Schonnobarto Orcs, and the leader of the light infantry, the Orcs, conversed.
Since they were from different clans, they wouldn’t have been together normally, so it would be fortunate if they didn’t tear each other’s balls off.
However, there was no hostility or anger due to the presence of the all-encompassing commander, Orc.
“(We will look down the valley.)”
“(We will try to climb up the rock.)”
Each orc split into pairs. The more nimble and lightly armored orcs climbed the rocks, while the Schonnobarto orcs followed the sound of the water into the clefts of the rocks.
Clap clap clap.
A valley beneath a rock where the sun doesn’t shine very well.
Depending on the angle, some spots were so pitch black that even the orcs, with their eyesight far superior to that of humans, were still groping and extending their arms in the darkness.
The sound of trickling water and the clattering footsteps of the orcs. Then suddenly the sound of footsteps stopped. As if they had evaporated in an instant.
“(……?)”
One survivor instinctively looked back in a sense of crisis, but his ending was no different.
Swish.
A sword that quickly cuts through the neck. The orc falls to the ground in the flowing water, blood gushing out.
What followed was a low human voice.
“These guys, they received such good armor from the Imperial Army?”
Tina struggled to strip the armor off the dead orcs. It wasn’t fancy, since it was made exclusively for the Schonnbarto orcs, but she could clearly see how good the heavy armor was.
Since there was almost no skin exposed, it would not be an exaggeration to say that wearing it would virtually eliminate exposure of vital areas.
“Unless you’re a really strong person, you can’t even dream of killing someone with one blow.”
Tina lifted the front part of the armor and said, washing the blood away in the trickling stream water.
“Ugh, the car.”
A coldness that had never been there before radiated from the armor he was holding. It was the trace of Rubin’s beloved sword, Blood Frost.
It’s hard to kill a heavily armored orc with one blow, but it’s not impossible. Rubin just showed me how.
Phew.
Tina transformed into a Schönbarto Orc. She put on her armor one by one, then suddenly took off the iron armor covering her face.
“Hey, if you wear this armor, even Kalanta won’t be recognizable, Rubin.”
“Still, don’t go near Kalanta without my permission.”
“Am I crazy? Even though I’m the only member of the Hwan-hyeol clan who can watch blood splatter and lives disappear right before my eyes, that doesn’t mean I enjoy taking risks.”
Rubin chuckled and started to put on his armor. It was quite heavy, but Rubin could bear it.
Rather, Tina was the problem. Even though she had been transformed into an orc, she looked cumbersome. Eventually, Tina was able to move around lightly only after tearing off several parts of her armor.
After finishing putting on their clothes, they went out of the valley. Outside, the search party orcs that had been searching all over the rocky mountain were already gathered.
“(Why are you so late?)”
The leader of the Schönbarts spoke. Even Rubin, who did not know the exact language, could guess the general meaning.
“(I went all the way to where the stream flows, but there was nothing.)”
Tina answered naturally. The leader didn’t seem to have any doubts.
“(You must not leave General Kalanta’s territory even by mistake.)”
“(Keep in mind. Region.)”
Area. The so-called Kalanta’s sphere of influence. If you leave a 3-kilometer radius around Kalanta, the orcs’ true nature will gradually awaken.
Accordingly, the maximum search range of the organized search party was 3 kilometers, and the rocky area here was the exact boundary.
It was not that it was not, but it seemed that even the search party was furthest from Kalanta and could see the cracks.
“(But I can smell a little bit of blood.)”
The leader of the lightly armored orcs approached Tina, his nose gurgling.
At the height of Kalanta’s dominance, all orcs would be assimilated and insensitive to each other’s blood. But not now.
“(The smell of blood?)”
Tina lifted the armor that had been covering her face. She had gone first so as not to reveal Rubin’s face.
If Rubin gets discovered, no orc will survive here.
In fact, Rubin was already mentally mapping out how he would deal with the orcs, just in case.
The number of orcs in the search party was fifty. Their movements were slowed down by their heavy armor, but that was no problem. If they drew their bloody frost swords, they could all be eliminated without any damage.
‘There is a separate problem.’
As long as the commander orc reigned, the orcs transcended clan differences and had a dense emotional network.
That was also the reason why Rubin had just killed the heavily armored orcs in the valley below the rock faster than ever before.
If you make them feel fearful, that feeling will be transferred to the nearby orcs.
‘No matter how quickly we kill them, their fear and anger will be transmitted to Kalanta.’
Even if you live far away in the Kalanta region, this number should be enough to convey the message.
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Rubin’s original plan was to disguise himself as an orc infantryman and sneak into the garrison, where he could find a way to distract the orcs.
“(…Yes, this is the smell of blood. The smell of your blood.)”
The lightly armored orc leader’s eyes gleamed.
“(What happened?)”
“(What’s going on?)”
“(I told you it smells like blood. You may not be able to smell it, but I am different. We are from different clans.)”
Tina blinked. The crack seemed to be growing wider. She could feel the hostility of the other Schoenbarto orcs standing behind her slowly growing. This hostility was naturally directed at the lightly armored orcs.
But at that time.
“(It returns like this.)”
The leader of the Schoenbartos simply covered up the crack. He judged that it was just a crack that had occurred at the edge of the area, and that it could be covered up with just a little movement.
“(…I get it.)”
The light armored orc leader made a gurgling sound as he spoke. It seemed that he was ready to retreat now that he had confirmed the will of the other leader.
Well, it was a good decision since it was obvious who would die if they fought.
-Phew, thank goodness. Looks like it’ll just end like this.
-no.
Tina, her face covered by her armor, turned her head towards Rubin. It was clear that Rubin was trying to shout something that wasn’t his.
-No?
-We’ll have to change our plans, Tina.
-Weren’t you supposed to go into the garrison like this?
-I just thought of a better way.
A faster and more surefire way to shake up the Kalanta army. Rather than forcibly entering the garrison, it was decided that it would be more effective to lure Kalanta here.
-If that happens, Kalanta’s territory will be disrupted. And if I’m lucky, I might be able to kill Kalanta here.
Of course, I couldn’t be sure of that. In terms of stature alone, Rubin and Kalanta were on par.
However, Kalanta has ‘madness’. If he were to give up control over his army and become mad, he would be able to go beyond the 7th star, albeit in a limited way.
-If I deal with Kalanta here, the orcs in the garrison will waver. Then, tell Blane and Imakarum to eliminate Kalanta’s direct generals.
Tina swallowed nervously. The Schoenbarto Orc’s throat was so loud, unlike a human’s, that she had to look around at the Orcs nearby.
“Crunch?”
“… … .”
-Meeting Blane is easy. Once you turn into Roinekrow, you can find Blane’s Roinekrow, Ojos.
– Kalanta’s three direct generals each have control over 3,000 orcs. If you kill even one of them, those 3,000 will cause an uproar in the garrison.
Kalanta’s hold on power was most firmly held by the three orcs directly under her.
By having three orcs from different clans submit to Kalanta, she was able to effectively rule over the orcs below her.
If you eliminate just one of the three orcs, the orc army will become more confused. Then, the orcs will become suspicious of each other and fight against each other. Kalanta, who will calm the confusion, will be held here by Rubin.
-You’re aiming for either killing Kalanta or killing Kalanta’s subordinates.
-Yeah, that’s right.
The monsters currently being lured by Haneke were approaching this garrison.
If the monsters form a long line and surround the orc army as Haneke’s strategy suggests, the damage to the orcs will also be significant.
In addition, if we can use the immunity nullifying drug that Rubin rescued in time, the plan to destroy both the orcs and the monsters will become much easier.
-But will Kalanta really come here?
-It depends on how far his patience has reached.
Rubin stopped dead in his tracks as he answered. The search party had regrouped and was about to set off.
Tina exchanged a glance with Rubin and now realized what she had to do.
-Tina, run.
It’s just running away.
Tina, who had been running quickly even before Rubin finished speaking, pushed away all the orcs blocking her way, whether they were Schonnbarto orcs or light armored orcs, and escaped the line.
“(What are you doing!)”
By the time the leader shouted, Rubin’s sword had already slit the throat of one of the lightly armored orcs.
Push!
“(This orc is attacking us!)”
Two more light orcs fell, including their leader. The moment he was killed, the light orcs would become uncontrollable.
Eventually, the lightly armored orcs drew their swords in a fit of hostility, and the Schonnbarto orcs responded by drawing their swords as well.
‘Let out as much emotion as you can. In the end, you will feel fear from me.’
Buck! Buck!
Push! Push!
Kuweeek!
As the orcs finally began to clash, Rubin threw away his armor. It was now time to unleash his true sword skills.
* * *
Before Rubin caused a commotion.
“(We have dispatched the last search party.)”
Kalanta’s command post and residence in the middle of the garrison. Kalanta waved her hand after receiving the report from the orc adjutant. It meant that she understood, so go ahead.
As the adjutant left, an uneasy silence fell over the tent. Kalanta glared at Nerheim, who was standing across from her.
“… … .”
Behind Nerheim, the shadow of the giant snake monster, Pheniac, appeared.
As things turned out strangely, Nerheim worried about his own safety and kept Pheniac close to him. However, to Kalanta, this sight was nothing but disgusting.
“Nerheim, it’s not a big deal to cut open that snake’s belly and kill you here.”
“… … .”
The pure fear of Nerheim was conveyed. Of course, that did not wash away Kalanta’s anger.
“Is the communication with the dump still cut off?”
“Yes, after it suddenly disconnected… … .”
“If things were as they were, the Grandbird carrying the dump would have appeared in the sky over here, but it didn’t. Even you can see that it’s not normal, right?”
Nerheim swallowed hard.
The delay in inspecting the dump was just one of many strange developments. Since the operation began, nothing had gone according to plan.
The orc army marched through the grasslands all night. As Nerheim had said, they came across a place where a tribe of thugs lived, but their thug houses were all empty. It was as if they had known in advance and were evacuating.
Until then, the situation was not serious enough to cause Nerheim to feel threatened.
The real problem was when they went back to find the second tribe, and again, all they found was an empty tomb.
At that time, small-scale raids occurred simultaneously on the outskirts of the army. The damage to the orcs who were attacked was not great, but they all testified consistently.
They said they saw a lot of people. They said that people transformed into leopards right before their eyes. And there were quite a few of them.
“I found out that quite a few of the trolls can transform into water people. Yeah, that’s not a huge problem, Nerheim. The Imperial Army might not have figured it out either.”
“… … .”
“Why did they know we were coming? That’s the bigger problem.”
That was the question that Nerheim wanted to solve. However, it was no use to continue to assert his innocence. Kalanta’s suspicions continued to grow.
Rather, now even Nerheim was suspicious of the Imperial Army’s intentions. He wondered if they were just throwing him out there as bait.
“Why!”
Kalanta, who had approached Nerheim, screamed. Nerheim took a step back without realizing it and then collapsed.
The snake Pheniac behind me raised its head as if on guard. Still, I didn’t feel at ease at all. This was the first time something like this had happened.
Kalanta, trembling with rage.
“This is your final warning. It’s almost sunset. Before the night is over, we have to get the dump and… … .”
That was when.
Kalanta’s words were cut off midway, and a panicked gasp escaped through her roughly protruding fangs.
Krrrrrr.
Then, his anger surges to the point where it seems he is on the verge of insanity.
Nerheim had a gut feeling in his fear. Among the search parties sent out in various directions, there must have been a major problem somewhere.
