Chapter 192 – Chapter 192. A Series of Strange Encounters (1)
Verdia was one of the 10 strongest players on the continent.
No matter how much he claims to be inferior in relation to me, no one can deny that he exerted enough power to defeat an executive single-handedly.
Its majesty was realized once again after seeing the most dangerous creature in the Beldus Plain single-handedly, and even in an instant.
Yes, the fact that I have accepted such an amazing woman as my companion.
“Looking at it again, it looks like a real dick.”
And seeing the corpse of a mosaic worm behind me was the youngest archmage whose stature would not yield to her.
“Quiet.”
“No, Dave, look again. The more I look at this guy, the more he looks like a real fucker? They look just like you, and they’re ignorantly big…”
“What kind of 10-year-old kid are you? I’m not a kid who giggles with shit and pee… No, and why do you keep pulling on my pants?”
“I did it to compare because you don’t seem to believe it. If you take it off here, you’ll know right away, but take it off. Huh?”
Now that I see it, I am not a kid, but an old man.
No matter how much wizards are said to be the majority of those with poor social skills, this guy doesn’t seem to be normal.
If I had at least looked like half of Verdia, I wouldn’t have said such a thing…
“Dave’s, big…”
“… Mr. Verdia?”
“Kuhm! Ah, nothing.”
Shit.
How come there’s not a single normal person in the party?
“Anyway, it’s good that all four of you weren’t hurt.”
In any case, the bugs were dealt with, and other dangers were not immediately detected.
After Verdia shaded her massive body, she took the time to check the status of her party members under it.
Even after a battle, she doesn’t hesitate to take care of her wounds. Her lofty and strong paladin-like atmosphere is proof that she has been training herself through countless battlefields.
Come to think of it, is this the first time you’ve seen her fight in person?
“Verdia-nee is strong.”
As if I wasn’t the only one who noticed such strength, Celica exclaimed in admiration for Verdia, who gave Heira her divine power.
A bitter smile began to form on Verdia’s lips at her voice, which sounded different from her usual sincerity.
“She’s lived a life she couldn’t survive if she wasn’t strong. Of course, Celica, if you train, you will be able to become much stronger than me.”
It wasn’t something I said out of courtesy.
Celica was a warrior, and she was born with the opportunity to become stronger than the demon lord with her unique learning ability.
“If you train, right?”
But was that word taken lightly? The moment she heard those words, her head drooped.
It means that no matter who sees it, her words cannot be taken lightly, but Verdia, who is dedicated to healing Heira, did not notice the reaction.
How will Celica, who was unable to kill the demon lord in the future, receive the encouragement that only considers her strength?
Yeah, I thought it was that much of a problem too.
“… Not enough.”
The complaints that flowed after that were completely different from what I expected.
“As expected, to this extent…”
Her knuckles drooping beneath her indicated that she was impatient with something of her own.
I thought I was acknowledging Verdia’s strength, but it wasn’t enough.
What do you mean?
“Ugh, ugh…”
Heira’s groaning sound stood out when she questioned him.
Realizing that Heira had regained her consciousness, Verdia withdrew her light and expressed her concerns.
“Heira, are you okay?”
“… Be, Verdia?”
Her flushed face and turbid gaze teach us that she is still intoxicated by her heat.
She seemed to be in danger of losing consciousness again, but her lips were quivering precariously as if she had something to say.
“Where is the bad condition?”
Her divine power blew it away, but it was just in case. When Verdia expressed her concerns again, Heira looked back and continued her words.
“Nearby, the little one…”
“… What?”
“Not a big one, but a lot of small ones… Here he is, coming.”
Yes, it was a warning.
Even in the middle of being swung by the heat, I figured out through my unique sensitive senses, and I spat out a warning because I foresaw the danger scattered around here.
-Puuuuu~!!!
As if to show that it was not an illusion caused by the heat, a roar began to emanate from the other side of the nearby hill.
Is it the cry of a monster?
No, it was artificially created.
It was also the distinctive noise of a horn made by carving an animal’s horn. It is mainly used by savage tribes rather than civilized people.
“Eolssigu, after the monsters, are they barbarians this time?”
Ymir raises his tired body as if he noticed the seriousness from him.
After that, her sharp-edged eyes began to turn over the hill to the shadows appearing there one by one.
“…I’m sure it’s not a savage.”
Yes, this is the Demon King’s territory.
The only things you encounter here are demons that you can never trust, or ‘sub-races’ that exist on the borderline between monsters and humans.
“… Oak.”
The first to notice what those shadows were was none other than Celica.
More than ever, she turned her cool-shaven gaze over her hills, beginning to control her breathing as she prepared to place her hand on her sword strapped to her own waistband.
A reaction to a feeling of danger from their presence.
“Ymir, can you fight?”
The same goes for Verdia and Ymir.
“Honestly, it’s the same thing that I feel like I’m going to die, but since our youngest is like that, I’ll have to overdo it a little.”
The moment Yumir, who straightened her staggering body, prepared to draw mana into her hands.
Like that, the atmosphere before entering the battle rose again, but what I felt at this moment was a feeling that was far from a sense of crisis.
“… No, Mr. Verdia, let’s watch the situation for now.”
“Dave? What is that…”
“I sang the horn. They announced their location even though they could surprise them in that position.”
After the sound of the horn, they descended the hill, and in their hands were not weapons, but flagpoles made of leather.
The way it was held high and swayed so that it fluttered in the wind couldn’t be said to be the behavior of an assailant, no matter who saw it.
“When you competed with the orcs, did you play a flute to announce their location before the raid?”
“… I only used it when retreating during a melee.”
Yes, by the time they had already signaled their location by calling the horns, they had indirectly expressed their intention to reject direct friction.
“The orcs I knew were pigs with nothing but rice and sex on their heads… Did you have that kind of brain?”
Despite such a common sense fact, Ymir still feels unconvinced and is wary.
It’s a natural reaction when you think about the stories that have been handed down to mankind, but the answer I would give back to it after having been in the demon king’s territory was ‘prejudice’.
“It used to be like that. Until the Okra race itself was formally incorporated into the Demon King’s Army.”
“Are you officially incorporated? What are you talking about?”
“Until a few years ago, Orcs were treated as mere subordinates in the Demon Lord’s Army. Humans still don’t differentiate.”
Orcs are born with strong physical abilities, and boast overwhelming reproductive abilities that can fertilize any living thing.
And since they tend to be faithful only to their unique instincts, the handling within the demon army does not deviate from the handling of a group of creatures using fertility or livestock.
Relatively recently, those Orcs have been promoted to regular units in the Demon King’s Army.
The reason is that order and discipline were established, starting with some orcs, and they learned to suppress their own instincts.
Yes, at this moment, what we are facing is the orcs that correspond to that ‘part’.
They are beings that can be called ‘intelligent bodies’ who have learned to suppress their innate instincts as a species, rather than just communicating with words.
“…Creeping.”
“Chwiik.”
After that, about 10 orcs appeared with a hum.
The green skin covering their massive physiques is like their symbol, and the ugly, crooked impression looks menacing enough to shrink those who face it.
“Humans, this is it.”
However, the voice that comes out of that mouth is weighted, but it is definitely rational.
At least after learning that they were able to communicate, the party’s vigilance faded, but nonetheless, each body remained stiff as if the tension from the appearance had not been reaped.
Verdia and Ymir.
It seems that even a warrior who has experienced the future cannot overlook the current situation.
“…Are you the ones who caught the prey behind it?”
However, the voices that came from between them were just talking about their business, as if that kind of tension was okay.
Fortunately, the purpose was not the party, but the bugs in the background.
With this, it would be possible to get over the situation without much friction. Thinking of it, I quietly left the party and prepared to stand in front of the orcs.
“Dave? Wait…”
“It’s okay. Leave this place to me.”
Wasn’t I, who knew much better about the demon lord than they did in the first place, and decided to work directly with them in preparation for an occasion like this?
I went ahead without thinking about it, calmly continued my words, correcting my heart to be crushed by the presence of the orcs.
“Yes, we took care of the monster behind here…”
It’s just a bluff, though.
If what the opponent wants is not a battle, this is the right attitude to take right now, confidently.
“Are you thinking of claiming ownership and plundering something that came too late?”
After opening their mouths without bending like that, the orcs turned to each other and began to examine their reactions.
Did they not expect that a person smaller and weaker than themselves would come out so confidently?
“…No loot.”
However, there was one person who was the only one among those orcs who confidently stepped forward as if he had this situation in mind.
“However, we need that gigantic being. With that prey, the entire tribe will be able to fill their stomachs for 15 days.”
It was a person with a big difference from the other Orcs in appearance.
Usually, Orcs have plain skin and flat ears, but the opponent’s body has hair growing on it, and the ears even stand out on both sides.
But what catches the eye more than that is his face.
No matter how much he has reason, not instinct, it is normal for his characteristic ferocity to be revealed, but even benevolence was visible on his face.
If the other orcs are beasts that are ready to go wild at any moment, would you say that the one who appeared in front of me at this moment feels as reticent as a rock?
“If you need this worm, you’ll need to negotiate.”
But it’s just quiet, and that sense of disparity gives an incomparable coercion to other oaks.
“Negotiations… That would be fine too.”
By the time I felt him suffocate, the orc who had come forward to represent the group nodded his head and faced me proudly.
“Yes, strangers. Do you want anything from us?”
Warchief Barmash.
The strongest warrior who established order and discipline among orcs, who should have been mere savages, and who was recognized for his achievements and even rose to the rank of executive in the demon king’s army.
And in a sense, an existence that can be called the actual ‘monarch’ who rules this plain.
