Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 54

The orcs were enraged. Their comrades had been almost completely defeated by the human warriors.

They received the news from an orc who had luckily escaped the battle. When they arrived in response to the call for support, only the remnants of a brutal battle remained in the now-empty field. All the other orcs were dead, in a state too gruesome to describe.

The orcs saw the bodies of their fallen comrades scattered around and howled loudly.

“Chwiik! Revenge, chwiik!”

“That’s right, chwiik! We must fight, chwiik!”

“Let’s gather more comrades, chwiik! The humans, chwiik! We won’t forgive them, chwiiiik!”

The orcs who had gathered after hearing the rumors began to congregate rapidly. The assembled group shouted in unison.

“Let’s show those humans what’s what, chwiik!”

“Let’s chase after them. Chwiiiik!!”

“Let’s kill them all and take their belongings, chwiiiik!”

Normally, the orcs, with their strong sense of kinship, would relentlessly seek revenge on their enemies. But this time, even they were nervous. The number of comrades who had fallen to the humans was a hundred. If they attacked with the same number, they would only add to the casualties. Even their dimwitted brains could understand that much.

“Chwiik! We need a plan, chwiiiik! To defeat the humans!”

“Humans strong, chwiik! Comrades fell quickly, chwiik!”

The orcs were noisy, but they couldn’t come up with any concrete solutions. Until now, they had only thought of rushing at the enemy head-on. There was no way they could have devised a proper strategy. Then, one orc, who had been quietly observing the situation unlike the others, spoke up.

“Hehehe, I have a way.”

“A way? What is it, chwiik?”

“The reason our comrades were so easily defeated by the human mercenaries is that we didn’t have good enough weapons to fight them. If we gather high-quality weapons and an overwhelmingly large number of comrades and attack, they will fall helplessly.”

Unlike the other orcs, this orc’s tone wasn’t slurred, nor did he make strange breathing sounds. That alone was suspicious, but the dull-witted orcs didn’t notice at all.

“Ooh! That’s right, chwiik! But weapons… can’t get them, chwiik! Must steal human ones, chwiik!”

The orcs hurriedly nodded. They didn’t have the skills to make swords and bows themselves. Everything they obtained was plundered from humans. The orc who was explaining smirked as if he knew that in advance.

“Kihik. Don’t worry. I have useful weapons. I will share them.”

“You have… weapons?”

“Weapons?”

“That’s right. Very strong and excellent weapons that can cut ordinary weapons in half in one strike. If we attack with those, we can easily subdue the humans.”

“Is that true, chwiik?”

“Chwiiiiik! We win!”

“We will win, chwiik!”

The orcs weren’t at all curious about how he had so many weapons. The only thing that mattered was that they could get revenge. The orc who offered to give them weapons secretly sighed in relief.

‘As expected, they’re stupid. Easier to handle than suspicious humans.’

In fact, he was Mesetherius, a three-thousand-five-hundred-year-old Black Dragon. However, among his acquaintances, he was more often called by the nicknames ‘Mete’ or ‘Therius.’

Since ancient times, dragons were rare. They were such lazy beings that they even found the duty of procreation bothersome.

That phenomenon was especially severe among the Black Dragon clan, so when he was born, the entire clan held a festival, saying that he was the first hatchling to be born in three thousand years.

Under those circumstances, he grew up under the warm attention and protection of all the dragons. It was no exaggeration to say that he lived a life that would make the prince of a kingdom envious.

The only thing he felt inferior about was Lapis Lazuli, a dragon of the Red Dragon clan who was born around the same time as him.

‘Lapis Lazuli,’ who was born five hundred years after him, was a sibling born to the same parents as him, although they were from different clans. He had inherited the blood of his Black Dragon father, while Lapis Lazuli had inherited the blood of his Red Dragon mother.

But that wasn’t the only difference. Compared to him, who had gone through a normal growth process, Lapis Lazuli had surpassed even the adult dragons in mana manipulation and affinity with nature since he was a hatchling. Moreover, he was also very intelligent, able to read and write difficult formulas that others his age couldn’t solve, and even create new formulas. He was truly a self-proclaimed genius.

As the attention of the clans focused on him, Mesetherius was naturally marginalized. In fact, the biggest reason he started playing games was that he no longer wanted to hear the praises of Lapis Lazuli.

‘Hmph, what’s so great about that guy who’s crazy about the Water Spirit King.’

The only thing he was better at than Lapis Lazuli was interpersonal relationships. His younger sibling was a maverick who only focused on one thing once he was obsessed with it. Moreover, he was too aware of his own excellence, so he often ignored others and didn’t get along well with groups.

However, Mesetherius was different. As soon as he became an adult, he mingled with human culture and experienced many games with them. The experiences he accumulated made him the most unparalleled entertainer and talker in the dragon world.

Recently, he had issued a challenge to Lapis Lazuli, betting on who could have a more fulfilling game in the shortest amount of time. The opponent who received the challenge wasn’t very interested, but he was more motivated than ever.

‘Heh! There’s no way you would have thought that this great one would polymorph [change shape] into an orc. Just you wait. I’ll incite the orcs to drive out the humans and build a new kingdom. Then everyone will be surprised, right?’

He was already under the illusion that the world was full of orcs. A world where humans were enslaved and elves were treated like monsters!

It was a game that no dragon had ever tried before. If he succeeded, Mesetherius would undoubtedly be remembered as the greatest dragon in history. This revenge against the humans was nothing more than laying the foundation for that plan.

‘Heh heh, no matter how good the weapons are, they’re useless if you don’t have the skill. But be happy, you lowly orcs. Since this great one is on your side, you will surely win.’

Mesetherius, suppressing an insidious laugh, selected a few useful weapons from those stored in his lair. Among them were magical swords that ordinary humans would be eager to get their hands on. Mesetherius smacked his lips with a queasy expression.

‘Are they too good to lend to the orcs? These guys have so little mana that they wouldn’t be able to handle a magic sword even if I gave it to them. Well, it doesn’t matter. I have so much of this stuff in my lair that it’s overflowing.’

Originally, there is a price to pay for anything enjoyable. He thought so and decided to invest generously. The orcs cheered greatly after holding sharp weapons that could not be compared to farming tools or axes.

“Kuooh! Good! Awesome! We can win with this, chwiik!”

“Kill the humans, chwiik! It’s the orcs’ world, chwiiiik!”

“Revenge! Chwiik! We can get revenge!”

The orcs, who had been properly armed according to Mesetherius’s instructions, were full of spirit. They began to chase after the human party that had brutally killed their comrades.

“Chwiik! We have many numbers! Can beat strong humans!”

“That’s right, chwiik! Revenge on the humans, chwiik!”

“Kill them all, chwiik!”

The orcs, who were brandishing their weapons and running with great momentum, soon discovered a man walking alone in the distance. They weren’t the ones who had slaughtered their comrades, but they were humans, and that alone was enough reason for the orcs to kill him.

“It’s a human, chwiik! Let’s kill that guy first, chwiik!”

“Must raise morale! Chwiik! Must kill! Chwiik!”

Perhaps because of the loud shouts of the large orcs, the man who was walking slightly turned his head. Bright yellow hair and purple eyes. The man, who had a sharp impression overall, was wearing a cloak over a tunic. His attire was simple, but judging from the longsword fixed to the belt around his waist, he didn’t seem to be an ordinary civilian.

A strange energy flowed into the eyes of the dragon, who was happily leading the group. It was because he had sensed the extraordinary energy flowing through the man’s body.

‘Hoo, he seems to be at least a high-ranking knight? But he’s no match for me.’

No matter how skilled a swordsman he was, he was no match for the dragon. Mesetherius, with a confident smile, decided to watch the situation first. Fortunately, the excited orcs charged at the man on their own without being told, so there was no need for him to do anything separately.

‘Heh heh, foolish guys. That’s how lowly orcs are, not knowing how to assess their opponents. Go ahead and try your best. I’ll appear like a comet and save you when you’re being brutally beaten by him.’

Mesetherius’s head was full of thoughts of being treated like a hero by the orcs. But what he had missed was that the human man they were fighting was not as easy an opponent as he thought.

“Many.”

That was the only thing the man muttered while looking at nearly a hundred orcs. With an indifferent expression, he turned around and slowly drew the longsword hanging from his waist. He didn’t seem to be concerned at all about why the monsters were trying to attack him, or that it would be impossible to deal with them alone because of their numbers.

‘Great confidence. Or is it arrogance?’

Mesetherius muttered inwardly as if he was surprised. But he still thought of him as his subordinate.

When the human man didn’t run away and instead stood still, the orcs just thought of him as an easy target. They shouted loudly and swung their weapons. Not a single one of the orcs there doubted that the human man would fall to their attacks.

“Chwiiiik! Die, human!”

“Revenge, chwiik! You die, human!”

“Comrades, we’ll avenge you! Chwiiiiik!”

The man, who guessed the general situation from the orcs’ shouts, frowned slightly.

‘What idiot left a survivor while fighting orcs? How boring.’

But even as he muttered inwardly, the man’s response was quick. He readjusted the longsword he had drawn and began to charge towards the dozens of orcs without any hesitation.

Shwiik— Kwajik— Puh-uhk— Chwaak!

“Kueeehk!”

“Kuaaak!”

Every time he swung his sword, several orcs were cut down and fell at once. It was truly lightning fast. From his sword, which was cutting down the monsters with an indifferent expression, a faint blue energy was already swirling. Only then did Mesetherius realize that the situation was unusual and tense up.

‘He’s quite good for a human! But it’s not enough!’

The fact that he had been tense even for a moment because of a mere human greatly hurt his pride. He hurriedly began to order the surviving orcs.

“You fools! Don’t just run away, shoot arrows! Swing your swords!”

But the blue sword wind that the man unleashed smashed the bodies of the orcs even faster than they could move their hands to hold their swords. The bows had long since become useless. The weapons he had given out with such effort were not shining at all, and the dragon was too shocked to regret it.

‘Sword wind? Sword wind! What the hell! Could that human be a Sword Master [a master swordsman who has reached the pinnacle of skill]!’

Sword Master!

It was the ultimate title given to those who had reached a realm beyond the limits of the sword. They were beings of a different dimension than high-ranking knights. It was known that even dragons should be wary when dealing with them. In fact, most of those who received the title of ‘Dragon Slayer,’ which was given to those who killed dragons, were Sword Masters. For him, who had been living a life with no interest in swordsmanship, intoxicated by the convenience of magic, it was a disaster.

Tensed, Mesetherius forgot that he was in the middle of a game and tried to cast magic as usual. Magic was easier for him than breathing, so if he activated it, even a Sword Master would have a hard time avoiding a major blow.

Mesetherius had no doubt that the man in front of him would fall miserably due to the magic he had unleashed. However, it was unfortunate that the sword wind that the man had unleashed was faster than the moment he uttered the incantation.

Kwaaaang!

“Mi, Medium Stri… Keueoeok!”

Because he couldn’t complete the last word, the magic disappeared without being executed, and the dragon Mesetherius also fell miserably. It was because he had not accounted for the orc’s body, which was infinitely inferior to the dragon’s true form.