How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 220

Living as the Third Son of a Trash Novel – Chapter 221

The Orcs who discovered the castle communicated with each other in strange, incomprehensible cries. Though I couldn’t understand them, their gestures suggested they intended to stay at the castle for a while.

Approaching the castle, the Orcs passed through the unlocked outer walls as if there was nothing to stop them.

“Kuluk, kuruluk!”

Then, the leading Orc raised its hand and pointed towards the inner castle. They must be planning to go there. The Orcs began to move, unaware that I was watching them from above.

Unlike the outer castle, the inner castle was situated on slightly higher ground, so the Orcs climbed the stairs. Confirming this, I followed them from a distance, intending to observe the interior once the door opened.

Soon, the Orcs reached the inner castle and violently threw open the doors. As I watched, the moment the door opened, I felt a familiar energy I could never forget.

‘Mana Stone.’

As far as I knew, only that emitted such a bizarre energy that made my hairs stand on end.

‘They’re here.’

Realizing this, I bared my teeth and surveyed the interior from afar.

Inside the opened inner castle gate, a massive hall was visible. And in the center of the hall stood a pillar, with a dark red jewel embedded at its top.

It was a Mana Stone.

[Feels nasty.]

Agreeing with Afien’s brief comment, I heightened my tension.

Kerwyn wouldn’t have installed something like that as interior decoration unless he was crazy. If so, the real culprit would appear soon.

It didn’t take long for my prediction to become reality. Countless movements began to be felt within the dark inner castle.

Krrr… Krrr…

Low growls echoed through the massive hall.

The growls made listeners feel like prey. The Orcs seemed to feel it too, as they began to panic and raise their weapons.

‘Growls… It wasn’t Unholy Knights guarding it.’

Humans have no reason to make such growls unless they’re doing a vocal imitation.

If so, the answer is obvious. Considering the Mana Stone embedded in the center of the hall, it’s simple. They’ve placed guard dogs here. To drive away uninvited guests who come to the castle, like those Orcs.

“Krrr…”

As I reached that conclusion, beings emitting blood-red light revealed themselves.

Fwoosh… Fwoosh…

The exhaled breath scattered like white mist in all directions. Simultaneously, saliva dripped between irregularly protruding sharp fangs, making an unpleasant sound.

Two meters? No, they’re over three meters.

I could see muscles bulging so hard they seemed to deflect blades, and claws like embedded daggers.

Finally, they were sniffing incessantly, as if tracking my scent.

The imposing demeanor of a powerful beast encompassing all of that was revealed before my eyes.

‘Werewolves, huh.’

Lycanthropes, werewolves. There’s no doubt. The form of a wolf standing on two feet, emitting red light, was glaring at the Orcs.

Beastmen refer to humanoid monsters with animal features. In that sense, werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are naturally included in the category of beastmen.

Since they’re called beastmen, it means they have intelligence, so naturally, communication is possible.

But I abandoned such expectations early on.

The beastmen were very similar to the Orc Blade Tribe I had personally subjugated in the past. How could I forget that 모습 [Korean: appearance] with their eyes bloodshot and filled with madness?

‘Puppets only carrying out orders.’

‘Damn those Church bastards.’ Thinking it was a truly villainous move, I continued to watch the situation.

Kuluk, kuruluk!

The Orcs, who had been panicked by the appearance of the beastmen, soon began to get angry instead.

Those are the guys. They were given a natural physique, placing them quite high in the food chain, but their limited intelligence couldn’t support it, so their limitations were clear.

Even though the advantages and disadvantages were obvious to anyone, the Orcs grabbed their weapons and began to charge.

What followed was slaughter. The beastmen easily deflected the attacks and literally began to butcher the Orcs.

‘What should I do?’

I hesitated for a moment. Should I retreat and attack the beastmen with the rear guard?

No. Let’s watch a little longer. If there are any Church guys here, they’ll definitely show up to check out the commotion.

Kerek-!

Kueeeck!

However, until all the Orcs were dead, and even after that, no one else appeared except for the beastmen.

Just in case, I waited much longer afterward. But the beastmen, having finished fighting, hid their presence again, and only silence lingered afterward.

I felt a sense of bewilderment there.

“That’s strange.”

[What is?]

I tilted my head at Afien’s question.

“When I subjugated the Blade Tribe before, those guys were trapped by the Mana Stone, but not a single one was.”

[Ah, I remember. Was it Grosh?]

“That’s right. He was using the Mana Stone to control his strengthened subordinates.”

[So that means?]

“Similarly, shouldn’t there be someone controlling those beastmen?”

[But the Church guys weren’t visible?]

“Maybe it’s not a human.”

All the circumstances began to fit together.

Since there’s a Mana Stone, it was certain that the Church guys had made this their base.

The reason for making it their base was naturally related to the barrier. This place must be important to them too. So they must have used the Mana Stone to have the beastmen guard this place.

But the guys weren’t visible here.

‘The guys who came to the Dark Elf’s forest.’

It’s a dangerous northern region. If they were moving with a black magician in such a place, they should have had sufficient protection.

In other words, they left the security of this place to the beastmen and went to the Dark Elf’s forest, only to be defeated by me.

Then a question arises here.

Someone has to control those trapped by the Mana Stone. Because they’ve become literal puppets.

But there was no human controlling those beastmen.

Then who is controlling those beastmen?

It’s obvious. Just as Orcs were handled by other Orcs, the same beastmen must be doing it.

As all the pieces fell into place, I nodded and jumped off the castle wall.

[What are you doing? Are we fighting?]

“No.”

[Then?]

“I need to have a conversation.”

[With who!]

“I need to find out from now on.”

[You said you were just scouting!]

Ignoring Afien’s shout, the mana I drew up began to envelop my entire body.

Perhaps sensing my presence, the red light I saw earlier began to flare up again in the darkness.

Krrr…

The chilling growl echoed through the massive hall.

“They look even bigger up close.”

I clicked my tongue at the imposing presence of the beastmen, who were over 3 meters tall, and drew my sword.

Then, as if that was the signal, they all began to charge at once.

“Wait, just a moment…”

Before I could even say anything, claws longer and sharper than a short sword filled my vision.

There’s no time to say anything. Each trajectory of their stabs aimed only at my vitals, making it quite dangerous. Thanks to the power of the Mana Stone, their movements were on par with those of a decent knight.

On the other hand, I was increasingly being pushed back because I was trying not to draw blood. No joke, it’s really overwhelming.

‘Damn it.’

It seemed difficult to subdue them without getting hurt. Then, would I have to draw blood after all?

‘I can’t help it. I’ll just give one last warning.’

I squeezed out mana from my Mana Heart for a moment.

Like water overflowing from a glass, the mana exceeding the amount I could contain was soon emitted to the outside of my body. The blue energy, flickering like hot steam, enveloped me.

Even if they’re drunk on the Mana Stone, their instincts should still be alive. If they face power beyond measure, it should have an effect.

Fortunately, my prediction was correct. The charging beastmen paused for a moment. Confirming this, I quickly stepped back and opened my mouth.

“Do you want to kill all your kin?”

My voice pierced through the darkness and echoed inside the hall.

But there was no reaction. The beastmen were still directing fierce hostility towards me, ready to charge again.

At that, I swung my sword.

Pagagak!

The sword that cut through the stone floor left a sword mark, and it became a boundary line.

“This is the last warning. Cross it, and I’ll cut you down.”

It was a final warning. If there’s still no reaction, I’ll have no choice but to draw blood.

The mana surging on the raised sword soared to its peak. I aimed the beastman at the very front, having drawn up the fierce power that destroys everything it touches.

“Krrr!”

The beastman aimed at me spewed out a ferocious growl.

But that was it. It didn’t cross the line I drew.

The others were the same. Everyone stopped moving outside the line, only emitting growls. It was as if they were forced to stop because their leashes were pulled taut.

As such an uncomfortable standoff continued for a while, that’s when it happened.

“…If you don’t want to kill your kin.”

A low, hoarse voice was heard from behind the beastmen.

Following that, someone walked out from among the beastmen who were drooling and screaming.

Realizing that it was the guy who had just spoken to me, I tilted my head.

“Are you the leader?”

The guy didn’t answer.

But there seemed to be no need to hear the answer. Especially with his more magnificent physique and a scar across one eye, proving his many experiences, he looked like he was saying ‘I’m the boss’ to anyone.

Thus, the one-eyed beastman slowly opened his mouth again in a hoarse voice.

“Does that mean there’s a way for us to live without killing you?”

He was answering a question with a question.

Anyway, my prediction was correct. That guy wasn’t subdued by the Mana Stone. At the same time, he seemed to be controlling the other beastmen who were still growling and directing hostility towards me.

I lowered the sword I had raised and opened my mouth.

“That’s what we need to find out from now on. But one thing is certain. If you fight me now, you’ll all die.”

‘You’ll all die.’

Hearing those words, the guy growled as he looked at the bluish mana blooming on my sword.

“But even if we don’t stop you, we’ll all die.”

“I can roughly guess what’s going on. Are those guys threatening you, holding your lives in their hands?”

“Those guys are…”

“What are you asking? Who else is there besides the guys doing dirty things with the stone embedded in that pillar?”

“…”

At my words, the guy suddenly growled with a lot of wariness.

“Are you trying to test me now?”

“Test?”

Test? Ah, does he think I’m on the same side as the Church guys right now? And this is a test of their loyalty?

Well, it’s understandable to think that way. If a human with strong power suddenly appeared in this distant northern region, even more so.

How should I resolve this misunderstanding?

Ah, there was that.

“Wait a minute.”

Remembering something belatedly, I moved my hand to my waist and rummaged through a small bag. At that action, the beastmen who had been quiet began to howl again.

Regardless, I put my hand in the bag and recalled the letter that Blaue had written in my head. Then, the letter stored in the subspace was caught in my hand.

Ah, this bag is really convenient.

Thus, I lightly threw the letter I had caught in my hand.

“Would this convince you?”

The guy who snatched the letter glared at me.

“What is this?”

“Well, they say there was an exchange a long time ago, but I don’t know if you know about it either.”

“…”

The guy, seemingly suspicious of my words, narrowed his good eye and slowly tore open the letter, then read its contents.

The guy’s expression, which had been suspicious at first, gradually began to change. Then, in the end, surprise settled in, and finally, he shook his hand.

“The things written here… are things that no one but our tribe could know.”

“Oh really? Then that’s good. Do you trust me a little now?”

According to Blaue, the beastmen had received help from the Dark Elves a long time ago. The debt at that time must have been passed down by the former Elder, so Blaue would also know about it.

Of course, that’s information that has no nutritional value to the Neviros Church. There’s no need to find out, and that’s why they’ve never shared such information.

Krrr!

The guy who let out a short growl clutched the letter.

“I understand well the fact that you helped the Dark Elves. And I also know that we have to cooperate with you to repay the debt we owe. But…”

“But?”

“As you can see now, we are not free. And it would be difficult to help you alone because there will be retaliation.”

Unlike the guy who was speaking sadly, I shrugged and spread my arms.

“No, there’s no need to be disappointed. You already have what I want.”

“Have it?”

“Yes. So, shall we start a conversation?”

“As I said, if we cooperate with you, what kind of retaliation will there be for us…”

“The Dark Elves said the same thing.”

“They said the same thing? Does that mean the Dark Elves have experienced the same thing as us?”

Hearing my words, the guy, seemingly quite excited, growled and asked.

“Not completely.”

“What does it mean that it’s not complete?”

“You don’t know, but the Dark Elves were bound in a slightly different way. Well, that’s something you can find out later, and the important thing is that the Dark Elves are free now. And they’re coming here now too.”

“They’re coming here? Why?”

“Because if there are remnants of those guys here, we have to fight?”

‘We have to fight.’

The guy’s body trembled.

“Can you beat them?”

“Can’t you tell even after seeing it?”

As I spun the sword flickering with mana in one hand, the guy shut his mouth tightly.

At that, I thought it was time to get to the point and put away the mana, then opened my mouth again.

“First of all, it’s not caught in my senses, but I’ll ask just in case. Are those guys here now?”

At my question, the one-eyed guy shook his head.

“They only come here very occasionally. We’re the only ones here now.”

As I expected, the guys weren’t here.