The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 222

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – Episode 227

Ascension Hunter (2)

A few days after his declaration, the Orc horde revealed itself in an unexpected location.

They were boldly marching south through North Korea.

The horde, captured by satellites, numbered in the tens of thousands.

I couldn’t help but wonder where those Orcs had been hiding.

Thanks to them, South Korea entered a state of war. Tens of thousands of troops were rapidly advancing south, their target being none other than Yoo Seong-woo.

The South Korean army established defensive positions near the 38th parallel, planning to launch a preemptive strike the moment the Orcs came within range of modern weaponry.

Yoo Seong-woo and the other Divers had no choice but to go to the front lines as well.

If that Orc horde were to descend upon Seoul, it would be utter devastation.

They had to be stopped here.

“They’re starting to appear!”

They were close enough that their forms could barely be made out with high-performance telescopes.

A soldier observing their movements muttered in disbelief.

“Those crazy bastards….”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“T-take a look at this.”

He handed the telescope to another soldier next to him, who also gaped in astonishment.

They couldn’t believe what the Orcs were doing.

They were tying people to long poles and advancing south.

Naked, emaciated people.

It wasn’t hard to realize that they were North Korean residents.

“W-were there people still left in North Korea?”

“I guess so….”

It hadn’t been that long since North Korea had fallen.

As always, North Korea had driven its entire population to their deaths, suffering from a chronic shortage of manpower due to successive Divers defecting and dying. Eventually, a coup and a Class 1 Abyss [a high-level, extremely dangerous dungeon or dimensional rift] erupted, leading to its demise.

Most of the defectors who escaped at that time had fled to China or South Korea… There shouldn’t have been many residents left in North Korea.

But the Orcs were advancing south through North Korea, capturing residents who had been hiding and using them as human shields while they were still alive.

Even in this barbaric world, the soldiers couldn’t help but feel resistance to shooting at people.

The soldier who had reported the Orc army peered through the telescope again, gritting his teeth.

“Those cowardly bastards….”

War was imminent.

***

“They’re coming out quite aggressively.”

Yoo Seong-woo, watching the front lines from the watchtower, chuckled in disbelief.

Orcs using people as shields to block ranged attacks.

He had seen it in the Otherworld before. Enemies advancing with captured prisoners as shields.

‘What did I do back then?’

…Did I just kill them all, prisoners and all?

There weren’t enough forces to worry about prisoners, and there wasn’t enough power to save them.

So the mercenaries fought without regard for the prisoners.

The best they could do was to recover the survivors after the battle was over.

‘But that wouldn’t work on Earth.’

If it were the Otherworld, he would have made the decision to wipe out even the prisoners without much hesitation…….

Earth had a more developed sense of ethics and morality than the Otherworld.

Even if it was unavoidable, shooting all the prisoners would draw worldwide condemnation.

“This is troubling.”

How to save them and wipe out all the Orcs.

It didn’t seem like a problem he could decide on his own.

It was difficult to single-handedly defeat an army of tens of thousands of high-level Orcs.

It wasn’t impossible if he took his time, but other areas would be breached while he was dealing with one place.

Therefore, cooperation with the soldiers was essential.

He had held meetings with the soldiers, but no good solutions had emerged.

There was a difference between their military strategies and the combat methods Yoo Seong-woo wanted…….

Ordinary methods wouldn’t be able to defeat that Orc army.

Leaning against the watchtower, he enjoyed a moment of leisure.

The Orc horde also kept a certain distance and didn’t approach.

They were figuring out the defensive line on this side and paying attention to the weaponry.

‘It seems like they have a collaborator who knows human civilization well.’

They seemed to have figured out the video incident and the military to some extent.

They had started building their own positions outside the range of the guns, so the war would begin soon.

-Jijik…….

A tearing sound was heard.

Looking towards the Orc army, an image of an Orc appeared like a hologram above their heads.

-The time has come. Come out, Yoo Seong-woo. I, Beyu, chieftain of the Storm Iron Fang tribe, will grind you into minced meat.

“Storm Iron Fang……. It’s definitely a trap, right?”

“Yes. The very location where the Orcs are standing seems to be for the activation of some kind of ritual.”

Shua-nel, who had been sitting in the watchtower with a sulky expression, answered his question.

Yoo Seong-woo had dragged Shua-nel, who hadn’t even come out to deal with the Otherworld deity in Sehyun City because she was playing games, directly to the front lines this time.

Thanks to that, Shua-nel was very angry, but she couldn’t argue because she knew what she had done.

“Can you identify what kind of magic it is?”

“If you look closely, it’s closer to the realm of shamanism than magic. I’d have to examine the ritual in detail to know…….”

“I guess you can’t tell much from a distance. Shall we go say hello together then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Something like this.”

Yoo Seong-woo reached out, tucked Shua-nel under his arm, and jumped off the watchtower.

With a single leap, Yoo Seong-woo arrived at the Orc encampment in an instant, put Shua-nel down, and looked around at the Orcs who had drawn their weapons.

“There are a lot of Orcs.”

They weren’t panicking and were drawing their weapons, so they must be well-trained.

Yoo Seong-woo began to analyze the Orcs in his own way, and Shua-nel analyzed the ritual.

‘…The total number of Orcs is just over thirty thousand. All armed soldiers, and there are many shamans.’

It was an absurd force.

In the Otherworld, this was a force capable of overturning a country.

“Fall back!”

A thunderous voice was heard from behind the Orcs, and they parted to the sides.

A huge Orc walked out from between the parted Orcs.

The armor he wore and the large hammer on his back made it clear that he was the Orc who had declared war.

“To think you would walk in on your own. I commend your spirit.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t come?”

“The cunning of humans is well known!”

“Hmm, it seems the cunning of Orcs is no less than that of humans…….”

Yoo Seong-woo said, glancing at the human shields.

Seeing this, it seemed like humans and Orcs were not that different.

There was no point in arguing about who was more cunning; they were both filthy.

“Well… anyway, it’s all the same. I came here to say hello. I don’t intend to fight right now.”

“Likewise, Yoo Seong-woo. I also need to be fully prepared to kill you completely. I’m glad we think alike!”

‘Kill me completely, my ass. It’s time to complete the ritual.’

Yoo Seong-woo glanced at Shua-nel.

She nodded, indicating that she had finished her analysis.

“Then I’ll be on my way for today. Call me when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting over there.”

With those words, Yoo Seong-woo reached out, tucked Shua-nel under his arm again, and leaped lightly.

His figure disappeared in an instant, and Beyu, the chieftain of the Storm Iron Fang tribe, who was left alone in his place, abandoned his confident demeanor and walked backward, shouting.

“Prepare thoroughly! Our god desires it! The death of humans! My ascension!”

***

The Orc army and the human army maintained a standoff for several days.

Neither side launched a preemptive strike, and only the atmosphere of the calm before the storm swirled between the two forces.

“How long do I have to stay here? I want to go home…….”

Shua-nel began to whine.

Whether her portable game console wasn’t enough to satisfy her, she rolled around on the floor with a very sulky face.

“It looks like it’s about to start soon.”

Yoo Seong-woo replied, recalling the ritual that Shua-nel had analyzed.

Shua-nel had failed to completely analyze the ritual.

Because it was such a complex grand ritual, her knowledge of shamanism was insufficient, and even if she had spent more time, it would have been difficult to complete the analysis on the spot.

Still, for a more detailed analysis, she copied the ritual as it was and began analyzing and interpreting it with the guild’s mages.

The result was that it was a mixed ritual with several shamanistic practices mixed together.

It was said to be mixed with enhancement shamanism for war and even a kind of summoning shamanism.

Even the great mages couldn’t fully interpret a ritual in a field they didn’t know well, especially one created by another great shaman.

They could undo it to some extent, but they said they had no choice but to be as careful as possible.

“…Our side is ready too.”

There were three great mages on this side. Preparations for defense were also complete, so it was okay to start the war at any time.

The South Korean government also quickly completed its preparations.

The moment an order was given, planes would fly in from behind and begin bombing. Of course, rescuing the prisoners had to take precedence.

In any sense, this war was currently receiving worldwide attention, so they had to show a thorough appearance.

“It’s starting.”

Jijik─

A tearing sound was heard.

As before, Beyu’s figure appeared like a hologram above the Orc army.

Yoo Seong-woo lightly jumped onto the roof of the watchtower to hear what nonsense he was spouting for the last time.

-Come forward to the center. Yoo Seong-woo. If you are a warrior, compete fairly. With each other’s honor at stake!

The Orc army, which had shouted that, split to the left and right, and Beyu, holding a hammer in one hand, revealed himself between them.

Unlike before, he was exuding a terrifying aura from his entire body.

An overwhelming spirit that ordinary people couldn’t withstand was overflowing.

Kwaaaaaaaaah─!!

Beyu’s cry heated up the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of Orcs, responding to his soul’s cry, roared simultaneously.

-Kwaaaaaaaaah─!!

-Aaaaaaaaah─!!

It was just shouting, but it contained something that overwhelmed people.

The soldiers collapsed on the ground and wet themselves at their cries.

How could ordinary soldiers who had never experienced war withstand the spirit of seasoned warriors who had lived on the battlefield their entire lives?

However, their momentum quickly diminished.

It was because of the presence of one person who had appeared on the battlefield.

Yoo Seong-woo, who had instantly silenced the battlefield, walked towards where Beyu was standing at a leisurely pace.

How could he show such composure on a battlefield where such a storm was about to rage?

“Are you ready? It seems like you’ve prepared a lot of things.”

Yoo Seong-woo asked Beyu in a sarcastic tone.

Then Beyu snorted loudly and gripped his hammer with both hands.

“I knew you would find out. And I knew you would come in knowing that.”

“You’re not wrong. I had no intention of falling for such cheap tricks.”

Yoo Seong-woo smiled slightly and raised his hand. Then, at his signal, the mages deployed the magic they had prepared.

Kururururung─

Vibration and roar that shook the earth.

A great magic that was hard to believe was prepared in such a short time.

A magic that isolates the human army and the Orc army, completed by reinforcing the ritual with other mages based on Shua-nel’s magic.

A wall made of thick tree roots soared from the earth.

The wall of tree roots, which stretched out so long that it was impossible to see the end, completely divided the two camps, and then soared from under the Orcs’ feet, grabbing the human shields they were holding and lifting them high to recover them.

Yoo Seong-woo glanced at the scene and said with a smiling face.

“You used your head a little, but our guys are smarter. You stupid bastard.”