Yuri stepped outside. The tension before battle hung thick in the air.
“Francesco, if it gets dangerous, fall back,” she warned.
He looked a bit wounded in pride but nodded soon after.
“Don’t worry. I’ve mastered the art of conserving myself when mana’s gone.”
Without mana, he was at a disadvantage against orcs. No matter how skilled he was, raw, overwhelming strength rendered his techniques useless.
Fortunately, Francesco seemed aware of this and moved with calm precision.
Yuri lifted her gaze.
Orcs were charging in from all directions, having spread out and formed a battle line.
“Only the clever ones survived, huh.”
Most of the tough specimens Okuwa had summoned were already dead.
Moreover, Okuwa’s death had weakened the orc species as a whole. The monstrous strength they’d displayed in the last war stemmed from dark magic, and with its source gone, their overall power had plummeted.
Because of this, it seemed the orc groups that now thrived relied more on brains than brawn.
They compensated for their diminished physical abilities with tactics.
“Scatter!”
“Orcs over there too!”
But such tactics only worked against opponents of similar caliber.
Yuri slung her sword, Guilty, over her shoulder and stepped forward. Francesco, Jared, Simon, and Guiness followed behind, all brimming with confidence.
“First, we take down that bastard.”
Yuri spotted the leader among the orc forces charging from all sides.
He looked like any other orc, but his darting eyes and constant shouting made it clear he was commanding the battle.
“Are we sure the merchant guild won’t help?”
“Don’t worry too much. The guild didn’t get this far in the East by luck.”
The Elaine Merchant Guild was one of the continent’s top trading companies. Their escort unit was no pushover either. Having fought orcs before, they handled the fight with practiced skill.
To minimize casualties, it was best to take out the leader quickly.
“Let’s kill some orcs for old time’s sake.”
“Agreed.”
Yuri and Jared weren’t the only ones showing ease. Simon and Guiness looked almost eager for battle, their faces alight with anticipation.
When they’d served with the alliance army, the two had been inexperienced and barely survived thanks to help from others.
But now, things were different.
They’d been trained by none other than Moyongchan, one of the Ten Strong, and by Yuri himself.
It was time to see the results firsthand.
“Simon, Guiness.”
Reading their minds, Yuri spoke.
“Jared and I will go for the leader. But there are too many obstacles in the way. Can you two clear a path?”
Simon and Guiness grinned.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Leave it to us.”
“Good.”
Yuri pointed ahead.
“Go make a mess.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The two dashed forward.
The orcs approaching from the leader’s direction spotted the sudden charge of two humans and turned to meet them head-on.
Many orcs versus two humans.
By size alone, the orcs outnumbered them by dozens.
Yet, immediately after contact, it was Simon and Guiness—the underdogs—who pushed forward.
With graceful swordplay, they cut down orcs and slipped through the gaps to clash weapons again. Surrounded, they showed no sign of fear.
Yuri smiled.
“They’ve grown a lot.”
Watching, Francesco said, “I’ll join them. Handle the leader yourselves.”
Then he charged toward Simon and Guiness.
Though worried inside, Francesco fought the orcs cleverly. Even without mana, the principles of his swordsmanship remained intact.
“Well done. Jared, it’s our turn now.”
“Yes.”
“Shall we?”
“Let’s go.”
“Then…”
Yuri suddenly felt a pang of emptiness.
Normally, there would be one more beside Jared.
Laurent.
Was he alive? Or had he died alongside Frances?
Did he blame Yuri in the end?
Shaking off the thoughts, Yuri pressed forward.
“Hah…”
There was no time to dwell on the past.
As Simon, Guiness, and Francesco fought the orcs, a path opened.
Yuri sensed the route to the leader and moved immediately.
“Keep up.”
“Understood.”
Yuri sprang forward, landing lightly and leaping, then cut down an orc charging headlong.
The orc, unable to resist his momentum, spun through the air from Yuri’s strike.
Before the orc’s body hit the ground, Yuri surged forward again.
The leader was close now.
Two orcs tried to block Yuri’s path.
But Jared, who had overtaken Yuri, stepped forward to face them.
“Your Highness!”
“Got it!”
While Jared dealt with the guards, Yuri chased the fleeing leader.
The orc’s footwork was surprisingly quick—he was clearly skilled at running away.
“Akuaakkai! Armute Tummetun! Akuaakkai!”
The leader shouted in orcish, and nearby orcs twisted their bodies and charged at Yuri.
A strange chase unfolded: the fleeing leader, Yuri in pursuit, and orcs chasing Yuri.
But the balance soon broke.
Yuri caught up to the leader and drove his knee into the orc’s spine. The impact sent the leader crashing to the ground, tumbling several times.
“Grrrrr!”
The dirt-covered orc finally stopped moving, only to have a sharp blade pressed before his eyes.
“Do you speak the common tongue?”
“Ummetu Kumar Armatu…”
“You don’t.”
Yuri pressed the blade further, drawing blood from the orc’s forehead. The guards dared not approach.
Meanwhile, Francesco, Simon, and Guiness, having cleared the surrounding orcs, walked over calmly and stood beside Yuri.
Yuri stomped on the leader’s neck and motioned.
“Hey, gather them all.”
“Akuaakkai?”
“Yeah, that’s me, you bastard. Bring all your men here.”
“Agur Kulat!”
Somehow, the leader understood and shouted back. The orcs around echoed the phrase.
“Agur Kulat!”
“Agur Kulat!”
The words spread.
Gradually, the fighting ceased, and humans and orcs eyed each other warily, stepping back.
Yuri hauled the leader to his feet, showing him as a hostage for all to see.
The orcs, realizing the situation, began to exchange nervous glances.
They were definitely different from the orcs before—smaller, less venomous. A welcome change from Yuri’s perspective.
“Tell them all to gather.”
At first, the leader seemed confused, but after a few hits from Yuri, he responded quickly.
“Gather them here.”
The orcs who had stopped fighting began to assemble before their leader.
Once gathered, their numbers weren’t large.
Yuri nodded and slit the leader’s throat. His head dropped.
The orcs, initially bewildered, soon widened their eyes in fury. But their rage quickly turned to flight.
They fled madly.
“Hah…”
In moments like this, the enemy either fights or runs. Either way, Yuri’s answer was the same.
A one-sided slaughter began.
“Pursue them!”
The orcs cursed, shouting Yuri’s nickname—Akuaakkai, or “Black Dog” in orcish. Yuri paid no mind. The enemy’s bitter cries only fueled him.
Under the moonlit grasslands, orc blood splattered the bushes.
By the time their numbers had thinned considerably—
“Wound them, but don’t kill if you can help it! Let those who run escape!”
Yuri shouted.
The Elaine Merchant Guild’s escort hesitated but obeyed.
So the orcs fled, limping and wounded.
Now, only orc corpses littered the area around the Elaine Merchant Guild’s camp.
In the distance, the fleeing orcs’ silhouettes flickered faintly under the moonlight.
The battle with the orcs ended in a smooth victory.
Everyone shared in the joy.
Rick from the Elaine Merchant Guild approached Yuri.
“Thank you so much. Your bravery was incredible.”
“Any casualties?”
“A few wounded, but no deaths. It’s a miracle, all thanks to you.”
Though the guild was successfully completing its trade mission, many comrades had died on the long journey. Large-scale battles with orcs had been especially costly.
But this time, despite the scale of the fight, casualties were minimal.
Thanks to Yuri leading the charge against the leader and swiftly resolving the situation.
Seeing Yuri’s battle-hardened demeanor, the Elaine Merchant Guild staff realized he was exactly as the rumors said. In fact, their previous estimates had been too low.
Rick asked,
“But why let them go alive?”
“Would be boring otherwise.”
Yuri smirked.
“I wanted to see if there were other groups along the way by following the blood trail and killing as we went.”
“Uh…”
“Don’t worry and head back. It’s safe from here on; no more fighting.”
Rick stared blankly at Yuri.
He revised his view of Yuri Briole. He’d thought of him as a noble knight skilled with a sword.
But after witnessing it firsthand, he knew he was something else entirely.
The noble status of being the king’s brother was merely a secondary detail in his identity.
No matter the bloodline, no matter the background he was raised in, Yuri Briol would have wielded his sword just as fiercely as he did now.
“I see,” Rick said with a faint smile, nodding slightly.
There wasn’t much he could do for someone like this.
“In that case, for Your Highness’s sake tomorrow, I will prepare the finest accommodations.”
The next morning, Yuri and his group bid farewell to Elaine Trading, their backs laden with goods from the East.
Simon and Guinness carried bundles of Eastern spices, while Yuri held a gift for Marilose and a set of lockpicks.
Francesco hadn’t bought anything.
“Jared, what did you get?”
“That’s a secret.”
“You did buy something, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Yuri kept his gaze fixed on the ground, occasionally fiddling with the lockpicks.
“It’s oddly calming.”
“Isn’t it?”
Still, Yuri tracked the bloodstains and scent trails left by the orcs. The trail split in several directions at times, but whenever one path seemed to lead toward Valshard, he pursued it without hesitation.
He pointed toward the horizon.
“There, over there.”
In the distance, by the water’s edge, stood an orc encampment. It was a crude collection of tents, hastily assembled.
Compared to the massive orc hordes he’d seen before, it looked pitiful, but the number of orcs seemed considerable.
Yuri glanced back.
“If anyone’s scared, you can turn back now.”
“No one is,” Jared answered quickly. Yuri smiled wryly.
“Then let’s go.”
Orcs.
They had been formidable foes during the Alliance wars.
But now, things were different.
Yuri and his companions had grown stronger, and the orcs weaker.
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
Yuri’s group slaughtered every orc band they encountered. They left a few alive to flee, using them to track down new encampments, which they then wiped out completely.
This cycle repeated as they made their way toward Valshard.
“Akuaaktar! Akuaaktar!” one orc shouted at the bloodied Yuri.
“What’s he saying?”
“Not sure. Sounds like an insult.”
“Is that so?”
After killing the orc, Yuri wiped the blood off his blade on the corpse.
“Morning workouts sure are refreshing.”
Standing amid the scattered orc bodies, Yuri looked up at the sky.
They had been swinging swords since early dawn.
Though they had attacked orc camps along the way, their schedule hadn’t been delayed much. They only struck camps along their route, and since Yuri hadn’t held back, the battles posed little challenge.
It was a series of brief skirmishes.
But it was enough to spread his fearsome reputation across the plains.
So when they arrived at Valshard, the guards were already expecting him.
“Welcome, Akuaaktar!”
The guards shouted loudly, greeting the group.
Yuri tilted his head in surprise.
“You knew I was coming? And Akuaaktar—that’s orcish, right?”
“Yes. Among the orcs, your Highness’s fearsome name has already spread.”
“What does it mean?”
“‘Black Demon.’”
“Demon?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s better than ‘black dog.’ A promotion, then.”
Yuri chuckled.
“Right. The Black Demon has come to Valshard. Here to see Marilose.”
“The Duchess is waiting for you.”
The guards stepped aside, revealing the silhouette of a captivating woman in a crimson dress.
“Oh my, a demon,” Marilose said with a smile, waving her hand.