Okua was enormous.
His head towered far above that of any ordinary orc, and his shoulders were twice as broad. His arms weren’t thick, but they stretched down past his knees.
His physique was something that seemed impossible to come from the orc race.
Could he be from another species?
Yet his broken nose and protruding tusks were unmistakably orc traits.
“That’s Okua…”
An instinctive revulsion stirred within them.
A strong warning blared in their minds: don’t get close.
“He looks like a complete monster. Is he really an orc?”
Jared’s voice trembled with unease, and Yuri nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, isn’t that some kind of legendary ogre?”
Yuri raised his telescope for a closer look.
Okua stared ahead with his mouth shut, his eyes glowing darkly.
Suddenly, his blood-red pupils locked onto Yuri.
Was it just a trick of the eye, or did Okua truly sense Yuri’s gaze and glare back?
Yuri lowered the telescope.
“This is creepy.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
He turned around. Behind him stood Briol’s troops.
The entire allied army was unsettled the moment Okua appeared.
“Don’t be afraid! You won’t have to fight Okua!”
Yuri’s words were meant to reassure, but the soldiers’ eyes remained fixed on Okua.
Fear gripped them, yet they couldn’t look away.
Okua swayed as he moved.
Then, suddenly, an orc soldier stumbled against his leg.
Okua stretched out a long arm, grabbed the orc’s head with one hand, and lifted him off the ground. The orc struggled.
With a squeeze, Okua crushed the skull effortlessly. Blood splattered, and the contents spilled onto the ground.
Like a deflated balloon, the orc’s head was squeezed in Okua’s grip.
“Insane…”
Okua tossed the corpse aside.
His eyes, stained with blood, glowed even redder.
He stomped the ground hard and opened his mouth toward the sky. A thunderous roar shook the plains.
A sound unlike any living creature’s echoed continuously.
With every roar from Okua, the orc army’s eyes burned with savage fury as they surged toward the allied forces.
“What is that?”
“Magic?”
The allied troops, bracing for impact, were thrown off.
Jared asked Yuri, “Is that magic?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know. But it’s definitely not magic.”
Yuri shook his head.
Though not a mage, he was sensitive to the flow of mana. There was no artificial manipulation.
It wasn’t magic.
Like a skilled commander boosting morale, Okua’s roar amplified the orcs’ madness.
It was more of an innate trait, something born into both Okua and the orcs.
He seemed made to lead them.
“Alright… focus.”
Yuri took a deep breath.
For now, Okua was still far away.
The immediate threat was the orc horde charging at the allied army.
A chaotic mix of regular orcs and orc-foots ran wildly, ignoring any tactics.
They were far from normal.
Madness gleamed in their eyes.
“Prepare for impact!”
From Ragna’s direction, the sound of a horn pierced the air. The beat of a war drum pounded the soldiers’ hearts.
The allied troops planted their feet firmly and lowered their stances.
Countless orcs charged madly toward the barricades. If one fell, the others trampled over the fallen without hesitation.
Then the two forces collided.
Like a stampede of cattle, the orcs crashed into the barricades and formations without care.
Axes and spears clashed.
Explosions of sound erupted from all directions.
The cacophony of metal striking metal, flesh meeting steel, and other brutal collisions overwhelmed their ears.
Who died first in that initial clash—the orc or the human?
Yuri thought as he cut down an orc’s neck.
Probably both at once.
The moment the armies collided, orcs fell, and human soldiers died.
Enemy heads were severed, and comrades collapsed.
A brutal war had begun.
“Briol!”
Yuri shouted and stepped forward, instantly drawing the attention of several orcs.
But he accepted the risk. It eased the burden on his allies.
“Fight!”
Arrows rained down from above from time to time, but they couldn’t target the wyverns just yet.
The beasts struck the allied forces like an unstoppable natural disaster, hitting at random. All they could do was focus on the orcs before them and hope for luck.
“Stay sharp and watch your surroundings!”
Yuri kept shouting to awaken the knights’ spirits.
“You there!”
He pointed at a nearby knight.
An arrow was falling toward the man’s crown, but he was so focused on the enemy he didn’t notice.
Losing focus on the battlefield meant death.
The arrow struck straight into his head. Blood spattered briefly.
The knight blinked in disbelief and collapsed.
A gap opened in the line.
Orcs surged through immediately. Another knight behind him was caught off guard, an axe smashing into his face.
His skull split open, blood and brain matter splattered into the air.
The orcs’ war cries rose over the carnage.
“Akuommetun! Aku Gutada!”
An orc-foot broke through the allied ranks and plunged into the breach.
Briol’s formation began to crumble.
The orc-foot seized the momentary crack without hesitation.
Yuri’s face twisted.
His core began to accelerate. The spirit blade’s energy within him flared with rage.
“You!”
He killed the four orcs blocking his path, then turned to slash the orc-foot’s neck.
Yuri’s will solidified.
The spirit blade responded.
Mana swirled around his core like a spinning axis.
He drew the energy in, condensing it into a destructive vortex.
The four orcs paused, raising their axes simultaneously.
The blades gleamed in the sunlight over the plains.
Not yet.
Yuri waited.
The orcs, muscles bulging, brought their weapons down.
Axes began their descent.
Yuri blinked.
Not yet.
He accelerated the spinning force growing inside him.
His black eyes snapped open.
Four axe blades reflected in his pupils.
The images expanded, just before the real and the reflection met—
Then everything vanished.
A single drop of blood splattered on his eyelid.
And on his now-clear pupils, four heads shot upward like pillars toward the sky.
The aftermath exploded outward.
Yuri’s single sword strike tore through the four orcs, severely wounding those behind them.
One orc, its belly split open, scrambled to gather its entrails but was crushed under the wave of orcs pressing from behind.
“Jared. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes!”
Yuri sprang off the ground and stamped on the head of an orc charging at him, then changed direction.
The orc’s head flew off, its neck broken.
“Don’t fall back!”
Yuri charged into the breach.
The orc-foot rampaged, widening the gap.
More orcs poured in.
Yuri struck down Guilty.
Gokdo parried the attack.
“Hey, Okudoku!”
That was the orc-foot swallowed and taken away earlier by the Ancient Worm.
The orc-foot wielding Gokdo laughed loudly at Yuri.
“Akuakkai!”
The orc-foot had lost one eye to Yuri, now covered by a black eyepatch.
“Looks good on you.”
In the close-quarters chaos where their breaths mingled, Yuri and the orc-foot twisted and turned like acrobats, exchanging blows and parries.
Despite losing an eye, the orc-foot was no weaker.
“Phew…”
Yuri stabbed and killed any orcs who tried to intervene.
The orc-foot seemed indifferent to his comrades’ sacrifices.
“Akuakkai, Gurutu Budusu Gieomae Muka!”
“Can’t understand you, Okudoku bastard!”
Their two blades clashed, sending a tingling shock through Yuri’s hand.
“Get lost.”
Suddenly, Yuri lunged inward.
After several exchanges, he delivered a spinning kick to the orc-foot’s abdomen.
“Grahk!”
The orc-foot staggered back, and Guilty came down hard on his head.
The orc-foot barely dodged.
Yuri stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder with another knight.
“Finally stepped out.”
He had been fighting the orc-foot, guiding him to retreat beyond Briol’s front lines.
Yuri had filled the gap created by the wyvern’s arrow.
“Everyone, stay alert. Hold your ground even if comrades fall.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t let them break through.”
The orc-foot’s face twisted as he realized Yuri’s intent.
“Akua Kutu Bomero!”
“Shut up.”
Yuri slipped past the orc wielding Gokdo and left the area.
He ignored the orc’s shouts.
Briol’s formation solidified once more.
As the shock of the first clash faded, their tightly woven defenses began to hold.
The orc horde battered them with their bodies, but Briol’s line barely budged.
The war was just beginning.
Countless orcs still swarmed like ants, and far off, Okua stood silently watching the battlefield.
They had to hold on.
“Fernando!”
Yuri pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and shouted. Then, a voice came through.
[Yes.]
Though magic was suppressed on the battlefield by dispel spells, short-range communication using artifacts was still possible.
The artifact, hastily made after pressuring Hernando, was embedded in Yuri’s gauntlet.
“What about the others?”
Yuri deflected an axe flying toward her and asked.
“Are they holding the line?”
[The area around Briole is well defended. The rear is a bit unstable, though.]
“Is the master there?”
[Yes. Grand Hero Moyong is safe.]
Hernando and Moyong Chan called each other “Grand Hero.” Yuri clicked her tongue and asked again.
“Tell the master not to intervene. He has to fight Okua himself.”
[Of course.]
Moyong Chan was the ace of the allied forces.
He was the key card to block Okua’s moves. They couldn’t afford to waste his strength now.
“If you sense any breach, alert me immediately.”
[Understood.]
“Good work.”
Yuri lowered her gauntlet and drew her sword, Guilty.
The orc horde surged endlessly.
“Above you!”
A flock of wyverns circled overhead, raining arrows down on the Briole camp.
Some soldiers fell, struck by arrows, but reinforcements quickly filled the gaps.
The wyverns didn’t stray far, hovering above the camp and continuing their assault, clearly targeting this spot.
“Alright…”
Yuri pulled something from her pocket.
“I figured it was time to use this.”
One of the four daggers she’d acquired at an imperial auction—the Wind Ring Blade.
She infused mana into the dagger, causing it to glow faintly.
Just then, a wyvern swooped lower. Taking advantage of the chaos, the beasts dared to come closer, aiming carefully.
Yuri threw the Wind Ring Blade.
It flew as if carried by the wind, piercing the neck of the orc riding the wyvern.
“Guaaah…”
The orc clutched its neck, twisting its body. As it faltered, it toppled onto the wyvern’s wing.
The wyvern flapped wildly but, off balance, began to plummet. It barely regained control just before hitting the ground, but it was already too low.
“Roland, cover here!”
“Yes!”
Yuri sprang off the ground, leaping toward the wyvern.
Lightened by mana, she barely managed to grab its leg.
“Kyaaaaah!”
The wyvern thrashed, climbing higher.
The ground fell away beneath them.
Clinging to the wyvern, Yuri rose into the sky.
Below, the scene was clear.
“What the hell is Johaim doing?”
The allied forces were still holding overall, but as Hernando said, the rear looked shaky.
But right now, the priority was the wyvern.
Yuri climbed up the wyvern’s leg.
The beast twisted and kicked, but she refused to let go.
“You bastard…”
She stretched out and grabbed its tail. Once she had a grip, she leapt toward its back.
“Waaah!”
She barely caught the saddle.
The orc’s body was still connected to the saddle by straps. The orc, with the Wind Ring Blade lodged in its neck, was already dead.
Yuri retrieved the dagger, cut the straps, and dropped the corpse. The wyvern steadied itself.
“Hey, wyvern.”
She climbed into the saddle and grabbed the reins, just like the orc had. But the wyvern ignored her commands.
Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings approached.
Other wyvern riders had spotted Yuri and were closing in, bows drawn.
“Akuaakkai! Arukumetum!”
They called out to her, and Yuri chuckled softly.
“Everyone knows me now? Guess I’m famous.”
Arrows flew immediately.
They targeted not only Yuri but the wyvern as well. It was clear they were determined to bring her down.
The wyvern Yuri rode twisted sharply, narrowly dodging the arrows.
It was a skilled flyer.
The arrows kept coming.
“Hey!”
Yuri smacked the wyvern’s head.
“You gonna let those bastards get away with this? Huh? Just gonna die like a sucker?”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“No? Then let’s fight!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“What the hell is that?”
Ragna, watching from behind, looked up.
Even the soldiers fighting on the battlefield stopped and stared skyward.
An unreal scene was unfolding.
“That, that…”
Ragna pressed his forehead.
“How the hell did he get up there?”
Somehow, the third prince of Briole had stolen a wyvern and was now fighting another wyvern in midair.
The wyvern charging head-on to avoid the arrow storm suddenly flipped upside down just before collision.
The two riders faced each other inverted.
The wyverns crossed paths.
Yuri’s sword wavered, slicing through both the orc and its wyvern.
The orc’s wyvern crashed.
Yuri and her wyvern spun once more, regaining balance.
It was a breathtaking display of aerial combat.
Yuri raised her sword high. Both human and wyvern roared together.
“Yaaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
The letter sent before the war felt utterly meaningless now.
Ragna muttered in disbelief.
“Crazy bastard…”