The battle raged on.
They fought for so long that no one could tell how much time had passed.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere, friend and foe alike.
Once Joachim’s condition stabilized, Yuri searched for his most vulnerable wounds and tended to them before returning to Briol.
The allied forces had fought valiantly.
Despite being outnumbered, they had not broken. The losses were heavy, but the orcs had suffered even more.
Everyone was exhausted—no matter which side you looked at.
It was a grueling war of attrition.
The orcs charged relentlessly, refusing to give up, and the allied soldiers held their ground to the bitter end.
“It’s time to eat…” Yuri muttered, half complaining.
Occasionally, an orc would slip into the allied lines, but none had the strength left to break through in force.
Orcs left isolated in enemy territory were soon skewered by spear and sword, dying like spiny hedgehogs.
Blood had dried on the ground.
Yuri lifted his gaze.
Far off, Okua still stood motionless.
And on the opposite side, Moyongchan stood tall atop the command tent, glaring back at Okua.
It was as if they were locked in a silent staring contest.
“Does the one who looks away first lose?” Yuri muttered, half-joking, as he trudged forward.
The allied lines had loosened compared to before. The orc assault had weakened as well. Their territories were beginning to overlap.
Where the enemy stood, they fought.
Where their comrades were, they helped.
It was an endless cycle.
As Yuri dealt with one orc, his eyes caught sight of a knight nearby, clutching his abdomen where a halberd had pierced him, coughing up blood.
Yuri killed the orc in front of him and hurried over.
But it was already too late.
There was no turning back.
He knelt beside the fallen knight and tore the family crest from his neck.
“I will bear witness to your bravery.”
“I—I…” The knight tried to speak but could only choke on blood foam.
Yuri whispered again, “I will avenge you.”
That was all the promise he could make.
The knight looked at Yuri with cloudy eyes, gave a faint nod, and then passed away with his eyes open.
Yuri closed his eyelids gently.
As he rose, an orc wielding a halberd stood before him.
“Grrr…”
The creature was gnawing on a human arm, torn from some unfortunate soul.
Their eyes met.
The orc flung the arm toward Yuri.
As Yuri dodged, the orc swung its halberd and charged.
Suddenly, blood from the severed limb splattered into Yuri’s eyes.
The hot sting of blood on his cornea was vivid.
But Yuri didn’t blink.
Through his blood-tinted vision, he saw the orc’s twisted face.
His body was weary.
His mana was low.
But the instincts etched into his muscles from countless battles remained sharp.
Yuri’s body was completely relaxed—no wasted strength.
He flowed naturally, parrying the halberd and slicing through the orc’s neck with just enough force to pierce its flesh.
One orc fell.
Taking a life was this simple.
“Efficient. Precise.”
The ancient orc hunter’s instincts he’d gained from the ruins were becoming one with him.
Slaughtering orcs was a mechanical task—and he was a master craftsman who had learned the tricks.
The longer the battle dragged on and his stamina drained, the more effective Yuri became.
No matter his condition, he could carry out the slaughter. As the difficulty of the task dropped, his efficiency soared.
He cut down orcs again and again, using only the minimum force necessary.
Then he saw Jared.
“Been holding up?”
Jared’s face was smeared with blood. When he spotted Yuri, he wiped his cheek and gave a weak smile.
“You’re alive.”
“Yeah.”
“Many have died.”
Was he talking about orcs? Humans? Probably both.
Yuri just nodded.
“I know.”
“Right.”
Before they could say more, several orcs charged.
They were no longer as reckless as before. The madness Okua had stirred pushed them on, but their bodies were at their limits.
One tripped over its own feet and collapsed right in front of Yuri.
A pitiful sight—but Yuri drove his sword, Guilty, down without hesitation.
Blood splattered up to his waist.
“Guaaah!”
The orc horde was too exhausted even to roar.
They only strained their hoarse voices, driven by madness.
“Prince, be careful.”
Jared whispered like a sigh.
Without Yuri’s instincts, he was just as worn down as the orcs.
“Damn pests…”
The orcs staggered, swinging their weapons wildly. Jared leaned back, then swept his sword upward.
An orc’s jaw split halfway.
“Gwaaaah!”
The orc slammed its weapon down again.
Jared rolled on the ground to dodge, then sprang up.
“Prince, are you—”
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide.
While he fought one orc, the rest lay sprawled on the ground.
Yuri caught his breath and slung Guilty over his shoulder.
“I’m fine.”
Then, like a machine set in motion, he strode toward the orc facing Jared.
“I’ve got this one…”
Yuri passed him by.
With a wavering step, he dodged the orc’s attack by a hair’s breadth and plunged Guilty into its side.
The orc collapsed.
At first glance, it looked like a weak strike that the enemy had simply given up on.
But Jared could see the control behind Yuri’s movements.
It was as if he could predict the enemy’s thoughts—or even manipulate them.
At the very least, his body was operating on the edge of such mastery.
“No way, growing stronger in the middle of a war…”
“Looks like you still have some fight left.”
“Do you fight with your mouth?”
“If your arms are weak, you have to swing the sword with your teeth.”
“Then you’d be doing triple sword style.”
They exchanged banter as they moved on to the next orcs.
Fighting on all sides.
Yuri spotted a notable knight and called his name.
“Laurent!”
“Prince!”
Helping a nearby soldier, Yuri asked, “Tired?”
“No!”
Yuri’s voice rang out, lifting morale in the Briol camp.
“Think of the comrades who’ve gone before!”
When everyone was exhausted, spirit made all the difference.
Yuri cut down orcs mechanically, raising his voice.
“Don’t die! Wealth and honor await! Don’t worry about those who’ve fallen—I’ll take care of them! Briol never forgets!”
As he shouted, an orc charged.
Yuri leaned back, then sliced through it in one smooth motion.
The orc’s body split open.
With just two moves—dodge and slash—Yuri killed the orc.
A level of skill previously impossible.
“For Briol!”
He raised Guilty and shouted.
The weary soldiers answered in kind.
The dying embers of their will flared back to life.
From Briol’s position, the allied forces began to rally once more.
They were definitely winning.
Then, something unbelievable happened.
A strange, eerie cry echoed across the battlefield—part sobbing, part beastly howl.
The orcs began to show their backs.
“What’s going on?”
They were retreating.
Orcs who seemed impossible to drive back were running.
Even with Okua, their leader, standing firm behind them, they no longer showed any fighting spirit.
“Is it over…?”
“Did we win?”
The allied soldiers lowered their weapons. Some stabbed their swords into the ground, leaning on them as they heaved shallow breaths.
Yuri drew mana.
“Don’t let them get away like that!”
His roar thundered across the battlefield.
Though the heat of war had cooled, Yuri alone shouted for pursuit.
“Remember what those bastards did! Chase them down and strike from behind!”
Then he charged forward, Guilty in hand.
He stabbed it into an orc’s neck, using the body as a springboard to leap and slash another’s waist.
When the orc didn’t stop, he aimed for its legs again.
The orc collapsed, its ankle sliced open.
Yuri stomped on its head, crushing it, and pressed onward.
“What are you doing?!”
He knew.
This wasn’t the end.
The war wouldn’t stop until Okua was dead.
If so, now was the best chance to thin the orc ranks.
Those orcs fleeing would regroup and return to kill the allied soldiers.
Killing one orc now was like saving a comrade’s life later.
“It’s not over yet!”
For once, Yuri’s voice was sharp with anger as he urged the troops forward.
As he moved, Laurent and Jared followed, targeting the orcs’ backs.
The Briol knights, voices hoarse, roared and gave chase.
“Follow the prince!”
“Kill the orcs!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
Orcs at the rear fell.
They kept running.
“Pursue them!”
Yuri, who had just taken down a fleeing orc, suddenly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Far off, Okua’s blood-red eyes fixed on him.
Just meeting that gaze made Yuri’s head spin.
His breath came fast.
A sharp ringing rose from deep within his senses.
“Briol!”
Yuri shouted, swinging Guilty through the air toward Okua.
The pressure eased slightly.
“Hit them from behind!”
As Briol pressed the chase, the entire allied force stirred.
Those who had been too exhausted to move began to follow.
They instinctively knew they had to reduce the enemy’s numbers now.
They were just crushed by the limits of their bodies.
But seeing Briol’s desperate assault stirred something within him. He summoned every last ounce of strength buried deep inside.
Gradually, the orcs began to suffer losses.
Then Okuah unleashed a thunderous roar once more.
“…!”
It sounded less like a voice born of a living creature and more like a natural, earth-shaking rumble.
Those with weaker constitutions covered their ears in agony.
Yuri shouted sharply, “Snap out of it!”
From the orcs at the rear—those they had been about to overwhelm—red heat waves began to rise.
The ones who had been fleeing suddenly changed their stance, attacking with wild frenzy, throwing the alliance forces into confusion.
The orcs, consumed by madness, no longer showed signs of exhaustion like before.
“That’s…”
Yuri gritted her teeth as she watched the orcs who had been running ahead now pull away.
This was another one of Okuah’s tricks.
When the alliance forces tried to chase down and annihilate the orc unit, Okuah had triggered madness in a portion of the rear orcs to block their advance.
An inexplicable heat surged from somewhere, driving them into a frenzy.
They charged like a herd of cattle with their tails set ablaze.
“Haa…”
Yuri glanced back.
Moyongchan was still locked in a staring contest far behind.
Whenever Okuah pulled stunts like this, shouldn’t he step in and show something? No matter how much he tried to keep Okuah in check, the situation wasn’t looking good.
But Moyongchan’s expression remained grim as he continued to glare at Okuah.
“Damn it.”
The orc mob at the rear clung to the alliance forces. Those pursuing from behind halted and got tangled up with the enemy.
Meanwhile, the rest of the orcs kept retreating.
Yuri fixed her gaze on Okuah.
“That bastard.”
As if waiting for her words, Okuah looked back at Yuri, then turned away.
When his blood-red eyes shifted backward, the air seemed to lighten.
Okuah walked off with the same loose, swaying gait as before. The orc troops standing nearby followed him.
These were the ones who hadn’t moved even in the midst of battle.
It was now certain.
Okuah commanded the orcs like extensions of his own body.
Judging by how he turned the rear orcs around, he might even be manipulating their minds.
After wiping out the charging orcs, the main orc force was already far away.
They couldn’t pursue any further.
The alliance forces came to a halt.
“Ahh…”
At least, the alliance had won.
The soldiers raised their weapons in celebration.
The entire alliance army stirred with excitement.
“Okuah’s fled!”
“We won!”
“Long live the alliance!”
It felt like the end of this war was finally in sight.
Yuri stared at the retreating orc army’s backs and said, “We have to strike immediately.”
She had a strong premonition.
Now that the enemy was retreating, they had to press the advantage. If they waited any longer, they’d lose the momentum.
Okuah.
As long as that grotesque bastard was around, there was no room for complacency.