72. Side Story Event, Encounter
[Whine….]
The young wolves behaved themselves only at that moment when Yumina intervened.
After a brief pause, as if glancing around, the once well-behaved ones immediately began digging up the surrounding ground once Yumina moved away.
It was chaos in no time.
“You!”
[…….]
Eventually, Yumina got angry.
“Everyone, come here!”
[Squeak….]
Han observed the appearance of the young wolves being forcibly dragged.
“Hmm….”
It seemed like it would take some time to find what was hidden beneath this land.
Han stood up.
Since it seemed like things had already taken a turn, he decided to have a meal during that time.
“Should I try ramen today?”
In reality, the menu was the same as yesterday.
The day before was the same.
The only difference was whether it was Shin Ramyun or Jin Ramyun.
However, the truth was that there were few foods as quick and convenient to make and eat as ramen.
Thinking about health, making this choice every time wasn’t a good one, but for Han, it was an unavoidable option.
“Maybe this is an addiction too.”
I remember watching TV and they used to call it a fool’s box.
Han might have fallen into a similar addiction.
Well, but he was in a hurry.
It was a moment of anxiety about what might happen while he was away from his seat.
It happened right when he was about to pour water to cook.
Sizzle!
Suddenly, something like a strong signal sound rang out.
“Huh?”
Han, about to pour the ramen soup, froze in place.
His gaze turned towards the message that appeared before his eyes.
“What’s going on, System?”
[Notification!]
[Special Event, ‘Encounter,’ has occurred!]
[Hurry, please check the situation!]
“What?”
It was an unexpected change.
Han threw the soup packet roughly and was about to rush towards the fridge when he turned back.
Thud!
“Ouch!!”
Of all things, he stubbed his toe.
[……!!]
The oak tree basking in the sun by the window was startled and twitched.
For a moment, his mind was clouded by pain, but he gritted his teeth and desperately got up.
Is it important to worry about a sore foot?
Of course, it’s important, but checking what’s happening in the other world was more urgent.
“…Ah, no matter what, the power should be turned off.”
Even in a hurry, the fire must be put out.
If he didn’t want to see his precious house burning down overnight.
With a clatter, the world inside the open refrigerator was revealed to him.
Soon, the world expanded greatly, and the screen began to change forcefully, unlike usual.
It was to shed light on what the anomaly was.
Han could see with his own eyes what the anomaly the system mentioned was.
“That is…?”
Han’s expression, realizing the identity of the anomaly, ambiguously changed.
This time, even he hadn’t expected this kind of anomaly at all.
[Haah, haah.]
In the swelling snow-white darkness.
Figures struggling as if about to collapse at any moment, driving a carriage.
“Could it be?”
Han’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Elves…!”
It was a series of elf groups.
***
Squeak, squeak.
The sight of people weakly pulling an old cart.
It was a group of dozens of wanderers.
Their steps all seemed laborious.
Their attire was shabby, and they were shivering from the cold.
Some had already turned pale as if frozen.
At first glance, they looked very serious.
Behind such individuals.
[Get moving quickly!]
Swish!
“Ahh!!”
There were fierce monsters whipping the elves.
[Red Alert: Red Orc]
Orcs with eyes glinting with liveliness and rough, reddish skin.
They casually lifted a fallen elf’s neck with one hand after whipping them, letting out a threatening growl.
[Grrr- Rest of you, move smartly. If you don’t want to end up like this woman, start moving now! If you don’t walk right now, I’ll eat you!]
The gaze of the orc looking down at the elves was uniformly cold and fierce.
They were also quite sturdy.
Around 2 meters tall? With a bulky, muscular physique that felt like a giant.
From Han’s perspective looking down, the clear difference in physique was evident at a glance, but how did the elves view them when facing them directly?
Perhaps unknowingly, her legs would surely tremble with fear.
“What is that…?” Han asked, observing the figure.
[It seems to be a war captive held by the orcs.]
“A war… captive?”
His expression hardened at the system’s explanation.
[On the Frey planet, various species and tribes are scattered in small groups for their survival. Among them, a species called Red Orcs evolved by preying on surrounding tribes with exceptional combat instincts and aggressiveness.]
“So… the elves here now…”
[Yes. They are the ones who lost their original lands and kin to the Red Orc invasion, plundered of everything. The remaining survivors will also be executed in the manner of the Red Orcs.]
The meaning of ‘execution’ as mentioned by the system became clear.
The Red Orcs did not directly kill the elven women shedding blood.
There was no more violence, no more whipping.
Instead.
[Grrr. You’re done here. Get lost!]
They coldly laughed and kicked the elven woman out onto the snowy ground.
“Mother!”
“Grandmother!”
They seemed to be one family.
The elves who had been pulling the cart with all their might turned around belatedly, shocked.
They hung beneath the feet of the burly orcs, begging.
“P-Please forgive us!”
“We can pull the cart more! Please forgive us…!”
But the fierce orcs didn’t even spare a glance.
Rather, like beasts, they growled nervously and kicked away the begging elves beneath their feet.
“Mother! Please come quickly! You’ll freeze to death if left here!”
She weakly pushed her son’s hand away.
“Let go!”
“Mother! You’ll freeze to death if left here!”
She closed her eyes tightly and turned her head.
“…Go quickly. These fierce orcs never retract their words once spoken. You might even be driven away.”
This world was bone-chillingly cold.
To be left alone without anyone to help meant death.
The elves, who had already lost their place to live, clung to this place even under the merciless violence of the orcs.
They couldn’t afford to upset the orcs.
Otherwise, it could mean not one but two being abandoned.
To avoid that, she had no choice but to accept this end alone.
“…Mother.”
“Grandmother!”
[hahahahaha. That crying. Cry more! hahahahaha!]
Watching their despair, the ten orcs chuckled and laughed.
As if they were genuinely enjoying it.
Watching that figure, the expression on Han’s face became indescribable.
“Why are you smiling? Is this… entertaining to you?”
The system answered Han’s question instead.
[Red orcs sometimes push other beings to their deaths just for a moment of fun and entertainment. It is one of the cultures that naturally continue along with plunder.]
…To them, even the suffering of the elves seemed like mere entertainment to soothe the cold.
The orcs were brutal.
They seemed to not even feel a shred of compassion.
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Rather, they mocked and trampled the sobbing elves who revealed their emotions.
There was no hesitation in their actions.
[Shut up and pull the cart! Do you also want to be abandoned!]
Crack!
The orcs didn’t even allow a moment of respite to mourn her passing.
Instead, they relentlessly urged on with merciless whipping.
“Mother… *sob*….”
They only glanced back at the lone female elf, shedding tears.
Her fate was sealed here.
“Those damn bastards…!”
For a moment, Han felt himself getting agitated, but he released the grip on his hand that held power.
…Not yet. Not now.
***
It was late at night that day.
The orcs found a suitable cave to spend the night and set up camp there.
With practiced movements, they completed a wooden prison.
Taking out wooden poles from the cart, they crudely made bars and roughly pushed the elf captives inside, shouting.
[Get in!]
Both orcs and elves acted as if it were routine.
The elves complied with powerless expressions.
Having lost yet another family, they meekly entered the bars with lifeless eyes.
The orcs couldn’t help but smirk at their sight.
[Heh. Dull fools without even a hint of resistance.]
They stretched out comfortably and fell asleep.
There was no sign of alertness or vigilance.
They seemed familiar with this, as if they had done this a couple of times before.
The elf prison was crude, but it didn’t matter.
Exhausted and deprived of proper food or warmth, they lacked the strength to break even these bars.
They knew this well from long experience.
Even if they had the strength, escaping through the orc’s sharp watch was practically impossible.
Their power was so immense that they could tear apart even the toughest monsters while they were still alive.
[My stomach grumbles, chieftain.]
Tap. Tap.
The gazes of the orcs, who were watching the blazing campfire, converged on one point.
They looked at the chieftain, who occupied the warmest seat, and voiced their opinions.
“Eating a few goblins isn’t enough. It’s a tease. Since we still have plenty of captives, shouldn’t we at least eat one of them?”
“Endure for today. By tomorrow, we might discover new prey. Capturing them all will be our task after we’ve hitched the cart with the new captives.”
It was the chieftain’s response, with an eyepatch flipped upside down over one eye.
There was a need to spare the elves.
Killing them further would pose a problem.
Keeping them alive was for the purpose of pulling the cart.
At least as long as they had a reason to keep moving, even if it was against their will, there was a chance of survival.
There was a child left.
But if they devoured the rest just because they were a bit hungry, they would lose the strength to pull the cart any longer.
For them, born warriors of the snowy plains, pulling a cart was beneath them.
It was something fit for slaves who were feared even to be touched.
“Uhh… Grandma…!”
“Tease?”
At that moment, a faint sobbing sound reached their ears.
It was the crying of the granddaughter of the elven woman who had been abandoned during the day.
The orc’s expression contorted in annoyance.
“Noisy!”
Thud!
He hurled a hefty hand axe with a thud.
With his innate strength, the axe shattered a solid rock and embedded itself in the cave wall.
“Eek!”
In response to the fierce threat, the terrified children whimpered softly, their voices choked with fear.
Every time the children whimpered, shoulders flinched.
The orcs were a ruthless race.
Rough and barbaric.
Their violence allowed no room for mercy.
A warning was all they got.
Knowing that if they provoked their anger again, someone, whether young or old, would die, both the young elves and adults forcibly held their tongues.
“…Damn brats.”
And there was another, watching their actions closely.
He glared fiercely at them.