EP.22 Dance with Orcs!
After the commotion was over, we decided to move on immediately. It’s because the more time you delay, the worsh it get.
“Tsuk, you didn’t even come up with something to eat.”
“Here is something to eat.”
I handed the jerky pickled in garlic juice to Howl.
Howl was disgusted and shook his head.
“Ah, how did you get it again?”
“Because it was tied around the waist. It’s a little wet, but it’s better than nothing.”
“It’s done. I ate it for several days… and I don’t want eat it.”
“It was okay if yoy didn’t like it. It looks like you don’t have anything else to bring, so let’s go right away. Please follow me, and if you find something along the way, please tell me.”
We started moving.
Me and Howl, who were the most powerful, led the group from the front and the back.
“hot…”
As we continued our journey, the people following started murmuring one by one. I glanced around and saw that everyone was drenched in sweat, muttering ‘hot’ over and over again.
If you keep going like this, you will be left behind.
I decided to take a short break.
Howl came up to me while everyone was sitting down and resting.
“How much further do you think it will take to get there?”
“That’s it, I don’t know.”
“…don’t you know? Then you asked me to go without knowing when we would arrive?”
“Do you really need to know that to say it? It was the only way I could see it.”
“It’s like that… haha, but isn’t there really nothing like this here?”
Howl sighed and looked around.
All around were dried up trees, barren land, and occasional scorpions. There was nothing other than that.
“The land of the Orcs is like that. Otherwise, Why would they go looting?.”
Territory of orcs located in the western part of the continent.
The sun is hot enough to remind you of a desert. In the dry land, there is no moisture to be found, and it is so crumbly that it crumbles every time you step on it.
Of course, the land is not suitable for farming normally. Thanks to this, the Orcs were always struggling with food shortages.
What they chose to survive is looting.
Once a year.
At harvest time, the warriors of all orc tribes gather to create a powerful army.
And the great army tours the kingdoms, demanding that some of the harvested grain be given away if they do not like war.
This is the so-called rip-off.
It’s a very outrageous request, but the kingdom grants it again. They would be reluctant to take damage by fighting a large orc army.
‘At first they said that they couldn’t win the fight.’
If it wasn’t for the intervention of the Empire, the three kingdoms would have fallen to the orcs earlier, the npc in the game said.
‘But this guy is a vampire, doesn’t he know the territory of orcs?’
Seeing that he is still alive even after eating garlic like that, he seems to be in a fairly high position. Then he must have lived for quite a long time, of course, he must have been to the orc’s territory at least once.
That said, the appearance you see now is also acting.
‘Awkward bastard. I’ll have to put it away sooner rather than later.’
Unfortunately, I can’t kill him with this body now. It would be simple if he used the old techniques, but he’s not the type of guy who really needs to use it.
He’s a jerk in many ways.
‘I’ll have to ask Lina to make a strong garlic concentrate later.’
You can’t help it if you eat it and endure it. We have no choice but to acknowledge his tenacity and just go with him.
As he was thinking about it, Howl said with a serious expression.
“Then what now? I’m going to the border. Second, I’m starving to death before that.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Because I have something in mind.”
* * *
“Is this what you were thinking of?”
Howl looked at me with an expression that said that he was astonished and that he wasn’t surprised anymore.
“Intruders!”
Orcs riding on camels or large scorpions were pointing their spears at us.
I spoke to him in a low voice that only Howl could hear.
“Did you really think you could get to the border without ever getting caught by the orcs? More than twenty people?”
We’re not the FBI, how do we do that?
“To follow!”
The orc, riding on a large scorpion, cried out and began to move.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to ask you to follow me. Everyone, don’t be afraid and just follow along.”
“Hey, this crazy bastard drove me crazy! After all, I couldn’t follow orders like you. I should have been in control… huh?!”
A sharp spear blade was aimed at the nape of Callios, who was screaming.
“Quietly”
“What do you mean this time?”
“Shut up. Well, Mr. Callios, let’s shut up. You too. All of you have to be quiet to get things done. I hope you don’t go crazy thinking about it for nothing. Come on, let’s go.”
I walked behind the scorpion orc. Howl followed me, and the others hesitated for a moment and then followed me.
The orcs moved in a state of siege as if they were surrounded us.
“What are you going to do now?”
“By the way, like I said before, we should settle the matter amicably through negotiations.”
“Is it possible?”
As Howl said so, he glanced at the orcs, as if he could converse with those ignorant bastards.
He didn’t even laugh out loud because it was so ridiculous. Also, vampires are vampires. Seeing other races being ignored so easily.
“The orcs aren’t as stupid as they seem. They know how to measure things. Otherwise, the Empire would have annihilated them.”
“Um… that’s right.”
Howl nodded with a shaky expression on his face. The status of the empire was so great that even a vampire would admit it.
To be precise, it should be said that it was the status of the Platinum Knights, the Knights Templar under the Empire.
Platinum Knights.
The sharpest sword of the Empire.
It is an armed force capable of destroying a kingdom with only the Knights Templar without any other troops.
On the day they attack the vampires with their silver swords, the vampires will disappear from the continent unless the blood king comes forward.
“So don’t worry and just walk.”
Howl nodded as if he couldn’t help it.
* * *
Hot sun and dry land.
If that were the case, no matter how hard they plundered, the Orcs would not have been able to survive.
But the orcs survived.
Because there was something that allowed them to survive.
Oasis.
It is a large pool of water that can be found in the middle of the dry land.
However, it is different from an ordinary oasis on Earth. size and effectiveness. It is said that the oasis of this world is drinkable, even if it is not that the size is much larger than expected.
The quality of the water is so good that you can drink it without boiling it.
It must be a very fantasy setting, but it is said that this is the secret that the Orcs were able to survive.
Because you can farm and drink water in oasis.
Of course, that alone is not enough, so they will loot.
“Hey there. It’s really good, isn’t it?”
As I was yawning, someone pulled my collar with a worried face.
It must have been because they were brought to the center of their tribe while surrounded by the orcs, so it must have been unsettling.
I smiled and calmed him down.
“it’s okay. Trust me.”
“I want to believe it, but…”
He looked around with a face full of fear. I followed his gaze and looked around, and besides the orc warriors besieging us, other orcs were gathering one by one.
But it didn’t seem like there was a need to worry too much.
Compared to the orc warriors, the energy they exude was poor.
It was just like a large human being.
“Is it you? Humans who fearlessly invaded our tribe’s territory?”
A voice came from inside the large tent. The orcs that emerged from the tent larger than the other orcs.
He is 2.5m tall and has thick muscles.
He has a black tattoo on his right shoulder.
The energy emitted by this orc was far stronger than that of other orcs as well as orc warriors.
“Oh, the orcs speak of us?”
“Scary…”
“Hey…”
Those who were still very nervous were terrified by the appearance of a large orc.
After calming them down, I asked the orc.
“Are you the chieftain of this tribe?”
“Yes. I am Lugar, son of Roxar. I am the chieftain of the Wolftooth clan.”
“I am Cloud. Lugar son of Roxar, I challenge you to a duel.”
* * *
“I am Cloud. Lugar son of Roxar, I challenge you to a duel.”
At Cloud’s sudden words, everyone in the party froze except for him.
A duel?
You mean you’re going to fight that strong-looking orc?
On the other hand, Lugar looked at Cloud with an interesting expression.
It was because it was strange that that human knew about the orc duel.
“Duel. Why should I duel with you?”
“For an orc warrior, wasn’t a duel an honorable battle to show his pure strength?”
“Right. And you are not an orc.”
“Is non-orc a problem? I am an honorable warrior Always ready to face an honorable death. Or are you not ready? Lugar son of Roxar.”
“The position of the chieftain is not light enough to fall for trivial provocations. I ask you again. Do I really need to have a duel with something like a bug that will killed with just one word?”
Cloud put his hand in his arms. At that moment, the orc next to him tried to wield the spear, but Lugar raised his hand to stop it.
What Cloud took out were six heavy-looking pockets.
“500,000 gold each. All together, it’s 3 million gold. I will bet this as a condition of the duel. If you win, you can take this money.”
At the word of 3 million gold, everyone’s eyes trembled except for Howl. This is because most people did not hold even 10,000 gold, let alone 3 million gold.
Callios, the successor of the Viscount family, did the same. Even family Head doesn’t have 3 million gold.
But there is no 3 million gold in cash.
To prepare 3 million gold in cash, you would have to sell a lot of slaves and land.
He can’t help but be surprised that something like that can easily come out of Cloud’s hands.
‘Damn, you were right after all..!’
Callios was very resentful of the past himself, who trembled in the cubic for nothing.
But it wasn’t people’s reactions that mattered to Cloud.
“Could you stop pretending to be casual? You think I don’t know anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s okay to stick around to the end. You orcs are buying scarce food from the Empire.”
“…Did you know until then?”
They farm around the oasis and loot food from the kingdoms. Even then, food was always scarce.
Farming is not always a bountiful harvest, and the weaker the tribe, the less food they receive after looting.
That is why most of the orc tribes bring money and exchange them for food at the Empire’s borders.
In such a tribal situation, that huge amount of 3 million gold was like a very coveted fruit.
“What do you want when you win a duel?”
“Providing the lives of me and my companions, food and bed for the day. And a guide us to the border.”
Cloud had no intention of going to the border on his own from the beginning.
How do you get to the border with no food and no road?
If he was the only one, but he now have too many burdens to follow. So he chose to duel the orcs. Surrender to the outcome of a duel was one of the Orc’s long traditions.
Besides, he had to come to the orc tribe someday. Because he had to get the skill that Gis would get before that.
“How about doing this? If you give me that money, I’ll listen to everything you just said. They give you food and a place to sleep, and guide you to the border. I swear in the name of the chieftain.”
People’s complexions brightened at Lugar’s suggestion.
He thought that there was an easy way to live.
But as Cloud smiled, their faces darkened again.
“Isn’t that what you really mean? Do you think it’s worth 3 million gold?”
“I can kill you and take you right now.”
“Do that. Only a duel.”
“It means that it is enough for me to not come forward.”
“You are frightened.”
“Once again, the position of the chieftain is not light enough to be moved by your provocation. Choose either you pays money and goes out, or you dies and gives money.”
At Lugar’s threat, people’s complexions darkened more than before.
They wanted Cloud to give them 3 million gold.
It’s a lot of money, but what about it?
It’s not even their money.
Callios stabbed Cloud in the side.
“Hey, you… I think it’s a bit risky. Why don’t you just give me money? No matter how much money is, isn’t it less valuable than life?”
“Then will you put this 3 million gold on the Goldenbaum family?”
“What, what?! Hey, why put it on our family?!”
“It was the money I spent to save the real heir of that family, so of course I have to put it down. Why, do you not like it?”
“…it’s not that I hate it… If I take such a large amount of money and go back to it, the position of the heir will be a little jeopardized…”
“Then shut up and be quiet. The same goes for others. Only those who can pay back 3 million gold, please raise your hand.”
Krappa gently raised his hand and held it in.
Now he’s not Haley’s henchman, but Cloud’s fellow Howl.
Confirming that the people had become quiet, Cloud looked back at Lugar and said.
“The human beings who were caught in distress and bet a duel against the chieftain, risking everything to catch even a glimmer of hope. However, the chieftain did not accept it, and the tribesmen annihilated the humans who could not even resist. These are the honorable orc warriors. Isn’t it?”
“Did you say that provocation doesn’t work?”
“It did. Did I say that it is not the position of the chieftain to be shaken by clumsy provocations? But now it will be.”
“What?”
“Even if you order your subordinates to annihilate, I will survive. Because I have the ability to take my body out. And I will inform all orc tribes except here of your plight. They will mock and despise you and your ancestors. Let’s see if the chieftain’s seat will be heavy even then.”
“Do you want to die?”
An unusual energy emanated from Lugar. It’s obviously hostile. People were terrified and trembled at the life that flowed from a strong warrior.
But Cloud’s expression was still cold.
“Like I said, I don’t die here.”
“…the other tribes will not believe you.”
“It will make you believe. Even if there is a limit to using all 3 million gold.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to quietly give out 3 million gold and leave safely?”
In Lugar’s words, the hostility had already disappeared. Cloud cleared his face and shrugged his shoulders.
“As you value honor, I value self-esteem.”
Seeing Cloud’s smirk, Lugar sighed and nodded.
“Okay, accept the duel. Anyone of you who wants to challenge me, challenge me. Don’t take it all.”