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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 95: Orc expedition (3)
***
While the orcs were attempting to raid the castle, Damien was moving to pinpoint the location of the Orc’s village.
It was clear that if he went into the forest blindly and failed to find the enemies, he would be in a dangerous situation.
He climbed to the top of the tower and kept a close eye on the orcs’ movements, or spread his mana to detect a wide area.
Then, during the second attack, he discovered a dark mage with short hair hiding in the forest.
‘Judging by what she’s doing, it looks like that woman is from the Monstrum sect.’
Damien immediately chased after the woman. And he was able to find the orc village and the other dark mage of the Venom sect.
Damien looked around the enemy camp and checked their forces. There were over 100 orcs gathered, and many orc warriors were also waiting.
‘Ogre? Where did they get this from?’
There was even an ogre. It seemed that they had prepared thoroughly in order to make this expedition fail.
‘The Monstrum sect is more dangerous than the Venom sect.’
The Monstrum sect was the kind of people who would become more troublesome the longer they were left alone.
If they were to build a stronghold and set up traps, casualties would be inevitable.
‘I can’t give them time to prepare.’
As soon as Damien returned to the castle, he summoned the knights.
“I have found the enemy camp. We will attack immediately.”
The knights were taken aback by the sudden order, but they quickly prepared.
“Prepare yourselves thoroughly! There are dark mages within the orcs in the village now!”
At the mention of dark mages, the knights looked even more confused. They had come to fight the orcs, so they couldn’t help but be confused when dark mages were mentioned.
However, no one doubted Damien’s words.
After all, the knights themselves were also puzzled by the way the orcs were using poison.
The knights were not fools, so they had been thinking it was strange all along, but their doubts were cleared up as soon as they heard Damien’s story.
If the dark mages were controlling the orcs, then everything made sense.
“Let’s go!”
They only carried basic weapons to attack the orcs, as riding horses would increase the chances of their surprise attack being detected.
The orcs seemed to have no idea that they were about to be attacked, as they had not even posted any guards.
“Chase them down! Don’t give them a chance to regroup!”
Thanks to this, Damien and the knights were able to take the initiative at once.
Damien and the knights swept through the village, cutting down the orcs.
Kreuruk!
Kkeeeek!
The orcs were caught off guard. A few orcs tried to resist, but it was in vain.
“How dare these green lumps rebel!”
“Why don’t you just surrender your necks already!”
The knights, armed with armor and aura, were truly overwhelming. The orcs were unable to even put up a fight against the knights.
“Huh?”
In the midst of cutting down the orcs, Damien noticed two women standing blankly in the distance.
“They are the dark mages! The dark mages are over there!”
Damien shouted as soon as he saw the two people. The knights turned their heads and looked at the two women.
The expressions of the two women contorted at the knights’ gazes. The woman with short hair screamed.
“You filthy bastards! How dare you lay a hand on my orcs? Do you know how hard it was to gather those!”
Dark mana erupted from the short-haired woman. As the woman formed hand seals, dark magic was manifested.
The eyes of the orcs changed. The confusion and fear were gone. In their place were vicious killing intent and hunger.
“You’ll pay dearly for touching my kids!”
The woman didn’t stop there and cast another dark magic spell.
The orcs’ muscles swelled and their skin turned pitch dark. Their teeth and nails grew thick and long.
The Monstrum sect wasn’t just a sect that only controlled monsters. They could also use dark magic to draw out the potential of monsters or grant them new abilities.
The price for that was the monsters’ life force. The orcs would probably die before the day was out.
Kreuruk!
Kkeeeek!
The orcs who were trying to escape let out eerie cries and charged at the knights instead.
“Ugh?”
“What the hell is this power…!”
The knights who clashed with the orcs couldn’t help but be bewildered. They were much faster and stronger than before.
Their confusion created an opening. The orcs pressed the knights even harder.
“That’s troublesome.”
With that, Damien ran towards the orcs.
He used his mana to accelerate. Damien’s body disappeared. Right after that, a flash of light flashed in the air.
One rotation.
In a blinding flash, the holy sword traced a lethal arc, cleaving through the ranks of the encroaching orcs.
With horrifying precision, the blade bisected their bodies, separating flesh from bone in a macabre display.
The battlefield was instantly adorned with a chilling tableau as blood and entrails spilled forth, mingling with the dirt beneath their feet.
“Oh my god…….”
“This is unbelievable…….”
The knights looked at the sight with stunned faces.
As knights belonging to Duke Goldpixie, they had seen too many middle-class battles.
But there was no one who could move like Damien.
“Snap out of it! They’re just orcs, even if they’ve gotten stronger!”
Damien shouted at the knights.
The knights’ fighting spirit was revived after seeing Damien’s incredible move. They started to push the orcs back again.
“That, that fucker…!”
The short-haired woman gnashed her teeth. She shouted.
“This won’t do! You guys come out too!”
New orcs emerged from the forest. They were much larger than the other orcs.
They were each holding different weapons, but they had one thing in common. Their weapons were glowing with aura.
The orc warriors had revealed themselves.
“It’s a shame to use you guys, but… I have no choice!”
The short-haired woman cast another dark magic spell. The orc warriors’ bodies grew even larger. Their skin turned dark.
It wasn’t just their bodies that were strengthened. The aura on the orc warriors’ weapons also became thicker.
“Kill that Damien guy together!”
The short-haired woman pointed at Damien. The orc warriors charged at him.
Kreuruk!
Kkeeeek!
Weapons imbued with aura rained down on Damien.
The already menacing orc warriors had been further strengthened by dark magic.
Each attack was terrifyingly powerful.
‘There’s a lot of them.’
Damien used the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation, feeling his body surge with intense heat as his senses sharpened to a razor’s edge.
Time itself seemed to bend to his will as the world around him slowed to a crawl. The orc warriors’ frenzied assaults gradually slowed down until they froze entirely in their tracks.
With swift and deliberate movements, Damien advanced, weaving between the immobilized orc warriors, his holy sword flashing with deadly precision as he decapitated them one by one.
Despite their severed necks, the orc warriors’ heads remained suspended in the air, not a drop of blood emerged.
Pressing onward, Damien breached the orc warriors’ ranks, carving a path to their rear before finally stopping using the Art of the Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation.
In an instant, blood erupted from the orc warriors’ severed necks, their heads tumbling to the ground in a gruesome finale of violence and carnage.
“…Huh?”
A look of bewilderment appeared on the short-haired woman’s face.
To her eyes, it seemed like Damien had teleported and cut off the orc warriors’ necks all at once.
“T, this is ridiculous…”
“Noctis! Snap out of it! Quickly summon them!”
At that moment, the haggard woman shouted. At the same time, she threw a poison bottle on the ground. The bottle shattered and poisonous smoke billowed out.
As the haggard woman used dark magic, the poisonous smoke flew toward Damien and the knights.
‘This is getting annoying.’
Damien put away his holy sword and took out the Thousand-Mile Sword. He flicked the Thousand-Mile Sword with his fingertip.
The Thousand-Mile Sword began to vibrate. Damian gripped it and swung it forcefully.
The Thousand-Mile Sword emitted an aura. The released aura tore through all the flying poisonous smoke.
“What the hell is that ridiculous skill…!”
The haggard woman exclaimed in disbelief.
“Noctis!”
“I’m here!”
The short-haired woman shouted. At that moment, ogres burst out of the forest, breaking the trees.
Uwooowoo!
Wooooowoo!
The ogres’ cries shook the entire forest. The knights who were killing the orcs shouted in shock.
“O, ogres?”
“Why are those monsters here!”
For the first time, fear appeared on the knights’ faces.
The ogres, known as the kings of the forest and the giants of strength, were monsters with immense strength.
They could easily kill even low-class knights, and they were dangerous even for middle-class knights.
It was no wonder that the knights were flustered.
‘Ogres? It’s been a while.’
“Wow, they’re big. There must be a lot of meat to cut off.”
However, not all the knights were flustered.
Michael and Veronica just looked at the ogres with curious faces.
“Hey, Michael.”
“You’re right, but isn’t that a bit too much bad-mouthing? You’re too vulgar.”
“Wanna make a bet on who kills more? The loser becomes the winner’s servant.”
“You won’t regret it?”
Both of them simultaneously rushed towards the ogres.
The ogres swung their fists to kill them.
The Marquis Ryanbloom family is famous for its strong swordsmanship.
Michael Ryanbloom did not avoid the ogre’s fist. Instead, he struck back.
The ogre’s fist shattered. The ogre’s face contorted in pain.
At that moment, Veronica jumped in and cut off the ogre’s neck. The ogre’s thick skin and bones were easily cut through.
“Got one?”
Veronica said and ran towards another ogre.
Michael Ryanbloom looked at her in disbelief.
***
While the two were dealing with the ogres, Damien reached the two dark mages.
The short-haired woman glared at Damien and asked.
“Are you seriously going to take us on by yourself?”
“So what if I am?”
“Ha! You must think we’re pretty easy.”
Even in this dire situation, the two didn’t seem flustered.
High-level mages have combat power comparable to middle-class knights.
Moreover, dark mages don’t hesitate to use any means necessary to gain power, so they were much higher level than ordinary mages of the same rank.
“Let’s show you exactly who we are.”
The short-haired woman curled her index and middle fingers into a circle and put them in her mouth. She blew a loud whistle.
Suddenly, the ground near Noctis began to shake. Something emerged, pushing through the dirt.
Judging by its head, it was a white lion with a lush mane. However, it was no ordinary white lion. It stood on two legs.
Not only did it walk on two legs, but its shoulders were also spread wide like a human’s. Its pectoralis major muscles were well-developed, and even its abs were defined.
Its arms and legs were not those of a lion at all. From the elbows and knees down, it was covered in scales instead of fur. Its soles were like those of an eagle, with claws on its hind legs.
The most bizarre thing was the snake that was attached in place of its tail. The large snake slithered around and flicked its tongue at Damien.
“It’s not a lion, it’s a chimera.”
Damien said, as if surprised.
The chimera was a monster that could only be created by the Monstrum sect’s forbidden dark magic.
It was created by combining multiple monsters, making it both bizarre and powerful.
“What do you think? Isn’t it cool? This is my baby that I worked so hard to create!”
The short-haired woman shouted from behind the chimera.
“……It’s not just the chimera. I’m here too.”
The haggard woman opened her bag and spilled out bottles of poison.
The poison that spilled out of the broken bottles turned into a large snake and wrapped itself around Marina’s body.
Even though it was just poison, it seemed like all the fur on her body was standing on end.
It was clear that it wasn’t ordinary poison, but the Venom sect’s secret, deadly poison.
Chimera and deadly poison.
It was the worst possible combination.
“……You? You’re the one who’s been interfering with all our plans?”
The haggard woman glared at Damien and said.
“You’ll pay the price for interfering with us. I’m not going to kill you right away. I’m going to catch you and make you watch with your own eyes.”
Her tone was calm, but her voice was filled with venom.
“I’m going to make you watch your knights die, begging for their lives as they succumb to the poison. I’m going to make this the most horrific day of your life.”
Horrific day.
At those words, Damien was suddenly reminded of his time as a Death Knight.
Damien, who had been a Death Knight, was a slave who had no choice but to obey Dorugo’s orders.
He had his self-awareness, but he couldn’t move his body. He was trapped inside his own body, forced to watch everything he did.
The burning castle, the mountain of corpses, the screaming people.
It was all Damien who did it, under Dorugo’s orders.
Damien watched the scene every day. Without fail, every day.
“Why can’t you say anything? Do you finally realize something is wrong? It’s too late anyway……”
A vicious killing intent erupted from Damien’s body. It was as if dark energy was about to envelop the entire world.
As soon as they were exposed to the killing intent, the bodies of the two dark mages froze.
“This is why I hate dark mages. Every time I meet them, bad memories keep coming up.”
It wasn’t just memories that came up. The emotions he felt at that time were vividly felt.
As if it happened just yesterday.
“You said you were going to make this a horrific day?”
The two dark mages stared at Damien with frozen faces.
“That’s a good idea.”
A smile spread across Damien’s lips.
It was a creepy smile as if it had been forcibly created by tearing through his skin.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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