The place makes the person.
Strangely, that saying was now applied in reverse. No one gathered here believed that Hans was dozing off. After all, Hans was the Commander of the Royal Knights.
He had rebuilt the Royal Knights, which had crumbled in just one year. A man who repelled three Blood Demons. Of course, being human, anyone can make mistakes. But there are degrees to it.
A man who achieved this much in just one year, how could he possibly doze off during such an important meeting? Logically, that wouldn’t make sense.
What does that mean?
It means that man was pretending to sleep on purpose.
And the reason was quite clear.
The internal strife of the alliance. It was pitiful how they started pointing swords at each other again over trivial matters. He must have acted that way to mock it.
Even Lucy, the Vampire Lord, couldn’t help but shake her head at it. It was blatant mockery and disregard, which could hardly be called politics. But it was a reasonable explanation.
At least, for those with some level of intelligence. Lucy glanced to the side. The Orc king, glaring with fiery eyes, showed not a hint of restraint in his feelings.
“Pathetic. Who dares? To think a human would… I’ll eat him.”
The Orc’s advantage and disadvantage were that they were the same inside and out. Thanks to that, Orcs never schemed behind backs. But it was both an advantage and a disadvantage.
They tend to resolve issues with strength. Of course, intelligent Orcs existed in the past. Most of those smart Orcs betrayed their kind and sided with the Demons.
The only reason the Orcs that didn’t betray remained was that they could die fighting. It was only natural for those with brains to betray.
In other words, it meant Orcs endured that Hell solely with strength. Although it was lacking compared to Vampires or Dragons, it was certainly not weak enough to be dismissed.
Unexpected situation, but… this is amusing.
Lucy was briefly flustered. But soon, she started to enjoy the situation. This green monster was coming out like that. So, what will you do?
Shit, this is bad, really bad.
Indeed, our Hans never failed to meet expectations. Though he awkwardly blurted out a response, he never imagined such an exaggerated reaction would come back like from an Orc.
Thanks to that, Hans, who was about to face off with the Orc, was desperately racking his brain. It was so intense he nearly thought smoke was rising from his head.
However, really, it was a stroke of luck that Hans knew about Orcs reasonably well. Unlike the Vampire, he had some information on the Orcs as the settings had been revealed.
Of course, it was very limited compared to other races. But at least he knew how to persuade Orcs. The method for persuading Orcs was quite simple.
They say you can win with strength, but…
Orcs enjoy fighting strong opponents and only acknowledge the strong. The absolute law of the strong devouring the weak. There’s a reason Orcs don’t mess with Dragons or Vampires; they stay put.
But the question remained whether he could use that against Orcs. He could only give ambiguous answers to that question. One of the Orcs’ strengths was not fearing death.
Until now, he could easily suppress them by merely threatening them with a knife. But now, Orcs were more likely to rage and attack. If that happened, it would be the end.
[The Commander was that weak? I’m disappointed.]
[It seems he doesn’t deserve the title of Commander.]
[Teacher, I’m sorry, but I’m graduating now.]
Ugh.
Just imagining that terrible situation nearly made Hans scream. In any case, resolving the tangled situation was the priority. Then, a chance came.
“Human. Weak. I cannot accept it.”
Yes, this is it!
Even if the sky were to fall, there’s a hole to escape through. Hans felt as if he saw light in the darkness. With a brilliant idea sprouting, he first calmed his emotions.
If he got too excited and blurted out foolish things, he’d be crossing a point of no return. There’s only one opportunity; realizing that fact brought Hans back to calmness.
For now, he had only a rough understanding of Orcs. He wasn’t deeply familiar. So, he had to avoid mentioning them at first. Hans carefully opened his mouth.
“I’ve heard there’s a special way to prove the strength of Orcs.”
“Battlefield of Warriors. A place of proof where one fights with their life on the line. Will you challenge it?”
“…?”
Is there such a thing? Hans had to force back the words that nearly popped out of his mouth. Unfortunately, what he read from the settings was not about the Battlefield of Warriors.
He distinctly remembered it being called the Warrior’s Festival. While the settings didn’t describe detailed contents, there was a general description of what it was about.
[Warrior’s Festival.]
[A festival of Orcs honoring the bravery of their ancestors. However, Orc festivals differ from festivals of other races.]
[They push warriors into a Hell named the Forest of Valor and wait for them to return.]
[Unfortunately, since hundreds of years ago, not a single one has returned from that Forest of Valor.]
Simply put, the condition for the Warrior’s Festival is to escape from the forest. Of course, no Orc had escaped in hundreds of years.
Did you forget? Hans’ specialty. Time Stop, if there were no eyes watching nearby. Hans had nothing to lose in particular. Dezra pondered briefly and was visibly shocked.
“Could it be… the Warrior’s Festival?!”
“The Warrior’s Festival? What is that?”
“I’m hearing it for the first time too.”
Their reactions are splendid.
Fortunately for Hans, everyone showed they were hearing about the Warrior’s Festival for the first time. Except for one person, the Dragon Lord. The Dragon Lord’s expression hardened.
“Are you seriously planning to do that?”
“Damn lizard. What’s with all the fuss?”
“Have you lost your age? You don’t know anything.”
“Oh, is that your last will?”
The Dragons and Vampires were on the brink of fighting each other again, but thankfully, it seemed they knew the priorities, so it didn’t escalate too much. At that moment, Dezra spoke up.
“The Warrior’s Festival. A sacred festival of fellow tribesmen. A place to bless warriors and honor ancestors.”
“I know.”
“Will a human participate? He’ll die. Absolutely.”
“Well, you won’t know until you try.”
Of course, he was a bit scared. But if he used Time Stop well, he absolutely couldn’t die. Even with that considered, Hans eventually came to a conclusion after careful thought.
Fighting in front of everyone would definitely lead to death. Of course, in a 1:1 duel, he might manage to behead. But the problem was the aftermath.
Would the other Orcs just sit back and watch as their Chief was killed? They’d say it’s fine, but he couldn’t dare to guarantee what would happen afterward.
And moreover, the neck of a monster that had the name Rusted Overlord wouldn’t be so easily severed. Especially with his own skill.
On the other hand, walking through the forest to escape allowed for all sorts of tricks. Time Stop wielded absolute power. That was Hans’ logically derived conclusion.
It’s been a while. A human challenging the Warrior’s Festival.
Orcs are brutal and violent. That statement is half true and half false. To be precise, Orcs worship strength. No matter the other races, if they show appropriate strength…
Or even if they show admirable courage despite being weak, Orcs unhesitatingly acknowledge that existence and treat them as equals. However, they don’t necessarily recognize everyone.
Even if one wears a lion’s skin, how can they hide the behavior of a sheep? Just pretending to be courageous won’t hide the cowardly figure from their eyes.
And then, Dezra met Hans’s unwavering eyes. Does he not know about the Warrior’s Festival? No, that cannot be true. He understands about the Warrior’s Festival.
Yet, there wasn’t a shred of fear in his eyes. Those eyes were rare even among his own kind. A certainty that he would absolutely not die?
No, it’s not something so trivial.
Dezra isn’t a fool who looks down on others. Though he doesn’t explicitly show it, he recognizes Hans’s abilities to have rebuilt the Royal Knights. He was a warrior who had accumulated countless experiences.
In other words, he wasn’t just a foolish person overflowing with confidence.
He was someone who figured it doesn’t matter when he dies.
Because he must have seen that much death.
“…I see, understood. Hans.”
Dezra’s tone softened significantly. He met a warrior who wasn’t afraid of death after a long time. He needed to show due regard to that. In that moment, Hans thought.
Time Stop is invincible and a god!
Indeed, Hans wasn’t afraid of death.
Because he had no intention of dying.
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