Warrior’s Festival.
Even the Maquenis High Priest had just heard today about the orc tradition for the first time. He calculated the losses in his head regarding the current situation. Commander of the Royal Knights, what a great man he is.
But is there really any chance of surviving that Warrior’s Festival? The odds were already slim. According to the Dragon Lord’s explanation, heroes known as Naro had challenged it until now.
Most of them lost their lives in that forest. Commander Hans could be considered a remarkable hero, but unfortunately, he was slightly lacking to be called a hero in the realm of myth.
On the other hand, the heroes who had participated in the Warrior’s Festival and lost their lives were heroes that even High Priest Maquenis had heard of at least once. Most were heroes who had written new myths.
Even such heroes lost their lives in the Warrior’s Festival. But could Commander Hans really survive there? The answer was obviously no. High Priest Maquenis opened his mouth.
“It seems too reckless, Commander Hans.”
Surprisingly, High Priest Maquenis opposed Hans’s choice. There were several reasons for this. If Commander Hans disappeared, the public enemy would vanish, causing a division among the elves.
But above all, he judged it was a waste to throw away the life of a remarkable hero so easily. He recognized Hans’s skills and cunning in rebuilding the Royal Knights and repelling the Blood Demons.
He would try to benefit his fellow tribesmen as much as possible, but that didn’t mean he would throw the overall picture away; he was not a foolish man. The Chancellor Viral chimed in.
“There’s no need to rush, Commander.”
“Why? I’m fine with it. It’s about proving my power, right?”
“…….”
At this point, an unexpected individual voiced support. It was none other than Lucy, the Vampire Lord. There was no surer way to prove one’s power than in the same way.
Above all, she believed that as the Commander of the Royal Knights, he should be able to perform well. But Chancellor Viral had different thoughts. Although he trusted the Commander, he believed there was no need to go out of their way to take risks.
Conversely, Lucy was admiring the Commander’s bold judgment and decisiveness internally.
‘You didn’t know about the Warrior’s Festival? No, that doesn’t make sense. The first to speak was the Commander, after all.’
In other words, he knew very well about the Warrior’s Festival. Yet, despite understanding it in his head, he declared his intent to walk that path of death. Regardless of anything else, his courage was indeed remarkable.
‘A cumbersome and unnecessarily difficult choice. But, it is something needed to unite the alliance.’
The reason for the division within the alliance was quite simple. They did not respect each other. They disregarded other races as barbaric and turned a blind eye to their suffering.
Wasn’t the collapse of the Royal Knights the conclusion of that? However, this time, the Commander of the Royal Knights chose a new method. A method to unite the alliance, tailored to each race.
Orcs were notoriously stubborn. To earn respect from them meant to immediately gain their admiration. Scheming and betrayal were simply out of the question for the orcs today.
Dissatisfied?
Just cause a ruckus right in front of them.
That was the way of the orcs now.
It would generally be much more beneficial to just cut them off. But unfortunately, the orcs’ strength was indeed needed in the current situation. They could not be disregarded.
Excluding the already strong Dragons and Vampires, the only race that had caught the Blood Demons was the Orcs. At least until the Royal Knights were established.
Moreover, that value did not decline after the Royal Knights were founded. Rather, after their collapse, the value of the Orcs had risen several times over.
The orcs themselves did not care about such recognition at all. That was the behavior typical of an orc. Regardless, as long as he could control these orcs well, they would undoubtedly become a strong ally.
High Priest Maquenis thought that far ahead when he opposed Commander Hans attending the Warrior’s Festival. A failure would be problematic, but even if he somehow succeeded, it would be problematic in its own right.
What if the orcs supported the Royal Knights? Then, they would not be able to check the Royal Knights with the elves alone. However, he could not wish for Hans to fail and perish.
After all, as the Royal Knights were reestablished, the alliance had barely managed to come together again. But to have the leader die right after being reestablished? Naturally, it would fall apart once more.
‘He’s more cunning than he appears.’
High Priest Maquenis clicked his tongue. Like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, he was thoroughly ensnared. The only person who wasn’t flustered at this moment was the Commander of the Royal Knights.
He had already laid out all the pieces in his head. And that, against the leaders of each race. It turned out he wasn’t just swinging a sword but was also clever. Quite bothersome.
Hans, the Commander of the Royal Knights, who received some recognition from the Rusted Overlord Dezra and was watched closely by the Elf High Priest Maquenis, stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘But when on earth is this meeting going to end?’
Hans’s brain had already burned out, and he was entirely out of his depth. How desperate was he that he thought of praising Time Stop? That was already a sign that Hans was losing his mind.
“Silence. It’s already decided by Hans. Don’t interfere.”
One heavy remark from Dezra silenced everyone. Up until now, Hans had kept his mouth shut. Of course, it was because his brain had overloaded and gone haywire.
Yet, thanks to that, his expression had remained frozen, enough to mislead the other leaders. In the end, as Dezra said, the decision was the Commander’s, not theirs.
Especially Dezra, the Rusted Overlord, seemed to like Hans’s willingness to take on risks. By now, he was referring to him by name. He continued speaking.
“Let me know when you’re ready. Let’s go together.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Commander Hans, think it over once more.”
The other leaders chose to step back for now. It was simply because there was too little information to block him firmly. There was just one exception. Yuyoung remained until the end to persuade him.
“Are you trusting the orcs because you don’t have anyone else to rely on? Just give up even now.”
“It’s already decided.”
“Those barbarians can be perfectly fine without them.”
“But then the sacrifice will increase.”
The other races were not tolerating the orcs simply because they were naive. They were the race that brought in the greatest achievements, aside from the untouchable Vampires and Dragons.
Moreover, the orcs were completely blocking the northern front. The reason why monsters had not come down from the north was solely due to the orcs’ efforts. But what if the orcs were pushed away?
Then, hordes of monsters would come rushing in from the north at once. Yuyoung was well aware of this, so she could not dare to argue with the Commander’s words. With a sigh, Yuyoung spoke.
“Certainly, while the orcs are blocking the northern monsters, even considering that, there is a problem with the orcs’ attitude.”
‘The orcs are stopping the northern monsters?’
Hans was surprised by Yuyoung’s words and, due to the mask built from his accumulated experience, did not ask back. The knowledge regarding orcs and vampires was extremely insufficient.
At least, the orcs were better than the vampires, who revealed absolutely nothing. But regardless, he still couldn’t grasp what role the orcs played in the game’s history.
However, in this world, unlike innocent civilians or soldiers only fighting in the frontlines, those with even a slight raise in rank had to know each race’s role.
Moreover, who was Hans? Wasn’t he a brilliant commander who had rebuilt the Royal Knights? So, Yuyoung naturally thought Hans would be aware of the orcs’ roles.
‘These aren’t just mercenaries, are they? We’re screwed.’
But Hans, who knew nothing about their roles, merely thought the orcs were ineffectual mercenaries flexing their shoulders a bit. Although in the game, they weren’t as strong as the vampires, they were certainly troublesome.
He had been intent on drawing the orcs to his side before they switched over to the monsters. But listening to those words changed his mind.
Having actively worked here for over a year, Hans had stored all the details about the frontline in his head. But if the orcs turned over and the north was breached?
Hans was engulfed in a chill running down his spine.
This mission absolutely could not fail.
It was only then that Hans’s damaged mind began to recover.
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