Chapter 46 - A Harsh Winter Began (3)

『Are you my opponent?』

The leader Orc asked.

『Why? Don't you like what you see?』

The leader Orc stretched his mouth into a wide grin.

『Your spirit is the greatest among them, so you are not lacking as an opponent.』

The spirit the Orc spoke of and the grade the knights of old spoke of were not different words. The leader Orc was quite delighted, saying that those like me were not common even in his own clan.

It was a funny thing. To think that the first opponent to acknowledge me without any prejudice would be an Orc.

『Surely your flesh and blood will be a rare delicacy, so the one who eats the most delicious food here today will be me.』

Even if that acknowledgment stemmed from the barbaric belief that tearing the flesh and drinking the blood of an extraordinary being would raise one's own grade.

THUD.

The leader Orc planted his banner into the ground. And he raised the halberd he had kept by his side.

The long spear, just over two meters in length, looked almost like a switch when seen like this. That was how overwhelming the leader Orc's massive body was.

"Your Highness! That bastard is too much for Your Highness to..."

Vincent chattered noisily before retreating with a gasp of air.

CRUNCH.

A massive battle axe was lodged in the spot where he had been just a moment ago.

"Orcs absolutely hate being ignored."

I told the stiffly frozen Vincent.

"Ah, also."

This time, I spoke while looking at Arwen and the other knights.

"Orcs don't determine an order and duel like knights do. So."

I adjusted my grip on Twilight. I looked ahead. The Orc, who was larger than any other Orc present, was flaring his nostrils and panting roughly.

"Survive on your own."

As soon as my words ended, the roars of the Orcs erupted from all over.

ROAAAAAR.

The leader Orc rumbled roughly from his throat.

After howling for a long time, the Orc glared at me. His yellow eyes were bloodshot red.

The leader Orc licked his lips with his tongue.

I saw the face of the leader Orc, who looked impatient as if he had delicious food in front of him. Seeing those red eyes gleaming with primal gluttony, I laughed.

If the Orcs intended to achieve a higher spirit with the blood and flesh of an extraordinary being,

I too was one who raised his grade with their blood and flesh.

"Then let's see who's more delicious."

I too was equally impatient in the face of a delicacy.

I parted my lips slightly. A mournful melody flowed through my teeth.

A funeral dirge for the Orc.

The power of the [Poem of Requiem] imbued itself in me.

* * *

The roars of monsters possessed a power that stiffened bodies and broke the will to fight.

An average soldier would drop the sword or spear in their hands just from hearing that roar, and it would not be strange at all if an ordinary person fainted on the spot.

The roars of monsters were that terrible.

However, among the soldiers of Ballorhard and the Rangers, there was no one who would stiffen their body or drop their weapons at the roar of a monster.

They were individuals completely accustomed to the killing intent and malice contained in the monsters' roars, individuals whose profession was to turn those roars into screams.

The roars of monsters were nothing to them. They certainly thought so. Up until the exceptionally massive Orc roared.

ROAAAAAAR!

It felt as if a sudden gust of wind violently pushed against their faces. The Rangers, who had been sticking their heads out from the wall, pulled their heads back in shock.

"Huh? Wha-?"

With bewildered faces, they looked at each other.

Their heavily stiffened expressions and pale complexions—the faces of brave men who had fought Orcs countless times looked terrible.

"What on earth..."

The Rangers swallowed dry saliva and looked down below the wall again.

The moment they saw the massive Orc tilting its chin up and howling, their necks stiffened.

It was neither a troll nor an ogre, just a mere Orc. It was just one of the dark green monsters they had fought and killed countless times.

But something was different.

That Orc had something that made a person's heart shrink.

It made their stomachs churn, exactly like when they had faced a monster back in their days as recruits.

They put strength into their eyes and glared at the Orc. However, the more they did, the more their discomfort grew.

It was something the Rangers could neither understand nor accept.

Then again, how could they have known?

That this was the universal reaction humans displayed when facing a being that had reached a higher grade.

"It's begun!"

One of the knights shouted.

VWOOOOONG.

At that moment, clear Sword Resonances erupted in succession.

The moment they heard that vigorous sound, the discomfort that had settled in the Rangers' hearts disappeared. However, an unknown uneasiness remained, making them anxious.

At that time, a slightly delayed sound was heard.

VWOOOOOOONG.

Unlike a general Sword Resonance, it was an exceptionally low and heterogeneous Sword Resonance, and the moment they heard that sound, the uneasiness that had remained like residue in the Rangers' hearts vanished like a lie.

And in its place, a new emotion filled them.

The long-standing hatred toward the Orcs, built up through experiencing as few as a couple or as many as dozens of winters, flared up like flames.

"Kill them!"

One of the Rangers shouted.

"Just kill them all!"

That was the beginning.

"Those damn Orc bastards! Hack them to pieces!"

"Slit their throats! Gouge out their eyes!"

"Kill them all!"

The soldiers on the wall began to scream ferociously.

The subdued air of the castle heated up. In the wind that blew in just in time, the flag of Winter Castle fluttered. Riding that breeze, the soldiers' morale soared to the ends of the sky.

WOOOOSH.

And their resentment and hatred that had soared so high, their longings, settled back down to the earth.

It was also then that the Prince, who was standing tall in the center of the chaotic dueling ground where they were fighting in a tangled mess, raised his sword high.

* * *

Looking at me as I drew up the power of the poem, the leader Orc lamented.

『To think you have such a pathetic power compared to your revealed spirit.』

The Orc was genuinely saddened by the fact that I was an ungrown boy.

He should have at least done something about those eyes gleaming with gluttony before saying that.

『Stop spouting bullshit.』

I sneered.

Looking at me, the Orc spoke.

Telling me to resent my own misfortune of meeting him today, of all days.

『Do your best. Even if the end is a pathetic defeat, I will treat you with honor.』

The Orc rumbled his throat.

『What should we do? I have no intention of treating you with honor.』

I told him I would impale his corpse on a spear and hang it on the castle gates, that crows and insects would defile that corpse, and that I would let the whole world know the loser's end.

At my words, the Orc frowned.

『Such vulgar words and actions that do not suit your revealed spirit. Talking any longer will only ruin the mood.』

His muscular forearms bulged. A low growl flowed from the mouth of the Orc as he lowered his stance.

『I will take your blood and flesh before that mood completely disappears.』

Looking at the Orc twitching as if he would charge at any moment, I spoke as if I was feigning apology.

『Were my words a bit harsh? But this is something I can't help either.』

The flag of Winter Castle, which I stood with my back to, was violently fluttering.

『You see, I owe a little debt.』

I raised my sword high.

『Since I borrowed their strength, it's only right that I grant them what they want to settle the score.』

The sword rang sharply. The hundreds of emotions entangled on the sword rode the blade, rode the hilt, and rode my hand again to begin flowing into my body. Resentment, hatred.

Those long-standing emotions ignited by hundreds of Rangers.

『No matter how I think about it.』

It was surprisingly identical to that of the avenger who wandered the plains.

『I really think coming here was a good thing.』

I gathered every last bit of the hatred and sorrow ignited by the soldiers of Winter Castle without leaving anything behind.

My body began to tremble. My heart ached as if it were being torn apart by the weight of the karma that had increased to an unbearable extent.

However, I ultimately bore all of that weight, and only then did the tilted scales of karma and lingering thought regain their balance. 『Thanks for waiting.』

A bright red light poured explosively from the Orc's eyes.

『Noble of the greenskins.』

I aimed Twilight at that Orc.

『Sacrifice of the requiem.』

At that moment, a blue flame bloomed on Twilight's blade.

* * *

Vincent frowned.

The snowfield was so vast, but the actual battlefield was confined. No matter how they tried to use the battlefield more broadly, it was useless. The Orcs strangely never left the vicinity of the leader Orc.

With their massive bodies rampaging this way and that on such a narrow battlefield, the knights had their paths tangled and could not display their true skills.

In contrast, the Orcs were unhesitating. Though their opponents were decided, if they saw an opening, they did not hesitate to swing their axes and swords at others.

There was no melee quite like this.

It was completely chaotic.

He had experienced enough melees to be sick of them, but never before had it been this dizzying.

The problem was the Orcs' paths of movement.

While fighting along their organically moving paths, one's back would naturally be exposed. If one dodged an axe striking down on their back, the opponent in front of them would bare their teeth and charge.

Block, dodge, and counterattack. A familiar back suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

It was the back of an allied knight.

He didn't even know how many times he had missed a decisive opportunity in this manner.

It was maddening enough to drive him crazy.

He had never heard of or seen Orcs fighting in this manner. He had fought them countless times, but it was always the allies who cooperated to face the enemy, not the Orcs.

"Damn bastards!"

As he spat out a curse and thrust his sword, he suddenly felt a bizarre sensation.

"Hap!"

Loading mana, he kicked the Orc's stomach. Along with a loud noise, the Orc that was struck in the stomach stumbled backward with heavy steps.

It was an incredibly solid body. To think that it only stepped back a few paces even from a kick loaded with mana.

He clicked his tongue.

However, what was important right now was not the Orc's solid body.

He turned his head.

He rolled his eyes, following the bizarre sensation felt behind his back.

There stood the First Prince, gripping a sword blazing with blue flames.

KUAAAAAAAH.

The exceptionally massive Orc roared. A blood-red light dripped from the Orc's halberd.

CRASH!

The halberd and sword collided.

The burning blue flames and the overflowing red light clashed in the air countless times.

CRASH!

Every time an explosion erupted, blue embers scattered in all directions.

CRASH!

Every time a sharp energy wave swept the surroundings, red energy bounced up.

Chunks of blue embers were slashed away. Red energy evaporated in the heat.

At the sight that they had never seen or heard of in their lives, Vincent and the other knights were left completely stunned.

Were Orcs such strong beings?

An Orc dripping manifested red Fighting Spirit. Even Orc Warriors driven into a frenzy by a shaman's spell were not that strong.

But what was even more surprising was,

the First Prince who was pushing back such an Orc.

The Orc's halberd wore down from the tip. The chipped and gouged axe blade finally shattered into pieces with a loud *CRACK*.

At that moment, the First Prince's sword rode up the shaft of the spear whose tip had broken off. And finally, when the blade reached the Orc's strong arm, it explosively lengthened.

SLASH.

Both of the Orc's arms were sliced off.

THWACK.

The Prince's sword slashed the Orc's thigh.

"Guaaaaah!"

The Orc, whose two legs were cut off, let out a monstrous scream.

CRUNCH.

The First Prince trampled on the chest of the Orc whose limbs had been cut off.

"Farewell."

The First Prince, gripping his sword in a reverse grip, plunged it straight down.

At that moment, the Orc's body was engulfed in bright blue flames. And those blue flames that devoured the Orc swallowed the First Prince as well.

"Y-Your Highness!"

The female knight, who had been blankly watching the battle, shouted like a scream and ran over.

For this moment at least, even the fierce Orcs did not interfere with the female knight. Looking at their leader engulfed in flames, it was the same for both their side and ours.

"Don't come closer!"

At that moment, the Prince's voice could be heard from within the flames.

It was not a pain-filled groan as the female knight and Vincent had thought, nor was it a scream begging to be saved.

It was merely an urgent warning.

At that moment, from beyond the snowfield, on the opposite side of Winter Castle, somewhere deep in the mountain range, a ferocious roar was heard.

Their minds grew faint at that terrible roar that seemed to scatter their souls.

If it had not been an ear-splitting deafening sound, it would have been a long time before the knights regained their senses.

KWAAAAAAAH!

Something that had soared from the mountain range was flying toward this side.

The knights, who had belatedly regained their senses, opened their eyes as wide as possible. In their eyes, the surging blue flames could be seen.

From within the bright blue flames, the Prince swung his sword down.

CRASH!

An explosion was heard. The Prince was slammed straight into the ground. The something that had flown toward the Prince also had its direction twisted and bounced far away.

THUD.

That thing which dug into the solid walls of Winter Castle was a single, massive spear.

Though it was unknown whether it could even be called a spear, being 5 meters long and thicker than a forearm.