CH 194

“Lady princess knight~ Lady princess knight~ A-ing! Eheng! It tickles when you touch me like that! Kihehe~”

“Ha! Then what if I do this?!”

“Kieeeeh?! It’s so embarrassing! But I can’t deny that it feels amazing~”

“Hoho. Your joy is my happiness.”

“Kieeeeng~ You’re embarrassing me! Kie~ Kie~ Kehehe~”

“Hehehe~”

“You cute little things. Did I allow you to enjoy yourselves like that without me?”

“Sir!”

“Your Excellency, please join us.”

“Well. All right. I feel as if the entire world is mine. It would be wonderful if us three could spend eternity together like this. Together, we could go around and kill monsters, defeat famous knights, and travel the world.”

“Kiehhh! I’m completely for it!”

“Joy upon joy! Hohoho~ I am willing to follow you.”

“Hahaha~”

“Kiehehehe~”

“…..”

“…”

“..”

“What do you think? Is she having a nice dream? She keeps smiling. How cute,” Romari spoke with a pleased smile while looking at Princess Lilisain, who continued to grin with her mouth agape.

“Kieehh? Cute? Hey, raccoon, what’s wrong with your eyes? Can’t you tell? That’s the smile of a savage beast chasing after something!”

“Mmhm! For once, I must agree with the evil spirit. The princess is an outstanding knight who has gone through years of rigorous training. Her war cry is a bit peculiar, but the word cute is not suitable to describe her. I am certain she has been enlightened by my blow. She must be training in her dreams,” Galfredik said.

“No, that couldn’t possibly be, right? You got her right on her forehead with a mace. Look at how her helmet’s been split in two. There’s no way she could have been enlightened. It would be a miracle if her intelligence remained unaffected…” Romari retorted logically.

Pranbow stepped forward and spoke angrily, “That’s a little harsh, miss wizard. Princess Lilisain is a pure-blooded member of Eland’s royal family and a brilliant knight. Her brilliance is—”

Romari interjected, “She jumped at Sir Galfredik without knowing they were on the same side and got knocked out in two blows.”

“…” Pranbow was forced to shut up. He had witnessed the shocking sight from right behind Duke Batla. He had never imagined that his beloved disciple would lose her blade after a single exchange and have her helmet split with the next, even though she had used Aura.

“Huh? She’s smiling again. How adorable, really,” Romari commented.

“Kieeeee… Why do I keep getting goosebumps? I can’t help but feel like something’s crawling all over my body,” Mirian said.

“Phew!” Pranbow turned his head with a sigh. He could no longer bear how the villainous group continued to comment over the pure-blooded member of Eland’s royal family.

“Anyway, who are these orcs? They seem to know you very well, Your Excellency,” Pranbow asked.

“Oh, that friend? That’s Maxenne. He’s the temporary tribal chief of the Tolo family,” Eugene answered.

“Temporary chief?” Pranbow asked.

“Huh? Master Pranbow, you haven’t heard yet? Master and I demolished the Tolo family when we went to the North and made that guy the chief. So…” Galfredik explained what he had experienced in the North after Eugene’s departure.

His story left Pranbow, as well as the other knights, in awe and wonder.

“Sir Galfredik. Are you saying that the Tolo family has unified the Bayman Orcs?” one of the knights asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t go as far as to call it unifying. Let’s just say they have a bigger say now,” Galfredik responded.

“Well, you defeated all the remaining warriors, right? Doesn’t that mean the Tolo tribe basically rules the North now?” the knight asked.

Galfredik replied, “Well, it turns out that things were rather complicated over there as well. That’s why I crossed over. I wanted to let Master know, as well as the tribal chiefs who had already crossed over.”

“But the orcs ended up picking a fight at the beach. They must have been waiting for the rest of their warriors to land, right?” Pranbow asked.

“Well, things escalated once the monsters showed up, but that’s basically what happened,” Galfredik responded.

“Huh! That’s…”

Pranbow and the knights could not hide their surprise. Eugene reacted similarly after hearing the story from Maxenne.

***

“Lizardmen?”

“That’s right. The advance party was attacked just before they landed on the coast,” Maxenne responded politely.

“Hmm.”

Lizardmen resided mainly by the sea and rivers. They were bipedal and capable of using various tools. However, lizardmen were born in evil lands, and they possessed mana stones. As such, they weren’t treated as a species but as monsters.

The advance party belonging to the six tribes had attempted to land on one of the lizardmen’s habitats, and a fierce battle broke out between the 200-or-so Bayman Orcs and the lizardmen.

In normal circumstances, the orc warriors would have won a landslide victory. However, the beach was the lizardmen’s home ground, and the orcs could not fully display their skills due to their fear of water. Even so, the orcs hurried to make a landing. Only a few warriors were killed in the process, and once the orcs managed to step on the ground, the lizardmen were no longer their match.

In the end, the lizardmen ended up fleeing to the seas. However, there was no way the orc warriors would forget the humiliation they had been subjected to immediately after arriving.

That was how the chase began…

“They had a sorcerer with them in the advance party, and they informed the rest of them about the lizardmen. The lizardmen aren’t aquatic monsters but rather amphibious monsters. They usually reside where land meets water,” Maxenne explained.

“Hmm. So they chased after the lizardmen after leaving some troops to welcome the main army,” Eugene stated.

“Yes. We arrived with Sir Galfredik, ignorant of that fact. But we had to respond in kind when the warriors of the other tribes started attacking us without warning,” Maxenne continued.

“…I would have done the same if someone had occupied my tribe with force,” Eugene answered.

“W-well, that wasn’t me, but rather Sir Galfredik…” Maxenne muttered while breaking out into a cold sweat. According to Maxenne, the half-orc had attempted to ‘convince’ the other tribes with the Tolo family. However, Maxenne was just a temporary chief, a half-orc, and a youngster. There existed no such generous orcs who would actually listen to the words of someone like Maxenne. Moreover, Galfredik wasn’t a knight who would take insults and ill-treatment sitting down. It was only natural for a battle to occur, and Galfredik easily made mincemeat out of the weakened groups of orcs.

After ‘convincing’ two tribes with his blade, Galfredik continued his mission and visited the other tribes. However, stories about Galfredik’s ruthless rampage had already reached the remaining tribes.

The remaining tribes came up with a countermeasure. They welcomed Galfredik and Maxenne and treated them graciously. However, they informed the two that important decisions could only be made by their chiefs, who had already left on the expedition. As such, the tribes told the two to meet with the chiefs for an answer.

Normally, Galfredik would have ignored their tricks and continued his rampage, but the orc tribes had mentioned the honor of Eugene and the king. If Galfredik smashed the remaining tribes as well, he would damage the honor and legitimacy of both Eugene and Luke.

As such, Galfredik was left with no choice but to return. However, he made sure to carry with him a document of agreement from Maxenne and the four remaining tribes before leaving. Of course, they only managed to respond to the orcs’ trick thanks to Romari’s quick thinking.

“So, the orcs who died here are warriors of the Kalan tribe?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. Sir Galfredik had explained the situation to the tribe’s chief, and… tried to come to an agreement, but they attacked,” Maxenne responded.

“He would have asked for deference, not an agreement. Even if it were me, I would have attacked if someone asked me to surrender while waving around a piece of paper,” Eugene stated.

“A-as I have said many times, that was Sir Galfredik’s…” Maxenne muttered.

“Anyway, that’s enough of that. The bottom line is that the warriors of the six tribes chased after the lizardmen, and you went after those orcs, right?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. Now there are only two families left, Katan and Pegoul,” Maxenne answered.

“What a simple, ignorant bunch. They came by boat together, but they fought separately,” Eugene commented.

“Well, that’s the honor of the Bayman Orcs…”

Maxenne was right. It was customary for the Bayman Orcs, including the Tolo tribe, to fight separately by tribe even if they traveled together. Eugene didn’t know if their nonsensical tradition was truly based on their honor or the pride they had in their strengths. However, Eugene considered it extremely dumb. In addition, he could see why the orcs had succeeded in unifying Brantia only once throughout history, even though they were much stronger than humans. It also made sense why their reign had lasted a short period of less than a decade.

They were intoxicated by their own strength to the point that they had no idea how to gather their strength in one place, and they were too proud for their own good, so it was only natural for them to never succeed in truly unifying Brantia.

‘It’s a good thing for me, though…’

Eugene grinned while having such thoughts.

Maxenne spoke carefully while looking at Eugene with nervous eyes, “Excuse me, Your Excellency.”

“What is it?” Eugene responded.

Maxenne continued, “Although things ended up this way due to Sir Galfredik’s very small error of judgment, the heads of Katan and Pegoul tribes may have different opinions regarding this matter. Your Excellency, please… I was wondering if you could persuade them with a little generosity.”

“Persuade…” Eugene contemplated for a moment before giving a meaningful smile. “They chased after the lizardmen, right? And it’s highly likely that there exists a leader among the lizardmen like a lord or a king, right? One who has evolved beyond the rest?” Eugene continued.

“Yes. That’s right,” Maxenne answered.

“I will think about your request when the two tribes find the lizardmen,” Eugene stated.

“Ah… yes!” Maxenne exclaimed with a brighter expression. Although his relationship with the other orcs was slightly awkward, they were still his kin. He felt relieved at the thought that the remaining ones could be saved.

‘This is rather good. I might even get my hands on a red mana stone while taking care of the orcs.’

“I hope the orcs successfully track down the lizardmen. Then we could work together to defeat the lizardmen,” Eugene said.

“I’m certain that will happen! The orcs of Katan and Pegoul tribes are great warriors who have been subjugating evil lands for a long time,” Maxenne shouted.

“Yes, yes…”

Maxenne found Eugene’s satisfied smile a little disturbing, but he hoped that the two tribes would succeed in tracking down the lizardmen nonetheless.

***

“Kill those dirty lizards!”

Kuwuuuuuugh!!!

The orcs warriors charged with a vicious roar while brandishing their spears and axes at the shout of Katan’s chief. Although their journey had been quite short, only three days, and it had been just a simple voyage following the coast, it had been a life-threatening adventure for the orcs. In addition, a ship had been swept away and destroyed by the waves along their path, which cost them more than ten valuable warriors.

The orcs finally landed after so much trouble, only to suffer losses due to the cowardly attacks of the lizardmen in the water. The enraged orc warriors had temporarily forgotten Duke Batla as they fought the lizardmen.

In the end, the orcs managed to locate the lizardmen’s home base after several days of relentless pursuit. The warriors of the Katan tribe separated from the other tribes during their pursuit, but it was in the original plan to separate upon landing, so they didn’t care.

The most important thing for them was to attack and kill the vile group of lizards scattering in all directions in the shallow stream.

“Dieeee!”

“Kuweeeeegh!”

Orcs feared deep waters and seas, as they could not swim. However, they weren’t afraid of water itself, so their anger and fierce momentum remained unhindered in the shallow stream.

The lizardmen fell one after another with each swing and stroke of the orcs’ weapons. After all, the lizardmen were poorly equipped, and they only possessed a few metal weapons. The lizardmen possessed the advantage in deep water, but they were no match for the orc warriors in such a shallow stream.

As such, the lizardmen began to flee to deeper waters or caves after a short while.

“Kuwuuuugh! Don’t let a single one get away! We must give the heads of those filthy lizards to the spirit of the earth before we carve out the hearts of the southern knights!”

Kuwuuuuugh!

The orc warriors charged with madness in their eyes after seeing blood. They were truly a race born to battle.

The appearance of the orcs made quite a horrifying sight. Drool dripped from their large, sharp fangs, and Fear emanated from their crazed, fierce eyes.

However, the lizardmen believed in the existence who had ordered them to attack the orc warriors at sea. Their leader had killed three intermediate-rank monsters and had gone through an evolution. It possessed steel skin that easily deflected the swords of human knights, as well as powerful claws that shredded human armor like paper. Its tail was a massive, powerful club capable of decimating the skin and bones of a beast with just a single swing.

They trusted in their leader, the Lizardman King.

Kieeeeeeeehhhhkkkk!!!

The Lizardman King roared and burst out of its cave after sensing the fear of its subjects, who were also its slaves.

“Kuwugh? W-what is that?”

The Katan tribe’s chief and his warriors came to a stop.

Kuerrrrrrr… Kuerr!

They faced a giant lizardman well over 2 meters tall and three times larger than a regular lizardman. The giant monster held a long harpoon in its hand.

The gray skin of the reptilian monster was covered with large bumps, similar to armor, and its tail, which was as thick as the body of an orc warrior, was decorated with dozens of blade-like rakes.

There were five horns jutting out from the top of its head all the way to its neck, which looked similar to a sinister crown, and its bright yellow eyes, long fluttering tongue, and dense, packed, sharp teeth exacerbated the Lizardman King’s bizarre appearance.

“Even so, you’re nothing more than a filthy lizard! Kuweweegh!”

The Katan tribe’s chief roared before throwing a spear.

Thuck!

A tribe’s chief was a renowned powerhouse even among his people. However, the Lizardman King easily grabbed the spear out of the air before snapping it in half with its four fingers that were as thick as a tree’s roots.