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“Father, oink!”
Dash dash dash dash!
Arosh darted off. His veins—which looked like worms—wriggled. He kicked the ground with his muscular calves that were as thick as a lamp pole. He rushed forward at an unbelievable speed with a body that was as huge as a wild boar from the Ural Mountains. Subsequently, a larger orc responded enthusiastically from the other side.
“Son, oiinkk!”
Dash dash dash dash!
A middle-aged orc came running. His bulging veins—which looked like snakes—flared. He kicked the ground with his muscular calves that were thicker than a telephone pole. The athletic orc with body as enormous as a Tunguska brown bear charged forward, leaving a storm of dust behind.
And then, the two of them collided.
Boom!
Everyone else pitied the air molecules that must’ve gotten sandwiched between those muscular bodies. However, regardless of their opinion, Arosh and the middle-aged orc hugged each other. The father and son pair had a rather fierce reunion.
“Arosshhh this punk, oink!”
“Fatheerr, oink!”
“Are you okay, oink?”
“I’m all right! Uhuhuk, oink!”
“Thank goodness. Nonetheless, stop crying, son. Oink.”
“Even at a moment like this, oink?”
“Of course. If a man, who became emaciated after suffering through hardship, recklessly shed tears, you’ll lose nutrients and your muscles will shrink. Oink!”
“Huk, muscle loss, oink!”
“As a warrior, shouldn’t you avoid that, oink?”
“As I thought, my father is very wise, oink!”
…. No, he was more muscle-brained rather than wise. Lloyd sighed deeply.
The reunion of the orc father and son duo appeared to have reached its peak. If Lloyd threw them to a local gym in his neighborhood, he felt like they would do 3 major workout movements1bench press, squat, and deadlift. using tons of weight as warm-up. And then, as soon as they met, they would start to talk about muscles.
In the [Iron-Blooded Knight] novel, orcs were written as ‘acute muscle idiots’, which was quite accurate to Lloyd. He couldn’t help but giggle.
Meanwhile, what had happened 15 days ago suddenly flashed through his mind.
️
“Will the plan work?” the Baron asked.
“Yeah, maybe.” Lloyd nodded. He picked up the kettle and tilted it. The sound of clear tea being poured could be heard as the Baron’s teacup was being filled.
“As I had said, Arosh completely trusts me. He sees me as his life savior. Besides, I heard he’s the tribe chief’s son.”
“A son of the tribe chief?”
“Yes.”
Lloyd lifted his teacup. He tilted it and took a sip. “Perhaps, he’ll acknowledge what his son had achieved for his coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Because of the queen ant’s head… I suppose that’ll be the case.”
“Yes, I’ll take my share in it too.”
Worked together, hunted together. Lloyd was going to put these kinds of titles on it. He caught the queen ant together with Arosh. Therefore, he planned to ask the orcs to acknowledge him as a warrior.
“But, will the chief acknowledge you that easily?”
“It won’t be easy. I’ll have to give it a try. Anyhow, if I succeed, the potential benefits are too great.”
That was true. What if the orc tribe’s chief acknowledged him as a warrior? With Arosh’s support, 120 orc warriors would be able to be employed as miners. 120 strong and valiant orcs. They would mine the coals without getting exhausted. They would be more capable than a thousand human miners.
“Additionally, the cost of their labor will be very little, except for the cost of their accommodation and food. I mean, it’s a free high-quality labor force!”
“But, isn’t it dangerous? By any means, personally traveling to the orc village is a little…”
“Don’t worry. Arosh, the son of the chief, regards me as his benefactor.”
“Hmm….” The Baron’s expression clouded. He didn’t like Lloyd taking risks. Orc was a violent and rough race. The Baron wanted to stop Lloyd from traveling to the territory of such creature if he could.
After that, Lloyd tried hard to persuade the hesitant Baron. It was a battle of stubbornness between the two of them. The winner, of course, was Lloyd.
“…. Alright, but there is a condition.”
“What is it?”
“Take some soldiers with you. About 30 of them.”
The Baron insisted that Lloyd needed at least that many escorts for him to be reassured about Lloyd’s safety. Lloyd accepted the Baron’s condition. 30 soldiers as escorts would be good as insurance against unexpected events.
“I understand. Then I’ll take Sir Asrahan with me along with 30 soldiers.”
After that, the preparations for the departure progressed steadily. Fully equipped with camping gear and food, they were able to depart the following morning.
The Baron and Baroness saw them off from the gate. They seemed to be genuinely worried about Lloyd’s safety.
For a moment, Lloyd felt bad. However, that feeling soon was put aside.
Had it not been for him, the Baron and the Baroness would’ve already fallen, just like the original. In short, they were a couple that was supposed to die soon.
“Then, I’ll be back,” Lloyd bid his farewell while feeling a little complicated.
After that, they departed from the Baron’s estate. Together with his party, Lloyd crossed the eastern mountain range.
Arosh was a capable warrior and guide. Thanks to his familiarity with the mountain range’s geography, the group was able to avoid dangerous monsters’ habitats. Due to this, they safely arrived at Orc village after journeying for 10 days.
And lastly…..
“Oiinkk! Nice to meet you! I’m Akush, Arosh’s father, if I may say so, oink!”
…. As hundreds of orcs watched, Lloyd shook hands with the athletic and burly chief of the orc village.
“Yes, nice to meet you too.”
“I heard from Arosh that you had saved my son, oink.”
“Yes, by chance.”
“Nice! If that’s the case, then you’re also my benefactor, oink!”
“Simultaneously, I’m also the warrior who hunted the queen ant together with your son.”
“… what, oink?” Akush tilted his head.
Lloyd gestured at Javier with his eyes. Javier unwrapped the bundle of cloth he was carrying on his back. A jet-black mass as huge as a gym ball was revealed.
“It’s the queen ant’s head. I brought it as a trophy.”
“O-oink?”
Akush’s big adam’s apple was moving up and down. It wasn’t only Akush, the chief, who was surprised. Hundreds of orcs who gathered around them were surprised too.
“Ooinkk? What’s that, oink!”
“I’ve never seen an ant beast with a such big head, ooinkk!”
“Looks fierce, oink!”
“Looks strong, oink!”
“Looks delicious, oink!”
“…. There’s a food thief here, oiinkk!”
In a nutshell, the whole orc village was instantly bustling with admiration and commotion.
Don’t miss a moment like this. Don’t give them time to make a cool-headed decision. It would be more advantageous to push ahead since the atmosphere was still ignited.
After making that judgment, Lloyd then quickly said, “I was exploring the nest of the ant beasts. There, I found the queen ant that was wobbling from exhaustion. Therefore, I managed to catch it with difficulty. However, there was an orc’s iron sword near the queen ant.”
“An orc’s iron sword, oink?”
“That’s correct. It was your beloved son Arosh’s sword.” When Lloyd finished speaking, he glanced at Arosh.
Arosh huffed with his flaring nose, “The benefactor is right, oink!”
“Does that mean you, son, fought with the queen ant until its energy depleted and then the benefactor caught the queen ant, oiinkk?”
“That’s right, oink. It’s like we fought together, oiinkk”
“Hmm, oiinkk….” Chief Akush’s thick eyelids twitched. His dark green eyes alternated between his son, Lloyd, and the queen ant’s head. He identified the queen ant’s head at a glance.
‘It’s the real thing, oink.’
He was a chief who had been fighting with ant beasts all his life. He knew better than anyone how powerful the queen ant was. But to think his son hunted such a powerful enemy.
The chief’s thick chest muscles trembled because of his strong emotion.
“Son, oink!”
“Yes, ooinnkk!”
“Congratulations! You’re a warrior now! I, Akush, hereby declare as the chief that Arosh the orc has become a proud warrior of the tribe, oink!”
“Thank you, oink!”
“Good. To celebrate it, today will be leg day, oink!”
“A man’s leg day, oink!” As soon as Akush’s command was given, Arosh ran to one side of the village. A large statue was carried on his shoulder. The size was so absurd that it likely weighed about 0,5 tons. The statue was even plated with gold.
That wasn’t all.
In addition to the plated statue, there were a lot of luxurious objects scattered around the area that were used only as exercise equipment. There was a chandelier used as a weight for weightlifting.The weightlifting bar in the middle was an ornamental pillar decorated with pearls. Even a whole treasure chest full of gold coins was used as a kettlebell!
‘Whoa, crazy.’
Lloyd recalled a scene from the [Iron-Blooded Knight] novel which described how capable orcs were as warriors and plunderers. However, it was even worse in real life.
‘The loot must’ve been piled up for decades. Even so, the orcs have nowhere to use it, even if they have so many gold and silver treasures.”
Smacks lips.
Gold and silver treasures that had been turned into exercise equipment. The gold-plated statue that Arosh was carrying in his arms to do squats. Looking at them made Lloyd’s mouth water.
Meanwhile, Arosh carried the statue on his shoulder while huffing and snorting. He repeatedly did a squat and then stood up, showing off his thigh muscles that looked like anaconda each time. A pleased smile bloomed on chief Akush’s lips, who was watching his son.
“Do you see that? Today is a joyful day, oiinkk.” The chief looked at Lloyd. He reached out his hand which was as large as a pot lid and touched Lloyd’s shoulder.
“Thank you, human.  Not only did you save my son, but you also showed your bravery in catching the queen ant together, oink.”
“Then, do you acknowledge me as a warrior?” Lloyd asked.
Sometimes, you have to be brazen. You were supposed to openly ask for something like this.
The chief, Akush, nodded cheerfully as if it had worked.
“Of course! I, Akush, hereby declare as the chief that the human… oink?”
“My name is Lloyd. Lloyd Frontera.”
“…. I hereby declare that Lloyd Frontera the human has been acknowledged as a proud warrior of the tribe, oink!”
Finally, Akush declared his acknowledgement. Hundreds of orcs gathered together and cheered.
And then the chief, Akush, shouted as if it was the natural thing to do, “The human benefactor has become a warrior! To celebrate, the human benefactor will also have a leg day today, oiinkk!”
“…. eh?”
Wait a minute. This big athletic ahjussi. What did you just say?
‘You’re not going to ask me to do squats while carrying that 500 kg statue on my shoulder, are you?’
Lloyd dryly swallowed his saliva without realizing it.
However, his ominous premonition ended up being true.
The chief, Akush, patted Lloyd quite hard on his back while bursting out in laughter.
“Let’s go! I’m in a good mood so I’ll join you, oiinkk!”
“….”
“A man’s leg day, oiinkk!”
“….”
Heavens. Lloyd was so shocked it felt like everything went black. The cheers around him only grew louder and louder. He felt a surge of helplessness, just like a bone boiled in a beef bone broth.
“Excuse me?”
“Oink?”
“I enjoy exercising and I’ve carried a lot of things that could be considered heavy on-site, but this is a little….”
“Oiinkk? What are you talking about, oink?”
“I think this is too heavy for me,” said Lloyd frankly.
It was true. He was quite confident in his ability to carry heavy things. With the addition of the Asrahan Core Technique to boot, his physical ability had surpassed that of ordinary people. Nevertheless, it was still not enough to do squats with a statue that easily weighed over 500 kg—which looked super uncomfortable—while smiling!
“Thank you for recommending this exercise, but do you have something lighter?”
Lloyd didn’t want to break his back or leg right now so he asked that. However, Lloyd could see chief Akush’s expression stiffened.
“What? You can’t lift that, oinkkk?”
“That’s right.”
“Even though you’ve been recognized as a warrior, oiinkk?”
“Naturally….”
“It’s ridiculous that a warrior couldn’t lift that, oink!”
“….”
“The tool was considered lightweight in the village. It’s usually used by young warriors to warm-up. But if you can’t lift that, you don’t deserve to be called a warrior, oink.”
“Hey, I’m not an orc though.”
“Still, a warrior has to be able to do it, oink.”
Before he knew it, Akush was being serious. Lloyd’s expression also stiffened.
‘Damn it.’
No wonder things were going so well. He didn’t expect to get tackled here because of an unexpected squat. He racked his brain hard.
‘If I said that I couldn’t exercise my lower body or whatever that is, everything including the acknowledgement as a warrior and this festive atmosphere would be blown away. What should I do?’
It was too regrettable if he had to give up at this point. As long as he was acknowledged as a warrior, he could benefit greatly. He would be able to recruit 120 sturdy orc warriors as free miners. He didn’t want to give up easily. Needless to say, he’d hate it even more if he broke his back because of ego-lifting.
‘I have to find another way.’
Doing squats was impossible. He had to appeal with something different instead. He should make use of his skills. That way, they’d acknowledge his eligibility.
Lloyd’s eyes moved quickly. He checked every inch of the orc village. He collected every information he could find with his eyes, such as the environment and the orcs’ tendencies. The information was categorized and then analyzed. As a result, he abruptly noticed something.
‘Wait a minute.’
His gaze that was moving fast stopped at a pit dug in the corner of the village.
“What is that used for?” asked Lloyd while pointing at the pit.
At that, the chief Akush answered, “That one? That’s a pit to throw away the meat, oink.”
“You threw away the meat?”
“Right. We dump it there and bury it in the ground, oink,” said Akush who nodded his head. “We threw away what we couldn’t eat because it got spoiled. If you eat something like that, you’ll get sick. You’ll become weak and unable to exercise. If you don’t exercise, you’ll lose your muscles, oink.”
Unknowingly, the chief’s voice suddenly was filled with deep regret.
“It’s so wasteful. If we don’t have to throw it and we can eat it all, it could fully develop into so much muscle mass. It’s a pity every time, oink.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, oink.” Akush smacked his lips.
The corners of Lloyd’s mouth slightly rose.
‘This is it.’
Suddenly, the middle-part of the [Iron-Blooded Knight] novel came to mind. At some point in time when a fair amount of time had passed, Javier—who had undergone a series of adventures—confronted the orc tribe on his own. He showcased his wit in this tough fight and made them surrender. With his wit, he hindered the orcs’ hunt for food.
‘The wilderness where these orcs live is barren. Farming is completely impossible from the start and foraging can’t procure enough food. That’s why they’re so dependent on hunting. Almost all of their food is gained from hunting.’
Hunting the terrifying and large monsters in the wilderness was how the orcs got their food. They needed to be more and more courageous in facing danger.
Still, just like that, there was no technology to preserve the food that had been painstakingly collected. They just knew how to stack their food and eat it. The food would go bad quickly even if they’d prepared it to the utmost of their ability.
‘When Javier noticed that, he enthusiastically interrupted the orcs’ hunt for food. Less than 10 days later, there were food shortages in the orc village.’
The food couldn’t be piled up and stored due to poor food preservation technology. Every time they failed to hunt, they lost their source of food. Food shortages were bound to occur.
Lloyd recalled that kind of event from the novel.
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal, oink?”
“That’s right.” Lloyd looked up to make eye contact with Akush the chief and said, “In place of passing the leg day exercise, I’ll build a cold food storage for you, so please acknowledge me as a warrior.”
With these gold and silver treasures that were rolling around here and there, the orcs could pay Lloyd decently for the construction. And this way, he could be acknowledged as a warrior and be able to take some workers home.
So, at that time, he took the construction order and collected the construction fee.
Kill two birds with one stone; win with one shot and make a living in the barony; shop and get discount coupons at the same time.
A wicked smile formed again on Lloyd’s mouth after he finished calculating his plan.
Author’s note: Now that this chapter is over, we’re going to summon the refrigerator! *got punched
Tl/n: I’m really sorry for my tardiness :’)
I tried to translate it and let it be for a few days to read it over few more times, so hopefully the quality would get nicer from now on?
Please correct me if you saw something wrong, though. I’d really appreciate it.
1bench press, squat, and deadlift.