Chapter 118 :

Episode 118 - Victory (1)

The orc’s face was peaceful.

So much so that if one of its arms had not been cut off, I might have mistaken it for being in a deep sleep.

I examined the cleanly severed cross-section of its arm.

If it had cut it off itself, that had been quite a wise choice.

Because it would have succeeded in distracting the orcs’ attention even a little.

But this also meant that the fellow did not have much time left to live.

Because it meant this orc’s body was so old that it could not even regenerate a single hand.

I turned my gaze to Ratel standing beside me.

"What do you think? Does it look like it’ll wake easily?"

Judging by that state, it would not have been strange even if it died right away, but still, if the fellow suddenly opened its eyes, it was obvious it would discover the two humans before it and go on a rampage.

Fortunately, Ratel firmly shook his head.

"No, it’s half in a near-death state. It might be different if a blade were brought to its neck."

Well, there would be no need to deliberately bring a blade to it, so it should be fine.

At Ratel’s assertion, I stepped directly onto the orc’s body.

Then I opened the fellow’s mouth and poured half of the Orcs powder I had into its throat.

Even though the smell must have been awful, the fellow could not open its eyes until I confirmed the powder had gone down its throat and closed its mouth again.

At this level, even if an unexpected situation occurred, it probably would not wake up for a day.

"I can’t tell whether you’re cowardly or fearless."

Ratel said as he followed behind me and stood on the opposite knee of the leader orc.

"I do all kinds of things because I’m cowardly. A survival strategy has to be prepared in double and triple layers."

"Are you saying your lies are also a survival strategy?"

The fellow, whose resentment was damn long-lasting, once again caught the tail of my words.

How persistent.

"Anyway, this is only a stopgap measure. Even if we erase the smell with Orcs grass, it won’t last more than a day. Before that, you have to steal the holy relic and come back."

Ratel frowned at my obvious attempt to change the subject, but in the end, he had no choice but to participate in the conversation whose topic had changed.

Just as I said, we were short on time, and the one who wanted power more than anyone right now was him.

"It isn’t something that will be solved just by finding the holy relic. According to you, there should be an orc that should have taken this fellow’s place as leader next."

Ratel said, gesturing with his chin toward the fellow who had been the leader.

"Seeing as its neck is still attached, it seems this fellow escaped before its leader position was taken. That is also what I hope happened."

"Are you saying there could be another case?"

"Yes. The worst case is when even the cause is unknown."

I approached the sleeping orc a little more.

Then I reached out and felt around the fellow’s neck.

There was no light, so it was hard to see, but I could find a sunken wound.

When I traced the wound, I felt clear tooth marks.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"I was right that its neck was bitten. It seems it sacrificed one arm just to preserve its life......."

"Are you saying it also seems that might not be the case?"

When I trailed off with uncertainty, Ratel asked as if wondering what the problem was.

"Would one arm have been enough to lure the orcs away?"

No matter how low the orcs’ intelligence was, there probably would not have been so few of them that they would leave a leader fleeing before their eyes alone.

"Among them, there might have been one that didn’t want to eat the head."

Ratel offered one assumption to me as I frowned and thought.

Though it was not particularly credible.

"Orcs instinctively eat each other to aim for the leader’s position. What reason would there be to reject that instinct and give up the leader’s position?"

At my rebuttal, Ratel thought for a moment and opened his mouth.

"It took one bite and found the taste more terrible than expected."

"......Did you say that to make me laugh?"

It was hard to dismiss it as a lame joke, because I could not find even the slightest trace of laughter on the fellow’s face.

"They’re creatures that eat rotten meat just fine, so there’s no way there would be such a gourmet among them."

"Have you never considered that tastes can vary?"

"......Let’s stop talking."

I did not want to think any more deeply about the fellow’s nonsense that it had sampled the leader with one bite and abandoned it because the flavor did not suit its taste.

"We found the leader, and now the problem is that before you find the holy relic and come back, the fellow might die because its lifespan runs out, or it might be eaten by an orc other than the one that first bit its neck, causing the system to become completely tangled."

Ignoring the fellow’s words, I moved away from the orc, came down to the floor, and approached the entrance of the pit.

When I looked up, I faintly saw the wall Ratel and I had climbed down, and the valley where water should originally have been gushing out.

Whatever the reason, we had found the leader orc, and we had grasped the terrain to some extent. This much seemed enough to straighten out the twisted plan again.

I pulled my extended body back and turned toward Ratel.

"No."

I haven’t even said anything this time, you bastard.

Ratel, who dismissed my opinion before I could even make a sound, continued speaking.

"Until now, I’ve never seen anything good come from letting you run wild as you please."

"If things had gone as I wanted, you would have stolen the holy relic from the temple and come back by now."

The way he spoke as though he had obediently followed my intentions was so brazen that a hollow laugh came out.

"And how do you know what I’m trying to do before opposing it?"

"You’re saying you’ll make the waterfall flow again. So this fellow can stay quietly hidden here."

It was a clean correct answer.

"Yes. While I lure the river water here, you quickly steal the holy relic from the temple."

"Are you determined to drown?"

Ratel questioned me as if he had heard the most absurd thing in the world.

"There’s nothing to worry about. As you already saw, the river water containing Sierra’s power has no intention of killing me. Even when I first fell into the river, it only dragged me inside."

In truth, when I recalled the voice I had heard underwater, I had a strong feeling that that was not all there was to it, but I decided to bury that matter for now.

At least until I confirmed what that voice’s identity was.

"Unbelievable."

While I swallowed my thoughts inwardly, the protagonist bastard again conveyed that he opposed my plan.

It was dark in every direction, so I could not see well, but I knew even without checking with my eyes.

That the fellow was probably smiling with an extremely displeased expression.

That bastard was definitely afflicted with an illness that made him unable to smile except in mockery or derision.

"I can’t believe a single word you say. You must be hiding another sinister plan in that head of yours."

I was hiding a plan, but I had never thought it was sinister, so I shrugged at Ratel.

"Then what are you going to do? What’s your bright and righteous plan to hide that fellow until you return with the holy relic?"

"When Jing brings the boat to the island, we’ll all leave the island together while the river isn’t moving and bring back the holy relic. That includes you too."

Ratel answered my sarcasm.

"Are you joking right now? What if something happens to the leader during that time? Right now, at least a little water is flowing, but if even that stops, it’s only a matter of time before the orcs find the leader."

"Can’t we just spread all that Orcs grass or whatever you have?"

"What a perfectly flawless plan. Then what will you do if you fail to bring back the holy relic before the grass’ effect wears off? No, other variables could appear as much as they want. Is there any method more certain than luring the water into the island?"

"......."

Ratel shut his mouth.

Of course.

It was stubbornness being forced through.

There were plenty of holes, and he probably had no other plan to compensate for them.

"If you understand, stop being stubborn and prepare to escape the island. It’s not as if I’m thrilled to hide here until you come back with the holy relic either."

I warned Ratel once again, but I could tell just by looking at the fellow’s expression.

At least that he had absolutely no intention of listening to me.

The thought that it might be better to show him once again that the river water was not a threat to me crossed my mind.

Thud!

A vibration transmitted from above to below cut through the string of tension and interrupted.

Ratel quickly turned and examined outside the cave entrance.

It was not as if I was not flustered either.

What is it? Was there a fellow that smelled the leader?

But it was soon revealed that my guess was wrong.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

Because if these were footsteps, then vibrations and roars that sounded as if there were easily more than ten began to ring out.

"Damn it. The water completely dried up."

Ratel, who had been examining outside, muttered the cause of the situation along with a curse.

It meant the water had again acted unpredictably when neither he nor I had used power.

Had something happened outside the island?

I was flustered, but in one corner of my mind, another calculation quietly began raising its head.

Perhaps finding my silence strange, Ratel glared at me.

"What trick did you pull this time?"

The fellow, who named me as the cause without even a shred of doubt, was full of certainty.

"A trick? I didn’t do anything."

"Then are you saying this was also an accident that happened purely by coincidence?"

At Ratel’s sharp question, I could answer confidently.

"Of course it was an accident."

Because this matter was truly an unexpected development.

I too had a complicated head because of the difficult situation.

Before finding the next leader candidate, we could not recklessly kill them.

No, in the first place, with that number, even Ratel could not handle them without using power...... Hm?

My mind, which had been seeking a solution to the sudden situation, stopped turning.

Right. With that number, even Ratel would have no choice but to use Manis.

….Then the river water would try to swallow the fellow again.

Then it seemed I could use my power secretly again this time.

....Ratel would be distracted fighting the orcs, so just like on the boat, the risk of being caught by the fellow would definitely be significantly lower.

I grabbed Ratel’s shoulder as he examined the situation with a frown.

The fellow’s puzzled gaze fixed on me, so I put strength into my eyelids, trying to open my eyes as kindly and uprightly as possible.

"It would take too long to go back the way we came. It was quite difficult even coming down."

I raised my trembling hand to add credibility to my opinion.

"Besides, if you just kill them all and we don’t know which one attacked the leader, you won’t be able to fight freely either. So......."

"So you think it would be better for you to cut your hand again, or cut your leg, and get swept away by water once?"

The quick-witted fellow recited what would come next.

I nodded with a resolute face.

"Is there any other way?"

"......."

Ratel silently put his hand into the bag.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The sight of the fellow taking out the rope he had used when lowering me into the pit was unmistakably the stance of a hunter.

And a rather experienced one at that.

Ratel had no words one way or the other, and being tightly bound in rope like a straw raincoat also happened in an instant.

Before the overwhelming difference in strength and the experienced hunter, his movements were so swift and precise that I did not even feel like resisting.

Ratel placed me, bound, beside the unconscious leader like luggage and turned around.

".......Are you satisfied now?"

Having had the freedom of my limbs completely taken away again, I spoke to the back of the fellow’s head as he prepared to leave the cave.

"Stay still until I return. Don’t pull any tricks."

With that final warning, the fellow left without looking back.

At the fellow’s unhesitating decisiveness, a hollow laugh came out.

Fine, do whatever you want.

It seemed Ratel had taken what precautions he could to prevent me from wounding myself, but if I transformed my body, freeing myself from the rope would not be difficult.

But there was no need to hurry.

Once he started cutting down the orcs, the orcs scattered throughout the cave would gather.

No matter how much it was Ratel, he could not handle that number barehanded.

Just like the time he used power to save the cabin child and Lia, I only needed to wait for the moment when the fellow had no choice but to use his power.

In other words, it was a fight I had no choice but to win.