Duke Pendragon

“We are close to the territory border. We can finally say goodbye to this accursed Pendragon land.”

Breeden looked towards the tall mountains with their peaks wrapped in clouds.

“……”

“Anyway, I wonder how His Grace Pendragon is doing. Well, the bandits probably want to get a good price in exchange for him. They must be treating him pretty fairly.”

“……”

Luna, who was only staring straight ahead until now, finally turned her head.

“How can you even say such a thing?”

“Why, am I not supposed to?”

Breeden responded with a sly smile, which caused Luna’s expression to harden even more.

“Are you not ashamed as a knight? His Grace Pendragon needed our help. You couldn’t even spare them a liaison?”

“I’ve already told you several times that the most important duty for the soldiers and I is keeping my lady safe. We made the best decision at the time. It was an obvious choice for me, my lady.”

“Even so…”

“Phew, anyways, who would’ve thought that those bandits would actually come out rushing at us. Good thing we were already prepared. They could have placed my lady in danger. Hahaha!”

Breeden shrugged his shoulders and let out a loose laugh.

“Ha…”

Luna was lost for words at Breeden’s incredulous actions.

Breeden wasn’t completely in the wrong, however. The reason she brought a company of men along with Breeden was because the Pendragon Duchy was in such dangerous conditions. It was to protect her from danger.

Noticing Luna’s silence, Breeden pulled up his horse right next to hers.

She didn’t even spare a glance at him, but Breeden examined Luna’s delicate features with lustful eyes, scanning down her body.

He stared at Luna’s cleavage that was slightly revealed in her outdoor summer dress, and his eyes filled with desire.

“Anyway, now that you’ve broken off the engagement, don’t you think you need to look for a new prospective husband?”

Breeden spoke with a worried voice.

“That’s for Count Seyrod to decide.”

“Hoh? That means you are willing to follow his will no matter who he decides?”

“……”

Luna turned her head. A slight smile hung on the face of Breeden, his eyes full of contempt.

“That means I have a chance as well. I see. Well, I will send a messenger to the count, if that’s the case.”

“You… How.. you’re such… Ah!”

Luna couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a short outburst. Then her eyes shook slightly.

“Oh! Finally, you’re accepting my lov…”

Breeden couldn’t finish his words. Luna had stopped her horse.

Breeden and the soldiers followed suit, stopping their movements.

“What’s wrong?”

Luna didn’t respond to Breeden’s comment and shakily raised her hand at something. Breeden’s gaze headed towards where Luna was pointing.

“Heuk?!”

Breeden’s eyes widened in shock.

In the distance, he could see a dozen figures running towards him from the foot of Mt. Silvernan, scurrying through the greenery.

The figures were taller than humans by two or three heads, had magnificent bodies that were as big as two men standing side-by-side and reddish skin that could be seen from a distance.

“O, orc! It’s orcs!”

Breeden gave a scream-like shout at the sight of the monsters.

“Everyone prepare for battle! N, no. Everyone retreat. Retreaaaat!”

The soldiers scurried about in confusion. Breeden said to retreat, but where were they to retreat towards?

Even in the midst of the confusion, the orcs did not slow down and ran as fast as the wind. They ran through the tall grass with no sign of hindrance.

Their muscles seemingly ready to burst, the orcs’ fierce eyes became more visible as they drew near the group.

“R, run! Everyone, run!”

Breeden spat out his words and turned his horse back towards the path he came from. However, the orcs split into several groups and blocked the roads that the Seyrod soldiers took.

Neeiiiigh!

“Whoa!”

The horse reared, and Breeden grabbed tightly onto his reins. Barely having avoided falling off the horse, Breeden turned around once more.

“Ughhh….”

Breeden groaned with a desperate face. More than twenty orcs had surrounded Luna Seyrod and the soldiers.

The soldiers had their spears and shields raised, but they weren’t able to conceal their terrified expressions. With their current forces, it would be difficult to face even one orc warrior. But now, there was not one, but dozens of orcs warriors surrounding them. It was a miracle to be able to stand upright in front of them.

Shink!

“S, s, s, stay back, you fiends!”

Breeden unsheathed his sword. At his words, all of the orcs suddenly turned their heads toward him.

Gasp!

Humans become terrified to the point of unconsciousness in front of beasts such as lions.

Hence one could only imagine the type of fear that was instilled by dozens of orcs when they stared at you simultaneously. Each one of the monstering figures could easily rival dozens of wild beasts.

Breeden unknowingly leaned back on his saddle.

“Stay back? A scarecrow like you is telling us to stay back?”

A thick, rough voice that was reminiscent of a big barrel of alcohol.

A large, long shadow painted the ground behind the orc. Breeden and the soldiers looked at the shadow, then slowly gazed up towards the towering figure of an orc.

“……!”

The humans’ eyes and mouths opened wide. Among the orcs, an orc warrior, a whole head taller than the others, smiled with his enormous fangs exposed.

He slowly brushed past the other orcs, which was evocative of a moving, large brown pagoda.

“Ugghhh…!”

The soldiers' faces turned white when they saw the weapon in the giant orc warrior’s hand.

Thud!

Dozens of bones decorated a huge wooden stick that was the size of a human body. It was hard to tell what creatures the bones belonged to, whether they were humans, monsters, or animals. The bones were carefully sharpened and placed in the head of the wooden club.

“Hey, scarecrow. What are you going to do if I don’t stay back?”

The muscles around the neck squirmed with every word it spoke.

“Hick!”

Breeden hiccupped, facing the dark red eyes that seemed like flowing lava. The size of the orc warrior was even more overwhelming upfront. Breeden was barely at eye level with the orc when he rode on the back of his horse.

“Sniff sniff! I smell something.”

The nostrils of the orc warrior squirmed, then he proceeded to gaze at Breeden from head to toe, before stopping his gaze at a certain place.

“I knew there was the smell of boiling, tasteless corn. Scarecrow, you pissed?”

“Kokekekeket!”

The orcs burst into grotesque laughter at the warrior’s words.

Boom!

The giant orc warrior withdrew his weapon from the ground and Breeden’s face became paler and his hiccupping became more rapid.

“Hiccup! Hiccup!

The orc warrior smirked at Breeden and started taking large steps. It was towards Luna.

Neeeiiigh!

The horse reared in fear.

“Ah!”

Luna was unsure of what to do with the horse, but someone ran out of the crowd and stood in front of Luna and the horses.

Unlike other orcs, this particular orc had his head adorned with a feathered headdress and carried a staff.

The orc started to mutter incomprehensive words, pressing the horse’s nape with his big hands. A blue light was emitted from the tip of the staff, and the rampaging horse immediately calmed down.

“D, druid…”

Luna recognized the orc’s identity even amidst the chaos.

“The scarecrow lady has a good eye. Hehe.”

The orc druid stepped back. Luna was surprised at the orc’s behavior but was able to catch on that there was something more. She looked around at the orcs with anxious eyes, then spoke to the big warrior.

“D, do you want something from us?”

“Ho-oh, the scarecrow lady is quite smart, hmm?”

The big orc warrior smiled and glanced at Breeden while licking his lips.

“I was going to have a round but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Your flesh looks soft, but we don’t touch the weak.”

“Heuk!”

Breeden did not respond to the orc’s words, which could be considered most offensive to knights. If he had retorted, it seemed like the giant club would come smashing towards him and crush his skull.

“Well by the way, actually…”

“Karuta, more scarecrows are coming.”

The orc druid pointed towards a distance with his staff.

The large orc warrior called Karuta turned his head. He saw soldiers running with a large red-golden crest in the front. Karuta looked intently at the crest-bearing flag, then gave a big grin.

“The earth god is giving Karuta good fortune today to celebrate coming out of the forest. Good! Very, very good!”

***

“Hmm.”

Raven narrowed his eyes when he saw a horde of orcs besieging the forces of the Seyrod family. The appearance of over thirty orc warriors was enough to arouse tension even for Raven. In particular, the orc warrior standing right in front of Luna Seyrod was overwhelming in size even from a distance.

‘But…’

Raven’s gaze turned calm. He had fought and won against the Troll King, who was much bigger and more terrifying than the orc standing there.

Of course, he had spent his entire stock of luck in winning that fight.

Shortly after, the troops of the Pendragon family came face-to-face with the group of orcs with Raven in the lead.

“Formation!”

Thud, thud, thud!

Even though they had come a long distance, the Pendragon troops acted without hesitation at Killian’s orders.

Shields were erected into a long wall, and sharp spears protruded from the gaps, which made the formation look like a hedgehog. The archers lined up and knelt on one knee, aiming at the orcs through the shields.

Kazzal and Tata hid behind the soldiers in fear.

“Growl!”

The orc warriors exposed their yellow fangs and their red eyes contained murderous intent. They curled up their muscular bodies in preparation for a battle.

Raven knew that the orc warriors were now ready for battle. As soon as the leader gave orders, the warriors would spring and attack with speeds faster than beasts. Moreover, orcs would not fall because of a few quarrels unless it pierced their heads.

Orcs were berserkers who became more vicious at the sight of blood. Raven had seen an orc warrior be hit by more than ten arrows and still charge into soldiers before slaughtering them.

Even so, Raven kept driving his horse forward to the orcs.

Woosh!

The murderous intent rushed out all at once from the thirty-ish orcs.

“Ugh!”

Although invisible, the force was clearly transmitted to the soldiers, and the Pendragon soldiers’ shields shook in their place.

“Heup!”

Killian instinctively placed his hand on his hilt at the suffocating feeling.

‘Is, is this Orc Fear…!?”

Orc Fear, a skill unique to the orcs that could cause humans and even some monsters to freeze in their place for a short while.

However, it seemed that Orc Fear had no effect on one particular human.

Tap, tap…

“Your Grace…!”

Killian called out at Alan Pendragon, who was walking straight into the source of Orc Fear without any hesitation.

Killian received the effects from a distance, but he still felt his breathing become rapid and thoughts become hazy.

Raven kept on walking towards the orcs with one hand raised in front of him. After narrowing the distance, Raven briefly glanced at the orc group that was still radiating Orc Fear, and jumped off of his horse.

Gasp!

Killian and soldiers were looking at Raven with nervous expressions and opened their mouths wide in shock.

Alan Pendragon had gotten off the horse and started to walk towards the orcs. Even more shockingly, he had left Widow’s Scream in its sheath.

“Hmm?”

Karuta’s eyes gleamed watching Raven walk up to him. He glanced around and gestured to the orcs with his chin.

Growl…

Raven finally stopped in front of Karuta. ‘Small’ was not enough to describe the difference in size between Raven and Karuta.

No one, including Killian and Luna, could hide their anxiety at the sight of the two creatures facing off. It was as if a ten-year-old child was facing off a healthy strong giant.