Yuri opened his mouth.
With a single swing of Moyong Chan's sword, dozens of orcs surrounding him were reduced to a mess of blood and scattered across the ground.
Even the expressions of the Allied Army, who were holding position in the distance, were visibly flustered.
So this is the power of one of the Ten Strongest?
Even the orc horde facing him backed away in fear.
It was overwhelming might.
"What are you doing."
Moyong Chan spun around and shoved Yuri's back.
"No time to admire it. Just do your damn job."
Yuri, holding Guilty, awkwardly stepped forward. The remaining orcs recoiled in surprise.
They were still dazed by Moyong Chan's overwhelming force.
"Yes."
Believing in Moyong Chan, Yuri boldly stepped forward. The orcs took another step back.
Yuri moved forward again.
Then he charged.
The orcs snapped back to their senses and responded to Yuri's attack.
Under normal circumstances, it was a fight Yuri couldn't have won easily.
But half the orcs had already been wiped out by Moyong Chan's strike. Thanks to that, unexpected support came to Yuri.
"Protect the prince!"
"Kill the orcs!"
With the defensive line gone, the rest of the Allied Army began striking the half-depleted orc horde alongside Yuri.
It was an outcome even Moyong Chan hadn't expected.
"Tsk…"
Yuri dove into the orc group, rampaging wildly. The remaining knights and soldiers joined him, turning it into a massacre.
It didn't take long for all the orcs to be slain.
Yuri wiped the bloodied blade clean.
"Well done."
"It's not over yet. I'm heading to the next fight."
"Good."
The battle was not yet finished.
The orcs were still crawling up from the earth like a swarm of ants.
Moyong Chan nodded.
"Knights of Briol!"
Yuri shouted, raising his sword.
Knights of Briol, scattered here and there, began gathering toward him.
"Are you tired?"
"No, sir!"
"Do you want to rest?"
"No, sir!"
"Then do you want to kill orcs?"
"Yes!"
"Aren't you afraid of death?"
"No!"
"Only those who answered just now, follow me!"
"Yes!"
Yuri moved at once. The knights roared as they followed after him.
Moyong Chan watched the scene, stroking his chin.
[So this is fate…]
He murmured in the language of the East.
Even now, the wicked star blazed in the sky, casting its darkness.
With each passing day, the heavenly secrets twisted further, and chaos approached the world of men.
He knew of no way to stop it.
But to face it head-on, he had left the Eastern continent and come to this place.
And unexpectedly, he had met another star.
"So such a thing really exists."
Compared to that black star extending its tendrils toward the world, this one was small and insignificant.
But it definitely held light.
And in a way no one knew, it was growing ever brighter.
"The heavenly secrets are not entirely severed."
Having left the East for the Western land, he had unexpectedly encountered a descendant of the Heaven-Conquering Sword Saint.
And that boy was a genius unmatched under the heavens.
Not only was his martial talent exceptional, but his character and actions inspired others.
One like him does not live in solitude.
He leads others and changes the course of the world.
If so, what role had been given to himself?
Moyong Chan looked up at the sky once more.
Though the sun had not yet set, and stars were not visible, he could still feel the ominous gaze shining from beyond the sky.
Would that star fall if Okua were slain?
He didn't know.
Perhaps something even more terrifying lurked behind it.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—so he would take each one as it came.
As he pondered, someone approached.
"L-Lord Moyong Chan!"
"What is it?"
Cory stood there.
A half-orc was, by nature, something to be eliminated. Yet strangely, Moyong Chan sensed something closer to goodness rather than evil from Cory.
Maybe that's why his disciple had taken this half-orc in.
"Well…"
Cory hesitated, visibly afraid, before speaking.
"There's a place… that needs help…"
"Help."
Moyong Chan looked down at Cory.
In the West, they called him one of the Ten Strongest. Having wandered and fought since leaving the East, that title had eventually been given to him.
It was a position of great weight in this land, and all feared him.
This little half-orc was no exception.
Yet, despite the fear, the boy had come to him.
It was clear how much courage that took—just looking at Cory's trembling hands was enough to know.
Moyong Chan responded.
"Lead the way."
"Pardon?"
Cory looked up.
His hood shifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of his grotesque face.
But Moyong Chan didn't care.
He had spent years hunting the creatures of Sama. He had seen devils hiding in beautiful faces, and witnessed goodness blooming from hideous ones.
Moyong Chan patted Cory's head once and began to walk.
"I said lead the way."
"Y-Yes!"
***
Until now, the battles with orcs had been head-on clashes of brute strength—but today's battle was different. No one knew where the enemy would strike next—it was guerrilla warfare.
"How many tunnels are there?"
These weren't orcs anymore. They were ants.
While marching, Yuri suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath him and came to a halt.
Sand burst into the air as an orc leapt up through the ground.
"Akakukaka!"
But it had picked the wrong opponent.
Yuri was neither startled nor did he dodge.
He simply infused his sword with aura and swung, cleaving the creature clean in half.
The orc split in two, spilling blood and intestines.
The remaining upper half flailed in disbelief for a moment, then collapsed, lifeless.
Yuri gripped Guilty tighter and scanned the surroundings.
"How the hell are orcs moving underground?"
He activated the mana method, and his perception stretched outward.
The movements of the orcs scurrying below the surface were clear as day to him.
An immense number of them were running underground.
"That way."
Yuri pointed to the next attack zone. Jared, who had been following him, asked,
"How are you sensing this?"
"You can feel the vibrations."
"Excuse me?"
Jared's expression turned odd.
Using mana to enhance one's senses was standard technique.
But detecting such fine vibrations and pinpointing underground orc movements was something else entirely.
It was like how a dog distinguishes people by scent.
"Are you a mole?"
"Shut up."
Yuri started running. The knights followed close behind.
"Teach me too."
"Even if I did, would you get it?"
"Maybe I could."
"You won't."
"Why not?"
"You don't have talent."
"Wow…"
Yuri was well aware that his level was different from that of ordinary people.
Such finesse was possible thanks to the mana method heart-soul slash, the hunter's memories, and above all, his innate aptitude.
He could feel just how much of his past life had been wasted.
To erase those regrets, Yuri gripped Guilty even tighter.
"Jared."
"Yes?"
"No matter how soon you regret, it's always too late."
"What are you even talking about all of a sudden…"
"It means you better treat me well!"
With that, Yuri leapt forward.
"Your Highness!"
Jared called after him.
"Is that really the right way?"
"It is!"
Yuri was running in the opposite direction from where the battle was taking place.
While the orcs were engaged in a bloody struggle far away, Yuri led the knights through a path between empty tents.
"What the hell is even over there…"
That's when the ground began to bubble.
"Whoa…!"
The knights of Briol flinched and raised their swords.
Unlike the small tunnels the orcs had used to pop out so far, this time, the ground rippled as if it had turned to liquid and split open sideways.
Yuri murmured,
"That's not an orc."
Something felt wrong.
There was no way orcs could have dug so many tunnels in such a short time.
"Something else is here."
The ground soon opened up.
A massive hole appeared. From it, something like a mud-covered tentacle briefly revealed itself before vanishing again.
Beyond the cloud of dust, a horde of orcs waiting in line became visible.
Multiple orcs jumped out at once.
"Kill them immediately!"
The knights of Briol, who had already taken position at the entrance, cut down the orcs.
Each one that came up was sent crashing back to the ground.
As the bodies piled up, confusion broke out below.
"Use the terrain!"
As the knights massacred the orcs, the enemy forces gave up on the entrance and began retreating back through the tunnel.
"Simon! Guinness! Dyke!"
Yuri called the trio of young knights.
Through the recent battles, they had grown into full-fledged knights.
"Take the soldiers and guard this place."
"Yes, sir!"
"Kill anything that comes up the Briol way."
"Understood!"
"What's the Briol way?"
Guinness and Dyke faltered for a moment. Simon quickly caught on and shouted,
"If you see it, smash it to pieces!"
"That's it."
Truthfully, there was no such thing as a "Briol way." Simon had just shouted something that sounded right.
But that was the Briol way.
"The rest of you, follow me!"
He felt the tremor again.
Yuri recalled the unknown tentacle he had seen earlier. It was still digging tunnels underground.
"Raymond, Laurent."
"Yes."
"Do you feel it?"
They were among the most capable knights under his command.
Raymond spoke,
"I can tell the quaking continues."
Laurent nodded as well.
"Same for me."
"Something is constantly digging tunnels below."
"When you say 'something'…"
"There's a creature other than orcs."
"Maybe something like a sandworm? Those live in the desert though…"
"It's probably something similar."
Yuri picked up his pace.
This time, he was heading straight into the center of a battlefield already raging with bloodshed.
He saw a blind orc shaman holding a staff high above his head.
"Akaraka che! Akaraka chu!"
As he chanted, the orcs who had been fighting nearby soldiers suddenly charged toward Yuri's position.
The knights of Briol and the orc horde collided directly. Screams and the clashing of weapons echoed all around.
The orcs surrounding the shaman were highly capable.
They were all close to Orcbal level.
"Orcbal, huh… I heard they're rare. Damn it…"
Everything in sight was of Orcbal grade.
Suddenly, Yuri sensed a sharp attack flying toward him and twisted his body back.
An Orcbal wielding a massive curved blade was targeting him.
"Kh!"
As Yuri barely regained his stance, the Orcbal group crashed into the knights.
Caught off guard, the Briol knights were pushed back.
Chaos erupted.
"Watch out over there!"
One of the knights standing on the flank was struck down.
Blood pooled thick on the ground.
Yuri tightly shut his eyes, then opened them.
He never assumed everyone would make it out alive when fighting orcs.
Once you step onto the battlefield, you're standing before death.
Still, he had to be one step ahead of the rest.
That was his duty.
An Orcbal pointed his curved blade at Yuri.
He sneered, wiggling his fingers in front of his neck.
"Akuakkai? Akme Kataro Kumbe, Okudoku!"
Yuri wasn't shaken by the taunt. Instead, he sharpened his senses even further.
Inside the dungeon created by Erich Briol, he had trained for a long time alongside the dummy.
In that place, Erich Briol had demonstrated firsthand many of the wonders he could perform in life.
Back then, Yuri lacked the skill to truly comprehend them. All he could do was marvel at the astonishing phenomena the heart-soul slash produced, trembling in awe.
But not anymore.
Yuri raised his eyes.
He sensed an ally falling beside him, bleeding out.
More orcs kept pouring in, taking the lives of the Allied Army.
Even so, he didn't avert his gaze. He didn't rush over to save them either.
He had lived his past life being consumed by such emotional impulses—he was sick of it.
Suppressing his instincts, Yuri coolly focused on what needed to be done.
"Akuakkai!"
The Orcbal swung his curved blade.
The powerful centrifugal force split the air, slicing Yuri's neck. Had it gone any deeper, it would've torn his throat apart.
Yuri countered with Guilty.
The Orcbal leisurely stepped back. Then, with a smirk, he gave a thumbs-down toward Yuri, mocking him.
The distance between them widened.
At that moment, Yuri kicked off the ground and leapt into the sky.
The Orcbal stared up blankly.
Yuri's body soared high into the air.
In a flash, the entire battlefield unfolded before his eyes.
The knights were fighting desperately.
He tore his gaze away.
Raising his sword high, Yuri infused it with heart-soul slash mana.
Guilty trembled.
A brilliant white haze rose from the blade.
His target was the middle of the rippling earth, beyond the front lines.
As his body, at its peak height, was pulled downward by gravity, Yuri reversed his grip and aimed the falling blade downward.
The moment he collided with the ground, Guilty exploded with mana.
BOOOOM!
The rippling earth was torn apart.
From the cracked ground, a flood of deep red blood burst forth like underground water.