Chapter 218
Orc High Warchief Orca stood atop a sand dune, looking down over the desert.
In the direction of his gaze, there were thousands of orcs.
Even now, more orcs were steadily joining from all across the desert. For now, they numbered only in the thousands, but in just a few days, they would swell into the tens of thousands.
With tens of thousands of orcs united, there would be nothing they could not do.
“We will destroy the humans’ city and claim it. The masters of this world are us—the orc race.”
He bore the responsibility of making the orc race the rulers of the world.
That was the reason he had been born as the High Warchief.
At that moment, the shaman approached Orca.
“What is it, Shaman?”
“We’ve lost our connection with Kangkara.”
“Kangkara… is dead?”
“It seems so.”
“What about the Iron Orcs who went with him?”
“We can no longer sense anything from them either.”
Orca’s expression instantly hardened.
“They were all wiped out?”
“That appears to be the case. The energy of the tattoos we engraved on them has completely vanished.”
Through the tattoos etched onto the Iron Orcs, the shaman could determine whether they were alive or dead.
Just moments ago, the flow of mana connected to those tattoos had completely been severed.
And when the flow of mana was cut off, it meant the orcs bearing those tattoos were dead.
“Who killed them?”
“That much… I cannot tell.”
“So after the Red Hammer Tribe, now even the Iron Orcs have been annihilated.”
“…I apologize.”
The shaman bowed his head as if it were his own fault.
But Orca didn’t even spare him a glance.
His gaze was fixed toward the west.
“That is where the Red Hammer Tribe and the Iron Orcs were wiped out. There is something there that threatens our orc race.”
“Warchief…”
“I can feel it. He is the nemesis of our kind.”
“A nemesis?”
“Yes. As long as he exists, there is no future for the orc race. He must be killed.”
No one had told him this.
It was Orca’s instinct speaking.
And the shaman trusted that instinct deeply.
Orca possessed a sense that could not be explained in words.
It was a perception close to foresight, and it had been the driving force behind the orcs’ growing power until now.
“We move immediately to where the Iron Orcs died.”
“Understood.”
The shaman signaled to a nearby orc, who raised a horn and blew it with all his strength.
Bwooooo!
As the horn’s sound echoed across the desert, the resting orcs rose to their feet and looked toward Orca.
Pointing west, Orca spoke,
“There is one there who threatens our race. Move! We go to kill our enemy.”
“Uooooo!”
“Kill him! Kill our enemy!”
The orcs roared in unison, raising their weapons high.
Their cries stirred clouds of sand into the air.
The march of the orcs had begun.
At the very front stood Orca.
He muttered to himself,
“Wait for me, nemesis of the orc race. I, Orca, will devour your flesh and drink your blood.”
Orca believed that by consuming the flesh and blood of a powerful enemy, he too would grow stronger.
In truth, that was how he had become as powerful as he was.
“I will kill you… and destroy the humans’ city.”
Meanwhile, Lafyuna arrived at the entrance of the village with her subordinate and spoke with difficulty,
“Unseen light, veil of illusion, unopened gate, water that flows in reverse—O hidden truth beyond deception, reveal your true form to me.”
Flash!
The moment her incantation ended, an entrance appeared—leading into the village protected by a magic formation.
As soon as they entered, Seina came to meet them.
“Are you okay? What about the other rangers?”
Lafyuna weakly shook her head.
Seina’s face turned pale.
She had known the mission was essentially a death sentence, but seeing only two return alive made her mind go blank.
The rangers had all been close to her.
Realizing they had died because of the elders’ decision filled her chest with grief and anger.
At that moment—
“What happened? Did the orcs change their route?”
“The humans are all dead, I assume?”
Dwarf and elf elders approached them.
The elders showed no concern for the fate of the rangers who had gone with Lafyuna.
Their only interest was the outcome of the battle between the orcs and the humans.
“Th-that…”
“What is it? Stop stammering and speak.”
“The operation… failed.”
“Failed? What do you mean failed?”
“We succeeded in luring the orcs to the humans.”
“Then why—?”
“The orcs… were annihilated by the humans.”
“That’s absurd! How could mere humans defeat orcs—”
“The others were strong too, but especially that Sand Mage…”
Lafyuna couldn’t continue speaking.
Even now, just thinking of Zeon made her heart pound wildly.
The memory he left behind was that intense.
It felt like she would never be able to shake off the fear he instilled in her.
“You made sure to hide our village’s location, right?”
“Why did he let you live? Could it be a trick to find our village?”
“Go check outside immediately. The humans might have followed you.”
The elders began to panic noisily.
Seeing them like this, Seina and Lafyuna felt disgust.
Not a single one of them asked about the safety of the rangers who had not returned.
The village had survived until now thanks to the sacrifices of those rangers.
But looking at the elders, it made them wonder what all that sacrifice had been for.
‘We should’ve just been honest with the humans and asked for help… Then they wouldn’t have died…’
Just then—
Elves who had gone out to check whether the humans had followed came running back in a hurry.
“Something terrible has happened!”
“What? Did the humans follow us?”
“N-No, it’s not that…”
“This is infuriating. Can’t you speak properly?”
“The orcs have appeared.”
“What?”
“An orc army is heading toward our village.”
“An army?”
“Yes! There were at least thousands of them.”
At the elf’s report, the elders’ faces turned pale.
“My heavens!”
“An orc army heading for our village…”
The elders hurried to the village entrance.
They slightly opened the magic formation and looked outside.
In the distance, they saw a massive orc army advancing toward them.
“It’s true… What do we do?”
The elders looked at one another.
But none of them had a solution.
They had only ever focused on hiding the village—never once had they fought against a real threat.
In the end, they chose the worst possible option.
“All rangers, deploy.”
“What?”
“Lure the orcs somewhere else. Yes—lead them to those humans.”
“But that plan already failed.”
“Then do you intend to sit here and let everyone in the village die? No matter what, we must save the village.”
“…Understood. All rangers will deploy.”
In the end, Seina and Lafyuna led all the rangers out of the village.
By then, the orc army had drawn even closer.
Seina gave the order.
“Move! We need to lure the orcs as far away from the village as possible.”
“Yes!”
At her command, the rangers deliberately made themselves visible to the orcs.
Naturally, the orcs noticed them.
“Elves!”
“Chiiit! Kill them!”
The orcs shouted in excitement.
The shaman issued an order.
“Chase them down and kill them. Do not leave a single elf alive.”
“Kwaaah!”
“Kill them!”
Some of the enraged orcs immediately began pursuing the rangers.
Orca briefly watched them, then turned his gaze away.
His eyes fixed on the direction the elf rangers had appeared from.
While the other orcs blindly chased after the rangers, he questioned why the elves had suddenly revealed themselves.
Looking more closely, he noticed something strange.
“The flow of mana is odd.”
“It’s a magic formation.”
“As expected.”
“Let me see…”
The shaman gazed ahead and muttered,
“No power can deceive my eyes—hidden truth, reveal your true form before me. Eye of Revelation!”
A red light burst from the shaman’s eyes.
As he looked at the distorted flow of mana, the true form of the magic formation revealed itself.
“A concealment-type protective barrier.”
The shaman’s lips twisted, revealing yellowed fangs.
Orca smiled.
“So they’ve hidden their village in a place like that.”
He was already in a foul mood after two tribes under his command had been annihilated.
Now, he needed something to vent his anger on.
And a perfect target had appeared.
Orca extended his hand.
An orc great warrior nearby respectfully presented him with a massive spear.
It was a weapon designed to hunt gigantic magical beasts.
A spear large enough to pierce through a ten-meter creature in a single strike filled Orca’s grip.
Grasping it tightly, Orca drew his arm back.
His back and arm bent like a drawn bow.
When the strain in his muscles reached its limit, he swung with all his might.
Swoooosh!
Like a meteor, the massive spear tore through the sky at terrifying speed.
In the blink of an eye, it reached its target—
And struck the magic barrier protecting the village.
Crack!
The barrier that had protected the village of dwarves and elves for over a hundred years shattered in a single blow.
With the protective magic destroyed, the village revealed itself.
In a vast basin carved into the desert lay hundreds of clustered homes.
Between them moved countless elves and dwarves.
Their faces were filled with terror and despair.
The barrier that had protected them was gone, and even the rangers who had defended them for years had left to lure away the orcs.
The realization that they were completely exposed to danger turned their minds blank with fear.
Orca grinned and gave the order.
“Kill them all. There is no place in this desert for elves or dwarves.”
“Uwoooah!”
“Kraaah!”
At his command, the orcs roared and charged toward the village.
“D-Damn it!”
“Attack! Stop them from entering the village!”
The elders, snapping back to their senses too late, shouted their orders.
Among the elves in the village, many could use magic.
“Wind Cutter!”
“Magic Missile!”
The elves hastily cast spells, while the dwarves fired massive crossbows built for hunting magical beasts.
Some orcs were struck head-on by their attacks.
“Chiiit! That tickles.”
“Is that all you’ve got, pointy-ears?”
The orcs’ powerful bodies shrugged off most attacks.
Though a few fell, the rest charged forward without hesitation.
The orcs soon flooded into the village—
And what followed was a merciless massacre.
“Aaah!”
“Guhk!”
Elves and dwarves fell one after another to the orcs’ weapons.
Even the elders were no exception.
The orcs killed everything in sight.
Elf or dwarf—it made no difference.
That was the end of the village where elves and dwarves had once coexisted.
Orca turned his gaze westward.
“You’re next, human.”