Chapter 47: Rabid Dog (3)

The clouds swirled, covering the sun. A shadow fell over the battlefield.

“Gahk…!”

Yuri gritted his teeth. The unknown orc shaman emanated a strange power. He couldn’t break free from that black hand gripping him.

The battle turned unfavorable. Kurui had brought down Jose, and the orc horde was pushing the order of knights back.

“Ah…”

Strength was leaving Yuri’s body.

Beyond his now-blurring vision, a knight’s head flew through the air. It seemed like their gazes crossed.

He was still watching the enemy. Though his body had died, his soul remained on the battlefield.

Yuri gripped Guilty tightly.

[Do not resist.]

The orc shaman’s voice was like a freezing wind.

[There’s nothing you can do. Accept your fate.]

His will began to erode. A buzzing filled his ears.

Yuri could no longer feel his body. Only a thread of consciousness remained in the darkness.

He tried to move his body, but there was no response.

No… something was moving.

Guilty.

It felt like an extension of his body, like another arm. It was Guilty who was pushing him now.

Yuri opened his eyes.

Or rather, he made the decision to open them.

Then, the energy of the Soul-and-Heart Slash inside him became another eye, revealing the vision obscured by the black smoke.

The colors faded as if evaporated. In a world of black and white, where only intensity existed, Yuri could clearly see a pitch-black figure.

The silhouette of the orc shaman, his eyes blindfolded by cloth. He was holding something, and from it, a black energy rose like tentacles.

That darkness invading the battlefield was coming from that orc shaman.

Had the Alliance also been defeated by something like this in his past life? He had returned to change his fate.

He would not allow things to follow the same path. He raised Guilty.

The voices he’d heard in the dungeons echoed in his ears.

The empty eye sockets of a knight who hadn’t even left his name filled his mind.

Soul-and-Heart Slash. Perhaps now he understood why that technique had come into his hands.

Yuri swung Guilty.

His body was on the verge of collapse, his energy nearly drained. His attack lacked strength.

But it was enough.

Yuri cut the enemy’s soul.

Like torn fabric, that black figure was absorbed by the sword and fluttered like a rag in the wind.

The orc shaman flailed his arms, disoriented. Only then did Yuri feel the ground beneath his feet again.

He regained his sense of touch.

The noise of the battlefield returned all at once. He couldn’t waste the moment.

Gathering the last of his strength, he extended Guilty once more. The blurry form of the orc shaman was cleaved in two.

[How…!]

The black silhouette split and dissolved like smoke. Balance returned to the world.

The madness vanished from the orcs’ eyes, and the dark smoke that had weakened the Alliance also disappeared.

For a moment, humans and orcs were stunned and stopped fighting. A moment of silence fell.

Yuri didn’t let the chance slip. He stabbed an orc from behind nearby.

It writhed in pain, leaning backward. That cry was the signal. The battle resumed.

“Get it together!”

Yuri looked at Jose.

He was still fighting, but his movements were slower from the earlier blow. If things continued like this, Kurui would win.

“Damn it…”

He wanted to help, but the fight was too intense. If he intervened poorly, Kurui could take advantage.

Meanwhile, Kurui launched a fierce attack on Jose.

Their weapons clashed. Taking advantage of an opening, Kurui kicked him straight in the stomach with the tip of his foot.

Jose dropped to his knees. The axe was raised to the sky.

And then, Kurui turned his head and smiled at Yuri.

It was a trap. He was saying he’d kill Jose, beckoning with his hand for Yuri to stop him.

Yuri knew it was a trap, but he couldn’t stop. That hadn’t changed from his past life.

Even knowing it would go wrong, he still moved forward. That was who he was.

“Kurui!”

Yuri dashed forward.

In an instant, he closed the distance. The edge of the axe shifted angles. Yuri was approaching in a straight line to save Jose, and Kurui intercepted him as if he’d been waiting for it.

He raised Guilty to block the axe, but the impact was brutal. His insides trembled, and he coughed up blood.

“Prince…”

Jose looked at him with a pained expression, as if he felt responsible.

Yuri gave him a weak smile. Kurui’s axe cast a shadow over Yuri’s head.

He had lived this moment before. When Laurent killed him in his past life, time had also seemed to move this slowly.

He didn’t want to die miserably, so he forced the best smile he could.

And just then.

It wasn’t the axe that came down on his head.

It was blood.

Yuri looked up. And he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Kurui’s arm had been severed. The arm holding the axe spun through the air.

And instead of Kurui’s monstrous face, a stranger was looking down at him.

It was the first time he’d seen him.

A man with dark brown hair, dressed in worn-out rags.

As if dealing with a child, he grabbed Kurui’s head with one hand.

“You?”

The man opened his mouth.

“What a fucking cool guy.”

Yuri recognized his identity. Among Kurui’s ranks was an absolute monster hiding his identity. And what’s more, he was terrible at speaking the continent’s language.

One of the Ten Greats, a swordsman from the East.

Commonly known as the Outsider.

“This bastard didn’t even feed me properly.”

Speaking in broken continental, he struck Kurui.

Kurui tried to resist, but with one arm severed, he had no way to defend himself. In the end, Kurui died with his neck torn off.

Seeing his spine and bundles of nerves yanked out with his head, even Yuri winced.

After Kurui’s death, the orcs’ morale collapsed. Finally, the knightly order took the upper hand and annihilated the orcs.

However, the atmosphere on the battlefield remained tense. The Outsider, who had killed Kurui in the blink of an eye, was now staring directly at Yuri.

The knights moved to protect him, but Yuri signaled for them to stop.

“You!”

The Outsider pointed at him. Yuri—even he—swallowed nervously under the tension.

“You’re cool, yeah, but thanks to you, shit got messed up.”

And he began to approach, step by step.

Yuri extended his palm to signal the knights not to intervene. If he remembered correctly from his past life, the Outsider wasn’t a bad person.

In fact, thinking about it, he was rather someone just.

“It can’t be…”

Yuri opened his eyes as if in surprise.

“Such manly presence!”

“What?”

“Handsome face. Broad shoulders. Great skill. I think I know who you are.”

“What are you talking about?”

“May I dare say your nickname right here?”

“You know me?”

“One of the Ten Greats, famous across the continent—isn’t that you, Mr. Outsider?”

At his words, the surroundings stirred.

The Outsider frowned.

“That name was made up by these bastards without my permission.”

“Totally agree. It’s a terrible name. They say all the land is one family, yet ‘Outsider’ sounds so cold. Could you tell me your honorable full name so I can address you properly?”

The Outsider’s name was unknown.

He tilted his head slightly while staring at Yuri. He seemed to think for a few seconds, then spoke.

“Fine. I’ll tell you.”

“It’s an honor.”

“My name is Morongchani.”

“Yes, Mr. Moyongchang.”

“Moyongchang!”

“Yes, yes. Mr. Moyongchang.”

The situation wasn’t going badly. Yuri clasped his hands and gave a slight bow.

“Mr. Moyongchang. We are currently at war with the orcs.”

“I know. I have eyes.”

“Ah, right. I see you do.”

Though his tone was rough, what value did the title of prince hold before someone from the far East? Moreover, he was one of the Ten Greats, before whom even royalty bowed.

Yuri held in his annoyance and played along.

“I’d like to request your assistance, but first, if you could wait until this war…”

“You!”

But Moyongchang was not exactly a patient person.

“How did you do it?”

“Huh?”

“How did you cut the shaman?”

He placed a hand on Yuri’s neck. The pressure was intense.

Yuri took a deep breath.

“That is…”

“That is what?”

Yuri didn’t cower and gave a broad smile.

“Let’s kill all the orcs first, and then we’ll talk, how about that?”

***

With Kurui’s death, the balance of victory completely tipped.

The allied army annihilated the orcs with ease. Ragnar impaled Kurui’s head on a spear in celebration.

Yuri, standing next to Ragnar, watched how the post-battle situation was being handled.

“Outsider, huh…”

“I’ll try to persuade him to join the allied army.”

“Do it. I trust you.”

Moyongchang listened to no one except Yuri. Ragnar had left the matter entirely in his hands.

That meant he trusted him.

“Either way, this is really…”

The allied army was searching the village.

Seeing with his own eyes the truth slowly being revealed, Ragnar muttered.

“Truly, orcs are repugnant.”

Yuri nodded. One horrifying scene after another came into view.

In one of the tents, there were dismembered human bodies. They hung from hooks alongside meat from other animals, still with the skin on. The pieces were cut and ground as if in a butcher shop.

Several soldiers vomited.

“Order it all to be burned.”

“Yes, sir.”

Perhaps the dead humans were the lucky ones.

In another tent was a cell made of iron bars. It closely resembled the orc cages Ragnar had seen in Count Saidor’s territory.

Inside were only women.

Some were pregnant. Most were not in full possession of their faculties. They didn’t know whether the soldiers approaching them were humans or orcs.

“Damn bastards…”

In other parts of the village, groups of half-breeds and men used as slaves were found. Moreover, more humans who had been forcibly detained kept appearing.

Ragnar’s aide asked,

“What should we do with them?”

Ragnar closed his eyes. Yuri watched his decision carefully.

Given his character, Ragnar was capable of ordering their deaths under the excuse of preserving their dignity.

But what came from his mouth was unexpected.

“Graham.”

“Yes?”

“Tell him to handle it.”

“But right now…”

The aide hesitated to speak but quickly pulled himself together and nodded.

“Understood.”

He knew well that Ragnar hated objections. Once he gave an order, it simply had to be carried out.

Once the aide withdrew, Ragnar placed a hand on Yuri’s shoulder.

“You seem to get along well with Graham.”

“I’ve heard of his reputation. He’s a true knight.”

“Maybe he’s more suited for Briol than for the Empire.”

Ragnar smiled as he began to walk.

“Come with me.”

Ragnar led Yuri to the place where the orcs were gathered. In a corner of the colony, a few dozen surviving orcs were kneeling and prostrating.

The gaze of the troops followed Ragnar and Yuri.

An intense hatred toward the orcs prevailed among the ranks. The treatment of orc prisoners was closely watched throughout the Alliance.

“Yuri.”

Ragnar asked Yuri.

“What do you want me to do?”

Yuri looked at the orc while hearing Ragnar’s voice.

The orc prisoners, sensing the atmosphere, crouched toward the glass and trembled. Instinctively,

They begged for mercy.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes.”

“Do you feel burdened?”

“No.”

What did Ragnar want from him? Perhaps this was a test.

Whatever his intentions, this situation was a gift to Yuri.

“Actually…”

Yuri followed Ragnar’s words.

“These things are disgusting.”

Then Ragnar burst into laughter. Yuri took out his guilty pleasure.

The Allied Forces would love him—and fear him—at the same time.

It’s rare to have the chance to inspire trust and fear at once. Yuri stepped forward.

Then, one of the orcs lying down slowly raised its head.

It mimicked a human, fell to the ground, bowed its head, and pressed its forehead to the earth.

Was this a plea for sympathy? Yuri looked at Guilty without thinking. Blood spurted.

Slash and slash again.

The orc was stabbed dozens, hundreds of times while lying face down, unable even to defend itself.

The flesh opened, and the contents spilled out.

Yuri dismembered the orc alive so it would writhe in agony until the end without dying.

The other orcs moaned in fear.

To be feared by the enemy wasn’t bad. In fact, it felt good. The imperial knights in black armor also watched Yuri with trembling eyes.

Yuri lifted the corners of his lips.

Was this only true for the orcs? If we meet again as enemies, you’ll be no exception.

Yuri looked back. The eyes of the entire alliance were focused on him.

As he felt countless emotions welling up inside him, Yuri asked instead,

“Any volunteers?”

The allied forces of the past life had never achieved such a great victory.

History has changed.