Chapter 76 – Grand Marino Sea of Trees

Se-min’s group traveled for a long time and reached the Grand Marino Sea of Trees, where the Orcs were said to live.

“It seems the goblins have arrived at the Cloud Mountains. They say they are successfully reclaiming it.”

Bi-ryu spoke, waving his staff.

He had conversed with Kartoros, who was a goblin lord candidate and shaman, and it seemed they had subsequently shared a secret technique of some sort to communicate at a light level.

“It’s nothing to be surprised about. Goblins are great warriors. They only became weak for a moment from being trapped in Pandemonium, but their toughness remains. Keereuk.”

As Kaorak bragged, Gulad said while cutting through the bushes with his sword.

“Of course, with the dragons gathered like that.”

“What?”

The two stared at each other. Their gazes were fierce. As the journey grew longer, they clashed strangely.

Se-min ignored Gulad and Kaorak and stared beyond the woods.

Somehow, it was an unpleasant place.

His vision was constantly blocked, and because the insects chirped noisily, his hearing was confused. It was impossible to guess what would pop out from where. Even flying bugs flew in to annoy him.

Kaorak grumbled.

“Why do Orcs live in a place like this?”

“Why did you guys live underground?”

Gulad caught his words again, and Kaorak furrowed his brow and threatened Gulad with a hand gesture. An intention to cut off his neck could be felt. Gulad also clapped his hands. It meant he would beat him hard.

The two, who had gone to the brink of a fight, only quieted down after getting smacked on the back of their heads side-by-side by Se-min.

“It won’t be easy to meet the Orcs. Gathering them is even harder. Orcs are individualists, you see.”

Bi-ryu said.

Indeed, the one who was helpful was Bi-ryu. Next was the faithful subordinate Shozen. Those two were of no help.

“Individualists?”

“Yes. They do not form groups. They all live alone.”

“Like tigers.”

In the past, Se-min had seen an Orc looking in at them from beyond a Missing Gate.

At that time, he had felt an overwhelming gap that made him unable to dare oppose him.

That sensation was vivid even now after time had passed.

Reflecting on it, the fact that they did not form groups suited the Orcs. Such strong existences would not have any need to associate with someone else.

“Orcs are extremely strong. They once had a bad relationship with the goblins, and it is said they never lost a single battle. Even though there was a significant difference in numbers, the goblins could not defeat them.”

“W-who said such a thing?”

“Lord Korox said so.”

“The Elder must have gotten confused as he aged.”

“Perhaps.”

As they advanced through the Grand Marino Sea of Trees like that, Se-min suddenly stopped.

“Stop.”

The group stopped in unison. Se-min raised Lupus, glaring beyond the bushes. Something was moving.

“Is there something there?”

The other members of the group tilted their heads. It was difficult to detect presence because of the noisy chirping of insects and the confusing energy of the Sea of Trees that made one lose their sense of direction.

“It seems like a demonic beast.”

“A demonic beast?”

Kaorak smacked his lips. They had not eaten proper meat for a long time.

“Then let’s go. Emperor, we eat meat. Keereuk.”

“Emperor, you must not move arbitrarily. The wind is strange.”

Gulad opposed. The two glared at each other again. Se-min chose to advance.

“Let’s go see. There must be something.”

What appeared was a demonic beast resembling a rhinoceros.

It was chewing on something between the bushes, and looking closely, it was eating another small demonic beast.

Se-min put his fingertip to his lips to signal everyone to kill their sounds.

After signaling with a glance, they surrounded the demonic beast from a distance so it could not escape.

The raid was carried out swiftly.

Se-min approached first and thrust Lupus, and as the startled demonic beast began to run in another direction, Shozen and Gulad blocked it. The flustered beast turned its body again, but Bi-ryu and Kaorak were waiting.

The demonic beast was hacked to pieces by the four hungry humans and one goblin.

The smell of blood spread.

“Let’s find a place to build a fire.”

Since the bushes were thick, a large fire might break out if they were careless. Leaving the deboning to Kaorak, Se-min and the remaining companions decided to scout for a place to build a fire and rest.

“I heard a story about Orcs in the past.”

Once he was alone with Se-min, Shozen spoke quietly.

“They said whatever you imagine, it is more than that. Just in case, please be careful, Your Majesty.”

“Yes.”

Se-min said, heading toward a spot that looked like a vacant lot in the distance.

“I heard Orcs are hard to gather into one, so that is a worry.”

“That is true. Since they say they rarely unite… though that might be why they didn’t end up like the goblins.”

Orcs are spread out in various places. The place where the largest number resided was only the Grand Marino Sea of Trees, but they settled and lived anywhere.

Since such strong individuals were widely spread without forming groups, it wouldn’t have been easy for Badurbarok to subdue them all at once or make them surrender.

Of course, that was the same for Se-min. Binding them as one was a major task for him as well.

“I have to try. Since they say they are fellows who follow the strong, if I visit them one by one and beat them up, they will follow.”

“If by any chance Your Majesty loses…”

“What?”

“Ahem, it’s nothing.”

“Did I hear wrong?”

“Yes.”

After confirming the vacant lot, they returned to Kaorak.

Bi-ryu and Gulad had arrived there.

“Where is Kaorak?”

“I didn’t see him.”

On the ground, only the carcass of the demonic beast that was being deboned lay solitary.

Suddenly, the chirping of the insects stopped.

The wind blew in.

“Somehow it’s eerie.”

The forest fell silent.

Since shadows flickered, looking up at the sky, bizarre-looking flying demonic beasts were hovering above their heads. On the trees, things that were either birds or demonic beasts watched them, shining their large eyes.

“There’s no way Kaorak disappeared without a reason…”

Se-min said, looking at Kaorak’s sword lying on the ground.

“It seems to be that, doesn’t it?”

Shozen and Gulad stared at Se-min.

“That?”

“What is that?”

Se-min shook his head. These guys had no reasoning power at all. Se-min had an intuition acquired through various movies and videos on Earth.

“A creepy forest, a companion left alone. A companion disappeared while gone for a moment… Nothing comes to mind?”

“I don’t know.”

Since they hadn’t seen Hollywood movies, it was natural for them to tilt their heads.

“He was kidnapped by the enemy.”

“Pardon?”

“It might be too late already.”

“What on earth do you mean…”

“The beast is watching us. Poor Kaorak must be captured by him right now, trembling in fear. It’s probably the Orc we were looking for. But that Orc must have gone slightly insane due to a long life of seclusion. Should I call him a mad killer? A psycho pervert who feels joy watching us tremble in anxiety…”

As Se-min explained, a protest broke out immediately.

“Nonsense!”

Everyone turned their heads.

An Orc holding a bloody axe stood there.

He looked exactly like the character Se-min had described.

“Are you companions of the goblin? He is…”

The Orc tried to explain, but Se-min’s group instinctively backed away.

Greenish skin, protruding tusks, and fiercely slit eyes.

His body width looked about twice that of a human, and his forearms and hand size were about three times. Because blood and mysterious chunks were smeared on his axe, it wouldn’t be strange if he had just killed someone.

“Y-Your Majesty’s words were correct.”

“Damn it, is a descendant of the Wolf dying here?”

“It’s a mad psycho killer Orc.”

Shozen, Gulad, and Se-min expressed their feelings in turn.

The angry Orc narrowed his brow and began to stride toward them. Veins popped on his hand clutching the axe blade.

“You are rude fellows.”

As he approached, emitting pressure, Se-min stepped forward. Se-min also raised his aura.

A peculiar light appeared in the Orc’s eyes.

The two glared into each other’s eyes at a distance where their noses almost touched. It was like fighters glaring at each other before the bell rang in a martial arts match.

“Do you want to die, human?”

“Are you really that good at fighting?”

But they, who were reasonably gentlemanly, only rubbed their noses and foreheads like drunkards urging each other to hit first, and did not strike the first blow.

“You will die like that.”

“That’s what I want to say.”

“Do you want to taste my axe?”

“Your body looks heavy, should I drain some blood for you?”

“A frail human dares…”

“Then let’s have a go.”

At that moment when their bickering reached the peak and it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to swing a weapon first.

“What are you two doing? Keereuk?”

Kaorak appeared.

He looked back and forth between Se-min and the Orc, then wore an expression of being creeped out.

“What are you two doing right now? Dating? Kissing?”

“…”

Kaorak was chewing on something like a piece of bread, looking at them. Se-min asked.

“That bread is?”

“He is a kinder Orc than expected. He even gave me bread.”

“Bread?”

“Yes.”

Se-min stepped back and tapped the Orc’s shoulder. It was a gesture of reconciliation.

And then he threw Lupus toward Kaorak.

The blade stabbed into the tree right next to Kaorak. Startled, Kaorak dropped the bread he was eating from his mouth.

He pointed at Se-min and shouted.

“W-w-what?”

“It means don’t eat bread alone, let’s share it.”

***

Although there was a misunderstanding, they were invited by the Orc.

The Orc’s name was Maktar.

He was an Orc living alone, hunting demonic beasts in the Sea of Trees.

“It is my fortress.”

He said, pointing to his house.

“To Orcs, a house is a space that protects me from enemies. Regard it as an honor to have come to my fortress.”

“Wouldn’t it be more of an honor for the Emperor to visit this shabby place?”

“Emperor or whatever, to me, you are just a human.”

When Se-min introduced himself as the Emperor, Maktar accepted it immediately. He said he had already heard about the Emperor.

“The existence the shamans were rambling about was you.”

He only said those words. It seemed Orcs also had shamans.

At any rate, Se-min intended to ask the first Orc they met, Maktar, various things.

His fortress was narrow, but all kinds of weapons were hanging on the wall. All of them were large. When Kaorak tried to lift a mace for fun, everyone burst into laughter because the weapon was about the size of his body.

“So, what is the human Emperor’s business with us? I can guess what kind of business it is, but I want to hear it once.”

“I will kill Badurbarok.”

“Is that so. What you said back then was serious.”

“What I said back then?”

“When you became the Emperor.”

When Se-min became the Emperor, he spoke his purpose toward the five lights representing each race.

Killing Badurbarok.

Maktar also seemed to have heard that voice.

“Can everyone hear that?”

“Those with enough skill must have heard it.”

“That means you have the skill.”

“Of course.”

Maktar brought them food. It was bread, soup, and a beverage. When Se-min drank it, it was a low-alcohol liquor.

As Se-min bit the bread and drank the liquor, Maktar spoke.

“Give up.”

“Huh?”

“Give up on making the Orcs your allies.”

Se-min swallowed everything in his mouth and asked back.

“Why do you say such a thing?”

“Because it is impossible.”

Maktar scanned Se-min’s group.

“We Orcs do not form groups; we live alone. We follow someone only when he has clearly subdued us.”

“And?”

“Many Orcs…”

Maktar furrowed his snout as if he didn’t like it. His face became even more vicious.

“…have already surrendered to Badurbarok’s army.”

Se-min weighed the words to figure out the meaning. What exactly did it mean to clearly subdue them? Did it mean Badurbarok pressed the Orcs with strength?

At that moment, a knock was heard from outside.

It was definitely not a friend.

Because a friend wouldn’t beat the door so roughly.

“Open the door, Maktar!”

It was an Orc.

Maktar silently walked to the wall and picked up his weapon. It was an axe. The rest of the companions also placed their hands on their weapons.

Tension flowed.

Se-min secretly took Kaorak’s bread, dipped it in soup, and put it in his mouth.

Kaorak’s eyes widened and he stared at Se-min. He pointed back and forth between his empty plate and Se-min’s mouth. Se-min shut his mouth and chewed, pretending not to know.

Kaorak spread both arms, expressing his anger.

Without knowing their situation, the Orc outside shouted once again.

“Maktar! Come out!”

The sound of banging on the door gradually grew louder.

Just what did Maktar do wrong for him to act like that? Did he take out a loan and fail to pay it back?

Se-min guessed the situation, stretching his hand toward the plate of the tensed Gulad.

“Who on earth is that…”

Gulad whispered to Maktar, then witnessed Se-min grabbing his bread.

Gulad’s eyes widened, and he stretched out his hand to stop Se-min. But Se-min’s movement was fast. He ate all of Gulad’s bread too.

Gulad pointed at Se-min as if dumbfounded, then naturally placed Shozen’s bread, which was next to him, in front of himself.

Without knowing what happened at all, Shozen stood up awkwardly, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Everyone is carefree.”

Maktar, who watched the scene, muttered.

There must be a reason why they could be so relaxed. His eyes turned toward Se-min. A mysterious relaxation was felt from the human Emperor.

If it couldn’t be read, it was one of two things.

Either it was too vast like the great sea to be measured, or it was nothing.

“I hear voices. Open the door, Maktar!”

Now the opponent was literally pounding on the door. Maktar shouldered his axe, walked to the doorway, and said.

“You must know what it means to enter my fortress without permission, Kebalar.”

“I know well. That’s why I came!”

“Do you need to be beaten up today too?”

The opponent periodically struck the door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

At the moment the next fist was about to strike the door, Maktar flung the door open inward. At that, an Orc lost his balance and staggered inside the fortress.

Maktar slammed the door shut again.

“Agh!”

The Orc who collided with the door got caught in the doorway. Looking closely, the door was iron. Maktar punched the head of the Orc flailing in the iron door.

“Kugh!”

“Your skull is still hard.”

“Cowardly!”

“There is no cowardice in a fight.”

Se-min clapped at Maktar’s words. His thought was exactly that. There is no cowardice in a fight. You just have to win first.

“Who is that?”

Kebalar asked, discovering the humans and goblin sitting inside Maktar’s fortress. His expression, having already been hit several times, had turned sullen.

Maktar hit him again instead of answering.

“S-stop!”

“Didn’t you say you knew what it meant to invade someone else’s fortress?”

“We have affection from all this time…”

“I am annoyed now. Just die, Kebalar.”

Maktar raised his axe. Kebalar pushed the door and Maktar with all his might and fled outside.

Maktar shook his head, looking at his retreating back.

“Who is that?”

“Just an annoying neighbor.”

At that, Kebalar shouted from outside.

“I am the man who will become the Warchief!”

Se-min whistled.

“Warchief?”

“Ignore him.”

Maktar looked around outside and closed the door again.

“It’s Kebalar, an Orc who is still young. He heard too many stories of the ancient Orcs, so he has the absurd idea of becoming the Warchief.”

“What is the Warchief?”

“It means the leader of the Orcs in the ancient stories.”

Se-min shrugged.

“It’s a cool dream, though.”

“Talk is easy, but in this era, for such a weak fellow to talk about being the Warchief, it’s only fitting for him to die.”

“What kind of era is this era?”

“You, as the Emperor, should know that best.”

As the situation settled, the companions all sat back at the table.

Shozen looked around the companions with startled eyes when his bread was not visible on his plate. Since everyone was expressionless, he could not specify the culprit and was in a flurry.

As Maktar brought more bread and placed it down, Shozen bowed his head.

Se-min cut it in half as if he had been waiting and placed it on his own plate.

Shozen stared at Se-min with an expression of having been betrayed, but Se-min bit half a piece of bread without paying mind.

“Tell me more detail about the Orcs surrendering to Badurbarok.”

“It is as I said. They were incorporated into Badurbarok’s army. Goblins, Orcs, and other ancient races are joining. He is getting stronger and stronger.”

“I heard Orcs are a race with strong pride. What is the reason they went to Badurbarok, who was the enemy?”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

Maktar sat in the empty seat and placed his food down.

It was meat stew.

Everyone’s sharp gazes turned toward him. Maktar ate the meat stew alone without paying mind and said.

“They surrendered.”

“I see.”

Se-min nodded and stretched out his plate.

“What?”

“I also surrendered.”

Se-min made a pitiful face.

“I surrendered to the smell. Some meat, please.”

“For an Emperor, you are extremely…”

As Maktar was choosing his words, Kaorak spoke instead from the side.

“Miserable, isn’t he?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“No, I am the Emperor in name, but what did you humans do for me? Didn’t you just use me as a gladiator?”

“Your Majesty. Please calm down. I will apologize instead.”

“Then what did you, the Emperor, do for us?”

“You guys…!”

Everyone talked about themselves and criticized each other. Maktar swallowed the meat stew alone, watching that scene.

“It’s a mess.”

***

Se-min’s group stayed a day at Maktar’s house.

Unlike his blunt behavior, he accommodated their convenience reasonably well, and because of that attitude, Kaorak even suspected his intention.

“There is some intention.”

“A guy with a bad personality.”

“Think about it. For an individualist Orc to welcome us like this, there must be some reason. He might have a scheme to sell us out to make money.”

“Isn’t that too much of an interpretation like yourself?”

“Emperor, you are still young, so you don’t know.”

“How old are you?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Despite such suspicion, Maktar silently provided them with a bed and food.

He even listened to Se-min’s plan carefully and advised him.

“So I want to unite the Orcs and fight Badurbarok together.”

“Do you plan to persuade those numerous Orcs one by one?”

“Don’t you know the spirit of ‘it works if you do it’? When the time comes, it all works out. If you become the Warchief, doesn’t everyone follow?”

“That is a consequential title. Try subduing all the Orcs. If that works, it won’t just be a dream.”

“What is subduing them?”

“You’ll realize once you try it directly.”

When Maktar said that, Se-min stared at Maktar with combative eyes. If that subduing had some special meaning, wouldn’t it be fine to test it directly through him?

But Maktar was a benefactor who welcomed them.

Out of conscience, Se-min could not show more bravado and cleared his throat.

It was then.

“Hey, Maktar! Let’s duel!”

It was Kebalar. As always, he came to duel with his neighbor Maktar, and Se-min realized he was a suitable opponent.

Se-min asked Maktar.

“What about him?”

“Do as you wish.”

“Fine.”

Kebalar was knocking on the door of the fortress as always.

The dwellings where Orcs stayed were sanctified under the name of fortress. Se-min learned from Maktar that trying to invade another’s fortress was an extremely dangerous thing.

“Kebalar!”

Se-min opened the door, shouting his name.

At that, the Orc stared at him with a blank expression.

“Huh?”

“I am the Emperor, Lee Se-min.”

“E-Emperor?”

“Yes. Didn’t you hear the news about me? A new Emperor appeared among humans, and that is me.”

“I heard the news.”

“Good. Maktar told me to teach you a lesson instead of him.”

“What?”

Kebalar’s face turned grim.

“He dares?”

“Yes. If you subdue me, you place the human Emperor under your command. Aren’t you the one who will become the Warchief? Let’s fight once.”

“Unlike us Orcs, humans are despicable and cannot be trusted…”

“Is that a racist statement?”

Angered, Se-min thrust Lupus. Kebalar instinctively raised his greatsword and blocked Se-min’s Lupus.

“Our weapons are similar too. Do you want to be taught a lesson by me today?”

“Arrogant human. Daring to challenge an Orc, there is no more mercy.”

Kebalar solidified his face and released his power.

It was a rough aura.

Orcs instinctively knew how to handle aura.

Se-min also raised the Tai Chi Wisdom. Unlike Kebalar’s, it was a harmonious and soft energy. Kebalar admired it.

“You have a reasonably good martial style.”

Orcs called aura by the name of martial style.

Unlike humans who built up aura step by step through aura methods, Orcs could handle aura innately.

To Orcs, martial style was an innate divine power and their momentum.

If they strengthened their bodies and set up their will, their martial style would also become strong.

Unlike humans, Orcs were born as fighters, and their combat power was far higher than most races. So they were revered as an ancient race.

“You are just a human, you can never defeat me!”

“A racist statement to the end. I’ll teach you a lesson as the representative of humans.”

The two stood facing each other in the vacant lot in front of Maktar’s house.

Maktar, Kaorak, and Se-min’s companions came out to watch the fight. With them as the audience, Se-min and Kebalar swung their swords at each other.

Maktar’s face solidified as he watched the clash.

“More than I thought…”

Looking at the way Se-min and Kebalar’s swords collided, his words trailed off.

Kaorak took the words.

“The Emperor is strong, right?”

“…”

Kaorak was right.

Kebalar was overwhelmingly pushed back by Se-min. He tried to press Se-min with stronger force and momentum, but Se-min softly slid past the attacks, found the gaps in the offensive, and struck Kebalar.

The levels were just different.

Kebalar could not accept his defensive state and kept attempting attacks, but as a result, he kept getting beaten by Se-min. Gradually, fear was laden in Kebalar’s eyes.

“Is that guy truly the Emperor?”

Maktar asked Kaorak.

As far as he knew, there was no case where successive human Emperors were skilled in actual combat.

The Emperor was a ruler, not an entity who fought directly. So wise and gentle individuals usually became the Emperor.

But this Emperor was different.

He was someone who directly held a sword and fought at the front.

He was a warrior.

Eventually, Kebalar dropped his sword, and Se-min also beat Kebalar down with his fists instead of a sword.

Kebalar flailed, but Se-min kicked and beat Kebalar at random. Kebalar groaned.

“Stop hitting me!”

“Is this what Maktar called subduing?”

“It is not.”

“Then get hit more.”

“Y-you, didn’t you say you were the Emperor!”

“So?”

Se-min kept beating Kebalar. He crouched and took Se-min’s violence as it was. But he didn’t easily submit.

Se-min gradually softened his attacks. It seemed that the true subduing Maktar spoke of was not this kind of physical aspect.

Se-min spread both arms toward Maktar.

“Isn’t this it?”

Maktar shook his head with a bitter expression.

“We Orcs are not that simple.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Emperor. Think about it yourself. If you truly submit to someone, what would it look like?”

Se-min had something he realized.

So he placed his foot on Kebalar’s chest, looked down, and made a grim expression.

“Kebalar, do you want to become the Warchief?”

“Y-yes. I will become the Warchief.”

“For what?”

Kebalar stared at Se-min and solidified his expression, then filled his lungs with air. Se-min’s foot on his chest was lifted high.

Using that air, he shouted loudly.

“I will kill Badurbarok and save our Orcs!”

It was a giant shout that echoed through the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.

Se-min looked down at Kebalar.

Although his appearance looked like a veteran who had gone through all kinds of battles, he was actually a young Orc. Perhaps because of that, his chest was hot. Se-min could feel Kebalar’s will.

Se-min asked back.

“I heard the other Orcs went to Badurbarok instead?”

“They surrendered. But I will not surrender.”

“What is the surrender you speak of?”

“Exactly as it sounds, Emperor. When do you think a warrior truly surrenders?”

“When he loses in a fight?”

“Wrong.”

Kebalar shook off Se-min’s foot on his chest.

And he stood up.

He looked down at Se-min with his giant body and said.

“The death of the body is nothing. We Orcs believe in something more precious.”

He pointed to his heart.

“The soul.”

Se-min stared blankly at Kebalar.

He grinned and continued speaking.

“We Orcs say we truly surrender when the soul kneels to the opponent. I will never surrender to Badurbarok. As long as my soul is not extinguished!”

The meaning was noble, but because his expression was arrogant, Se-min tripped Kebalar’s leg to knock him down, placed his foot on his chest again, and clapped.

“E-even if you persecute me with violence, I will not surrender!”

“Excellent, Orc boy. As the Emperor, I praise your spirit.”

“I don’t need recognition from the human Emperor!”

Se-min removed his foot and muttered.

“Surrender of the soul…”

Somehow he felt like he knew the feeling of the Orc race. They were warriors with strong pride. There was fire in their chests.

“If so, what happened to the other Orcs who surrendered to Badurbarok? What do they look like in your eyes?”

“They are cowards.”

“Those Orcs seem stronger than you, though?”

“Human! Do you want to know what true strength is?”

Kebalar jumped up.

“Emperor! Come! I’ll show you what the strength of an Orc is!”

As Se-min looked at Maktar, he gestured as if telling him to go, wearing a bitter smile.

Se-min’s group followed Kebalar into the deeper part of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.

Occasionally, Kebalar pointed at the spires rising in the distance, explaining what they were.

“To Orcs, fortresses are very important. Orcs who build large fortresses set up spires like that to show off their fortresses.”

“Ho, then does only one person live in a fortress?”

“As I said earlier, if another Orc surrenders to someone, he might enter the opponent’s fortress. If it’s a fortress of that size, several would be gathered.”

“I see. Did you also plan to defeat Maktar and set up your fortress?”

“I…”

Kebalar glanced toward where Maktar would be, then said with a firm face.

“Actually, I didn’t come to defeat Maktar.”

“What do you mean?”

“Haha, I end up telling all kinds of things to the human Emperor. Well, since you are a human who declared to kill Badurbarok, I suppose your intention is not different from mine.”

Somehow his tone was arrogant, but Se-min listened quietly.

“I hope he leads his fortress again. So I keep visiting him to awaken his heart.”

“Maktar must have led a large fortress originally?”

“He didn’t lead. Everyone just followed. I believed Maktar would become the Warchief.”

Kebalar said.

“But if Maktar has truly lost his soul, I must do that work instead!”

Se-min ended up laughing.

Although he was a lacking and immature Orc, his dream was large. Se-min was like that too. When he nurtured his dream as a Raider before realizing his constitution, he had a dream to become the best.

But human will is too helpless in front of the constraints of reality.

Se-min stroked Kebalar’s head for no reason. At that, Kebalar flinched for a moment. It was a aftereffect of the violence.

Feeling sorry for hitting him, Se-min patted his shoulder.

“You rascal. It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Kebalar had a reluctant face.

“Yes, Kebalar. What did you want to show us?”

“The trace of the great Orc.”

Soon they arrived in front of a rock.

In the Grand Marino Sea of Trees, trees and vines grew in an untidy state, but the surroundings of this place were clean. Because there were no leaves blocking the sky, sunlight shone on the rock.

“Is it this rock?”

“Come up.”

Kebalar climbed the rock.

Se-min headed toward the top of the rock casually as if climbing invisible stairs with the Cloud Ladder Step. Kebalar, who was struggling, saw Se-min above his head and opened his eyes wide.

“What is that? You handle martial style extremely well.”

“You can do it too if you learn.”

Shozen, Gulad, and Bi-ryu also flew up in their own ways. Kebalar straightened his back at the top of the rock.

“It is that.”

Se-min was surprised.

On the rock, there was a weathered skeleton.

Its legs were buried more than half in the rock, and its head was bowed with a large axe struck into the rock. How much time had passed since it died, it now looked as if it had assimilated as part of the rock.

“During the war with Badurbarok, their forces invaded the Grand Marino Sea of Trees. Only young Orcs were left in the rear, unable to resist. At that time, it was the remains of Beerblar, the great warrior who blocked the enemies alone.” (Beerblar: )

Kebalar knelt on one knee in front of his remains and bowed his head.

“When his legs broke during the battle and he could no longer stand, he drove his legs into the rock and swung his axe to the end.”

His legs were firmly embedded in the rock.

“Even though Badurbarok’s forces were numerous and powerful, he never surrendered. The enraged army of Badurbarok attacked all night to kill him, and he endured until reinforcements arrived. They say his corpse was in a terrible state.”

Se-min nodded. It was a wonderful story. It was not an ancient legend, but the actual corpse was proving his valor.

“He could have easily escaped, but he acted as his soul led him. He protected a belief more important than life.”

“Not all Orcs would be like that, though.”

“Yes. The Orcs surrendered to Badurbarok. They felt the difference in strength, and their souls were terrified.”

“Why do you not surrender?”

“Because I believe.”

Placing a flower next to Beerblar’s remains, Kebalar spoke.

“Badurbarok will be defeated. Although it seems that guy is winning now, evil forces eventually pay the due price. Some Orcs chose to become his forces in despair of Badurbarok’s overwhelming strength, but I will fight to the end like Beerblar. My soul is not afraid of death.”

Despite being weak, his resolve was firm.

Se-min looked at Beerblar’s remains. Looking closely, it had only one arm, and bones in various parts of the body were missing. A rusty piece of metal was also embedded in the skull.

The tragic battle of that day was depicted.

Se-min looked beyond the rock.

The vast Grand Marino Sea of Trees was spread out. Flags representing fortresses fluttered above the dense woods.

If it were not for Beerblar, a young Orc like Kebalar wouldn’t be able to expound his will in front of Se-min now.

There were memories rising in Se-min’s head.

It was the face of an old man who threw himself to remove the gate, trying to save Se-min until the end.

The figures of Raiders who died fighting to protect people until the end also passed.

The deaths of the gladiators who died on the sand flickered.

Se-min curled up his lips. Since leaving Earth, all smiles were bitter. Before killing Badurbarok, he wouldn’t be able to laugh comfortably.

“Did you say this Orc’s name was Beerblar?”

“Yes.”

“Kebalar.”

“W-what?”

“You know what it means to want to become like that, right?”

“Of course.”

“Yes. Make sure you become like that.”

Se-min changed the subject, pointing at a nearby flag.

“What kind of place is that?”

“That is Gigantur’s fortress.”

“Let’s go.”

“What?”

Se-min said.

“I want to see the Orc named Gigantur. I’m curious about what kind of fellows the Orcs who set up their own fortresses are.”

***

Se-min stood in front of Gigantur’s fortress.

The well-built stone outer wall and the flag fluttering in the sky stood out. The trees of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees were tall, but the spires were tall enough to set up flags above them.

Two Orcs were wandering around the fortress, repairing the wall.

“Is that Kebalar?”

“Did you come to challenge Lord Gigantur again?”

The Orcs laughed loudly, looking at Kebalar. Kebalar seemed to visit Gigantur’s fortress often.

“N-no.”

Their eyes turned toward Se-min’s group.

“Are those humans behind you?”

“It’s been a while since I saw them.”

The Orcs waved their hands at Se-min’s group.

“What? Did you come to sightsee?”

“Yes. The humans said they wanted to see Gigantur’s fortress, so I brought them.”

“Lord Gigantur welcomes guests.”

An Orc gestured to wait and went inside.

When the gate of the fortress opened, a thundering sound was made. The inside seen through the slightly opened gap was clean and luxurious like the mansions of the nobles Se-min saw in Sargassonia.

While Se-min’s group was waiting, conversing with the Orc of Gigantur’s fortress, someone appeared from behind.

“What is this?”

It was an Orc with a scar on his face.

“Why are human bastards here?”

He was dragging the carcass of a demonic beast that was several times his size. He seemed to have hunted it with the greatsword on his back.

The Orc scanned Se-min’s group and stopped his gaze at Kebalar.

“A weak fellow is now associating with coward humans?”

“What!”

Kebalar’s face turned red.

The Orc dropped the carcass of the demonic beast and approached Kebalar. Kebalar also stepped forward without backing down.

“They are friends that suit you perfectly.”

“Do not speak carelessly, Tatar! That human is the Emperor!”

“Emperor?”

He laughed. At that, the scar on his face distorted together.

“Are you borrowing the human’s prestige now? You said you wanted to become the Warchief, but I didn’t know that meant the human’s subordinate.”

Se-min approached the Orc who welcomed them and asked quietly.

“Is that friend’s personality usually like that?”

“He has a difficult personality. But because he fights well, there is no one to teach him a lesson except Lord Gigantur.”

“Does Gigantur teach him a lesson often?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t seem to be corrected.”

Se-min nodded.

Kebalar and Tatar were continuing to growl, but Kebalar, whose combat power was lacking, was backing away step by step.

Tatar poured out insults, and Kebalar struggled to refute them.

“You clung to Maktar, and now it’s the human Emperor? Next time you’ll flatter the goblins.”

“What are you saying! I do not rely on anyone!”

“I didn’t like how you went around challenging here and there, mentioning the Warchief. Looking easy on you because you’re young also has limits.”

“I never asked you to look easy on me.”

“Seeing the face of that Emperor bastard, everyone will be a corpse in this Sea of Trees in a week. Die together then.”

Se-min began to run. Tatar’s words continued.

“Kebalar, you half-baked fellow, you are not the Warchief, but fit for doing chores under that clown called the Emperor…”

Tatar, who was pressing Kebalar, felt a presence and turned his head.

But it was late.

Se-min’s flying kick struck his face.

Tatar rolled on the ground. He lay prostrate for a while, then jumped up. His face was hideously distorted.

But the human Emperor he was looking for was not visible.

“This human bastard!”

Se-min was already standing behind him. Tatar felt a presence behind his back and turned his body roughly.

But a fist was waiting for him.

Se-min was stretching out his fist from behind, and Tatar turned his head, ending up throwing his face into it.

Tatar clutched his face that collided with the fist and dropped his head. It didn’t hurt, but it was humiliating.

Se-min struck the back of his head. Tatar stretched out on the floor. He tried to get up and lunge at Se-min, but Se-min did not give him a gap and kept exercising violence. Tatar soon stretched out on the floor.

Se-min dusted his hands.

“Did you say you were Tatar. Deep water makes no sound.”

“…”

“The riper the rice, the lower it bows its head.”

“…”

“With a humble heart, do not bully the weak.”

As Se-min lectured, Tatar jumped up and tried to lunge at Se-min.

Se-min jumped from the spot, spun 720 degrees, and kicked his jaw hard. Tatar flew in the air and fainted.

“You are immature, Orc.”

As Se-min turned his head, the two Orcs had blank expressions. Tatar, who was recognized as strong in Gigantur’s fortress, was unilaterally beaten by a human.

Although Kebalar had been taught a lesson by Se-min, because the gap was too overwhelming, he didn’t know Se-min’s level. So when Se-min cooked Tatar easily just like when he dealt with himself, he finally realized Se-min was truly extraordinary.

“Emperor. Great.”

His eyes changed. Respect was now laden in them.

Se-min grinned and asked the Orc who was repairing the fortress.

“Gigantur won’t be angry, right?”

“Lord Gigantur is not such a petty person. But you are truly strong, human. Did you say you were the Emperor?”

“Somehow.”

“Great, great. At this rate, you won’t be pushed back even by the Orc practitioners of the Great Sea of Trees.”

“Practitioners?”

“They were once warriors, but now they abandoned everything and went deep inside. Ah, Lord Gigantur is coming.”

Se-min engraved the word Orc practitioners.

The door opened again, and Se-min’s group entered Gigantur’s fortress along with Kebalar.

The fortress was more luxurious than Se-min had imagined. A carpet was laid on the floor, and the heads of demonic beasts were taxidermied on the wall.

“Sit here and wait. Lord Gigantur will come to welcome the guests.”

They sat at a long table in turn. Kaorak seemed uncomfortable with the seats. Since the Orcs were larger than humans, all things were too large for Kaorak.

“I feel like a child.”

“You are.”

“If we go out, you’re dead. Like that Orc bastard earlier.”

“I’ll do the reverse.”

Kaorak and Gulad bickered. Now they reached the peak of threatening each other only with mouths while doing their own things with peaceful faces.

Soon the Orc named Gigantur appeared.

He was in an unexpected appearance.

Se-min had guessed Gigantur would be a large, rough-looking Orc like Maktar or Tatar.

But he was the opposite.

He was a slender, old Orc with a long white beard.

He walked limping with a staff, but grinned and waved his hand when he discovered Se-min’s group.

“It’s been a while since we had human guests. Hahaha. Glad to meet you, glad to meet you.”

He was about to sit at the head of the table, but hesitated and turned toward the outside with Se-min’s group.

“Since the Emperor came, I must also show manners.”

Se-min didn’t care about such things, but he insisted on drawing his body close to Se-min’s group.

He didn’t seem to be a cripple originally. Judging by the scars on his hands and the energy of aura felt from his body, Se-min guessed he must have been a famous warrior in the past.

“The Emperor, it’s been a while. Truly a long time. The previous Emperor was a wonderful human.”

“Did you see the previous Emperor?”

“Yes. Although he died to Badurbarok, he was a man too precious to die like that.”

He stroked his thigh.

“My leg also became like this back then.”

Like Korox of Pandemonium, Gigantur was also a veteran who fought Badurbarok.

“Let’s eat first. Did you say you were Maktar’s guests?”

“We are staying there.”

“Maktar and the Emperor…”

Gigantur laughed loudly.

“Emperor. Do you believe in fate?”

At the sudden question, Se-min tilted his head. Fate, Se-min did not believe in that word.

Meeting the Transcendent Network, meeting Dokgo Cheonma there to learn the Tai Chi Wisdom, and reaching his current position was indeed a process hard to explain other than the word fate.

But he never spoke of fate.

Recalling the vast flow of the universe through the Cosmic Style, he realized that nothing was decided.

“I do not believe.”

“Seeing your expression, it’s an answer with conviction. Good. I don’t believe in it either. I’m not trying to speak of some great philosophy, I just asked because it’s interesting.”

As Gigantur gestured, the Orcs brought food.

It was not luxurious, but it was a well-prepared table. It was composed diversely of vegetables and fruits that could be obtained in the forest, along with the meat of demonic beasts that had practically become a staple.

Gigantur put a piece of meat in his mouth and continued.

“Seeing you, the word fate strikes my head.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Do you like liquor?”

“I don’t dislike it.”

“Then let’s have a light drink with the meal.”

Cups of liquor were distributed to each.

Gulad and Kaorak, who had not drank for a long time, smacked their lips. Shozen and Bi-ryu were not personalities who enjoyed liquor, so they were not particularly pleased.

They drank a cup together.

“That young human must be from the Wolf Tribe.”

As Gigantur spoke, Gulad looked at him.

“Do you know about the Wolf Tribe?”

“If you live long, all kinds of stories accumulate. I made friends with the Wolf Tribe when fighting Badurbarok. They were brave warriors.”

Gulad had a proud expression. He also said to Kaorak.

“The goblin warriors were the same. The goblins called great warriors were truly terrifying.”

“Keereuk-keereuk.”

He gave warm words to each of Se-min’s group.

Perhaps because of his age, Gigantur had a charm that made the surroundings comfortable.

His story now reached Se-min.

“These diverse friends gathered and came with the Emperor. Moreover, the Emperor is wearing clothes with a dragon and leading a wolf. Just like the protagonist of the ancient legend.”

“Legend?”

“Most Orcs who remembered this legend died because of the war, but I remember it.”

Gigantur said.

“A very long time ago, it was a story of when the Orc Warchief defeated humans and goblins and had the strongest momentum. An Orc Warchief whom no one believed could defeat, was said to be easily defeated by a human who suddenly appeared.”

“A human?”

Kebalar, who was listening quietly, asked. Gigantur nodded.

“The Warchief, who was said to hunt dragons with bare hands, was defeated by a human. They say it was unilateral. The Warchief had a goal to wage a war and place the Orcs above other races, but he gave it up because of that.”

“Was he the Emperor by any chance?”

“No, an ordinary human. That human used a sword, and led a wolf. They say that wolf was not an ordinary wolf, but the White Wolf of the Wolf Tribe, but who knows if that is true.”

“Then he must be from the Wolf Tribe.”

This time Gulad spoke.

“If an existence like the White Wolf followed him, he must be a warrior of the Wolf Tribe.”

“Well, perhaps. It’s not certain. But that man…”

Gigantur pointed at Se-min.

“…wore clothes with a dragon embroidered on them, just like you. So we call that the Legend of the Dragon and the Wolf.”

“Clothes with a dragon embroidered?”

“Correct.”

Se-min looked down at his sukajan. It was quite interesting that a fashion leader who wore such clothes existed in the past.

“Well, it’s an ancient legend that almost no Orc remembers now. Seeing you wear dragon-patterned clothes and travel with a warrior of the Wolf Tribe, it brings that to mind.”

Each fell into thought.

They stopped conversing and focused on eating for a while.

Se-min’s group, who had filled their stomachs with the bread and soup Maktar provided, were able to feast properly thanks to Gigantur’s hospitality.

“I heard you taught Tatar a lesson.”

“Correct.”

“Good job. He is still a lacking fellow. Because there were no strong Orcs around, he was too arrogant.”

“If you need, I’ll teach him a lesson more.”

“Hahaha, there’s no need for that.”

Gigantur said.

“So, do you truly intend to fight Badurbarok?”

It was the main point.

The eyes of Gigantur, who had been smiling gently, had turned sharp. Se-min met that gaze directly and nodded.

“Yes.”

“I see, that’s why you came here.”

“Correct.”

“Indeed, the word fate comes to mind.”

The Orcs cleared the plates and brought tea.

“The previous Emperor was a man of large caliber. He was not a warrior like you, but his mind was strong. He told us to keep fighting even if he dies.”

“Is that so.”

“He used to say that even if he dies, another Emperor will appear and fight Badurbarok, and that we will never lose. Actually, I didn’t believe it. Indeed, the Emperor did not appear for a long time. In truth, I thought the Imperial Throne had been shattered.”

“Well, it almost was.”

If it were not for Se-min, the Imperial Throne would have kept drinking the blood of the gladiator arena and would have been completely corrupted.

“Maktar said that to turn the Orcs’ hearts, we must subdue them.”

“Correct.”

“Gigantur, did you subdue all these Orcs?”

“Hahaha, Emperor, you are young.”

Gigantur smiled gently.

“We use the word subdue, but I think that is too strong an expression. I want to say it differently.”

“How would you say it?”

“Making them believe in your dream.”

Gigantur looked at Kebalar.

“That friend has a big dream, so he is walking his own path. But numerous Orcs have already recognized in their hearts that they cannot defeat Badurbarok. The future they paint is entirely shattered by Badurbarok, and they came to believe that obeying him is the only way. No one has shown them hope. That is how strong Badurbarok is.”

“Their souls submitted.”

“Yes.”

Gigantur leaned back.

“The Orcs in my fortress believe that because I lived long and am wise, being with me is the best option. That’s why they are with me. It’s the same for other fortresses, and it won’t be different for the Orcs who believe in Badurbarok.”

Gigantur smiled, looking at Se-min.

“Emperor. Can you show them something else?”

***

Returning to Maktar’s fortress, he was refining his weapons outside the fortress.

He opened his mouth when he saw Se-min’s group coming.

“Are you here? Food is scarce, you should have just stayed there.”

His reaction was indifferent.

Se-min stood in front of him and said.

“Maktar.”

“What?”

“I decided to take over the Orcs starting tomorrow.”

“What?”

Maktar’s eyebrows tilted. For the human Se-min to say he would take over the Orcs could not sound pleasant.

But Se-min didn’t care. His resolve was already firm.

Se-min shouted.

“Become my subordinate!”

Maktar’s reply was indifferent.

“Are you crazy?”

“My mind is very sane.”

“I have no intention of getting involved in your work. Fight Badurbarok by yourselves.”

He said so and kept grooming his weapons. Se-min looked down at Maktar and said.

“You are afraid.”

“Provoking me like that changes nothing.”

“It’s not provocation, I am speaking seriously.”

Se-min said, walking into Maktar’s house.

“Otherwise, there’s no way you, Maktar, would disband your fortress and be like this. You coward.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you coward. Are you pretending to be angry now?”

“It seems you heard something somewhere, but do not speak carelessly when you know nothing.”

Se-min smirked.

“Aren’t you looking for the wrong target to vent your anger? Show that expression to Badurbarok, not me.”

“…”

“Aren’t you sorry to the Orcs who followed you?”

“That’s enough.”

Maktar gripped the axe tightly. His hand trembled. Se-min kept speaking casually even while watching that.

“Are you going to swing the axe now? Try it. You fold your tail to the target you should be angry at, and try to fight me. Do you look down on me? Why didn’t you do that to Badurbarok?”

His patience reached the limit. Maktar swung his axe at Se-min.

Se-min dodged easily.

Maktar’s axe kept flying at Se-min.

The other companions backed away to a distance. They watched the clash between Se-min and Maktar.

“Weaker than I thought.”

Se-min moved flexibly, dodging his attacks cleanly.

Maktar’s hand gradually grew rough. His speed increased, and in step with that, Se-min’s figure turned into invisible afterimages.

Se-min, who had been taking the defensive, stepped forward and kicked Maktar’s abdomen.

Maktar fell over.

“Maktar, I will kill Badurbarok.”

Se-min had heard Maktar’s story from Gigantur.

He had led his fortress, and young Orcs followed him. Maktar had a plan to leave the Grand Marino Sea of Trees and build a large fortress outside.

But it ended in failure.

Due to the Orcs who followed Badurbarok and his army, Maktar’s fortress collapsed, and most of the Orcs who followed him were killed. Only Maktar and a few surviving Orcs fled to the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.

Since then, Maktar did not form a group again. He became an ordinary Orc barely scraping by, building his small fortress on the outskirts of Grand Marino.

“I’ll help you take revenge.”

“Cut the crap. Badurbarok is…”

“Your true feelings are coming out now.”

Se-min waited for Maktar to stand up. And when he stood up, he raised Lupus.

“The words that follow must be obvious. Badurbarok is too strong. We can’t win. Is it something like that?”

Maktar could not continue speaking and shut his mouth. He glared at Se-min and raised his aura.

Gradually, his clothes began to flutter.

As Maktar began to show his true skill, the area vibrated.

He was indeed an Orc who had led his own fortress. Se-min grinned and advanced toward him. Maktar swung his axe at Se-min, raising his output further.

A determination to kill him in one blow was harbored.

But he did not achieve his wish.

Although a strength capable of splitting mountains was loaded in his axe, the Lupus of Se-min that struck it back harbored an even greater energy.

Strong force was struck back by even stronger force.

Maktar had to retreat, feeling a pain as if his arm was breaking.

Lupus plunged down toward Maktar again.

Maktar stared at the trajectory of the sword flying toward him.

It was beautiful. But what lay inside was a vicious energy. If he lost his mind like this, he might die.

A revolving lantern flickered.

Maktar shook them off and desperately blocked the attack with his axe.

The axe blade broke.

Maktar was thrown by the impact.

He struggled to stand up and threw the axe that had only the handle left.

“Emperor, you know nothing.”

“What do I know nothing about?”

Se-min approached him. Maktar clenched his fists. Aura boiled up from his body once again.

“If you are arrogant with just that much.”

The earth vibrated. The leaves of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees fell, and birds soared.

“Just die here.”

Maktar roared and lunged.

Se-min also hesitated. The momentum was intense. His momentum, starting to attack seriously, made even Se-min flinch for a moment.

He was definitely strong. Maktar was a strong person who could be counted among the opponents he had met.

An Orc living alone on the outskirts of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees possessed this level of strength.

So he was angry.

The races of the other world were strong. Although they lacked a system compared to Earth, their individual combat power far exceeded the Raiders of Earth.

So they were able to barely scrape by.

Sargassonia did, and the goblins and Orcs did. Other ancient races also chose to barely scrape by in their domains, sinking slowly.

On the other hand, what about Earthlings?

To survive, they ruined themselves. Accepting black aura or chewing on things close to poison, they endured desperately.

Because they were weak, they fought more intensely. Because they were weak, they had to fight.

“Good.”

Maktar ran toward Se-min, and Se-min stood in his place.

“Look if you can, Maktar.”

Maktar, who had inertia on his back, should have pushed Se-min with greater force. But when Maktar collided with Se-min, he was thrown back instead.

At that moment, Maktar saw something.

***

Maktar was a young Orc who led a fortress.

He was strong and hearty. Numerous Orcs who felt attracted to him wanted to be with him. Maktar also dreamed of becoming the Warchief to oppose Badurbarok someday.

He left the Grand Marino Sea of Trees and built a fortress on the plain.

Numerous Orcs gathered.

Even Orc practitioners who didn’t leave the Sea of Trees appeared to add strength to Maktar.

Eventually, they faced Badurbarok’s forces.

Badurbarok’s forces did not speak of any negotiations or demands. They just crushed them.

The Orcs who followed him were brutally slaughtered.

[Stay holed up.]

The demon who led the forces said so.

Maktar realized. Badurbarok did not leave them alone because he couldn’t deal with them.

Under the demon, there were numerous goblins and Orcs who had received Badurbarok’s baptism and were demonized. They attacked Maktar and those who followed him.

Through this battle, Maktar realized that the world was already under Badurbarok’s grasp, and that each race was nothing but a tool to mass-produce Badurbarok’s soldiers.

[Go back and spread that helplessness to your kind.]

It was a demon that seemed to be composed entirely of dark darkness. It looked like a human shape, but its physical form was unknown.

He spared Maktar and warned him, and Maktar, terrified, nodded.

Only some of the Orcs who survived with Maktar returned to the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.

Everyone scattered.

They came to hide in various places in the Grand Marino Sea of Trees. Their defeat remained as a warning to the entire Orc race.

Maktar set up his small fortress after that day and lived there.

Then one day, a human named the Emperor appeared.

He provoked Maktar.

At most, he thought he was of a level to brag among humans, but he was stronger than Maktar’s expectation. But that was it.

Compared to the overwhelming power of the demon sent by Badurbarok, everything was trivial.

Maktar resolved to raise his martial style and teach this arrogant Emperor his place.

It was his strength that once split Badurbarok’s forces. For a moment, he thought the Emperor might die, but he didn’t care.

That Emperor would die to Badurbarok anyway when the time came, and the longer the process, the more people would get caught up by the Emperor and lose innocent lives.

However, at the moment of collision, Maktar was thrown back instead.

Clearly the Emperor was standing, and he charged. The output of the martial style they emitted was also significantly different.

But something was there, and it struck him back.

Maktar opened his eyes wide.

He doubted what he saw.

A small, small thing.

Yet containing everything.

Such a thing.

His consciousness was sucked into an infinite space.

He saw a blue sphere. It rotated alone, had two small satellites, and orbited while facing a giant sun.

His vision gradually became distant.

Even the sun and planets became small dots. They gathered to form a countless crowd, turning into a galaxy. As his vision drew further, galaxies became as numerous as stars. The scale expanded to infinity again.

The scale of the universe paralyzed his mind.

When all things became too small to even be seen, Maktar faced complete darkness.

It was pitch-black darkness where nothing existed.

And inside it.

Something was flowing.

Maktar stared at it desperately.

He couldn’t see. Something that he saw but could not recognize was confining the universe within its flow.

Transient and beautiful.

He wanted to stay forever.

He hoped time would stop like this.

Thud!

When Maktar blinked and opened his eyes again, the blue sky of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees was spread in front of his eyes.

He doubted what he had just seen.

“That just now was…”

His heart beat fast.

“What was that just now…?”

He raised his head while lying down.

The Emperor was walking over. On his chest, the shape of a roaring dragon caught his eye.

“What, did you really see it? Reasonably good, huh?”

The Emperor was laughing.

Maktar still couldn’t snap out of it. His eyes were looking at the Emperor, but his head kept rewinding the scenery he had seen.

“Explain. What is that.”

Maktar stood up. His eyes trembled.

And Se-min smiled bitterly, looking down at Maktar. He also didn’t know how to express it. This strength, handed down through Dokgo Cheonma’s sect, was the law of the world itself.

“It’s called the Cosmic Style.”

“Cosmic Style.”

“I learned it from my master.”

“Your master.”

“What you saw just now is nothing compared to the true strength of the Cosmic Style.”

“Is that true?”

Maktar slumped on his knees.

“Does such a thing exist in the world?”

“Yes.”

Se-min placed his hand on his shoulder.

He knew his mind.

He must have believed he could never win, and that the world had already turned its back. Struggling must have lost its meaning.

At such times, a lantern is needed to raise him. With just a belief that effort can make things better, he can rise again.

Badurbarok is indeed powerful.

He was a demon invading dimensions.

He was despair itself.

But Se-min was not afraid of such things.

Because he had met the Transcendent Network.

And at the end of it, he had witnessed the vast flow flowing through the universe.

So Se-min shared the scenery he saw with Maktar.

“Speak honestly. You want to take revenge, don’t you?”

“…”

“You want to drive an axe into the face of that bastard who killed your friends, don’t you?”

“I…”

“You hate him enough that you won’t be satisfied even if you kill and kill him, don’t you?”

Se-min grabbed Maktar’s collar. Life was returning to his eyes.

Se-min was also like that.

Living barely scraping by in a world where defeat was scheduled. He said he was satisfied with the life of a small room, but it was all a lie.

“Maktar.”

He stared into Maktar’s eyes.

The universe was reflected.

Se-min grinned, delivering that single word to the despondent Orc.

“You are not a coward.”

Maktar left Se-min’s group at the fortress and left the Grand Marino Sea of Trees alone.

Around sunset, he returned dragging a Coud carcass.

As Maktar silently began to butcher the Coud, Se-min anticipated what would happen and began to gather branches.

Shozen helped him, and Bi-ryu used magic to place the table and tableware outside. Kebalar, Kaorak, and Gulad just watched blankly and chattered.

Se-min gave a flying kick to each of the three.

Soon the Coud began to be grilled over the bonfire.

Maktar, who was silently grilling the meat, spoke while distributing chunks of meat to each plate.

“I do not want to die.”

Se-min looked at him.

Maktar placed another chunk of meat dripping with juice on Se-min’s plate and added.

“So Emperor, if I see what you’re doing and it’s unsatisfactory, I will wash my hands and leave at any time.”

Se-min smirked and speared the meat with his fork. The cross-section had a pinkish blood color. Se-min ate it without even cutting it, tearing it with his teeth. The flavor spread in his mouth with every chew.

“Your meat-grilling skill is reasonably good.”

Se-min closed his eyes, chewed the meat, swallowed it completely, and said.

“Since it’s hard to find such a chef, I’ll also try not to disappoint you.”

The two nodded without even looking at each other.

Watching that scene, Shozen wiped under his nose. To him, who liked cringy things, it was a very satisfying scene. The hot emotions of men were hidden inside blunt expressions.

As Shozen stared with a warm gaze, Maktar turned his head with a reluctant expression.

“Emperor. What will you do with me as your companion in the future?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean what do I mean?”

“I never said I would make you my companion.”

“Earlier…”

Se-min waved his index finger and said.

“I said subordinate.”

Maktar’s face solidified.

“Since I declared you to become my subordinate, you are my subordinate. Got it? Subordinate Number 5?”

“Number 5?”

“Number 1 is Shozen, Number 2 is Gulad, Number 3 is Kaorak, and Number 4 is that Kebalar fellow.”

Kebalar protested.

“Since when did I become your subordinate?”

“Since you were beaten up by me.”

At that, Kebalar pointed at Bi-ryu, raising veins on his neck.

“Then what about that mage human?”

“Bi-ryu is…”

Se-min smiled gently, taking Kaorak’s meat and placing it on Bi-ryu’s plate.

“He can be called my companion.”

“Why the discrimination?”

“You get the feeling when you see it. Don’t you guys feel it too? Character and class. Bi-ryu has it, and you guys don’t.”

“This bastard…”

“Uh-huh.”

Protests were fierce here and there, but Se-min ate meat casually. After eating, he even stood up and brought more meat.

“If you want to become my companion, prove your ability.”

Maktar, who was chewing meat with his mouth full, waved his hand.

“It’s all cancelled. Emperor. Do as you wish.”

“Then I’ll follow you and annoy you until you die. Using violence.”

“This thug-like…”

“Shh. Let’s eat first.”

Se-min now shut his mouth and focused on eating. The others also seemed hungry, so they soon shut their mouths and chewed and swallowed meat.

Everyone finished eating and stood up.

Without anyone asking, Bi-ryu began to wash the dishes with magic. He didn’t know if all mages were like that, but Bi-ryu had a knack for doing all kinds of things easily using magic.

“Look at Bi-ryu. That’s why I recognize him as a companion. On the other hand, look at those guys. You see why they can’t escape being underlings, right?”

Se-min pointed at Kaorak and Gulad who were sitting and rubbing their stomachs.

They also felt tensed, so they stood up and began to clean up other things.

As the cleanup was almost finished, Se-min approached Maktar. He was sitting on a rock, watching Se-min’s group clean up.

“Maktar.”

“Emperor.”

Se-min sat beside him. And after pausing for a moment, he spoke.

“I also lost precious people.”

Se-min and Maktar watched the rest of the companions playing around while extinguishing the bonfire.

Gulad played with fire and singed Kaorak’s clothes, and Kaorak shouted and pursued him. Gulad caught onto Shozen, and Kaorak and Shozen collided. They pointed fingers at each other.

Se-min smirked at that scene, and said again.

“Let’s kill Badurbarok, Maktar.”

Maktar began to laugh.

“What is funny?”

“This world.”

Maktar’s laughter gradually grew louder.

As far as he knew, all Emperors were gentle. The Imperial Throne never recognized a combative person, and only made those with excellent character the Emperor. Therefore, the Emperor could be recognized as an existence who could bind several races as one.

But look at this Emperor.

“I have never heard of an Emperor like you.”

“I hear that often. A foolish ruler or whatever.”

“A perfectly fitting word.”

When Se-min said let’s kill Badurbarok, Maktar could feel the emotions boiling inside him.

Never expressing it, but therefore accumulating deeper.

Anger and hatred.

Did the Imperial Throne really have to make this man the Emperor?

“Since the world is like this, is there no choice?”

Maktar muttered.

Perhaps in the end times, such an Emperor is needed.

Amused by the twisted world, Maktar laughed, shaking his shoulders.

“When I built a fortress and gathered Orcs, I thought I could defeat Badurbarok. Even while thinking so, I was inwardly afraid.”

“Was that so.”

“It’s the opposite now.”

Maktar dusted his seat and stood up.

“I still don’t think we can win. Honestly, I feel like I am going to die. But, I am not very afraid. Why is that?”

“Should I tell you why?”

“Why?”

“You saw it too.”

Se-min grinned and drew a circle with his finger.

Maktar looked up at the sky.

It was as Se-min said. The scenes of the universe he witnessed directly were still in his memory.

Even that night sky was too vast to understand, but the scenery of the universe Se-min showed transcended recognition itself.

So that must be why.

Badurbarok didn’t feel that large.

“I see.”

Maktar stared at the stars for a while, then spoke again.

“Emperor. Let’s start tomorrow.”

“What?”

“Gathering the Orcs as one.”

Se-min’s gaze was felt. Maktar kept his gaze on the distant stars, grinned, and added.

“Because you will need a Warchief.”

***

Se-min visited the Orcs’ fortresses with Maktar. But the results were scarce. No Orc stepped forward to fight immediately just because the Emperor appeared.

And when that happened, Maktar showed why he was discussed as a Warchief candidate.

“We must use a scheme.”

“What scheme?”

“Something that awakens hatred for Badurbarok, and at the same time implants the idea that we can win.”

Maktar’s expression was not good.

“This will be a test for you too, Emperor.”

“For me?”

“It is a scheme, but it is a very difficult task. If you achieve this, I will truly believe and follow you.”

Maktar took out a map from his chest. The outline of the Grand Marino Sea of Trees was drawn in the center, and nearby landmarks were briefly marked.

“It’s a map I used when setting up a fortress outside.”

Se-min pointed to the spot where the fortress was drawn.

“Was it here?”

“Yes. Many companions died here. I heard skeletons are still rolling around.”

Maktar’s voice turned rough.

“In my heart, I want to rebuild the fortress and gather Orcs in a orthodox way, but we have neither the manpower nor the time. So we must choose another way.”

“Another way?”

“Striking Badurbarok’s base.”

The plan was to invade Badurbarok’s territory, attack them, and retreat.

“Just like my fortress did in the past, if we grate on their nerves so they can’t leave us alone, they will come to the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.”

“You mean to start a war?”

“Yes.”

“Indeed…”

Attacking Badurbarok’s army to induce their invasion, and making the Orcs unable to avoid fighting.

In the process, awakening hatred for Badurbarok and the desire for victory.

Se-min had also played tricks in his own way, but he didn’t know Maktar would present such a bold plan against his own kind.

“Will it be okay?”

“Don’t say useless things.”

Maktar looked at Se-min and twisted his lips.

“It is a task to kill Badurbarok. I have never thought it would be achieved like a fairy tale. Isn’t that the same for you, Emperor? An Orc whose target is decided does not look back.”

“You rascal…”

Se-min patted Maktar’s shoulder. Although it was a welcome mindset to Se-min, somehow his heart was not at ease. So he gave Maktar a reward.

“Maktar, I’ll promote you from Subordinate Number 5 to Number 4. The past Number 4 is now Number 5.”

At that, Kebalar, who was staying still, flared up and raised his head.

Although it was an unwelcome title of subordinate, it grated on him that he was pushed back.

“What are you looking at?”

But under Se-min’s sharp gaze, he lowered his eyes again.

This time, Shozen asked Maktar.

“Do you know where Badurbarok’s base is?”

“I investigated it when setting up the fortress.”

“And, if we attack there, the possibility that they will truly invade the Grand Marino Sea of Trees?”

“We must make them come no matter what.”

Maktar stroked his chin, looking back at Se-min’s group.

“There is a way. Follow me.”

His retreating back was reliable. Se-min followed him without a sliver of doubt.

And soon he regretted that decision.

***

“W-what is this?”

“Endure it.”

“No! What are you doing to my handsome face!”

Maktar brought Se-min’s group to an old companion. That Orc was a shaman, and was said to have excellent expertise in battle tattoos.

“Thank you, Kululu.”

“To visit after a long time and ask for this kind of thing… Ahem…”

“Still, you look pleased.”

“Because ugly humans turn into faces that are at least watchable, my eyes suffer less.”

The Orc shaman Kululu possessed various dyes, and used them to transform the appearance of Se-min’s group.

“Damn it…”

The humans, excluding Kaorak, were applying light green dye to each other’s faces. At that, their skin became reasonably similar to Orcs’. Adding deep wrinkles to that, they became like small-sized Orcs.

“You guys really look like Orcs.”

Kaorak said. Because he had a truly impressed expression rather than a teasing tone, Se-min was even more displeased.

“Shut up.”

“Hehehe, the Orc speaks.”

“Orcs originally speak, goblin.”

“M-mistake.”

They tried to attach the tusks unique to Orcs, but since it didn’t work out, they painted them on their cheeks with white dye. To puff up their sizes, they wore thick leather clothes and stuffed cotton piles and clothes inside.

Looking at the three finished disguised Orcs, Maktar expressed his impression.

“Pfft.”

He bowed his head and snickered, then desperately turned serious.

“Ahem. Excellent. Anyone would think you are Orcs. If we attack the base like this and flee, the demonic beasts will come to the Grand Marino Sea of Trees.”

“The demonic beasts will laugh when they see this appearance.”

“That won’t happen.”

The shaman, who was listening to their conversation, grabbed Maktar’s arm.

“Wait. What does that mean, Maktar?”

“Just as you heard, Kululu.”

“Striking the base?”

Kululu’s face turned serious.

“I wondered since you came with humans, but by any chance, you…”

“Kululu.”

Maktar grabbed his shoulder.

“I won’t tell you to join. Just watching is fine. But…”

Maktar closed and opened his eyes.

“Remember that day. I have never forgotten that sight for a single moment. I only pretended to forget.”

“Maktar.”

“I have already set my mind.”

And Maktar turned toward the exit.

“Let’s go. There is no time.”

Se-min’s group greeted Kululu in turn and left the room.

Looking at their backs, although clumsy, it was an appearance that could make one think they were Orcs at a glance.

“Maktar…”

Kululu muttered the name of the Orc he once followed.

“It shouldn’t be like that…”

He placed his hands on the table, dropped his head for a while, and then raised his eyes. A determined light was laden in his pupils.

Kululu took out an object wrapped in cloth from the corner and placed it on the table. Unwrapping the cloth, a transparent crystal ball appeared.

Kululu placed his hand on it.

And said.

“A problem has arisen.”