NOVEL NEXT Chapter 114
Chapter 114
“Oh ho.”
The Gray-haired Man wore an intrigued expression.
His gaze was fixed on Kim Cheol-hyung and Gang Mujik, holding their ground against the invading orcs at the entrance of the Ward building.
The orcs here were all powerful warriors, their bloodline steeped in the heritage of fighters.
Yet, against them, Kim and Gang not only held their ground but were actually overpowering the battle.
These humans must have some solid skills.
I don’t know what kind of place this is, but it certainly appears to be an important facility.
With humans of such caliber stationed here, it seemed that invading would be worth the effort.
Taking down a place they hold dear and slaughtering every last human would surely serve as a grand warning.
A peculiar smile spread across the man’s lips.
“Trital, shouldn’t it be your turn to head out?”
Trital bowed deeply.
“I trust in the warriors of my clan.”
“Is that so?”
“If you can hold for a while longer, my brave warriors will surely return with the enemy’s heads.”
“Very well. I’ll watch.”
“Thank you.”
Trital bowed deeply once more.
This battlefield was no ordinary one.
The king had personally set foot onto the field.
With that knowledge, having opponents of sturdy strength like these was just perfect.
It would allow the orc warriors’ might to shine before the king.
Trital rose his massive body.
“RAAAAAAAH!”
He unleashed a thunderous roar.
It was a rallying cry for the orcs.
As they recognized Trital’s voice, the orcs’ eyes sharpened, and they began to radiate even greater ferocity.
◈ ◈ ◈
Cheol-hyung’s swordsmanship was truly otherworldly.
Every thrust and slash was executed with precision and speed.
Not only were they accurate and fast, but every movement also infused with formidable power.
With that sharpness of his sword aura, even the mightiest of orcs struggled to withstand his blade.
Already, multiple orcs had sustained critical injuries and collapsed at his feet.
Nearby, Mujik’s spear techniques were no less impressive.
Every time the spear danced as if alive, it left deep wounds on the orc bodies.
With them standing firm like a wall at the entrance, the orcs found it tough to breach.
“Wow, that’s impressive,” Baek Dong-il muttered from behind.
As expected, A-Class truly lived up to its reputation.
Even as B-Class, facing such monsters felt daunting, and yet they fought so effortlessly.
Honestly, at this rate, they could probably hold out here for an hour.
Just then…
“RAAAAAAAH!”
A massive, terrifying roar echoed from the back.
It was a sound so enormous it felt like the atmosphere itself reverberated.
“What the—?”
Dong-il squinted, directing his gaze toward the source of the noise.
There stood an orc, towering over the rest, exuding a commanding aura.
Even from a distance, it resembled a mountain.
That brute must have been the one to let out that terrifying roar.
“Where did that one come from?”
Dong-il tilted his head in confusion.
It was a creature he hadn’t seen until now.
Given its size, it surely seemed to be their leader.
Just looking at it gave off a vibe that it wouldn’t be easy to handle.
There was no way such a creature wasn’t strong.
“But who is that little one next to it?”
Dong-il frowned, casting a curious glance.
Beside the hulking leader orc was a small figure that looked human rather than monster, despite how it appeared.
But there was no way a human would be found in a place where monsters were rampaging.
Still, it seemed likely that it was a monster resembling a human.
“Chief, haven’t they arrived yet?”
At that moment, Cheol-hyung asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.
“Huh? Not yet.”
“Let’s prepare for anything. As things stand, we won’t be able to hold out for long. These guys… have gotten stronger.”
“What?”
Dong-il looked at the orcs, embroidered with confusion.
As he did, that confusion quickly morphed into shock.
“W-What the hell is that?”
The movement of the orcs appeared to have accelerated by at least 1.5 times.
Moreover, their weapon swings felt immensely more powerful.
It was as if they had all taken a performance-enhancing drug.
The composure on Cheol-hyung and Mujik’s faces had evaporated.
Where they previously seemed to be managing their strength, now it felt like they were pulling every ounce of power just to hold them off.
And yet, they couldn’t handle the incoming orcs as easily as before.
“…We’re in trouble.”
Dong-il looked back.
But Si-hyun was still nowhere to be seen.
He shook his head and raised his shield.
It seemed they’d soon get pushed back.
Tension was evident on the faces of the other inmates, noticeably different from before.
Tap, tap, tap!
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from behind.
“Get up here quickly!”
The familiar voice reached them.
It was Si-hyun’s voice.
“Chief!”
Dong-il called out in a tone reminiscent of a lost child reuniting with their parent.
That was how urgent the situation had become.
“Hurry up!”
The inmates of Unit 2 began to climb the stairs with all their strength.
“Only leave the two blocking the entrance and everyone else come over here!”
Si-hyun called to the 6th floor inmates.
Dong-il and the others followed closely behind Si-hyun.
Si-hyun promptly laid out his plans as he had thought.
He particularly positioned archers and wizards just above them.
So they’d be ready to deliver support attacks the moment a gap opened.
Once he had finished positioning, Si-hyun made his way back toward the entrance.
He saw Cheol-hyung and Mujik desperately holding back the orcs.
“Can you fall back?”
Si-hyun asked.
“I think we can manage to get away somehow.”
“It’s possible.”
Cheol-hyung and Mujik replied.
“Then on three, back up. One, two, three.”
As Si-hyun counted to three, Cheol-hyung and Mujik swung their weapons wide, releasing their energy.
They unleashed techniques they had been saving due to the high cost of mana.
Sword auras and spear energies suddenly surged forth, splattering orc blood and flesh everywhere.
The orcs in front were shredded by the blades of energy, their forms barely comprehensible.
Taking that opportunity, Cheol-hyung and Mujik hurled themselves toward the stairs.
Latecomers, stepping on the corpses of their kind, orcs chased after them, but a bit of distance had developed.
“Cheol-hyung, you take the lead.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Mujik, prepare to swap out as soon as Cheol-hyung is exhausted.”
“Uh?”
Mujik threw a confused glance, seemingly surprised.
He had thought that, as the strongest along with Cheol-hyung, he’d be at the front blocking the enemies.
“Then who’s going to be in front…?”
“I’ll take that spot.”
“You, Chief?”
“Yes. I have the ability to handle orcs, so don’t worry.”
“They’re no pushovers.”
“I know that. But I can handle them well enough, so stay back and feel secure.”
“…Understood.”
Knowing it was Si-hyun’s order, Mujik refrained from speaking further and stepped back.
Si-hyun grasped the third version of the Po-ahim guard baton.
It was a rare-grade guard baton crafted from solid steel.
Unlike the wooden ones, it felt heavy, giving it a substantial weight.
Getting hit by that would hurt, that’s for sure.
He knew that guard baton techniques weren’t designed to kill the opponent.
But incapacitating the enemy was quite easy.
Taking lives was something Cheol-hyung could handle right next to him.
And—
There was one more thing Si-hyun hoped for.
The newly acquired skill, Executioner’s Gaze.
The description of this skill blatantly stated that human-type monsters would feel intimidation upon meeting your gaze.
Earlier, when he went out to save some staff, he had experimented using the skill on an orc, and it clearly flinched.
He became convinced that utilizing this skill along with the guard baton techniques would be ample to fend off the orcs.
That’s why he boldly stepped forward.
And he was a correctional officer.
Not a mere job to earn money but a position he took pride in.
Normally, he acted like a true correctional officer, enforcing the inmate order, and at times like this, it would be utterly absurd to simply run away.
It was only natural for a correctional officer to step up.
Leaving the crisis of the detention center to the inmates was something he couldn’t tolerate as a correctional officer.
“Here they come!”
A voice shouted from above—it was the wizard.
Just as he said, the orcs began to chase up the stairs.
The colossal orc barreled up the stairs with astounding speed, reaching right up to Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung.
Si-hyun widened his eyes at how much faster it was than he had anticipated.
Unbeknownst to him, the orcs had been emboldened by Trital’s rallying cry.
Luckily, he instinctively used Executioner’s Gaze just in time.
Si-hyun’s gaze met that of the charging orc.
In that instant.
“GRUUUHH?”
The orc froze, letting out a grotesque groan.
Its hurried charge suddenly came to a halt.
Without missing a beat, Si-hyun quickly unleashed the guard baton technique.
Thwack! Thwack! Whack! Thwack! Smash!
With a speed that made his baton almost invisible, Si-hyun relentlessly pounded the orc.
“GYAAAAAH…!”
The orc screamed in agony.
It was a born warrior.
A race that usually charged bravely at enemies without blinking an eye even when faced with pain.
But this guard baton technique seemed to invoke an unbearable level of agony.
Overwhelmed by the extreme pain, the orc dropped its weapon, clutching its head with both hands, unable to stand erect.
There it was, all curled up like a turtle, wailing without being able to rise.
Seeing this, everyone except Si-hyun turned into statues of confusion.
No, it seemed even the orcs were stunned, staring blankly at the sight.
“What are you doing? Kill it.”
“Uh?”
“I said kill it.”
Only then did Cheol-hyung snap to his senses, swiftly severing the orc’s neck with his longsword.
Was the dying expression of the orc appearing more relaxed just a figment of Cheol-hyung’s imagination?
“Let’s keep this going.”
Si-hyun lifted the guard baton, now drenched in the orc’s crimson blood.
◈ ◈ ◈
“We broke through.”
Trital said.
His voice infused with pride over the warriors who had pierced through against an opponent not to be underestimated.
“Well, from my view, it looked more like they retreated rather than we broke through.”
At the man’s words, Trital’s expression turned a bit somber.
“Soon, the warriors of my clan will return, beheading every last arrogant human.”
“Let’s see if you’re right.”
The man’s eyes glimmered blue.
Suddenly, scenes from inside the walls came into view.
It was an amusing sight.
Most of the humans were huddled on the top floor, their faces twisted in fear.
Only a small fraction of humans appeared to be fighting to hold the orcs back on the stairs.
Those who seemed to make up the last stand.
“Hahaha.”
The man burst into laughter.
It was utterly entertaining.
The human race truly was something.
Even in the face of death, the majority of them showed no intent to fight, instead cowering back, trembling with fear.
Such a spineless race.
No other race would behave this way when faced with their own survival.
Not orcs, not trolls, not ogres, not kobolds, not lizardmen, not dwarves, not elves, nor any other race.
“Trital.”
The man wore a peculiar smile.
“Yes, my king.”
“It’s rather dull waiting. Shall we go hunt some rabbits?”
Rabbits have short front legs; thus, in rabbit hunting, the strategy is to herd them from above down.
The intent behind the man’s use of the term “rabbit hunt” completely eluded Trital.
“What do you mean by rabbit hunting?”
“Just as it sounds.”
The man snapped his fingers, and in an instant, he and Trital vanished.
And where they reappeared was….
The roof of the Ward building.