NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 40
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 40: Unfamiliar World (4)
-Whhhaaoowwww!
With a thunderous roar, Yeongwoo could only wear a blank expression as the orcs charged towards them.
‘Didn’t they just say it was an all-out attack…?’
He wondered if he had misheard, but soon the orc commander’s words struck like a hammer.
-Vanguard! Raise your shields!
-Execute the infantry and secure the tanks and remaining humans!
It was astonishing enough that orcs were speaking human language, but the meaning behind their words was even more unusual.
‘Infantry… Are they referring to us?’
Following the recent orders, Yeongwoo saw two orcs at the forefront of the formation raising their shields.
Clang!
The term ‘tank’ likely referred to the SUV behind them, so the ‘infantry’ marked for execution seemed to be…
‘They must be talking about us, the ones who came to protect the tank. The plan seems to be to kill the infantry and capture the people inside the tank.’
But why were they trying to capture some and not kill all of the enemy?
While puzzled, the immediate crisis demanded attention.
-Kraaah!
-He’s dead!
The orc vanguard had already overwhelmed Yoonho.
“Ik…!”
Yoonho, whose spirit had long been broken, stood still as his shield, only to be pushed back by the powerful force.
‘Geez, he’s already lost his fighting spirit.’
Having experienced similar situations through training, Yeongwoo knew which lines would be effective.
He immediately put them into action.
“Jeong Yoonho! If you die, your mother will…!”
However, Yeongwoo himself was also a target for immediate execution by the orcs.
“Grraaah!”
Before Yeongwoo could finish his lines, an orc rushed towards him with a menacing shadow.
「Sensory values have temporarily increased from the original 100 to 134.」
「Sensory values have temporarily increased from 134 to 168.」
Golden flashes of sensory enhancement messages appeared consecutively, accompanied by the holographic guide of Gyeongbuk Sword Law.
—Break
—Break
—Kill
‘This is insane.’
Due to the large number of opponents, finding the optimal sword technique was complicated, but with the rising sensory values, Yeongwoo’s guide execution ability was close to miraculous.
Shirirrit!
Swiftly dodging between the creepy iron spikes, he skillfully targeted the orcs’ necks.
His movements were clearly that of a sword genius to anyone watching.
Perhaps because of that, when Yeongwoo pierced the neck of the fourth orc, someone from behind screamed for help.
“Yeongwoo, help!”
“…?”
Turning his head at the spine-chilling plea, he saw Myeongae, who had jumped out of the car, with a horrified expression.
“Ah.”
As Yeongwoo turned away as if avoiding fire upon seeing Myeongae’s tear-stained face, he noticed something on the opposite side.
“Heuk, heuk…!”
There, struggling desperately between the legs of the orcs, was Yoonho, his face covered in blood and bruises, unable to compete with them.
Then, soon after.
“Grraah!”
One of the orcs surrounding Yoonho viciously swung a large axe.
Swish!
From top to bottom.
It was a motion similar to someone chopping up a fish, and indeed, the same thing happened in reality.
Thunk!
The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed as Yoonho’s head awkwardly fell at an unnatural angle.
“…Uh.”
Yeongwoo instinctively knew.
That Yoonho’s upper body and head had just been separated.
And soon after, Myeongae, who was near the vehicle, also learned of this as an orc kicked Yoonho’s torso.
“Ah… No… Yoonhooo!”
A scream so piercing that it felt unbearable emanated from her petite figure.
The high-pitched sound was miraculous considering her small stature.
Perhaps because of that.
Ssyeaaah…!
Soon, the familiar sound of artillery from the sky was heard from the other side.
‘These crazy bastards.’
The orc reinforcements had launched a secondary bombardment in the direction where screams were heard.
There was no time to warn Myeongae.
Boom!
Desperately, Yeongwoo leaped, grabbing Myeongae who was still screaming, and narrowly avoiding the rain of projectiles.
And not long after.
Quack, quack, quack!
Several javelins rained down from the sky, hitting the spot where Myeongae had been.
At that moment, Yeongwoo, who had hidden behind the SUV along with Myeongae, could clearly see the spears piercing through the front and rear seats of the car.
“Heuk, heuk….”
Fortunately in misfortune, Myeongho in the driver’s seat miraculously survived.
With both hands raised on the steering wheel, he looked with a pale face at the shattered windows inside the vehicle.
Then, the remaining orcs who had been holding their shields over their heads started approaching the vehicle, murmuring to each other.
– We almost died too.
– Why did they bombard us without warning?
– Some human made an incredible noise earlier. It sounded like a distant flute.
– Foolish creatures.
As the voices of the orcs approached, Yeongwoo cautiously spoke to Myeongae, who seemed absent-minded.
“The first son is still inside the car. I’ll bring him out, so please don’t move from here.”
“….”
Naturally, there was no response from her, and Yeongwoo emerged from behind the vehicle, drawing his black sword.
Swish.
Upon noticing him, the orcs, who had witnessed Yeongwoo single-handedly dealing with four orcs earlier, hesitated and stood still.
Moreover, conveniently, there were only four orcs left in this place.
– Hey.
Eventually, one of the orcs pointed at Yeongwoo with his chin and spoke.
– Just go.
“…What?”
– Just go.
Swoosh.
The orc raised his axe, indicating the road behind Yeongwoo.
It meant that they wouldn’t fight him, so he could pass through.
“What are you saying, you crazy bastards.”
Yeongwoo, seeing several kill marks already applied in his field of vision, prepared to attack with a sharp expression.
Then the orcs made a gesture of embarrassment, and simultaneously, Yeongwoo’s figure shot out like an arrow.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Swoosh!
-Uh!
-Watch out…!
Before they could assume a defensive posture, the body of one of the orcs at the forefront crumpled, followed by a squelching sound.
Swish!
The common blade, now extended to a length of 5 meters, swept through the area.
-Uh!
-What’s happening…?
-Pl-please spare us!
The startled orcs showed various reactions.
Their reactions were so vivid that even Yeongwoo, accustomed to fighting monsters in games, could mistake them for real humans in a battle.
‘What is this… It looks so realistic.’
Yeongwoo had always thought that creatures like orcs were artificially created entities for the role of monsters in games, somewhat like NPCs.
However, the expressions and eyes of the orcs he just saw held something more than just well-crafted consumable entities.
Perhaps it was an attachment to life or something resembling a soul, which shouldn’t be present in entities programmed as consumables.
Of course, even this might be a sign that the monsters were exceptionally well-crafted consumables.
But what if they were not?
If these creatures were truly existing beings, then what were they, and where did they come from?
“…”
Shyaat!
In the end, Yeongwoo swiftly took down three orcs, and just before piercing the neck of the last one, he halted the sword.
Thud.
The orc, anticipating death and having closed its eyes, slowly raised its eyelids.
-…?
Again, a very realistic reaction.
Instead of attempting to counterattack, the orc, with the blade stopped in front of its throat, looked at Yeongwoo with eyes filled with confusion and surprise.
-You… What…?
Too shocked to articulate words properly, the orc’s realistic response added to Yeongwoo’s confusion.
Yeongwoo asked while holding the sword to the orc’s neck.
“What are you? Why did you come here?”
Yeongwoo was quite confused because he had never imagined that the day would come when he would interrogate orcs in his life.
-We are…
Eventually, the last orc moved its large green jaw and opened its mouth.
-Pioneers.
“What?”
Yeongwoo was even more bewildered by the unexpected word that came out of the orc’s mouth.
It was astonishing that the orc had the intellect to define itself as a pioneer, but even before that…
‘Pioneer means they have a homeland they left.’
The orc’s homeland.
No, can creatures created by humans as fictional entities, like orcs, have a homeland in the first place?
“How did you go on a pioneering journey? You’re supposed to be imaginary, right? You’re orcs.”
While Yeongwoo was speaking, the orc reacted strongly to the word ‘imaginary.’
-You’re the ones…!
“…?”
-You are the beings from imagination. Aren’t you the ‘humans’ from the Carmolay mythology?
Though fleeting, a sense of pride seemed to flash in the orc’s eyes.
At least, it was sincere.
From the orc’s perspective, in this situation, the protagonist was the orc itself, in a similar position to Yeongwoo.
‘What is this…?’
At this point, Yeongwoo could only come up with a ridiculous hypothesis.
Perhaps…
Neither humans nor orcs were real races that existed.
Had they been imagining each other as fictional entities all along, and now they were actually encountering each other for the first time?
‘But there are clearly origins of monsters here. Tolkien created it, and the lore added by D&D and Warhammer series exists as actual history.’
Of course, this could be the same from the orcs’ perspective.
Didn’t their mythology include the appearance of humans?
‘What on earth is going on?’
A strange sensation crept up his neck.
Various questions flooded his mind, but it became increasingly difficult to keep the orc in check.
Tsutsuk.
The reason was soon apparent – Myeongae, who had been hiding behind the vehicle, discovered the orc in front of Yeongwoo and let out a scream.
“Aaaah!”
It was a loud scream, as if anticipating a third bombardment, and the orc seemed well aware that this was the signal to abbreviate its own fate.
-Wa-wait, just a moment.
With a very pitiful expression, the orc pleaded for mercy from Yeongwoo.
-Please spare me. We can communicate well. Let’s resolve this through conversation.
However, Yeongwoo’s blade had already cut through the air.
Swat!
Swiftly beheading the orc, Yeongwoo immediately shouted to Myeongho in the driver’s seat.
“Start the engine! If you don’t want to die here, step on it…!”
“Ah!”
Myeongho, who had been absent-mindedly listening to the peculiar conversation between the two races, regained his senses only after Yeongwoo’s command.
Clunk!
As he shifted the gear back to drive and stepped on the accelerator with all his might, the rear passenger door swung open, and Yeongwoo’s mother seemed to be thrown about.
“…”
For a moment, Yeongwoo felt his chest tighten, but he couldn’t protest to Myeongho.
All he could now do….
‘Sigh.’
All he could do now was press the accelerator with all his might.
Kwak!
The SUV carrying the three of them passed over the orcs and Yoonho’s corpse, jolting roughly, as if a boat encountering waves.
Perhaps that’s why.
Even Myeongho’s hands gripping the steering wheel felt damp, as if soaked in water.
[TL/N: Rip Yoonho. 3 chaps.]
[PR/N: Okay but what IF myeongae is yeongwoo’s mother?? Then wasn’t yoonho his step-sibling? I have a feeling they might be related ngl.]
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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