Orc Must Die (3)

Scott McGreen was chewing through several of the fish Ismail had caught from the river, bones and all, while using his other hand to scoop up a heap of oatmeal.

“If you’re afraid of building muscle, you could at least eat less.”

Ismail grumbled.

Thanks to the supplies they had found at the Count Lantarique army’s outpost, they had plenty of food for themselves as well as grains for their horses and mountain goats. However, traveling meant food supplies were always bulky and heavy to carry.

With this orc’s appetite, their future looked bleak.

Did they really have to drag him along? Managing food supplies was going to become much harder.

After crossing the Kora River, they had set up camp by the riverside, where they could gather as many provisions as possible to prevent shortages in the coming days.

That had turned out to be a wise choice.

Seeing how much this orc devoured, they would have been in serious trouble if they hadn’t taken the time to resupply.

“No matter where I go, people complain about my eating. But hiring an orc comes with such costs. In exchange for mere food, you get to borrow my vast knowledge and magic.”

“Necromancy is outlawed by imperial law, so I have no interest in borrowing it.”

As an imperial messenger, Azadine took pride in upholding the emperor’s laws. He knew necromancy was explicitly forbidden.

“I have talents beyond necromancy.”

“Right. You said you would decipher the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth and teach it to me and Sir Zebec?”

“To be precise, I will teach it to that Holy Knight, Zebec. For you, I will merely show you the way.”

“Hmm?”

“Your method of using magic differs from other members of the Messenger Clan. You wield a wild, untamed force. It’s the savage style of the elves.”

Scott had recognized that Azadine was using the Kazas Grimoire.

“I had no other choice.”

“How many pages of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth do you have?”

“Four.”

Azadine replied.

Just the day before, he had obtained a fifth page while fighting Scott McGreen’s Nightcrawler, but he saw no need to disclose that detail.

“Four pages? That’s a lot! Can I take a look?”

“Wait a moment. Are you seriously going to let this orc necromancer analyze the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth?”

Zebec, alarmed, stepped forward to stop Azadine.

“The Heavenly King’s Book of Truth is the holiest treasure of the King’s Church. If a servant of the Kurt God Clan deciphers the secrets of white magic, it will surely bring disaster upon the Eight Kingdoms!”

“It’s not so easy to decipher the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.”

When the Messenger Clan had first acquired the book, every single mage in their ranks had spent over a year pouring all their efforts into decoding it, yet they had failed to produce a proper translation.

And now, this orc claimed he could decipher it on his own?

If that were true, he wasn’t just a genius—he was something beyond that.

“Besides, if I’m right, I might not even need to analyze the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth to understand it. Am I correct?”

“Interesting. You already know what I’m trying to do?”

“I realized it while fighting that shadow wraith earlier.”

Azadine took out a page of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.

“The pages are just handwritten copies, yet they are brimming with white magic. That’s because the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth and the Light of the Crown are one and the same, right?”

“Correct. It is the pinnacle of pure white magic. Even if its power is depleted, it will gradually replenish itself by absorbing the surrounding Light of the Crown. That alone makes it an excellent magical artifact.”

“What!?”

Zebec nearly fainted upon hearing that.

“You intend to use the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth as a magical artifact? Are you insane? The Heavenly King’s Book of Truth is the King’s Church’s greatest relic—the very power that protects all of Hubris! To hoard its power for personal use is an unforgivable act of blasphemy!”

Azadine winced internally.

‘I literally wrapped it around an arrow and shot it at undead earlier. If he finds out, I’m screwed.’

Fortunately, Zebec had been busy leading the soldiers at the time. He hadn’t seen how recklessly Azadine had used the sacred text.

“Well, now that it’s been brought up, I might as well give it a try.”

Azadine made up his mind to put the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth to use, regardless of what Zebec thought.

Azadine attempted to absorb the white magic from the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth directly into his body.

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to absorb magic from an artifact. The resistance would be too strong. You must have an exceptional level of magic resistance.”

“You figured that out quickly.”

“But the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth is an exception. The world is filled with the Light of the Crown, and you are already attuned to it. Moreover, surprisingly…”

Scott examined the pages carefully.

“These copies acknowledge you.”

“Acknowledge me?”

“Of course. If simply killing people was enough to manifest the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth, it wouldn’t be such a struggle. The book and the Light of the Crown have a will of their own. They actively avoid falling into the hands of the Kurt God Clan and their servants. That’s why the Nagas hired me.”

“Why were the Nagas the ones who hired you?”

“Because the current leader of the Kurt God Clan alliance is the Nagas. The Naga Empire is being revived.”

“You bastard!”

Shati, who had been listening, erupted in fury.

It infuriated her that this orc, who had been hired merely for food and coin, had so carelessly spilled one of the Nagas’ most closely guarded secrets.

She had deliberately kept that information to herself, yet he had revealed it without a second thought.

“Ah. So, the Kurt God Clan’s servants are uniting under the Nagas? Well, I had suspected as much.”

“Yes. The only ones with the organizational strength to do so are the Nagas. The minions of the King of Fangs, the ogres, could never build a structured force. And as for the Mezerry Apostles, those ravenous beasts obsessed with blood and flesh… well, plenty of orcs have joined them.”

Orcs, suffering from their endless hunger, had much in common with the Mezerry Apostles.

Receiving Mezerry’s blessing allowed them to eat rotting flesh as if it were fine cuisine. Many orcs, driven mad by hunger, had pledged themselves to Mezerry.

Yet, in terms of leadership and structure, they could never match the Nagas, who had once built an empire that spanned all of Hubris.

If the Kurt God Clan’s followers sought to reclaim their dominance over the world, it was only natural for them to unite under the Nagas.

“So, what do you think? Do you need my help?”

“Hmm. A little… help me.”

“Understood.”

Scott McGreen carefully adjusted his breathing beside Azadine, who was concentrating on the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.

“To truly comprehend a grimoire is to walk the path of madness. However, a true mage—a true genius—understands madness without succumbing to it. Half-breed of the Messenger Clan, your body contains the remnants of a shattered grimoire. Because of that, raw, untamed magic surges within you. You must guide the white magic of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth into harmony with it, rather than letting them clash. Imagine storing it within your body.”

“…I asked for help. Less talking, more doing.”

“Focus on the center of your soles. Feel the white magic drawn in through your hands and return it to the earth!”

Scott placed his hands on Azadine, but immediately recoiled with a cry of pain.

“Agh! Damn it, I’m a necromancer! White magic is my natural enemy!”

“Well, that’s reassuring. I was worried you might try to steal this for yourself.”

“If you handed it over, I’d gladly take it. Even if white magic is my opposite, it still has its uses. But…”

Scott clicked his tongue as he watched the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth glow in Azadine’s hands.

“You succeeded? Huh, not bad for a dim-witted species.”

“Was that a compliment?”

“Of course it was. You should write in your journal that you received praise from me. Today marks your rebirth—you should celebrate it as your second birthday.”

“…….”

Azadine ignored Scott’s arrogance and instead looked at the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth in his hands.

The glow had vanished, and it had returned to an ordinary sheet of paper.

“Is this… okay?”

“It will recover in about a week. And you didn’t damage the Light of the Crown—on the contrary, you returned it to the earth, strengthening it. If you continue doing this, your power will only grow stronger.”

“Really?”

Azadine restored the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth to its bracelet form and moved his body experimentally.

“I don’t feel any significant changes.”

“You expected immediate results? This is just the beginning. Now do you realize my usefulness?”

“Not really. Besides, I’ve already gotten everything I need out of you.”

“What? No! There’s still more!”

Scott scowled.

“Aren’t you curious about what the Nagas are planning? Or where the next manifestation of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth will be? I can provide you with all that information.”

“You treacherous bastard! Have you no shame? How can you so easily betray the Kurt God Clan alliance and the Naga Empire?”

Shati raged at Scott for attempting to sabotage the Naga Empire’s plans.

“Oh, what are you talking about? I’m just a mercenary. I always serve my employer with utmost sincerity. Right now, this guy is my employer, so wouldn’t betraying him be the real act of treachery?”

“…Well, thanks for that, I guess.”

Azadine gave Scott an unimpressed look as he reluctantly expressed his gratitude.

Meanwhile, Zebec, who had been watching the entire exchange, was deeply conflicted.

If even a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth was infused with the Light of the Crown, then as a Holy Knight, he should be taking it straight to the King’s Church.

And yet, here it was, being used for personal gain by a Messenger Clan member and an orc necromancer.

The real issue was that Zebec himself had chosen to follow Azadine. Between Azadine and Ject the Arbiter, he had sided with Azadine—and he didn’t regret that decision.

But still… this puts him in a difficult position.

“Haa… Fine. Should we try it on the other pages too?”

Just as Azadine spoke, the rustling of bushes signaled the approach of an armed group.

Guillaumevalt, son of Count Garnahaer of Lantarique, was a man with a long, horse-like face.

Among the Count’s children, he was the only one who had been born ugly. This often made him the subject of gossip, yet he took great pride in being the Count’s legitimate heir and loved his father deeply.

He was currently leading a group of adventurers from the Cell Sword Guild on a reconnaissance mission along the Kora River.

“Damn it! Those useless vassals!”

Guillaumevalt slashed at the tall grass blocking his path in frustration.

“Come on now, calm down, Sir Guillaumevalt.”

The mercenaries from the Cell Sword Guild chuckled as they tried to soothe him.

“How can I possibly stay calm? The signal fire was lit at the outpost, and we ignored it—now we’ve lost the outpost!”

When the Lantarique army invaded the Count of Salasma’s territory, they had secured an outpost across the Kora River to facilitate the transportation of troops and supplies.

They had repurposed a fishing village into a fortified base.

And just yesterday, a signal fire had been lit there.