[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 28: The Winter Kingdom (3)
The chimeras’ eyes turned fierce.
“Necromancer, you’ve made a foolish decision. You will also be punished.”
Their pincers clacked menacingly.
[The orcs witness the hero’s actions!]
[The orcs are greatly impressed by your courage!]
[They are freed from their learned fear!]
[Resistance fills their hearts!]
“Urkan, we don’t abandon our brothers!”
Urkan was the first to join his side.
The heavy axe blade shone coldly.
One by one, the orcs raised their axes.
Soon, all the orcs in the village were staring fiercely at the chimera.
“We are not insects!”
“Kill the evil monsters!”
The chimera pack clacked their heavy pincers. Long spider legs trampled the snow-covered ground.
The chimeras began to swarm in.
“Let’s go, brothers!”
Kim Minwoo and the orc party also ran forward.
Just before the distance closed, he summoned skeletons at their feet.
Dozens of spider legs were grabbed by pale hands.
The speed of the charging creatures slowed slightly.
‘I’ll take care of the commander first.’
He summoned Cedric and the mage party.
Its pincers swung wildly.
It dug into the ground, sliding.
His body slid under the creature’s torso.
The torso with eight legs attached to it.
He raised his sword with all his might.
[Title, ‘Strong Hunter’ is activated!]
[Damage is increased by 10%!]
Damage increased against monsters with a level difference of 200 or more.
With the activation of this effect, the sword, which had dug deep into the vulnerable skin below, began to cut a straight line through the creature’s torso.
Purple blood gushed out.
The chimera screamed in pain from the agony it felt below.
Before it could even recover, Cedric thrust his spear.
[Using Dragon’s Strike (S)!]
The enormous energy gathered on the spear struck the chimera’s arm.
The creature’s suffering didn’t end there.
Chwiikan, his eyes bloodshot, swung his axe down with a roar.
A B-rank chimera and a D-rank orc.
Normally, the chimera should be the one overpowering the orc.
But Chwiikan was different.
He was a boss monster.
He was clearly demonstrating his might even against the chimera.
The fierce axe strikes crumpled the pincers in one blow.
Cedric and Chwiikan’s pincer attack.
In addition to Kim Minwoo’s swordsmanship that targeted the lower torso, the mages who had positioned themselves behind him began to unleash their magic.
It took only a moment for the commander’s body to be turned into a rag.
Kim Minwoo, who had quickly retreated behind him, stepped on the chimera’s torso.
He jumped up with all his might and aimed for its back.
He plunged his sword deep into the creature’s neck.
The chimera, its neck gushing with blood, staggered and collapsed to the ground.
The chimera falls limply.
[The skeleton’s combat experience…]
[The skeleton mages’ combat experience… .]
He looked at the remaining chimeras.
The orcs and skeletons were attacking from all sides.
The chimeras didn’t stay still either. Orcs and skeletons caught in their huge pincers were neatly split in half.
Thanks to the effect of Death Road, the skeletons were revived, but the orcs were not.
However, the revived skeletons were not in good shape either.
He saw the sight of one of its legs being kicked off, and the summoning being canceled.
Humans, undead, and orcs joined the battle once again.
The chimeras lay sprawled out, their limbs destroyed.
Even though he had used the skeletons as his own meat shields, the orcs had suffered heavy casualties.
After all, nearly thirty orcs had died in a single battle.
‘That’s a 3-level up in a single battle.’
Even though he had shared the experience points with the orcs who fought alongside him, it was still this much.
It was an indication of how strong the chimeras were.
Chwiikan approached him.
The guy scratched his head and said,
“……Brother, thank you. If you hadn’t been here, we would have all died. Thanks to you, only this many died.”
“It’s the same for me. I survived because you, Chwiikan, had the courage.”
If these guys hadn’t been brave, he would have had to chug doping potions like water. If he did that too many times, he would become addicted. So, it could be said that the orcs played a big role in preventing that.
It was then that he patted the guy’s shoulder.
[Chwiikan’s favorability rating has increased greatly!]
[Chwiikan begins to see you as a ‘true brother’!]
[Chwiikan will now jump into fire if you order him to!]
He looked at the message with a satisfied heart. Soon after, the orcs began to move the chimera corpses over the campfire.
– Chwiik! Delicious meat! Meat!
– I want to eat quickly! I’m hungry!
The orcs began to cook the chimera, drooling. Since they were omnivores, the chimera would be just another meal for them.
After cooking the chimera like meat,
Chwiikan cut off the chimera leader’s head with his axe.
– Chwiik! Brother! This is the tastiest part! I’ll give it to you!”
Whether he really meant it or not, Chwiikan’s eyes were full of longing as he handed it over.
“……You eat it. I’m not hungry.
– ……Chwiik! Then I’ll eat this!
The orcs began to devour the chimera meat.
For some reason, they looked sad.
‘I can’t just take out my food either.’
This would probably solve the problem for about a month. After all, he had packed a lot of food in the subspace.
However, that was not a fundamental solution. In the end, he would end up starving to death with these guys.
Unless it was really urgent, it was better to save it for now.
Fortunately, the chimeras were large.
It was enough to feed about a hundred orcs.
With this, they would be able to keep going for a day or two.
In the meantime, he looked at the titles he had acquired this time.
[1. Brother of the Ice Forest Orcs]
[You have become the brother of the Ice Forest Orcs.]
[Effect: Orc favorability increases slightly faster]
[2. One who Walks the Path of the Hero]
[You have chosen a path full of trials. If you succeed, the true effect may be revealed.]
The title that increased favorability quickly was useful now that he was moving with the orcs.
One Who Walks the Path of the Hero seemed like a title that guaranteed a jackpot if he succeeded.
Next, he looked at the changed gate difficulty.
It had jumped two levels at once, from D to B. The average level of B-rank gate monsters was between 251 and 350.
It was a difficulty level where creatures like the orc guards he had seen in the trial of Death Road would appear in droves.
Perhaps the gate’s internal clear goal had changed as he sided with the orcs.
That was a sign that it was that much more difficult.
In S-rank gates, the average monster level started at 500.
No matter how confident he was as the world’s number 1 gamer, there were things he couldn’t do.
He had to know the difference between confidence and objectivity.
If it had been S, he would have immediately looked for the middle ground.
At that time, it was right to leave first and think.
But B-rank was different.
It would be difficult, but it wasn’t impossible to overcome if he twisted his body.
‘Now, I need to decide which direction to go.’
Fortunately, there was a wise man who could show him the way at a time .
He approached the old orc with oil dripping from his mouth.
“Bektar, we’ll starve to death at this rate. Is there no way to get food?”
Bektar, who was chewing on spider legs, said.
-Chwiik. Two options come to mind.
-The first is hunting. There are monsters that survive even in the cold weather. If we hunt them, we won’t starve for a while. However, it’s dangerous.
If it had been easy to hunt, the orcs here would have eaten it all up by now.
They would probably be much stronger monsters than orcs.
It was a stopgap measure, but he had found one way at least.
“What’s the second method?”
-…Chwiik, it’s to solve the cause of this cold.
“The cause? What is it?
-The ice dragon gave the witch the essence of winter. The witch split it up and planted it all over the continent. And she built fortresses on top of them.
[Keyword, ‘Essence of Winter’ acquired.]
[Keyword, ‘Fortress’ acquired.]
“You’re saying that if we deal with the essence inside the fortress, this weather will clear up too?”
-Chwiik, that’s right. At least the cold in this northern region will be solved. It will once again become a land where life thrives.
“Tell me everything you know about the fortresses.”
-The fortresses are guarded by the witch’s apostles. The apostles’ power is terrifying. This northern region… is the domain of Apostle Belitas.
[Keyword, ‘Apostle Belitas’ acquired.]
“Are there many mooks besides the apostles?”
-There are many. Corpse collectors, black magicians, necromancers, spectral warriors… The fortresses are filled with the aura of death.
He was starting to get a feel for it.
‘I guess you could say that the apostles are a kind of mid-boss.’
On top of that, the goal was to break through the fortress filled with subordinates, and then extract or destroy the essence that was hidden tightly.
If that happened, the weather would clear up and the gate’s clear condition might be met.
Bektar, who was scraping his teeth with his spider claws, said.
-Chwiik, great warrior. The corpse collectors are dead. The apostle’s subordinates, who will sense the anomaly, will soon arrive.
“You’re pretty calm for someone in your situation.”
-We have been preparing ourselves mentally for death since the moment we decided to face them. And…
Bektar’s eyes became serious.
“-I don’t think a great warrior like you will die easily in a place . We will follow you and resist the witch. Until the last breath of our lives!”
[Keyword, ‘Resistance Army Established’ acquired!]
[You can now nurture the Resistance Army.]
[The Resistance Army will fight alongside you against the Witch and the Ice Dragon.]
[However, be careful.]
[The more the Resistance Army grows, the more the Witch and the Ice Dragon will watch you.]
[Current Resistance Army Strength]
[Members: 1 human, 102 orcs]
[Level: Clumsy Primitive]
[Food Situation: Not very good]
[Morale: Burning with fighting spirit]
[Enemy Alertness: 0 (They are not yet aware of the existence of the Resistance Army)]
Now the clear method for this gate was clear.
‘Is this a power struggle?’
The goal is to increase the size of the resistance army and raise its average level. After nurturing it in this way, the plan is to clash head-on with the apostle.
In the meantime, the apostle’s subordinates will come looking for us, so we’ll have to overcome that as well.
One thing is for sure.
‘We can’t do anything with just 102 orcs.’
There’s a reason why numbers are called strength.
We needed to bulk up.
“Are there any other orcs near here besides you guys?”
-Chwiik. There are a few small tribes. We always compete for food.
I looked at the orcs who were finishing their meal. The orcs were sucking on the bones as if they were regretting something.
“If you’re all done eating, get your gear ready! We’re going to visit the orcs in the next village!”
– Chwiik! I have to join too!
The orcs grabbed their axes with their eyes shining.
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