FVN Chapter 173 : Chapter 173
Chapter 173 : Chapter 173
Chapter 173
‘The bait was sufficient.’
The bait to lure the Legion was enough.
I asked Mireska to partially release the magic that was binding the Legion, and we attacked the Legion noisily from all four directions: east, west, south, and north.
The important thing here was that it was humans attacking the Legion from the east and west.
‘Even though humans aren’t exactly good food for monsters.’
They weren’t in a position to be picky about meat.
Because as soon as I heard the Legion was heading south, I worked to block their supplies.
‘Orcs don’t have dried rations. So they would try to get all their supplies through hunting locally.’
So I divided the troops and persistently targeted small groups that separated from the Legion.
‘No matter how well the encirclement is set, there will eventually be a breach. We have to make sure they get nothing from the forest.’
At the same time, under the judgment that we couldn’t give them even a single piece of demonic beast meat, the Special Mission Unit hunted a tiresomely large number of monsters.
* * *
After large-scale forces from both Moner and the Legion moved, it was hard to find monsters remaining in the nearby forest, but Ian couldn’t be satisfied with just that.
‘Territory monsters! Snakes that are good for the body and taste good! I absolutely cannot give them to the Orcs!’
Under the single-minded determination not to give snake meat, the Special Mission Unit, having wiped out the Serpents, hunted monsters in other territories one by one.
In this process, the Special Mission Unit showed an obsession close to madness.
- Ooooooh! Platinum armor!
- My… precious…….
Realizing it was made of Serpent scales and not platinum, the Special Mission Unit all had similar thoughts.
- Perhaps other monsters too?
- If we make boots from Terror Bear leather…….
- Ooh! If we make a sword from Terror Bear claws, can we have a black sword?!
The Special Mission Unit, drenched in madness with the sole thought of obtaining better equipment, performed so well that even Calua clicked his tongue.
To show an eviction notice written in human language to a species that had lived in their home for decades and then come back the next day to wreak havoc.
- Ah, there wasn’t just one devil!
Thus, Calua secretly stepped up for the monsters who were being deceived by the appearance of frail humans, without Ian knowing.
- Humans are dangerous! If you run away now, I’ll let you live!
Of course, the monsters who had protected their territory for decades responded to Calua’s warning with snorts.
However, as rumors spread that human soldiers had chased and hunted Terror Bears for a week, the number of monsters abandoning their territories and moving increased.
Unexpectedly, the one standing at the vanguard of this was Calua.
Hearing the words ‘If left alone, the Orcs will eat them,’ Calua felt a sense of competition.
- Rather than being eaten by Orcs, be eaten by me!
Because he couldn’t let the Orcs take the delicious meat.
- Small species! You help too!
With the help of the demonic beast squirrels, Calua wiped out even the territory monsters that were hiding.
* * *
It didn’t take long to confirm the results of their efforts.
- Found a large amount of Orc bones on the southbound route.
- No signs of battle seen.
The Legion, unable to resupply food, had resorted to cannibalism as a last resort.
And around that time, reports came in that Orcs were rushing in frantically.
‘This counts as a success.’
In fact, more than half of the troops led by the 2nd Legion Commander showed behavior close to madness when they saw humans.
There were even ones who abandoned their perfectly good axes and thrust their fangs first just to get a bite.
This influence played a large part in why the current battle was flowing one-sidedly.
‘They are guys with little reason to begin with; it would be strange for them to hold back upon seeing walking food.’
Combined with the absence of a Legion Commander to give orders, the worst situation had emerged.
‘The one feeling this most seriously would be the Tyrant …….’
With the situation like this, humans were quite excellent bait.
‘It’s true for regular Orcs, and the same goes for the Tyrant.’
Even for the Tyrant, it was an attractive bait.
Just capturing the humans surrounding the Legion right now would solve the Legion’s biggest problem: supplies.
‘And yet, not moving even with that solution right in front of him means…….’
It wasn’t Orc-like.
Having finished his thoughts, Ian looked at the tent with narrowed eyes.
‘Let’s assume the opponent is a player. What would I be thinking if I were in that situation?’
The war he thought he could win overwhelmingly was flowing strangely.
The start was Hlyundeyrr’s sudden death.
‘It would be strange. Since Moner doesn’t have the military power to kill Hlyundeyrr.’
So he probably thought he was just unlucky.
He might have thought it was a profitable trade if one Legion Commander could appease the Ogre’s anger.
‘Next is…….’
Mireska, called the Witch of the Forest.
‘He must have felt suspicion from the moment of Mireska’s intervention.’
The power Mireska possesses is outside the norm.
An existence with enough power to keep a hundred thousand troops trapped in the forest for over a month.
If he could stop, he would have stopped the march here.
In the worst case, he would have had to consider Mireska standing on Moner’s side.
‘Yet, not giving up means this war was absolutely necessary.’
Mireska’s magic, unfolding in a situation where no supplies could be expected, was akin to the worst curse.
Because it meant they had to chew on their own kind for an unknown duration until it ended.
Nevertheless, not giving up on the southward advance meant he couldn’t give up on this war.
‘It’s the worst situation. To turn this situation around, he’d have to use a gamble.’
A normal gamble wouldn’t be enough.
A gamble that could change the tide of war at once.
Similarly, the Tyrant aimed for a gamble.
‘So what came out was the 2nd Legion and the Legion Commander?’
The 2nd Legion and Legion Commander sent outside using some means.
‘I don’t know what method he used, but since it’s close to spatial magic, the cost wouldn’t have been small.’
Considering general Orc shamanism, he must have paid a sacrifice in the tens of thousands.
‘He could have just sent the 2nd Legion Commander alone, but he didn’t. He sent most of the Legion.’
Knowing Moner didn’t have the forces to stop the 2nd Legion Commander, taking troops along was probably for just in case.
Even if Moner’s two Masters blocked the 2nd Legion Commander, the remaining troops could capture the fortress.
From the Tyrant’s perspective, he chose the safest direction possible, even if it increased troop consumption and sacrifice.
‘But the 2nd Legion Commander died.’
At the same time, as if waiting, attacks came from all sides.
On top of that, excluding the King, the 1st Legion Commander, who could be seen as the strongest Orc, died.
If he were a real Orc, he would have been outraged by the death of his cherished subordinate and stepped onto the battlefield.
‘But if he’s not an Orc, but a player…….’
Ian narrowed his brow and took out a whistle from his bosom.
‘He would think he’s screwed.’
It was a war that went wrong from the start.
Even so, it was not only because the situation was urgent but also because there was certainty that his side would win.
‘Even I would have been certain. Because no matter how you look at it, it’s a situation with overwhelming military power.’
If he were an Orc, this certainty wouldn’t change.
Because he would choose death rather than tarnishing a warrior’s honor.
‘But if the opponent is a player.’
Could he be certain of victory even in this situation?
Wouldn’t he just want to live, regardless of warrior’s honor or whatever?
‘Even if he’s crazy about concept playing and believes he is an Orc, shouting that he follows the true soul of a warrior with tattoos all over his body.’
When the moment actually comes to choose between honor as a warrior and life, he would choose to survive.
That is the limit of a player.
Because a player is human, not an Orc.
Ian, finishing his thoughts, opened his mouth.
“Jeremy, spread the whistle sound as much as possible, as far as possible, so that even the Eastern and Western armies can hear it.”
“Huh? That far? More than that, if you spread it that far, will those guys stay still?”
“They won’t stay still anyway.”
The sound of the whistle blown by Ian echoed, carried by the wind Jeremy created.
-Piiiii! Piiiii! Piiiii!
* * *
The Shaman, who ran in at the sound echoing from outside, prostrated and shouted.
“Oh King! The enemy army has reached close range!”
The Tyrant, who was lost in thought, lifted his head with closed eyes.
The King’s army is strong.
The Tyrant himself was strong enough to be certain of victory in a battle against the other three Legion Commanders excluding the 1st Legion Commander.
And the army of 50,000 led directly by the King was strong enough to win overwhelmingly in a battle against all other Legions.
So the battles until now had no meaning.
“Give us the order!”
The reason that arrogant Shaman didn’t run away and was prostrating and shouting desperately also stemmed from that certainty.
Because the Legion had a faith close to fanaticism that the King would never be defeated.
‘Is that really so?’
The Tyrant’s rough fingers caressed the scar engraved on his chest.
‘In the end, no matter how strong an existence is, they die if their heart is pierced and die if their head is cut off.’
When he opened his eyes in this world, it was a thought he had never had even once.
Just not dying to a blind axe was overwhelming enough day by day.
There were times he lived more recklessly than an Orc, and times he lived more servilely than a Goblin.
So he was not an Orc.
Depending on the time, he was a crafty Goblin, an honorable Orc, or a cunning Elf.
He was a player.
Wasn’t insisting on the continental language itself to not lose his dignity as a human?
‘It was a war waged with certainty of victory. Yet I couldn’t even grasp the enemy’s military power.’
And in such a situation, the choice a player would make was set.
‘I should send all remaining forces to the south. I don’t know how much power they have left, but they won’t be able to pay attention to me if only to block the Royal Guard.’
Generally, isn’t a Tyrant a King who can give up everything as long as it’s not his own life?
If only the player survives, the game doesn’t end.
‘Just like the King in chess.’
The Tyrant, laughing slightly, opened his mouth.
“I command the King’s army.”
- Grrrk!
- Grrrrrk!
The Royal Guard, filled with trust and awe, were soldiers he raised himself, and comrades who shared life and death with him.
They would not doubt him for a single moment.
“All forces, march! Show the warrior’s power to the humans who dared to block the Legion!”
- Kuaaaak!
- Krarararak!
As the King’s Royal Guard, having received the order, simultaneously headed south, the Tyrant grabbed the back of the Shaman’s neck.
“Grrrk! Oh, King?! Where are we going?”
“We go back.”
Thinking of using the Legion he raised tenaciously as merely disposable pawns brought tears of blood to his eyes, but.
It can’t be helped, can it.
The opponent is aiming for only one thing, the King (King).
And if the King is caught, the game ends.
‘I am the Tyrant ! I am the Legion, and the Legion is me!’
If only he survived, the Legion could rise again anytime.
“Oh King! In the forest, the ‘Mother’ is targeting us!”
“So we must prepare.”
Just as he gave a new body to the 2nd Legion Commander, he intended to start again with a new body.
‘Then it counts as a 2nd playthrough.’
The moment he entered the forest like that.
“Uwaaaack!”
- Thud-thud-thud!
Sprinkling a youthful scream, a doll appeared with a human who flew in, and blocked the two.