Chapter 163: Orc Emperor

“Subjugation parts over he~re.”

“Please bring dismantled materials over here~!”

In a plain away from the town, Erma and the other Adventurer’s Guild staff members raise their voices.

They had come as dispatch counter staff to appraise on the spot the materials of the orcs I requested the adventurers to dismantle.

The reason being, the materials from approximately 20,000 orcs couldn’t possibly fit into the Adventurer’s Guild’s dismantling yard.

So it was decided to appraise them on the spot and transport them directly to the Merchant Guild’s warehouses and shops.

“Man, seeing this sight, I’m really glad we hired adventurers.”

“Right, how many days would it have taken if it were just us?”

“The orcs we defeated would rot in the meantime…”

“They might have turned into undead right there.”

“Undead of 20,000 orcs… an opponent I’d politely decline with all my might.”

” ” ” ” “Yeah, yeah.” ” ” ” “

We were watching the orc dismantling scene from a slight distance.

Because the smell of blood and guts from 20,000 orcs is harsh if you’re close by.

“Since we’re the clients, not having to help with the work is the best~.”

“Right~.”

“Munch munch munch munch.”

At the feet of us relaxing, the sound of Mofumofu eating orc meat can be heard.

“So peaceful.”

“No, I have slight doubts whether it’s okay to call this sight peaceful…”

“Crunch crunch snap snap, burp.”

Mofumofu completely ate even the bones and let out a satisfied sound.

Even so, he sure ate a lot, Mofumofu.

By the way, Og has gone to report to the Lord about subjugating the 20,000 orcs.

Originally, the objective today was exploration, but since an unplanned large-scale battle occurred, he apparently has to report it properly.

Saying so and heading to the Lord’s mansion, Og‘s back truly gave off the vibe of a knight.

At that moment, a cheer goes up from the adventurers doing the dismantling.

“I wonder what happened?”

While I was tilting my head wondering what was going on, Erma came over to us looking tense.

“Rex, could you come here for a moment?”

“Did something happen?”

“Yes, a big catch was found.”

Heh, a big catch, does that mean something around an Orc General or Orc Wizard?

“Let’s go see too!”

“Umm, I’ll pass.”

“I pass too. The smell of blood will get on me.”

“It smells like money, so I’m going.”

“Then I suppose I’ll tag along too. It’s my first time seeing a higher species of orc.”

Liliera, Jairo, and Meguri are tagging along, while Mina and Norb are on standby here.

“Understood, then shall we go?”

◆

“This is…”

The place Erma brought us to was right in the middle position of the orc group.

There lay the figures of orcs that were larger in body than the other orcs or wearing good equipment.

It’s clearly the core group of the herd.

However, there was an existence that made even those orcs fade into the background.

A giant body roughly 5 meters tall with limbs like logs.

Draped in a mantle made of monster pelts and wearing a crown on its head similarly crafted from monster skulls, its appearance was attire befitting to be called a King.

“An Orc Emperor.”

Yes, what lay fallen there was the Emperor of Orcs, the Orc Emperor.

A peerlessly powerful King of Orcs surpassing an Orc King, born extremely rarely when a giant orc herd forms.

“Orc Emperor… first time seeing one.”

“That’s an Orc Emperor… never seen an orc like that.”

The surrounding adventurers raise voices of dismay upon seeing the Orc Emperor.

“As you can see, it’s an Orc Emperor. Since an Orc Emperor is the leader of a herd that commands an Orc Empire, the Adventurer’s Guild has judged this herd to be an Orc Empire. And with the subjugation of the herd, we consider the Orc Empire investigation request assigned to Rex and your party complete.”

Told by Erma, I remember that this request was an investigation of the Orc Empire.

” ” ” “…” ” ” “

” ” “Aaaah!! Come to think of it!!” ” “

“We honestly are surprised ourselves, because we never expected you to not just complete the investigation so quickly, but subjugate the entire Orc Empire.”

Certainly, I also didn’t think the herd I happened to find was the main force with the primary target, the Orc Emperor.

However, I feel like the numbers are somewhat low for an Orc Emperor’s main force…

“But thanks to that, the town was spared from being attacked by the Orc Emperor’s herd. Thank you very much, Rex.”

“No no, that is our job.”

Yeah, it’s only about three hours from here to the town of Togai, so if the herd’s discovery had been delayed, it might have turned into a disaster.

Regarding that, I can only say the timing was truly good.

“Of course, the purchase of materials from the orcs including the Orc Emperor will be paid separately from the reward. Since it’s an individual of this caliber, please look forward to the purchase price.”

“Yes, I will look forward to it!”

“We did it, Big Bro! The job is already done!”

With the request easily finished, Jairo is also making merry.

“Yeah, honestly I was also surprised it ended this easily.”

“Even so, I wanted to fight the Orc Emperor too. Being this huge, it must’ve been strong.”

Jairo is expressing regret over not being able to fight the Orc Emperor, but…

“No, if anything, this Orc Emperor is a small fry.”

” “Eh?” “

Erma and Jairo tilt their heads at my words.

“Small? This is?”

“Isn’t it super huge? Its arms and stuff are insanely thick, aren’t they?”

Huh? Could it be Erma is also seeing an Orc Emperor for the first time?

“A true Orc Emperor is much larger. It’s twice this size.”

” “Twice!?” “

“Yes, because it’s an individual that rules over at least tens of thousands of orcs. It’s precisely because it’s strong enough to single-handedly defeat the entire herd that the Orc Emperor can reign as an emperor. A true Orc Emperor is a monster of muscle strength and stamina, a troublesome opponent whose stamina will last for dozens of hours if you fight it normally.”

” “Dozens of hours!?” “

Yeah, an Orc Emperor really fights an enemy one-on-one for as long as its stamina lasts, but with the Body Enhancement Magic it instinctively activates and its armor of muscle, its muscle strength and defense are extraordinary.

It’s safe to say that thing is a living armor of muscle.

“I think this Orc Emperor is probably still a young individual born recently. It only had 20,000 followers, after all.”

” “Only 20,000!?” “

Thinking about it that way, it makes sense that the herd only had 20,000.

Because a true Orc Emperor has followers numbering enough to literally be called an empire.

For that reason, when told the request is complete just by defeating an Orc Empire of this scale, it feels too lacking in accomplishment, and it makes me wonder if it’s really over.

Ah, could telling us to look forward to the purchase price also mean it’s a token of gratitude for keeping the damage to a minimum?

With the scale of the town of Togai, it would be tough to defend if attacked by a typical Orc Empire.

No matter how excellent Og and the others are, a difference in numbers is quite troublesome.

The Adventurer’s Guild really keeps an eye on things like that properly.

The nobles who were my clients in my previous life, even if I fought hard so the damage wouldn’t spread to the surroundings, didn’t know how much I struggled, so they’d say things like “It took quite a while for an opponent of this level” or “It seems you defeated this monster easily, so it wasn’t a big deal,” and cut down the reward.

Thinking about that, the Adventurer’s Guild, which appraises various factors, is a truly great organization!

“What is this?”

At that moment, the adventurers who were dismantling the Orc Emperor raised their voices.

“Did something happen?”

“Well, the weapon the Orc Emperor held was too dirty, so we had a mage wash it with water magic, but it seems this isn’t an ordinary weapon.”

What does it mean that it’s not an ordinary weapon?

When I went to see the Orc Emperor’s weapon, Meguri was already examining the Orc Emperor’s weapon as if biting into it.

“Rex, look at this!”

Prompted by Meguri, I look at the Orc Emperor’s weapon.

“This is…”

The Orc Emperor’s weapon was a rugged weapon with no decorations.

It was made with a feel of a tool for fighting with truly only the functions necessary for a weapon, but a giant gemstone was embedded only in the crossguard part that catches blades.

“Ooh, a huge gemstone! Won’t this fetch a good price, Big Bro!?”

Because a gemstone is attached, Jairo gets excited thinking it will fetch a good price, but Meguri‘s gaze looking at the same thing isn’t the look of seeing just a valuable item.

More than anything, the weapon’s design is too rugged considering a gemstone is attached as a decoration.

“Rather, this is… SCAN ECHO.”

I touch the Orc Emperor’s weapon and activate analysis magic.

Then, a regular flow of magic power could be felt from inside.

“…This is a magic item, isn’t it.”

” ” ” “A magic item!?” ” ” “

“As I thought!”

While everyone is surprised, it seems only Meguri knew this was a magic item.

“The sword itself is too rugged for an ornament, and even though attribute enhancement wasn’t used, I faintly felt magic power from the weapon, so I thought so!”

As expected of Meguri. Being a thief, it seems she also has an eye for appraisal.

Perhaps acting as a body double for Princess Idola polished her aesthetic sense too.

“To think a monster possesses a magic item…”

“It might be a monster that settled in some ruin.”

“If so, there might be an undiscovered ruin in the direction this herd came from!”

” ” ” “Ooooh!!” ” ” ” “

Hearing there might be a new ruin, the adventurers boil over with excitement.

“We escaped the crisis of the Orc Empire, so searching for ruins might begin for a while.”

At Erma‘s words, my heart bounces a little.

Searching for ruins, huh. It might be nice for us to try searching for ruins too once we receive the reward.

$diamond$

A few days later, there was a report that the reward for the Orc Empire subjugation was ready, so we came to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The reason being, there were too many subjugated orcs, so appraisal took time.

And guided by Erma, we enter the special room we had been to before.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. This is the Orc Empire investigation reward to be paid to everyone, 120 gold coins.”

First, the investigation reward is paid to everyone.

“This investigation reward includes not only the usual reward but also a bonus for early discovery.”

“A bonus?”

“Yes, it is an exceptional amount for a usual reconnaissance reward, but judging it appropriate considering the opponent was an orc herd of 20,000, an increase in the reward was decided.”

If so, divided among everyone, it’s 20 gold coins per person.

“Furthermore, an additional reward is issued for annihilating the Orc Empire. Though this is not from the guild, but from the Lord.”

“From the Lord?”

Why is the Lord issuing an additional reward for an Adventurer’s Guild request!?

“Originally, our request is a request from the country. But a massive horde of 20,000 orcs was a critical situation even from the perspective of defending the territory. Therefore, it is a token of gratitude from the Lord for protecting the territory in place of the Knight Order. This will be 1,000 gold coins.”

Heh, to go out of his way to give an additional reward for such a thing, there sure are good Lords.

Or rather, are there many good nobles in this era like the Lord of this town?

It would be nice if there are.

“We have to decline this one. Since Rex is the one who defeated them, after all.”

Liliera and the others refuse to accept the reward, saying they didn’t fight.

“It’s 1,000 gold coins again, Big Bro!”

“But 1,000 gold coins for defeating 20,000 orcs, fighting a dragon seems more efficient.”

“Because 20,000 is too many.”

Certainly, for the same price, fighting one dragon takes less time and effort for dismantling and collection.

“Or rather everyone, I think bringing up a dragon as a comparison in the first place is strange…”

” ” ” ” “Hah!?” ” ” ” ” “

“Crap, I’ve spent too much time with Rex lately, my sense got messed up.”

“That was close, we almost became the same as Rex.”

“No, isn’t everyone being cruel? The strength of the Green Dragon and this small Orc Empire isn’t that different. It’s true the dismantling effort was harder for the Orc Empire, though.”

” ” ” ” ” “No, that’s not the problem.” ” ” ” ” “

Eh-? Then what is the problem-?

“Ahem… then next is the subjugation reward for the Orc Emperor. Since this Orc Emperor is an S-rank monster, the purchase amount is planned to change through auction as usual.”

“Ah, it’s an auction again.”

Or rather, an Orc Emperor is an S-rank.

“Basically, S-rank monster materials are too precious, so it’s common practice to put them up for auction. Well, the purchase of S-rank monsters itself isn’t something that happens that often. Also, higher individual orcs like Orc Generals and Orc Wizards that accompanied the Orc Emperor, and the Orc Emperor’s magic sword are also planned to be put up for auction. What is provided as reward this time are the orcs of B-rank and C-rank and below in poor condition. Even so, since it’s 20,000 orcs, it amounts to quite a sum. This is a total of 2,850 gold coins. It is the amount after already deducting the dismantling fees paid to the adventurers.”

“About 3,000 gold coins in total, huh. For Rex, it’s an amount like pocket change.”

“…About 3,000 gold coins is pocket change… no, well, I suppose that’s true for Rex who became an S-rank… though it’s barely the annual budget of our guild.”

For some reason Erma has a distant look in her eyes; I wonder what’s wrong?

“Umm, and then, let’s see. The guild will contact you again once the official winning bid amounts from the auction are known. Until then, please spend your time freely, everyone. However, since there might be remnants of the Orc Empire, it would be helpful if you could stand by in this town for a while.”

“Understood, Erma.”

I put the reward in my magic bag and leave the special room.

“Oooh! The Dragon Brat came out!”

When we returned to the guild hall, the adventurers who had taken up position in the dining hall attached to the guild raised cheers.

“Thanks man! Thanks to you guys, our wallets are warm!”

“Hahahaha, it’s my first time in my life dismantling that many orcs!”

“S-ranks really do such flashy exploits, huh!”

“It’s a total surprise!”

Apparently, everyone is the adventurers who took my request and helped dismantle the orcs.

“Hey Dragon Brat, you made quite a killing this time too, didn’t ya-?”

“Well, if you defeat 20,000 orcs, it’s an amazing amount!”

“There was an Orc Emperor too!”

“Dragon Brat! How did you defeat the Orc Empire? Tell us!”

“Yeah yeah, we need boastful stories to go with our drinks!”

The adventurers ask with great interest how I defeated the Orc Empire.

Or rather, everyone is already drinking from this time!?

“No no, I didn’t use such an interesting way to defeat them.”

“Fuffuffu, of course you’d wanna know.”

Slipping past me, Jairo steps forward.

“Listen and be amazed! Big Bro beat down the orcs with just a single spell!”

“Wait, Jairo!?”

” ” ” ” “Ooooh! Seriously!?” ” ” ” ” “

“Big Bro’s magic was unbelievably amazing!”

“Come over here and tell us in detail, brat!”

“I’m not a brat, I’m Jairo!”

Jairo goes among the adventurers in the blink of an eye and begins to tell the story of when I subjugated the Orc Empire.

“It was so surprising how the magic falling from the sky annihilated those many orcs in a flash! But Big Bro’s amazingness didn’t stop there! Surprisingly, the bodies of the orcs defeated by Big Bro’s magic had surprisingly few unnecessary wounds!”

“Yeah, I saw it, I saw it. There were absolutely no wounds, those orc corpses. How do you defeat sturdy orcs without such wounds?”

“That’s because…”

It’s no good, if I cut in there, I will definitely be made to explain it myself.

Or rather, having my exploits told from someone else’s mouth is a bit too embarrassing!

It’s better to leave this to Jairo and return to the inn!

“Umm, I’m returning to the inn, what will everyone do?”

I want to run away from this place as soon as possible, but I should check everyone’s plans just in case.

“Let’s see, I’m tired of wandering around town aimlessly, so maybe I’ll take on some simple request.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. We didn’t do anything this time, after all.”

It seems Liliera and the others will look for a request.

Then I guess we’ll act separately today.

While discussing our future plans like that, suddenly the entrance of the guild opened with a loud noise.

The ones who came in were adventurers in a battered state.

It was a terrible condition, as if they had been fighting right up until just now.

“Hey hey you guys, you’re quite battered? Did something happen?”

Without even answering the words of the adventurer who called out in surprise, they shouted this while panting.

“I-It’s terrible… o-orcs…”

Orcs? Could it be, as Erma feared, there were survivors of the Orc Empire?

No, but even so, their equipment is too battered.

If it’s just remnants, they wouldn’t be in such a terrible state.

However, the next words the adventurers uttered were an outrageous content we hadn’t even expected.

“Orcs attacked flying in the skyyyy!!”

” ” ” ” “…” ” ” ” ” “

…Hm? Orcs… attacked flying… in the sky?

” ” ” ” “…Huh?” ” ” ” “