The Cyclops who opened one eye from its deep sleep turned its head toward the cause of its awakening.
There were seven beings with blue skin, each the size of one of its fingers.
What was this?
The Cyclops smirked derisively and placed its hands on the ground.
When its huge body rose, the air around it changed.
It was an occasional occurrence.
Those blue-skinned cubs had an excessive amount of courage despite their weak power.
So they often came to test their strength like this.
The Cyclops who had lived a long life had faced such cubs many times, and each time, it had a decent meal.
But now, the timing was not very good.
The Cyclops tapped the rock it was lying under a few times and turned its gaze to the orcs.
In this burrow blocked by rocks, its newborn offspring was sleeping.
So, it had to quickly deal with these clueless intruders.
“Perform the ritual!”
The blue-skinned orc at the forefront shouted, and the six orcs behind it slammed their weapons into the ground.
Usually, the leading orc who was called the Decurion would have stepped forward alone, but the Cyclops before them was not a simple opponent.
The Cyclops was far more formidable than the Ice Troll they had hunted recently, so the orcs gripped their weapons tightly and began to surround the huge creature.
The first to move was the Decurion at the front.
“Kuoooooo—!! For honor!”
“”””“For honor!”””””
The crude steel sword aimed for the Cyclops’ ankle.
At first, the Cyclops who was confident in its own body intended to ignore the attack, but it quickly changed its mind.
It was due to the ominous blood-red energy emanating from the Decurion’s sword.
It was a type of power it had never seen before, and it didn’t matter when the orcs had started using such abilities.
The Cyclops who had ruled over Arunvida for countless years instinctively recognized the danger.
Though it had always been in the position of a predator, the Cyclops was never arrogant or careless when facing its enemies.
With a single stomp, the formation the orcs had created collapsed instantly.
A huge crater formed in the solid ground.
Due to the aftermath, the orcs were flung away in an instant, but the Decurion orc expertly executed a roll and immediately charged forward.
Although it was much smaller compared to the Cyclops, the orc’s agility was astounding for its enormous size by human standards.
However, the Cyclops did not miss the Decurion’s movements with its giant eye.
The Cyclops’s huge foot flew towards the Decurion’s body.
To anyone watching, it was like an egg striking a rock, yet the Decurion did not retreat.
Just once.
The Decurion orc just needed to endure it once.
The Decurion faced the Cyclops’s kick with its steel sword.
But was the Decurion too arrogant?
The Cyclops’s kick was like a boulder launched from a catapult.
The Decurion couldn’t withstand it for even a second. It was sent flying back and crashing pathetically into a rock.
At that moment, the other orcs charged from all directions.
The Cyclops stomped again, causing the orcs to roll on the ground, but they quickly got up and charged once more.
In response, the Cyclops’s upper body crouched low.
Like a rock hardened by a waterfall, the Cyclops’s heavy fist flew toward the charging orcs.
The orcs charging from both sides spread out to avoid the attack, while the two standing in the center leaped into the air, but the Cyclops did not miss their movements and changed the direction of its punch.
“……?!”
They tried to block the attack with their weapons like the Decurion, but the magical power gathered in the Cyclops’s fist did not allow it.
With a single blow, the two orcs were reduced to chunks of flesh that flew far into the air.
They died instantly, without a doubt.
Despite this, the remaining four orcs charged at the Cyclops without any sign of panic.
“Graaaaah—!”
The orcs succeeded in wounding the Cyclops’s ankle and quickly retreated to avoid its enraged counterattack.
The Cyclops who was injured by the lowly orcs glared at them with bloodshot eyes and focused its magical power in its throat.
“Groooooooar—!!”
The surrounding land responded to the Cyclops’s fierce roar with a low tremor.
However, the surviving orcs were unfazed by the Cyclops’s menacing aura.
This caused the Cyclops’s eyes to twitch.
There were few beings in Arunvida who could withstand the Cyclops’s aura and remain standing.
Such a powerful killing intent should have caused at least some sign of disturbance.
Yet, the orcs showed no such sign.
“”””“For honor!!”””””
At that moment, the Decurion orc who had been thrown far away staggered and shouted.
How?
The Cyclops believed in its own strength.
Just like the two orcs who had perished from its punch, that Decurion should have met the same fate. How did it manage to survive?
But the Decurion had no intention of answering the Cyclops’ question. It threw down its shattered sword that only had the hilt left and drew two long swords from its waist.
“”””“For honor!!”””””
Once again, the orcs charged from all directions.
The Cyclops stomped its foot again.
This time, it was different.
The orcs, unlike before, resisted the Cyclops’s powerful magical power and charged straight at it without being tossed around.
Slash─!
“Gwaaaah!!”
It was different.
In just that short moment, the orcs’ momentum had changed.
The Cyclops was confused in that unbelievable situation.
The attacks of the orcs were aiming for its ankles again. Only they were much fiercer than before.
The ominous premonition it had felt when it first saw the Decurion orc’s magical power was right.
Only then did the Cyclops instinctively realize what had happened to it.
Just now.
The Cyclops staggered as its ankle was deeply cut by the orcs again.
It wasn’t because of the wound on its joint.
It felt a sudden dizziness as its magical power drained rapidly.
“Glory at the end of death!!”
Before the Cyclops’s confusion subsided, the Decurion orc leaped with both swords raised high.
The Cyclops responded by raising its fist once more.
The coordinated attack from the four orcs was threatening, but the magical power emanating from the Decurion made even the Cyclops feel a sense of crisis.
A huge fist and two crude swords clashed.
However, the result was vastly different from before.
Because of the recently cut ankle, the Cyclops couldn’t put its full weight on its lower body and its punch lacked some strength.
But that shouldn’t have prevented it from sending the orc flying.
Yet, why?
Instead of flying away, the orc embedded both swords into the Cyclops’s fist.
In a hurry, the Cyclops tried to fling the Decurion away with its other hand, but the four orcs charging from all directions hindered it.
The battle was about to turn into a hunt.
And the five pairs of eyes watching the desperate struggle of those creatures never took their gaze off this hunt.
A few days earlier.
The special scouting team that left Viduron Castle had followed Shane for several days, tracked the orcs’ traces, and finally arrived at the Cyclops’s habitat.
From here on, it was a danger zone that even regular scouting teams never entered without upper-level permission.
This was because the Cyclops who were known for having no natural enemies in Arunvida had a habit of relentlessly pursuing its chosen prey.
It was such a threatening monster that even if just one appeared near Viduron Castle, it would be a matter of high alert. It was best to avoid drawing its attention unnecessarily.
Yet, this very Cyclops was being hunted by just seven orcs.
“Th-this is crazy. What’s going on?”
In the situation where Shane’s concealment magic hid them,
The scouting team watched the orcs’ hunt while holding their breath.
Even in such a situation where they had to be careful with their breathing, Kevin couldn’t help but mutter such words.
It wasn’t hard to understand why.
The Cyclops was a creature that even a third-rank master found difficult to handle.
Unless you were a knight who had perfected your own signature move, it was hard to face a Cyclops one-on-one.
Whenever a Cyclops appeared near Viduron Castle, it took dozens of people swarming like bees to deal with that giant.
Yet just seven orcs were continuing the hunt.
Of course, in the process, two of them ended up dead and bloodied but it was a small loss considering only seven were hunting a Cyclops.
“….How is that even possible?”
Felice also looked at the orcs with a mix of shock and disbelief.
After that, the Cyclops managed to kill one more orc, but it finally succumbed to the concentrated attacks on its ankle. The battle ended when the cyclops’ single eye was gouged out by the orc leader who was wielding two swords.
Then a strange act followed.
The Cyclops who was finally beheaded had its blood drunk by one of the leading orcs who had fought at the forefront.
“Wh-What is this? Some sort of ritual among them?”
There were even some humans who occasionally drank monster blood.
However, as they continued watching, it became apparent that it wasn’t just a ritual.
The four surviving orcs began to surround the leader orc drinking the Cyclops’s blood.
They then shouted in their own language with a voice filled with resolute determination.
“For honor!”
“Brother! See you in Urbulak!”
“We will reclaim the freedom of our souls in our homeland!”
Shane who had taken over the orc’s memories could understand their language.
Then, the leader orc who had been gulping down the Cyclops’s blood let out a piercing scream and began to rampage.
He swung his twin swords at his fellow orcs.
Although his companions were startled, the orcs seemed to have anticipated this. They calmly stepped back and gripped their weapons.
A more menacing red aura than ever before burst forth from the leader orc’s body.
As if he had become a Cyclops himself, he unleashed tremendous strength while swinging his weapons and the remaining four orcs barely managed to block his attacks.
Eventually, the twin swords broke under the strain and the orc leader no longer needed them, threw them aside, and attacked the orcs with his bare hands.
Undeterred by the fact that their opponent was their leader, the four orcs calmly coordinated their attacks, and soon the largest of the four plunged a sword into the heart of the orc leader.
“For an honorable death!”
“Glory to our race!”
“Rest for our brothers!”
“For Urbulak!”
“For Urbulak!!”
And so, the leader orc died. Just like that.
The four orcs stood before the fallen leader orc and each one of them made a vow as if they were performing a funeral. The orc who had driven the sword into the leader’s heart then took a leather pouch from his waist.
He began to draw blood from the dead orc’s heart and drink it with reverence.
“Uwooo!!”
As the orc drank the blood, a red aura burst from its body which then began to be reabsorbed.
It was a different scene from when the leader orc had died earlier.
“F*ck…”
Kevin muttered a curse.
“What the hell is this?”
“They’re like, like…”
“Like fanatics.”
Felice continued.
The group shared the same thoughts.
All except Shane.
Shane’s eyes were deeply immersed as he watched the orcs’ ritual.
Eventually, they collected the bodies of the dead orcs and the Cyclops, and when the orcs guarding the perimeter returned, they headed toward the rock the Cyclops had been guarding.
The orc who had just drunk the leader’s blood lifted the heavy rock with both hands. Inside it, a Cyclops that was slightly larger than an adult human bared its teeth.
Of course, there was nothing the creature could do after the adult Cyclops was defeated.
The orcs subdued the Cyclops, then dragged the young Cyclops along with the dead orcs on their shoulder.
Only when the orcs had completely disappeared did Shane dispel his concealment magic.
“Hey, what just happened?”
Kevin was the first to ask Shane.
It seemed unlikely that an 18-year-old boy could understand all of this, but the situation had grown that desperate.
Above all, this boy had uncovered the secrets of the Great Mezaiya Forest, so he might understand the current situation as well.
However, Shane’s mind was too overwhelmed to answer Kevin’s question.
Why do I see signs of Gordon’s blood magic?
Gordon. That high-ranking member of the organization was killed in the Great Mezaiya Forest.
Although he was still absorbing Gordon’s soul, Shane could clearly sense the aura of blood magic that Gordon had created during the orc ritual.
The orc Shane and Anastasia had encountered before was simply generating blood magic, and there was no information related to this in the orc’s fragmented memories.
One thing was certain: the involvement of the organization which didn’t occur in his previous life was now becoming a possibility.
Shane who was trying to organize his thoughts started to speak to Kevin who demanded an explanation.
“Their strength just now wasn’t normal. It must be a temporary phenomenon.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“In the initial battle with the Cyclops, the orcs were clearly being pushed back. But at some point, they stopped retreating. Do you remember when that shift happened?”
“….When the Cyclops first allowed an orc’s attack?”
“That’s right. From that moment on, their momentum changed. This is one of the characteristics of blood magic.”
“Blood magic?”
The group looked puzzled, but Shane quietly continued his explanation.
“Blood magic can be used in various ways. One of the most common is black magic.”
“Are you saying they used black magic?”
“Something like that.”
“… I heard that a black mage appeared in the Great Mezaiya Forest. Is there a connection?”
The sharp question came from Felice.
“Maybe.”
Shane could only nod his head.
“The ritual they performed at the end had some similarities.”
It was a point where things were getting more complicated.
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