Resistance Force (2)

After finishing my conversation with Turon, I gathered the orcs in one place. They stood staring blankly at me like students listening to their principal's lecture.

“We're joining forces with the dwarves.”

“Snort! Why! Orcs strong! Runts weak!”

Fierce objections erupted, but I had expected as much. I calmly continued.

“We'll protect them and even give them food.”

“Snort! Chief Senior gone mad!”

“Must be sick!”

“Snort! Orcs hungry! Not enough food for us!”

THUD!

I stamped my foot on the ground.

“Orcs have no equipment. Bodies weak. Two hundred already dead.”

“Snort! Dying in battle is blessing!”

“No! It isn't a blessing!”

“...?”

I addressed the orcs as they tilted their heads in confusion.

“Is dying against a weak enemy a blessing? That's just weakness! A truly brave warrior dies fighting a strong enemy!”

I continued as they fell silent.

“The Apostle and the Witch who tormented you! Dying after burying your axes in their skulls—that's a real blessing!”

“...!”

“Dwarves give equipment! Orcs get stronger! Can kill Apostle and Witch!”

“Snort! Kill Apostle and Witch?”

“Snort! Runts' equipment good! Can do it!”

Even with dwarven equipment, it was questionable whether they could cut open the Apostle's body, let alone split the Witch's skull. But that wasn't what mattered.

'Dreams and fantasies.'

A vision, in other words.

Giving them that was the entire purpose of this speech.

“Join forces with the dwarves, and you can become truly brave warriors! Any weak cowards still against it?”

“Snort! Orcs not cowards! Get equipment!”

“Orcs get stronger! Smash Apostle's skull!”

“Snort! Chief Senior is genius!”

From the chieftains to the ordinary warriors, the orcs responded with fervent enthusiasm. Just like that, the dwarves slipped into the meat feast.

“Snort! Runt, eat meat here! Then give equipment!”

“Ha ha, certainly. Whoa! Stop stuffing it into my mouth!”

Perhaps thanks to their hearty disposition, the dwarves mingled with the orcs in no time. The atmosphere quickly grew lively.

Soon...

[532 dwarves have joined the resistance force!]

A message appeared.

Perhaps this meant the orcs had finally opened their hearts and accepted the dwarves as family.

As I gazed at the message in satisfaction, Turon sidled over and tapped my arm.

“You're not just a skilled fighter. You're quite the speaker, too. I think I see why the orcs follow you. They're simple, but by no means stupid...”

“You're too kind, sir.”

“Why so formal all of a sudden? Doesn't suit you.”

“We're on the same side now.”

I smiled.

There was plenty I could get out of the dwarves. Besides, unlike the utterly reckless orcs, they were simply rather hearty folk. Unless they were enemies, there was no need to keep speaking rudely to them.

Kim Minwoo could change his manner of speaking a hundred times over if it helped him clear a gate.

“Ha ha. A young fellow who knows his manners.”

“Not at all.”

I shared a few pieces of cockatrice meat with Turon.

“So, how large is the force heading for the Black Rock tribe?”

“... It'll be a difficult fight. According to the refugees, there are ten wraith knights and at least twenty Corpse Collectors.”

Wraith knights were formed from corrupted souls that had coalesced into tangible form. Every one of them was stronger than a Chimera.

'Tricky opponents.'

Their bodies were made of souls, so weapons weren't very effective. Unless a weapon had been coated in holy water or plated with silver, its damage was usually reduced by at least thirty percent.

And twenty Chimeras on top of that.

'That is a lot.'

Still, it made sense. Dwarves were indeed worse fighters than orcs, but they possessed excellent construction and weaponsmithing skills. They were experts at building fortified settlements and shoring up their defenses.

It wasn't strange that a much larger force would be dispatched against them than against the orcs.

“We need equipment.”

“Of course. Let's head to our settlement.”

We wrapped things up and followed Turon.

* * *

An entrance led underground. Inside lay an enormous cavern, with a sizable fortress standing within it.

“Bring out the equipment!”

At Turon's order, the fortress gates opened, and several carts rolled out laden with equipment: armor, gloves, boots, trousers, and helmets.

They were all made of steel. I inspected them.

[Dwarven Steel Armor]

[Grade: Magic+]

[Level Requirement: 110]

[Armor forged from steel. Its appearance is crude, but its performance is everything it should be.]

[Effect 1. Reduces impact by 20%.]

[Effect 2. Strength +20, Vitality +20]

[Dwarven Steel Axe]

[Level Requirement: 110]

[Grade: Magic+]

[An axe with a vicious blade. A blow from it looks likely to split a skull.]

[Effect 1. Increases downward strike damage by 20%.]

[Effect 2. Increases Strength by +30]

Kim Minwoo's eyes lit up at the equipment.

'Plus items. Just what you'd expect from dwarves, huh?'

Plus items.

The designation was a special feature found mostly on crafted goods, allowing them to produce better effects than other items of the same grade. Naturally, ordinary crafting rarely produced it. Even exceptionally well-made items only received the mark on rare occasions.

But it was hardly surprising that dwarves could make such items.

“Ahem! What do you think?”

“Dwarven craftsmanship certainly lives up to its reputation. Impressive. It's a shame there isn't more equipment, though. This looks like enough to arm only about two hundred orcs.”

Turon nodded.

“I know. But that's everything we have. We've brought it all out, from the equipment the refugees carried here to everything our tribe had in storage.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

'Fair enough.'

The message had said five hundred dwarves had joined. That would include the elderly, infirm, women, and children. There might not even be two hundred capable fighters among them.

If anything, having this much equipment was impressive.

“How many sets of gear like this can you produce in a day?”

“... Even including the refugees, we only have around fifty blacksmiths. We've plenty of materials, but let's see... Even running the smithies all day, more than a hundred sets would be difficult. Equipment like that takes care, even for us.”

“You saw it yourself, Turon. Wandering orcs kept joining us on the way here.”

“... They did.”

“The more of the Witch's forces we destroy, the more recruits we'll get. That won't be nearly enough.”

“Whew... What can we do? We're short of hands. If we had enough apprentices to help with the basic work, that might be different, but there's little we can do right now. We simply don't have enough people to work.”

Turon sighed and looked at the orcs.

“And if we put those orcs to work as apprentices... I'm sure you can imagine the result.”

Kim Minwoo grinned. He had expected the conversation to head in this direction.

“What if you had plenty of excellent apprentices? How much could you produce then?”

“... With truly enough apprentices, two hundred sets a day wouldn't be impossible. We'd work ourselves to the bone, but that's not what matters right now...”

“I have apprentices like that.”

“... You do?”

“Yes. Fellows who won't complain even if they work twenty-four hours a day, who are loyal enough to leap into a fire, and who are more than willing to learn.”

“If you know fellows like that, please introduce them! Back in my day, there were apprentices like that everywhere, but kids these days...”

Just then, a scout came running up, panting, and urgently addressed Turon.

“Chieftain! They're coming! They'll probably be here in an hour!”

“... They're that close already?”

Turon looked at Kim Minwoo, who nodded with a grin.

“I'll introduce the apprentices a little later.”

The battle came first.

* * *

A force of wraith knights and Corpse Collectors approached the dwarven fortress.

Walls and equipment offered advantages, but those who couldn't fight died all the same. Having already wiped out three tribes, they advanced without hesitation.

Then they saw something strange in front of the fortress.

A teeming mass of orcs!

There were well over a thousand of them.

The wraith knights' faces hardened. One or two orcs were nothing. More than a thousand were another matter entirely.

“Orcs! Orcs!”

Their fierce chants thundered through the cavern.

“... To think those dwarves would bring in orcs...”

That wasn't the only problem. Orcs who had been scattered among isolated villages had united. A unique individual capable of becoming their rallying point must have emerged.

One cunning enough to ally with dwarves, no less!

The orcs had once ruled this continent. The Witch had invested considerable effort in splintering their power precisely because of the tremendous strength they displayed once united.

'To think they'd stir in a backwater like this...’

Left unchecked, they could grow to ten thousand, then a hundred thousand in no time. What's more, an orc commander grew explosively stronger as its followers increased.

'Dangerous. We can't allow another Mutakta to emerge.'

“... Aldren. I'll give you five Corpse Collectors. Get out of here. We must report this.”

The wraith knight called Aldren nodded and began leaving the cavern with the Corpse Collectors.

“Brothers! Your second senior, Urkan, commands you! Kill them!”

“Raaaargh!”

Led by an enormous orc at the front, orcs clad in steel equipment charged. The wraith knights drew their spectral blades at the sight.

All that mattered was getting the messenger out. Their role was to buy time.

They steeled themselves for death.

Yet their resolve proved futile. Just before Aldren and the five Chimeras could leave the underground cavern, a voice rang out.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“... A human?”

A human stood blocking their path at the entrance. Then nearly a hundred orcs appeared behind him.

“Snort! Chief Senior really is genius.”

“Snort! I kill them!”

That wasn't even the full force. Hundreds of skeletons were with them as well.

'... An ambush.'

Aldren and the Corpse Collectors' faces hardened.

The human gave them an easy smile.

“Off to report the news? Can't let you do that.”

“... We break through.”

“Welcome to your grave.”

“Orcs! Orcs!”

The six monsters sank into a morass of skeletons.

* * *

[Your level has increased by 3!]

The battle ended in a flood of messages. Every wraith knight and Corpse Collector that had come here was dead. By contrast, fewer than a hundred orcs had fallen.

The armored orcs had served as a sturdy shield on the front line.

'Life really is all about the gear.'

I looked at their corpses. A force this size would be significant enough to draw the fortress's attention. If they went silent for a few days, someone would surely investigate.

From here on, it was a race against time.

I gathered the chieftains.

“Pick your fastest runners and spread the word. We're recruiting brave warriors to fight the Witch.”

“Snort! Understood!”

Before the enemy began moving in earnest, we had to use this precious window to gather as many troops as possible and build our forces.

After sending the orcs off, I met with Turon.

“You did a splendid job!”

Perhaps it was because we'd weathered a crisis together, but his hand carried more warmth than before as he patted my shoulder.

“I said I'd introduce you to some apprentices, didn't I?”

“You did.”

“I'll show you now.”

I gulped down a mana potion. Feeling my mana rapidly refill, I extended my hand.