Orc Hero Story: Discovery Chronicles

Chapter 66

Orc Hero Story

In ruins located beyond the Lesser Snowfield and past the mountains where the dragon resided, a place made of smooth stone, eroded over the years but still maintaining its form. They were nameless ruins, or perhaps they had a name before falling into this state. Today, it was a desolate ruin that nobody visited, and even its existence was known to only a limited number of people.

A woman was about to enter such ruins. She lightly climbed an icy cliff wall, gently pushed the frozen stone door of the ruins, and slipped inside. Silence enveloped her as she kicked the stone door shut behind her.

The interior of the ruins was beautiful despite its deteriorated appearance. A large magic circle was drawn in the center of the grand hall, and countless rays of light extended into smaller rooms. Perhaps due to the effect of the magic circle, though dusty and old, there were no signs of decay. In each of the smaller rooms, at first glance, it was hard to discern their purpose.

However, in one of them, there was something easily recognizable: books. A large number of books were stacked on a shelf, and not only that, they were also piled up on the floor. The woman entered the room.

Among the stacks of books, there was a woman. Her name was Poplatica, a woman with a slender body, sunken eyes, and wavy hair.

Poplatica of the Shadow Vortex. The daughter of Sequence, an adept demon mage, was casually seated atop a tower of books, flipping through one of them. Her dark circles were darker than usual, and weariness was evident. She must not have slept.

Although there was an intruder in the room, she never looked up from the book. She might not have even noticed. She was absorbed. She followed the phrases written in the book with an almost ghostly expression on her face.

“I’m back. And I brought it with me.”

The woman raised her voice, and Poplatica looked up with a sigh. Then she glanced at the woman beneath the tower of books and smiled weakly.

“Welcome, princess. You should have returned a long time ago.”

“My griffin was destroyed. And please, drop the princess stuff…”

“Would you prefer prince?”

“That’s not much different either.”

“How annoying. At least you should figure out what you want to be called before discarding your name.”

The nameless woman shrugged and pulled a rainbow-colored stone from the bag on her back. Then she carelessly tossed it towards Poplatica.

“Be careful, it’s a valuable object.”

“An object with so much power won’t break just from being thrown like that.”

Poplatica safely caught the stone and stared at it sullenly.

“I thought the same when I saw the seed of the sacred tree, but it’s beautiful.”

“The shell it was in was beautiful too. A grand creature, indeed…”

“In ancient times, creatures with this kind of power roamed the land… but I’m sure that doesn’t sound familiar to you.” Poplatica tapped the spine of the book she was reading with her fingers.

Most of the books in the stack were about history. They were books that described the very long history of this continent. From the moment people first appeared on this continent to the onset of the war… All of history was preserved here.

“How long have you been reading?”

“A fair amount of time, yes.” Poplatica replied and slammed the book shut. The entire history was written there, but the further back in time she went, even to the beginning of the war, the more languages and scripts changed, and the longer it took to decipher them, especially the primitive scripts, which were no longer even letters, but symbols.

If Poplatica had been alone, she wouldn’t have been able to read even a tenth of this pile. She got to know the contents of these stacks thanks to her predecessors. There were people in the past who delved into these piles, deciphered the difficult texts, and rewrote them in the current language. Although only a few of the books were deciphered, translated, and condensed by those who had access to the records, thanks to them, Poplatica was able to read the original texts.

Once upon a time, there was a continent inhabited by great creatures beyond the reach of human knowledge. The rulers of this continent were not humans. Although it wasn’t known why these creatures perished. Thanks to translations left by her ancestors, it was known that the ancients speculated that perhaps they fought among themselves, but that was nothing but that, mere speculation.

The only fact known for sure was that the great creatures were dead, and a part of their power remained all over the continent. The Beastmen’s Sacred Tree, the Succubi’s Sacred Place, the Elves’ Crypt, the Ogres’ Great Jaws, the Dwarves’ Gold, and the Humans’ Sacred Writings. Nowhere was it mentioned that these were remnants of the great creatures, but it took only a bit of contemplation to realize that it was so.

“All that remains are the Human Writings.”

“Oh? So, did Aldrya fail?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

The remains of the great creatures sometimes ended up scattered around. The Elves’ Crypt was just a pile of debris after the long war, and the Dwarves’ Gold lay amidst a heap of scrap. There were many other unnamed remnants.

But those who saw them knew that power resided in them. And when power resided in something, it became an object of faith. Like, for example, the Beastmen’s Sacred Tree or the Succubi’s Sacred Place.

If they had rushed to secure them, undoubtedly they would have discovered what they were planning to do. Even if not, they would know that some force was working behind the scenes. Therefore, they went for the Sacred Tree, the Sacred Place, and the Writings almost at the same time… Apparently, they failed only with regard to the human writings.

“Two more…”

“No. One more.”

“Hmm? One? Weren’t you planning to go for the last one after everyone returned?”

“True, but if I didn’t come up with a plan.”

“Are you saying you’ve come up with something?”

Poplatica shook her head at the woman’s words.

“No. But it’s gone.”

“Gone? What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard a rumor that my sister put together a raiding party, so maybe they were able to deal with it.”

“I don’t think the current demons are capable of defeating a dragon…”

“Whatever. Carrot went to get it.”

As the woman nodded, the door to the room creaked open. She sensed the presence of a person entering the room without the sound of footsteps.

“Oh, well… Why did you take so long, princess?”

When she turned around, she saw a succubus walking towards her, her beautiful body making exotic movements. It was Carrot, the general who was once said to be the strongest in the Succubus Army.

“I was worried about you. Worried that something might have happened to you.”

Carrot placed one of her fingers on the chin of the nameless woman and moved it. It might have looked like a provocative behavior, but it wasn’t. It was a succubus gesture that would be frowned upon in the lands of Humans and Elves. Of course, the woman understood it, so she didn’t seem particularly uncomfortable; she responded naturally.

“True, the griffin ended up dead on the way out.”

“Is that so? You say it so lightly, but it wasn’t a natural death, was it? Who did it? Won’t you tell to big Sis?”

“An orc. And not just any orc. It was that orc hero you mentioned.”

“Oh, did you meet Sir Bash? How come you’re alive?”

“Well, if I weren’t a woman, he would have killed me.”

“Oh wow! Did Sir Bash hit you and then raped you? I’m so jealous!”

“No way, I just caught him off guard by flashing my boobs. But then he ended up confessing to me.”

At that moment, a chilling cold air engulfed the place.

“Oh really? Now I’m genuinely jealous.”

It was jealousy indeed. The nameless woman couldn’t be oblivious to it, but she responded as if she hadn’t noticed. There was no need to rush to offend her. She knew that the ending of this story was surely a happy one for the succubus in front of her.

“Right? Even an orc can make such a passionate proposal, can’t they? No one had told me I was beautiful since I got this face.”

“So, what’s the problem then? Did you accept becoming Sir Bash’s wife?”

“Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way. When I asked him who he would choose, me or the Ogre children I was about to kill, he chose the children. That’s admirable for an orc. Very respectable.”

Upon hearing this, Carrot’s face burst into a smile.

“I know, right? Sir Bash is different from all the other orcs.” Carrot’s attitude softened. Despite her jealousy that Bash had confessed to her, she smiled happily at the mention that he chose to help people over sleeping with a woman. Yes, no other orc would have done that. He was still the best, her Sir Bash.

“Can you two finish this chat already?” Poplatica, who had remained silent during their conversation, said and leaped down from the book tower. She carelessly placed the book she was holding back and reached out her hand to Carrot. Carrot responded by pulling out a pale and radiant object from her pocket, something resembling coral, and handing it over.

“Alright, one more. I’m sorry, you two have just returned, but I’m going to need you to work a bit more.”

“Of course.”

“I know. That was my intention all along. I can go alone if you want.”

Poplatica, feeling that their response was trustworthy, began to walk away.

“Sure. But if Aldrya couldn’t make it, they’ll be suspicious, and I don’t think three will be enough. Let’s take a few more with us.”

The two women followed Poplatica. They exited the small room, entered a large room, and from there to the corridor. Beyond the long corridor was a staircase going downwards, leading to a grand altar.

It didn’t resemble any of the current continental architectural styles. It was distinct from Elf and Demon styles. The pillars were so thick and tall that it was hard to believe they were made by human hands, the ceiling was so high that it was hard to believe it was in the mountains, and the altar, presumably dedicated to some deity, glowed with a deep purple hue. It was simply massive. It was so large that anyone would feel uneasy about such a thing existing in the middle of the mountain.

The three walked down a long corridor and reached the back of the altar. Carrot and the nameless woman looked toward it. On the pedestal of the altar were the relics they had collected over the past three years.

Soon, their hard work would be rewarded. Thinking about it warmed the hearts of the three a little, though not to the point of overflowing, because they hadn’t started yet. There was one more thing to do.

“Oh, you’ve returned safely!”

The voice echoed in the altar. When they turned around, there were shadows of various races. There were demons, ogres, succubi, lizardmen, and harpies. There were orcs as well, though no fairies. On the contrary, there were beastmen, dwarves, and elves. In total, there were 20 individuals, all of whom were looking at Poplatica and the others with unusually glassy eyes.

At the forefront was a demon as well. It was a massive demon with four huge magical swords on its back. Its name was Netherhanks. People called him the “Strongblade General”. He was one of the most powerful demons and a true warrior.

“Aldrya won’t be returning after all?”josei

“That’s right.”

“Is she dead?”

“Yes. And maybe captured and tortured.”

“She’s not the type to break under torture. I’d rather think she died in the most honorable way!” Netherhanks boldly laughed and looked at Poplatica.

“We need to clean up her mess.”

“Mm. And what do we do? Should I go? Or should all of us go?”

“No, you’d be too conspicuous, old man. I’ll borrow some of the guys.”

“Understood! Take as many as you need!”

“I would, even if you didn’t tell me.”

In this conversation, 20 valiant men presented themselves. They were all seasoned warriors. Renowned fighters. Beloved of battle, able to live only in battle. And they were all discontent with this peace. They were the chosen ones who had come here after wandering from place to place, honing their fangs in the darkness.

The founder of this group was Poplatica. But they all held the same feelings.

“Well, you and then you…”

Poplatica chose two of them and turned on her heels. The other five followed her, silently. They left the ruins.

“We await good news.”

They set off, with Netherhanks’ words at their backs. What they needed to obtain were the Human Writings. Their destination was where humans were left alone and defenseless during Gediguz’s invasion, and where they fought back despite losing their commander. The Zarico Peninsula, beyond the Piles River and past the Arcanshel Plain.

It was the Human enclave, the territory of the Blackhead.

Frizcop: Well, folks. We’ve reached the last chapter of this arc and the beginning of the hiatus until around Christmas. What more can I say? We’re approaching the climax of this story, and there are only a maximum of 2 or 3 arcs left. If Rifujin-sensei decides to extend the novel further without Bash achieving his goal, it would be a bit disappointing. Also, when Bash loses his virginity, if there isn’t a strong reason for him to continue his journey, it wouldn’t make sense for him to go on.

Personally, I don’t think Bash will become a magic warrior. Maybe I’m wrong, but it would be a huge letdown if all the path he walked was for nothing. Although I would like to see the orc magic warriors redeemed, either with one of them assisting Bash or by having him encounter one with whom he fights, a battle so significant that his name is held high by Bash when he tells his story, causing the other orcs to change their perspective on them.

The harem ending is already confirmed, I think we’re clear on that, but I hope, as part of team Thunder Sonia, that she’s the first one Bash marries. It would make sense for her to be the first, both due to my personal preferences and because it makes sense politically. First Thunder Sonia, then maybe the beast princess, and the others falling in line (although I can’t picture Curly Kale as a wife on the list, but Carrot makes sense to me).

So, I won’t ramble on too much. See you in the next arc. I will ask to make a post or something when volume 5 comes out and I have bought it and cleaned it and translated the illustrations with text, so you know they are already when they are available to see them (although that will be in September). Anyway, keep an eye on the Fans Translations discord or you can follow me on twitter as @frizcop, both options are valid and I will try to do the post on both.

P.S.: I’ll be uploading a new novel soon, it’s going to be called “The yuri journey of the tsundere Master and her fox-eared Servant on their quest to defeat the demonic forces,” or something similar. If you have suggestions for a name that sounds more appealing, leave them in the comments.