Chapter 1523: Chapter 1517: The Threatening Hand

——I’m in danger.

The man blocking their path is the mysterious outsider who has appeared by Orel’s side these past few days.

As the official who has been by Orel’s side for a long time.

Water was certain — a few days ago, Orel was still in a normal state.

At the perfect time, at the perfect place, perfectly obstructing us.

With all these factors converging, he naturally becomes the most suspicious person.

The orc official was sweating profusely, clenching his hands, his gaze fixed on Ronald, who appeared before him.

"You... no, it’s you all!"

"Orel’s disappearance is a conspiracy by you. Even if you block me here, you can’t hide this matter forever. Just wait! Orel is a venerable being who has ruled this realm for countless years, your tricks and plots..."

"Stop, stop, stop, wait a moment!" Seeing the orc about to lose control, Ronald quickly raised a hand to calm him, "I mean no harm by coming here, I’m actually here to explain the true situation to you."

While negotiating, Ronald kept his hands in action without missing a beat.

On the surface, he appeared to be having a normal conversation with the orc and even expressed goodwill, but in reality, he was already incorporating his word spirit magic into the conversation, a mixture of multiple word spirits in play!

Unfortunately, the limitations persisted as always.

Even though Ronald adjusted the details of his spellcasting, the word spirit magic still only worked on humans, completely ineffective on the orcs of the [Song in the Forest] world.

He could only continue the dialogue to persuade the other party.

Or risk disrupting the ritual to directly subdue the orc before him with force.

For the need-driven Ronald, the best choice would only be the former.

"The true situation?" The orc, who had been staring at Ronald, spoke at this moment, worry and distrust plainly written on his face, "You want me to trust someone who appears by such coincidence? Especially when the opportunity for the lord’s replacement with this ridiculous thing perfectly matches your appearance time!"

Ronald was about to explain, but the Orel’s replica, standing closer to the orc official, was the one who spoke:

"Water, do not misunderstand my most esteemed guest."

"Mr. Ronald is a noble person who came to save us in distress, how could he be a suspicious character?"

"..."

The atmosphere on-site plunged into a downturn.

The stance of Orel’s replica entirely leaned towards Ronald’s side.

Even though what it said aligned with reality, in the eyes of official Water at this moment, such honest words seemed filled with mocking threats.

"A puppet! When questioned about itself, it doesn’t defend, but instead declares its stance for you?"

The orc official’s fury was almost visible, fire about to leap from his eyes, and the earlier conversation utterly failed to soothe his mood.

"Rogue, you dare to fool me..."

Suddenly, the orc official’s voice, previously filled with anger, abruptly stopped.

Because at this moment.

He saw Ronald, standing across the street, disappear abruptly.

Simultaneously, a powerful hand mercilessly clamped around his throat.

"I didn’t want to use violence..."

"Listen to me——"

"If I truly intended to do something to you, it would have turned out like this several seconds ago."

Ronald’s voice finally reached Water’s ears.

The orc official, caught at the vulnerability, was already starting to suffer from a lack of oxygen. His face turned a different shade as he struggled to make any sound, determined to use all his strength against the enemy before him.

But at this moment, speaking even a word or two proved an insurmountable task, not to mention controlling his own jaw.

"Huh... huh—"

As breathing became harder, the unrelenting force terrifyingly resembling iron clamped his throat.

Under such suppression and fear of looming death, the orc official almost felt like his neck was being burned by flames, with dizziness slowly taking over his mind.

Yet the next moment, the grip vanished instantaneously.

Water, whose eyes were red, instantly sighed with relief, and his powerless body collapsed to the ground, leaving only instincts driving him to breathe.

"Ha—ha—"

"Understand now? If I truly meant to do something to you, resisting wouldn’t even be an option."

Ronald’s voice rang out once more.

The orc official clutched his throat, looked up, and saw the man towering above him.

"You can stand up now."

A right hand, the one that had just gripped his throat, extended towards Water.

The orc official looked at the man before him, then back at the hand extended toward him.

Realizing the harsh reality, he had no choice but to hang the weight of his body onto the arm, allowing the other to pull him up from the ground.

"See, isn’t that better?"

Seeing the orc official submit, Ronald smiled as he pulled him up:

"I know you’re probably very despairing, thinking that Orel, or even this city, is in crisis. But what I must tell you is, things might not be as good, but it surely hasn’t plunged into the hopelessness you imagine. Come on, follow me, let’s find a safer place to talk in detail. I’ll explain the confusion you’re facing, and once you learn the truth, the choice will rest in your own hands."

The orc official rubbed his sore neck, almost instinctively asking:

"I want to know about Orel, he..."

"Stop." Ronald interrupted once more, pointing around, "Look at the situation here, is it a suitable place for us to talk about these issues?"

Following the words, the orc official looked around.

He only now noticed that the once-quiet street now had orcs reappearing gradually, most displaying displeasure.

—In fact, to clear such an area for blocking people.

Unable to control the orcs, Ronald had resorted to modern marketing tactics, falsely claiming that an event was happening on the next street, thus successfully misleading the orcs away from the road; now, realizing they’d been duped, people were flooding back.

As the primary culprit, Ronald had no intention of lingering here.

With that, he strode forward quickly!

Not forgetting to speak to Orel’s replica standing nearby:

"You’re coming with us, you have a part in this."

Orel’s replica, still under the previous logic, naturally tried refusing the invitation:

"No, I still have matters to handle at the palace."

Ronald spoke in an almost commanding tone:

"Forget those pointless things, come with me!"

"..."

"Alright, I hear you!"

Before leaving, Orel seemingly left high privileges for the replica with them.

Upon hearing these words, Orel’s replica immediately obeyed the command.

Without any hesitation, he followed Ronald and Water, leaving the street.