Chapter 76: 76 | Who said I wanted to talk with you?

[Aiden’s POV]

"Huh?" Both heads of the orc focused on me as I stepped forward and spoke.

I couldn’t see, but I could feel all the eyes behind me focused on me. Like trying to pierce into me to find out why I could talk to an orc?

"You can speak, filthy human?" The commander questioned.

’Damien, after you and Donald coat your weapons. You should attack in between his heads, but only when I give the signal; you will know,’ I silently communicated.

"If I am filthy, then what are you? A maggot?" I taunted.

My whole plan was based on shifting his focus so Damien and Donald could attack while I prepared something lethal.

"You’ve got quite a mouth; are you from a different world too?" the orc asked. He seemed quite talkative, contrary to expectations.

"Wow, I didn’t know you had the brains to formulate a question. I guess having two heads means you are smarter than other orcs," I redirected instead of answering his question.

He gritted his teeth as he responded loudly, "I am the smartest of my tribe. How dare you insult the intelligence of Krag-Moden?"

"You mean your dead tribe, or were these just cannon fodder?" I questioned, unfazed by his anger.

"No, you answer my question first. Who made this handprint here? I can see smashed corpses of the battalion under it. Who was responsible?" he demanded.

’Well, I can’t always be at the receiving end; I have to give something too.’

"Yes, this was done by a senior. He was in a hurry, so he left the cleanup to us. Now, answer mine," I lied with a straight face.

"Hehe...if a Sovereign was here, this fight would have been difficult, but there is no strong one here, except that bloodsucker," he smirked.

’Good, he doesn’t see us as a threat.’

"This was just a battalion of our forces; you are lucky we can’t barge in at full strength, otherwise...hehe." He didn’t complete the sentence. He didn’t need to; I understood immediately.

Sensing a never-before opportunity, I asked further, "How do you open the rifts?"

"Don’t try to be smart, human. I, Krag-Moden, am the smart one here. How can you speak our language?" He questioned.

"Oh...that’s simple. I just used a skill," I answered.

"Hmm, okay, I have decided. I will capture you and return to my plane with you as a trophy. I may get decent rewards from the chieftain," he spoke nonchalantly.

"Are you sure you can take me without my consent? If I wanted to, I could cut you down, right from the middle," I spoke, signalling Damien.

"Haha, you are a funny human. I am sure it will be fun to have a human around," he commented.

"You are already looking pale standing in front of me," he added.

But the next moment a storm of blood-shaped attacks assaulted him as multiple scars appeared over his body.

Before he could react to this attack, a sudden movement occurred near his shadow, and something struck the orc between his heads.

He screamed loudly, holding both of his heads. He staggered a bit; he tried to sway his hand, looking like he was trying to catch the air. His eyes were red, filled with anger, as he looked at me.

"You think I wouldn’t notice those pesky buggers behind you preparing an attack to kill while you try to distract me with your taunts and questions. Wrong. There won’t be any more talk; just die already." He raised his arms to slam into the ground again.

"You are right, I was betting on it that you would notice. Who said, I wanted to talk with you?" I stated as the orc looked at me in confusion, stopping midway.

A smirk appeared on my face.

The next moment, a long literal nail came at a blinding speed and pierced right between his heads and came out from his chest, lodging on the ground.

"It’s not exactly from the middle, but I think this will be enough," I commented as sweat beads were formed on my head.

I had put 50% mana into making the nail and an extra 30% to increase the speed due to lack of height.

"His movements are restricted, but not for long. Everyone attack with your full might; don’t give him time to recover," I shouted.

"You puny human, I will kill you...Ahh," he shouted and struggled as he tried to break the nail. It was holding for now but not for long.

Hearing my command, everyone unleashed their attacks. In a few moments the orc’s body was littered with holes and wounds; his pristine red body was covered in dark red blood.

"Haha...it’s still not enough, human; you will be the first to be crushed under my hands," he spoke in half amusement, half anger as he applied more force; small cracks started to appear in the mana nail I created.

"Azravael, I think you have enough blood; finish him," I ordered.

He understood my intentions as all the blood in the vicinity started gathering in a single large drop; the next moment, it took the form of a large blade.

"I, Krag-Moden, will not be killed by some puny nobodies," he shouted as cracks grew wider, on the verge of breaking.

"I don’t know what you are barking about, mutt, but that’s enough of your gibberish." Azravael finished his sentence as the blade cleaved the orc in two from the waist, just as he broke free from the nail.

The last expression of the orc commander was that of fear and anger as he saw himself cut by someone he considered weak.

I exhaled, feeling the strain of using 80% of mana in such a short time. It was a minor ache, but it was still there.

"You nailed it, boss," Thane’s voice said from behind.

"Hahaha...that was fun," I commented.

"That was a splendid plan, master. Only you can think of such measures," Damien complimented.

"You are worthy of being added as lord of the council, Lord Aiden. We are lucky to be witnessing this side of you," Regalia also joined in.

"Okay, enough with the praise. Everyone worked well together, and our job isn’t finished; we have much more to do." I stopped this from going further.

"Gather the bodies in one place," I added.

I stood as everyone followed the command. Britany came near me and used her dryad magic to alleviate the strain.

"Thanks, Britany."

"No worries, boss," she answered as she started helping in gathering bodies of dead orcs.

I suddenly remembered the gift given to me by the Eternal Tree; I could use it to create a wood affinity ring or give it to Britany so she could evolve like Thane.

However, I pushed that decision aside. From the little conversation with the orc commander, my mind was already going wild with the possibilities.

There was a theory, when rifts started appearing 300 years ago, that it was a form of attack rather than a natural phenomenon. I still didn’t have enough to confirm this, but the talk and my senses were telling me this was much bigger, and it has already started escalating.

They collected all the bodies in three piles, and I stored them in my inventory immediately.

"What are you going to do with the bodies, boss?" Thane asked.

"Soon we would have to settle in our new city. Their bodies can be used to earn money; there can never be enough money," I answered.

I turned back as I was walking towards the Tidebreaker. "I could talk to that orc because I have a skill," I addressed, not wanting to cause some kind of misunderstanding.

Especially for Regalia and Donald, they were still outsiders and new to this compared to others.

Just as we boarded the Tidebreaker, I ordered A.B. to hurry us to the next location.

"Nice, mister, why do you leave Felicia behind? Felicia also wanted to fight with you," she complained.

"Ahh...you see, this bad guy was very ugly. So I didn’t want the little ice princess to see such an ugly enemy," I said apologetically.

"Hmm...okay, but next time Felicia wants to fight together with you," she stated like it was fact. I nodded positively.

I hurried towards my room as others took potions and took a breather before we reached the next rift. I practiced my breathing technique to use this moment to refill my mana while loosening my 7th node.

During the breathing, a question ticked at the back of my mind. How to increase our strength more and attack the next rift?

It’s not necessary that the same trick will work on every opponent.

– – –

[3rd Person POV]

While the demon continent was in chaos, a calamity reincarnate stepped her feet on the coast of Kronesthion.

She was wearing a green gown that only enhanced her figure and beauty. Every step she took was random, but it looked meticulous nonetheless.

Her rhomboid-shaped eyes scanned the sparsely populated surroundings as she walked forward.

"Now, where are you now, Master Aiden?" the beauty, Thalassa, spoke.