Chapter 53: Chapter 44: Local Specialty of the Wizarding World

After finding the sacrificial ritual for the Black Orc God, Isaac first estimated the materials required.

The true base success rate was the same as the other two rituals: one percent. However, the buffer materials for the Black Orc God were relatively easy to obtain. A single Black Orc could increase the success rate by about one percent, with the exact amount varying based on the individual’s quality.

A tenfold margin for error... which meant one thousand Black Orcs.

’That’s quite a lot.’ But fortunately, Ordinary Black Orcs could be used as offerings. Black Orc Warriors were even more effective, so five or six hundred should be enough to max out the buffer.

’Hmm, five to six hundred Black Orcs is still a lot, especially since they have to be alive.’

But that had nothing to do with Isaac. It was a problem for his older brother and the others to worry about.

Still, this was the easiest of the three rituals. The buffer for Khorne was the Blood of Battle, and only the blood of Warriors who died immersed in frenzied combat could increase the margin for error. One Warrior could provide ten portions of Blood of Battle, and at least three hundred portions were needed to stack up to the thousand-unit target.

That wouldn’t be easy to find. But the most difficult one was for the Dream Elf...

It required a full one thousand portions!

’That’s just insane...’

And they were difficult to gather.

But he could take his time with the latter two. There was no rush.

After making a list of the required materials and giving it to his older sister, Isaac immersed himself in his research once more. His work on Flesh Conversion had seen significant progress after Harmon’s enhancement was completed.

He expected to complete a new optimization soon, which would further diversify his combat methods. Everything was progressing steadily.

Meanwhile, Caesar and the others who received the list were lost in thought, especially about the hundreds of Black Orcs...

"Why do we need so many Black Orcs for a sacrifice to Him? Isn’t He the Deity of the Black Orcs?" In the Lord’s Mansion, Gaia, Caesar, and Cheryl stared quizzically at the list Isaac had prepared. Caesar directed his question to Cheryl.

Hearing this, Gaia also turned to look at Cheryl. Although he was a higher Level than his daughter and the only High-level Knight in the domain, he couldn’t compare to her when it came to scholarly knowledge.

However, even Cheryl couldn’t figure out why live Black Orc sacrifices were necessary after staring at the list for a long time.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to make offerings to the Black Orc God—Casters and Ordinary people alike did so, though the Black Orcs of the Wilderness were his most numerous followers. But no one had ever heard of using Black Orcs themselves as live sacrifices.

But she trusted Isaac’s professional judgment as a Legendary Mage. If that’s what Isaac said to do, then that’s what they would do.

"I don’t know either, but let’s trust our third brother." Cheryl contemplated the list for a moment before looking up at Gaia and Caesar. "A few hundred Black Orcs... the number is too vague. Let’s prepare for one thousand, and make sure they meet Warrior standards."

"Alright. I’ll leave this matter to you, then. Gather them as quickly as possible," Gaia said, turning to Caesar and patting his shoulder.

"I’ll lead the party myself." Caesar nodded, then turned and left without hesitation.

The number was large, and it needed to be dealt with quickly. They were running out of time.

After Caesar left, Gaia said to Cheryl, "Aside from capturing them ourselves, go ask Remi and see if he has any in stock."

"Alright." Cheryl nodded, dissolving into a flash of Arcane Radiance and vanishing from the room.

"Isaac..."

Alone in the room, Gaia took a painting from a drawer. He gazed with a complex expression at the beautiful woman depicted within... It was Isaac’s mother. She had tragically died while giving birth to him, and her last wish was for Isaac to live a long and peaceful life.

That was why, when he first learned that Isaac had no talent for the Arcane Arts, he had felt a pang of happiness alongside his disappointment. Isaac’s frail body might never fully heal, but at least he could live out his days safely under his father’s protection.

But in the end, no one could have predicted that Isaac’s talent would be so exceptional that he would become a Legendary Mage using nothing but a hodgepodge of things he collected himself.

And now he was playing for such high stakes...

SIGH...

As his thoughts spiraled, his myriad worries coalesced into a single, sorrowful sigh. Gaia put the painting away, quickly composed himself, and returned to his work.

The Black Orcs had only just begun to rally their forces and were still a great distance from the fortress, but that didn’t mean his people could just sit and wait. While preparing war supplies, they also had to dispatch cavalry units to continuously harass the Black Orc army.

They could disrupt their march and gather intelligence at the same time.

When it came to intelligence, the more, the better.

Therefore, the cavalry parties sent out on these hunting missions were crucial and demanded great strength. There were currently two candidates: Remington and Black Snake Barry.

The former needed to atone for his recent mistakes and earn lenient treatment; the latter needed to accumulate merits to exchange for a Secret Skill and Secret Medicine to break through to High-level Knight. Furthermore, both were at the Great Knight Peak and each commanded a powerful cavalry unit. They were the only real choices for the mission.

After a moment of consideration, Gaia chose Black Snake Barry. For one, he had already decided to give the Secret Skill and Secret Medicine to Barry, so he needed to give him a chance to earn the merits and make the reward justifiable. For another, he didn’t trust Remington right now—he didn’t dare to.

’Who knew if Remington had truly seen the error of his ways?’

’What if he was just faking his repentance, and was actually still plotting to collude with the Black Orcs?’

’Once a seed is planted, it’s not so easily uprooted—whether it’s a seed of desire or a seed of doubt.’