A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 270 : Orc Mountains (4)

The combat power of the Orcs and the Anti-Demon soldiers was nearly equal.

It was roughly a one-to-one match.

The soldiers of the Guardian Cross Order held the advantage in weapon proficiency and formation, while the Orcs excelled in their characteristically chaotic fighting style and human-wave tactics utilizing their vast numbers.

However, that was the story before the Orcs were enhanced.

『And… the Orcs I clashed with near the central area of those tunnels possessed combat power that exceeded that of a normal Orc by more than double, despite not being Named.』

The Orcs, now forming ranks and clad in a much deeper shade of dark green, proved that U-jin’s words were not wrong.

『If a normal Orc is simply green, then the ones I encountered… I will refer to them as ‘Enhanced Orcs.’』

『…….』

『Those Enhanced Orcs had ‘dark green’ skin with a higher proportion of black. Based on my experience from my time as a Penal Soldier, I estimate their combat power to be at least double.』

Whether they were called Enhanced Orcs or Orcs that had consumed improved Black Olives, the names for these mutant Orcs with such heterogenous combat power had not been unified.

『…Bloodshot eyes, paroxysmal rage, excessive salivation and foaming at the mouth, labored breathing, and a series of symptoms that lead to madness upon contact with blood.』

『…….』

『These are the exact same symptoms Seo U-jin spoke of experiencing with the Orc race.』

Ultimately, the phenomenon was collectively referred to as ‘Berserk,’ a name originally coined by Leonardo Louis Button, the first to discover the phenomenon.

The soldiers felt an inexplicable anxiety as they looked at the enhanced Orcs.

There were things one could sense even without direct confrontation.

The peculiar, abnormal feeling brought about by that deep dark green intensified the silent atmosphere of the battlefield just before the start of combat.

…But.

That didn't change anything.

The Orc Mountains were the target the Subjugation Force had to conquer, and since they had nowhere to retreat unless they jumped into the Black Sea behind them, they had to move forward.

And so.

“All troops.”

Silence—

“…Advance.”

With Kanna Cartier’s low murmur, the battle began.

* * *

The signal for the start was Kanna Cartier’s Holy Spear.

With the command to ‘advance,’ she brandished her spear with a light gesture, manifesting her unique ability by imbuing it with Mana.

The clouds above the center of the Orc Mountains were pierced, and a massive spear struck the very heart of the range.

Kwoong—!

It wasn't merely a symbolic image.

The Holy Spear, manifesting as a colossal form made of Mana, was a physical reality with tangible influence.

Hundreds of Orcs who had been staring blankly up at the spear were swept away by a single gesture of her hand.

Overwhelming might.

The eerie atmosphere it brought boosted the battlefield’s morale, and soon after, the Subjugation Force began their charge with spirited roars.

—Waaaaaaah!

—Charge!

The shouts were filled with countless emotions.

Fear, hostility, anger, hesitation, sorrow, and worry—all these emotions blended together to create something raw.

It was more like a scream for oneself rather than a cry directed at the enemy.

A mass of energy that couldn't be described in a single word echoed, engraving itself into the soldiers once more.

The conclusion of all those combined emotions was ultimately killing intent.

A blind hostility that they must kill those hideous things before them, and a desperate survival instinct that only then could they live.

—Kwaaaaakh!

—Ook!

Similarly, sounds erupted from the Orcs.

It was impossible to know exactly what those words meant, but the energy they carried was no different from what the soldiers spat out.

There can be no fakes on a battlefield.

Pure killing intent to kill the opponent at any cost collided, and the raw combat began.

Clang—!

The sound of swords clashing.

Squelch—

The sound of something being cut.

Crack—

The sound of something breaking.

Thud—

The sound of something being stabbed.

Again.

Squelch—

The sound of cutting.

Raw sounds gathered to play the hideous music of the battlefield.

Blood splattered everywhere.

A corpse with its head cleanly severed was considered lucky.

Some met a far more unfortunate and gruesome end.

Even though their lives had already ended, axes and clubs continued to hack at their half-crushed heads.

Surprisingly, there were few screams.

No, it would be more accurate to say they were drowned out.

The desperate struggles of those shouting that they didn't want to die while watching their comrades perish before their eyes swallowed those sounds.

No one was an exception in the cruelty of the battlefield.

Only the targets changed according to each person's level of power.

No one participating in the battle could afford the luxury of relaxation as they stood at the crossroads of life and death.

The Heroes, the Priests, and.

Bang—!

“…….”

U-jin was no exception.

Holding an enhanced magi-tech firearm, U-jin, ironically, did not stand on the general front line.

Far ahead of the line formed where allies and enemies met.

In other words, the idiomatic expression ‘in the middle of the enemy camp’ would be quite fitting.

U-jin stood in the center, surrounded on all sides by Orcs.

It was always like this.

U-jin’s combat style, which half-abandoned defense and evasion in favor of trading flesh for bone, found it more helpful to have more enemies than allies.

To be honest, when he focused and immersed himself in combat, he didn't have the mental capacity to distinguish between friend and foe anyway.

Rather than worrying about this and that, the middle of the enemy camp was a more comfortable space for U-jin.

Whoosh—

An Orc’s characteristic dark brown club swung toward U-jin.

He didn't particularly dodge.

Of course, it wasn't because the attack itself was trivial.

Even though U-jin had his own level of power, the Orcs were also in a state where they had gained double the combat power, as U-jin himself had stated.

It was equally dangerous if a vital spot was hit.

Sure enough.

Thwack—

U-jin’s right arm, struck at the elbow by the club, bent at a bizarre angle.

However, U-jin didn't even look at his broken arm; he swung it as it was, crushing the Orc’s head.

Splatter—

Along with the erupting blood, a system notification appeared before U-jin’s eyes.

[Ding!]

[ is activated.]

[Absorbing a large amount of the prey’s blood. Regeneration speed increases drastically.]

As he clenched his fist once more, the bone automatically reset, and the stretched ligaments contracted.

The severed nerves took some time to recover, leaving a dull sensation, but his physical appearance was completely restored.

Moving his instantly repaired arm, U-jin pulled the trigger.

Bang—

With that, four or five Orcs in front of him exploded at once.

He turned his body to the left.

His reason, which had been analyzing the situation before him second by second, quietly abandoned its role.

Except for the senses required for combat, the other functions of his brain switched to 'Off.'

No stray thoughts occurred.

Only the instinct to kill and the instinct to survive intersected vertically.

U-jin surrendered his body to that flow and entered a state of selflessness.

“…He really is something else.”

Watching the scene of the struggle from a distance, as if it were someone else's business, Kim Satgat murmured softly.

As with most battles, it was not easy for the flow of a war to be changed by 'one person.'

No matter how superior an individual might be, war was a kind of flow composed of the sum of countless individuals.

On average, the excellence of an individual usually only provided minor fluctuations, buried by the massive numbers, and was generally unable to exert enough power to overturn a trend or an already established relationship of superiority.

Of course.

The story changed slightly if there was a fundamental difference in 'Grade.'

'Grade' was a concept that functioned similarly to a difference in dimensions.

It was a concept used to explain a massive difference in influence that transcended the meaning of equivalent individuals and could not be explained simply by the dimension of being an 'individual.'

The fact that the Order distinguished between 1-star and 2-star Heroes was also an extension of that concept.

Therefore, the influence a single Hero exerted on a battle was not something that could be explained simply as the influence of an 'individual.'

The participation of a Hero went beyond the participation of a superior 'individual' and could significantly affect the flow of battle, converging into the main current.

Intuitively, it was like a modern weapon, a 'gun,' intervening in an ancient war fought with cold weapons.

‘…….’

But.

“…Heh.”

Even so.

Even considering all those things.

U-jin’s influence far transcended the standards of what a normal Hero exerted on a battlefield.

He had already put a hole in the head of the Named Magical Beast he was supposed to take charge of, the ‘Orc Shaman,’ and not only that, he had already finished off several Named Magical Beasts beyond the front line that had not yet been identified by the Order.

Furthermore, the area where he was located had formed a front line far ahead of the other sectors.

An overwhelming influence to the point where an individual could pull up an entire front line.

If that were the influence of a typical 1-star Hero, the other front lines should have shown the same pattern.

However, not only 1-star Heroes, but even 3-star and 4-star Heroes were struggling against the Orcs with their surged combat power and had yet to show such significant influence.

Accordingly, only the front line of the 3rd Brigade, to which U-jin belonged, stood out like a mountain peak.

Moreover, the holy magic and Iron Stakes, which could be called the specialties of the Order, had not even been activated yet.

That meant the current gap was merely the beginning.

It meant the gap would only widen as time passed.

That U-jin was no ordinary 1-star Hero was something Kim Satgat had already experienced in the canyons of Kunlun with Isaac Einstein.

Still, witnessing it with his own eyes was another matter entirely.

Calling him a Hero was just a nice way of putting it.

In Kim Satgat’s honest opinion.

“…He’s a total monster.”

Even that was close to a refined expression.

If he were the one who had to stop U-jin, he wouldn't be muttering a compliment like ‘a total monster,’ but would be screaming ‘fiend’ in spite.

Watching U-jin quietly, Kim Satgat shook his head and pulled down his bamboo hat.

He had been observing the war situation just in case.

From the looks of it, providing Mana would likely be enough of a role for the Floating Territory to play.

…Since a single battle-crazed fiend was already rampaging across the battlefield.

As long as that man was there, losing this battle was simply unimaginable.

Any further worry seemed like meddling and unnecessary anxiety.

Shake, shake—

Shaking his head, he turned around.

He had his own work to do.

“…Shall I go, then?”

Iron Stakes.

It was time to see the secret weapon of the Floating Territory, which he had never used before, with his own two eyes.