Orc Hero Story: Discovery Chronicles - Chapter 55.1

We’re starting the new arc! Arc 6: Gije Fortress, Demon Nation

Orc Hero Story

The Demon Nation. It was located beyond the Argardia Valley and two more mountains.

Bash and his companion left the Succubus Nation, walked up the Argardia Valley after the flood subsided, and entered the country. Although they were entering illegally, they left a note at the border, so they thought they would be safe. A snowy field stretched before Bash and Zell. People called it the Lesser Snowfield.

The Lesser Snowfield used to be an uninhabited area. Covered in snow most of the year, it was a barren land where no grass or trees grew.

Shortly after Demon King Gediguz ascended to the throne, the demons established a fortress there. Neither humans, elves, nor even the demons under direct control knew the importance of it. What Gediguz, the Demon King, had in mind when he set his eyes on it was unknown. In any case, from a strategic standpoint, it was not a very significant base.

It wasn’t until after Gediguz’s fall that the base became useful. After his death, the demons were in terrible condition. Under the strong attack from the Four Races Alliance, the battlefront kept retreating, and eventually, even the capital fell. The demons were driven out of their former lands and fled to this place. There, the fortress built by Gediguz gained great importance. The fortress, blocked by canyons and mountains, was surprisingly strong in defense and had no reason to be aggressively attacked since it lacked strategic value. The terrain was not conducive to an offensive. The leaders of the four races believed they couldn’t do anything if they prepared their army at the only bridge over the Argadia Valley. In fact, the demons no longer had the power to push back the front. The war ended when they and the Four Races Alliance clashed in the Argardia Valley and the Lesser Snowfield.

The demons were then confined to the snowy fields. Only a few of the higher species could enter and exit the area to carry out certain diplomacy, but the other demons were forbidden to leave. The only point of entry and exit was a single bridge over the Argadia Valley. The four races had built a fortress there, guarded by an elite force, and anyone who wished to enter or leave the land was subject to strict control. The demons were as isolated as the succubi, if not more so.

Nowadays, few people visited the demons. But Bash and Zell were doing so now, two veteran warriors.

■

“Damn, there’s nothing here! And it’s too cold!”

“Really?”

“For a fairy like me, called a flying petal, this cold is poison to the body! Flowers are sensitive to the cold! Flowers bloom only with warm sun and soil! And when the time comes, they fly to the sky with the wind!” Zell wasn’t flying around, which was unusual for her. She was wrapped in the skin of a beast they had hunted along the way, trembling on Bash’s shoulder. On the contrary, she was coiled around Bash’s neck, planning to absorb all his warmth. “Uhhh, your neck is so warm, Mister~…”

If Zell, the renowned fairy warrior, had seen this pathetic scene, she would have deemed it a “disgrace to fairies,” “pitiful,” “you should be more aware,” and “you’re a disgrace to the local community.” But even she had no choice but to wrap herself in furs when she arrived in this land. Or Zell, the great warrior, would have denied it. She would have said that she was different and portrayed herself as a determined fairy. However, ironically, Zell herself proved it. Even she was no match for the cold.

“I see.” On the other hand, Bash was unaffected as he was an orc, a race that could withstand the cold. However, he was still covered in furs because he could feel it nonetheless. If fairies were flowers, orcs were weeds that grew in the gaps between the tiles.

“But damn, I can’t find any. No demon city at all! I’ve never been in this area, but I think it’s about time we find some trace of people presence! It’s really strange! I can’t find a single human footprint! Demons haven’t gone extinct a long time ago, right?”

“I don’t think so. They’re tough to get rid of.”

For the past few days, the two of them had been wandering in search of the demon city, but they couldn’t find a single trace of it or even any sign of human beings. On the contrary, in this vast expanse of snow, there were hardly any creatures to be seen. At night, the only things visible were deer, foxes, and polar bears. And for some reason, there were very few of them during the day.

There was no doubt that many creatures were nocturnal. However, the creatures they saw at night were also strange. Their movements were unusually slow, as if their vision was not as effective. It was as if the creatures were forced to stay awake at night, even though they were actually diurnal.

“…!” Surely it was due to the sense of unease he felt. That was the reason why he could move the moment he sensed that something was wrong.

“Wahu.”

Suddenly, Bash dove headfirst into the snow. He buried himself in it, stirring it up, and after completely concealing himself, he made a hole with his finger and started looking outside with one eye.

“Uwah, the snow! It’s cold! Wha-wha-what’s happening all of a sudden?”

“Shut up and look.”

Zell obediently closed her mouth and stuck her head into the hole Bash had made, peering outside.

“Ugh…” Zell instantly pulled her head back.

In the sky. It was swimming in the sky, peacefully, as if taking a leisurely stroll. If Zell had been flying as usual, she would have seen it earlier. Its red scales, shimmering in the sun, stood out even from a distance, and the sound of its enormous wings could be heard from far away… Its appearance, which didn’t hide any part of its being and even showcased its majesty, demonstrated that it had no natural enemies.

“I-It’s a d-d-dragon…”

The strongest creature on the continent of Vastonia was there.

“…” Even Zell was compelled to close her noisy mouth upon seeing the dragon. Instinctive fear took hold of her.

The same happened to Bash. He looked up at the sky, buried in the snow, gritting his teeth and gripping the hilt of his sword.

“…It’s gone.” Finally, when the dragon disappeared from sight, Bash crawled out of the snow. He looked at the sky two or three times and let out a sigh.

“I guess this area is the habitat of a dragon…”

“Seems like it…”

“Damn~… I can’t stop trembling…” Zell shivered with a chill that hadn’t ceased since she saw the dragon. It might have been the cold, but well, it was probably because of the dragon as well.

“Right…” Bash, on the other hand, seemed like his usual self, although he was concerned about the dragon.

“I knew it, as expected of Mister, the Dragon Slayer! Does that mean you’re not afraid of dragons?”

“It’s not that. I am afraid.”

“Even if you say that, you’ve already killed a dragon before! Excessive modesty is poison to your health! Come on, I want you to say it! ‘I’m not afraid of dragons, in fact, if dragons saw me, they’d be trembling and wetting themselves!’ Say that! I want to be reassured!”

“I wouldn’t mind saying it, but from a dragon’s point of view, I’m no better than a caterpillar. It wouldn’t be afraid.” Bash didn’t intend to lie or joke. Even brave warriors had fears. He wasn’t a child to deny it. When it came to fighting, he charged forward with his battle cry, energizing his trembling body, but that didn’t mean he could underestimate a dragon. Bash had killed one before, but that didn’t change the fact that this creature was at the pinnacle of all creatures on this continent. That fact didn’t change just because he fought and killed a single dragon. Just as it didn’t change the fact that a dragon could decimate hundreds of orcs in an instant.

Of course, Bash would fight and win if necessary. Just because he was prepared to do so didn’t mean that terrifying things ceased to be terrifying.

“Could you still win if you fought?”

“I don’t think so. In this empty snowfield, there’s nothing you can do against it flying around. Unless you have the means to bring it down.”

“I don’t even have those! But if that’s the case, we have to make sure it doesn’t find us.”

It was too risky to walk through the snowfield unprotected. Dragons had keen eyesight. They had been fortunate that it hadn’t found them in the past few days, but if it had, they would have been annihilated.

“No wonder there are no creatures during the day.”

“So the day is the dragon’s domain…”

“Then we’ll wait for nightfall.”

“Right. It would be a bad idea to move and be discovered!”

Zell nodded her head, still wrapped around Bash’s shoulder. Neither Bash nor Zell were very good at covert nighttime operations. However, it was a fact of life that even if you weren’t good at it, you still had to do it. During the day, they were even worse at it, so there was no need to worry.

“The first thing we need to do is quickly find a city, but if we can’t find one after all this searching, I’d like to find a nest of demonic beasts first. I think the ones around here will have nests in suitable places to hide from the dragon, so I’d like to use that as a base and explore the surroundings.”

“So we’re camping.”

Bash pushed the snow around his body to make a snow cave and sat down with his legs crossed, paying attention to the direction the dragon had taken. Then, he closed his eyes. If they acted at night, they would be free for a while. Bash was a man who could act for days without rest, but he rested when he could.

“Mmm…?” But then a familiar sound reached Bash’s ears. The sound of many people fighting: battle cries.

Shortly after, a sound that he had only heard once before also reached his ears. A loud sound that made his whole body tremble. The roar of a dragon. The roar of breath that made the earth burst.

In other words, the sound of battle.