Without a single moment of rest, Adrias continued his duel, as if pushing himself to his limits each time.
And each time, the Endeavor camp erupted in cheers.
"What kind of swordsmanship is that? It's a mix of middle, swift, and gleaming sword techniques."
"Why hasn't someone with such skill gained fame yet? Does anyone know him?"
Ignoring the murmurs around him, Phillion focused intently on the duel unfolding before him.
Already on the fifth battle.
Adrias skillfully avoided the grasp of the fearsome orc chief, leaving wounds on his hand in the process.
For some inexplicable reason, as soon as Adrias' blade left a cut on the orc chief's hand, the orcs began to tremble in fear.
'Could that sword be a relic?'
Phllion couldn't understand the reason, but what was clear was that Adrias' composure was in no way inferior to that of the orc chief's. His unpredictable swordsmanship was dominating the fight.
Though his movements seemed more instinctual than those of a seasoned knight, the glimpses of technique he showed hinted at a mastery of swordsmanship.
Finally defeating his fifth opponent, Adrias wiped the blood from his blade and declared, "Next."
"Whoa!"
His unexpected performance.
The soldiers erupted in cheers at his sight.
For soldiers who had mostly faced defeat against the orcs, this duel had struck them with newfound excitement.
Especially since it was an orc chief.
The leader of a tribe, a position akin to that of a knight commander in human terms.
Of course, it was impossible to say whether a knight commander was stronger or an orc chief was, but at the very least, it was certain that even with dozens of soldiers gathered, they couldn't defeat such an existence.
As the cheers subsided, Al-Ghurad's expression twisted slightly, before he burst into loud laughter.
-Kahaha!
His wild laughter overwhelmed the cheers from the fortress walls.
Adrias, standing right in front of him, felt a shiver run down his spine from the mana imbued in that laughter.
Al-Ghurad's laughter drowned out the cheers.
After a prolonged bout of laughter, he stopped and pointed his mace at Adrias.
-Barry Sanders! You are truly an amazing warrior! Apologies for underestimating you. I pay my respects. Your movements are as remarkable as any of our orc warriors.
Whether it was praise or flattery from a human perspective, Al-Ghurde's words carried a serious tone.
-A warrior who knows honor, I can see that you won't be easy to defeat for the remaining four battles.
Thunk!
He slammed his mace to the ground and glanced at the sky before turning his gaze to Adrias. The action was a behavior that orcs only displayed when they recognized someone else's worth, and Adrias recognized it with a slight raise of his eyebrows.
-We will continue the duels. However, since you've faced five opponents in a row, let us give you a brief rest.
As Al-Ghurad's words ended, as if they all understood, the other orcs also demonstrated gestures of reverence towards Adrias.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!
Witnessing this, the Endeavor side felt a strange emotion.
Although they were enemies, seeing even the enemy acknowledge them warmed their hearts.
Quietly observing this, Adrias found himself chuckling involuntarily.
In his experience, beings who were either characters from games or powerful individuals he had met were rarely sane.
However, this orc lord, even though he was a master of aura, appeared more reasonable than such humans.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'll pass."
Adrias turned his head and looked at Endeavor Fortress.
There, Luna was standing as if she could rush down at any moment, her excitement evident.
"We should finish this quickly."
"Fine. As long as you're okay with it, I'm fine as well. The duel will continue."
The duel resumed, and the people on the fortress walls now watched Adrias without any worries. They had already sent requests for reinforcements to the other fortresses, confident of victory.
"The world is vast, and there are many strong individuals."
"That's why we always need to be cautious."
Hearing Phillion and Dawson's words, those around them nodded in agreement.
No one here had expected that the man they knew simply as a friend of Luna Pendragon would be this strong.
-Kruheuh.
Thump.
Finally, when Adrias defeated the last remaining orc chief and wiped the blood from his blade, cheers erupted from the Endeavor Fortress side.
"Barry Sanders!"
"Barry! Barry! Barry!"
Cheers resounded once again.
The fervor spreading among the crowd made it feel far from the late dawn it actually was.
Hearing the cheers, Adrias momentarily wondered what the noise was about until he realized it was his alias being chanted. He couldn't help but smile wryly at that realization.
Seeing the fallen chieftains around him, Al-Ghurad wore a satisfied smile.
-Everyone must have gone to the eternal battlefield with joy. Honorable warrior, I wish to express my gratitude to you.
"You're not quite sane either."
-We don't expect you to understand our customs. I'm simply conveying my true feelings.
Al-Ghurad said this, then lifted his mace onto one shoulder, preparing to leave.
-Young warrior, if you survive this war, you will become a warrior on par with me. Humans truly are impressive. With such a physique, you can become a great warrior like me.
Hearing that, Adrias merely gazed at Al-Ghurad quietly.
The human's black pupils intensely locked onto the orc's red eyes.
For a moment, they quietly met each other's gaze, and then Adrias and Al-Ghurad both smiled without needing to say anything.
Al-Ghurad lifted his mace, filled with admiration for the fearless human warrior, and carried it over his shoulder.
-Young human warrior, I hope to meet you on the battlefield one day.
"Sorry, but you're not my opponent. You have someone else to face."
-Is that so? I'll be looking forward to it.
With that final exchange, Adrias turned away, whether Al-Ghurad was behind him or not, and headed back towards the fortress.
As he retraced his steps, the people from the various fortresses welcomed him with cheers.
"Open the gates!"
"But the orc lord is right ahead..."
"It's okay. He would have attacked us already if he intended to. Do you think a wall would stop an aura master?"
Dawson shouted again to his son.
"Open the gates! Welcome the hero!"
"Barry Sanders! Our hero!"
"Barry! Barry! Barry!"
Endeavor Fortress was brimming with an energy that made it hard to believe it was the early hours of dawn. As Adrias predicted, the recent battle had greatly lifted their morale.
As he entered the fortress through the gate, not only the soldiers but also the citizens came out to welcome him.
'He doesn't look very old, but his monstrous strength matches his reputation.'
Philion couldn't properly verify due to the mask, but seeing Adrias, who appeared younger than himself, defeat the orc chieftain was a huge shock. If Adrias survived, it seemed very likely that, as Al-Ghurad had said, he would become an Aura Master.
'A new divine figure on the continent.'
The night was filled with various emotions.
.
.
.
.
As promised, Al-Ghurad gave them a day's respite.
Although the reinforcements they had contacted earlier arrived, there was one thing Endeavor Fortress hadn't predicted.
"An all out assault..."
While the main orc forces gathered before Endeavor Fortress, it didn't mean the other fortresses were safe from attack.
In the end, the arriving reinforcements weren't that numerous. Furthermore, the limited time available for them to arrive created deep furrows on Dawson's forehead.
"First, let's determine the deployment. I'll handle the South Gate like last time. Philion, you take the North Gate, and the other two gates..."
Dodson's gaze paused for a moment as he looked at me and Luna.
"Barry Sanders, can you handle the East Gate? I'm not asking you to command, just if you can hold off the orcs there."
"As long as the reward is guaranteed."
"I can vouch for the reward. You've already taken down nine chieftains."
Finally turning his gaze to Luna, Dawson, after showing a hesitant expression, spoke.
"Luna Pendragon, go wild as you wish. If the Orc Lord appears, send a messenger immediately to let us know of its position."
"Sure, I was getting a little bored anyway. Right, buddy?"
In response to Luna's question, I smiled wryly.
You don't know how much she pestered me yesterday, saying I was the only one enjoying it.
Still, I was grateful that she had stayed quiet back then.
'I felt like she would rush in even if the Orc Lord had appeared right away.'
She didn't seem to show much interest in the soul of the Orc Lord.
She just seemed like she wanted to have a go at the Orc Lord. When she heard about the Orc Lord's soul, she was delighted as if it were a personal matter, saying that she would imprint on me its soul.
'Well, I'm thankful. It's not every day you get an Aura Master.'
Although being an orc was a bit distasteful, I could tolerate it well enough. Once I engrave the soul of an Aura Master, that won't be a problem at all.
Soul engraving was exactly what it sounded like - a magic spell that imprinted the soul. It was like a permanent version of enchantment magic. Of course, since it had a permanent effect, it was less powerful than enchantment magic.
You could only imprint one soul per person, as far as I knew. I knew that Luna had engraved the soul of her mother, Eve Millennium.
'Thanks to that, she inherited the souls commanded by Eve Millennium.'
Despite being around my age, she was famous for that reason. It was akin to inheriting the power of the legendary witch, Eve Millennium.
To be honest, I didn't know how powerful Eve Millennium's power was. While her name was occasionally mentioned in the game, I could only feel a vague sense of how strong she might have been as someone who was no longer part of this world.
'This isn't the time for these thoughts. If she can't defeat Al-Ghurad, it won't matter about soul engraving or entering the Great Forest.'
When I first arrived in Grandis Kingdom, I never thought things would get this complicated.
However, if I could overcome this situation, I would become much stronger.
'I shouldn't underestimate Al-Ghurad's Aura tricks. I shouldn't assume Luna will win easily.'
At first, I didn't take being an orc Aura Master that seriously.
But facing him directly, I realized he wasn't an easy opponent at all.
He could make me tremble just by laughing; there was no other monster like him.
Of course, I could endure, but if I were an ordinary person, I would've vomited blood.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
"It's time. Let's go out for now."
The urgent bell rang again, just like before, shaking the fortress. And as we all stepped outside and onto the fortress walls...
"Ahh..."
Someone's sigh echoed in my ears.
But no one said anything.
A green wave surged forward like a tide, heading towards the Enclave Fortress.
It created an illusion as if the Great Forest itself was rising up and approaching.
Amid the battlefield littered with corpses...
The orc's song echoed, and as I looked at the multitude of orcs, one thought surfaced in my mind.
This is a battlefield meant for me.