Chapter 15

I swing the flaming sword. The blade, which had been red-hot and glowing with intense heat, has returned to its original state, and the flames that had enveloped it are now extinguished.

I’ve used up most of the magical power stored in the flaming sword.

The Orc Lord is already dead. He was unlucky.

Normally, he would have been an opponent that could only be dealt with by a high-ranking magician.

If he had led the orcs clad in iron armor, the damage to the empire would have been considerable.

I burned down the Orc Lord’s house, but it’s better to leave the rest as it is.

When I return to the imperial capital, I’ll write a letter to the princess, and the imperial army will investigate.

Orcs’ tusks can be used as materials, and they hoard a fair amount of jewels.

I took the Orc Lord’s tusks and collected the green jewels. This should fetch some money.

Now, what about the battle axe?

The blade is large, and the handle is surprisingly small.

I sheathe the flaming sword and lift the battle axe with my right hand.

The battle axe slowly rises, accompanied by the sensation of my muscles creaking.

I have the strength of a heavy warrior, but it’s impossible to swing this with one hand like the Orc Lord did. It would ruin my arm. It’s only usable as a weapon with both hands, but once I’ve swung it down, I’m completely vulnerable while lifting it again.

I knew it, but it’s not a weapon that humans can handle.

It’s still tough even for the strength of a beastman. It’s too big for dwarves, and only giants can swing it properly.

Even if there’s no buyer, melting it down will yield a decent amount of iron, so I decide to take the battle axe home. I thought about taking on more requests, but I’m tired, and the charge on the flaming sword has run out.

Time to withdraw.

I went around the base and took down any living orcs, but as expected, there were no females.

There were no children either. Perhaps he gathered only warriors and planned to reproduce by attacking humans.

Even I would feel pained to kill defenseless orc children, so it’s a relief.

The beasts will take care of the corpses.

I tie the battle axe to my back and head for the town.

It’s certainly heavy. I’ll borrow a carriage when I get to town.

…And then, it was two days later that I was able to return to the imperial capital.

A goblin attack had begun in the town, and I found myself sighing heavily as I set out to exterminate the goblins.

This must undoubtedly be the work of that man from the orc base.

I will never forgive him. He made a fool out of me.

I vowed to punch him in the face as I slaughtered the goblins.

Somewhere in the kingdom

In a small room, men wearing military uniforms adorned with medals were having a serious discussion.

“The attack was carried out by goblins alone and was quickly suppressed? What’s going on? The orcs were supposed to join in as well. The empire’s attention was supposed to be focused internally due to this commotion.”

“It seems that the orc base had been taken over…”

“Foolish. General! You went to see it for yourself, didn’t you?”

The man who had been at the orc base wiped his sweat as he was yelled at by the bald big man.

“Yes, I’m also perplexed, Marshal. I spoke directly with the orc chief and then returned. It must have been taken over just after I left. The base’s forces were strong enough to give even the imperial knights a hard time, let alone the town’s guard.”

“Then why?”

“The Sky Knight.”

The man who had been silent until now, looking like a ghost with dark circles under his eyes, interjected.

“What?”

“He’s the strongest adventurer in the empire. He’s not a knight, but he’s called the Sky Knight. According to the information we’ve gathered, he entered alone and subdued the orcs.”

“One person? Impossible. The Orc Lord… Even the kingdom’s knights would have to dedicate an entire unit to him. He should be an opponent that multiple parties of adventurers would fight.”

“There’s no mistake. We have information from multiple sources. And this Sky Knight, he’s not just involved in this. He also prevented the abduction of the imperial duke’s daughter.”

“I thought that was thwarted by the empire’s beastman party.”

“It seems he was with that group. The knights from our faction who were placed as guards were probably killed by him.”

“So we’ve been thwarted by an adventurer twice? By chance?”

“If the details have leaked to the empire, the imperial army would move. But there’s no sign of that. It must be considered a coincidence…”

“Damn it, the princess faction’s power is growing stronger by the day. If this continues, we… We must make sure the ceremony is completed in time.”

The bald big man held his head.

“We may need to deal with this adventurer. If he interferes again, it could cause significant problems for our plans. We won’t be able to use the blood of the imperial nobility, and we won’t be able to provoke the imperial army.”

“I’ll investigate this adventurer a bit more, Marshal.”

“I’m counting on you, head of the security forces.”

The ghost-like man nodded with a smile plastered on his mouth.