Chapter 782: Orc Treasure (Patreon)

A reckless attack on the orc fortress would get people killed. Luke had gotten as close as he could, slipping through the swamp like a shadow without making a sound or leaving a trail. He studied the towers, the walls, the patrols, the entrances, the prisoners outside, and how the orcs moved through the fortress. He could have killed a few right then and there without much trouble.

But he didn't trust it. If one of the stronger orcs had a skill that let them sense the death of an ally, or detect a hostile presence the moment blood was spilled, everything would go to hell before the real fight even started.

So he did what he needed to do. He stole information, memorized everything, and returned to the makeshift army waiting for him. Calling it an army still felt strange. It was a mix of dwarves, goblins, and spiders. The dwarves had insisted on helping. Luke didn't trust them in the slightest, but after seeing their children locked inside the fortress, he knew they hadn't been lying. The goblins had come from the village, and Charlie and even Franky had joined them. The snake boy had flat-out refused to stay at the castle.

Luke looked over everyone before the attack. “Everyone has a job. Stick to the plan. Don't try to do more than your part. And don't back out because you're scared.”

His gaze swept over the dwarves, goblins, and spiders. “A prisoner could die because of it.”

No one argued. When the signal came, they moved.

Angie appeared in the sky first, wings spread wide as she cut through the night. She hurled a spear at one of the orcs atop a tower, and the impact erupted in lightning. Before the others could react, she raised a hand and fired a powerful [Arcane Light Ball]. The arcane sphere burst into blinding light, leaving the orcs blind for a precious instant.

Nara's spiders surged through the mud with goblins riding on their backs. Webs shot toward the orcs on the towers, sticking to arms, legs, and faces. Then the spiders leaped, dug their legs into the wall, and started climbing in a black, hairy wave. As soon as they reached the top, the goblins riding them raised their slingshots and launched mud-packed smoke bombs. The projectiles burst into thick, filthy clouds, obscuring the orcs' vision and signaling the next stage of the plan.

Shouts erupted from every direction. Goblins screamed to psych themselves up. Dwarves roared in fury. Spiders shrieked as they vaulted over the walls. One of the orcs on the western tower recovered faster than the others and ripped a horn from his belt, raising it to his mouth. Luke's kukri buried itself in his throat before he could blow it, and the orc toppled from the tower.

Confusion spread fast. With their eyes still recovering from the flash and the mud, the others took too long to figure out where the attack was coming from. Outside the fortress, the dwarves started freeing the prisoners. Inside, the spiders dropped into the courtyard while the goblins kept pelting the orcs in the face with mud. They were weak. Luke knew that. But useful weaklings were still useful, and half-blind orcs were easy prey for the spiders.

Luke moved through them quickly and silently, cutting down the biggest threats and eliminating anyone who tried to use a bow. He wasted no movement. Didn't posture. He simply appeared, struck, and vanished before anyone could properly react.

A group of dwarves stormed in soon after, gulping down some strange liquid from small flasks. A second later, they started belching fire. Flames swept through the air, catching distracted orcs as hammers and shields crashed into green flesh and bone.

“Give us back our children!” one of them roared.

Then the wall exploded. Nara came through it, stone and splintered wood flying around her as she tore into the fortress, crushing anything in her way, including any orc stupid enough to stand there.

“YOU HURT MY NANA!”

The mother spider's fury made even the dwarves look calm. She devoured the first orc that tried to block her. Then the second. Then the third. Her children swarmed behind her, shooting webs to restrain enemies and help their siblings during the attack. The entire courtyard dissolved into mud, screams, webbing, and blood.

Luke moved through the middle of it all, taking out the orcs who could actually turn the battle around. Then the partially collapsed tower shook, and two massive orcs burst from the rubble, roaring as auras flared around them. Muscles swelled. Veins bulged. Their eyes took on a savage glow.

[Vice General Orc - Lvl 117]

[Vice General Orc - Lvl 115]

Charlie and Angie reached Luke almost at the same time, Angie dropping from above as Charlie rushed across the courtyard.

“We've got them,” Charlie said.

The two orcs roared something and charged. Luke didn't argue.

The courtyard was still chaos. The shouting didn't stop, but suddenly it didn't matter. A single orc stepped out of the fortress's main building, bigger and heavier than the others. His presence alone made the entire battle seem to shrink around him.

[General Orc - Lvl 135]

The general looked toward Angie and Charlie first. Maybe he meant to help his men. Maybe he just wanted Angie and Charlie dead first. Luke reached him before he could decide.

“Are you the strongest one in this army?” the general asked.

He had a whip wrapped around each hand, the coils covering his fists like some brutal version of brass knuckles. Electricity crackled along them.

“Probably,” Luke replied.

“Then I'll kill you first.”

The electricity around his fists snapped louder.

“Will I?”

Luke had barely finished speaking when the general charged like a living wall. Steam rolled off his body, his red eyes burning with animal rage. Every punch seemed to break the air. Electricity ripped through the space around his fists.

Luke slipped past the general's blows by inches, kukris in hand. The orc swung, stomped, leaped, and tore through everything around them, but Luke never gave him a clean hit. Parts of the fortress began collapsing as the fight tore through it. One missed punch blasted through a section of wall. Another snapped support beams. A third sent wood and stone exploding in every direction.

The general grabbed a massive chunk of rubble and hurled it at Luke, then jumped after it. Luke dodged, deflected blows with kukris reinforced by mana and stamina, and felt the green monster's ridiculous strength shove him back with every impact.

There was no technique to it. Just brute force.

One punch slammed into the fortress's main structure and brought part of it crashing down. The general didn't even look. He just charged Luke again.

Luke leaped over the ruined wall, and the green monstrosity followed, smashing through anything in his way as he came after him. “You really don't care about your own fortress, do you?”

The orc didn't answer. There was nothing left in him but rage.

They landed in the field beyond the walls. The general landed hard, sending mud and water spraying in every direction. Then he tore through the trees, punching trunks, rocks, and anything else that got between him and Luke. The fortress lights grew smaller behind them, and Luke glanced back once. They were barely visible through the trees now.

Far enough.

“All you do is run!” the orc roared.

Luke smiled.

“Artemis, you're my beautiful goddess.”

[Artemis’ Spirit Slash activated]

Blue particles flooded his kukris. Luke swung once, and a blue slash tore through the air and crossed the general's body. For a fraction of a second, the fury on the orc's face turned to shock. Then he hit the ground in two pieces.

Luke stood there, still smiling. “Thanks, my goddess.”

He sheathed the kukris. He'd discovered the effect by accident after making an offering to Artemis in the underworld. Saying the words she'd given him for worship while activating the skill eased the strain on his spirit and made the slash hit harder. It made sense. The skill came from the [Blessing of Artemis].

The general lay on the ground, grunting and vomiting blood as what was left of him bled out into the mud.

“I just needed you away from the fortress,” Luke said, looking down at him.

The orc roared, loud and desperate, staring at what remained of his body. Then his strength began to fail. He collapsed onto his back and looked up at the sky.

“I was... so close,” Ruax murmured.

Luke tilted his head. “So, General. You found the orc treasure, didn't you?”

Ruax looked at him for a moment, then smiled, blood running from his mouth.

“No...”

“No? Really?” Luke put on a thoughtful expression. “Those orcs in the cave worked for the orc lord. So did the wolves. So did you. So why the hell were you attacking them?”

Ruax said nothing.

“That got me thinking. Maybe you found the treasure first and decided to screw everyone else. Or maybe you planned to hand it over to the orc king so he'd let you come back.”

The general coughed up more blood. “Damn... clever human.”

“Yeah. I am.”

Ruax managed a weak smile. “Take it, then.”

Luke's eyes narrowed. “Take what?”

Ruax went still.

Luke smiled. “There it is.”

The orc tried to laugh, but the sound came out broken.

“The Royal Family Treasure.” Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. “Take it... and see how long you live.”

Luke said nothing.

“The king will come for you,” Ruax continued. “And you have no idea how powerful he is.”

Luke simply finished him off and cut off his head.

[You have slain a General Orc - Lvl 135]

[+283 Soul Energy absorbed]

Not bad. The ring's already got a thousand Soul Energy stored.

[The Class Skill [Force Infusion (Rare)] is evolving...]

By the time Luke returned to the fortress, the fighting wasn't over yet. A few remaining orcs were still resisting his makeshift army, but the outcome had already been decided.

Luke raised the general's head.

“The General Orc is dead,” he announced.

The news spread fast. After that, the little war turned into a rout. The spiders and goblins kept the orcs away from the prisoners, shooting webbing or flinging mud into someone's face at exactly the right moment, while Charlie and Angie helped wipe out the last pockets of resistance.

“No casualties,” Angie confirmed as she approached.

Good.

“Keep an eye on the dwarves,” Luke said.

She simply nodded, and they began freeing the prisoners soon after. The spiders had even protected some of them during the attack, webbing prisoners inside their cages or pinning them to the walls so they wouldn't get caught in the chaos. It wasn't pretty, but it had worked.

“Hey, human,” Franky called, riding toward him on a spider.

The snake boy jumped down with an annoyed look on his face.

“I didn't get to help.”

Luke looked at him. “You're our secret weapon. We can only use you as a last resort.”

Franky seemed to think that over. Maybe he liked the answer. Maybe he just hadn't caught the sarcasm.

Across the courtyard, Nara was tearing apart a cage. Inside, a spider lay collapsed.

“Nana!”

Despite her massive legs, Nara carefully pulled her daughter free.

“Mom...” Nana murmured weakly.

Pip approached with his head down, mumbling apologies as he huddled near them. Luke walked over while Angie finished healing some wounded goblins. The rat-man king was helping his people too.

“Here. Take this,” Luke said, holding out a potion to Nana.

The small spider stared at him suspiciously, but accepted it anyway and drank.

Luke left mother and daughter to have their moment. There was no reason for him to stand around pretending he knew what to do with moments like this, so he entered the fortress. The interior was covered in webs. Orcs struggled against the walls, some still roaring, others already too exhausted to bother. Luke finished off the ones he passed. He didn't need all of them as prisoners. He didn't need most of them, really.

He passed corridors lined with barred cells, and the dwarves following him broke into a run when they saw their children inside. Other cages held smaller beasts. Some wore collars.

They were taming beasts.

Luke continued down the corridor of the fortress's main building alone. Or almost alone.

“Didn't I tell you to stay with Angie or Charlie?” he asked without looking back.

Franky was following him. “And do what?”

“Stand there. Still.”

“That's boring.”

Luke reached a locked door. It was part of the most heavily reinforced section of the fortress, built almost entirely from stone. Unlike the rest of the place, the room didn't look designed to withstand an outside attack. It looked designed to keep something from getting out... or someone from getting in.

“Hey, human, you disappeared,” Franky said.

Luke had already turned into shadow and slipped beneath the door. On the other side, he studied the room in silence and used [Witch's Gaze], checking for traps, magical markings, or any other unpleasant surprises. Nothing immediate.

An open metal chest sat on the floor. The room was full of things that looked important: huge teeth, swords, well-made axes, hides, beast skulls, and a suit of orc armor.

“Found the General's treasure room,” Luke said.

He unlocked the door from the inside.

“Don't touch anything, Franky.”

Franky was already staring at the skulls and hides with far too much curiosity for someone trustworthy, but at least he kept his hands to himself.

At the back of the room sat something even more heavily reinforced: a larger metal box with thick walls, reinforced hinges, a heavy lock, and air holes. Luke stared at the holes for a second.

Franky frowned. “Why does a treasure box need air holes?”

Luke looked at him. “Good question.”

With [Assassin's Tracking], fresh footprints lit up across the floor. Probably the general's. They led from the open metal chest to the vault.

Just like I thought. He brought the chest from the cave here.

But it wasn't just any treasure. From what Ruax had let slip, it was the Royal Family Treasure. No wonder the orc king was so desperate to get it back.

Luke grabbed the lock and started forcing it open.

Gold makes no sense. Orcs don't care about money. A weapon? Maybe. But if it's powerful enough to cause all this, Ruax would've been using it.

His eyes drifted back to the air holes.

So what the fuck is this treasure?

The metal groaned beneath his fingers. Something shifted inside the vault, and Luke paused before forcing the lock the rest of the way open. The door gave with a low scrape, opening onto the cramped space beyond.

Inside, two small orc children were crouched near the back, a girl and a younger boy. The girl bared her teeth the moment she saw him and stepped in front of the boy, putting herself between him and Luke. For a second, Luke just stared.

Then it clicked.

“Holy shit...” he muttered. “They're the treasure.”

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