Chapter 30

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 30: Resistance Army (2)

After finishing his conversation with Thuron, he called the Orcs together.

Speaking to the orcs standing dumbfounded as if listening to the headmaster’s speech.

“We’re going to join hands with the dwarves.”

– Why? Orcs strong! Dwarves weak!

There was an immediate backlash, but this reaction was expected.

He continued calmly.

“We’ll provide protection and food.”

―What! Big brother is crazy!

―There’s no doubt he’s sick!

―What! Orcs are hungry! We have nothing to eat either!

Thump!

He stomped his foot on the ground.

“Orcs have no equipment. We’re weak. Two hundred have already died.”

―What! Dying in battle is a blessing!

“No! It’s not a blessing!”

Perplexed looks from the Orcs greeted him.

He continued, facing their puzzled expressions.

“Is it a blessing to fight and die against weak enemies? No, that’s just being weak! A true warrior dies fighting against strong enemies!”

Silence followed as he addressed the Orcs.

“The apostles and witches who tormented you! Sticking an axe into their heads and dying is the real blessing!”

—…

“Dwarves provide equipment! Orcs become stronger! Apostles and witches can be killed!”

―What! Kill apostles and witches?

—Ugh! Dwarves have good armor! It’s possible!

Even if the dwarven equipment could indeed take down the witches or apostles, it remained uncertain if it could cleave through an apostle’s body, let alone a witch’s skull.

However, that wasn’t the point.

‘Dreams and illusions.’

In other words, the goal of this speech was to instill a vision.

“If we join forces with the dwarves, we can become truly brave warriors! Are there any weak, cowardly ones who still oppose this?”

— Orcs are not weaklings! We’ll get equipment!

— Orcs will get stronger! We’ll crush the apostles!

— Ugh! Big Brother is a genius!

From the chiefs to the regular warriors, there was fervent approval from the Orcs. With that, the dwarven group slipped into the midst of the meat party.

— Ugh! Dwarves, eat this meat here! And give us armor!

“Heh, sure thing. Hey, stop hogging it all!”

Thanks to their boisterous nature, the dwarves seamlessly blended in with the Orcs.

The atmosphere quickly lightened.

Soon after…

[532 dwarves join the resistance army!]

A message popped up.

Perhaps it signaled that the Orcs had finally opened their hearts and accepted the dwarves as kin.

He looked at the message with satisfaction.

Thuron approached and tapped his arm.

“Your skill in speech is quite impressive, not just your combat prowess. I think I understand why the Orcs follow you. They may be simple-minded but are definitely not stupid race…”

“You flatter me.”

“But why are you suddenly speaking so formally? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Now that we’re allies.”

He smiled wryly.

There was much to learn from the dwarves.

They were not completely barbaric like the orcs, but rather possessed a hearty and straightforward nature.

There was no need to speak rudely to them unless they were enemies.

Minwoo was the type of person who could change his speech style hundreds of times for the sake of strategy.

“Heh, it seems the young lad knows his manners.”

“What do you mean?”

He shared some of the Cocatrice meat with Thuron and asked, “So, what’s the scale of those coming to the Black Rock Tribe?”

“It’ll be a tough fight. Refugees say there are dozens of phantom knights and twenty corpse collectors.”

Corrupted souls coalesced into tangible phantom knights. Each one of them was stronger than a chimera.

“It’ll be difficult indeed.”

Because their bodies were made of souls, weapons didn’t work well against them.

Unless the weapons were blessed or silver-plated, the damage would often be reduced by more than 30%.

And now there were twenty chimeras.

‘They’ll be tricky to deal with.’

It was understandable.

Dwarves were indeed less proficient in combat compared to Orcs.

However, they excelled in architectural and weapon crafting skills. They were experts in building fortified residences and sturdy defense structures.

So, it wasn’t strange for them to send a much larger force than the Orcs.

“We need equipment.”

“Of course. Come with us to our tribe.”

After tidying up, he followed Thuron.

* * *

An entrance leading underground.

As they entered, a massive cavern greeted them. Inside, there was a sizable fortress.

“Bring out the equipment!”

Thuron ordered, and the gates opened, revealing several carts loaded with gear.

Armor, gloves, boots, pants, helmets… All made of steel. He examined the equipment.

[Dwarven Steel Armor]

[Rank: Magic+]

[Level Restriction: 110]

[Armor made of hammered steel. Despite its rugged appearance, its performance is

top-notch.]

[Effect 1: 20% reduction in impact damage.]

[Effect 2: +20 Strength, +20 Vitality]

[Dwarven Steel Axe]

[Level Restriction: 110]

[Rank: Magic+]

[Axe with a wicked edge. It feels like it could split a head in half.]

[Effect 1: 20% increase in downward chopping damage.]

[Effect 2: +30 Strength]

Kim Minwoo’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the equipment.

‘Magic+ items. As expected of dwarves.’

Magic+ items were special enhancements often found on crafted items, granting superior effects compared to items of the same rank. They were rare and usually required exceptional craftsmanship to create.

It wasn’t surprising for dwarves to produce such items.

“Well, what do you think?”

“The dwarves’ skills are truly remarkable.They are truly impressive. However, I am a bit disappointed by the small number of equipment. I think it would be enough to arm about two hundred orcs.”

Thuron nodded.

“I know. But this is all we have for now. We’ve gathered everything from the equipment brought by refugees to what we had stored in our tribe.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

“I see.”

There were five hundred dwarves joining, including elderly, women, and children.

Considering those who couldn’t fight, there might not be even two hundred available for combat.

Having this much equipment was already impressive.

“How many sets of these weapons and armor can you produce in a day?”

“Even if we include the refugees, we only have around fifty blacksmiths. Although we have plenty of materials, producing over a hundred sets in a day would be challenging. We also need to pour our heart and soul into making these items, so it’s not an easy task.”

“Thuron, you saw it too. On the way here, they kept encountering wandering Orcs who joined us.”

“I did.”

“The more we dismantle the Witch’s forces, the more will join us. But that won’t be enough.”

“Sigh… What can we do? We’re short on manpower. If we had enough journeymen to assist with basic tasks, it would have been easier. But it’s hard now. The number of available workers is limited.”

Thuron sighed and glanced at the Orcs.

“Handing over the role of craftsmen to those Orcs would lead to… Well, you know the consequences.”

Kim Minwoo smiled faintly. He had already anticipated the conversation heading in this direction.

“What if there were excellent craftsmen available? How much could we produce then?”

“If we had truly ample craftsmen, we could dream of producing 200 sets a day. But that’s not important right now…”

“I have such craftsmen.”

“I do?” Thuron asked, surprised.

“Yes. Friends who work tirelessly round the clock without complaint, show unwavering loyalty even in the face of danger, and have a strong willingness to learn.”

“If we have such friends, please introduce them to us! Back in my day, we had plenty of craftsmen like that, but nowadays…”

Just then, a scout rushed in, urgently addressing Thuron.

— Chief! They’re coming! They’ll arrive in about an hour!”

“They’ve already approached this close?”

Thuron looked at Kim Minwoo.

With a faint smile, he nodded. “I’ll introduce the craftsmen to you shortly.”

But for now, the battle was the priority.

* * *

The ranks of the Phantom Knights and corpse collectors approached the Dwarven fortress. Despite the advantages of the fortress walls and equipment, it seemed certain that if they couldn’t fight, they would perish.

Already having wiped out three tribes, they advanced without hesitation.

Then, an unusual sight appeared in front of the fortress.

A horde of Orcs!

The number alone was well over a thousand.

The faces of the Phantom Knights stiffened. A single Orc or two wouldn’t be much, but when they numbered over a thousand, it was a different story.

—Orcs! Orcs!

Their fierce shouts echoed through the cavern.

‘…So the Dwarves have managed to rally the Orcs…’

But that wasn’t the only problem.

Orcs who had been leading fragmented lives in various places had gathered.

There was undoubtedly a significant individual among them, cunning enough to form an alliance with the Dwarves!

Once the dominant race on this continent, the Orcs. Witches had invested a great deal of effort to tear apart their strength.

That was because their power when united was formidable.

“It’s unexpected for them to stir up trouble in such a remote place…”

If left unchecked, their numbers could quickly reach tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. Moreover, the more commanding individuals among the Orcs, the more numerous their subordinates, the explosively stronger they became.

“It’s dangerous. We can’t let another Mutakta-like figure emerge.”

“…Aldren. Assign five corpse collectors. Get out of here. You need to spread this news.”

A Phantom Knight known as Aldren nodded, and with the corpse collectors, he began to leave the cavern.

—Brothers! Second Wurkan commands! Kill them all!

—Kraaaa!

Leading the charge was a massive Orc, followed by Orcs armed with steel equipment. The ranks of Phantom Knights drew their ethereal blades.

All they needed to do was let the messenger escape. Their role was to buy time. They were resigned to their deaths.

But their resolve was rendered meaningless. Just before Aldren and the five Chimeras emerged from the underground, a human stood in their way.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“…A human?”

Soon, nearly a hundred Orcs revealed themselves behind him.

—Chik! Chief is indeed a genius!

—Chik! I’ll kill those bastards!

And that wasn’t the end of their forces. There were even hundreds of skeletons accompanying them.

“…There was an ambush.”

Aldren and the corpse collectors’ faces stiffened.

The human smiled faintly.

“Trying to spread the news? That won’t do.”

“…Clear the way.”

“Welcome to the tomb.”

“Orcs! Orcs!”

Six monsters plunged into the swamp of skeletons.

* * *

[Your level has increased by 3!]

With a flurry of messages, the battle ended. The Phantom Knights and corpse collectors who had come here all perished. In contrast, the sacrifice of the Orcs didn’t even reach a hundred.

The well-armed Orcs had provided solid shield support in the frontlines.

“Life really is all about equipment.”

He looked at their corpses. With this scale, it was a force that even the fortress would take note of. If news were to be cut off for a few days, they would undoubtedly try to find out more.

It was now a race against time.

He gathered the chieftains.

“Select the fastest ones and spread the word. Recruit brave warriors to oppose the witches.”

“Chik! Got it!”

Before they could move decisively, they needed to gather as many troops as possible and establish their power.

After sending off the Orcs, he met Thuron.

“You’ve been through a lot!”

Was it after overcoming this crisis once?

Thuron’s pat on the shoulder contained a stronger sense of camaraderie than before.

“I said I’d introduce you to the craftsmen.”

“You did.”

“Let me show you now.”

He drank a mana potion.

Feeling the mana surging rapidly, he extended his hand.

“Come forth, craftsmen.”

[A total of 1,064 skeletons are summoned!]

A mana-efficient skeleton, consuming half the amount compared to a mage. Perhaps that’s why over a thousand were summoned.

“…?”

Thuron looked between the skeleton horde and Kim Minwoo.

“Are these skeletons the craftsmen now?”

“Yes. They are perfect craftsmen. Trust me and try using them once. What are you waiting for, don’t forget to greet your master.”

Salute!

The skeleton horde saluted towards the master.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]