Chapter 565. Master Key (3)

Translator: Boko

Jegal felt like he'd seen this man before.

'I know that smile!'

It was a smile that never failed to irritate him.

However, he had bigger fish to fry; finding out this man's identity was the least of his worries. He didn't have the time to mull over what had happened to his disguise. Fleeing the area took precedence.

"Excuse me... Mm!" His deep, orc-like voice returned to its original tone, so he shut his mouth and attempted to leave the banquet hall.

"You look really unwell," the bearskin man said.

His voice truly was irritatingly familiar.

'Where have I heard his voice before? No, I'll think about it later. I have to get out of here as quickly as possible!'

Then, the bearskin man forcefully grabbed Jegal's shoulders.

"Why are you doing this!?" Jegal fiercely writhed in the man's grasp, but the man was so strong that he wasn't able to break free.

"I asked you a question, Mr. Jegal."

Then, Jegal felt goosebumps over his body.

'It's a trap!'

Jegal put his hand inside his chest. He had prepared a smoke bomb in case of an emergency.

However, the man stretched out his hand, unleashing a black chain that wrapped around Jegal's body. This prevented him from pulling out his smoke bomb.

'This chain is...!' Jegal was shocked.

"Kang Oh!"

"Yeah, it's me." Kang Oh pulled off the bearskin and grinned.

"Damn it." Jegal looked around.

He hadn't expected Kang Oh at all. Whatever the case, Kang Oh had discovered his true identity, and this banquet was a trap meant to reveal who he really was.

Jegal had to get out of here using whatever means necessary.

"Shadow!"

Four assassins wearing Dokkaebi masks came out of Jegal's shadow.

But...!

"...Bones!" the wolf fur man said drearily. At the same time, yellowish bones suddenly appeared in the air.

Bone Bind!

The assassins were trapped in bone.

Kang Oh used Switch and instantly pulled out Blood. Then, he killed one of the assassins right then and there.

Kuharap rushed in and killed two other assassins, and the final assassin was buried in a heap of bone.

"What exactly is..."

The orcs looked dumbfounded. Touch wasn't sure what was going on either. 'What the hell is going on!?'

Then, Mumugul stood up. "Great Ruman Orcs, listen to me! We've been deceived. Gejla is actually a human disguised as an orc!"

Mumugul pointed right at Jegal.

The orcs could clearly see Jegal reverting back to his human form.

"What the hell is going on!? Who is that?" an Orc Commander yelled.

"His name is Jegal. He's an advisor to the Eastern Empire, and is called the Scheming Master. It's because of him that the previous chieftain died, and also why we're fighting in an unnecessary war with the humans."

Jegal's face stiffened. However, he hadn't given up just yet.

"He's lying. He's a traitor!" Jegal yelled. "I'm an orc. However, these traitors fed me some weird medicine, which turned me into a human! Chieftain, please kill these traitors! Hurry!"

"Mm." Touch had no idea what to do.

'Who's telling the truth? Is Gejla really a human? Or was he really fed some kind of medicine, turning him into a human?'

Like Touch, the other orcs couldn't come to a quick conclusion. Everything had happened so suddenly, after all.

"They're spies that the humans sent. They plan on framing me and weakening the orcs! Here, take a look. He's a human too!" Jegal pointed at Kang Oh with his chin.

Then...

Kang Oh's companion pulled off his wolf fur, revealing the Legendary Healer, Eder.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your Blood Wine contained a special magic nullification drug that I concocted. That's why your transformation was dispelled," Eder said.

"Bullshit!"

"We'll see who's lying." Eder raised his skull adorned staff.

First, he introduced himself.

High-Rank Summon Undead!

A Bone Minotaur appeared behind Eder.

Thud.

The Bone Minotaur, White Horn, swung its axe downwards as if showing off.

"A-A Necromancer," an orc yelled.

"Indeed. I'm a Necromancer. As you can see, I'm skilled enough to summon a powerful undead beast like this."

"A Necromancer... Can you call the souls of the dead?" Kang Oh said. This is a line he'd prepared beforehand.

"Of course. I'll call Chieftain Asuka's soul right here and now," Eder said.

High-Rank Necromancers could summon the souls of the dead from the underworld. Of course, they couldn't summon every soul. It was only possible with recently departed souls.

"What?"

"Chieftain Asuka?"

"The chieftain is dead."

Once they heard Asuka's name, the orcs were in agreement.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Summon Soul!

Eder slightly shook his staff and cast the spell.

Whir.

Asuka appeared in the air, his body transparent and made up of glowing, gray light.

"Chieftain!"

"Chieftain Asuka!"

The orcs were happy to see their chieftain again.

On the other hand, Touch's face turned dark. He stared at Gejla, no, Jegal.

'You bastard!'

The fact that his father had appeared meant that Jegal had killed him.

Only then did Touch realize that Gejla had tricked him; the fake corpse that had been presented to him was actually his father's corpse.

'Damn it.' Jegal avoided Touch's murderous gaze and clenched his eyes shut. Everything had gone awry.

"Orc Chieftain Asuka. Please tell us how you actually died," Eder said courteously.

"Foolish child."

"F-Father." Touch suddenly stood up, knelt to the ground, and slammed his head onto the floor. "I... thought you were safe. Ugh, I'm so sorry, Father!"

Thud! Thud!

Touch slammed his head onto the ground again and again.

Asuka gazed upon his child with incredible sadness.

"My son. My foolish son. Regardless of what you did, I still love you."

"F-Father." Tears flowed from Touch's bleeding eyes.

"However, I'm the Orc Great Chieftain. I may be able to forgive you as your father, but I can't forgive you as the Great Chieftain. Mumugul!"

"Yes, Chieftain." Mumugul sadly looked at Asuka. Everything that had happened was a tragedy.

"Lead the Ruman Orcs in my place. As for Touch... Punish him as you see fit. But please spare his life. He's just a foolish, ungrateful child."

"...Understood."

"Thanks. Great Ruman Orcs." Asuka's spirit stared at every single orc in the banquet hall. "I was unworthy of your support, yet you followed me anyway. For that, I thank you. Don't forget your pride as an orc."

"C-Chieftain!"

"Aah, Chieftain!'

The orcs sobbed and wailed.

Asuka stared at Kuharap. "Brother."

"Brother."

The two quietly stared at each other. That was enough for them.

"Thank you," Asuka said to Kang Oh and Eder, and then disappeared.

"Aaah!"

"Chieftain Asuka!"

"You scum!"

"I'll kill you all!"

The enraged orcs rushed at Touch and Jegal.

Then, Mumugul roared. It was as if a bomb had just gone off.

Kuhaaa!

Their ears stung.

"Enough! I'll judge Touch and that man myself!" Mumugul showed off his incredible charisma. It was as if he were the second coming of Asuka.

"Mm."

"...Understood."

Mumugul approached Touch. "Touch."

"..." Touch silently cried.

"You, who took part in the chieftain's kidnapping and eventual death, can only repent in death. But Chieftain Asuka asked me not to kill you, so I will spare your life. In exchange, you will remain in solitary confinement for the rest of your life without a speck of sunlight."

Mumugul coldly passed judgment on Touch.

Then, he walked in front of Jegal.

"Death."

There was no need to even think about it. Mumugul immediately drew his axe and swung it at Jegal's neck.

However...!

Clang!

Kang Oh blocked the blow with Blood.

"What are you doing!?" Mumugul scowled at Kang Oh.

"This man is an 'Immortal', so he'll come back even if you kill him."

An Immortal.

That's how NPCs refer to players that they saw die and come back to life. They couldn't understand the phenomenon behind it, and considered it 'incomprehensible'.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"You should imprison him."

Arth had a prison system. This system could prevent players from logging into the game for a long time. Red Moon's executives were imprisoned using the same system in the Security Bureau's underground prison.

"Understood. Gejla. You'll live the rest of your life in prison without a single ray of sunshine."

A system message appeared in front of Jegal.

[The Orc Great Chieftain has reached a verdict.]

[You have been given a life sentence.]

"No! Just kill me instead!" Jegal yelled. However, it was to no avail.

"Take him away!"

The Orc Commanders stood up and dragged both Touch and Jegal away.

"Uaahk! Kang Oh, you bastard! This isn't the end! You hear me!? The Empire will win in the end! The orcs will be exterminated, and I'll be set free!"

Kang Oh just flipped him off.

'Yeah, whatever. See you later! Oh, and the Empire will be finished soon. I'll make sure of it.'

* * *

With the reveal of Jegal's conspiracy and Touch's misdeeds, all the secrets surrounding Asuka's death were revealed.

But that didn't mean the orcs' crimes were forgiven. After all, they had killed every human being in Kuwang.

"We'll pay our debt in blood," Mumugul said.

"I'll pay the Empire back for killing my sworn brother."

That was the moment that 100,000 orcs and the Tuslam's elite troops joined the Alliance.

They immediately headed for Saw Rock Fortress.

Jegal's goal had been to weaken the Alliance and give the Empire a chance to strike, but it had done the exact opposite; the Alliance was strengthened by his actions.

After all, 100,000 orcs and elite Tuslam troops were no joke.

Moreover, the orc army possessed 1,000 Criders, giant spiders specializing in scaling walls via their webs. They would definitely be helpful when they besieged Saw Rock Fortress.

Kang Oh also used them to his advantage, and gathered more players into their army.

'Now that the orcs and the Tuslam have joined the Alliance, all that's left for the Empire is defeat! Hurry up and join the Alliance while you still can!'

He had spread rumors like that around.

A huge army of orcs marched through the continent. They held flags with the Alliance's insignia, and Mumugul, Kuharap, and Kang Oh stood at the front.

"It looks like the rumors are true."

"Uwaah, there are so many of them."

"The Empire already lost in the Nazrak Plains, so if they join up with the Alliance, then it's all over for them. Ain't that right?"

"Should we join them? It looks like the Alliance will win the war."

"Yeah, let's do it!"

10,000 became 20,000, and 20,000 became 30,000... The number of players that joined the orc army increased exponentially.

A few days later...

"I see them!" someone yelled.

Kang Oh looked far away.

It was like he was looking at the grand canyon. There were saw-like rocks that lined the top of the giant cliff.

Castle walls were constructed along the cliff! The grandeur, the size, and the toughness reminded him of why it was called an 'impregnable fortress'.

Kang Oh, the players, and the orc/Tuslam army had finally reached Saw Rock Fortress.