Vandalieu blinked as Queen Donaneris, ruler of the city state of Arachne and Empusa that worshipped Zanalpadna, the evil god of carapaces and compound eyes, addressed him in a way that he had never heard before.
“The Holy Son who will face a great trial?” he repeated.
“Yes, the details can wait until all of the guests have been gathered –” Queen Donaneris began.
“Darling! You can’t be out of bed; your wounds still haven’t fully healed!” Princess Kurnelia squealed as she rushed past Vandalieu with the speed of the wind, towards the Noble Orc.
“K-Kurnelia, I’m alright. There’s no problems; I don’t have to lie in bed anymore,” said the Noble Orc in a voice that was deep, but with a tone that gave the impression of a gentle young man.
It seemed that he was indeed Prince Budarion, Princess Kurnelia’s fiancé, the one whose throne had been stolen from him by his younger brother.
“You’re lying! Your voice sounds pained… and your face is pale…” Princess Kurnelia murmured.
Vandalieu looked up at Prince Budarion, wondering if this was true. The face of Prince Budarion, who had a Noble-Orc-like height of around three meters, was… pale, probably.
Vandalieu felt like he could smell a faint scent of blood from his bandages, too.
“Bufuh. Princess, I can’t lie to you, can I…”
Ah, he’s a bit Orc-like.
It was probably the ‘fuh’ noise Prince Budarion made while exhaling. Though he spoke human words, the structure of his nose was different, so not everything about his speech was perfect.
Prince Budarion stroked Princess Kurnelia’s pink-blonde hair, his one remaining eye filled with a gentle light. “But Ogibo-ue* has told me that the discussion that will take place now is an important one that will determine the fate of every race that lives in this land,” he said. “With that being the case, I can’t not be present. All of this was caused by my own shortcomings, after all.”
“Darling, that’s not true at all! It’s all the fault of Bugitas and that mysterious god who’s lending him his strength! And you fought harder than anyone else to try to stop Bugitas, didn’t you!” Princess Kurnelia exclaimed.
“No, all of this was caused by my own naïvety that could not see through my brother’s foolishness. Because of this, I have dragged not only my own vassals and empire, but numerous nations including Zanalpadna, into war.”
“Darling…”
“Kurnelia… Budarion-dono… could you please leave such conversations for when you are alone?” Queen Donaneris interjected.
The two of them came back to their senses.
“Our apologies!” they said to the Arachne and Empusa in the chamber, who seemed to be mentally fatigued from this, as well as to Vandalieu.
“I’m glad we didn’t bring Kasim,” said Eleanora.
“Hmm, a calm, gentlemanly Noble Orc…” Zadiris murmured.
“If you told me there was actually a human inside him, I’d believe you,” said Basdia.
“No, I can tell. That prince has considerable skill. If he was in good condition, he would rival me or be even stronger,” Vigaro said.
“You’re right,” Borkus agreed. “Considering his appearance and his nice guy…ish face, his sense of presence is no joke. He’s probably at least Rank 10.”
Everyone spoke their impressions as they arrived in the queen’s chamber, either by flying in on their own or being carried in by Arachne, seeing Prince Budarion and Princess Kurnelia’s intimacy.
Perhaps Bugogan had left a strong impression on Zadiris and Basdia; they seemed to find it difficult to believe that Prince Budarion was a member of the same Noble Orc race.
“Prince Budarion does not match the prowess of the late emperor, Fugofu-sama, but he is a Rank 10 Noble Orc High King. He is a master of the Swordsmanship skill that I cannot even be compared to,” Gizania explained, perhaps feeling proud at the fact that Vigaro and Borkus were admiring the man (male?) who would become her brother in law.
“I apologize for my actions, despite having been instructed to take the princess away!” said Myuze, kneeling hastily.
Incidentally, the chief mage Bakota had positioned himself at the queen’s side at some point. He was fast, as expected of a chief mage.
“It is fine. More importantly, Myuze, you should remain present here,” said Queen Donaneris, seeming to have no intention of reprimanding Myuze.
However, the queen’s order seemed to be unexpected for Myuze.
“I should remain present?” she repeated.
Myuze was a young Empusa, a highly capable kunoichi among Empusa that were less than a hundred years of age, but she was not in a high social position. She was in charge of defending one of the gates that faced the north, south, east and west in the walls that protected Zanalpadna, but that was all.
Due to the nature of her job, her face was well-known to those from other nations who went back and forth on missions and armed merchant caravans that conducted trade, but she was not someone who could be called an important figure.
And it wasn’t as if she had any particularly deep opinions, either. There was Gizania to act as company for the shrine maiden and the other guests; Myuze couldn’t imagine that she would be of any use staying here.
“If you have no objections, you will remain here. Naturally, Gizania, you will stay as well,” said Queen Donaneris.
“Certainly!”
Myuze could not object after having been ordered to stay more than once. Disobeying orders would go against the path of the ninja that she longed to follow.
But as Myuze went to stand at the end of the row of important Empusa in the queen’s chamber, the queen spoke to her again.
“Just stay where you are!” Queen Donaneris told her.
“A-as you wish!” Myuze hastily returned to Vandalieu’s side and fell silent.
Eleanora, Zadiris and even the Arachne and Empusa in the chamber looked at Myuze and at the queen, wondering what this was all about, but the queen offered no explanation.
From the position that Myuze was being ordered to stand, Vandalieu guessed that it had something to do with him, but he was bewildered regardless of what it was. Though he appeared to be composed, as he had no facial expression.
“Now then… I have not told this to anyone save for a few, including Bakota, but I actually received a Divine Message from the evil god Zanalpadna,” the queen said.
The conversation flew to a topic that wasn’t related to Myuze at all. But the importance of this topic was so great that everyone’s attention shifted from Myuze to the Divine Message.
“I interpreted the contents of the Divine Message to be, ‘Send your daughters to the north. There, your daughter will meet the Holy Son who seeks a trial,’” said Queen Donaneris. “I consulted those whom I revealed the contents of the Divine Message to, and then dispatched a delegation towards the marshlands to the north that included my daughters, Kurnelia and Gizania.”
“Is that true?!” Princess Kurnelia exclaimed. “I did think it was strange that Chief Mage Bakota didn’t oppose the suggestion of requesting reinforcements from Lizardmen that we’ve never interacted with before…”
“I see. So, there was a reason like that for accepting my request immediately when I asked to be one of the escorting members, despite knowing that I was not worthy,” said Gizania.
It seemed that the Divine Message hadn’t been revealed to Princess Kurnelia and Gizania. Most of the people in the queen’s chamber, including Prince Budarion, were surprised.
“Queen Donaneris, why did you not tell us about the Divine Message?!” blurted out a large Empusa who had apparently been a member of the delegation.
“Because telling you would have caused preconceptions,” Queen Donaneris replied. “And there was also the chance that my interpretation of the message was incorrect. It was more than possible that the word ‘daughter’ meant not just my own daughters, but ‘young girls’ including yourself, Gaol. And as for the Holy Son, I did not know what race he would be or what form he would have. There was the possibility that he would be a Lizardman… or rather, both Bakota and I expected that the Holy Son would be a Lizardman hero or champion. It is not that we questioned your loyalty, but forgive us,” she said, gently closing her eyes and lowering her head.
The Empusa named Gaol, as well as the others who had seemed displeased at the fact that they had not been told about the Divine Message, hastily began to stop the queen.
“Please raise your head! We understand your thoughts on the matter!”
As Vandalieu blinked and watched this scene unfold, he suddenly heard Princess Kurnelia’s voice in his mind.
“Us Arachne and Empusa, especially those who are warriors by profession, feel dishonor when our loyalty is questioned. The same applies for Gizania-chan, so please be careful,” the voice said.
Vandalieu noticed a transparent thread stuck to his neck. It seemed that Princess Kurnelia had gone out of her way to use Thread Telepathy to explain this to him.
Of course, Gizania didn’t seem to be displeased at the fact that the queen had kept things hidden from her. This was likely related to the fact that Donaneris was not only her superior, but also her mother.
“By the way, I understand that there was a Divine Message, but… what is it that you want from us now?” Vandalieu asked after waiting for the Empusa to calm down. “At first, our objective was to deal with the Noble Orc empire… dealing with peace negotiations and any possible war. Now that I have learned the situation from Gizania, that has changed to building favorable relationships with each race that worships the gods on Vida’s side, including the people of Zanalpadna, and defeating Bugitas and his subordinates, who worship a god that seems to be a remnant of the Demon King’s army.”
The reasons for defeating Bugitas weren’t just that Vandalieu sympathized with the Arachne or because Gizania’s muscular beauty was wonderful.
Judging from the words of the Noble Orc who had attacked Gizania, it could be assumed that the usurper Bugitas and the god he worshipped, Ravovifard, didn’t think favorably of Vida and those who worshipped her.
If someone like that were to rule the lands south of the marshlands and gather strength, there was no telling what would happen in the future.
As Noble Orcs took about ten years to reach adulthood after they were born, they would not increase in number too substantially within a short period of time. However, the Orcs, Kobolds and Goblins who performed manual labor or slave work in the empire could multiply at a terrifying rate.
And if they trusted in their numbers and closed in on the marshlands, Vandalieu didn’t think that Talosheim wouldn’t be able to win, but there would certainly be casualties.
Even if they didn’t come attacking, as the Holy Son of Vida, Vandalieu would be troubled if something were to happen to the sacred land in which Vida slumbered.
That was why he would deal with the Noble Orc empire while he still could. And if he acted now, he would gain multiple nations as allies. Even the general Chezare had insisted, “Your Majesty! You have no choice but to take part in the war yourself!”
Also, the Experience Points and the meat would be delicious as well.
“But I have no idea what you mean by ‘trial,’” Vandalieu said.
He had the feeling that the battle against the Noble Orc empire was not a trial. It could be assumed that Bugitas, who had repelled the Rank 10 Prince Budarion, was Rank 11 or higher. Bugitas would certainly be a powerful foe, but Vandalieu couldn’t imagine that he would be a more powerful enemy than the one that had been defeated last year, the Pure-breed Vampire Gubamon who possessed strength of mythical proportions and was thought to be Rank 13 or higher.
If Vandalieu faced Bugitas, he would probably be victorious.
Of course, he would probably have other high-Rank Noble Orc subordinates, but even with those present, Vandalieu wouldn’t be defeated by them with Borkus, Vigaro, Zadiris, Basdia, Eleanora, Bone Man and the others at his side.
And if Vandalieu lacked fighting strength, he could always go back to Talosheim to bring more.
That was why he felt that Bugitas was too weak to be called a trial.
“So, if you have any ideas as to what the trial might be, I would like to hear them,” Vandalieu said.
If the trial happened to be “teaching Zanalpadna the knowledge regarding true bushi and ninjas,” he would give up immediately.
But upon being asked this, Queen Donaneris’s expression turned into a happy, yet troubled one.
“No… I had thought that the Holy Son’s primary purpose would be to face this trial, so I intended to earnestly request that you join the war to take the empire back from Bugitas and the god Ravovifard that he worships,” she said.
“… Your guess was wrong, but in a good way, my queen,” said Bakota.
“Ah… what are we supposed to do about this awkward atmosphere?” Kurt muttered.
Both of them had complicated expressions on their faces.
“Then isn’t this ‘trial’ a misunderstanding on Zanalpadna’s part?” Basdia suggested.
“Basdia, isn’t it impossible for gods to have misunderstandings?” asked Gizania, expressing her doubt in this ‘god’s misunderstanding’ theory.
“No, I think it’s probably possible,” Basdia said. “I’ve seen a different god once before, and it seemed that he would have misunderstandings just like anyone else.”
She had actually met a god before. Not only Gizania, but Princess Kurnelia and Bakota were surprised by her words as well.
“You’ve seen a god before?!” Gizania exclaimed.
“There’s a god like that?!” asked Princess Kurnelia.
“Impossible! No, but if you’re a companion of the person prophesized in a Divine Message, then…?” Bakota murmured.
Incidentally, the god that Basdia had seen before was Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins. He had kneeled on the ground and begged Vandalieu for his life the moment he appeared; it did indeed seem that he would have misunderstandings.
“No, it is not necessarily a misunderstanding. From Zanalpadna’s point of view, perhaps the battle against the Noble Orc kingdom was enough to be expressed as a trial,” said Zadiris.
“Gods aren’t omnipotent, after all. And there are various deep aspects to Vandalieu-sama,” said Eleanora.
I see, Vandalieu thought, almost completely convinced by their words.
“I see… Well, that is likely the case. Perhaps I misinterpreted the Divine Message. The only idea I have is the Trial of Zakkart, but it does not seem that you seek that,” Queen Donaneris murmured.
“The Trial of Zakkart?” Vandalieu repeated the legendary Dungeon’s name. “Isn’t that the Dungeon that appears about once every month in a different place?”
“Hmm? The Trial of Zakkart does indeed disappear to a different place after approximately a month if there is nobody inside it, but it always appears once a year in the sacred land in which the goddess slumbers,” said Queen Donaneris.
It seemed that the mysterious Dungeon that was supposedly a wandering Dungeon appeared regularly in only one place, the sacred land in the southern region of the continent.
“The Trial of Zakkart…” Vandalieu murmured.
The last remaining culprits behind Vandalieu’s mother’s death, the Five-colored Blades, were led by the S-class adventurer Heinz who had undoubtedly solidified his position as a hero in the Orbaume Kingdom by now. The Trial of Zakkart was an extremely high-difficulty Dungeon that had been challenged by them, resulting in the loss of a party member and forcing them to retreat.
Vandalieu wasn’t particularly interested in the act of clearing the Dungeon itself. He wasn’t, but… what if the corpse of Heinz’s party member was still left inside? Vandalieu didn’t care if it was only the skull; if he could get his hands on that, repair it, put a soul in it to turn it into an Undead and bring it before Heinz, what kind of expression would Heinz make?
Wouldn’t this be at least some small revenge against those three who were difficult to lay a hand on due to their positions in society as righteous people, despite having captured Darcia and sold her to a religious fanatic for loose change?
There would be nothing better than for them to become enraged and attack Vandalieu in their anger. That would allow him to kill them in self-defense.
Of course, this would only happen after Vandalieu was properly registered as an adventurer with his Undead registered as familiars, acquired a proper social status, and most importantly, after he acquired the strength he needed to turn the tables on Heinz and his companions.
“… When will the Trial of Zakkart appear?” Vandalieu asked.
“I do not know that much. It is certain that it appears once every year, but the month it appears changes every year,” said Queen Donaneris. “However, it should not have appeared yet this year. If it had, the Dark Elf nation would have sent messengers to every other nation… though they might not be in the state to do that now.”
“I see. Let us try challenging it after defeating Bugitas,” said Vandalieu.
He couldn’t prioritize his harassment of Heinz over the war when he didn’t know when he would execute the harassment or whether the corpse he needed for it was still there. The trial would come later.
But hearing Vandalieu declare that he would challenge the Trial of Zakkart, Queen Donaneris, Kurnelia and even Budarion looked at him as if they were looking at a champion.
Well, it was a Dungeon that had repelled even Heinz’s party, who had been A-class adventurers at the time, so perhaps even attempting to clear the Dungeon was worthy of respect.
“M-my word. So, you intend to challenge Zakkart, Shrine-Maiden-dono,” said Myuze, shuddering.
“Perhaps I have been saved by an unimaginably great person… Queen! No, Mother! Once the fight with Bugitas and his ilk ends, I wish to offer my blade and my life to Shrine-Maiden-dono! Please allow me to do this!” Gizania spoke these outrageous words with flushed cheeks.
“Gizania, I do not mind if you change occupations, but please treat your life with care,” said Vandalieu.
“Alriiight! Let’s go, kid! A Dungeon that nobody’s cleared before, this is getting my blood boiling!” Borkus shouted.
“Borkus, calm down. We’ll be going after defeating Bugitas,” Vandalieu told him.
“Now then, I would like to decide the conditions for providing our reinforcements!” shouted the loud voice of Kurt, who was once the commander of a tower, subduing the others who had started becoming noisy.
Once he had confirmed that all attention was on him, he began reciting the conditions for joining the war that had been decided at a meeting with Chezare and the others.
“First, those under the command of the Eclipse King Vandalieu must be treated as allies and not harmed, no matter who or what they may be. Next, everything that is captured by our army as a result of battle, even corpses, we will gain ownership of. I wish for these conditions to be acknowledged.”
Queen Donaneris and Bakota had put themselves on guard as they listened to these two conditions; now, they looked puzzled.
“… No, are these conditions not to be expected?” said Bakota.
It was common sense to treat reinforcements as allies and not cause them any harm. The second condition, the acknowledgement of possession of all captured items including corpses, was not a common condition used in the Amid Empire or Orbaume Kingdom, but it seemed that it was ordinary in the southern region of the continent.
“If you are saying that you wish to take the materials and food from the corpses of Bugitas’s Noble Orc subordinates once they are defeated, I care not. That is the right of the victor. Of course, that applies for Bugitas himself as well,” Prince Budarion assured Kurt. “Our empire does not allow Noble Orcs and Orcs to eat the flesh of their brethren, but we utilize materials from the dead to create goods as a funeral service, and the corpses of criminals are fed to the people as a punishment to them. Bugitas is my younger brother who shares my blood, but you do not need to concern yourself about that. However, if you capture anything that is important to the empire, it would be much appreciated if you allowed negotiations.”
It didn’t seem that anyone in the queen’s chamber felt any feelings of disgust or revulsion, not even Prince Budarion, so it seemed that this condition really was common sense.
It was equivalent to Lizardmen taking materials from the corpses of their brethren and using them to create leather armor; it seemed that for monsters, creating arms and such from deceased individuals was equivalent to a funeral service.
“Of course, we will respond to negotiations. But what is important is the first condition. If you agree to these conditions, then I will try and restore the heavily wounded to their original, healthy states, including Prince Budarion,” said Vandalieu.
A different commotion to when he had declared that he would challenge the Trial of Zakkart spread across the queen’s chamber.
“My eye and arm, can they be healed?! I had hardened my resolve to at least land one blow back on Bugitas, even with only one eye and one arm, but if you can restore me to normal, I will definitely put a stop to his violence!” Prince Budarion exclaimed.
“Prince, please wait,” said Bakota. “Shrine-Maiden-dono, perhaps due to the Death Scythe wielded by Bugitas, some kind of magic or even Ravovifard’s divine protection, it took the combined effort of numerous mages, including myself, just to stop the bleeding of Prince Budarion’s wounds, never mind closing them. Can you really heal them?”
It seemed that this commotion was due to the fact that Prince Budarion’s wounds had not been closed despite the presence of exceptional mages like Bakota.
Vandalieu and his companions had heard in advance from Gizania that the prince was completely unable to fight due to the heavy wounds he had sustained. However, it seemed that they were wondering why there was a faint smell of blood still coming from his damaged body parts, despite several days having passed.
It was likely a curse, special poison or even a unique skill that inhibited the effects of healing magic and Potions.
“Can you do something like that, Shrine-Maiden-dono? In my case, I had legs that had been cut off, but Prince Budarion is missing an arm and an eye,” said Gizania, who had cooperated with Myuze to barely manage to stop Princess Kurnelia from shouting, “We’ll accept anything!”
“I think I can. However, first, I will need the conditions to be accepted. If everyone acknowledges my Undead, then let us go out right now to gather the things I will need for the treatment,” said Vandalieu.
As he finished speaking, Bone Man and Borkus removed their helmets and Princess Levia and the other Ghosts revealed themselves.
The Noble Orc Mage Buburin had a sharp glint in his eye as he directed the construction of a temporary fort, ensuring that none of the soldiers were slacking off.
“Bukukukuh.”
However, it could not be said that his attitude towards his work was attentive. The reason for this was because he was already certain that this war had been won by Prince Bugitas… the newly-crowned Emperor Bugitas.
Coup d’états had already been successful in the High Goblin and High Kobold nations, conducted by those who had sworn loyalty to Emperor Bugitas, and these nations were now under control.
The Majin nation and Kijin nation were powerful enemies, but due to Ravovifard’s divine work, they would be held up for a while.
Prince Bugitas would use this opening to overrun the other nations and conquer Zanalpadna, where the loser Budarion was being sheltered.
“And once we suppress this land, none will stand in our way… bukukuh,” Buburin snorted, letting out a laugh that was rather vulgar considering that he was a member of a race containing the word ‘noble.’
“Buburin-dono, your words are rather loud for someone who is talking to himself,” said a Noble Orc General, a commander of the same rank as Buburin.
This temporary fort was located between the empire and Zanalpadna; it was a base for conquering Zanalpadna. Because of this, enough military strength had been positioned here to repel wild monster attacks and hold out for some time if Zanalpadna were to attack it.
Buburin and the Noble Orc General were Rank 8. There were a few other Rank 7 and ten Rank 6 Noble Orcs. There were five High Goblins and five High Kobolds. Thirty Orcs serving as soldiers and laborers.
And though they would not be used to fight, there were fifty slaves that could even be used as emergency rations.
“And you are speaking to yourself in human words. The slaves will hear you,” the Noble Orc General said.
“I’m letting them hear me, of course. To make sure that they don’t have any foolish hopes,” Buburin said. “You slaves, if you value the lives of your wives and daughters, don’t let your hands rest!” he shouted at the human and Beast-person men who had once been citizens of the empire, striking the back of the nearest slave with the staff in his hand.
Of course, it wasn’t with full strength. In fact, he had been careful to hold back.
However, the staff had been swung by a Noble Orc, whose physical strength couldn’t be compared to an ordinary person, even if that Noble Orc was a mage. The man who had been struck let out a scream and collapsed onto the ground.
“Ugh…”
He groaned and looked up at Buburin with anger in his eyes. It wasn’t a fitting look for a slave to have in his eyes, but it couldn’t be helped. Until half a year ago, he had been a citizen, not a slave.
Like Zanalpadna, the Noble Orc empire had maintained a cooperative relationship of protecting its citizens. However, Bugitas had crushed that relationship and tried to change it into a society of survival of the fittest.
A part of that was turning the citizens into slaves. But there weren’t convenient Magic Items shaped like slave collars like the ones used in societies outside the Boundary Mountain Range, so they had taken the slaves’ families hostage.
If they worked poorly, once they returned to the empire, their family members would be eaten alive or raped until they died; either way, they would meet gruesome fates.
“Kuh…”
In the end, the man who had been struck was unable to say anything back and had no choice but to stand up and return to his work.
Even though he wasn’t even handcuffed, never mind a collar. He knew that even if all of the slaves rebelled together, they couldn’t even defeat one of the Noble Orcs that were Buburin’s subordinates, let alone Buburin himself.
And if they rebelled, the young children and elderly slaves would be eaten, while the women capable of bearing children would be taken by the Noble Orcs, not as wives, but as mothers for their children.
The men knew that even if they stayed obedient, there was no guarantee that they and their families would not be treated cruelly in the future. They knew this, but right now, they had no choice but to obey.
“Did you see the look in his eye! What pitiful creatures, unable to say anything in return. It truly is a sin to be weak! I can’t believe inferior creatures like these were considered ‘citizens’ until not long ago! They are even lower than Orcs!” Buburin said with an unpleasant guffaw, saying even this in human words to antagonize the slaves.
But the slaves couldn’t say anything in return, even when being scorned in this way.
But about half of the Orcs looked at the frustrated slaves with sympathy.
“How about you tease them as well?” Buburin suggested.
The Noble Orc General gave a gentle smile and shook his head. “Bufufuh, I shall refrain. If I will be doing any tormenting, I prefer doing it to women on a bed.”
“Oh, that is reasonable too. Let us achieve military success in this battle, have His Majesty Emperor Bugitas grant us ranks and have our fill of real women, not these imitations created by a powerless god, until we wither away! … What’s wrong?”
At that moment, an Orc lookout shouted in Buburin’s direction to inform him that a monster was approaching.
Unlike races created by Vida, such as Arachne, Noble Orcs were pure monsters. Numerous high-Rank Noble Orcs including Buburin were stationed at this temporary fort; it was not often attacked by monsters.
However, there were attacks conducted by desperately hungry monsters, monsters with intelligence too low to discern how powerful their foes were or monsters simply too greedy after smelling the scent of the slaves.
Buburin thought that this would be the case as well, but was then puzzled by the lookout’s shouted report of “Fugoffugibiih!”
A Titan Zombie?
Buburin was confused at the report regarding the approaching monster. It wasn’t rare for Undead to rise from corpses in Devil’s Nests. However, why would a Titan corpse be left outside, when Titans would never leave any of the city states on their own?
There shouldn’t have been any Titan adventurers or soldiers, either.
“Bugubufufuh,” the Noble Orc General said, ignoring Buburin’s puzzlement and ordering for one of the Noble Orc subordinates to fetch him his bow and arrows.
He was on the verge of reaching level 100 and increasing his Rank; he apparently wanted to gain as many Experience Points as possible.
The Noble Orc General took the bow and arrows from his subordinate, took aim at the groaning Zombie with a half-skull face and a sword hanging from his hand, and then released his arrow.
The Zombie groaned and seemed to stagger by coincidence; the arrow missed.
“?! … Buugoh!”
Not having expected his arrow to miss, the Noble Orc General showed clear irritation as he nocked a second arrow in his bow.
He would definitely land this next arrow. So the Noble Orcs, including Buburin, thought.
However, the Titan Zombie suddenly swung the sword that had been hanging from his hand at a speed faster than could be seen by the eye, repelling the second arrow.
“Ugh… I really am terrible at imitating ordinary Zombies.”
“Well, we managed to get this close, so I believe it is fine.”
“Well then, I suppose I’ll run the rest of the way!”
And so, the Zombie Titan Borkus broke into a fierce sprint towards the dumbfounded Buburin and Noble Orc General.
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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UnknownVariable
I fear for the future. Van’s mother is like the remaining thing that could bring back Van a notch to true vulnerability and an ominous thing such as a trial seems dangerous. Im really still rooting for the day she comes back to life.
Zenden1st
Van: “Dont leave your trash in dungeons”
Drops martinas dead body in front of Heinz…
JKingSniper
Not forgiving Heinz
he still basically tortured and killed Van’s mother by accessory
NsP7737
I’m not sure if they already explained properly what created the ‘Trial of Zakkart’ but it would be nuts if the dungeon recognizes Van when he steps foot in it
theblasblas
Revenge on Heinz isn’t really a matter of good and evil for Van, he’s rejected viewing it in that lens in order to maintain his sense of self.
Van acknowledges that it would be wrong to take revenge on Heins, but regardless he has to or he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. The dissonance was so great that he developed the Scream skill, a skill meant for undead fueled by grudges.
People who try to justify Van’s grudge as being “right” are missing the point.
Chiu ChunLing
While it’s true that Van acknowledges that it would be ‘wrong’, all he means is that some other people whose opinions don’t matter to him won’t like it.
Van doesn’t subscribe to the idea that ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ have any meaning beyond expressing the subjective preferences of various people, including his own.
And from his perspective, revenge on Heinz is completely right.
Those of us who share Van’s perspective agree. It’s not that we don’t accept that anyone might disagree, we just think it’s fine for those people to die as well.
Randy Rando
He developed the scream skill because he was so truly furious, so utterly and completely filled with violent, murderous wrath towards Heins, and his utter hatred of himself for being too weak to take revenge for the first person to show him pure, unconditional love that something inside him just broke. He acknowledges that Mr. Ketchup is doing his best to make up for his mistakes and that most humans would think that he should just give up on his revenge, but he has weighed the benefits of letting Me. Ketchup live against the risks Mr. Ketchup poses as well as the cost of having to give up his hatred and has decided that he will continue to work on killing him.
Igotdie24
Vandalieu wasn’t particularly interested in the act of clearing the Dungeon itself. He wasn’t, but… what if the corpse of Heinz’s party member was still left inside? Vandalieu didn’t care if it was only the skull; if he could get his hands on that, repair it, put a soul in it to turn it into an Undead and bring it before Heinz, what kind of expression would Heinz make?
😈😈😈😈
yvesdakempo
When a zombie having trouble act like a zombie
Jason
I am imagining borkus running like the Armored titan about annihilate that fort with a smash
TruePath111
The MC a jerk here for the first time. Heinz is trying to change, killing his mom woke him up. It’s just he’s too loyal like Hiroto. Heinz’s could be a valuable ally since they’re too similar. The mother held no hatred in her eyes and don’t forget what she told MC.
MC is too childish with his grudges.
DieOfSanity
I mean, Vandalieu is both insane, and a child. But forgiving Heinz would be a great demonstration of character development and show Van maturing.
Chiu ChunLing
Van is also perfectly capable of genuinely and meaningfully forgiving someone after turning them into an undead servant.
A morally mature view has to recognize that fact.
SuprGofi
MC is insane, he also admits it. His skills also backs this up, grotesque mind.
If you factor his mental age, he never really develop normally. On earth with a crappy environment and dying at a young age. A full blown guinea pig in his second life. Only 8 years in his third life, his body is a child and it is somewhat affecting his mind.
Hienz isn’t that great of a character. They are advocating for peaceful Alda faction by protecting selen. If you really look at it they are putting her in real danger. A lot of people are after her because she is now the poster child and hienz(party) also uses her to bait out the those people too.
Kionzel
If Vandalieu kills a single one of Heinz’s allies, Heinz wanting to kill him in retaliation would be justifyable in your eyes it seems, even if Van also had a “change of heart” after the first kill, forgiveness is a right left to the victim. In the real world I would not forgive a hero for selling my mother to a church to be tortured, burned, and murdered, especially knowing that I would then be left to die with no family to protect me or help me grow. Because Van now has power and his experiences led to his power, you may be subconsciously thinking that he owes Heinz a little for his development. But that’s like saying a victim of rape who starts a foundation helping domestic violence victims owes the rapist for their development. Or that Jews owe Hitler because Israel is a sovereign nation. Heinz destroyed Van’s first real happiness, Van had no one who loved him before his mother Darcia, his Earth parents died before he could truly know them, his uncle and aunt were cruel. His Origin parents sold him to be experimented on, he finally escaped and was killed by his supposed allies, who did it on purpose, attacking him when his guard was down. He then saw the girl he tried saved embracing the man who got the powers he would have received, the two of them leading the others who were killing him.
In Lambda, he finally had someone to love him. And she was taken away, tortured, called a witch and a whore, and burned to prove a point and to stroke some egos, and you expect Van to be like “oh, well Heinz is trying to be better, so I’ll let him go.”
Fuck off with that, certainly, that’s the noble, right thing to do, but it’s foolish to expect that mindset from Vandalieu any time soon. If a man commits murder then repents later, he still committed murder.
Wannabe
Yeah. Due to the insanity, he’s convinced that Heinz will try to kill her again if she is revived. I don’t think Heinz would have, but I also don’t think he’s actually turned over a new leaf either.
DarkCarnage
maybe he is changing, but why does that matter? would you forgive someone that helps set your mother on fire and earn money for it? knowing me i would not, i would hold the grudge unless i had a good reason to forgive, and that very unlikely.
WholesomeAF
You’re really dumb aren’t you? Take your idealism from here, MC is crazy and one of his pillars of sanity is his grudge for heinz, if you don’t understand that, have you really been reading this novel….
Calango
say that after I torture and then burn your mother alive and piss on her ashes… mc isn’t more insane then you, virgin complex guy, are you be a mage at age of 30?
Brandragoon
It doesn’t really matter whether or not Heinz has turned a new leaf the point is that he is partially responsible for the torture and burning of an innocent mother and the attempted murder of an newborn infant. No matter how much good he does it will never erase the evil he has done, and he still hasn’t suffered any real consequences for what he’s done.
And really even though Heinz is advocating for the better treatment of “some” of Vida’s races, it’s ultimately not good enough. They are treated as monsters and abominations currently but if Heinz has his way they will be treated like second class citizens. It’s an substantial improvement to be sure but it’s still not right, it’s like how slavery was abolished in America but the former slaves where still not treated like equals until almost a century later.
junipersr
It’s been explained already that even if Heinz is trying to make a change he’s doing it half-heartedly and not really making up for it well. It’s basically killing a bunch of people who are discriminated against in one nation and then going to another in nation and saving a bunch of people who aren’t discriminated against nearly as much but not going back and doing anything for the nation they actually harmed where people actually needed their help.
DemonMountain
Kill yourself you piece of shit.
OtakuOnCaffiene
DemonMountain calm down… No matter how much of a piece of shit he is, he still deserves to live. Also calling him a piece of shit is a insult to all the pieces of shit
Wsteven7o7
Agree.
Maybe we should call it hated more than Satan?
But well that would be a insult to Satan who torments all the bad and terrible people in the world…
Chiu ChunLing
I don’t habitually downvote your comments (and in fact I don’t even care to bother downvoting this one since it has plenty of downvotes already), but Heinz is actively trying to avoid changing any more than is clearly necessary for his personal comfort.
It will be fine to forgive him after he’s been turned into a high-quality zombie.
Worship of Alda is not harmless, and Heinz knows this despite his efforts to pretend there is any doubt. If he were trying to change, he’d have at least converted to Vida and broken ties with any of his party who objected.
Bunnyman
I can actually agree with you here. Killing heinz is one thing, but using his dead companion is too evil for my taste.
Vitor
It’s not that he just doesn’t want to forgive him, Vandalieu thinks that if Heinz changed his mind once, he can change his mind twice, and he believes that since the possibility of Heinz killing his mother again isn’t 0, he should be killed, also, he IS a child so it’s normal for him to be childish, the only time he grew until adulthood he was in vegetative state, also, he is insane enought for him to awaken the superior skill Grotesque Mind from Mental Corruption, what were you expecting?
polynesianvibez
well this’ll be fast i hope
thanks for the chapter
Erelorial
Thanks for the chapter! F! OMGWTFBBQ!
WolfLord_Jordon
It is quite irritating that there is no borders a bracket or dots to indicate a scene change
ChrizzyRan
True….
polynesianvibez
yup but oh wel
Soulzer1
I kinda think it’s wrote that way purposefully to make the reader go back and reread a part so that they understand how it relates to what happened beforehand. Kinda like a power check in some Mario Maker levels. It could also be for comedic effect. Kinda like kiazo blocks in Mario Maker levels.
Darkraiders
You sure like Mario Maker XD
Blackpercher
bugubugufiiiiiuhhh!!
darkoneko
Fugoffugibiih !!
Viviserenity
Sadistic ?? Why say that ?
Kazza
In his defense, the one who died, Martina, was a part of the original Five-Colored Blades who captured Darcia, leading to her death. Even though Hienz is the leader, he holds her just as responsible, like Riley. If it was one of the two new members whose names I forgot, I assume he would have more reservations.
That, plus using the dead as weapons is part of Van’s schtick.
Nobody2
Plus Martina in particular was the one who said Darcia was an evil fool just getting what she deserved. And she was an elf so those things combined she’s probably one of those elves who looks down on and Hates dark elves.
SpudCaleb
yeah, she was the ‘Warrior Priest’ right?
She would be a follower of Alda in that case, so all is good with utilizing her corpse.
Tejing
No, Martina was an elf spirit mage, and it was never really stated who was talking back then. we only know it was a female member of Heinz’ party, so it might have been Martina or Delizah. My money’s on Delizah actually.
Hobbes
That’s right, but I think it was Martina. I imagine that Alda’s elves have the same disdain for dark elves that one of Alda’s humans might have for a titan or a beast-person.
They have no monster ancestry, but Vida gave birth to them specifically intending for them to be stronger and superior versions of existing races that could survive and thrive in a ravaged postwar Lambda. If that wouldn’t irk the egos of Alda and his followers I don’t know what would lol
Vitor
In the manga adaptation is shown that it was her, thought
Chiu ChunLing
I don’t really see the need to ‘defend’ Van’s plan here.
Killing all the Five-Colored Blades and turning them into high-quality Zombies seems like a sensible plan even leaving aside that they were personally involved in his mother’s death.
Frankly, I feel like this should be done to anyone who clearly had the alternative of worshipping Vida but chose to worship Alda (or his allies) instead. I feel like there can be extenuating circumstances where open defiance of Alda could have costs infringing on survival and protection of loved ones, but Heinz-tachi are just trying to pretty up what they know damn well is an irredeemable evil when they could just as easily oppose it.