Chapter 12 Part 2 – Awakening

In the Kingdom Casstal, the room where the audience with the king took place was in the most extravagant hall in the royal palace.

Upon a single glance, one could determine the hall was made with marble, and brought about a cold and impressive atmosphere, while the polished floors and pillars reflected the environment.

The walls and ceiling were drawn with the former kings and queens, as well as great men from the past. The furniture that was decorated the place were first grade, and the candles gave the gold craftsmanship that was crafted painstakingly.

It was a room where a solemn impression could be received without appearing flashy despite the splendor.

But such a majestic atmosphere was now being erased by uproarious voices.

[An army of orcs with the size over a thousand has been confirmed in my northern territory. If it continues moving south, one can expect the streets and villages to receive great damage.]

The people who listened to the report of the knight who was past thirty, and they began to make an uproar.

The aging king who was sitting on the throne — Wilfred the Third controlled the place with his gaze.

[And this time, I heard that the orcs are different from their usual instincts to attack sporadically and repeatedly, but to take action in an organized manner. Is this true?]

[Yes, it is true. Judging from the victim’s clues from the villages from the orcs’ invasion, they first surrounded them without attacking. The determined villagers who were prepared to die went out to call for aid, but not only did the orcs surround the village, they also ambushed these men on the road. When we dispatched the knights to investigate, the village had already been destroyed by the orcs. In this case, they can’t be considered as a simple group, but an army.]

The knight’s report once again caused a commotion.

The past orcs which attacked the villages relied on their robust bodies and led damaging raids, but they received great casualties as well.

They were recognized as unintelligent demonic creatures which satisfied their instincts by raiding for food.

[Sir Lilburn, we are too far away to recognize whether these are the orcs we understand. Is it possible that the ambush from the orcs, is not just a coincidence?]

An old man spoke up in the surrounding voices who did not believe in the report.

[There is no doubt of an organized attack as the scouts have confirmed the clues from the orcs amongst the corpses.]

Impossible, these stupid things you’re implying —- the clamors resounded in the hall.

The innermost thoughts of the knight Rafael Lilburns who reported the events, was also one who expressed doubt and thought he even heard wrongly when he learned of it for the first time.

The nobles who did not face demonic creatures were most likely be unable to believe it.

But the orcs had already caused damage to the kingdom.

It was easy to imagine where those fangs would point to in the future.

A huge group comprised of over a thousand and their characteristic of having a very high fertility.

If they were left alone, their numbers would increase, and the kingdom would lose villages and streets as a consequence.

And eventually, it might reach the kingdom.

The kingdom had three thousand as a standing army.

But the capital could not send all their troops in order to have it defended.

The biggest reasonable number they could send out was two thousand.

This level of combat strength could be seen as excessive, but against an organized army of orcs, they would most likely have considerable damage.

[We should organize an army as quickly as possible to destroy the orcs!]

One of the nobles said. The others then gave their input.

[Indeed. However, there are many mysterious points about the orcs’ movements. We should investigate again as to why they are organized.]

[More importantly, we don’t have enough troops. We should request reinforcements from the neighboring countries to be safe.]

[And let the other countries see our weakness? Although the orcs have numbers, it would be fine if we recruit adventurers to subjugate them.]

[That’s unreasonable. They are an army of a thousand orcs, equivalent to a human army. We must send out our entire army to settle this.]

[That is a crazy thing! Are you trying to leave the capital defenseless!]

[Then why not add the recruited adventurers to our soldiers?]

[Then how are we going to command the adventurers?]

A single opinion starting from one person led to a whole series of comments flying at each other. However, there was no sight of their views settling down.

[Silence—]

One word from Wilfred instantly settled the hot debate in the hall.

[Lilburn—]

[Yes!]

[Recruit the adventurers with urgency and have them form an army together with two thousand soldiers to subjugate the orcs.]

[Yes, your majesty!]

Rafael bowed his head deeply and exited the audience hall.

There was still a touch of uneasiness with an army of only two thousand.

The safety net would be how many adventurers they could recruit, but he could not show his anxiety on his face.

The king’s orders were already drawn into a conclusion.

His job as a knight only allowed him to execute his mission.

He started running in order to accomplish it.