Chapter 68 - 135-137

Chapter 135: The Holy Son and his companions that will face great trials, and going out to gather what is needed

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.

"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."

Note: Ogibo-ue - This is a respectful term for mother-in-law.

"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.

"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.

"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 Budarion, 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.

Note: Majin have been mentioned before; the kanji translates to something like "demon/magic person." Kijin is a new one, and it is something like "devil person." I'm just keeping these in their Japanese pronunciations, since there's not really a way to properly translate these, especially since they haven't been described yet.

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 powerless gods, 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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Chapter 136: The king, the prince and the emperor

The Noble Orc frontline position that had been discovered by dispatching several Lemures, familiars created through death-attribute with the forms of transparent skulls.

Vandalieu attacked this position to gain the things needed to treat Prince Budarion and the other wounded.

Though it was a frontline position, it had nothing but watchtowers and storehouses, and was poorly constructed overall other than its size. There was no need to prepare beforehand. There weren't many enemies stationed there, so it would be enough to wipe them out via a sudden assault with overwhelming strength.

Borkus ran with enough force to crush the ground beneath his feet, and once he got within a certain distance… within fifty meters of the Noble Orc that had fired the arrows, he swung his sword sideways.

"First, I'll be taking your parts! Flying Dragon Slash!"

Borkus activated the Sword King Technique martial technique that he had recently created, a more powerful version of the Swordsmanship martial skill 'Sky Rend,' which released a slashing attack.

"BUGOOOH!" the Noble Orc General roared.

The slashing attack released by the greatsword that had been made by combining a fragment of the Demon King and Death Iron cut through the Noble Orc General's Archery martial skill, Spiral Arrow. And then it went on to cut through the Noble Orc General's bow and decapitate him.

"BUGYAAAAH?!"

"BUMOFFUGOBUBUBUH!"

Unrest spread among the Noble Orcs after having seen one of the fort's commanders killed instantly. For monsters, commanders were the strongest individuals of their respective groups. Due to this fact, the defeat of their commander had a far greater effect on them than it would have on human armies.

But this fort had one more commander other than the Noble Orc General; there was the Noble Orc Mage Buburin.

"BUKYAKYABUH! Slaves! You stay there where you are!" he shouted.

And then he calmly evaluated the strength of Borkus, the one who had defeated his comrade, and decided to retreat.

Buburin was confident that they would be able to defeat an enemy that was a single Rank higher if the Noble Orc General was in good health by sacrificing some of the Orcs.

However, Borkus wasn't that kind of enemy. With just a single hit, he had decapitated a Noble Orc General who had plenty of Vitality, from a far distance as well.

He wasn't a weak enough enemy that could be defeated through tactics and coordination.

Buburin had to use the Orcs, the members of an inferior race, and the slaves that would only become burdens to buy some time and retreat to the empire. Since the enemy was an Undead, it would likely prioritize killing the slaves rather than giving chase.

"Alright! I've secured enough parts for the prince!"

"Now then, we will move to the second stage. I will let everyone out."

Before the Orcs could follow Buburin's orders and take up battle formations with building materials in their hands instead of clubs, Vandalieu, who was clinging to Borkus's back with the Demon King's suction cups, made his move.

"It's fine to kill all of the Noble Orcs, right?"

"Time to test how much stronger I've become from the time I fought against Bugogan's sons!"

"To be able to transport even Arachne and Empusa… Is Shrine-Maiden-dono a ninja?"

"No, a bushi?"

"Bufuh… how is everyone fine after that?"

"We're used to it."

Eleanora, Basdia, Vigaro, Myuze, Gizania and Prince Budarion emerged from within Vandalieu.

Buburin and his subordinates couldn't help but to open their eyes wide in shock at the sudden appearance of more enemies.

"Fugoh?! Budarion, fugogoh?!"

Their discomposure was even greater due to the fact that they could see Prince Budarion among them.

The pale-faced Budarion, who was being protected by Myuze and Gizania as well as the other Empusa, Arachne and insectoid monsters that had emerged after them, made a rough judgment of the enemy's formation.

And then he let out a manly roar.

"BUGOOOOOKUGYAGYAGYAH!"

To Vandalieu and his companions, it sounded like nothing more than an intimidating shout, but the effect on Buburin and his subordinates was dramatic.

"Prince Budarion?!"

"This manly use of the Orc language, it's undoubtedly Prince Budarion!"

Hope returned to the faces of the slaves that had been frozen still in fear of the Undead attack, thinking that this was the end… Prince Budarion's citizens.

"Fugoooh!"

"Bugih?!"

And then the Orcs separated into Budarion's side and Buburin's side. Budarion's side… the Orcs that had sympathized with the citizens being tormented by Buburin, abandoned their positions and moved to protect the citizens.

Budarion's roar hadn't simply been a shout, but an order in the Orc language, "Orcs! Protect the citizens!"

"Buh, BUGIIIH!" Buburin shouted in the Orc language, but his dignity was clearly inferior to Prince Budarion��s.

Even so, the Orcs on Buburin's side tried to stop the Orcs on Budarion's side from leaving their positions, but they couldn't move from where they were due to Buburin's orders to slow the enemy down, so they were simply moving about in confusion.

"Those who are protecting the citizens are the Orcs who have returned to my side! I wish for you to think of them as allies!" said Prince Budarion.

"… It seems that my previous conception of Orcs is gradually collapsing," Zadiris muttered, seemingly shocked, but casting Wind Blades and Ice Spears nonetheless.

"Mother, let's think of them as being different inside, even if they look the same as the Orcs outside the Boundary Mountain Range," said Basdia, who followed up on Zadiris's spells by throwing iron apples and hatchets.

"Never mind that, here we go!" shouted Eleanora.

The mostly-unarmored Orcs were defeated in the blink of an eye. There was one Orc persevering, brandishing a log, but he was silenced by Eleanora, who flew in to close the distance and cut him down straight through the log with her sword.

Seeing this, Buburin realized that this was not an attack by a single, powerful Undead, but a planned assault by Budarion.

"Noble Orcs and High Goblins, die here together with me! High Kobolds, split up and retreat! One of you must make it back and return with this information!"

The Noble Orcs who had been trying to retreat obeyed Buburin's orders, turning back around and activating their Shield Technique and Armor Technique martial skills. The High Goblins raised their spears and swords as well, letting out shrill cries to inspire themselves.

Meanwhile, the High Kobolds threw their weapons to the ground and fled, running on all fours like beasts.

"BUGYABUBUFUH!" Buburin himself cast the Flame Boar spell, a spell that conjured a boar of flames, to buy at least a single second.

"Don't get in my way! I can't cut your heads off if you do that!" Borkus shouted as he cut straight through the Noble Orcs' shields and the arms that were holding them, bisecting their torsos.

"Great Decapitation! Fuhahahah, defeating Noble Orcs as powerful as Bugogan is like stealing candy from a baby now!" laughed Vigaro, whose axe was sending the heads of Buburin's dependable subordinates flying.

"The fact that you are approaching me means that you're enemies like Noble Orcs, right?" said Basdia, defeating five High Goblins one by one.

"This is a spell, not a monster? Like a familiar?" said the Broad Ghost Orbia as she appeared.

The Flame Boar that was trying to charge with its flaming body as a weapon was becoming smaller and smaller as she repeatedly struck it with her liquid tentacles.

"GYAIIIIN!"

"GYAWAAAAN?!"

"Hyaaahah!"

"Hyabbuh!"

"It'll be troublesome for us if you send word to the empire!"

Every single one of the desperately retreating Kobolds were crushed by the Blitz Ghost Kimberley, Gorba and the Black Fang Knights' Order, who had been lying in ambush, as well as Eleanora.

"BUKYAAAAH! BUBUGYAAAAH?!"

Even Buburin, who had been releasing Flame Spears and Flame Bullets, was enveloped in a Magic Absorption Barrier and cut down by Bone Man.

"My lord, I could have defeated him even if you hadn't sealed his magic," Bone Man said.

"I did it just in case," said Vandalieu. "Now then, Prince Budarion, please explain the situation to the citizens and the Orcs that have returned to your side."

"Yes, leave it to me," said Prince Budarion.

With the enemies all exterminated, he walked towards the rescued citizens and the Orcs who had returned to becoming his subordinates, as if greeting them. The liberated citizens and Orcs cheered for him and expressed their happiness at the fact that he was still alive with tears of joy.

"But this was really unexpected," Vandalieu muttered as he cast the Preservation spell on the corpses of Buburin and his subordinates and gathered information from their spirits.

"Indeed," Basdia agreed. "It's not particularly unusual that half of the Orcs listened to Prince Budarion's orders, though."

"No, is that not quite strange? After all, everyone knows that the prince was defeated by Bugitas and has only one arm and one eye left," said Bone Man, somewhat doubtful.

There was nothing strange about the fact that the Orcs had obeyed the orders of a Noble Orc.

Noble Orcs were originally a race that had been created by the evil gods of the Demon King's army to act as commanders for Orcs. That was why Orcs, even those with the race title of King, obeyed the orders of Noble Orcs.

And if there were multiple Noble Orcs shouting orders, Orcs prioritized the stronger commander as monsters should.

However, Prince Budarion had been defeated by Bugitas the one served by Prince Buburin and his subordinates. From that point on, Orcs would stop obeying Prince Budarion.

However, all of this only applied to the Orcs outside the Boundary Mountain Range.

"Is that so? From our point of view, it is not strange that half of the Orc Workers returned to the prince's side, but… it seems that with ten thousand years of isolation, differences arise between those on the inside and outside, even if they are of the same race," said Myuze.

Indeed, the Orcs of the Noble Orc empire had spent ten thousand years' worth of generations under the rule of Noble Orcs.

In this area, where Rank 4 monsters were rampant, a single or a mere few Orcs, whose base Rank was 3, would not be reliable as fighting strength. That was why many of them worked as low-ranking soldiers and laborers.

They protected the humans and other citizens while spending their daily efforts in manual labor. Parent to child, child to grandchild, grandchild to great-grandchild, this had continued on for approximately ten thousand years.

This had changed the Orcs.

Many of the Orcs of the Noble Orc empire were far more clever, gentle and obedient than regular Orcs.

That was why Prince Budarion and the others from Zanalpadna had expected that while there would be some Orcs who would obey Prince Bugitas rather than go against their instincts, there would also be a certain number of Orcs that felt doubt and discontent with him.

They had taken a bet as to what the exact number of those Orcs would be, but only half of the Orcs that had been gathered for the construction of this frontline position had been like this, so it seemed that more Orcs were on Budarion's side than was previously thought.

"Of course, there are also Orcs like the ones that attacked myself and the others of the delegation, so we cannot be too optimistic," said Gizania.

"Once Prince Budarion's treatment is finished and his wounds are healed, the situation should change for the better," said Vandalieu.

He had already finished securing the corpse parts and was now using the Golem Creation skill to build Orc-shaped Golems from earth and stone and colored their surfaces with the Demon King's ink.

"… Shrine-Maiden-dono, can you really not transform into a giant frog?" asked Myuze, seeming to associate the sight of Vandalieu spraying the Demon King's ink from the tip of his extended tongue to color the Golems with the giant frogs that ninjas could supposedly transform into.

Perhaps it couldn't be helped that she thought this; he had been using the Demon King's suction cups to cling to Borkus's back earlier as well.

"I cannot*," said Vandalieu.

Prince Budarion seemed startled as he turned around and saw Vandalieu, but Vandalieu didn't take much notice of this and continued his painting work. Incidentally, it seemed that the rescued people and Orcs thought of Vandalieu as 'some kind of mysterious monster that resembles a human child' or 'a rare type of Majin.'

"Will the camouflage go well?" asked Zadiris, looking up at the Golems that would appear to be Orcs as long as they weren't looked at from close-up.

"I think it will be fine from a distance," said Vandalieu. "Since I made Orc spirits possess them, I think their movements should be similar as well. Though I think the scent will give them away if enemies approach closer."

As their appearances would suggest, Orcs had a good sense of smell. It wasn't as good as that of dogs, but if they got close, they would likely notice the smell of earth, stone and the Demon King's ink.

"Why not erase the smell?" Vigaro suggested. "You can do that with Deodorization, right?"

"Vigaro, even if he were to erase the smell with Deodorization, it would be pointless because he cannot recreate the body odor that the Orcs would normally have. In fact, it is likely to only make them warier," said Zadiris.

"Well, there apparently won't be any supply units coming, so it should be fine for a while," said Vandalieu.

He had heard from Buburin's spirit that there wouldn't be any supply or communication units coming, as the materials used for the construction of the temporary fort had all already been transported here and they had planned to obtain food by hunting the nearby monsters.

"Now then, let us return to Zanalpadna for now, heal everyone and then use this frontline position to attack the empire," said Vandalieu.

"In other words, there are no problems, right? But considering that, you don't seem to be very happy; is there something else?" Eleanora asked.

Vandalieu sighed. "No, it's just… I realized that the problem won't be solved just by us killing Bugitas and doing something about Ravovifard," he said.

Sitting in a throne with a crown on his head, Bugitas reigned over the empire that he had stolen from his older brother. He had a glass filled with the finest aquavit (a spirit made from potatoes) in his hand and he was being served by beautiful women wearing clothes so thin that their skin could be seen through them.

The beautiful women were those such as the wives of the Noble Orcs who had not joined him, citizens that had been forcibly gathered, and tributes from the High Kobold nation and High Goblin nation.

Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Beast-people, Titans… There were even High Kobolds and High Goblins among them.

It was a harem of quality and quantity that anyone, at least any Noble Orc, would be envious of.

"Bufuh…!"

But with this harem before him, it was not lust but irritation that Bugitas felt.

"What is the matter, Bugitas-sama?" said one of the beautiful women with a flattering smile, though there was some fear in it as well, trying to improve Bugitas's mood.

In the empire of the past, everyone had been taught that children were the treasures of the nation, and the women who give birth to those children should be respected as much as any warrior. But that had changed after the coup d'état.

Bugitas had conducted numerous lady-killings… not in the seductive sense, but the literal meaning of the term, despite the fact that it had been a heavy crime in the Noble Orc empire of the past.

They had died for stupid reasons, such as him having violated them too violently in the bedroom or because he had disliked the looks in their eyes and punched them.

The woman knew that if Bugitas stayed in this bad mood, either she herself or one of the others would be killed. Driven by that sense of danger, she tried to improve his mood, but…

Bugitas placed his hand gently on that beautiful woman's head.

"Ah…!"

The woman felt relieved for a moment, thinking that Bugitas's mood had improved, but she held her breath when she looked up to see that his eyes were still bloodshot.

"Don't flatter me! It's unsightly!" Bugitas growled.

He grasped the woman's head and lifted her up, then flung her away as if he were tossing away a piece of trash.

The woman, who was tall for a human, flew through the air like a ragdoll and crashed into the wall with a heavy noise.

And then she slid down the wall with her neck bent in a strange angle, then stopped moving.

"NOOOO!"

"No way! Anne! ANNE!"

The other beautiful women screamed and either tried to get away from Bugitas or rushed over to the dead woman.

"BUGOSHAAAH! BOGOHOOOH!"

The Orcs who had been acting as a lookout outside the room came inside to see what was happening. But having been shouted at by Bugitas in the Orc language, "Take the women and get out!" they hastily did exactly that.

But as they did so, Bugitas was even more irritated, seeing the pity in their eyes for the women and the way they carried the woman's dead body with respect.

"Buguguh…!"

Why won't things go as I want them to? Bugitas thought with a groan, having been left in the throne room alone, and then he poured the aquavit down his throat.

With no talent for becoming a politician, Bugitas spent his childhood days merely looking up at his older brother, never mind standing as his equal. He simply focused on improving his fighting strength. He thought that even if he didn't become emperor, it would be fine as long as he could improve his strength and be acknowledged for that.

He felt a complex towards his older brother, but he became more and more imprisoned, as this was not just a feeling of jealousy.

But as Bugitas strived in his training, the voice of a god reached him.

"Do you want power? Then release it. You belong among the monsters. Return to your righteous form."

That voice resounded very sweetly inside Bugitas's mind.

That was Ravovifard, the evil god of release.

A god different from Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence, who was worshipped in the empire. A god whom Bugitas had never heard of, one whose existence wasn't even recorded in the empire's records or documents.

In other words, he was highly likely to be an evil god who hadn't accepted Zakkart's offer and betrayed the Demon King; he was a remnant of the Demon King's army.

At first, Bugitas had ignored these words, thinking that he couldn't fall to the temptation of such a god, but the reason that he hadn't told his older and then-healthy father was because Ravovifard's words had indeed sounded attractive to him.

And once he had sensed that he was at his limit, Bugitas finally fell to Ravovifard's temptation and received the evil god's divine protection.

The effect of Ravovifard's divine protection was immense. It increased all of Bugitas's Attribute Values, and his level that had almost stopped increasing completely suddenly began rising quickly once more.

And because of the skill he had acquired due to the divine protection, False Guidance: Beast Path, the subordinates who obeyed him became stronger one after another as well.

But as a price for this, the minds of Bugitas and the Noble Orcs who served him transformed over time.

They stopped finding meaning in the duty of the noble, detached their instincts from their reasoning and came to think that survival of the fittest was the righteous form of the Noble Orcs.

And having surpassed his older brother Budarion, Bugitas finally stole the throne. And from there, he was supposed to have conquered the other nations in the blink of an eye and begin ruling a world of survival of the fittest, where he sat at the top.

"Fugogah!"

Bugitas stopped reminiscing and threw his cup into the floor in irritation.

He had usurped the throne, but things hadn't been going as well as he had thought they would after that.

As for Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence, the god himself was being suppressed by Ravovifard while Bugitas had suppressed his priests.

The other gods weren't showing any movements, either.

The isolated, younger children like Bugitas who lived in the High Goblin and High Kobold nations had staged coup d'états, so those nations were now under Bugitas's control.

Bugitas was certain that the total military strength he possessed, including that from those nations, was greater than those of the Majin and Kijin nations, excluding the Pure-breed Vampires guarding Vida's resting place. And because of the monster rampages caused by Ravovifard, those powerful nations could not move so easily, as they were busy dealing with the monsters overflowing from the Dungeons.

Bugitas would use that opportunity to conquer the other nations, including Zanalpadna, and this time successfully take the head of his feeble older brother. Or at least, that was what should have happened.

However, the reality was that the Noble Orc empire was struggling in its battles with the other nations, including Zanalpadna.

Why?! Are we Noble Orcs not the race that possesses the greatest military strength, the race that should stand at the top and rule all other creatures?! Bugitas thought, but… that wasn't true.

If one excluded exceptional individuals such as heroes, Noble Orcs were indeed an exceptional race. They were as intelligent as humans and all of them were born as powerful Rank 6 beings; they were the most complete race among monsters.

But if Noble Orcs were the most superior race, why had Vida created her own new races?

Bugitas hadn't realized this, but while Noble Orcs were more complete, they were very lacking in diversity compared to humans and lower-Rank monsters. Though they did have some individual differences, the races they could become through increasing their Rank were limited, and their skill setups ended up being similar.

That was why Vida's races like Arachne and Empusa, who could acquire a variety of Jobs, could take countermeasures against Noble Orcs.

As a result, the Noble Orcs weren't as superior in battle as Bugitas had imagined they would be.

And though this wasn't due to any error on Bugitas's part… he and his subordinates had experience battling in groups ranging from several individuals to perhaps a dozen, but they didn't have the experience or knowledge to conduct large-scale war between armies.

There hadn't been any wars for over ten thousand years, and the skirmishes that had occurred were before the wise emperor Buugih appeared. After that, conflicts between nations had been resolved through discussions or battles of strength or wits between the nations' representatives.

There wasn't a single person (except for the Pure-breed Vampires) in the southern region of the continent who had experienced large-scale battles or wars other than against groups of wild monsters. Thus, the knowledge of military strategy itself didn't exist.

Due to this, advanced military strategy couldn't be used, and it was easy for battles to become simply charging at each other and relying on pure force.

The same applied for Zanalpadna and the other nations, so battles unfolded on even ground, in a bad sense.

Their attempt to get the lizards in the northern marshlands ended in failure, but… those useless bastards!

And to round it all off, the organization of the empire, the base that Bugitas was standing on, was unstable as well.

Other than those who had fled with his older brother, almost all of the Noble Orcs obeyed him. However, only about a third of them had truly sworn loyalty to him; it was obvious that the rest were only pretending to serve him in order to protect the citizens and their families.

Of course, False Guidance: Beast Path didn't show any effects in them.

The worst thing were the eyesores that were the Orcs. As they were members of an inferior race, they instinctively obeyed Bugitas. But they had been supposed to throw away the imitation women given to them by Mububujenge when told that they would be given real women, and become exceptional soldiers under the effects of False Guidance: Beast Path.

However, the truth was that about half of the Orcs… especially the exceptional individuals, felt animosity to Bugitas in their minds.

I can't expect any more support from Ravovifard. I need to take Ani-ue's… I need to take Budarion's head as soon as possible and solidify my rule over the empire. Should I need to cancel the invasions on the other nations for now and focus on Zanalpadna to do that? Sheet! This is all that coward's fault for running away disgracefully!

The following is an excerpt from Luciliano's research notes.

Job explanation:

[Samurai]

A Job that has only been verified by the people in the southern region of the Bahn Gaia continent who possess the knowledge of samurai left behind by Hillwillow, champion of Botin, mother of the earth and goddess of craftsmanship. However, the possibility of the Job existing in other regions such as the Dark Continent cannot be ruled out.

It is a frontline swordsman-type Job; it grants bonuses to the Katana Technique skill, a skill that utilizes a curved, single-edged blade (known as a katana), as well as various other skills such as Archery, Spear Technique, Mount and Strengthened Attribute Values: Loyalty.

To acquire this Job, one must possess the Katana Technique skill at level 4 or greater and be serving a master.

It seems that those who are not serving a lord are able to acquire a Job called Ronin.

It also seems that a superior Job called Swordmaster exists, but apparently, nobody has become a Bushi, a Job yearned for by the samurais of the southern region of the continent.

Skill explanation:

[Katana Technique]

In the southern region of the continent, curved, single-edged blades are called katanas. The skill is generally similar to Swordsmanship, but it seems that this skill requires more dexterous manipulation of the weapon.

Incidentally, due to a legend left in the southern region of the continent by Hillwillow that "bushi were capable of cutting a mounted enemy in half along with his mount," a standard katana is defined as one as enormous and powerful enough to cut down a mounted enemy along with his mount (tamed monster).

It seems that due to the blacksmithing techniques used to create these blades, they would not be able to withstand this if they were any narrower.

They are similar to a katana known as a zanbato on Earth, the world where Master once resided. Though for a weapon wielded by Arachne, they are likely not so large…

Incidentally, smaller katanas are also created to be used by small-build Arachne, Empusa and Goblins. According to Master, these are the original standard katanas.

Monster explanation:

[Orc Worker]

A race title that can be reached by Orcs when they reach level 100 while possessing production-related skills such as Farming, Logging or Masonry at 3 or higher with all battle-related skills below level 3.

There are no bonuses for combat-related skills whatsoever, but there are bonuses for the acquisition and development for production-related skills. Also, it becomes easier for the level of the Superhuman Strength skill to increase.

This race has not been verified outside of the Noble Orc empire; it is unlikely for ordinary wild Orcs to increase their Rank and acquire this race title.

Their Rank itself is 4, but because their combat-related skills are low in level, they do not have much fighting ability.

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Chapter 137: The shocking truth that is now revealed

"The armor-like muscle on the surface with the body fat percentage reduced as low as possible, and the muscle that lives beneath the fat, are both muscle," said Vandalieu.

"… My apologies. It seems that what you are saying is too difficult for me to understand," Prince Budarion said, not hiding his bewilderment.

He had received the surgery to transplant the arm and eye of the Noble Orc General of the frontline position.

His pain had been erased with death-attribute magic. The surgery team consisted of Vandalieu's Out-of-body Experience clones and Legion who had come to make regular contact as usual. It seemed their surgery had been effective; Prince Budarion was already regaining vision in his eye and sensation in his arm.

The Life Gold used during the stitching and the Blood Potion consumed after the surgery had been effective; his strength had returned as well.

One might question whether it was alright to simply stitch on someone else's arm, but the flesh structure of monsters such as Noble Orcs was simple, in a good way in this case.

Even after transplant surgery of parts from a member of the same race or a race that was similar enough, the patient could become accustomed to the new body parts without any transplant rejection reactions.

Of course, Vandalieu and Legion were probably the only ones who could make use of this special characteristic of monsters. The concept of advanced surgical procedures didn't exist in the world of Lambda.

Normally, humans and monsters would think of trying to regenerate the lost parts using valuable Potions and advanced spells.

That was why Budarion had been surprised by the idea of transplanting a body part of someone else, even if it was a member of the same race.

"But what is even more surprising is the fact that you dispelled the curse afflicting my body so easily," said Prince Budarion. "I have known Bakota-dono for a long time, but I have not seen him express that much surprise very often."

"Well, I can remove most curses… except for those cast by gods," said Vandalieu.

In the end, whether it was Prince Bugitas's unique skill, an effect of the Death Scythe that was his weapon or Ravovifard's power was still unknown, but the curse that had been hindering the healing of Prince Budarion's wounds had been easily removed.

However, Prince Budarion felt fear upon learning that Vandalieu had been afflicted with curses, despite having so easily removed a curse that even the chief mage Bakota had been unable to remove.

How powerful was the god who had cast this curse on Vandalieu?

But Prince Budarion didn't express this fear, and instead gestured towards their surroundings as he spoke. "No, you really are great. Thanks to you and your companions, my vassals are saved as well."

The loyal vassals who had fought alongside Budarion and fled from the empire with him after their defeat were now resting their bodies in what was known as the Shelter, an underground space beneath a tower in Zanalpadna.

There were none other than Prince Budarion who had fought Bugitas directly and been cursed, but many of those Noble Orcs were suffering from untreatable wounds. There were many who had recovered from their injuries due to the treatment they had received from the mages led by the chief mage Bakota, but there was no small number of individuals left with missing eyes, limbs and other impairments. Bakota and the other mages hadn't had the time to completely treat all of them.

"UOOOOH! My arm, my arm is moving! BUHIIIH! I give you my thanks, flesh-wife of the shrine maiden!"

"I understand that you're happy, but calm down! Isis's hands are going to slip!" shouted Baba Yaga.

"My nose is back BUHIIIH! Praise the flesh-wife-sama! Praise the flesh-wife-sama!"

"I said calm down! And what do you mean, flesh-wife?!"

Valkyrie gave a loud laugh. "It's fine, isn't it, Baba Yaga? It does not feel unpleasant to be praised by veteran heroes! … But are we being praised?!"

The Noble Orcs who had made full recoveries due to Legion's treatments were surrounding Legion, while Baba Yaga and Valkyrie's personalities were dealing with them.

"Indeed, Enma and Ereshkigal don't seem to think that we're being praised," said the personality of Isis on the other side, who was still motionlessly conducting surgery on another Noble Orc's arm.

She had little experience in performing surgery on living patients in her previous life, but it seemed that these monsters who possessed plenty of Vitality made good practice subjects.

"Flesh-wives are apparently monsters that Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence, created from his own flesh and sent to the Orcs and Noble Orcs," explained Eleanora, who had heard about flesh-wives from the Noble Orcs while she was helping Vandalieu and the others with their surgeries.

Orcs had strength as a racial characteristic, and some of them had such powerful urges to breed that it could cause them to ignore their other two basic needs (food and sleep) and their survival instincts.

The breeding instincts of the Orcs in the Noble Orc empire had grown weaker than those of other Orcs over the ten thousand years that had passed. However, even so, they were too much for human women to handle.

There were many gentle Orcs, but they were not gentle enough to stay controlled under the excitement of love affairs.

That was why Mububujenge had provided the Orcs with flesh-wives ten thousand years ago.

"Apparently, they're given to the Orcs to take as their wives and lovers," said Eleanora. "They're Rank 1 or 2 at most, but they're solid and tough enough to withstand being the Orcs' partners. And their abilities increase naturally along with those of the Orcs that are their husbands, so the Orc workers' flesh-wives can even have children."

And the flesh-wives of Orcs that were Rank 5 or greater were apparently capable of doing housework as well as good human wives. Of course, thanks to Mububujenge's blessings, the abilities of the flesh-wives increased with successes other than an increase in Rank.

And so, the Orcs' lust was reduced by their flesh-wives, while their ambitions were stimulated. And accepting the flesh-wives also had the effect of controlling sex crimes against the citizen women.

With ten thousand years having passed this way, it seemed that no small number of Orcs had come to feel no lust for any other than the flesh-wives. The Orc Workers at the frontline fort who had returned to Prince Budarion's side were among those.

"They're apparently being isolated at the Church of Mububujenge now, though," Eleanora said. "Their appearance is… apparently similar to you when you're separated from the main body."

"I-I'm not happy about that…!" Baba Yaga muttered.

"But being called Vandalieu's flesh-wife isn't an unpleasant thing, is it?" said Isis.

"It's a great honor for us, but an honorary title that we are not worthy of," said Pluto.

"No wonder nobody is afraid of us… from their perspective, we look like a combination of flesh-wives. But Pluto, is it really an honorary title?" asked Valkyrie.

When Legion appeared, the Arachne and Empusa had been surprised as well as the Noble Orcs, but they hadn't been afraid. Since they had interacted with the Noble Orc empire before, Legion apparently just appeared to be a group of flesh-wives with their limbs entwined around each other.

Though they were surprised by Legion's three-meter diameter and how bizarre it was for them to be entwined around each other like that, they apparently weren't something to be scared of.

"To add to Eleanora-dono's explanation, us Noble Orcs are also given flesh-wives. However, they are thought of as symbols of pity given to the ones who are weak even among those who are unable to succeed one of the three hundred Noble Orc houses. Because the children born to flesh-wives are almost all Orcs," one of the Noble orcs explained. "If all of us Noble Orcs take citizen wives, the citizens will not be able to have children of their own, and we cannot request for wives to be sent from the other nations in large numbers, so it is something that cannot be helped."

Though the Noble Orc empire was indeed an 'empire,' it didn't use the same royalty and nobility system as human nations. This was only natural, as they had been separated from humans since ten thousand years ago, before the humans had an aristocratic system.

There was a moderately-sized group of the families that were known as the three hundred 'houses,' and the heads of those families were allocated positions known as 'seats' based on their abilities.

And the family heads who had gained these 'seats' would command those of their 'houses' to carry out their duties.

To take the Noble Orcs of the frontline fort as an example, Buburin and the Noble Orc General's two houses had been given the seat responsible for building frontline bases.

Those seats were apparently temporary, however.

"And that means the family heads who have gained seats and the few high-ranking members of each family who support the family heads are able to take real people for wives," said Vandalieu. "By the way, how is your arm? Do you think you can swing a sword like you did before?" he asked Prince Budarion.

"Let's see… there won't be any problems for everyday use. But I don't think I can swing a sword as well as before," Prince Budarion replied as he rubbed the arm that had once been the Noble Orc General's, testing its sense of touch.

It wasn't that his own arm had been regenerated through magic; someone else's arm had been transplanted onto him. The size was almost the same, but the amount of muscle was different, so he wasn't confident that he could reproduce his own sword techniques in the same way as before with someone else's arm.

"I see. Well then, there is no choice but to regain that ability through the upcoming battles," said Vandalieu. "Prince Budarion, if possible, I would like to have you defeat Bugitas with your own hands. We will support you with everything we have, but you need to regain the strength you possessed before at the very least."

"With my own hands?" Prince Budarion repeated, seeming to think that Vandalieu's request was strange. "Would you not be able to defeat Bugitas without my strength, Shrine-Maiden-dono? For instance, Borkus is certainly stronger than I am. I can tell that Eleanora-dono, Vigaro-dono, Basdia-dono and Bone-Man-dono all possess respectable strength as well, and Zadiris-dono's skill with magic is substantial as well. Legion-dono also has something mysterious about them. They should be able to fight Bugitas on even grounds. And you, Shrine-Maiden-dono… honestly speaking, I am horrified by the fact that you can manipulate the fragments of the Demon King as if they were your own limbs, but it should not be difficult for you to defeat Bugitas if you were to use those."

Indeed, Vandalieu and his companions were far more than enough to kill Bugitas at this point in time.

Of course, there were many Noble Orcs and Orcs who had joined Bugitas's side and started worshipping Ravovifard. In addition, in the worst-case scenario, it was possible that something had to be done about Ravovifard himself as well. Considering that, no amount of fighting strength would be enough, however.

But with Zanalpadna's forces, Budarion's loyal vassals whose wounds had been healed, and the soldiers that would soon be gathered from the other nations, the numerical advantage would be turned around.

With that being the case, there was no need to be fixated on having Prince Budarion, who wasn't in his original state, to defeat Bugitas himself. That was what the prince thought.

"If you are taking my emotions into consideration, then I am grateful for that. However, my emotions are not what should be prioritized. What should be prioritized is restoring peace to all of the nations as soon as possible. Do not pay attention to someone like me, who caused war in this land for the first time due to my lack of strength; I want you to simply achieve success without holding back," Prince Budarion said, lowering his head as he suppressed his desire for vengeance.

But Vandalieu did not nod his head. "No, you defeating Bugitas is necessary for that peace," he said.

"My word. Why in the world is that?" asked Prince Budarion.

"It's because while the Noble Orc empire is virtuous, it will only recognize the strong as its emperor. If one of us were to defeat Bugitas, we would end up ruling the empire or at least become involved in its management, wouldn't we?" said Vandalieu.

"I think that is entirely true, but…"

After all, Vandalieu would become the hero who defeated the usurper. The Noble Orcs would naturally desire and welcome heroes to stand at the top.

"But I'm not confident that I or any of my companions can rule the empire," Vandalieu said. "Even if things work by having people interpret the Orc language, I can't imagine that we could treat the empire's unique political system, culture and sense of values properly."

In the news and newspapers that Vandalieu had seen on Earth, there had been numerous incidents where developed nations had defeated dictators and become involved in the management of the developing nations by supporting them. But he hadn't gotten the impression that this had been particularly successful.

It wasn't enough to be called a failure, but it was far from the success that the developed nations had first imagined. That was what Vandalieu thought.

There was the possibility that they had succeeded after Vandalieu died on Earth, but even so, that would mean that it would take years, maybe even over a decade, for that success. Vandalieu couldn't imagine that this success was proportional to the long years of determination that it would take.

Vandalieu didn't think that the case of the Noble Orc empire was the same as the events on Earth, but he didn't intend to take a gamble on whether he could properly manage a nation of people when he didn't know whether Demon Path Enticement and Guidance: Demon Path would work on them.

It was possible that he could cause Noble Orc fetuses to mutate with death-attribute Mana in the same way that he had changed Orc fetuses into Orcuses, but he had no intention of waiting for the generation of this new race to replace all of the Noble Orcs.

Incidentally, there were still no signs of Demon Path Enticement or Guidance: Demon Path having any effects on Prince Budarion or the Noble Orcs and Orcs that were his subordinates. The 'Holy Son of Vida' Title did seem to be having an effect, however.

"… Then how about leaving trustworthy Noble Orcs as your representatives?" Prince Budarion said, voicing a reasonable suggestion.

"The Noble Orc I trust the most is you, Prince Budarion," Vandalieu replied immediately.

Prince Budarion swallowed. "That is… I am happy that you feel that way, but… I have already been defeated by Bugitas once. There would be many who would not accept me ruling the empire once more."

"That is why I want to have you win this time," said Vandalieu.

The conversation had come back to where it had begun.

"Hmm, you ask a difficult thing of me, Shrine-Maiden-dono."

Realizing that Vandalieu had no intention of changing his mind, Prince Budarion felt pressure, but at the same time, exhilaration at the fact that he would get an opportunity to erase the disgrace of his defeat.

And he began to feel an indescribable trust in Vandalieu, who was less than half of his own height.

"For now, let's go to the lower level for rehabilitation by fighting weak monsters once the treatment is finished. As for your weapon, I have a spare magic sword that I'd intended to give to Borkus, so I'll give it to you to celebrate your recovery," said Vandalieu.

"Thank you for everything, Shrine-Maiden-dono. I am accruing so many favors that I do not know how I am supposed to repay them," Prince Budarion said. "Talosheim is fortunate to be ruled by a wonderful queen like you."

"… I'm male, so I'm not a queen," Vandalieu said, finally realizing that his gender had been mistaken up until now.

"BUHIH?!" Prince Budarion shouted in the Orc language at this shocking revelation.

The two of them looked at each other on the grassy plain as a gentle breeze blew past.

『The levels of the Surgery, Demon Path Enticement, Guidance: Demon Path and Materialization skills have increased!』

The commonly-known 'Shelter' that existed beneath Zanalpadna had an official title: The Shell-less Open Field.

It was a Dungeon.

It was an E-class Dungeon, but even so, one might question the sanity of those thinking to use it as a shelter in times of emergency. However, if one thought about it, there was a rational reason for this.

It was simply because the inside of this low-difficulty Dungeon was safer than the area outside the city.

Monsters of Rank 4 and above were rampant outside the city. It was possible to encounter Rank 5 monsters which would normally need a group of Class or D-class adventurers to take down, and there were even rare occasions where a Rank 7 or 8 monster would appear.

In comparison, Dungeons generally produced monsters suitable for their class unless a monster rampage was about to occur. The shallow floors of an E-class Dungeon… these would be filled with nothing but Rank 1 monsters that could be driven away by ordinary people who didn't even possess combat-related skills.

The Dungeon bosses would generally be Rank 3, but they wouldn't move from what was known as the boss chamber in the deepest part of the Dungeon.

In addition to this, the chances of monsters entering the Dungeon from outside was low. Monsters born outside Dungeons wouldn't seek to enter a Dungeon of their own accord unless they happened to be chasing prey that had escaped into the Dungeon.

It seemed that monsters that had left a Dungeon would instinctively avoid entering it again. Though this didn't apply to demi-human monsters, and tamed monsters would enter Dungeons on command.

And an E-class Dungeon would have almost none of the traps that Dungeons normally had.

In times of emergency… when the walls that protected the nation stopped functioning due to a natural disaster or an assault by a powerful monster, the inside of a low-class Dungeon was safer than the city.

This didn't only apply to Zanalpadna; the other city-states also used low-class Dungeons as shelters, farming land and sources of water.

The Noble Orcs who had survived with Prince Budarion, as well as those who had fled from the High Goblin and High Kobold nations, had been brought to the Shell-less Open Field because there was plenty of space for them here.

"Holy-Son-dono and the others are currently busy with the treatment of the prince and the others. In the meantime, we must make a decision," said Donaneris, who was sitting on her throne in the queen's chamber with a complicated expression on her face. "The two of you know this as well, don't you?"

The shoulders and carapace-covered joints of her youngest daughter Gizania and Gizania's friend Myuze trembled.

They knew they had done something outrageous; their faces were pale and covered in cold sweat.

"Gizania, Myuze, I will ask you to be sure. You have both given Holy-Son-dono a necklace of deep affection. And he did not ask for this; you offered them to him yourself. Is that correct?" Donaneris asked them.

"Yes, Mother," Gizania replied.

"Th-the same is true of me as well," said Myuze.

"Gizania, you gave yours as a sign of true friendship, and Myuze, yours as proof of your promise. Is that correct?" Donaneris continued.

"Yes," Gizania and Myuze replied simultaneously.

Their faces were growing paler each time Donaneris confirmed this information. However, Queen Donaneris was becoming gloomier, and Bakota, who was standing at her side, could feel his headache growing worse.

"In other words, Holy-Son-dono is wearing those necklaces around his neck, unaware that for Arachne and Empusa, they are symbols that he has accepted your courting. This situation is worse than I thought," Queen Donaneris said.

The necklaces made by polishing the cast-off skin that came off when Arachne and Empusa molted. When given to those of the same gender, they were proof of close friendship.

However, the meaning of the necklaces changed when given to those of the opposite gender. Giving the necklace of deep affection to someone of the opposite gender was the same as proposing, and accepting the necklace was accepting the proposal. And wearing the necklace around one's neck had the same meaning as wearing a wedding ring.

"I was surprised to see your necklaces of deep affection at Holy-Son-dono's neck, but at the same time, I was also happy," said Queen Donaneris.

From her perspective, Gizania and Myuze's proposals to Vandalieu and his acceptance of them were happy events, not something to be troubled about.

In human nations, it would be a great problem for a queen's daughter, even one who was not called a princess, to decide her marriage partner on her own. However, in Zanalpadna, one's bloodline was not the only thing that decided succession to the throne. In fact, it was an Empusa who had served as queen before Queen Donaneris.

And so, with regards to Gizania, her adult daughter deciding her marriage partner on her own posed no problems other than that as a parent, Donaneris would have wanted her to introduce her partner at least once beforehand.

As for Myuze, there normally wouldn't be any problems at all.

And the fact that their chosen partner was Vandalieu was truly a happy, convenient thing for Queen Donaneris.

The prophesized Holy Son had appeared, and this would strengthen Zanalpadna's bonds with him. Gizania was Donaneris's own daughter, and Myuze was actually a niece of the previous queen. This could even be called destiny.

However, it was a great problem that these two had handed their necklaces of deep affection to Vandalieu without explaining their true meaning.

It was equivalent to submitting a false marriage registration form to the government office on Earth.

"How can I put this… did you not realize that he was a boy, not a girl?" Queen Donaneris asked.

"My apologies, Mother. I was completely oblivious," said Gizania.

"I have no honor left," said Myuze.

Vandalieu would likely be shocked to hear this, but Gizania and Myuze had completely failed to notice his true gender.

He was still only nine years old and his voice hadn't changed yet; it was difficult to determine his gender when he was clothed. And other than the plentiful manes possessed by all Ghoul men, long hair and simple clothes didn't give any indication as to the gender of those wearing them.

And Vandalieu had a well-featured appearance with skin as white as candle wax. He was expressionless and his eyes were empty, so he looked like a doll, but considering that, he was well-featured.

He used "ore" as a pronoun for himself, but from the perspective of Gizania and the others, he was a foreigner from an unknown nation. They had assumed that this might be normal where he came from and not paid much attention to it.

And Gizania used sessha, while Myuze used bou. They could hardly comment on the pronoun use of others.

Still, Gizania had spent several days with him from when she was saved until their return to Zanalpadna, and she had heard Borkus calling him "kid" and Zadiris referring to him as "boy" numerous times, but…

This could only be described as careless; it seemed that she had assumed things too heavily.

TLN: 俺/ore is a typically male pronoun, used by Vandalieu. 拙者/sessha and 某/bou are both old-language-style pronouns used by samurai.

坊主/bouzu, used by Borkus to refer to Vandalieu, is used to refer to boys.

As for Myuze, she had made the misunderstanding due to Vandalieu's appearance and because Gizania had already given him her necklace of deep affection. If Vandalieu was a boy, Gizania would have mentioned it and behaved appropriately. She hadn't, so Myuze hadn't thought twice about it and assumed that Vandalieu was a female friend like Basdia.

"Well, we didn't think that Van was a boy, either," said Basdia.

"I did not think that you had misunderstood and were calling him 'shrine maiden' instead of 'holy son.' I apologize," said Zadiris.

Gizania's friend and her mother were present here as representatives of those who knew Vandalieu well.

To be consulted.

"Umm, is it impossible to just pretend that it never happened? Wouldn't he understand if Gizania-chan and Myuze apologized to him together?" suggested Princess Kurnelia.

"It would be difficult," said Bakota, shaking his head. "We made him walk through the city with the necklaces of deep affection hanging from his neck. Though it seems that everyone has still mistaken Holy-Son-dono's gender."

Arachne and Empusa could tell who had given a necklace of deep affection if they were close to the person who had given it. That was why it was called the necklace of deep affection and used as proof of friendship and marriage.

Gizania wasn't called a princess, but there was no denying that she was the queen's daughter. Due to this, she had many Arachne and Empusa friends. Myuze was also well-known due to her occupation.

And Vandalieu and his companions were already famous in the city. The identities of those who had given him the necklaces had probably already spread throughout the city.

"… If the boy found out, he might do something eccentric from the shock. Like starting to wear a cake with 'male' written on it visibly. But you do not need to worry so seriously. I do not think the boy will be that upset," Zadiris said with confidence.

She couldn't imagine that Vandalieu would become angry at these two for embarrassing him… he would likely become depressed at having his gender mistaken, but everyone would just need to console him afterwards.

"He has experienced misunderstandings due to differences in racial culture in the past, so it'll probably be alright. Though I can't speak in detail about that," said Basdia, remembering that Vandalieu had accidentally accepted the Scylla Privel's proposal about a year ago in the Scylla territory of the Sauron Duchy.

She wouldn't go into the details, however.

"I see. I am truly thankful to you for saying that," said Queen Donaneris with a sigh, and then she started to ask Zadiris and Basdia to help Gizania and Myuze apologize.

It was disappointing that with this, talks of her youngest daughter's marriage would be cancelled, but the problem would be solved. She would wait for other opportunities and try to introduce her other daughters to Holy-Son-dono.

But Gizania objected. "Mother, wait. I still want to follow Holy-Son-dono," she said.

Name: Eleanora

Rank: 10

Race: Abyssal Vampire Viscount

Level: 1

Job: Magic Swordsman

Job level: 58

Job history: Slave, Servant, Apprentice Mage, Apprentice Warrior, Mage, Demon Eye User, Vassal Warrior, Slave Warrior, Vassal War Princess, Time-Attribute Mage

Age: 12 years old (20 years old at time of Vampire transformation, 32 years old in total)

Passive skills:

Dark Vision

Self-Enhancement: Subordination: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Superhuman Strength: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Rapid Regeneration: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Status Effect Resistance: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Intuition: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Mental Corruption: Level 3

Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Detect Presence: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Sunlight Resistance: Level 4

Allure: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Enlargement (NEW!)

Active skills:

Bloodwork: Level 1 (Awakened from Bloodsucking!)

Mining: Level 1

Time-Attribute Magic: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Life-Attribute Magic: Level 5

No-Attribute Magic: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Control: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Swordsmanship: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Silent Steps: Level 4

Steal: Level 1

Housework: Level 3

Shield Technique: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Armor Technique: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpass Limits: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Chant Revocation: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Magic Combat Technique: Level 3 (NEW!)

Unique skills:

Charming Demon Eyes: Level 7

Skill explanation:

[Magic Combat Technique]

A skill that invokes magic in the user's weapon or body, directly increasing Attribute Values using Mana. It is different from enchantment spells that increase attack power by enveloping one's weapon in flames or lightning and the no-attribute spell, Strengthen Physical Ability. It provides more versatile effects.

But if used on a weapon, the effects dissipate rapidly unless the weapon is a Magic Item, and the skill sometimes cannot be used depending on the material the weapon is made of and the magic that is used. For instance, it does not have much effect on weapons made of Adamantite, which has low compatibility with magic, while it is effective with Mythril weapons. When the magic is invoked inside the body to directly increase Attribute Values, a heavy burden is placed on the body if countermeasures are not taken. This burden is greater than the Surpass Limits skill, and if this skill is used without the appropriate countermeasures, the user will suffer burns if using fire-attribute magic, frostbite if using water-attribute magic, and so on.

Because of these limitations, it is not a popular skill among adventurers who do not have large incomes.

Monster explanation:

[High Goblins]

According to the legends, when the Demon King was still alive, the Goblins multiplied rapidly and increased their Ranks to diversify in various ways. However, the evil gods were having trouble with them, as many Goblins were foolish, cowardly and, most importantly, weak.

Even cowardly Goblins became brave soldiers when a Goblin King was born, but most of them would die before becoming Kings.

That was why the evil gods had strengthened Goblins to create a superior race, High Goblins, for the purpose of commanding the Goblins.

They possess the same characteristics as Goblins - pointed ears and noses with dark green skin - but while many Goblins are ordinarily about the height of an adult's chest, High Goblins have the physiques of average-height adults even without increasing their Ranks.

Also, their appearances are slightly similar to humans if one ignores the color of their skin.

Their base Rank is 4, and as their slender appearances may suggest, they excel in speed and dexterity rather than strength. However, their most fearsome characteristic is their intellect.

Even Mages of the lower-race Goblins have intelligence that does not go beyond a child several years before adulthood, but High Goblins are as clever and cunning as humans.

And like their inferior counterparts, they are able to increase their Rank to diversify in various ways.

The only thing that is good about them is that as a superior race, they have lower ability to reproduce; their numbers are drastically fewer than ordinary Goblins. They have lifespans of approximately fifty years. They only give birth to one or two children at a time. It seems that children become adults approximately three years after they are born.

They can crossbreed with Goblins, but when this happens, the children are almost always born as Goblins.

If they breed with humans or members of Vida's races, the children are born as High Goblins or Goblins in approximately equal ratios.

Their reproductive ability is inferior to Goblins, who produce between three and five offspring at once and mature within just a few months, but… Goblins submit unconditionally to their superior race, the High Goblins, so care must be taken. High Goblins are acknowledged to be a disaster-class race of monsters.

However, there is never a shortage of adventurers and knights who mistake High Goblins for Goblins and end up being killed.

Incidentally, their meat has a strong smell and is inedible, just like Goblin meat.

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