As the Nagas fled, the Orc necromancer dusted off his robes and approached his broken wheelchair, beginning to repair it.
"Hey."
When Azadin called out to the Orc necromancer, he responded.
"My name is Scott McGreen, a descendant of the great Greenswald."
"Aren't most Orcs descendants of Greenswald?"
Among the Kurt Divine Clan, the Orcs' god Kanak had a single champion—Greenswald. He was known as the first and last great overlord of the Orcs, the one who brought their race to prosperity on this land.
Since Greenswald, no Orcs had been able to function actively for long durations. Most suffered from Kanak's blessing and curse, losing their homelands and roaming as mercenaries or hired hands, selling their skills to other races.
Even in such circumstances, most Orcs claimed Greenswald as their ancestor.
"That's exactly why he's great. The great overlord who sowed his seed among all our people. Being one of his descendants means that we too can become like Greenswald. You inferior races wouldn't understand, but what can you do? I'm sure you wish you were born smart too. Lucky for you, I am, so I'll be understanding."
"..."
"Should we just kill him? Is there any reason to keep him alive?"
Midiam, who had arrived late, asked Azadin for his opinion.
"No, we let the Nagas escape, so I don't want to lose the informant we've gained."
"Exactly. Inside my brilliant mind, there's plenty of information you'll want."
"Wait a moment, you… no way."
Shati, who had been listening, suddenly glared at the Orc in alarm.
"You're just going to switch employers so easily?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. You're really worried about that in this situation? I saw it, and so did they—you betrayed your own kind. You've become a traitor to the Nagas. I never expected intelligence from a snakehead, but at the very least, if you're going to speak, you should make sure your words make sense."
"What? You bastard?!"
Shati was livid at Scott's provocation.
The funny thing was that Scott didn't even think of it as a provocation. He was just rough with his words, but what he said was correct.
It was Azadin who had orchestrated Shati's betrayal of the Nagas. If Shati went back to them now, she'd only face brutal torture. It was much smarter to switch employers quickly, like Scott.
"What were you doing here with the Nagas?"
"Extraction and manifestation of the Book of the Divine King."
"What happened to the Book of the Divine King?"
"Hm. It's hard to gauge how simply I should explain this to idiots. But before that, why don't you introduce yourselves? I know you're from the Herald Clan, but…"
"Hey. You're a prisoner now, so watch your words. And stop what you're doing. What are you working on right now?"
"Can't you see? I'm repairing my wheelchair. Surely you're not so stupid that you can't tell even by looking?"
"You don't seem to have any physical issues. Can't you walk on your own two feet?"
"You don't understand. If I walk, my muscles bulk up."
"Muscles? Isn't more always better?"
"For the limbs, yes. But if muscles build up in the heart, the volume of the heart decreases, reducing its efficiency. My body already has a lot of muscle, so if my heart pumps less blood, I'll suffer from chronic fatigue. The heart will beat harder to compensate, which causes even more muscle growth, leading to an endless cycle. Eventually, I'd die. Hah! Even just talking this much is making my heart race. No, this is bad."
Scott McGreen collapsed onto the ground.
"P-please assemble the wheelchair for me. If I stay active for too long, I fall into a hypoglycemic state."
"..."
For a prisoner, he sure had a lot of demands. Azadin sighed and looked at Ishmael.
"M-me?"
"Yes. I'll retrieve the Book of the Divine King."
Azadin recovered both the Book of the Divine King, which had been wrapped in the Black Steel Arrow, and the arrow itself. The tip of the Black Steel Arrow was still sharp.
"I can use this again."
Azadin returned the Black Steel Arrow to his quiver and surveyed the surroundings. The encampment had an abundance of grain that could be used as food and fodder, more than enough for Azadin and his group.
There were also mummy soldiers, likely the Nagas' guards. Even with the Nightcrawler gone, they remained standing.
"They'll need to be burned."
"Hey, Orc. Can these mummy soldiers still move?"
"Of course. It's easy."
"Then make them gather all the corpses together. We need to cremate them all."
"You're holding a funeral for these people? A Herald Clan member? How strange. But if that's what you want, I'll do it. In exchange, guarantee my life."
"You killed innocent people like this, and now you want to live?"
"I didn't kill them directly. What you see here is the aftermath of humans killing each other. Sure, my undead soldiers killed some of the soldiers, but those soldiers had slaughtered the villagers. They reaped what they sowed."
"Fine. Just gather the bodies."
The mummy soldiers and still-functioning undead began collecting the corpses. Meanwhile, Ishmael managed to repair the wheelchair and set it upright.
"Nice. You've got some skill. They say the Herald Clan is talented."
"Shut up, Orc."
"What? You've just been praised by the genius of this era, Scott McGreen. When the day comes that you lie on your deathbed, surrounded by your descendants, you should recall this moment and tremble with emotion and joy."
"..."
"Can't we just kill him? Do we really need help from someone like this?"
Ishmael seriously asked Azadin.
"Let's get the Book of the Divine King first."
Azadin said as he scanned the area. Just then, Zebeck and Brand arrived.
"I see now why the undead fell. You've won."
"Ah, Sir Zebeck. What about the soldiers?"
"…Some perished, others fled. I tried to minimize casualties, but the undead suddenly became stronger…"
"How's old man Brand?"
"Hm, I'm fine."
"..."
While soldiers and knights were either dying or fleeing, Brand was surprisingly unharmed. He seemed to have been born with exceptional strength.
If he had become a warrior, he would have likely made a name for himself in his youth. But instead, he had lived as a scribe, lawyer, and writer. Had he only discovered his true talent later in life?
"But what's with this Orc? He looks like a necromancer."
"This is Scott McGreen."
The Orc, Scott McGreen, introduced himself.
"He seems to be a necromancer hired by the Nagas."
"That's right. And from now on, I'll be working for you."
"What? You're hiring a necromancer?"
Zebeck looked at Azadin, as if asking whether he was serious.
"No, let's just hear what he has to say first. Orc, why do you think we won't kill you?"
"Because you're searching for the Book of the Divine King. I can manifest the Book of the Divine King, and I can estimate its location with far greater accuracy. If you wish to find and collect the Book of the Divine King, you wouldn't want to sacrifice a talent like me."
If that was true, then this Orc was incredibly valuable. Killing him would be a waste.
"And everyone knows that erasing my intellect from this world would be an unforgivable sin as long as the divine spirit exists. Ah, of course, you could let your inferiority complex get the better of you and kill me anyway, but then you'd suffer from guilt for the rest of your lives. Could you truly bear the burden of committing the grave sin of erasing one of the world's great intellects?"
"If what you say isn't just boasting, then you could be useful. But I don't make deals with those who kill civilians recklessly. First, let's hold the funeral."
The mummy soldiers controlled by Scott gathered the corpses into a pile. Azadin stepped forward and recited a prayer over the bodies.
"O Archangel of the Trinity, embrace the souls of those who met unjust deaths, and guide them to their rest. People of Hubris, may you find peace beyond this cruel world!"
As Azadin offered his blessing and set the bodies on fire, a brilliant light shone above the burning corpses—the copy of the Book of the Divine King had manifested.
The copy of the Book of the Divine King flew directly into Azadin's hands.
"There, it has manifested. It seems your usefulness has come to an end."
Midiam taunted Scott with glee.
However, Scott remained composed.
"The reason it manifested so easily is because I had already laid the groundwork in advance. If it were me, I could have done it even more effortlessly."
Even after witnessing Azadin manifest and retrieve the Book of the Divine King right before his eyes, the Orc remained utterly confident.
"You're quite sure of yourself."
"My genius is enough to shake the very heavens. If you have even the slightest grasp of arithmetic, you'd understand that you shouldn't treat a treasure like me carelessly. Of course, just as the sun outshines the stars, I understand if my brilliance makes you feel inferior. However, at least your leader doesn't seem to harbor petty jealousy toward me."
"Hm."
Azadin was at a loss as he looked at this Orc, who was so boldly convinced that he would be spared. In truth, he wasn't the type to kill someone who smiled at him. He hadn't even been able to execute Shati when she had betrayed them and begged for her life.
'To be fair, I can somewhat understand Shati's position.'
She had been captured by Azadin and faced a life-threatening situation, desperately trying to find a way back to her people. But Azadin had cut off that escape route, leaving her with essentially a death or life imprisonment sentence.
The problem now was this Orc.
"So, are you saying you didn't participate in killing civilians?"
"Haha. Only fools take pleasure in killing people and using violence to assert their superiority. Someone like me, who is truly confident in himself, doesn't even entertain the notion of comparing himself to lesser beings. If you were even half as intelligent as I am, you'd understand. To ask such a foolish question—your future looks bleak."
"..."
"Hm, I've talked too much. I feel like my tongue is getting muscle growth. But I suppose I need to prove my usefulness for you to be convinced, don't I?"
"Keeping an evil necromancer alive is hard to justify. Even if Count Lantarik was the one who ordered the massacre of the civilians here, these people must have also taken part. When they attacked the soldiers, didn't the prisoners and civilians that Count Lantarik held captive die along with them?"
Zebeck directed his words at Azadin.
Just as Shati had become trapped in a situation where she couldn't return to her people after becoming their prisoner, Zebeck was also in a difficult position. It was one thing to have Shati as a prisoner, but traveling with an Orc necromancer would raise serious doubts about his qualifications as a holy knight.
"Yes, that's true. Count Lantarik's soldiers must have slaughtered the people of Salasma. But there must have been prisoners and captives among them. You're not going to claim that they weren't killed as well, are you?"
Azadin coldly stared at the Orc necromancer, Scott McGreen.
At that moment, Scott spoke.
"I can interpret the copy of the Book of the Divine King."