Chapter 39
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Ramset was still breathing heavily, struggling for breath, as he held out the edict, stamped with the seal granting permission for the orcs to make their pilgrimage.
As soon as he handed over the edict, Mok slowly raised his hand, and the enormous serpent began to dissolve, its form disintegrating like smoke.
The serpent, which had returned to the staff in Mok’s hand, caused everyone within the imperial palace to break out in cold sweat, unable to say a word.
The legendary serpent.
Mok, who freely controlled Apophis.
They didn’t know how he obtained such power, but at least one thing was clear:
Anyone who dared to act recklessly here would face certain death.
With the fear of the ministers and soldiers surrounding them, Mok and Patra walked out of the imperial palace.
In stark contrast to the earlier situation, where they were half being dragged, they now walked out on their own two feet, displaying a confident and majestic demeanour.
Having subdued the emperor and obtained what they wanted, it was only natural for them to act so boldly.
However…
Contrary to this, a heavy shadow still loomed over Mok and Patra’s hearts.
“Will our brother… truly keep his promise?”
“He won’t. He was never that kind of person to begin with. Not until he experiences great suffering will he even consider it.”
Mok spoke as if it were the most natural thing, and Patra, with a hint of frustration in her voice, agreed.
“…Even knowing that, why did you stop? If you had swallowed him up then… or at least signalled when they hesitated…”
“If we had done that, not only would the orcs never gain independence, but we wouldn’t have survived either. That power is something borrowed from Seraphim, and I can’t use it beyond securing the ‘justification’ I spoke of earlier.”
“I see… that makes sense now.”
“And you’re also aware, sister. What happens to the one who kills the ruler. The bounty on such a person’s head is no small thing, and someone might step forward, overcoming their fear.”
Facing one or two opponents was not a difficult task for them.
However, in a situation like before, where they were surrounded by enemies on all sides, the most important thing was to control the atmosphere.
If anyone disrupted that atmosphere, others would follow suit, and it would spiral into an uncontrollable situation.
“You’re right… you’re absolutely right. But… even so, our brother has cleverly escaped the fate that befalls the one who slays an emperor, hasn’t he?”
Patra spoke with a cold rage in her voice.
Yet, Mok continued to soothe her with his calm tone.
“That’s true. But we haven’t seen it ourselves, and besides circumstantial evidence, there’s no proof. Moreover, despite everything, Ramset is recognized by the goddess Isiris as the ruler of this land. Now is not the time to seek revenge.”
“…Sigh.”
With a deep sigh, Patra calmed herself, looking at her brother with a more composed face.
‘You’ve changed so much… in just a few weeks… truly, so much…’
In the past, it was Patra’s role to calm Mok down in situations like this.
But now, watching her brother pacify her rage, she felt a strange sense of reassurance growing inside her.
Just like in the previous duel, Patra felt a twinge of sorrow as she saw her younger brother slowly slipping further away from her grasp.
And in addition…
“One more thing… let’s hurry. Now that we’ve secured our justification, all that’s left is to act.”
“Huh? Ah… umm… yes, you’re right. Got it.”
For a moment, Patra felt a surge of unfamiliar emotions and slight confusion.
But she quickly followed behind her brother.
***
“Damn it! How the hell did things end up like this…?”
Ramset cursed as he clutched his head, seated on his bed.
Five years had passed since he took the throne.
In all that time, not a single day had been as dreadful as today. He was sure of it.
Not only had those detestable enemies, who he never wanted to see again, shown up…
But instead of killing them, he had been forced into a ludicrous promise, completely overwhelmed by the terrifying magic they wielded, something they claimed was a ‘Divine Power.’
He had promised to allow the orcs to leave.
Though he framed it as some religious pilgrimage to the Kanan Kingdom for sacrificial rituals, he was fully aware that it essentially meant mass liberation or escape of his slave population.
This was a situation where more than half the country’s population could vanish overnight.
His ministers had clamoured against accepting such a thing the moment Mok left, arguing that it could lead to the ruin of the nation, perhaps even its downfall, but Ramset hadn’t been able to make a decision yet and decided to postpone it.
Even now, the image of that massive serpent’s gaping maw lingered before his eyes.
The shock of facing death so closely still hadn’t left his mind.
‘I don’t care about the promise with that orc scum, but… if I break it, there’s a chance I could be devoured next. I can’t even trust my personal guard… What the hell should I do…?’
Ramset’s thoughts spiralled, deep in conflict.
Then…
{Foolish creature.}
“! Th-this voice…”
The chilling voice of a woman echoed in his mind.
Ramset immediately shot up from his bed and knelt before the altar in the corner of his chamber.
Moments later, she appeared before him.
The one who materialized atop the altar, as always, possessed a beauty so overwhelming it could drive a person mad.
The Goddess Isiris.
But despite her appearance, which could easily inspire lust, the moment Ramset saw her, appearing twice his size, a deep fear gripped him, and he immediately lowered his head, trembling.
“G-goddess… to what do I owe the honour of your presence…?”
His voice quivered as he asked, forehead pressed against the floor.
And to him, the true ruler of this empire, the Goddess Isiris, spoke in a voice cold as ice.
{Shouldn’t you already know the reason?}
“! Th-that…”
At her single word, Ramset felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Only a fool wouldn’t understand what she was referring to in that situation.
{You are truly foolish. To have been frightened by something as insignificant as a mere scarecrow, not even the true form or avatar.}
“A s-scarecrow? But that was Apophis…”
{What you saw was nothing more than an illusion made in its likeness. It was powerless. But…}
“Kuh…!”
At that moment, just her gaze alone was enough to strangle Ramset.
{Have you forgotten? The contract between you and me. To make such a grave decision out of fear. Do you wish to end up like your father?}
“Guh… G-goddess… please… have mercy…!”
Ramset gasped for air, thrashing in agony, feeling as if his life would end any moment, desperately pleading with all his strength.
And then…
“Gasp!… Huff… huff… huff…”
As the pain suddenly disappeared, Ramset exhaled with difficulty, his breath heavy and labored.
The goddess, watching him tremble on the ground, spoke with a chilling voice.
{Remember this clearly. Whose land this truly is. If you make the same mistake again, I won’t spare you.}
“Gah… I-I… will… I will remember, Goddess!”
With this final warning, which felt like a brush with death, the goddess vanished from his sight.
Immediately after, Ramset was overcome with intense anger and began to grit his teeth.
The goddess’s words, that the serpent which had terrified him was merely an illusion.
Recalling how he had been completely humiliated and even incurred the goddess’s wrath because of that orc and his damned sister, Ramset staggered to his feet, his face twisted with rage.
“Mok… Patra… You dare toy with me? Me, the emperor of the Baro Empire? I will tear you limb from limb! And I’ll do the same to those filthy orcs!”
His previous fear had been replaced by burning hatred.
With that, he decisively broke his promise to Mok,
and immediately ordered harsher repression of the orcs than ever before, along with a warrant for the arrest of Mok and Patra.
But.
At that time, he did not know.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! S-something terrible has happened!”
“What… what is it?”
He was unaware of the unexpected consequences that his decision would bring.
***
The countless orcs living within the Baro Empire.
Though they were all slaves, they still had chieftains to lead them.
Among these chieftains, there were 12 with the most authority.
They stood before a young orc, an orc who, despite his youth, was the strongest and wisest among them, a figure who, in the past, had even made the humans bow their heads during his time as a governor.
As they looked at Mok, their expressions were firm.
Originally, not all of them had agreed with Mok’s actions.
However, when they saw the edict that Mok had risked his life to obtain from the imperial palace,
the document that promised their freedom, they were deeply moved.
But that same emperor had torn up that promise in a day, which caused their deep admiration to turn into furious rage.
They had already grown sick of the empire’s atrocities—forced labor,
and the murder of their children.
Now, Mok’s proposal, which offered the chance to finally defeat the humans, caught the attention of not only the chieftains but also the orcs.
The chieftains, now united under Mok’s leadership, gathered in one place.
Before them was a cauldron filled with a golden liquid.
Mok carefully ladled the boiling liquid and handed it to the foremost chieftain, speaking in a serious tone.
“לִשְׁתוֹת, גן עדן לצעוק, לתבוע את גורלך, כולכם תהיו כובשים.”
(Drink, Heavenscream, claim your destiny, You will all be Conquerors.)
“אוקיי תודה.”
(Okay, Thank you.)
Patra, watching from the side, didn’t understand the words, as the conversation was in Orcish.
But, seeing the determined expressions of the chieftains as they drank the liquid, she already knew what it meant.
A covenant.
Through Mok’s efforts, Seraphim, the god who now held sway over nearly all the orcs, would grant them this sacred pledge.
It also bestowed the power to resist mind-control magic, a weakness of the orcs.
With the chieftains leading the way, the orcs began to revolt.
The rebellion began at the fortress along the great Nael River, which crossed the empire.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Those foolish orcs are back, wanting to die again, it seems.”
“Well, that’s great. It’s been a while since we’ve had a good fight. Maybe we can use this as an excuse to visit the village, it’s about time we culled those orcs, isn’t it?”
With that, the soldiers drew their staffs and swords.
The fortress had long prepared for orc rebellions,
having slaughtered many orcs in the name of ‘defense.’
The method was simple and effective:
they would cast mind-control magic on the orcs, and then behead them as they wandered in a stupor.
However…
“W-what… is this?”
“Why… why isn’t the mind-control working?”
“W-wait, if this is the case, then we’re… Huff!”
Despite the mind-control magic, the orcs charged without hesitation.
Though they had no proper weapons or Armor,
the soldiers facing them realized the terrifying truth.
The orcs’ bodies themselves were weapons.
With their bare hands, they tore off human heads, and their skin deflected spears and blades with ease.
“Kill the humans!”
“For Seraphim!!”
The orcs who attacked the fortress swiftly massacred the soldiers and threw their bodies into the river.
The river began to turn red with blood.
On its banks, Mok and the orc chieftains, now holding the weapons they had seized, raised their voices in unison.
“לעולם לא נהיה עבדים!!!”
(We Will Never Be Slaves!!)
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