Chapter 181
Clop. Clop.
"U-Ugh...?"
Turkal slowly regained consciousness.
Still half asleep, he struggled to focus his blurry vision.
Where was he?
The ceiling above him was covered with canvas.
And judging by the constant movement...
He seemed to be riding inside a wagon.
Pull.
"Ugh...."
His hands and feet were tied with rope.
And for some reason...
His jaw throbbed painfully.
It was swollen as though he'd been struck by something heavy.
Turkal couldn't understand what had happened.
He clearly remembered receiving his father's orders and heading toward Herbivore Village.
Then...
He had run straight toward where the Chief was staying.
For five full hours without rest.
Eventually...
He found the Chief.
He delivered his father's message.
But after that...
He couldn't remember anything.
"...Wait."
"Come to think of it..."
"That human."
The image of a human standing in front of him suddenly surfaced.
Maybe he was a new resident of Herbivore Village.
Turkal had traveled back and forth between the villages many times...
But he'd never seen that man before.
Whatever.
He'd think about the missing memories later.
For now...
He needed to break these ropes, escape the wagon, and return to his village.
"Huu..."
"Hup!"
Turkal assumed a rope like this would snap if he applied even a little strength.
He flexed with everything he had.
But...
"...?"
It didn't work.
No matter what he did...
The ropes showed no sign of breaking.
If anything...
The harder he pulled...
The tighter they became.
They dug so deeply into his muscular arms that even his forearms began aching.
Turkal struggled against the ropes for nearly thirty minutes.
Eventually...
He gave up completely.
He lay down on the wagon floor and rested his cheek against it.
He had no idea how much time passed.
Then...
Creak.
The wagon suddenly stopped.
The canvas covering the rear opened.
Hot light poured into the dark cargo compartment.
Judging by how dark it was outside...
Night had already fallen.
The light came from a torch.
"You're awake."
Turkal groggily opened his eyes.
Then looked toward the owner of the voice.
It was...
"Y-You..."
"That human...?!"
"How are you here──"
He froze.
At that moment...
The missing memories flooded back into him.
He remembered loosening his shoulders, intending to drag Herbivore Village's chef away by force.
And then...
That human had suddenly struck him.
His jaw had twisted sideways...
And he'd collapsed.
"D-Don't tell me..."
"You're the one who did this to me...?"
"H-How?"
"You didn't have any aura at all."
"You should've been weak...!"
Turkal looked utterly unable to understand it.
He still couldn't believe he'd been knocked unconscious with one blow.
It was understandable.
He was the son of Carnivore Village's Chief.
That meant he was essentially the next Chief.
And on top of that...
He was an Elite Orc.
A warrior race.
Naturally...
He took great pride in his own strength.
Suhyeok thought for a moment.
Then...
"I'll show you."
The instant he said it...
"...!!"
The warm wind that had been brushing against Turkal's nose...
Changed.
In an instant...
It turned icy.
A chilling killing intent stabbed into every part of his body like needles.
The pressure narrowed his vision.
His pupils began trembling violently.
Shake. Shake. Shake.
Even the muscles he was so proud of...
Started convulsing.
Wh-What is he...?
How can a weak h-human...
Turkal couldn't even finish the thought.
His body itself was rejecting it.
He couldn't close his eyes.
Couldn't look away.
He was completely pinned beneath the killing intent of the being standing before him.
Whoosh.
"Huff!"
"Huff... huff...!!"
The moment the killing intent disappeared...
Turkal began gasping for breath.
It had lasted only two or three seconds.
But to him...
It had felt like ten years.
"That should be enough."
Suhyeok spoke calmly.
"If you promise not to resist and agree to help me..."
"I'll untie you."
"And while we're traveling to your village..."
"I'll let you move freely."
To Turkal...
It didn't sound like an offer.
It sounded like a warning.
A terrifying warning filled with killing intent.
If I cause trouble again...
I might die.
"I-I understand...."
"I'll remember."
Only then...
Was Turkal untied.
He stepped outside the wagon.
"You even started a campfire...."
Then he hesitated.
"B-By the way..."
"Where exactly are we going?"
Suhyeok sat beside the fire.
Using a branch...
He casually gathered fallen leaves into the flames.
"As you can see..."
"We're heading to your village."
"I thought it would be better to hear both sides before making any decision."
Turkal remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
Suhyeok had said he wanted to be the judge.
"I see...."
Then Turkal frowned.
"B-But why are we traveling by wagon...?"
"If we'd run from that village..."
"We could've arrived in half a day."
"The routes you've been taking are the strange ones."
Suhyeok answered without even looking up.
"You've been smashing straight through everything in your path."
"Do you have any idea how many roads and mountains you've damaged?"
"I saw several of them on the way here."
In truth...
Carnivore Village was quite far from Herbivore Village.
Herbivore Village had been established near the temple.
Carnivore Village was much farther away.
Suhyeok glanced toward the wagon's cargo compartment.
"And I didn't feel like carrying you all the way there on my back."
"Though we also had plenty of supplies to bring."
Turkal blinked.
"Then..."
"Did you pull the wagon yourself?"
"No."
"I rode in the front."
"Then who the hell──"
Something suddenly appeared behind Turkal.
A knight in black armor.
"WHOA!"
Turkal fell backward in shock.
Standing behind him...
Was one of the Shadow Knights Suhyeok had summoned.
"You can rest now."
The Shadow Knight lowered its head in salute.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
Turkal awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
Apparently...
He was embarrassed about falling over in surprise.
Then he walked over and sat near the campfire.
An awkward silence settled.
Only the crackling of the fire could be heard.
Then...
Grrrrrrr.
A loud sound came from Turkal's stomach.
Suhyeok looked completely indifferent.
But Turkal clearly wasn't.
He coughed repeatedly in embarrassment.
Suhyeok watched him for a moment.
Then stood up.
He went to the wagon...
And brought something back.
He casually tossed it toward Turkal in a gentle arc.
"That...."
It was one of the fruits from the tree Suhyeok had created between Selien's and Balk's homes.
"Eat."
"I packed them for the trip."
"There are plenty."
"If you're still hungry..."
"Eat more."
"Sniff. Sniff."
The sweet aroma of the flesh filled Turkal's nose.
The fruit looked so plump that juice seemed ready to burst out at any moment.
Drool.
Before he realized it...
Saliva was already running down the corner of Turkal's mouth.
"Slurp."
"N-No...."
"I can't."
"A carnivore like me shouldn't eat something like fruit...."
His voice trailed off.
Some time later...
He was devouring it.
"M-MY GOD, IT'S DELICIOUS──!!!!!!"
The juice burst inside his mouth.
A thrilling sensation spread from the top of his head all the way down to his toes.
The flavor was unlike anything he'd ever tasted.
Turkal barely had time to process that shock before...
Bulge. Bulge.
"H-Huh...?"
"I-Impossible...."
"What is this?!"
"H-Hahaha!"
His entire body's muscles began swelling unnaturally.
Most noticeable of all...
His chest.
It had expanded to a size incomparable to before.
"Slurp."
"He said there were more in the cargo compartment...."
Turkal licked his lips.
Then walked straight to the wagon.
And ate every single fruit he could find.
About an hour later...
After consuming all of them...
Turkal's stomach bulged like a mountain.
"BUUUUURP...!!"
The belch echoed loudly through the surroundings.
Turkal grinned dreamily.
"Hehehe...."
"Herbivores...."
"Are the best...."
By the time morning arrived...
The wagon had reached the entrance to Carnivore Village.
Unlike Herbivore Village...
Where houses of various sizes lined the roads...
Carnivore Village resembled a Barbarian settlement.
Rows upon rows of tents filled the area.
The most noticeable thing, however...
Was the livestock pens.
They were enormous.
Nearly half the village was taken up by breeding grounds.
There were many different kinds of livestock too.
Murmur. Murmur.
Whispers came from outside the wagon.
Suhyeok looked through the window.
The villagers were all Elite Orcs like Turkal.
Unlike Herbivore Village...
This seemed to be a single-race settlement.
"Is the chef from Herbivore Village inside that wooden wagon?"
"Probably some scrawny little bastard."
"How can people who don't even eat meat call what they make food?"
The Orcs surrounded the wagon.
Naturally...
Whenever outsiders entered a village...
Everyone became curious.
And when the two villages are already competing and insulting each other...
Of course they'd be even more interested.
Then...
"Out of the way!"
"Move!"
"Great Turkal is coming through!"
"Everyone, move aside!"
Turkal proudly flexed his now swollen muscles as he walked.
The Carnivore Village residents didn't find it ridiculous at all.
Instead...
They stared in awe.
"I-Impossible...!!"
"How did you train to get like that?!"
"Please tell us your secret!!"
"Whoa..."
"Those deltoids..."
"Those biceps...."
"How much iron did you lift and how much meat did you eat to get that huge...?"
"Turkal!"
"Please teach me too!!"
Everyone was practically worshiping his muscles.
Turkal struck another pose.
"Everyone, clear the road!!"
"I'm going to ask the Chief for permission to reveal the secret!"
"So move aside immediately!!"
Like the parting of the sea...
The crowd instantly split.
Thanks to that...
The wagon, which had been moving slowly...
Could proceed quickly.
A short while later...
They arrived near the tent belonging to Carnivore Village's Chief.
Turkal's father.
The wagon couldn't go any farther from here.
So they continued on foot.
Then Turkal's confidence vanished.
"Still..."
"I'm not sure you'll actually be able to persuade my father...."
"If anything, he's even worse than me."
"He absolutely despises anything related to herbivores now."
"And as a warrior..."
"His strength is exceptional."
Turkal glanced toward Suhyeok.
"It's not that I don't trust you..."
"But if something goes wrong...."
He looked so nervous that the proud muscle-flexing from moments ago had completely disappeared.
It almost felt like watching a little boy about to be scolded by his father.
Suhyeok glanced at him and smiled faintly.
"Don't worry."
"I'm used to places like this."
"And I'm used to dealing with stubborn people."
"More importantly...."
[Trait ‘Apostle (EX)’ final Authority ‘???’ reacts faintly.]
The message had appeared the moment they approached the Chief's tent.
Seeing it...
Suhyeok became certain.
Everything he'd been doing here...
Would eventually lead him to the answer behind the final Authority.
Finally...
The two reached the entrance to the tent.
Even from outside...
A powerful aura could be felt.
For an instant...
Suhyeok's shoulders felt as though a heavy weight had pressed down on them.
It reminded him of the Sanctuary of Dragons.
Something inside the tent was probing him.
Examining him.
[Ring of Mental Immunity activates.]
[Killing intent is ineffective.]
[Anubis Mask effect activates.]
[The energy attempting to inspect you is neutralized.]
Leaving the hesitant Turkal behind...
Suhyeok calmly stood before the tent entrance.
"Nothing will go wrong."
"I'll make sure of that."
KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
A rough laugh erupted from inside the tent.
The probing aura disappeared...
As though inviting them in.
Suhyeok smiled.
"Looks like they're ready to receive us too."
"Let's go inside."
