79. But, I refuse
The plan succeeded. Under the mad and triumphant provocation of the great wizard, it was mostly due to the awareness of Zelu’s existence that the Sword Saint Ludwig, aiming at the shadow of the “Great Chieftain,” struck down, only to find himself met by the prepared and resilient Kephiel!
This time, I can guarantee that the “Ludwig” we were “waiting” for is the real one! Yet, despite the plan’s success, I couldn’t bring myself to feel happy. I admit that this hasty and reckless action was fraught with risks, such as what if Ludwig found it too troublesome to show up? Wouldn’t we be left in an impossible situation?
Moreover, even if I did gamble on Ludwig’s appearance, I had no real way to deal with her. I could only watch as Kephiel chased after her. The script had Ludwig not fleeing, but rather [seeking a contest with Kephiel]. For such a dangerous script, I couldn’t immediately be by Kephiel’s side because… I still had a considerable problem of my own to resolve.
[Magnus had hidden among the orcs in the chaos!]
The wind fairy Magnus had separated from Ludwig and was now hiding somewhere. Although her departure from Ludwig would surely relieve some pressure on Kephiel’s side, I couldn’t feel happy about it. Unlike the trouble-averse Ludwig, this fairy had a very clear purpose: to destroy the self-disciplined fairy—an insight fairy named Icarus, who possessed no great power—on behalf of Mistress Nilu’s orders!
Looking around, the high orc warriors of the Austro-Hungarian tribe were already in disarray! After all, who could have imagined: not only did a female elf suddenly appear intending to attack the Great Chieftain, but the one emerging from the shadow of the Great Chieftain was actually a human woman! Could it be that the Great Chieftain, whom everyone had always respected, was merely disguised as a human woman? That would be utterly mind-blowing, right!?
The vast majority of the orcs present were surely thinking this way. Fortunately, the timely appearance of the real “Great Chieftain”—Zelu—managed to dispel much of the orcs’ confusion!
“Silence!”
Once again, a shadow appeared after the candle had been reignited. When dealing with the simple and straightforward orcs, it was indeed necessary to use simple and straightforward methods.
“I was just cooperating with a human friend to deal with some troubles and traitors! That human has already gone to confront the attacking elf, and you all, now! Capture this traitor and his clan, who are preparing to betray the Austro-Hungarian tribe, all at once!”
The orcs were momentarily stunned, but then they all indicated they understood! Even if they didn’t fully grasp it, it didn’t matter; they just needed to shout 666 and that would suffice.
“The Great Chieftain is wise! Boundless in magic!”
“The Great Chieftain sees the future, for generations to come!”
You all… are about to elevate Zelu to the status of a celestial sage…
The orcs’ furious gazes quickly turned toward the great wizard, who had just been smug but was now completely dumbfounded. Perhaps even the great wizard himself hadn’t anticipated: why he could immediately rely on Ludwig to expose the true identity of the Great Chieftain, and then become a “national hero,” but now it had developed into such a situation.
“Wait, wait! Your chieftain is not a monster at all! He’s just a lowly subhuman beast, just a… pfft!”
Unfortunately, his desperate defense was drowned out by the roars of the beastmen, and before he could finish, one of them knocked him down with a punch! Gu Erdan raised his arm high: “Take this traitor away, eradicate his evil clan! Warriors, glory to the Austro-Hungarians! Roar! Roar!”
The other beastmen warriors began to thump their chests with loud “bangs,” then surged forward alongside Gu Erdan in a mighty rush!
Watching this furious group of beastmen, I, standing in the shadows… let out a long breath. Gu Erdan had found a reason to disperse them, which meant one less worry for me.
Because… the danger wasn’t over; Magnus still lurked among these beastmen. Although I wanted to rely on the beastmen’s “mob power” to deal with that fairy Magnus, the reality was that I had to send all the beastmen away to ensure that Zelus’s true identity wouldn’t be discovered! After all, the wind fairy Magnus, who was by Ludwig’s side, also… knew Zelus’s identity!
【Magnus appeared to sabotage Icarus!】
In the next moment, a gust of wind swept through, extinguishing all the candles around us. As Zelus had to revert to her original form, a flash of emerald-colored fairy floated out like the wind.
“Ah~ With that troublesome human woman gone, there shouldn’t be any problems now, right? King, I’ve been quite gracious not to expose the identity of that fox beside you~ You better not interfere with my execution of the master’s orders again, or if limbs start getting broken, I won’t be able to explain it to the master~”
With Kephiel absent due to her conflict with Ludwig, the fairy before me became even more arrogant, and at the same time, the dangerous script regarding Icarus reappeared.
【Insight: Fairy Icarus has been sabotaged!】
Icarus, as a self-disciplined fairy, had no combat power at all, not to mention I was also accompanied by a little fox who was a burden. Kephiel was still at odds with Ludwig, so I certainly couldn’t use Kephiel’s fairy to respond! Even now, I had no means in the script to deal with the fairy before me, but…
I had brought Icarus to the Austro-Hungarian tribe in front of Adef. At this point, regardless of the script, how could I possibly do something incompetent like handing over Icarus!?
With all means ineffective, I was left with my ancestral trump card as the great villain Oujilide.
“…Ha~ Do you think I would let you succeed!?”
I grabbed the little fox and, holding her waist, intended to make a run for it! However, facing a fully powered fairy, my own strength felt a bit too flimsy.
“Ah, King… do you look down on me?”
【Magnus used wind as a barrier to block Oujilide’s path!】
I hurriedly hit the brakes, nearly crashing into what appeared to be transparent but was actually an additional “wall” barrier in front of me!
“Even if I’m just a fairy protecting the master’s safety, controlling the power of wind, once that power is transformed into magic, dealing with someone like you, who knows nothing, is more than enough~”
The next moment, I turned around: I only saw the fairy in front of me raise a hand!
A wild wind, strong enough to lift me off the ground, surged toward me, a force no less potent than any other magic, completely “flipping” me over.
As I rubbed my backside and lifted my head, the emerald fairy, Magnis, was already floating high above me, looking down with evident impatience.
“If it weren’t for the master’s orders, you would have died hundreds of times by now! Seriously, how annoying! Just because I called you ‘King’ doesn’t mean you should feel honored! That thing on your face is Icarus, right? If you don’t throw it away today, I can’t guarantee you won’t break a few arms and legs!”
Hmph, I’ve long known that you Nilu fairies have no real respect for me, so I never expected anything from you.
Thus, my answer was naturally quite clear.
“But I refuse.”