The Record of Orc Civilization - Chapter 449: The Avatar of Vengeance

Capital Underpass, Bitter Maja

“What? A Demon? Why? They are our allies, aren’t they? Why would they kill Jugo?” Diru’s voice rose, thick with disbelief.

“Allies?” Nerphyl smiled bitterly. “Boy, you are truly naive. The Demon race is not our ally. They are merely using us to break the Human Alliance’s defensive lines by seizing Heles. If our usefulness ever runs out, they will—”

“Nerphyl!” Nedira cut her off sharply.

Caught by her sister’s warning gaze, Nerphyl exhaled a long breath and fell silent.

“Regardless of that,” Nedira took over, “it is not simply the Demons’ interference that makes this matter grave, but the leak of our troop movements. No matter how strong a Demon is, they cannot know everything. Even if their method of manipulating mana differs from humans, Elves, or Warbeasts, mana is still mana. We have many ways to deflect magical surveillance. Yet, what happened to Kuja’s unit was not the result of a scouting spell.”

“You mean… there is a traitor within the kingdom?” Diru asked in disbelief.

“Exactly. Believe it or not, Young Man, this kingdom is not as peaceful as you imagine. I don’t wish to say more. Your task now is to find someone named Leon. I need your Inner Eye to track his location.”

Diru fell silent for a moment, processing the information. His hands clenched so hard his knuckles turned white before he finally refocused on the mission.

“Very well, I will try. However, Capital City is vast. Even with an Inner Eye as strong as mine, it’s impossible to monitor the entire city at once.”

“You won’t need to check everywhere. Nedira and I have narrowed the search area. The one we suspect wouldn’t be in the city center; that place is too crowded with the eyes of Asuras and Valkyries. He must be hiding in the outskirts or abandoned districts. Out of all those areas, I’ve narrowed it down to three. Your Inner Eye can sweep every inch of a single district, can’t it?”

“Yes. If it’s only that far, I can do it easily.”

“Good. We don’t have much time. If he really is the traitor, he’s likely sensed this investigation already. We cannot let him slip away.”

They moved out swiftly. With the power of his Inner Eye, Diru was able to perceive the smallest details, even in the most hidden corners. In the first district, they found only broken buildings and burrows that were no longer fit for habitation. In the second, they discovered a group of Hobgoblins gathered together. One of them was giving a fiery speech, prompting the others to nod in fervent agreement. Although Diru couldn’t hear his voice from the distance, he was able to read the orator’s lips. It caused his face to go deathly pale.

The Hobgoblin was speaking loudly about how the kingdom had abandoned them, using them as bait on the battlefield to systematically reduce the Hobgoblin population. He spoke of wives leaving husbands and daughters no longer respecting their fathers, all to idolize the Asuras. He concluded that it was all a coordinated effort by the kingdom to exterminate the Hobgoblin race. Not a single Hobgoblin there disagreed; instead, they cheered, affirming every word of the provocative speech.

“He isn’t here. We must get to the last district before he truly disappears,” Nerphyl said coldly, seemingly indifferent to the commotion of the Hobgoblins.

“Your Majesty, this is…” Diru stammered, his heart shaken.

“Focus, boy! We must find Leon immediately. We don’t have time to deal with them right now!” Nerphyl barked, snapping Diru and a momentarily dazed Nedira back to reality.

They arrived at the final district. Diru’s Inner Eye quickly caught Leon’s presence. The figure was collapsed, clutching his head inside the only intact burrow in the area.

“He’s in there. But… I feel a very strange aura coming from him,” Diru said, pointing toward the burrow.

“Good. Prepare for capture. We don’t want him escaping or attempting suicide. I want to know the connection between this Hobgoblin and the Demons. Everyone, move!”

The Valkyries moved into their respective positions. From above, they looked like a closing circle surrounding the burrow. Nedira descended and began walking slowly toward the entrance. Nerphyl turned to Diru. “Do you want to come meet him? He might be the reason for the slaughter of Kuja’s unit.”

Diru nodded, though he still felt the chilling, alien aura radiating from Leon’s agonizing form.

The three of them entered the burrow and walked toward the room where Leon was located. Nerphyl intentionally did not hide their presence; she didn’t want to startle Leon and make the capture more complicated than necessary.

When Nedira opened the door, their eyes were met with the sight of a creature that no longer looked like a Hobgoblin. Normally, a Hobgoblin’s height didn’t reach two meters, but the Leon before them now towered at nearly three meters. Red, vein-like networks protruded from his green skin, which had turned as black as charcoal. The veins throbbed, as if a living entity was churning beneath his flesh.

Nerphyl’s brow furrowed. She felt the mana around Leon vibrating subtly. The room was a shambles; the remains of stone furniture lay shattered as if struck by something with incredible force.

“Leon, I am Nedira. You must come with me. There are things we wish to ask you,” Nedira said softly, trying to get the attention of the Hobgoblin who was curled up, clutching his head.

“Leon?” Nedira called again, but there was no answer.

Only when Nedira approached and touched his shoulder did Leon’s shivering body stop moving. But instantly, Nedira’s expression turned grim.

“Who are you?” Nedira hissed, withdrawing her hand quickly.

Leon slowly stood up. All eyes were now drawn to his chest. An obsidian gemstone protruded from it, pulsing as if it possessed a life of its own, emitting a vibration of mana that stung the skin.

“I… am Vengeance!” Leon’s voice was raspy and broken, like someone who had just screamed until their lungs tore.

Before Nedira could respond, Leon lunged. His five fingers pressed together to form a spear-point with razor-sharp nails. Nedira felt a massive surge of mana flowing from the obsidian stone into Leon’s arm. His speed was extraordinary—an attack that should have been impossible for an Orichalcum Tier Hobgoblin.

Even so, to her, Leon’s movements were sluggish. Nedira easily caught Leon’s wrist and swatted it aside before delivering a counter-punch squarely to his chest. His massive frame was sent flying, slamming into the burrow wall until it cracked. Yet, Leon seemed entirely unhurt. He stood up with jerky, mechanical movements and lunged again with bloodthirsty eyes.

“It seems this is far more complicated than we anticipated,” Nerphyl murmured sharply. “We must subdue him now. The information he holds is far more precious than we suspected!”

With that command, the two Queens moved together to bring down the single Hobgoblin who had transformed into something monstrous.

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Bonus Chapter Event: Let’s Finish TROC This Year!

It looks like sticking to just one Chapter a day won’t be enough to hit my goal of completing TROC by the end of the year. But here is the good news: I currently have a stockpile of over 20 Chapters locked and loaded!

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