The 3rd Prince of the Fallen Kingdom Returns

20. Hunt (2)

As Yuri ran silently, Jared, who was following him, shouted.

“Your Highness! Do you know where you’re going?”

Yuri shook his head.

“No!”

“Then why are you running?”

“We need to find the orcs!”

“But you can’t just find them like that! If they escape, we need to surround them…”

Yuri pulled something out from his pocket and showed it.

It was a necklace with a red gemstone.

Jared’s eyes widened, and then he let out a chuckle.

“I see.”

Yuri, galloping on his horse, pulled a map from a cylinder and checked it.

Although information wasn’t very detailed, it was enough for him to roughly grasp the direction of the orc settlement.

“I’ve seen people riding Komodo Drakes nearby.”

Occasionally, the orcs would watch the Allied Forces’ march from a distance.

They would monitor the movements of the Allied Forces and immediately flee if the knights pursue them.

“Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

“I just saw them over there.”

Laurent said.

“They were orc cavalry.”

Encountering the enemy on the vast plains was rare. Once you catch their trail, you can’t let it slip away.

“Let’s go!”

Yuri immediately changed direction. The knights turned simultaneously.

They galloped towards the direction Laurent pointed.

Yuri examined the ground as he rode, searching for tracks.

He had learned tracking skills in his past life. As a mercenary who took on all sorts of jobs, mastering a variety of skills was essential for survival.

“A group of Komodo Drakes passed through here.”

“Huh?”

“Three or four of them. These tracks suggest they were tamed by orcs.”

“Where did you learn tracking?”

“It’s all in the books.”

Several Komodo Drake tracks intertwined, forming a winding trail.

Following those tracks, a small lake appeared beyond the horizon.

“There they are.”

A group of orcs was resting by the lakeside. They seemed to have come for water.

“Attack!”

Yuri shouted, spurring his horse forward.

The knights surged ahead at full speed.

The group of orcs hurriedly mounted the Komodo Drakes, trying to escape.

“Not so fast!”

Yuri swiftly pulled out the red gemstone and activated the Mana Method.

The orcs froze.

“Prepare for battle. We outnumber them, so don’t overexert yourselves.”

“Yes, Sir!”

A red glow appeared in the orcs’ eyes. They mounted their Komodo Drakes and charged straight towards the knights.

Yuri signaled with his hand.

“Scatter.”

“Yes, Sir!”

The knights split into several groups and veered off in different directions.

The frenzy-driven orcs were confused about who to attack and tried to crash into just anyone.

Yuri moved forward.

“Hey!”

An orc wielding a halberd lunged at Yuri, thrusting its weapon toward him.

Yuri dodged and swung his sword, slashing the orc’s abdomen. Blood spattered.

“Kraaaargh!”

Ignoring the wound, the orc leaped off its Komodo Drake to grab Yuri.

Though the horse quickly evaded, the orc stretched out its arm and caught Yuri’s shin.

“You bastard!”

Yuri pulled the reins sharply, causing his horse to buck wildly. The orc didn’t let go despite being bumped and dragged along the ground.

“Let go!”

Yuri kicked the orc’s head but it clung on persistently.

Yuri glanced behind him.

The knights were surrounding each orc.

Driven mad by the power or the gemstone, the frenzied orcs swung their weapons wildly, but the knights didn’t engage their attacks. The knights, however, didn’t meet their attacks head-on. Instead, they waited for openings, delivering precise strikes before retreating again.

They had become proficient in handling the orcs.

“It worked.”

Yuri ceased the flow of mana into the red gemstone.

The mana lingering within dissipated, and the gemstone lost its glow, reverting to an ordinary stone.

The frenzy gripping the orcs subsided.

“Kraaaargh…”

As the excitement drained from its body, the orc gripping Yuri lost its strength. It released its hold, succumbing to inertia, rolling to the ground, and collapsed, unable to move.

“It’s a very useful item. I don’t know how it works, though.”

Yuri looked down at the red gemstone necklace in his hand.

It was more powerful than he had expected.

Even the Orkbal couldn’t resist the frenzy; it seemed capable of inducing seizures in most ordinary orcs.

“Kill them all.”

The knights proceeded to slay the orcs one by one.

Yuri stood before one of the fallen orcs.

It gasped for breath through the hole where its nose should have been and looked up at Yuri.

For a moment, it seemed as if it had given up on life, but Yuri wasn’t fooled.

He kicked dirt into its eyes. The orc winced and flailed its arms.

In that instant, Yuri stabbed its neck, ending its life.

Only then did the orc release the stone it had been gripping tightly in its palm.

Yuri cut off the orc’s ear and placed it in a sack.

As Yuri mounted his horse again, he muttered to himself.

“Do I really have to do this…?”

The fate of the Allied Forces hung in the balance, and what was the point of this ceremony?

But he had no choice for now.

He needed to gain Ragna’s trust before facing Okuah.

“Let’s search around the lake some more. The orcs need to drink water too.”

“That’s a good idea.”

As long as he had the red gem, he could trigger a fight whenever they encounter the orcs.

Yuri mounted his horse again and roamed across the plains.

Every time he spotted orcs, he used the red jewel. The orcs would try to flee, but then, consumed by frenzy, they would charge like moths drawn to a flame.

The sack filled with ears became quite heavy.

Eventually, they encountered the Knights of Liberta.

Wolf Gain greeted Yuri.

“Your Highness, have you collected many ears?”

“Just enough. How about you, Sir Wolf?”

“Just the same for me.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed.”

“I see.”

The two exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

It was obvious that they were both hiding the true number of ears they had collected.

But Yuri had a way to find out the results of Liberta.

“Ah, there’s Sven.”

Sven Gain, the son of Liberta’s commander, Wolf, and the one Yuri had leverage over, was hiding behind the knights but was caught by Yuri.

“Nice to see you, Sven. How have you been?”

“Uh, yes…”

As Yuri approached him, Sven awkwardly nodded.

While patting Sven’s shoulder as if exchanging friendly greetings, Yuri asked quietly.

“How many?”

“Th-that, um…”

“I won’t ask twice. How many?”

“Well…”

Sven finally whispered.

“None.”

“Really?”

“They all ran away. We couldn’t catch any.”

Orcs are cunning. They don’t engage in battles where they are at a disadvantage.

It seemed that not only Liberta, but most knight orders had failed to achieve any results.

While pretending to pat Sven’s shoulder, Yuri discreetly handed him a couple of ears.

“Take these.”

Sven’s eyes widened.

“Th-these are…”

“You need to save face, don’t you? Just hold onto them for now.”

“But…”

“You never know when they might come in handy.”

Before Sven could protest further, Yuri stepped away.

“Sir Wolf, it was nice meeting you. Let’s meet again in the Allied Forces.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Take care.”

The two knight orders exchanged farewells and parted ways.

After that, orcs scarcely appeared.

Yuri glanced around. Jared approached and spoke.

“Your Highness, there’s no sign of them anymore.”

“Is that so? It feels like a waste to head back just yet.”

If a nation lucked into encountering an orc unit, the results couldn’t be guaranteed.

“I sense nothing,” Laurent said.

Yuri lifted his head at Laurent’s words.

“Sensing, hmm…”

The Mana Method can draw out a knight’s abilities in various ways.

Not only could it increase strength and stamina, but it could also enhance the five senses.

In that case, could it be possible to detect distant, unseen orcs?

Yuri dismounted and drew a dagger.

It was the Earth Dust Dagger, one of the four daggers of the Four-Wheel Dagger, imbued with the power of the earth.

Just as he had repelled fire with the Water Essence Dagger, perhaps this dagger could serve another purpose.

“Your Highness?”

“Shh.”

Yuri plunged the Earth Dust Dagger into the ground. And through it, he spread his senses.

He felt the earth’s tremors.

The ground was pulsating rhythmically.

Yuri listened to that pulse through the Earth Dust Dagger. Thump, thump, with every vibration of the earth, Yuri’s mana also swelled.

The Heart Soul Slash, a mysterious Mana Method that could become anything according to one’s will, soon brimmed with the power of the earth.

Suddenly, a multitude of vibrations surged into his awareness.

Firstly, he sensed the hooves of horses beyond the horizon, invisible to the eye.

As he heightened his senses further, he felt the crawling beasts on the ground, and the wriggling of worms burrowing beneath irritated his nerves.

He had to go further.

Yuri applied the complete mana control he had experienced when he clashed with Laurent.

His mental strength was rapidly depleted. Too much information flooded in.

He couldn’t keep this up for long.

“Ugh…”

Just before he released his grip on the Earth Dust Dagger, Yuri caught something.

Small but clamorous sound of footsteps.

Four legs pounding the ground rapidly.

Large and heavy, yet swift. He could recognize this rhythm even without seeing it, completely different from horse hooves. Komodo Drakes.

There were quite a few.

Yuri opened his eyes.

“In that direction.”

“What?”

“Let’s go!”

* * *

By sundown, each knight order had returned.

Each order presented the sack they had been given before Ragna.

With a laugh, he flipped an empty sack inside out.

“Who’s this from?”

The nation that had failed to collect anything bowed their heads in shame.

But it wasn’t only that nation. As Ragna shook the sack, the number of empty ones gradually increased. He tossed them onto the ground.

Then two ears fell out.

“Two.”

Ragna picked them up.

“Not much, but better than nothing.”

He checked the sack.

“Liberta.”

Ragna’s gaze turned toward the source. Wolf, who was standing before him, lowered his head.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“No, well done. A result is a result.”

He gestured with his chin for the adjutant to record the findings.

These accumulated results would be calculated at the end of the Allied Forces.

Suddenly, Wolf’s eyes met Yuri’s.

Wolf gave a slight nod, to which Yuri responded with a shrug.

It seemed Sven had presented the ears Yuri gave him since they hadn’t caught any themselves.

“And next…”

From the Brusin sack, a few ears tumbled out.

Jonathan spoke.

“We found a scouting party. We were lucky.”

“Luck is also a skill. How many men have died because of that luck?”

Ragna counted the ears.

“Six. So far, it’s the best.”

Brusin’s knights cheered. Their reactions were still highly spirited.

Ragna continued to inspect other sacks. Most were either empty or contained just a few. Nothing remarkable.

Finally, two sacks remained.

Both looked fairly stuffed at a glance.

“Two left.”

Ragna lifted one of them. The sack was red.

“Actually, I also sent out a knight order from the Empire. I forgot and sent them an hour late.”

All the attention turned toward the Imperial Knight Order clad in black armor. They stood motionless.

Ragna shook the sack.

“I feared they’d embarrass us, but they gathered a fair amount.”

Ears rained down.

“Twelve.”

Ragna grinned.

“Well done.”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

No one doubted the Empire’s strength, but to be beaten by such a margin in ear count, when they departed an hour late, was a matter of pride.

To avoid becoming mere extras for the Empire, they needed to produce results.

“Now, only one left…”

Ragna lifted the last sack.

“Hmm…”

He wore a curious expression.

Unlike before, he didn’t immediately turn the sack over; instead, he opened the top and looked inside.

He reached in and rummaged through it. The sack’s outline shook violently.

That meant there was a lot inside.

“This is…”

Ragna let out a hollow laugh as he turned the bag upside down. Immediately, a heap of severed ears spilled out.

Everyone stared at the scene, stunned.

Murmurs filled the air.

“What the…”

“How many are there…”

Ragnar knelt down and rummaged through the pile of ears.

“Judging by the fresh blood, these were indeed taken today…”

His gaze fixed on someone.

“What’s your secret?”

Following Ragna’s gaze, everyone’s eyes turned to look.

The Third Prince of Briol, who had led an incredibly bold charge in a previous battle, was now regarded as a competent commander having harvested dozens of orc ears.

Yuri Briol shrugged his shoulders.

“Just work hard, I guess.”

—
(T/N): Hi everyone! I apologize for the inconsistent updates—I’ve been busy with the holiday season, haha! Advance Merry Christmas to you all! Thank you so much for your support from the bottom of my heart. <3

Namamasko po (≧▽≦)