Why can't humans do it too?

The sudden pain made Suer groan, but he remained silent—he had to find a decisive reason to make the orcs abandon their earlier judgment.

"Still pondering lies, do you really think I can't see through you?" Unaware that his scheme had been seen through, the white-haired orc continued to act out his own script. "Speaking of which, I saw a monkey like you three years ago... Aren't you curious why I knew to hold your skull?"

hum!

A single, simple sentence seemed to veil a bloody curtain before Suer's eyes: the raging fire, the wooden house torn to shreds by claws, the image of himself being carried away by Lennie three years ago, and the lingering, dim vision of the man who turned back without hesitation, leading those who had volunteered to stay.

"You remember now, right?" The white-haired orc chuckled maliciously, satisfied to hear Sul grit his teeth so hard they were practically grinding to powder. "It's all thanks to you guys. Even though you're all bones and have little meat, if we hadn't caught you monkeys back then, many children in the tribe probably wouldn't have survived that winter... From that perspective, you monkeys are practically heroes, aren't you?"

The venom was almost flowing onto the ground.

Trembling.

"By the way, although you monkeys have your own language, do you even know what a hero means? Let me explain it to you—"

Bang! ! !

The white-haired orc stopped speaking, his fist, which had been hurtling towards him, now firmly clenched in his hand.

For some reason, his body, which was long past the point of being able to muster any strength, suddenly erupted with power like a volcano. His eyes were bloodshot, and even though he knew it wouldn't cause any harm, and even his reason was urging him to preserve this power, Suer could no longer endure it.

"Lovas".

"Hmm?" the white-haired orc asked curiously, not understanding.

"His name... ah... is... is called... Lovas!"

He was breathing heavily, and the words that came out from between his clenched teeth trembled with every syllable. Suer kept his head down, trying his best not to let the orc see what he was seeing.

"And what about you, monkey?"

Completely disregarding Sul's hatred, the white-haired orc was fully aware of the emotions of the creature he held, casually asking a question.

“...Sul”.

“Very good, my name is Asano Shirasu. Now we know each other a little better,” the white-haired beastman, no, Asano Shirasu, stretched his stiff neck. “That monkey, oh, Luvas… Anyway, Luvas was a very important person to you, right? But even so, didn’t you still abandon him and run away without looking back?”

To shut up.

Suer cried out in his heart.

"You know what? That guy, it seems like he only suddenly realized how precious life is when he was really about to die," Asano Shirasu said, forcibly lifting Su Er's lowered head to face the hatred and anger in his eyes, which could no longer be concealed. He brought his face, which Su Er found incredibly ugly, closer without caring. "He regretted it, huh? He was crying and wanted to live, huh?"

To shut up!

A silent shriek.

"The way he begged for mercy when he bit off his flesh was truly awful. I thought a monkey that deliberately charged at us would have some kind of skill, but it turned out to be just this..."

Asano Shirasu was still reminiscing, but Suer couldn't help but sneer contemptuously.

"Really?"

Chapter Twelve Refusal

Asano Shirasu could clearly sense that when Sue mentioned that Luvas had regretted or begged for mercy, he didn't show the slightest doubt or guilt; all that burned within him was boundless rage. But that wasn't the point.

“Lovas definitely didn’t ask to be circumvented, right?” Suer said with a sarcastic smile, looking at Asano Shirasu who hadn’t reacted any further.

"...Why are you so sure?" After a moment of silence, Asano Shirasu asked doubtfully, "Do you trust him that much?"

“No, although I also trust Lovas, I don’t know how a person will react when they are truly facing death… so I actually trust you more,” Suer said, his tone practically mocking. “Have you already forgotten what you just said? — [Why I knew to hold your skull].”

"..."

Asano Shirasu remained silent.

"So Luvas actually died because he bit off his own tongue, right?" Ignoring the white-haired orc who was slightly embarrassed by his mockery, Suer muttered absentmindedly, "Was he afraid of regretting it, or afraid of revealing our whereabouts..."

Just like the choice I made today.

It wasn't the same person, nor the same place, but the choices they made were so similar. This indescribable sense of heaviness made Suer feel increasingly lost.

Suer knew what the orc was doing.

Asano Shirasu simply wanted to break his will and make him reveal the secret of so-called confidence and arrogance that even Su Er himself didn't know, which could be described as utterly inexplicable.

Such a shallow tactic might have worked on Lenny if he were here, but for Sull, who has been exposed to countless information, it's nothing more than a petty trick.

These powerful races, precisely because of their power, often overlook the use of strategy. Even their so-called war tactics are frighteningly straightforward, amounting to nothing more than amassing troops, amassing troops from a different angle, or developing stronger techniques before attacking again, perhaps with a few basic flanking maneuvers or alliances added. (Please don't argue, the Brazilian original text mentioned this point.)

"A person? Is that what monkeys call themselves?" Asano Shirasu casually ignored his slight embarrassment and asked curiously, "Well, in any case, you all survived by abandoning your own kind, just like three years ago... You were already cowards who ran away, so there's no need to care about backbone or perseverance anymore, right?"

“I have a suggestion,” Asano Shirasu said considerately as he put Sul down. The tall, strong orc even gently straightened Sul’s disheveled hood. “Ultimately, what you… well, humans, want is probably no different from what we orcs want, right?”

"It's just a place where you can live peacefully, but you have neither strong bodies nor the ability to use magic. Why don't you just come and attach yourselves to our orc race? All you have to do is work for our tribe. I don't mean to deceive you. At most, you only need to hand over some people when food is scarce. Don't look at me like that."

Asano Shirasu frowned and continued, "Won't people die when you go out to collect food in this environment? It's just like moving those who would die to a different place. In fact, more people will have a safer living environment. What's wrong with that?"

Even though it was the first time he had used the term "person," Asano Shirasu quickly became adept at it. He held Suer's arm like a close friend, as if Suer's eyes, which could have torn him to pieces if they could cause real harm, did not exist.

"If you find it difficult to tell your companions, then just include the people you have chosen in the orc hunting teams. They will just be normal... sacrifices."

"how?"

With that final question, Asano Shirasu was demanding an answer.

"Heh," Su'er chuckled lightly, a mocking smile spreading across his face. "So, should I thank you for your kindness?"

They even went to the trouble of fabricating such a thoughtful lie.

It felt as if something was about to explode inside his chest, and Su Er was almost boiling over.

“No need to be polite,” Asano Shirasu said earnestly, accepting Suer’s barbed sarcasm. “There’s just one more condition—hand over your secret. Don’t lie to me and say it doesn’t exist. Your body has already betrayed you.”

Suer suddenly realized.

So, is the goal still the same?

That world, full of human glory, that he himself desperately resisted recalling, a world that would not be believed even if he spoke of it.

"Do not."

Words spoken solemnly, carefully considered and repeatedly, are words I will never regret.

"I refuse."

He had already considered the worst-case scenario, which was the destruction of this human settlement. But even so, Suer did not change his mind. He believed, or rather, he felt that even if it wasn't him here today, whether it was Riku, Kole, or anyone else, their answer would be exactly the same.

"If you live like that... would you even deserve to be called human?"

Mockingly laughing, having completely given up hope of life, not just his own, Suer had made his choice and faced the most tragic future.

They're just talking livestock.

This is the assessment that Suer gave of the future depicted by Asano Shirasu.

That was a living hell where people were reduced to beasts.

The arm gripping the dagger felt like it was about to be crushed. Suer had no doubt that his arm bones would be broken in the next second, but even while enduring such excruciating pain, the expression on his face, a mixture of ease and mockery, never wavered.

Moreover, if Lenny and the others who ran away brought the information, Riku would guide everyone to evacuate, right?

They may not all perish.

Suer always believed in that cruel yet gentle man.

If it's him, he can definitely do it.

His ferocious face was filled with murderous intent. Asano Shirasu's nostrils flared slightly. His only concern was curiosity and a small amount of goodwill, merely out of admiration for the courage of the two monkeys he had encountered in the past and present. But now that his goodwill had been so trampled on, he had lost his patience. All he needed to do was go back to report to the leader and then carry out the search and extermination. There was no need for anything more—hmm?!

With a slight twitch of its erect wolf ears, Asano Shirasu suddenly turned its head to look in a blank direction, remaining silent for a long time, as if listening to something.

Hiss—whoosh!

The sound of something cutting through the air, gradually approaching from afar, arrived at the very moment it was heard, and in the next second...

"Roar!!!"

The white-haired orc roared and swung his claws.

Chapter Thirteen: The Brave

Even the air was torn apart.

The ear-piercing sonic boom mingled with the sounds of the orcs' claws colliding with the incoming objects. It was a noise that resembled fingernails scratching a blackboard but far exceeded it. In less than a second, it bombarded Sul's brain as if he had been hit hard with a stick, and he collapsed to the ground in a daze.

The fight with this sudden attack lasted only a second. Having thrown his weapon aside in order to lift and control Sull's movements, Asano Shirasu could only use his claws to fight back in his haste, which cost him dearly.

About one and a half fingers were sliced ​​off, but the more serious injury was not that. Asano Shirasu's right arm was twisted to the side at an odd angle, and it was undoubtedly broken. The object that flew from a distance contained unimaginable power. The correct way to deal with it should have been to dodge to the side, but in his haste, Asano Shirasu chose to meet it head-on.

The sudden emergence of a force to counter it was a burden for Asano Shirasu, but what worried him more was the meaning behind such an attack—a flying axe.

Unlike Sue, Asano Shirasu's excellent dynamic vision allowed him to clearly identify what was attacking him.

After quickly glancing at Sull, who was lying on the ground clutching his head in pain, Asano Shirasu was deciding whether to crush this beast right there and now.

But before he could make a decision, the sudden roar and the tremor that seemed to shake the earth completely changed his expression.

"Orcs!!!" (Demon language)

That's the roar of Ork!

Asano Shirasu couldn't understand the language of the demon species. The only thing he was sure of was that the owner of the roar was not targeting anyone else but himself. Even though the owner had not yet appeared in front of him, the killing intent had already locked onto him, making the fur on his body stand on end.

At the same time, a faint shout, drowned out by the deafening roar, finally reached the two of them.

"Orcs!" (Demon language)

The shout was so faint, almost indistinct, that even the most familiar voice made Sull tremble instantly. His eyes stung and blurred, and it felt as if needles were pricking his nose—it was Lennie! It was Lennie's voice! How could he not recognize it!

That idiot, fool, moron, how dare he?! How dare he come back!

Biting his lower lip hard, he suppressed the dizziness in his head and, taking advantage of the cool sensation brought by the piercing pain, Suer kicked the ground and lunged to the side.

A whooshing sound came from behind him, and it seemed that Asano Shirasu's claws were about to pierce Suer's scalp, but Suer's movement to lunge to the side did not change at all. In the next second, with a huge impact, Suer even heard Asano Shirasu scream for a moment, the fragmented sound was drowned out by the howling wind.

Having trekked and crawled such a long way from the settlement, and having exhausted much of his strength fighting the white-haired orcs because he knew he had no chance of survival, Su'er's body was already utterly exhausted. But even so, he knew he had to crawl away from this area that was about to become a battlefield, or else that huge rock that had been cut in half would be his fate.

'Damn it! Move faster!' With her lower lip already bitten until it bled, Suer crawled on the ground with all her might, trying to get to the farthest place.

There was no time to look back, nor was there any need to. Behind them, the sounds of metal clashing mingled, and the roars of Ork and Asano Shirasu mingled together. This was their last chance.

Compared to the beastmen, humans, these beasts, are not even worth a second glance from the demons.