The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 88

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 88
Chapter 88
‘Something’s wrong.’
The Subjugation Commander of the 2nd Subjugation Squad.
Lugard felt the anomaly more acutely as the tide of orcs pressed forward.
The first irregularity was the sheer number of orcs.
‘So many orcs gathering in a single forest.’
Orcs were fundamentally territorial creatures.
Or rather, territorial monsters.
Since a single pack claimed one territory and lived there, their numbers were inevitably limited.
Yet the number of orcs charging at us now far exceeded expectations.
Moreover.
‘They’re from different tribes.’
The Savage Fang tribe that originally dominated the Savage Forest was just the baseline.
Beyond that, there were the Green Moss tribe, the Angry Gorge tribe, the Rough Wasteland tribe, and more.
Orcs from diverse tribes—creatures that logically should never gather in one place—were united and fighting as one.
‘Most troubling of all, they’re employing strategy.’
Orcs possessed intelligence, certainly, but it paled in comparison to humans.
Especially since orcs, driven by their inherent combativeness and savagery, typically charged boldly at enemies and swung their weapons without restraint.
Yet these creatures were executing proper tactical formations.
Just like the orcs that had ambushed them before entering the forest.
As this thought crystallized.
‘An Orc Lord.’
Before entering the forest.
The words spoken by an adventurer named Mir, who had come bearing a letter of recommendation, echoed in his mind.
The timing seemed wrong, but the orcs’ behavior bore a striking resemblance to the orc forces described in historical texts—those commanded by an Orc Lord.
As this realization struck him, a chill ran down Lugard’s spine.
“The rear!”
If an Orc Lord had truly appeared.
If these orcs were indeed executing tactical formations.
“The rear is in danger!”
The orcs’ objective wasn’t to shatter the squad’s front lines.
In fact, the orcs currently engaged were minimizing casualties and gradually withdrawing—behavior utterly uncharacteristic of their kind.
Which meant the target had to be.
The rear of the squad, stretched thin and fragmented by the forest terrain, now separated and vulnerable.
The archers, the mages, and the supply corps.
And sure enough, the moment he grasped this.
“Commander! The rear is under ambush from Orc Riders and Shamans!”
“Damn it! Lunard, let’s move!”
“Hyiiing!”
Lugard received troubling news.
Upon hearing this, Lugard mounted his beloved steed, Lunard, and galloped toward the rear of the formation.
However, the dense trees of the forest prevented Lunard from reaching full speed.
With each passing moment, his anxiety intensified.
‘Orc Riders combined with Shamans? This is dangerous!’
Objectively speaking, the rear guard lacked both the composition and the favorable matchup to withstand such a threat.
Casualties were inevitable.
Lugard’s desperate ride was meant to minimize those inevitable losses.
“Hyaaah!”
When he finally reached the rear of the Subjugation Squad, racing at breakneck speed.
What greeted Lugard’s eyes was.
“What… what in the world happened here?”
The Orc Riders and Orc Shamans lay sprawled across the ground.
Along with the wolves they had been riding.
Behind them, the members of the Subjugation Squad—unmarked and unscathed—stared at the fallen orcs with bewildered expressions.
Lugard approached the highest-ranking member among them and demanded answers.
“Erik, what happened here?”
“C-Commander! It’s… the Orc Riders came riding with the Orc Shamans and…”
“I know that much. I’m asking how the situation reached this point.”
“That’s… well…”
Erik stammered in response to Lugard’s question, as if struggling to believe what he himself had witnessed.
“It was that adventurer.”
“That adventurer? You mean Mir?”
“Yes. A brilliant light suddenly flashed from that adventurer, and he blocked all of the Orc Shaman’s incantations.”
“Light…?”
Lugard tilted his head in confusion.
The adventurer he had seen before entering the forest appeared to be a warrior.
Or was he not a warrior?
Come to think of it, the classification was ambiguous.
Riding a Night Leopard suggested he was a Rider, while his dagger technique resembled that of a Rogue or Dark Assassin.
Yet he certainly didn’t appear to be a Sage.
How could he flash light and block incantations?
“After that, the adventurer began slaughtering the Orc Riders and Shamans.”
“How could he possibly take down Orc Riders in terrain like this? And… did you really use the word ‘slaughter’?”
Orc Riders were no ordinary cavalry.
The wolves they rode were slightly slower than horses, but their ability to navigate between trees in forest terrain was incomparably superior to any mount.
Such Orc Riders.
And Orc Riders protected by an Orc Shaman at that—how could he have ‘slaughtered’ them?
The squad member’s next words were almost absurd.
“I can hardly believe it myself, but to describe what I saw… he used the wolves the Orc Riders were riding as stepping stones, leaping from one to another while striking down the orcs.”
“Are you telling me that the adventurer Mir just used those Wild Wolves as stepping stones?”
“Yes. When the distance wasn’t sufficient, he leaped between trees to strike the next rider, piercing through their sorcery….”
“Wait, does that even make sense right now?”
“I don’t believe it either, but I saw it clearly with these two eyes. And every member here witnessed it.”
Lugard’s expression betrayed his disbelief, but it wasn’t long before he had no choice but to accept the report.
All the rear squad members, except Erik, nodded their heads in agreement with what Erik had said.
“That can’t be….”
Lugard recalled the letter of recommendation he’d received from the adventurer.
The date stamped on the letter was clearly only a few weeks ago.
In other words.
‘What in the world is his true identity?’
An adventurer who had only graduated from the City of Beginnings a few weeks ago was now slaughtering Orc Riders and Sorcerers.
* * *
Thunk!
I pierced the vital points of the Orc Rider and Sorcerer with the Green Butcher’s dagger.
Thanks to the Green Butcher set, additional damage was inflicted, and both Orcs fell in a single strike.
At the same time, to evade the sorcery flying at me from all directions.
– Activating skill ‘Leap’.
I bounded upward using the wolf as a springboard.
It might appear as though I leaped haphazardly to dodge the sorcery, but I had already identified my next target.
The position where I leaped was also the movement path of my next target.
The Orc Rider and Orc Sorcerer witnessed me falling from the air.
Whereupon the Orc Sorcerer.
“Kee-ik! Taro, Ka- Derma!”
Chanted a defensive spell.
Toward the translucent barrier that materialized instantly.
[ Mana Bane ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form : Dagger
Grade : Unique
Restriction : Level 150 or higher, Agility 300 or higher, Wisdom 300 or higher
Description : Forged from ore imbued with anti-mana power, this dagger—also called the Mana Slayer—disrupts the arrangement of mana that touches its blade.
I drew forth the newly acquired dagger and swung it.
Screech!
“Kee-ik!”
True to its name as the Mana Slayer, the Orc Sorcerer’s defensive barrier shattered like paper against my Mana Bane.
Then, rotating my body a half-turn in midair, I channeled that rotational force directly into the Green Butcher held in my other hand.
Screech!
I severed the Orc Rider’s neck.
I pushed the toppling Orc Rider’s body completely off the wolf’s back, and turned toward the panicked Orc Sorcerer in the rear seat.
Thud, thud, thud!
I thrust my dagger forward.
“Roar!”
The moment its master vanished, the wolf I was riding thrashed wildly, desperate to throw me off.
Toward that beast, I drew out another item.
[ Ferocious Beast’s Chain Leash ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Leash
Grade: Heroic
A taming tool.
Used by those called tamers or beast masters.
Though I hadn’t yet learned the Taming skill, using this leash allowed me to control beasts even without it.
Whoosh!
“Growl!?”
I could temporarily command beast-type monsters.
As the chain leash suddenly wrapped around its neck, the wolf panicked and struggled, but when I pulled harder, it flinched and began obeying my commands.
However, controlling a monster with only the leash—without the Taming skill—lasted merely an instant.
With that limitation in mind, I didn’t need prolonged control. Instead, I charged toward the Orc Rider running beside me.
The wolf resisted, sensing the impending collision.
Crack!
But I pulled the leash tighter, forcing the collision.
Boom!
“Shriek!”
The wolf I rode and the Orc Rider’s wolf collided.
Of course, I had already leaped from the wolf’s back before impact.
The battle unfolded similarly from that point onward.
Honestly, if the Orc Rider and Shaman had fought separately, it would have been far more difficult.
‘This is the weakness of Orcs under the Orc Lord’s command.’
These creatures had lost their natural independence.
Normally, they should adapt when circumstances change.
But compelled to obey the Orc Lord’s orders, they couldn’t respond to sudden developments.
Thanks to that, I defeated the Orc Rider and Shaman far more easily than expected.
As I continued felling Orcs, I surveyed my surroundings and pondered.
‘I need to find evidence.’
An Orc Lord definitely exists.
But this is merely my speculation.
To convince the Subjugation Commander, I need more concrete proof.
‘If they’re under the Orc Lord’s command… then the command unit should bear a mark of submission.’
The Orc Shaman I defeated first outside the forest—the situation was too urgent to examine it properly then.
But now, circumstances were different.
I turned my gaze toward the Orc Rider galloping at the very front of the pack.
The creature riding a wolf that appeared far larger and more formidable than those ridden by the other Orc Riders.
Without question, this beast was the commander of the Orc Riders.
“Screech! Human! Because of you, I failed to carry out my orders!”
True to its role as commander, despite receiving orders from the Orc Lord, enough of its own will remained that it charged directly at me.
“I shall sever your head and beg for forgiveness!”
As befitted a commander, it carried no Orc Shaman on its back.
It urged the wolf forward, accelerating through the forest.
The crude, savage glaive characteristic of orcs gripped in its hand was drawn back, eager to tear me asunder.
Watching this creature, I steadied my own stance.
There was no need to switch weapons.
The Green Butcher’s dagger and Mana Bane.
These two were sufficient.
“Screech! Die!”
The moment the ferociously charging Orc Rider entered optimal range.
– Activating skill ‘Black Serpent’s Shadow Dance’.
My body darkened as I shot forward.
– Activating skill ‘Black Insect’s Single Flash’.
Both daggers swept past the Orc Rider’s vital points.
And that was the end of it.
“Ugh….”
The Orc Rider collapsed.
Luke wanted nothing more than to devour it immediately, but I had no choice but to stop him this time.
“As expected.”
A distinct mark of servitude was carved into the shoulder of the fallen Orc Rider.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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