Chapter 123
‘Ugar…’
Ogre Lord Ukulak found himself lost in regret, wondering how he ended up in this situation.
Although he was just an ogre, his exceptional genius among ogres allowed him to have such high-level thoughts.
‘A monster-like human. No, a demon-like human. No, a human-like demon…’
The human who introduced herself as ‘Lunia.’
For the first time in his life, Ukulak had the unparalleled experience of hearing a human introduce themselves.
The female human, with a mace on her back, demanded that he guide her.
Ukulak had intended to crush the insane human, who was thinner than his arm and whose head was smaller than his fist, by smashing her with his fist.
No, he had tried to.
However, seeing the head of his fellow ogre, who had rushed in first, shatter, he barely sensed that something was wrong and stopped.
And that decision saved Ukulak’s life.
As the scent of his fellow ogre’s blood, killed by the human, spread, his subordinates, excited, charged in, resulting in a dreadful massacre.
“Kyaahahahahahat!”
The eerie, resounding laughter.
The clinking of chains followed by the spectacle of blood and flesh scattering like flower petals.
The harmonious blend of death throes and screams spread like a symphony.
About 20% of the thousand-strong army lost their lives in an instant to the demon in human disguise, while the rest, terrified, scattered and fled.
“Oh no! The ones I wanted to ask for directions are running away! This is troublesome!”
Ukulak was too close to flee.
When all his subordinates, whom he had barely subdued, fled, leaving only him and the human female behind.
Swoosh.
When his eyes met the human’s golden eyes, who was smiling brightly while covered in blood.
The only choice left for Ukulak, the strongest Frost Ogre, was to surrender.
-…Human, need guide? Ugar.
“Wow! You can speak! I’m glad we can communicate!”
-I can guide well.
“Then, please guide me! Kyahat!”
Learning human language to understand his enemies saved Ukulak from death.
The demon in human guise aimed for the same frozen land he desired, and they headed to the Frozen Plains together.
And now.
“Wow! This sandwich is so delicious! I could eat this every day!”
“Oh my, thank you, Priest.”
“Please eat slowly, Priestess Lunia?”
“I can’t help it! I got lost in the snowy mountains and couldn’t eat anything for half a month!”
“…What were you doing in such a place?”
“I have a terrible sense of direction, Prince Aden! Kyaha!”
“Wow! Priestess, you’re so pretty!”
“Thank you for the compliment, cute Saintess!”
-…
Ukulak was having the strange experience of sitting with humans, watching them eat.
He rolled his eyes and looked at the humans around him.
One young human, three male humans, a female who smelled like a beast despite appearing human, and one beast.
Even if he ignored the others, he couldn’t ignore the human named ‘Aden,’ who had an unusual sense of intimidation.
‘Ugar. Similar. To the human who killed father.’
Though he looked weak, he didn’t appear weak at all.
It didn’t make sense, but that was the only way he could describe it.
There was a similar strength and aura to the human named ‘Sylbeta,’ who had killed his father.
Moreover, there was an indescribable fear beyond that.
It was the effect of Aden’s ‘Demonic Strategist Achievement,’ but Ukulak couldn’t have known.
The human named ‘Bali,’ who resembled his kin, also seemed openly strong.
A demon in human disguise, a human resembling his kin, and a human who seemed weak but wasn’t.
Ukulak, being an ogre with good intuition, felt strongly that.
‘If I mess up, I’ll die. Ugar.’
Hence, Ukulak decided to remain as docile as a lamb.
Aden wore a look of disbelief as he watched Priestess Lunia devour her sandwich.
“I have a lot of questions about why you’re here and what’s going on…”
Aden trailed off, staring intently at Ukulak.
“What’s with that ogre?”
“He guided me here when I got lost!”
“…Are you saying an ogre guided you?”
“He’s a very kind ogre!”
-Yes. Ukulak, good ogre.
Seizing the moment, Ukulak eagerly emphasized his harmlessness.
This prompted reactions from all around.
“Wow, an ogre can talk?”
“Oh my, an ogre speaking the Empire’s language…?”
“I’ve seen orcs who learned human language, but this is my first time seeing an ogre do it.”
“Lord Aden, are all ogres like this?”
“No way, Lowe. This is my first time seeing it too. Truly fascinating.”
“Wow! So cool! Brother!”
-Woof!
-Yes, Ugar.
With all eyes on him, Ukulak broke out in a cold sweat.
Aden’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Ukulak.
‘This isn’t an ordinary Frost Ogre.’
An ogre who could speak the Empire’s language was already unusual, but the aura he emanated was even more extraordinary.
He was about one and a half times larger than a normal Frost Ogre, and the mana resonance picked up a presence that far surpassed a regular ogre.
‘This one is almost at the chieftain level or equivalent.’
The strength of monsters was classified as follows.
A chieftain revered within a single tribe.
A great chieftain who could dominate and unite surrounding small tribes.
A lord whose mere presence could attract subordinates to form a warband.
And a calamity whose mere existence could trigger a dungeon outbreak.
The High Troll Shaman Aden had defeated previously was between the great chieftain and lord level, while the Winter Queen was a calamity.
The Frost Ogre before him was clearly beyond the great chieftain level.
It had the power to contend with superhuman warriors to some extent.
‘Well, without any lackeys around, dealing with it won’t be too hard.’
Given that it could speak the Empire’s language, it seemed to be a mutant with high intelligence.
But that wasn’t what Aden was focused on.
‘Such a lord-level ogre is obediently watching Priestess Lunia.’
Not just watching, but visibly fearful and obedient.
From this situation, Aden could draw only one conclusion.
“Priestess Lunia.”
“Yes, Prince Aden?”
“You’re not an ordinary pilgrim of the Slaughter Tower, are you?”
“What do you mean, Prince Aden?”
No matter how skilled the Slaughter Cult priests were in combat and slaughter, and despite their individual strength…
‘They couldn’t possibly subdue a lord-level monster.’
The discomfort Aden had felt when watching Priestess Lunia fight in Sedus County.
He could now be certain of the reason behind her unusual strength.
“You’re a candidate for the next Saint of the Slaughter Cult, aren’t you?”
The candidates for the Saintess who possessed the power and qualification to lead the Slaughter Cult, following the former Saintess, the Saintess of the Blind Eyes.
When Aden mentioned one of them…
“Kya-ha-ha!”
Priestess Lunia laughed, clapping her hands as if she found it fascinating.
She smiled brightly like an angel, her golden eyes curving.
“Wow! How did you know? Correct! Ding-dong-dang! Ah, let me reintroduce myself!”
She rolled up the fluttering sleeve of her robe, revealing her left bare shoulder.
Whuaaa!
On her shoulder, a red Holy Mark symbolizing her status as a candidate for the Saintess of the Slaughter Cult was glowing.
“I am Lunia Lunias, the second disciple of the Saintess of the Blind Eyes, Merida Lunias, and a candidate to become the great proxy of the god of slaughter and death! Kya-ha!”
“…!”
“No way, Lunias!”
“Oh my, she’s quite an important figure?”
“Huh? What? Is Sister Lunia really amazing?”
-Woof!
-Woof?
In front of her shocking confession, the party showed various reactions.
Lunia Lunias.
‘Lunias’ was a baptized name that only the Saintess and candidates for the Saintess of the Slaughter Cult bore.
Having revealed the Holy Mark, there was no doubt.
Pilgrim of the Slaughter Cult, Priestess Lunia.
She was a candidate for the Saintess of the Slaughter Cult in this generation.
Her exceptional strength and her social skills, rare among the priests of the Slaughter Cult, were understandable.
Since the bearers of the Holy Mark were candidates for the next Saintess, they possessed the strongest martial power in the Slaughter Tower after the current Saintess.
Moreover, they underwent a certain level of social training and education to manage the Slaughter Tower stably.
All the incongruities Aden felt about her were resolved with that single word.
Therefore, Aden couldn’t understand even more.
‘There shouldn’t have been any Saintess candidates of the Slaughter Cult other than Spica?’
In the current generation of the Slaughter Cult, only Spica, the one with the most outstanding talent and ability, was raised and promoted as the next Saintess.
‘At least that’s how the world knew it.’
Everyone on the continent, including Aden from his past life, believed so.
In other words, Lunia was a thoroughly hidden Saintess candidate.
Aden decided to ask directly instead of just pondering over it.
“As far as I know, there is only one Saintess candidate in the Slaughter Cult, Priestess Lunia.”
“Yes! That would be the case!”
Priestess Lunia cheerfully and kindly answered Aden’s question.
“I’m a disciple secretly raised by Lady Merida! Very few brothers in the Slaughter Tower know my true identity!”
According to Priestess Lunia, only a few high-ranking members of the Slaughter Cult knew that she was a bearer of the Holy Mark and a disciple of the Saintess of the Blind Eyes.
She said it was a tradition of the Slaughter Cult.
The Slaughter Cult was a brutal order where one could die in battle at any time or be massacred in internal conflicts.
But what if the Saintess and all the Saintess candidates died?
The Slaughter Cult, which would lose the reins to control the hundreds of fanatical priests, would fall into chaos.
Therefore, they raised a hidden candidate for the next Saintess as a spare for such emergencies.
And the person entrusted with that spare role in this generation was Priestess Lunia.
“To hide the Holy Mark, I even placed a restrictive seal and went on a pilgrimage! But when Lady Merida suddenly died, the seal was lifted! Kya-ha!”
“…You speak quite cheerfully about your master’s death?”
“There’s nothing to be sad about since she returned to the embrace of the god of slaughter after long service! We should send her off with joy and blessings!”
‘Ah, right. These guys have always been like this…’
Aden looked at the smiling Lunia with hazy eyes.
You couldn’t apply common sense logic to the priests of the Slaughter Cult.
They were fundamentally missing a few screws.
Anyway, judging from the story, it seemed that when they met in Sedus Territory, she couldn’t fully exert her power due to the restrictive seal.
Now, because the previous Saintess was killed by Spica, the seal was lifted, and she could wield enough power to use a Frost Ogre at the lord level as a guide and servant.
‘So that’s how it was.’
It was a convincing story.
‘Even when examined with Fire Sight, there’s no sign of lying.’
The Holy Relic of the Sacred Fire Order, which could discern everything in the world, allowed Aden to determine whether someone was lying or telling the truth when he wished.
Everything Priestess Lunia said was true.
However, there was still an important unresolved issue.
Aden frowned and asked coldly.
“What’s the reason for telling me all this? And why did you come to find me?”
A hidden Saintess candidate.
This was an important top-secret truth of the Slaughter Cult.
Yet Priestess Lunia revealed it all to Aden and his party without any hesitation.
Aden couldn’t help but be wary of her intentions.
In response to Aden’s question…
“It’s nothing special, really, yum.”
She put the remaining piece of the sandwich she was holding into her mouth and chewed it deliciously.
Then, with a truly nonchalant smile, she said.
“Our Slaughter Cult is facing the threat of destruction! Kya-hat!”
Indeed, it was no trivial matter.