Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 152 – Oz (4)

「So, you’ve become a shameless degenerate overnight. Tsk. The honor of the Karavan name has fallen to the ground. A descendant who sneaks into a woman’s home to peep on another man’s wife… pitiful indeed.」

“Wait—how is this my fault?”

Damn it.

Liam wasn’t helping in the least. In fact, he was mocking me, thoroughly enjoying the mess I’d landed in. My blood boiled. Of course—this was the kind of man he had always been: the great ancestor with the iron face and an even harder heart.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“You… have a plan?”

“Of course. Orcs may seem rash and brutish, but we’re a people who always think of clever solutions. Especially a wise orc like me—I always find the best way forward.”

“Oh.”

I couldn’t exactly agree that orcs were known for their sharp wits, but somehow, when Sherizik said it, it sounded trustworthy. Maybe she really did know a way out of this. However—

“First, I’ll make sure they stop screaming.”

“What do you mea—”

Sherizik, after all, was still an orc.

Thunk!

Her figure blurred and vanished. In the next instant, every Witch who’d been shrieking was flipped upside down and slammed headfirst into the ground. A chorus of thuds and cries filled the air before silence fell.

Far across the room, Sherizik stood with one Witch in her grasp, smiling—no, murderously grinning. That distant, dizzying smile that could make your soul leave your body.

“When strength is lacking, the brain must suffer for it. But when you have enough strength, complicated thinking isn’t necessary. That’s the unchanging truth passed down among orcs.”

I almost fainted watching her cheerful grin.

Damn it—she was an orc, through and through.

「Indeed. Noisy ones deserve a good hit.」

“How are we supposed to clean this up…”

I ignored Liam’s cackling laughter and sighed deeply. Sherizik, though, looked completely at ease. The Witch trapped in her thick hand gagged and flailed, eyes wide with terror.

“Don’t worry, Heir of Steel.”

“K-kehk! Kkhh!”

“Orcs have their own ways of doing things.”

It was such an orcish line I almost saw darkness before my eyes. And yet—

“Hm?”

—strangely enough, things began to go surprisingly well.

***

“L-let me go! Do you even know who I am? If I get so much as a scratch, my husband will unleash his wrath upon you! Do you think some filthy orc can withstand that?”

“So what!”

The Witch’s high-pitched warning met the full force of Sherizik’s brain-melting voice. Her tone was loud enough to burst eardrums, and she spoke without pause or logic—just shouting whatever came to mind. The perfect image of a typical orc.

“I’m a dumb orc! I don’t know what ‘wrath’ means! What’s ‘wrath’? Stop using hard words! Who’s your husband? Your leader? Then I’ll duel him!”

“……”

“I don’t know where I am! I’m hungry! If you keep yapping, I’ll smash you like I did those other human women! Puhehel! Your neck looks so thin, I could snap it like a twig!”

“Mercy…”

“Don’t care! Hurry and lead us! Audrey told me to find you! She said if I bring this human to you, I’ll get tasty meat! I’m hungry already! Hungry and bored! I wanna swing my glaive!”

The Witches—normally masters of twisted logic, manipulative rhetoric, and smug superiority—were completely undone.

These were the most cunning beings on the continent, women who never let themselves lose ground in an argument. But against an orc shouting at the top of her lungs, logic and eloquence meant nothing.

“My goodness… such barbarity…”

All the sly tricks and manipulative reasoning were useless before Sherizik’s raw, brainless volume.

Even invoking the Heavenly Father, one of the Seven Lords, did nothing—because orcs weren’t intimidated by anyone. These were beings who would challenge an emperor to a duel if they were in a bad mood.

“O—oh, Audrey, you foolish little sister… what were you thinking, trusting a savage orc like this… sob…”

“Lead us!”

“Sob, if I bring that brute to my elder sister, she might get infected by orcish idiocy and become a savage herself!”

Under normal circumstances, this conversation would have devolved into endless circles of wordplay and politics—but Sherizik being an orc had simplified everything. Honestly, even I might’ve been fooled—she played the part too well.

For a moment, I even wondered whether her act had gone so deep that she’d lost her intelligence entirely and reverted to her primal orc nature.

“I’m dumb! I can't talk well! Then talk to this human! Audrey said you should guide him to the others!”

But of course, that wasn’t the case. Sherizik winked at me playfully.

「A fine strategy. Truly, a wise orc.」

“……”

「Better to be seen as a perverted degenerate than a mad orc. In that witch’s eyes, you’ll look like an angel in comparison. At least she can talk to you.」

Liam was right—it was a clever plan.

This way, we could defuse the chaos, gain their cooperation, and maybe even get what we came for. After all, talking to me would be easier than reasoning with a lunatic orc.

But still…

‘I’m not a perverted degenerate, though.’

Why did I have to be labeled that?

“Rude human, was it?”

“…Excuse me?”

“It seems I’ll have to speak with you directly.”

And just like that, the situation began to untangle.

***

Truly, the orcish way might have been the most straightforward method in all seven races.

The most terrifying kind of opponent in any negotiation wasn’t one with flawless logic or eloquence—it was the kind who simply didn’t listen.

One who just shouted their own words at the top of their lungs. A madman like that was practically invincible.

“So that’s why you’re here. The orc shamans sent you straight to us without warning, and that’s how this happened?”

“Yes. I’m as confused as you are.”

“Well, if orcs are involved, that explains it. Of course.”

In a normal exchange, this would’ve taken hours of twisted talk. But thanks to Sherizik, we skipped straight through all the nonsense. Was this the wisdom of the orc shamans? No way. What kind of “wisdom” turns an innocent man into a perverted trespasser?

‘Still… it was fast.’

Sherizik’s earlier words—“But it was quick, wasn’t it?”—echoed in my ears.

Damn it. Was this what it meant to be corrupted by orcs? To grow addicted to this reckless, socially suicidal efficiency?

Anyway, thanks to that, we now had the Witches’ cooperation—or at least, their willingness to lead us to the one they called the “Elder Sister.” Apparently, no Witch could act on her own without the Elder Sister’s permission.

“Please, this way.”

The Witch smiled sweetly now, her earlier fury completely gone. But I had overlooked something important.

“Thank you. We’ll just—”

“—Ha! As if!”

“…?”

BANG!

The door slammed shut behind us. Her shrill laughter came from beyond the iron door.

“The Elder Sister will judge you and that filthy orc! You really thought we’d fall for your trick? Orcs or men, you’re all the same! Die! Die!”

“……”

“Kyaahahahaha! Audrey would never have asked you for help! That clever girl, trusting a strange man—and with an orc, no less? Tell a better lie next time!”

Hmph.

「This is why those Witch hags need a good beating.」

“They truly are detestable.”

For once, Sherizik and my teacher were in perfect agreement.

“Kyaahahahahaha!”

Their laughter rang in my ears as the ground beneath us began to crack. An unseen force pressed down upon us, crushing like invisible boulders.

Looking up, I saw three women in large, ornate robes. They radiated a power far beyond the witches we’d seen before.

“Are these intruders? Daring to trespass in the Witches’ domain?”

“They should be crushed to paste. Tsk, back in our day this never happened. The young ones have forgotten to fear Witches.”

“Elder Sister, allow us to handle them.”

My patience finally started to fray.

‘We just needed to ask for help. That’s it.’

Damn it, Audrey. I cursed her inwardly but couldn’t truly blame her. She was my ally, the one protecting my territory. My friend.

So instead, I drew my sword.

At once, a voice resonated in my mind.

『Fly. Fly. Fly.』

The power of 「Flight」 awakened, and the weight pinning me down vanished. A blue world unfurled before my eyes, lightning rushing through my veins. Freedom itself— The authority that allowed me to move within a frozen world.

I shot forward toward the center of the hall, facing the witches head-on.

“Witches!”

My voice thundered.

“Your sister, Audrey, asked for my aid! She requested the Witches’ support—to teleport us to the Karavan domain in the Verdí region of the Iron Kingdom! You have an obligation to honor her request!”

Their schemes unraveled before my shout—but the Witches didn’t flinch.

Power rippled from their hands—chains, ropes, invisible bindings—but none of it touched me.

The power of 「Flight」 held absolute dominion over freedom.

Even the Dragon Tongue—the primordial source of all magic—couldn’t restrain it.

According to Audrey, all magic originated from the dragons. If the liberation of 「Flight」 could dispel even the dragons’ words, then it naturally rendered all lesser spells useless.

As long as I bore 「Flight」, I was immune to magical confinement.

“What is that…?”

“…What kind of power is this?”

The Witches’ voices trembled at last. And then—

“Sisters, come forth.”

From the back, a woman stepped forward.

“They’re not intruders… but honored guests. They carry the key to the treasure we’ve long sought. Audrey has sent us the very one we needed.”

“Elder Sister, what do you mean?”

“The Heir of Steel has come. He holds the key to the legendary adventurer’s cipher—Labyrinthos.”

A soft laugh echoed through the chamber.

Then the “Elder Sister” vanished and reappeared right before me—without a chant, without a gesture. Instantaneous teleportation.

Grasping her robe’s hem like a noble lady, she curtsied gracefully, radiating poise.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Heir of Steel. I am Elizabeth, the First Witch.”

She kept her head bowed—and trembling slightly.

Why would such a powerful woman tremble before me?

Then I realized—

“Please forgive my sisters’ insolence, O Master of All Swords.”

Liam.

She was trembling because she sensed him.

「I chose to stay hidden this time because dealing with them is such a pain. But apparently, this one can see me. Tsk, what a nuisance.」

“……”

「Rejoice, my descendant! Once again, you bask in the glory of your great ancestor!」

Oh, sure. When I was branded a pervert, he stayed quiet. But now he shows up?

‘…That iron face again.’

「Hey now, no impure thoughts.」

***

“You must return to the Iron Kingdom, then. But… there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes. Sending one of my sisters with you is too dangerous. Perhaps you haven’t heard—the Iron Kingdom is currently at war.”

“What?”

The Witch, Elizabeth, delivered the shocking news.

“The Iron Kingdom is fighting the Machine Empire. And the Verdí region—the place you mentioned—is one of the war zones. The battles there are so fierce that parts of it have already been erased from the map.”

…What?

What the hell did she just say?