Ch. 41 - Conspiracy
"Impossible! How can you be unaffected!?"
The warlock's pupils returned to the brownish-yellow color belonging to goblins.
But on her aged face was nothing but incomprehension at the curved blade piercing through her chest—
She was certain that this human who had stabbed through her should have been covered by her spell.
Even if he felt no panic, there should have been a brief hesitation, enough for her to see him charging forward, allowing her to distance herself from the crowd...
But he hadn't given her any time to react at all.
Almost within one breath after the spell bloomed, he had already wounded her!
"You don't seriously expect me to explain my reasons to an enemy, do you?"
Tang Qi didn't consider himself a chatty villain.
How could he possibly tell her that he'd taken a Truesight Eye Potion beforehand, allowing him to see through all illusions, only to let her be more on guard afterward?
The illusory realm conjured by the Fear spell was no more distinguished than the mist of Dawnmist Forest.
If it claimed to reveal illusions, then it certainly could.
So from Tang Qi's perspective, as he scrambled to his feet—intending to strike together with Black Snake—he only saw the warlock scattering black earth from her hand.
Immediately after, everyone including the goblins and orcs surrounding them wore faces as mournful as if their parents had died, dropping their weapons one after another.
The quick ones had already run into the forest.
With no one blocking his path, Tang Qi naturally charged straight to her.
Unable to fully gauge the distance with the curved blade, he simply stabbed the warlock clean through—
Advancing meant he could kill her on the spot, while retreating still left him with a hostage to help them escape the siege.
And many crowd-control spells required the caster to maintain concentration.
With this blade thrust into her chest, the illusion before the affected ones naturally dissipated.
"Even spells have no effect on you?"
Black Snake hadn't noticed the potion Tang Qi had taken. Discovering that the spell he found troublesome was insignificant in Tang Qi's eyes, he was momentarily speechless.
Tang Qi didn't want to delay. He gripped her neck, completely restraining her.
He retreated two steps, creating distance, then feigned ferocity as he roared at the now-conscious orcs and goblins:
"All of you fucking back off, or I'll stir up her guts first!"
But he quickly discovered that reasoning with these barbaric species was futile.
This warlock might have some status in the goblins' eyes, enough to make them shrink their necks and retreat two steps.
But in the orcs' eyes, she might not be worth as much as the axes in their hands.
Their crimson pupils held no trace of reason whatsoever.
Bellowing, they were about to swing their hand axes and charge at Tang Qi.
The warlock couldn't help but shriek:
"Damn it, Shivana, why haven't you come to save me yet!?"
Black Snake's blade curved like a moon, about to slice across an orc's throat.
But a whistling sound like a shriek came first—
A giant axe whirled through the air, its blade forming a full moon as it solidly embedded itself in the orc's flank.
The orc whimpered and stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
His Alertness hadn't triggered, indicating this axe strike was merely meant to intimidate the orc.
Tang Qi and Black Snake both looked toward the direction the giant axe had come from.
But they felt no relief at the orc's near-death.
Quite the contrary, the unceasing "rumbling" tremors through the earth made alarm bells ring in his mind.
A sensation of plunging into an icy valley instantly transmitted through every pore—
"Huh, ha!"
"Huh, ha!"
"Huh, ha!"
War drums and battle cries followed in succession.
He finally saw clearly the towering shadows emerging from the mist—
They were several giant tortoises, each at least fifty feet in length and width!
Under the heavy night and fog, they resembled moving hillocks gathering and advancing.
Their massive shells were covered in moss, the edges of their carapaces reinforced with jagged spikes and sharpened bones, bound with thick ropes and verdant vines—
Used to maintain and support the precarious tower-like shacks on their backs.
Between the shacks, there were even simple platforms cobbled together from wooden planks, and scattered temporary tents.
The platforms and wooden towers on several giant tortoises were connected by crude suspension bridges that swayed with their slow steps, even dropping a few planks due to the tremors.
They needed no ramming—the forest simply couldn't obstruct these massive bodies. With each step forward, entire swaths of trees toppled to the ground.
Atop the leading tortoise's back, at the highest point of what resembled a watchtower, stood an upright, erect orc.
This was uncommon.
Orcs always bent forward without regard for appearance, forcing their spines to evolve into a forward-leaning shape, making them appear hunched.
But to Tang Qi, this wasn't necessarily bad news—
Caring about appearance meant he at least understood some civilization.
"It would be even better if he's willing to communicate."
Looking at the at least thirty land-based orcs in front of the giant tortoise, surrounding them completely, Tang Qi could only pray for this.
"How about you tell me where the town is, and when I escape, I'll pass your death notice to the Poet's Academy?"
Black Snake and Kuru moved closer to Tang Qi while speaking hesitantly.
He figured that at full strength, these orcs couldn't pose much of a threat to him—
Even if he couldn't win, at least he could run fast enough.
But the continuous battles had left him exhausted.
If he kept going like this, he might capsize in the gutter.
But Tang Qi couldn't possibly let go of this only combat asset:
"If I can't escape, you won't make it out of this forest either."
"We've reached a dead end. And you could clearly save your own life, but you want me to accompany you in death?" Black Snake tried moral coercion.
"At least we won't be lonely on the road—I'll sing you songs then?" Tang Qi wasn't buying it.
"Fuck off."
Hearing the attitude clearly, Black Snake couldn't help cursing inwardly.
Tang Qi looked toward the orc at the tower's top—
He climbed down the ladder, and only after stepping onto the tortoise's back did he jump to the ground.
Nothing wrong with that.
But Tang Qi had expected him to leap down heroically, landing among the crowd like a hero's entrance.
Of course, given the watchtower's height, actually doing that would likely break a leg.
The orcs before him all made way for him, pounding their chests rhythmically:
"Huh, ha!"
"Huh, ha!"
"Huh, ha!"
As the figure approached, Tang Qi realized they were far more distinctive than he'd imagined—
In orc society, no one cared about your gender.
Only about your strength.
So females also had quite robust physiques; in arm wrestling, they wouldn't lose to any male.
Even so, the female orc before him could only be described as fit.
Not exaggerated, but sufficiently proportioned.
Her tusks weren't thick enough, much less sharp enough.
They only showed at the corners of her mouth like canines, making her angular face—nearly human and quite handsome—appear even more heroic.
Her pale green skin was unconcealed, signifying her bloodline wasn't pure enough.
Worn cloth strips were tightly bound across her chest, doing their utmost to prevent those two burdens from affecting her movements.
This was a half-orc.
A female half-orc who, in a society of survival of the fittest, amidst violence and blood, had still become a tribal leader.
For a moment, Tang Qi didn't know whether to feel joy or worry.
And all his emotions twisted into shock after seeing clearly what was perched on this half-orc's shoulder.
No one knew by what means these orcs, who should have been blocked beyond the Great Wall by the southern front line, could cross ten thousand miles to penetrate deep into Dawnmist Forest in the eastern coast's heartland.
Nor did anyone know how they could find their way forward through this mist full of illusions.
But now, when this construct identical to the one on Melade's shoulder appeared before Tang Qi's eyes—
An artificial life form enclosed in a bottle, fitted with cogwheel wings.
Starshine's arrogant voice instantly echoed in his ears:
"Magical constructs of this caliber aren't something ordinary adventurers can rent.
Only those big shots with some status and power in Longgold City have the channels to rent one at a high price..."
He suddenly realized that everything happening now absolutely couldn't be considered an 'accident.'
But rather a thorough and complete...
Conspiracy.