Chapter 64.1
Orc Hero Story
Winning or losing a battle was something that could be determined to some extent during its course. The atmosphere started to change when the balance began to leaning one way or the other, towards victory or defeat. People were sensitive to the momentum of their allies and the fear in their enemies. And depending on the atmosphere they perceived, their strength would change. If they believed they were going to lose, they would shrink back in fear of death; if they believed they were going to win, they became more vigorous in their desire to claim the credit.
And that momentum often led directly to victory or defeat. Bash also perceived the trend of battle on many occasions. Of course, there were times when he didn’t, but he could usually tell when the battle seemed winnable. Of course, there were also occasions when he felt like he was going to lose.
“…And then?”
That’s what the woman said when he told her that he had defeated the dragon on the battlefield of the Lemium Highlands. The look of fear she had before speaking disappeared.
What appeared instead was a cold expression. She had her eyes half-closed, lips slightly open, and was looking at Bash with a slight tilt of her head. It was a beautiful face, but her expression was heartrending in another sense.
Bash had seen such expressions before. It was in the land of the orcs. When a warrior boasted about something that was too trivial to be true, the orcs looked at them like that. And then they said, “And then?” As if asking, “What’s the end of your boring story?”
“…”
The words spoken by the woman were exactly the same. He didn’t expect such an indifferent reaction when he told her about how he killed the dragon. He had no idea how the demon woman would react, but he thought he could at least evoke some kind of emotion. He didn’t know if that emotion would be astonishment or rejection.