Chapter 191
Orcs are a race born for battle.
They are aggressive, tireless, and always filled with a fighting spirit.
Fighting is their nature.
They fight to hunt prey, fight other races, and even fight among themselves.
Because fighting is their everyday life, they naturally fail to unite properly.
For that reason, orcs rarely form large groups.
At most, they gather in small numbers—dozens, or barely over a hundred.
Beyond that, the problems become too great for them to handle.
That is why, in Kurayan, orcs were not considered a major threat.
Individually, they were terrifying—but since they couldn’t unite, they could be defeated one by one without much difficulty.
However, there was one time when orcs became truly dangerous.
When an Orc Great Chieftain was born.
The Orc Great Chieftain is overwhelmingly powerful.
Even hundreds of ordinary orcs attacking at once would not be enough to defeat it.
The bigger problem is that the birth of a Great Chieftain brings massive changes to orc society.
Orcs with exceptional strength and intelligence begin to appear, influenced by its existence.
They are drawn by fate to the Great Chieftain and grow alongside it.
Orc priests and orc riders are also born during this time.
They act as extensions of the Great Chieftain’s will.
Once the Great Chieftain matures into a true ruler, the orc riders travel across the land, searching for scattered tribes and announcing its birth.
No orc can defy the Great Chieftain.
Its call is the call of destiny.
Thus, the scattered orc tribes gather under its command and form a great army.
That army then attacks nearby races, annihilating them and taking everything.
To orcs, the Great Chieftain is like a drug.
Its mere existence dulls their reason, multiplies their aggression, and drastically enhances their physical abilities.
Very few beings can stop them.
Like a swarm of locusts leaving nothing behind, an orc horde leaves no life in its wake.
The Orc Great Chieftain is a being of terror.
In Kurayan, even the slightest sign of one’s birth would trigger an all-out effort to track it down and kill it.
But Earth was different.
Very few people even knew about the existence of an Orc Great Chieftain.
Even those who did failed to grasp its true danger.
No one imagined that such a being could be born on a desertified Earth.
Eloi muttered,
“There’s no doubt. An Orc Great Chieftain has been born and is gathering the tribes.”
“An Orc Great Chieftain…”
Zeon’s gaze turned cold.
Just from Eloi’s reaction, he could tell how dangerous such a being was.
More importantly—
Orcs viewed humans as food.
If orcs were to spread under a Great Chieftain, countless humans would be reduced to prey.
For the struggling survivors of this world, it would be the greatest threat imaginable.
Zeon looked around.
“How many humans could still be alive in a place like this?”
It seemed like an environment where no human could survive, but Zeon knew how tenacious humans could be.
Hadn’t the people here dug tunnels beneath the sand and survived?
There were likely others nearby just like them.
Eloi spoke with a hardened expression,
“We need to report this to Neo Seoul immediately and prepare countermeasures.”
“Do you think Neo Seoul will act? Even if an orc army rises, it won’t be a direct threat to them.”
“That’s true. Humans don’t move unless there’s a direct threat.”
Brielle agreed with Zeon.
It wasn’t a secret that demonic beasts couldn’t approach Neo Seoul.
Even large monsters couldn’t get close—so smaller species like orcs certainly couldn’t.
Unless it was the Great Chieftain itself, ordinary orcs wouldn’t even be able to approach.
From Neo Seoul’s perspective, the orcs wouldn’t seem like a major threat.
Eloi clenched her teeth.
“Even so, we have to make them act. I’ll use my authority as a Supervisor if I have to.”
A Supervisor had the authority to identify threats to Neo Seoul, report them, and establish countermeasures.
Eloi intended to use that authority to its fullest.
Zeon nodded.
“Then we should return to Neo Seoul as quickly as possible.”
“Please—take us back as fast as you can.”
“I will.”
Zeon gave a firm nod.
He had already seen the brutality of the orcs underground.
If they were left unchecked, the number of victims would increase exponentially.
That had to be stopped.
***
Zeon led the group toward Neo Seoul.
After encountering the orc riders, Eloi and Brielle had grown noticeably quieter.
As elves, the appearance of orcs had put them on edge.
Deep in their blood ran an inherited hatred toward orcs.
That made them take this situation even more seriously.
Levin approached Zeon and cautiously asked,
“How strong do you think the Orc Great Chieftain is?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen one.”
“But it must be incredibly strong, right?”
“Otherwise, it couldn’t unite the orc tribes.”
“That’s worrying. What if they lose all fear and attack Neo Seoul?”
“You don’t need to worry about Neo Seoul. No matter how many orcs come, it won’t fall.”
“Is its defense really that strong?”
“You’ll understand if you travel the world more. There’s no place like Neo Seoul. I’ve seen half the Earth, but nowhere is as perfect.”
“I see…”
Levin knew Zeon wasn’t exaggerating.
“The real problem is the people who can’t enter Neo Seoul.”
“Are there that many?”
“More than you think.”
“…Sigh.”
Levin let out a heavy breath.
Zeon patted his shoulder.
“Don’t pity them too much.”
“Hyung?”
“They’ve survived for over a hundred years. They have their own ways of surviving. They’ll manage somehow.”
“Those people will somehow survive.”
“I really hope so.”
“Let’s hope for the best.”
“Yes!”
Levin followed behind Zeon, walking diligently.
There was a sense of solidity in Zeon’s back.
He wasn’t particularly large, nor were his shoulders especially broad.
He wasn’t heavily muscular, nor did he possess overwhelming charisma.
Yet even without those traits, Zeon gave the group a sense of stability.
No matter the situation, he seemed like someone who would never waver—
and that unwavering presence made others trust and follow him.
Levin wanted to become like that.
Just then—
Zeon suddenly stopped.
Levin, Eloi, and Brielle fell silent and looked at him.
By now, they knew that when Zeon stopped like this, it meant he had sensed something.
After a moment, Zeon spoke.
“A Sandworm.”
“What?”
“There’s one about a hundred meters ahead. Don’t move for now.”
“Got it.”
The three nodded.
Sandworms detect movement through vibrations transmitted through the sand.
If you don’t move or make loud noises, they won’t notice you.
On the other hand, Zeon could sense the sandworm’s movements as clearly as reading his palm.
Srrrk—
They could feel it burrowing through the sand.
After circling nearby for a while, the sandworm suddenly sped off in one direction.
‘What? Did it find prey?’
Such speed meant it had locked onto something.
Fortunately, it was heading in the opposite direction.
“It’s gone.”
“Did it find prey?”
“Yes.”
“I hope it’s orcs.”
Levin muttered, revealing his hatred.
Zeon nodded in agreement.
Eloi approached Zeon.
“It’s going to be sunset soon. Shouldn’t we start looking for a campsite?”
“This isn’t a good place to camp. Let’s find a safer location first.”
“Alright.”
Eloi followed his decision without complaint.
They had made it this far without encountering major threats thanks to Zeon.
In the desert, there was no better guide than him.
Even caravan navigators would be inferior to Zeon.
As Zeon led them onward—
Boom!
A distant explosion suddenly echoed.
Looking in that direction, Zeon muttered,
“Looks like the sandworm surfaced. Must’ve found easy prey.”
In the sand, sandworms were nearly unbeatable.
The sand acted like a shield, making it difficult even for massive beasts to hunt them.
There was only one reason a sandworm would emerge above ground—
When it judged its prey to be weak enough.
Only then would it expose itself on the surface.
Just like when Zeon first encountered one.
Back then, he had been on a bus, surrounded by people too weak to resist.
Sensing their helplessness, the sandworm had attacked boldly.
Zeon assumed it was the same this time.
Either way, it wasn’t his concern.
His only priority was safely leading his group back to Neo Seoul.
He didn’t want to be distracted by anything else.
Just as he continued walking—
“Ahhh!”
“Help us!”
Suddenly, young voices cried out in the distance.
The group stopped immediately.
“What?”
“People.”
“Why do they sound like kids?”
The voices clearly belonged to children.
Far ahead, two children were running toward them.
Behind them, a cloud of sand was violently rising—
The sandworm was chasing them.
Seeing this, Levin dashed forward without hesitation.
The thought of saving them moved his body before he could think.
In an instant, he transformed into a ghost and rushed toward the children.
Boom!
At that moment, with a thunderous crash, the sandworm burst from the ground behind them.
Opening its massive maw, it lunged to devour the children in one bite.
“No!”
Purple lightning burst from Levin’s ghostly form—
his signature Purple Lightning.
Crackle!
The lightning struck the sandworm.
The high-voltage current slammed into its body, making it flinch momentarily—
but it soon lifted its head as if unaffected.
Its enormous size and thick hide prevented the electricity from penetrating, only angering it further.
Enraged, the sandworm lunged at Levin.
Floating midair, Levin stared straight at its gaping mouth.
“Let’s see if the inside is as tough as the outside.”
Crunch!
In an instant, the sandworm swallowed Levin whole.
“Levin?!”
Watching from afar, Eloi and Brielle shouted in shock.
At that moment—
Flash!
A burst of purple light exploded from inside the sandworm’s mouth.
Levin had unleashed Purple Lightning from within its body.
Kreeeeee!
For the first time, the sandworm writhed in agony, rolling across the ground and trying to vomit him out.
But Levin, in ghost form, couldn’t be expelled.
Instead, he intensified the lightning.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, the massive sandworm burst apart.
Brielle gasped in amazement.
“Whoa!”