The Author's POV

Chapter 636 Change of focus [1] "Was this all planned by you!?

" A booming voice could be heard reverberating in every nook and cranny of the castle.

"Was the demon attack something that you planned?

" I was confronted by Silug, who cast a menacing glare in my direction as we stood face to face with each other.

Neither one of us backed down from our spot.

It had been two days since I had left the battlefield, and by this point, the vast majority of the demons that had been there had been eradicated.

Up until Silug's return, things were running smoothly...

Of course, that was until he returned.

When he got back, everything went into disarray, and he immediately began yelling at me.

His voice was so loud that the surrounding areas shook.

"Do you think I'm stupid?!

You think I wouldn't know?!

" He shouted once more, the surroundings shaking at the loudness of his voice.

He tapped my chest as he extended his thick arm, pushing my body back a bit.

"I know that you brought the demons to us...

and you purposely didn't interfere in the war until a good number of my people had died.

You purposely let them die for whatever your goal is!

" Silug continued to shout in an angry manner.

I looked at the people that were in the same room as me for a moment and then brought my attention back to Silug.

My brows furrowed.

"Calm down for a moment.

" I said in a soft tone.

Soft enough so that only the two of us could hear.

"If you shout so loudly, everyone is going to hear you.

" "As if I care?!

How can I calm down when so many of my people have died?!

" Silug's voice only raised when he heard my words.

I furrowed my brows when I noticed this.

I glanced at his exposed stomach and made a quick decision.

Bang!

I threw a punch at Silug's stomach with all of my strength.

His body suddenly gave way, and he went tumbling to the ground, landing on both knees.

"Keuk!

" The moment he hit the floor, there was a deafening silence throughout the room, followed by the other orcs in the room becoming enraged and making an attempt to attack me.

"What are you doing!?

" "Protect the Chief!

" "...

Quiet down for a moment.

" I extended my right hand and flicked the air.

Ripples formed, and the air boomed.

"Keuek!

" "Kakh!

" The orcs were pushed back and collapsed to the ground.

I didn't use much strength.

Just about enough to knock them to the ground, but not enough to knock them out or kill them.

That was never my intention, to begin with.

"Keep your people in check while I'm talking.

" I glared at Silug from above.

After that, I extended my arm to grab his head, and I brought his face in close proximity to mine.

"First things first, don't speak so loudly when you're close to me.

It hurts my fucking ears.

" My ears were still throbbing from all of Silug's screaming.

It was very annoying.

Especially since I could hear a faint ringing sound inside my head.

"Secondly...

" I lowered my tone.

"What makes you think I actually care about your people?

They aren't my responsibility in the first place.

You don't have much of a choice if you want to win a war, even if it costs the lives of your people.

Sacrifices need to be made.

" A war wasn't won without any sacrifices.

Although it was true that I purposely let some orcs die in order to accomplish my plans, the orcs weren't my people.

I wasn't merciful enough to save them all.

When looking at the bigger picture, it was sometimes necessary to make sacrifices.

Similar to what the Union did to me in the past when they offered me a sacrifice in order to negotiate a ceasefire with the Monolith.

I was pissed back then, and rightfully so...

but that didn't mean that I didn't understand where they were coming from.

In fact, I understood their intentions all too well, and it was exactly because of that that I never planned on destroying the Union.

I was angry, but not irrational.

"Remember this, the only ones that I have to take care of, are the people that are in my group.

You're one of them, and that's why I saved you back then, but don't think for a moment that my help will extend toward the other orcs.

" I extended my hand and pushed my finger toward his chest.

"They are your responsibility, not mine.

Whatever happens to them, it's on you, not me.

" I let go of Silug's head and pushed him back.

"Next time you want to complain about something, remember the words that I said to you.

" Then, I turned to look at all the people present in the room.

Glaring at them, I raised my hand and flicked my finger again.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The orcs who had been slowly standing up fell back to the ground, unconscious.

Ava and the others were the only ones who were spared.

I turned to face them and nudged the door with my head.

"Do me a favor and leave the room for now.

I need to take care of a couple of things.

" "Alright.

" "Got it.

" After I had finished speaking, they exited the room, and silence swept the place.

*** "Get ready.

" A low, sinister voice reverberated throughout the halls of a large castle.

"The troops are ready.

We're are ready to depart at any time.

" A demon replied while kneeling down on one knee.

Suriol lowered his head to glance at the demon before nodding his head.

"Mhm.

" 'This is the perfect time to strike.

' The truth of the matter was that he was disobeying the orders that he had been given initially.

At first, it wasn't in the plans for him to fight against the orcs.

The sole reason they were supposed to be kept alive was so that they could be turned into contractees.

This was the past, however.

Upon seeing the strength of the human that appeared out of nowhere, Suriol felt a sense of danger.

He needed to remove the threat as soon as possible.

"We're departing in the next hour.

Make sure to have everyone ready.

" His mind was connected to the spies.

Everything that had happened in the orcen territory was seen by him, and he knew that the human and Silug were having an internal dispute.

If there was a best time to strike, it would be now.

Sweeping his gaze over all of the demons that were present in the hall, Suriol's voice turned ice cold.

"...

I will kill anyone that is late.

" "Yes sir.

" The demon hastily nodded his head, clearly afraid of Suriol.

"Good.

" Suriol nodded his head in satisfaction.

The demon that had been standing before him vanished, and he was left standing all by himself in the halls of the castle.

Tap.

Tap.

The rhythmical sound of his footsteps echoed as he stopped in front of a large glass window.

"Not bad.

" He couldn't help but crack a grin as he looked out the window and took in the sight of an unending sea of darkness that covered the entirety of the surroundings.

A terrifying and gloomy atmosphere loomed over the surroundings, sending chills down his spine.

*** "Are you alright?

" I extended my hand toward Silug, who was still kneeling on the ground with both knees together.

Silug shot me a look and grabbed my hand, helping himself up.

"…You didn't hold back on your punch, did you?

" "You can't blame me.

It would look more realistic that way, plus..

" I helped Silug up with my hand.

'God he's heavy.

' "Aren't you an orc?

Isn't your body supposed to be strong?

A punch like that shouldn't really be too much for you anyways.

" "It still hurt.

" Silug grumbled while he rubbed his abdomen area.

"You'll be fine.

" I nonchalantly waved in his direction.

Although I did in fact punch him with everything that I had, it was a little too much for Silug to still be complaining about it.

He was an orcen chief for god's sake.

"Anyway, I think we've got the message through.

" Everything that just happened was an act.

Obviously, I wanted the demons to see that the situation was not that good inside of the orc camp, with me fighting with Silug.

Serve as a motivation to make them come faster.

Prior to this, I had Ava and the others relay the message to Silug to act this way.

It wasn't necessary, but with just how big the war was going to be, every little thing mattered, and something like this couldn't be overlooked.

"What do we do now?

" Silug asked, no longer showing any signs of pain from the previous attack.

Shifting my attention towards him, I spoke.

"For the time being, it would be ideal if you could set up some sort of reconnaissance to keep us updated on the situation with the demons.

As things stand, we must be wary of every move they make if we are to win this war.

" "I got it.

" Silug thoughtfully nodded his head.

After discussing a few more things with me, he left the room.

"Haaa…" I let out a long sigh once Silug left the room.

'Finally ...

Shit.

' My hand trembled, and I clenched my teeth.

The pain I had been suppressing since the beginning was finally releasing itself, and I was gradually losing control of my body.

A bitter smile spread across my now pale face.

"At least, I was able to hold this in until he left...

Ugh.

"