Chapter : 124
Haimken (4)
“Shall we continue?”
Suhyun no longer pressed the orcs down with telekinesis, but none of them dared to rush him. They were thoroughly shaken by what they had just witnessed.
Even among the orcs, there were those with abilities. If anything, that made Suhyun’s power all the more terrifying. He wasn’t just sending out telekinetic blasts or creating invisible walls—he was subduing them almost playfully, as if it were a game.
Suhyun slowly walked forward and placed his foot on Kazak, who was still crouched on the ground.
“Calm down and let’s talk…”
“I’ve been calm all along. Hmm, I wonder what story you’ll tell me.”
Suhyun’s voice was gentle but threatening. Herkul restrained himself from instinctively reaching for his waist. Even if he tried to fight with powers, at this level it wouldn’t even be a fight.
He had suspected they weren’t ordinary people when he heard the team composition, but not to this extent.
“If you continue to make a fuss, it’ll be troublesome for everyone, don’t you think?”
“It would be troublesome for you, I suppose. And also for the friend under my foot. But as for me? I don’t think I’d be troubled at all. What exactly is troublesome here?”
“Haimken is under an agreement.”
“Ah, that agreement. That’s when you’ve been following the rules. Mogok, step forward!”
Mogok, who had been waiting tensely, jumped forward in surprise at Suhyun’s shout. Suhyun pointed at him.
“I heard this guy was beaten by you for no reason. True?”
Herkul rubbed his forehead. The headache was throbbing. He had reluctantly approved punishment when Gorix strongly demanded it, but he hadn’t expected it to escalate this far. After all, these weren’t humans—they were orcs.
“You want to make this a big deal? Bringing up the agreement? I don’t mind. But before handling things according to the agreement, you’ll have to pay the price.”
“….”
After a brief silence, Herkul asked,
“What price?”
“Don’t you orcs have a saying? You reap what you sow. If you hit someone, you should be hit back just as much.”
“There were unavoidable circumstances.”
“Sure, I understand.”
Suhyun removed his foot from Kazak’s head and kicked him to the side. When Suhyun said he understood, the orcs were taken aback—until he spoke again.
“Sometimes I also hit someone because I just can’t help it. Similar reason, right?”
“…Will you explain the situation?”
“If you bow your head politely and explain, I might listen.”
“This isn’t the place to talk. We should move somewhere else first…”
Bang!
“Who’s barging in this time?”
“The management of your subordinates is a mess. What is this, a public restroom? Let anyone and everyone just walk in?”
A group of armed orcs stormed in, radiating a deadly aura that was entirely different from the guards. Anyone caught would be attacked instantly.
The apparent leader spat and shouted,
“Herkul, do not trust these humans’ tricks! You know what they’ve done!”
“Is it him?”
Suhyun pointed at the orc and asked Mogok,
“Him?”
“Yes?”
“The one who actively beat people—was it him? The chief surely didn’t personally hit you, right?”
“Yes, yes, it was him.”
As they spoke, the orc entered with heavy footsteps, flanked by armed comrades.
“Human! How dare you lift your face here? Because of what you did… Ugh!”
The scene repeated itself. Suhyun lazily brushed his hands, and the orcs bounced back like rubber balls.
He grabbed the orc who had spoken earlier, stood him in front, and took the rifle he was holding, turning it upside down.
“I’m curious why you’re here, but let’s start with a few hits.”
“Brother?”
“What?”
Suhyun thought this orc was insane—but the orc wasn’t speaking to him. He was speaking to Gorgan behind him.
“Is he your younger brother?”
Suhyun lowered the rifle slightly. If he was Gorgan’s brother, Suhyun could at least hear him out before striking. But Gorgan shook his head firmly.
“I have no younger brother.”
“Brother, wait…!”
“This orc dares to lie?”
A dull thud echoed through the hall.
The hall was completely dominated by the mercenaries. The troops, having retrieved their returned weapons, tied up the orcs in the corner with nonchalant shoulders.
“They’ll survive, right?”
“The team leader won’t kill them.”
Normally, the chief would have sat in that seat, but Suhyun took it. With the remaining nuisances removed, they could finally speak.
“Alright, explain convincingly why you beat Mogok.”
“It’s a long story…”
“Then summarize it briefly.”
“…Understood.”
When the survivor Malrok arrived at Haimken, Herkul had treated him kindly. Though there was no sense of camaraderie simply because they were of the same species, being a victim of humans made a difference. Herkul had a fairly broad perspective.
Herkul knew that prosecuting humans for crimes against other species in court was a long and complicated process. If Malrok didn’t want it, Herkul respected his decision.
But the situation changed when Gorix intervened.
Supported by the tribe’s young warriors, Gorix argued that Malrok could be used as a political card. Crimes against other species would draw public attention, and they could exploit this situation.
“Seems plausible.”
Suhyun glanced at Gorix sprawled out behind them with a messy face and nodded. Few orcs could think that way.
“So, how does beating Mogok relate to that?”
“Gorix thinks we should cooperate with China. He’s an extreme pro-China in Haimken.”
Suhyun’s opinion of Gorix plummeted.
“Instead of petitioning Korea directly, cooperating with China to use Malrok means…”
The answer was obvious. Instead of seeking justice or compensation from Korea, Malrok would be used as a political tool for China, and they would receive compensation from China. Issues like interspecies massacres could be turned into hot political matters if handled correctly.
“Recently, the tribal council has been arguing over this. Some argue that Malrok’s wishes should be respected and that there’s no need to involve China… while others want to use this incident to deepen relations with China and solve the Malrok issue at the same time.”
Herkul looked back as he spoke. Suhyun immediately understood who he meant.
“Split into two factions: those who want to use this incident to strengthen ties with China, and those who don’t. They call it killing two birds with one stone.”
“You’re the former?”
“Yes. Malrok doesn’t want the situation escalated either, and there’s no need to drag the Chinese into a bigger conflict. Only we would lose.”
The title of chief wasn’t given for nothing. Herkul saw the situation clearly. If the initiative went to China, only China would benefit, and the orcs risked being exploited.
“That’s when this orc came. Claiming he came to find the survivor. Naturally, the young orcs got excited…”
Because this was a Korean-led incident and Koreans had sent forces, Gorix’s faction was predictably agitated. They branded Mogok as a traitor siding with humans.
“I barely managed to stop them from killing him. I warned that it could escalate the agreement issue.”
“Proud that you couldn’t manage your subordinates?”
Suhyun scolded him disdainfully. Herkul blushed and bowed his head.
“Anyway, China…”
An unexpected power was intervening. Suhyun couldn’t predict how they would use Malrok. Clearly, someone like Gorix wanted to hand him over, so there was a plan, but Suhyun didn’t know the details.
‘No need to know every detail.’
Suhyun and China’s interests conflicted. Since Suhyun planned to take Malrok anyway, he could worry about why China wanted him later.
“In orc society, positions are based on bloodline. Could he have enough influence to speak up like that?”
“More than bloodline, many Chinese are backing him. That’s why he has followers.”
“Hm, if we killed them all now…”
“That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
“Just saying. Do you think I’d really do that? With so many watching.”
“….”
Suhyun looked at the orcs tied up with Gorix. The situation was clear: Gorix’s faction backed by China versus traditional factions fighting over Malrok.
‘This is tricky.’
Ideally, he wanted to sweep away all obstacles and take Malrok, but with China involved, such a move would be risky.
“Gorgan, what’s your relationship with him?”
“Huh?”
“I let it slide earlier, but he wouldn’t just call anyone ‘brother.’ Is it hard to explain?”
“No, it’s just… I severed ties with him long ago.”
“Why?”
“He betrayed his village.”
During Cameron’s development, the other species played roles as collaborators or obstructers. Gorgan’s brother Gorix was the former, very active.
China and Russia’s approach was rougher than most nations, and Gorgan’s village collapsed. All they received was a few coins in compensation.
“What a trash. Did I ask something unnecessary?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Suhyun stopped the conversation and walked up to Gorix. He glared, then turned his head—refusing to talk.
“Does it hurt a lot? Well, our men got hit too, so let’s call it even.”
“I will never forgive this! How dare you commit such madness inside Haimken’s territory!”
“What madness?”
“What you’re doing right now!”
“I didn’t kill anyone, just subdued them. How is that madness? Madness would be killing you and your friends and burying you all on the hill over there.”
“…!”
Gorix fell silent. Suhyun remained calm, which made him even more frightening—he seemed genuinely capable of doing it.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do that. But it’s better for you to just let this go.”
“Hah! Why?”
“You’ll probably run to your Chinese friends to complain, but then I’d publicize that my men were beaten. An interspecies attacking humans first doesn’t gain much in their courts. And if things get messy, I doubt your Chinese friends will protect you. You’ll just be discarded.”
“…!”
Gorix gritted his teeth. He was an experienced orc among humans. He realized immediately that Suhyun wasn’t bluffing.
‘Damn humans!’
“You should’ve thought before acting.”
Suhyun tapped him and returned to Herkul.
“Good. That orc’s been roughly persuaded, so release them all. No one will try anything after that, but if one shows up again…”
“I’ll stop it. Won’t happen. But what about Malrok?”
“I want to take him immediately, but that would cause trouble.”
China would jump at the chance to trap Suhyun with Gorix. They were eager to curb him.
“Exactly. A bit inconvenient, but we’ll have to take him officially.”
“?”
Herkul tilted his head.
“You said there’s a split between Gorix supporters and opponents, right?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, one incident can quickly swing public opinion.”
Gorix’s supporters and opponents were essentially pro-China and anti-China factions in Haimken. Suhyun had a bomb that could be detonated regardless of their motives.
‘To think Luiril’s theft could be used now…’
Shock Wave Sword. Stolen artifact of the Haimken orcs. If found among the Chinese delegates’ belongings…
