Kuzma City was once thought to be impregnable.

Its towering walls were fortified with powerful wards and guarded by legions of fierce demons. But all of that changed when the orcs launched their surprise attack.

At first, the demons were caught off guard.

They had grown complacent in their belief that their city was invincible and started to grow careless when they saw the situation turn in their favor.

They thought victory was within their grasp when... all of a sudden, an army of orcs appeared from out of nowhere, carrying heavy artillery with them.

That was when the situation started to turn.

As the orcs surged forward, their war cries echoing through the streets, the demons quickly rallied to defend their walls.

As soon as the orcs made their initial assault, the demon immediately began to cast spells and shoot arrows at them, using the full extent of their power.

Boom―! Boom―!

"Attack!"

"Attack!"

But the orcs were not deterred.

They charged forward, stepping on their fallen comrades bodies with their weapons raised high, and crashed into the demon defenders.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The battle was fierce and brutal.

Demons and orcs clashed in the narrow streets, fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground. The air was thick with the scent of blood and the sound of clashing steel.

Despite their resistance, the demons were slowly being pushed back.

The orcs were simply too numerous, and their strength and ferocity were unmatched. The demons fought with all their might, but it soon became clear that they were fighting a losing battle.

With most of their most powerful members outside of the city, what happened inside was nothing short of a slaughter, with Silug leading the charge and hacking at the demons with unmatchable might.

"Charge! Kill!!"

"Karum! Karum!"

The orcs roared their battle cry, charging forward with renewed vigor. The demons tried to hold their ground, but it was no use. They were outnumbered and outmatched. They fought with all their might, but it was a losing battle.

"Retreat!"

"Go back!"

The demons understood that their only chance of survival was to flee and try to regroup. They started to retreat while engaging in a desperate rearguard action in an attempt to buy their troops some time so that they could organize themselves.

They hoped that they would be able to turn the tide of the battle if they could just hold out long enough.

...But it was a futile effort.

"Attack! Don't give them any breathing space!"

The orcs were unrelenting in their assault, exerting all of their strength to further their advantage. They broke through the city's last lines of defense and charged straight into the downtown area of the city.

"Kill any demon that you see! Don't spare anyone!"

Silug's orders reverberated throughout the entire battlefield, and all the orcs responded in unison. Even those that belonged to Brutus' army.

Although brief, Silug had won the hearts of most of the orcs present. His presence was unlike any other, and so was his strength.

He was obviously much weaker than Brutus, but his commanding skills were on a level all their own, as evidenced by the fact that he was able to infiltrate and destroy the city in a relatively short amount of time.

What was even more impressive was the blind belief that the Orc army that came with him had.

They would obediently comply with his instructions without skipping a beat, regardless of what he said.

And it was because they worked together in such harmony that they were able to make such rapid and significant advancements.

It earned the admiration of many of the orcs present.

"Approach the tower!"

Silug brandished his hefty sword and pointed in the direction of the massive tower that stood in the middle of the city.

"So long as we take over the tower, we will take over the city!"

He bellowed loudly, his voice reaching every corner of the city.

"Charge!"

Rumble―! Rumble―!

***

"Looks like the war is as good as over."

After putting the core away, I moved closer to Brutus, who was standing on top of the city walls and observing the city below from his vantage point.

The focus of his attention was currently on...

'It's probably silug, I think.'

To ensure that I wasn't misinterpreting what I was seeing, I kept switching my gaze between him and the direction in which he was looking. Just as I was about to check for the fourth time, Brutus' mouth opened up.

"Who is he? Why have I never heard about someone like him before?"

The expression on his face at the moment revealed some signs of confusion, particularly around his large eyes, which were squinting.

It appeared as though he was making an effort to jog his memory about whether or not they had seen Silug in the past.

"Don't bother; you have never met him before."

I similarly turned my gaze to look at Silug.

He had completely taken command of the entire army, and despite the fact that he was not the most powerful orc within the army, none of the orcs appeared to be resisting his orders.

Rather, they seemed to be following them dutifully.

The sight made me smile. He had grown a lot since the last time that I had seen him… It was always reassuring to see an ally grow stronger.

"The reason you've never met him before is because he doesn't come from earth."

I spoke, feeling a burning gaze on the right side of my cheek.

"Not from earth?"

The look on Brutus' face changed, and he revealed an expression of surprise. As I look at him, I can't help but nod my head.

There was no point in hiding it anyway.

"Yeah, so are the other orcs that have come with him. They are all not from earth."

If Brutus's expression previously was that of mild surprise, his expression at the moment was filled with shock. I wanted to laugh at this moment, but I managed to hold myself back. Feeling the intensity of this gaze deepen, I explained to him.

"They come from a planet called Immorra."

"!!"

I hadn't known Brutus for a long time, but from the brief interactions I had with him, he was the type of orc that never showed changes in his expressions, and yet, today, at this moment, I was seeing all sorts of expressions from him.

It was mildly amusing, yet at the same time, I understood where he came from.

"How… how is this possible?"

His words were accompanied by a slight shaking of the mouth, and his eyes moved back to the orcs, who were creeping closer and closer to the city in the distance.

"It's because of me."

I decided to tell him the truth. There was no longer any reason for me to keep it a secret, and I also believed that telling him would be for the best.

"You?"

"Yeah."

I nodded my head.

"…I have recently learned a skill that enables me to open portals to other planets. It costs quite a bit to use… several <SS> ranked cores, but it allows me to open the portals and have people come out of them."

"Khhh…khhhh…"

The effort it took Brutus to breathe became noticeable. I was on the verge of losing it at this very moment, but I managed to keep it together.

"I know, I know. Don't worry."

I turned toward him and patted him on the shoulder.

"After this is over, I'll allow you to come with me to Immorra. I think you'll quite like the environment there."

If there was one thing that this war enabled me to understand, it was that the orcs were not meant to stay on earth. They were not able to make use of the sudden influx of mana to their advantage, in contrast to the dwarves and elves, who thrived off of mana.

It was exactly like the demons, and it dawned on me that their powers had been regressing because of it.

Before I came here, I gave the situation some thought, and after some deliberation, I settled on the conclusion that all of the orcs should be brought to Immorra.

…Since they were my allies, I needed to take care of them properly.

With the imminent Third Cataclysm, I needed everyone to be at their best. I couldn't afford to have the orcs become dead weight.

The battle wasn't just between me and Jezebeth.

It was also between the four races and the demons.

I couldn't do this alone and needed help.

Therefore, I needed to ensure that they were strong enough to go up against what was coming.

"Whoooo!"

Then the blaring sound of a horn filled the air, and I turned my head. When I looked in the direction the sound was coming from and saw that Silug was the one blowing the horn, I smiled and turned to face Brutus.

"Seems like the war is over."