Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 269: Highway (4)

On the day when a massive light descended from the sky, all the orcs in Australia remembered.

—After roughly killing a hundred people, I’ll drain the blood of the rest.

That line was spoken by a human from the Korean Peninsula.

Roughly a hundred...

Kwaaaaaa!

However, no matter how they looked at it, the laser beam piercing through the sky didn’t seem like it would stop after killing just 100 people.

Even the orcs, who were ignorant of asymmetric warfare, could tell that the area covered by that light...

- We’re all gonna die!

- It’s coming...!

- Run away!

The red-footed orcs, who started at the bottom of Australia’s food chain and climbed to the top by their own efforts, were probably the greatest “monsters” on Earth.

Yet, they lost their composure in front of the asymmetric power they faced for the first time.

- Aaaah!

- Eeeek!

- Save me...!

The red-footed orcs, standing at least 3 meters tall, with some reaching up to 6 meters, fled in all directions in panic, causing a huge cloud of dust and shaking the ground.

And amidst this chaos...

Kwaaaat!

The laser bombardment accurately targetted the spot designated by Yeongwoo...

Boooom!

As expected, it swept across the land with a tremendous roar.

“Eeeek!”

Even Choi Moonsoon, the Strongest Sword of Jeju, who was with Yeongwoo, screamed pathetically.

However, Moonsoon soon realized...

“…Huh? What?”

Though there was an enormous impact sound just now, it came from quite a distance away.

And indeed...

Woooooo...

The immense bombardment occurred in an open area about a hundred meters from the negotiation table.

Some orcs nearly got caught in the bombardment range because they ran too quickly, but in the end...

“No casualties yet. This was just a warning.”

As Yeongwoo said, there were no casualties yet.

From Yeongwoo’s perspective, these orcs were valuable manpower who would pay heavy taxes while managing Australia in the future, so he didn’t want to reduce their numbers if possible.

“Now, shall we resume our negotiations?”

Yeongwoo sat down first again.

With a thud.

Then, Orc Swordtain Bantubangtong, who had barely held his ground, bit his lip tightly.

And then...

- This is hopeless.

With a disheartened expression, he sat down on the chair.

With a thud.

Yeongwoo tilted his head and asked,

“Why is it hopeless? You haven’t suffered any damage yet.”

But Bantubangtong was more emotional than he appeared.

- Can we even call this a negotiation? This is just a formality, like this table; it’s not a real negotiation.

Bantubangtong pointed to the negotiation table that Yeongwoo had just broken.

- We’re being threatened now.

And by this time, the thousands of orc troops, noticing that Bantubangtong had sat back down, began to return.

Rumble...

“…Huh.”

Seeing the red-footed orcs returning, raising dust, Yeongwoo expressed his admiration.

As expected, their cohesion was impressive.

‘Humans could never achieve this. They have too many thoughts.’

But orcs could.

And perhaps it was because of this trait that, despite being monsters, they could occupy the Australian continent.

If they had started life on the Korean Peninsula or in China, they would have already become beings of the afterlife.

‘Their arrival in Australia was fate, in a way.’

With a more generous look, Yeongwoo gazed at Bantubangtong.

Watching the laser bombardment fall and not moving an inch was indeed impressive.

Truly befitting the leader of such a large group.

So Yeongwoo paid his respects sincerely.

“Lord.”

- ……?

“Usually, I’ve smashed the heads of those who speak informally to me. I have some inferiority complexes because of my humble origins.”

- Ah... is that so?

“But as a sign of my respect for you, I’ll let you speak comfortably. This is the level of respect I give to my father.”

- …….

Bantubangtong couldn’t hide his confused expression after hearing Yeongwoo’s words. Since no orc had ever spoken to him like that, he didn’t know how to respond.

So, did he mean to speak comfortably or not?

-So... what will happen to Australia...?

Bantubangtong timidly asked again, but Yeongwoo didn’t care about such things at all.

“Australia remains as it is, under the rule of you and the Red Foot Orcs.”

-What? Are you serious?

Bantubangtong’s eyes widened in surprise.

In response, Yeongwoo nodded.

“Yes. However,”

Yeongwoo’s gaze shifted to Bantubangtong’s grand title.

『Red Foot Orc Lord』

≡Conqueror of Northern Australia≡

“You mentioned that Australia is an autonomous region of the orcs, but to be precise, you’ve occupied the northern part of Australia, right?”

-That’s right.

“Then there must be people in southern Australia, right? This part hasn’t been confirmed yet?”

Yeongwoo was confident that it hadn’t been confirmed.

If the Red Foot Orcs had taken over the entire continent, the special title would say “Conqueror of Australia” instead of “Conqueror of Northern Australia.”

And most importantly,

‘This land is too vast. There’s no way orcs, who move by running, could have swept across all of Meganesia in just a few days.’

Yeongwoo’s reasoning was spot on.

Soon after, Bantubangtong stated,

-We have only occupied the areas where our feet have reached. We do not know what is in the places we haven’t reached yet.

“Then there must be more people left in Australia. In fact, there will be far more than you expect. The two largest cities are located in the southeast of the continent.”

At this point, Yeongwoo could properly understand the situation in Australia.

Of course, it was impressive that the Red Foot Orcs, who originated as monsters, had taken over the vast northern part of Australia.

However, they hadn’t encountered Australia\'s ‘real power’ yet.

‘Someday, when the big cities of Australia advance north, that will be the time when a great war breaks out.’

However, Yeongwoo didn’t want to slaughter the orc army for their sake.

He had already recruited Lord Bantubangtong and believed that the orcs would manage the north better than humans.

‘They’ve already proven it in practice, haven’t they?’

Therefore, the strategy Yeongwoo could take was,

‘To strengthen the Red Foot Orcs so they won’t be overwhelmed by the big cities in Australia.’

At least until Yeongwoo himself comes down to mediate.

-There are bigger cities in the southeast?

Bantubangtong’s eyes twitched menacingly at once.

Even though he and the Red Foot Orcs were being threatened by Yeongwoo, they prided themselves on being the strongest within the Australian continent.

Hence, the fact that another competitor still remained sparked their inherent belligerent nature.

“You must not.”

-...?

“No more killings. The survival guarantee I propose includes a prohibition on killing.”

After saying this, Yeongwoo looked around to see if there was anything to write with.

Then,

“Goldie, do you have a pen and paper in that pouch?”

He asked the Golden Goblin, the alien who had been by his side the longest.

He wondered if there were pen and paper in his dimensional pouch.

Although he asked without much expectation, surprisingly,

-Kiit!

The Golden Goblin indeed took out a pen and a notepad from the dimensional pouch.

It was because when the goblin took over Yeongwoo\'s bag, it included items taken from a convenience store.

Yeongwoo had gathered pens and paper from the store, thinking they might be useful someday.

“Oh.”

Receiving the pen from the goblin, Yeongwoo tore off a sheet from the notepad.

Then, he instructed the trumpet player, Pofu Tenta, to support one side of the broken table.

-With a grunt…

Seeing the alien slave Pofu lifting the table with his shoulder, Bantubangtong felt a sense of camaraderie and stretched out his left arm to help lift the table.

-What is he trying to do?

Yeongwoo placed the notepad sheet on the table and wrote something on it.

“Can you read this?”

When Yeongwoo showed the note saying, ‘Orc, illiterate,’ Bantubangtong’s face immediately contorted in anger.

-Do not insult us. You will learn that orcs have things more important than life.

“…So you can read.”

After a brief verification, Yeongwoo tore off another sheet from the notepad, placed it on the table, and asked the Orc Lord,

“How many mutants appear daily in the territory you’ve taken?”

-Six each day. And countless monsters.

“Oh, six daily. Got it.”

That meant there were only six locations in northern Australia that the reset system considered as “valid areas.”

It seemed that originally uninhabited areas were broadly integrated, sending down mutants.

“You must send me 120 million karma daily.”

-...What?

“It might be shocking since it’s the first time you’re being exploited, but other regions are paying too. And they are even the indigenous people of Earth.”

-What? That’s... Are you telling me you are extorting your own kind too?

The concept of exploiting their own kind seemed foreign to the Red Foot Orcs.

“Yes. That’s how Earth operates.”

Yeongwoo replied nonchalantly, then continued,

“You all aren’t humans anyway... In fact, you’re parasites on this planet, aren’t you? So I initially intended to really squeeze you, but I changed my mind.”

Of course, demanding 120 million karma daily from orcs who only had six mutants for income was essentially squeezing them dry.

However, Bantubangtong and the Red Foot Orcs, who were still unfamiliar with Earth’s situation, didn’t know this.

-Then what are you planning?

“I’ll only take a moderate amount of money and help you become a prosperous and strong nation. From now on, the Red Foot Orcs will guard the southern border of the Korean Peninsula. Think of it as a kind of wall.”

This time, Choi Moonsoon, who had been standing behind, was so shocked that she shouted,

“What? What are you talking about? Are you really out of your mind?”

But Yeongwoo waved his hand, signaling that it was fine.

“How many Red Foot Orcs are currently in Australia?”

-Approximately 5,000 brothers.

“Five thousand...?”

Yeongwoo was also a bit surprised by this number since it was more than he expected.

Usually, the number of monsters appearing in one area varied from a few dozen to about a thousand, depending on the species.

But 5,000...

“Is it really that many? Did all 5,000 brothers land in Australia together?”

When Yeongwoo asked, Bantubangtong shook his head.

-No. Initially, we were only 307 brothers.

307 brothers.

He was referring to 307 Red Foot Orcs.

So, only 307 Red Foot Orcs had appeared in this country initially.

And one of the vanguard was none other than Orc Lord Bantubangtong.

‘So far, everything seems normal.’

Then what happened in a few days for the number of Red Orcs to increase to 5,000?

“So? What did the 307 brothers do?”

-Eradication. We first eradicated the fake brothers.

“Fake brothers?”

Yeongwoo blinked for a moment before quickly understanding.

“You mean mutants?”

-Yes. So, in reality, there were 306 brothers. After eradicating the fake brother, we were left with 230 brothers.

“...Oh.”

It was a dry statement, but it was indeed a sad story.

The 307 Red Foot Orcs had fallen into another world together, but it turned out that one among them was a mutant, forcing them into a fierce battle.

A fierce fight in the wilderness.

In the process, Bantubangtong lost 76 brothers.

But Bantubangtong was a more sentimental orc than Yeongwoo expected.

-If one has Red Feet, they are a brother. The fake brother was also brave like a Red Foot. So I decided to bury 77 brothers in my heart that day. In the unfamiliar wasteland.

Though the number of orcs who died that day was 76, he was also counting the brave mutant as a brother.

“Oh... Lord, if you had shared that story in Shandong Province, you would have been called a hero.”

Yeongwoo wiped away nonexistent tears, then asked the Red Foot Orc Lord, Bantubangtong,

“Then how did the 230 brothers who survived in the wilderness become this large army?”

They couldn’t have grown at an extremely fast pace.

Even Yeongwoo, who had encountered all sorts of bizarre things on Earth, found this particular matter mysterious.

Then Bantubangtong, emerging from his recollection, pointed his thick finger towards the distant wasteland.

-In our city, Darwin, there is a portal.

“A portal?”

A portal.

If the orc wasn’t using the wrong word...

“Lord, do brothers come out of that portal?”

In response to Yeongwoo’s question, Bantubangtong nodded.

-Every time money is inserted, we can rescue our brothers.

“Unbelievable.”

With that one line, Yeongwoo realized a lot.

The monsters who played the lowest role in the reset world.

When such a monster earned the title of Strongest Sword, they could open a dimensional portal connected to their homeland.

“Lord...? Why do you rescue your brothers? Is something happening where you originally came from?”

Then the orc uttered a word that Yeongwoo never expected.

-Mara.

“Pardon?”

-Mara took over our planet.