A Core Ship From The Start

The Orcs had changed their attack direction, and the merchant caravan that had been fighting hard suddenly felt the pressure lighten. They turned their eyes forward and saw a giant figure in terrifying armor amidst the Orc crowd, swinging his war hammer in fierce battle against the frightful Orcs.

“Hiss…! What kind of monster is that?”

The soldier, watching the battle before him, gasped in shock. The others shared his sentiments. To humans, Orcs were symbols of savagery, ferocity, and brawn—and this was largely true. Most Orcs were huge, powerful, and bloodthirsty. Generally, humans had little to gain from direct confrontations with Orcs.

But the Black Knight they were watching was different.

He was wielding a Thunder Hammer that glowed in the battle, smashing any attacking Orcs to the ground. The dazzling flashes of light and the continuous explosions made the battlefield resemble a fiery hell. Yet the Orcs were not deterred; instead, they were even more excited. After all, this was the kind of battle they craved!

Only the strong were worth challenging!!

Unfortunately for them, Duanmu Huai did not plan to join them in their WAAAAAGH.

Even though Duanmu Huai appeared more ferocious than the Orcs from the outside, he was actually very calm on the inside, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

On one hand, this wasn’t his first time fighting such monsters. As a veteran gamer, he had become accustomed to it.

On the other hand, this was also a way for the Judge to protect himself.

The Subspace Evil Gods found it difficult to directly interfere with the Main Universe, so their most common tactic was to manipulate emotions and tempt their opposites to fall. In response to the mental temptations of Evil Gods, players had summarized four rules, colloquially known as the Judge’s Four Commandments.

Fight without frenzy, think without fear, stay clean without being dirty, enjoy without indulging.

Fight without frenzy—one can fight, but don’t become fanatic or the Brutal God may take advantage.

Think without fear—one can think, but don’t overthink or you can easily fall into the hands of the God of Trickery.

Stay clean without being dirty—keep yourself clean, don’t be as messy as a beggar, and you can stay away from the Filthy God.

Enjoy without indulging—you can enjoy, but don’t indulge yourself, or you may fall into the trap of the God of Lust.

As long as players followed these commandments, they were less likely to be affected by the Evil Gods. Essentially, everything had to be properly proportioned. You don’t want to go down one path to the point of self-destruction!

“Zzzzzzzing…!!!”

As Duanmu Huai fought valiantly in the battlefield, Ogis quietly appeared behind him. She stretched out her hands, a flash of silk thread traced across her fingers, followed by the appearance of dozens of puppets out of thin air. They charged towards the Orc army, holding back the low-level Orcs who were not very powerful.

Suddenly, the battle situation changed again. Though the Orcs had forced the merchant caravan into a crisis, they had also suffered heavy losses. Now, with Duanmu Huai, Ogis, and the puppet army joining forces to backstab them, the Orcs were once again severely weakened. Despite the Orc’s never-surrender attitude, there were limits to what they could do. Thus, in the end, the group of Orcs were smashed to death by Duanmu Huai’s inexorable hammer strikes…

It goes to show—the subjective will of an individual cannot affect the objective reality. Even WAAAAAGH has its limits.

“Boom!!!”

The battle only came to an end when the last Orc fell to the ground, dead.

“Phew…”

Duanmu Huai removed his helmet and let out a sigh of relief. These never-surrender Orcs were a true nuisance. Even Ratmen knew to flee once the battle was lost, but to the Orcs, total annihilation held no meaning—their value lay in fighting.

Whether they won or lost the fight was an entirely different matter.

Fighting with Orcs was truly painful. There was no feeling of achievement in winning, and losing brought even greater shame.

“Thank you for your help, brave knight…”

At this point, the members of the merchant caravan approached cautiously. Though Duanmu Huai’s appearance was intimidating, they were relieved that he was at least human. If he were an Orc or some other monster, it would be a different story altogether.

“You’re welcome.”

Seeing the measured response from the others, Duanmu Huai put his helmet back on.

“After all, we also have to use this route. We can’t let the Orcs cause trouble here.”

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai turned his head and saw the young knight holding his sword, ready to run away. He scoffed coldly and signaled to Ogis. She nodded slightly, and then with a wince from the young knight, he was immediately bound by silk threads and dragged back.

“Trying to run away? You’re a waste of space. You don’t even dare to fight, but now you have the guts to run?”

Duanmu Huai stared coldly at the young knight, who was trembling on the ground, too scared to utter a word.

At this moment, the leader of the merchant caravan instinctively glanced at the young knight, and then his eyes widened in shock.

“Young Master Louis? Aren’t you Young Master Louis?!”

“… Huh?”