The Author's POV

Chapter 185: Return [1]

Opening my eyes slightly, two dull-grey eyes replaced my usual clear blue eyes.

"Are we done?"

Snapping me out of my thoughts was Kevin's voice in the distance. Turning my attention back to him, my eyes soon returned to their usual blue color.

Smiling, I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I guess it's about time we return to earth"

"Oooof, this was one long month huh?"

Understanding that we were about to go back to earth, a faint smile appeared on Kevin's lips as he slumped on the ground.

Recalling what had happened this past month, Kevin felt tired.

From infiltrating the orc capital to starting a war to infiltrating the most secured location in Setin…

A lot happened this past month.

Nodding my head, I scratched my nose as I agreed.

"Yeah, a very stressful one, but it's not like it wasn't without any gains"

Staring at the items in his hands, Kevin nodded his head.

"I guess so"

This trip, which was supposed to be something he had agreed to repay Ren for the five-star sword manual, turned out to be much more fruitful than he had ever imagined.

From the sky grass to a couple of other things he picked up from the treasury, it was a truly fruitful trip.

Staring at Kevin slumped on the floor, recalling something, I smacked my hand with my fist

"Ah right, I've got to go somewhere again"

Opening his mouth slightly, Kevin looked at me weirdly as he rolled his eyes.

"Again?"

How many times was it now?

Was this the third or the fourth time now?

Ren just simply loved to disappear whenever he wanted.

Kevin was not amused.

Unaware of Kevin's thoughts, I seriously nodded my head

"Yeah, it won't take long, by the time you set up the portal I should already be back"

Waving his hand, Kevin yawned as he lazily said

"Alright, be quick"

Smiling, turning my attention back to Silug as I left the treasury, I urged for him to follow me.

"Follow me Silug"

Nodding his head, Silug did as I instructed

"Yes"

Halting my footsteps and glancing at Kevin once again, I pointed towards Silug next to me as I raised my voice slightly.

"Kevin, say goodbye to Silug, you won't be seeing him for a while"

Turning his head in my direction, Kevin's right brow raised.

"Hm? He's not coming back to earth with us?"

Shaking my head I responded.

"Unfortunately not, I've got other plans for him"

Frowning for a couple of seconds, Kevin nodded his head and waved in Silug's direction.

"Alright, see you Silug"

For the past few days, Kevin spent quite a bit of time with Silug.

…although Silug didn't speak much, Kevin had actually gotten along with him quite well these past few days.

This was mostly due to the fact that Ren just kept disappearing leaving the two together for prolonged periods of time.

They were bound to get along.

Thus why Kevin felt that it was a bit of a pity saying goodbye to him now, but he also understood that he might end up meeting him again in the future.

As long as he was with Ren, he was bound to meet Silug again.

"Goodbye human"

Nodding his head, Silug's deep voice echoed across the treasury.

"Alright, it's time to go"

Finished with the goodbyes, turning around, Silug and I directly left the treasury.

I still had plans for him.

…

After separating from Kevin, Silug and I quickly returned to the prison area.

As Silug and I moved closer to the prison area, we could hear the faint sound of fighting inside.

From time to time the muffled sound of fighting that came from outside the castle could also be heard, but those sounds were primarily drowned by the sounds coming from the prison.

…still, although it was loud, it seemed as though the fight was coming to a conclusion as the sound was becoming fainter and fainter by the minute.

Stopping not so far from the entrance of the prison, I looked towards the entrance of the prison that was currently guarded by two demons. Behind them, the door that led to the prison was still open therefore I was able to see everything that was going on inside.

"Huaaaa-!"

Staring at the fight happening inside of the prison area, it looked as though the orcs seemed to be on the verge of losing as the demons around them were working together to bind them with special-looking ropes that seemed to be able to negate aura circulation.

No matter how much the orcs tried to fight back, it seemed as though they were going to lose very soon.

As I saw what was happening inside, a smile emerged on my lips.

"Perfect, I'm still not too late"

Turning around the looking towards the ceiling of the hall I was in, I placed my hand on my chin as I nodded my head and softly muttered.

"I guess it's about time I presented the gift"

Glancing at my watch, looking towards the guards fighting against the orcs at the entrance of the prison, I subsequently tapped on the screen.

A massive explosion followed my tap on the watch and the castle shook.

"What's going on?"

"What happened!"

"Huaaaa-!"

Taking advantage of the distraction that the explosion created, the two orcs that were on the verge of losing instantly become more fierce as they tried to break through their encirclement.

"Damn it!"

"What the hell is happening!"

"Huaaaa-!"

Looking towards the ceiling where the explosion came from, I couldn't help but mutter.

"Oh wow, that was one big of an explosion"

When moving to the fourth floor with Angelica, I had placed all sorts of explosives around the castle.

There was a specific reason as to why I did so and currently, the explosion that happened should be coming from the fourth floor, Marquess Azeroth's office.

One of the places I had placed a bomb in.

…honestly, the explosion was much louder than I had expected, but this was exactly what I was aiming for.

Taking advantage of the chaos and the fact that the demon's attention was back to the orcs who were rampaging even more fiercely, once again entering the prison, Silug and I directly moved deeper into the prison.

Stopping before one of the cells in the depth of the prison area, breaking the chains and killing the demon that was residing in it whilst simultaneously disposing of its corpse, I looked at Silug and pointed towards the cell.

"Here, you stay in here"

Confused, Silug asked.

"Here?"

Nodding my head, I took out a brow backpack from my dimensional space and threw it at Silug.

"Yeah, take this"

Taking the bag, Silug became even more confused.

"What are these?"

"Didn't I promise you that I'll help you get revenge?"

Opening the bag, Silug nodded his head.

"Yes"

Smiling as I looked at the bag in Silug's hands, I softly said.

"That's the key to your revenge"

"I see…"

As he looked through the bag, Silug fell into a daze for a split second as he instantly understood my intentions.

The bag he was holding was currently filled to the brim with natural treasures.

…all of whom were extremely rare and things that he had only seen his commanders consume back when Immorra was not under the demon's control.

Each and every one of the treasures could cause massive conflicts within the orcs nowadays.

…and they were all items that Kevin and I took from the treasury below.

They were all items that should've originally belonged to the orcs, but as the demons invaded Immorra they were taken away, and as Marquess Azeroth could not consume them, they were left on display in the treasury as a possible incentive for the orcs that were on their side.

They were priceless.

…and Silug knew this.

Seeing Silug's reaction, I smiled and continued.

"These items should be enough to help you break through to S rank in a couple of years. This should put you on the same level as the orc chief and Marquess Azeroth"

Pausing for a second and looking in the direction of where the war was happening, I softly muttered.

"…by the time you achieve S rank the war outside should be coming to an end"

The war was going to be a long one.

Wars always tended to be extremely long and this one was not an exception. With both sides currently being in a deadlock, I estimated that the war would end in a couple of years.

Just around the same time Silug should be reaching rank.

This was what I was aiming for.

Turning my attention back to Silug, I pointed at him and seriously said.

"…and that is when your time will come"

"Once the war reaches its ending, I want you to go out and kill both Marquess Azeroth and the orc chief. With the war going on for several years they will both be exhausted and injured, when you come out as a newly emerged rank no one will be able to fight against you."

Pausing for a second and deeply staring at Silug, I clenched my fist and slowly said.

"Kill them both and become the new orc chief"

Yes.

This was the plan that I had envisioned as soon as I saw the opportunity present itself.

Make Silug become the new orc chief.

…with him becoming the new orc chief and expanding his territory, that was the same as me expanding my forces.

With Silug working under me, in the near future, I would have my very own orc legion that I could use in my fight with the demon king…

Just the thought of it made me involuntarily smile.

Now, this was what you called an important piece.

Staring at me and nodding solemnly, Silug asked.

"What about the two other demons residing in the other two cities, won't they interfere"

Turning my attention back to Silug, I reassured.

"Don't worry about the other Marquess ranked demons, they will most likely not be there."

With demons not being united this wasn't surprising.

As Marquess Azeroth was fighting the orc chief, the two other Marquess-ranked demons were most probably just enjoying the show.

Although they wouldn't let Azeroth die, they still wanted to weaken him so that they could take his treasures and possessions.

…that's just how demons were.

Greedy, and opportunistic.

Therefore, taking advantage of their greediness, Silug could easily sweep in and kill both Marquess Azeroth and the orc chief before the two other Marquess-ranked demons could have enough time to figure out the situation.

"I understand"

Urging Silug to enter the prison and binding him with the chains which no longer worked, I continued explaining my plans.

"After you kill them both, take over Setin and grow your forces. With the terrain around here, you can easily regrow the crops from before and from there you should easily be able to rejuvenate the orc forces of the past"

Frowning, Silug asked.

"Will the Marquess ranked demons move after I take over Setin?"

Shaking my head, I confidently said.

"They won't move"

Given Silug's strength and the fact that they were very far from Setin unless they waged an all-out war, they wouldn't be able to defeat Silug without risking their own life.

Given the demon's selfish and preservative nature, there was a low chance of them trying to fight Silug.

At most, they would try to annoy him from time to time, but unless they were confident in their strength, they wouldn't move.

Glancing at Silug to make sure he understood my plan, I asked.

"Do you understand my plan?"

Nodding his head, Silug said.

"Yes"

"Good"

Smiling at the fact that Silug understood, I closed my eyes slightly as I softly muttered.

'…I hope this somewhat makes up for what I've done'

Although what I did was messed up as I started a war that will lead to a lot of demons and orcs dying, I was also giving the orcs a new chance.

Near the end of the novel, Immorra would disappear as the demon king directly swallows the whole planet in order to increase his strength even more.

The orcs here only had one end.

Death.

…and so, by allowing Silug to take over, they were essentially going to be an asset that I would use to fight against the very thing that would cause their death.

Therefore, I'd like to think that this war was for the sake of their future.

I knew that this was bullsh*t, but it was in a way helping me cope with the fact that I was changing.

Had I have done this before back when I had just come into this world, I would've never imagined myself starting a war just for the sake of getting a few items.

…but the more I stayed in this world the more I realized that I needed to change.

I could no longer be as soft as I was before.

If I wanted to stay in this world, I needed to become like the others. I needed to make decisions that I would've never done before.

Still, although I said that, I made sure to set up a line that I wouldn't dare cross.

…as crossing that line would make me no different from the villains and the hypocritical heroes of this world.

Hopefully, that situation will never happen…

Recalling something and taking out a white scroll from my dimensional space, I unscrolled the scroll and pointed towards the bottom of it.

"Oh, before I forget, I'll give you this, and here is where you need to sign"

Looking at the scroll, Silug tilted his head in confusion.

"What is this?"

Smiling, I casually said.

"A demon contract"

Taken aback, Silug's voice deepened.

"A demon contract?

Nodding my head, I explained.

"Yeah, back on earth I have a demon colleague and she gave it to me. I'm sorry but If you don't want to get caught, you have to sign this"

Hopefully, he doesn't think too much into it.

Although it wasn't the best excuse, I could only think of this excuse at the moment. Fortunately, it wasn't that weird for demons to ally themselves with others so, it wasn't that unbelievable.

"Okay"

"Before you decide to sign it, only sign it after I'm gone. I don't know what time measurement you use here, so sign it after you hear another explosion in the distance"

Pausing slightly and staring deeply at Silug, I repeated.

"By the way, I can't stress enough about the fact that you need to sign the contract. If you don't sign it, your revenge will never happen"

With every orc and demon present inside the prison having signed a contract, if Silug was the only one that didn't have it, he would without a doubt get exposed. Therefore, after convincing Angelica to hand me the contract, I immediately presented it to Silug.

It sort of acted as a protective halo that prevented demons from finding out he wasn't actually a prisoner.

Furthermore, the reason why I told him to sign it later was because I didn't want Silug to know that Angelica was with me on this planet as once he signed the contract he would get a general idea of where she was.

Him thinking that Angelica was not here was a must, I couldn't let him link everything that had happened to him to me.

That aside, convincing Angelica wasn't actually that hard since this deal was quite advantageous for her.

Once Silug broke through to rank, with her soul being linked to his, she too would get a massive boost in power.

Although the downside was that she would die if Silug died too, she also know that this was the best chance she could get to breaking even higher up.

Therefore, after I explained to her my plan, she immediately agreed.

Thus, looking at Silug who was remaining quiet, I asked

"Have you understood?"

Staring at me, after a short pause, Silug said

"Understood"

Smiling, I turned around and prepared myself to return back to earth. Turning around and glancing at Silug one last time, I said.

"Good, I will see you again in a couple of years, hopefully when I see you again you'll show me something surprising"

Bounded by the chains with the bag filled with treasures hidden in the corner of the prison, Silug's deep voice rang across the prison cell.

"…If this really does help me achieve revenge, I will swear loyalty towards you"

Smiling at Silug, I happily said.

"Then I wish you success…"

I didn't take his words to heart.

Although orcs were creatures that were true to their words, I wasn't someone that would just believe in someone's words.

I needed reassurances.

…hence why I made him sign a pact with Angelica.

With Angelica under my control, no matter what he did, he would still be within my control.

Although this would only last for five years as Angelica was only under me for that period of time, I wasn't worried.

I had already made preparations for it.

…everything should still be within my control.