Chapter 355: The Lion King of Ten Thousand Beasts, Amisfida

Charlot raised his voice, cutting through the complex emotions of the crowd. “To celebrate the addition of Black Dragon to our ranks, let us hold a banquet!”

Black Dragon quickly settled into his new role, saying, “Qiudro’s strength is not below mine, so he isn’t too difficult to handle. However, Amisfida is far too powerful. He is a Rank 23 Lionheart Berserker!”

“Even among the five human empires, there are only two or three individuals in each empire who could rival him.”

“Even if we five joined forces, we still wouldn’t be a match for Amisfida.”

“They call him the Lion King of Ten Thousand Beasts! He possesses the extraordinary ability to command legions, maneuvering hundreds of thousands of orcs as if they were extensions of his own body.”

“Were it not for his excessive bloodlust, cruelty, and oppression of all non-lion orc tribes, he would be the perfect general.”

“Alas, the Eternal and Illusory Dragon bestowed upon us a powerful commander, but not a flawless leader.”

“Master Mecklenburg, this is not the time for celebration.”

It dawned on Charlot that Black Dragon had chosen to position himself not as a formidable saint-rank combatant, but as a strategist akin to Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang, or Liu Bowen. The realization surprised him, but he found Black Dragon’s self-assessment intriguing and, more importantly, his advice accurate.

Charlot promptly nodded and said, “Black Dragon, you are absolutely right.”

“However, here is our original plan.”

“We have Tumisan and twenty thousand orc soldiers. Even if the orc camp discovers us, they would not immediately assume we are a human army.”

“The orders from the Fars Empire are to drive the orcs across the Red Dragon Strait. Yet, my West Wind Knight Order is utterly incapable of accomplishing that. Of the four knight orders that originally set out with us, all retreated midway. Thus, I have no intention of carrying out the Fars Empire’s command. Instead, I intend to rescue the Fleshless Creed among the orcs.”

Black Dragon had already heard Charlot’s philosophy from Tumisan. He squinted slightly, seemingly offhandedly asking, “What is your opinion on humans eating orcs versus eating wild animals?”

Charlot failed to notice Black Dragon’s subtle shift from the respectful “Master Mecklenburg” to the curt “you.” Without hesitation, Charlot replied, “What distinguishes humans from beasts is wisdom and civilization!”

“Humans should not harm orcs, much less eat them, just as orcs should not eat humans.”

“This is not a natural law, but rather a moral principle that any intelligent species must uphold as it advances to a higher level of civilization.”

“Orcs are people too. Wild beasts, however, are not. They lack wisdom and civilization…”

“I advocate for kindness toward animals, plants, and life in general. But I do not believe that sentience and non-sentience should be treated equally, nor that civilization and savagery can coexist peacefully.”

“Black Dragon, perfection does not exist in this world. Only an order that keeps the world functioning.”

“Our task is merely to make that order as painless as possible.”

“What even the gods cannot achieve, neither can we. If we can make things slightly better than they are now, we have already honored what we’ve learned in life.”

This wasn’t Charlot’s wisdom but the collective enlightenment of Earth’s civilization.

Black Dragon was deeply moved by these words. Reverting to a more respectful tone, he said, “Master Mecklenburg, I am willing to risk everything for you.”

“Since we do not wish to fight, the situation becomes simpler. Argon has already taken most of the Fleshless Creed away. I can handle luring out the remaining ones…”

Black Dragon laid out his plan in detail, leaving Charlot in awe.

The Fleshless Creed were outliers among the orcs. Black Dragon proposed telling Amisfida that the orc camp was running low on provisions and suggesting that the remaining members of the Fleshless Creed be slaughtered for rations. He would then volunteer to escort these orcs out of the camp. Of course, he had no intention of killing them; instead, he would deliver them to Charlot.

Amisfida would surely be enraged!

Ranks were divided into low (1–6), middle (7–12), high (13–18), and saint (19–24). Even within the saint ranks, power differences were immense.

Amisfida, a Rank 23 Lionheart Berserker, was only one step away from the pinnacle of saint rank. Even if Herolf, Tumisan, Black Dragon, Sabastine, and Grandma Saint Karen joined forces, they wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

The Lion King of Ten Thousand Beasts, while formidable, was not invincible. Even among the orcs, he had rivals.

Black Dragon planned to shift the blame onto Samson the Bull Demon, fabricating the story that this orc saint, whose strength surpassed Amisfida’s, had stolen the “provisions.”

Although straightforward, the plan required flawless execution at every step. In anyone else’s hands, it would likely fall apart. But in Black Dragon’s, it seemed effortless.

Charlot approved the plan, and the West Wind Knight Order immediately sprang into action. Unbeknownst to them, this once-city-patrol-turned-knight-order had grown into a genuinely formidable force. Even among the knight orders of the Fars Empire, it ranked in the top ten.

With a saint-rank powerhouse, dozens of transcendent individuals, a vast number of warriors, and multiple secure bases—not to mention the support of the Behemoth Principality, the South Seraph region, and even the Imperial Navy—they could now hold their own in significant but not decisive battles.

Charlot also considered whether Black Dragon might betray them and inform Amisfida. Thus, he made contingency plans to escape via Dubrovnik’s passage and destroy the labyrinth if necessary.

Within three or four days, Black Dragon returned with thousands of orcs. He didn’t linger in Dubrovnik, explaining that he needed to return and placate Amisfida to avoid suspicion.

Though reluctant to part with such a valuable saint-rank protector, Charlot let Black Dragon go.

This group of orcs, unlike previous ones, was sent to Cappadocia without undergoing the Fleshless Creed’s usual vetting process.

In the southern continent, members of the Fleshless Creed were exceedingly rare. After Argon had taken a group away, how could so many still remain? Charlot suspected something was amiss when he noticed that nearly half of the group were lizardfolk. He decided that since he had recruited a saint-rank protector, he must also accept the accompanying complications.

After all, “Clear water has no fish; overly discerning men have no followers.”

Charlot’s eyes were fixed on the future.

Just after sending the orcs away, Charlot received word that the empire had finally dispatched a second knight order to his location.

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