Punishment

The king was infuriated. From the few encounters with that young orc, he knew he was a determined and fearless individual, to put it bluntly, stubborn and unreasonable. Even in front of the king, beneath that seemingly respectful demeanor, there was an obvious indifference and mockery.

But he would never have imagined that Barlock would dare to brutally massacre two qi warriors in the arena, in front of thousands of spectators!

At this point, the king no longer cared about why Barlock himself was so powerful. He only knew that he had encountered a problem!

"Your Majesty, that orc must be punished." Duke Delta, with a respectful tone but firm insistence, bowed to him. "Even if he violated the rules of the arena by participating without authorization and killed five gladiators, we could tolerate it. But his massacre of the qi warriors is a provocation to the entire human race. If we shelter him, I'm afraid the citizens of the capital will have very negative opinions about you, greatly damaging your reputation."

King Corek cursed inwardly: "Damn Delta, if I really punish and execute Barlock, then my reputation for kindness and integrity will be instantly destroyed. Don't think I don't know what tricks you're playing behind the scenes...!"

Barlock's actions in saving Princess Claire's life had been strictly kept secret by the king, but eventually, the news spread. After secret investigation, all signs pointed to Duke Delta... This bastard must have a spy in the palace! If the king doesn't punish Barlock, the citizens will definitely be dissatisfied, but if the king punishes the man who saved his daughter's life, he will be seen as ungrateful! This situation was entirely created by Delta, or perhaps... he wanted to put the king in a dilemma! Even the events in the arena were orchestrated by Delta for an unknown purpose.

The king began to be truly cautious. He knew Duke Delta's character very well and knew he wouldn't resort to such methods. So there must be someone behind him... the figure of the fugitive brother from Odoria was looming!

Corek's ascension to the throne was not smooth sailing. Although the old king had indeed issued a decree before his death, establishing him as the successor, it did not mean that Duke Lind, his only brother, would willingly accept it. In the first few years of his reign, Duke Lind even openly summoned nobles loyal to him, launching a rebellion, and his troops once approached the capital, Padia. At a critical moment, Academy Chancellor Batus publicly declared support for King Corek, causing all the mages to turn to the new king, even the mages in Duke Lind's army betrayed and left. This led to the collapse of Duke Lind's rebel army, and he himself had to flee to seek refuge in the Odorian Empire!

Fleeing did not mean giving up his ambitions for the throne. Although all nobles loyal to Duke Lind were purged, there were still supporters in the shadows, causing Corek to never let his guard down. It was just that Duke Delta's recent betrayal caught him off guard... Knowing the old Duke Delta's loyalty and consideration for his own reputation, this was the reason why the king did not immediately take down Delta, but instead ordered Lady Celine to find evidence.

Now, Delta had finally made a move, and it happened just when the prince of Odoria was about to visit. King Corek sensed the smell of conspiracy... His stubborn brother was probably going to stir up trouble again, and Delta was just launching the first wave of attacks against his reputation!

"That orc has been tightly guarded by elite soldiers in the city guard's dungeon. I will consider his punishment. As for the losses to your arena..." The king's voice was flat as he spoke to Delta, "I have issued a warrant to allow that orc to protect his kin. And your subordinate Seaston dared to ignore my orders, allowing Barlock's kin to participate in the arena, provoking him. Don't think you can stay out of it. Some things should be done, some things should not. Consider it carefully. Let Seaston come out and be punished with twenty lashes in the military camp as a punishment for disrespecting the king."

Duke Delta's face turned pale with anger, his beard standing up... The king hadn't even punished that damned orc yet, and he was already targeting his subordinate. Delta was almost mad with rage, so much so that he completely failed to appreciate the double meaning in the king's words...!

Taking a deep breath, he finally suppressed his anger. The matter of Duke Lind must not have any ripples. He had to endure... When the big plan succeeded, at that time, even if he became a prisoner, or even died, let's see if the king would continue to be so arrogant.

"As you wish, Your Majesty. I will have Seaston punished at the military camp. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Delta bowed and said!

The king waved his hand, letting Delta leave the palace. His brows immediately furrowed, and without even turning his head, he asked, "Where is that orc being held?"

Personal attendant Yerban answered from behind, "Your Majesty, Barlock is being held in the city guard's dungeon, with a team of elite qi warriors fully armed guarding him." It felt incredible to even think about it. I hadn't expected that the handsome and extraordinary young orc would be so cruel, not only tearing off the heads of five gladiators, but also splitting two intermediate qi warriors in half. Even if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have felt a chill down my spine!

"Take him to the Lion and Axe arena. I want to announce his punishment in front of the citizens!" The king ordered. He wouldn't let Delta and the person behind him get what they wanted. Since you want to provoke a conflict, then don't ever leave!

Yerban left to carry out the order, and the king turned back into the palace. Lady Celine somehow learned of Barlock's imprisonment and actually entered the palace to plead for him... Celine didn't follow the king's wishes to deliberately approach Delta, to help gather information, but instead pleaded for an orc in front of the king, which displeased Corek.

Celine didn't know why she had rushed into the palace in a panic to plead with Queen Susan after hearing about Barlock's trouble. This time, that guy had really caused a big disaster. Killing gladiators and openly killing qi warriors were completely different concepts. It would be considered the most serious offense against the human race. Even if Barlock and his people were all cruelly executed, it wouldn't be surprising at all. Celine's heart couldn't control its accelerating heartbeat, and she couldn't even distinguish why... She absolutely wouldn't admit that it was because of worry, repeatedly telling herself that it was all to repay Barlock's kindness in saving Claire!

"Your Majesty, please spare Barlock, don't kill him." After entering Princess Claire's room, Celine immediately bowed hurriedly and said, "You can punish him, even severely, but please spare his life. He saved Claire, and we can't stand by and watch him die."

"Barlock has angered the masses, and I cannot shield him. He must be punished, whether he will die or not... depends on him!" The king had just come to see his daughter. Princess Claire had already recovered her health and was laughing and running around in the garden with Queen Susan. Without even looking back at them, the king said in a flat tone, "He's just an orc, not worth such infatuation. Celine, what I said, you must do immediately. This is the best way for you to free yourself from Delta. If Delta's misdeeds are exposed later, then you won't be able to escape, and you may even be implicated. Think about it yourself!"

The incident where Celine almost killed Delta's three spies when she returned home could naturally not escape the king's notice, which made him somewhat displeased. But enduring a momentary humiliation was nothing compared to complete freedom. What's the point? Was being approached by a human man really better than an orc covered in fur? - This was the king's true thought, and he even regarded Barlock as Celine's lover. So much so that he looked at Celine with a kind of disdain and mockery!

Celine's face turned pale, silent, and it was unclear whether she was acquiescing or silently objecting!

The king snorted coldly, waved to the queen, and left on his own! ...

---

Barlock had caused a great disaster in an extremely brutal manner, killing human gladiators and qi warriors, and ultimately saved two severely injured tribesmen. When he opened the gate, the tribesmen immediately rushed over...!

"Barlock, you've caused trouble, sigh, you've caused trouble, what are we going to do? They will kill you, you... you should run away quickly, don't mind us!" Barrotan's face was full of anxiety as he urged Barlock to leave quickly.

"Yes, run quickly, even if it's dangerous, there's always a chance to escape, it's better than being caught and executed by human elite warriors." Old orc Zyad solemnly said. All the tribesmen urged Barlock to leave quickly. Killing a human qi warrior was a big disaster, and there had been legends before... Once an orc went crazy and killed a qi warrior, and then he and all his hundreds of tribesmen were slaughtered!

"I won't run away, listen to me..." Barlock gathered all the tribesmen together, took out the sheepskin map given to him by Zachary from the storage ring, and handed it to Zyad, saying somewhat urgently, "The matter of the sewer must not stop. You must continue to do it. This is a schematic diagram of the magical alert array in the sewer. Follow the marks on this map to evade. You must escape before the arena performance."

There was a tumult behind him, a team of fully armed elite warriors, with a surging and powerful qi aura, rushed over. Barlock turned and walked over, not resisting. The tribesmen's eyes were red, seeing Barlock being locked up with a huge iron chain, a warrior's fist full of qi smashing into Barlock's back, Barlock spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly fell to the ground...