The corners of Yuriko's mouth lifted uncontrollably as his gauntlet lightly tapped the hilt of his sword.
He cleared his throat and announced in a deliberately lowered voice, "In the name of the king's younger brother and the Grand Commander of the National Guardian Knights, I, this prince, hereby accept your allegiance!"
Yulgar's ears shot up. His rough fingers secretly pinched his thigh behind his back—this result was even better than he had expected.
He immediately threw himself to the ground, his forehead striking the muddy earth with a heavy thud. "Oh, merciful Highness!" His voice trembled exaggeratedly. "You shine more brilliantly than the sun over the prairie!"
Brock and the other orc warriors exchanged glances. Shaman Goruk was the first to react and hurriedly dropped down as well, the bells on his bone staff jingling.
Yulgar took the opportunity to growl in the orcish tongue, "Everyone, get on your knees!" The orcs behind him promptly dropped flat in unison, creating quite a spectacular sight.
"From this day forth, you are an auxiliary force of the National Guardian Knights!" Yuriko announced proudly, completely failing to notice the twitching corner of the knight captain's mouth.
The prince even personally untied Yulgar's ropes—a gesture that made the guards tense up and grip their muskets tightly.
Yulgar rubbed his wrists, which had been chafed raw by the ropes, then suddenly threw his arms around Yuriko's boot and pressed his face against the cold metal. "The Wugu Tribe will never be able to repay Your Highness's kindness!"
He secretly pinched his thigh and forcibly squeezed out two drops of cloudy tears. "I am willing to lead our warriors into battle for Your Highness at once!"
Yuriko was at a loss in the face of this sudden enthusiasm. His face flushed bright red beneath his