A voice echoed around them as tents were visible in the distance, and the rush of anxious orcs alerted the two of them that they had reached their destination.
”Stop! Take off your hoodie, show your face!”
One of the troops that had ambushed the roads outside the tribe had spotted the intruders and surrounded them to find out their identity. The orc troop breathed a sigh of relief as Alyon, and Nafız slowly threw off their cloaks.
The warriors, who saw their cognates instead of someone from the Nikonia army, with whom they had been making guerrilla warfare for a while, still did not give up on their precaution.
”Who are you? Slowly get down on your knees without making any sudden movements.”
Acting by following the given commands, Alyon was also answering the questions asked.
“We are the two surviving orcs of the Ayıbogan chief’s slain tribe.”
The duo had made their plans before they set off. They threw Alyon’s armor and weapon into Nafız’s storage ring and dressed in simple, old leather clothes.
“Clasp your hands! Let’s take them to Chief Shadow Wolf so he can listen to their stories.”
The ambush groups consisted of hunting orcs. It was usual for them to want to take the captured orcs to their division chief, just in case, but Alyon found it odd that they had added the title of Chief directly before the Shadow Wolf’s name.
The two-winged doors of the leather tent opened. The orc, sitting happily inside, looked intently at the tribe’s intruders.
“You said you were from the wretched tribe of Ayıbogan, but my scouts informed me that you were all slaughtered.”
Even though Alyon was angry at the words of the orc standing before him, he was trying hard to contain himself. Nafız started to speak, thinking that it was right to take priority in this situation.
“Sir, the raid took place when my friend and I went to an area away from the tribe to dispose of the collected excrement. When we came back, everything was in ruins. Even the corpses of the orcs in our tribe were taken away.”
Shadow Wolf withdrew his skeptical gaze on the two orcs at his last words, as the expedition’s report also said that there were no orc corpses in the tribe. Eyeing the two orcs from head to toe, the hunter’s chief commanded, looking at the sentries.
“Take them, throw them to the Supply Department.”
After walking for a while, when the guards brought them to the quartermaster’s section, Nafız turned to Alyon and started laughing.
“At last, we came to the same place again, big boy!”
In the first days of trying to hold on to life, Chief Alyon, who was also a quartermaster orc, couldn’t help but smile at this tragicomic situation.
“There is a changing point. In this tribe, hunters seem to have an obvious weight.”
In this community, whose settlement was similar to the tribe of Ayıboğan, hunters took the place of warriors. The hunter tents seemed to act as a buffer between the warriors and the chief, while the orcs again formed the outermost ring.
”Hey! You two lucky dogs, come here!”
While Alyon and Nafız were laughing among themselves, a faint voice was struggling to get their attention.
‘Who am I talking to? Get the buckets, then clean up all the mess around.”
Nafız broke out another laugh while looking at the figure throwing two buckets in front of them and walking away.
Alyon had learned that the Nikonian army was on the move in the Red Crescent when he received news that his tribe’s orcs had reached their position and had entered a waiting state. While the atmosphere of panic was blowing in the tribe, the heads of the departments were called to the chief’s tent with the sunset.
“Chief, my plan for the destruction of the enemy is ready. If we meet them on the way, there is no obstacle for us to get over this danger and not to counterattack.”
Butcher Haydo had studied his lesson in detail, for he had predicted that this day would come. As his assistant laid the map on the floor, he continued where he left off.
“Chief, at the three marked points on the map, if Hunters ambush the enemy and hit-and-run, we can inflict critical damage.”
As the warrior chief excitedly explained his plan, the voice from his right would dampen his joy.
“Who told you you could use my hunters?”
When the owner of the voice, Shadow Wolf, and Butcher Haydo made eye contact, the warrior chief shouted harshly.
“Our tribe is on the brink of an all-out war. Anyone who can hold a gun should be considered a warrior and managed from one point.”
Although stubborn and violent, Butcher Haydo understood what to do in a war situation.
“Well, how do I know you won’t assign my hunters to all the dangerous missions and deliberately reduce their numbers?”
Shadow Wolf was staring at the Red Bear as he finished his sentence. For years, the Chief of the Hunters, who had taken advantage of the fear of losing the chief’s place to Butcher Haydo, had no priorities at all, as if he didn’t want to lose them in a battle.
“Butcher Haydo, it’s the warriors’ job to protect us from enemy attacks on us. Are you showing weakness at this time when you have to pay for the tribe feeding you for all these years?”
Butcher Haydo froze for a while, not knowing what to say when the Red Bear fell into the trap of the hunter’s chief and scolded him. As the meeting was over and walking towards his tent, the warrior chief muttered to himself, unable to shake off his shock?
“You unskilled, cowardly bastard! Do you want your tribe wiped off the face of the earth?”
Butcher Haydo, who walked all the way while his mind was elsewhere, could not have guessed that he would encounter another surprise when he entered his tent. Feeling the dagger in his throat, the warrior chief, who came to him, shouted in anger.
“As if making the chief puppet wasn’t enough, are you planning to kill me when the tribe is in such a state, coyote?”
Butcher Haydo, who thought that the Shadow Wolf had assassinated him, would be surprised by what was whispered in his ear.
“I have a proposition for you, rebel boy! The moment you accept, I can kill the Red Bear and the Shadow Wolf for you. When that happens, you can follow the plan you described and destroy the Nikonia army before it reaches the tribe.”
As Nafız gently pressed the neck of the Warriors Chief with the dagger she had taken from the dungeon, she had made an offer he could not refuse.
“If you listened to the meeting, it means you’ve been following me this whole time. The fact that no one noticed you, including me, can be considered the most excellent proof that you can do what you say; am I wrong?
Butcher Haydo, who assessed the situation in a short time, had solved the power of the person who held his life in his hands.
“Contrary to appearance, your intelligence is quite sharp. Can I accept that you responded positively to my offer?”
While Nafız thought that her proposal would be accepted, the warrior chief began to speak random words.
“You can kill me if you want. No matter how unskilled my superiors are, I have the pride of orc warriors. I cannot take action that would disrupt the hierarchy!”
After finishing his words, Butcherhaydo did not break his upright posture even when waiting for his death. The Chief of the Warriors thought he was breathing his last. It would take some time before he realized that he wasn’t feeling the cold in his throat.
When he turned around in a panic, he discovered that there was no one inside the tent. A shadow raced across the barren land as the chief of the warriors sank into a cold sweat.
“Your predictions were correct. That idiot has a head just as thick as you.”
Nafız said in an angry tone when she saw Alyon waiting beside her warriors.
“I told you an orc warrior would rather die than be a traitor, didn’t I?”
As Alyon spoke proudly, Sangre approached the two and greeted his master.
“Sir, the preparations are complete. We got word that the Nikonian army will reach the tribe tomorrow when the sun rises.”
While Nafız was trying to overcome the frustration of Butcher Haydo with the joy of the development of Blood Warrior Sangre, she and Alyon started to reconsider their plan for tomorrow.
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The best leaders are the ones who make sure that when the job is done, people can say we did it.
Lao Tzu
