Awaiting their Chief in the rocky area just outside the tribe, where the war fugitives were held, the orcs began to cheer as Alyon came into view.
“Chief Alyon, long live!”
“Warrior of the Orcs, Alyon chief!”
“Want us to die, let us die, ask us to strike, let us strike!”
Nafız could hardly contain her nerves at the shouts of the orcs, muttering to herself, trying to calm down.
‘What a disgrace! Every war, every war, like a women’s program prankster!”
When the enthusiastic march was over and the two orcs came to a dominant position, Alyon began to speak.
“The battlefield is the only stage where the orcs will display their bravery. Butcher Haydo and his stalwarts showed us how to be an orc warrior today. After that, they have placed on our side.”
The Chief continued to speak as the Orcs talked among themselves and appreciated the warriors.
“Haydo the butcher, I am bringing you to the head of the tribe. You will be the one in charge of this tribe, provided you remain loyal to the great Orc Empire we will establish!”
The former warrior chief was unsure of what to say at the news he received, but the warriors under his command began to shout for joy.
Alyon wanted to use the new tribe as the main attack force, as he had commissioned the core tribe to protect the bounty dungeon and thrive in the hidden lands. He took the first step by appointing the war-lover Butcher Haydo, whose life he saved, as Chief.
“Let the festivities begin; we will celebrate our victory! Drink a lot of wine, have fun!”
Alyon, who is the embodiment of majesty with his strong voice and large body, gave the order for fun to begin and sat on the throne prepared for him. Meanwhile, Butcher Haydo, who had just gotten over the shock, asked the Chief about the fate of nearly a thousand fugitives waiting quietly in a corner.
“Sir, do you have any thoughts about these traitors?
The newly appointed Chief wanted to solve this situation, which could cause trouble in the future, rather than having fun.
“They will be a part of the festivity too, half-baked man. No matter what happens, we are all orcs; this happy day can’t be separate!”
After Nafız’s words, the prisoners waiting for their fate by bowing their heads looked at her with hope.
“Sangre, are the preparations complete?”
”Yes, sir!”
“Begin!”
The orc warriors’ faces were devoid of emotion, with giant tortoiseshell shields in their hands covering three sides of the fugitives. Even when the flaming war machine was brought to the vacant part, they were not merciful to the orcs trying to break the siege. The Shadow Wolf howled in pain as the war fugitives pleaded.
”Please forgive me! Butcher Haydo, do something; you cannot leave us to die!”
”Burn!”
Hearing their commander’s order, the warriors burned the trapped fugitives alive without blinking their eyes. Orcs with a wild nature were turning into war machines with Miloş’s training. For these people, who had experienced betrayal firsthand, such execution was not brutality but giving the right person his due.
“Cheers, since we lit our campfire too!”
While Nafız was laughing happily, knocking down her drinking mug in one seam, the human captives and the warriors of Butcher Haydo were watching what was happening in a stunned state.
“Sir, wouldn’t it be better if we made these orcs work in the mines? We have a shipment we need to deliver on the moon turn!”
Butcher Haydo, who took all the responsibility as the new Chief, looked at Nafız with helpless eyes.
“Drink your wine, Butcher Haydo! How do you derive that someone can get free goods from our mines?”
After experiencing the joy of returning from the dead, the Butcher Haydo, who was uneasy about being under the command of such disturbing types, was very happy inside. He sipped his drink, hoping that everything would turn out better, and ordered his warriors to join in the celebrations.
As the days passed, the traces of the war were slowly fading from the tribe. While the quartermasters of the core tribe completely redesigned the area, the warriors continued their hard training.
The soldiers of Butcher Haydo, who had always boasted of their toughness and brutality, had begun to participate in the drills under Sangre. At the end of the first day, the shed orcs would be surprised at what they had suffered, while they would be offered a motivation to continue this suffering.
“Either you can catch us within a month’s anniversary, or you will start living in the supply company from now on!”
While this was happening with the reconstituted tribe, the city of Nikonia was shaking with anger and bitterness upon hearing of the defeat of their armies. Only after the Gulag had announced that he would visit the orc tribe with a delegation had calmed down, the townspeople begin to wait for the good news to come.
“Lord Gulag from the city of Nikonia, welcome to our tribe!”
Sangre, who met the delegation at the entrance of the tribe at the order of Alyon, frightened the people in front of him with the deadly aura coming out of his body, despite his polite speech.
“We are here to meet with the chief; please show me the way!”
Unsurprised at the brief shock of his companions, the Gulag spoke sternly, keeping his tail upright. In the eyes of the Nikonia delegation, who did not know the reason for this self-confidence, the skinny older man walking in front of them now appeared as a giant.
“Sir, Nikonia Commercial City representatives are waiting to appear before you!”
After one of the guards standing guard outside the Chief’s tent called in, the answer came in a calm voice.
“Send in!”
The delegation paid attention to their steps as they entered the chief tent. Opposite them was an orc seated on the throne with a double ax at his waist. Alyon and Nafız had settled on both sides of it.
Surprised by where Alyon was standing, Gulag stooped to the orc sitting on the throne stealthily and spoke up.
“My name is Gulag. I am the right hand of the lord of the city of Nikonia. Orc chief, I’m here to lick the wounds of the sad event that took place between the two sides.”
Butcher Haydo, looking at the people who entered his tent, said in an arrogant tone, “Where were your minds before you sent the army?”
Although the message he received from Nafız said that everything was arranged, Gulag knew that the show part of the job would be a bit difficult.
“Chief, if I can get your name, I will do my best to prove how sincere we are.”
“My name is Butcher Haydo! Talk, I’m listening to you!”
The Gulag uttered flattering words and dazzled the delegation with his maneuvers until it came to negotiating war reparations and the amount to be paid for the return of the prisoners. As the meeting was going on as designed and was about to end, an event that no one had taken into account would ignite.
The orc bowed low to the ground, whispered something in Nafız’s ear, and hurried back. Since the incident caught the attention of those in the tent, it was necessary to make a statement to everyone who witnessed it.
“The team that came to collect their monthly rations from the mother orc tribe insisted on meeting us!”
Chef Butcher Haydo found him smiling with delight when his old fears hit him, and he turned to Alyon in a panic.
“The main orc tribe always takes precedence. I hope you invited them here right away!”
When Alyon, out of politeness, called to Nafız, she was answered with the same softness.
“Of course, are we rude enough to keep the entire main orc tribe’s team waiting?”
While the two were having fun among themselves, the leather door of the tent opened, and a group of orcs entered. The person, who showed that he was the team leader in every way, cast his eyes on everyone and shouted with foam from his mouth.
‘What disgrace is this? Where is the Red Bear? How dare you say that there will be no more shipments from the mines?”
Contrary to this person whose eyes were about to pop out of, Nafız spoke calmly.
“The Red Bear will no longer be with us! We terminated his employment contract unilaterally!”
Nafız, who spoke without paying attention to the bewildered glances, was turning the job into fun.
I think there was a misunderstanding. I did not say that there would be no shipments from the mines to the mother tribe. I said that no one will be given free products from now on.
Nafız, who embellished her speech with a middle-class managerial style, with plenty of gestures and facial expressions, drove the angry orc delegation into a frenzy.
“We’ll tear your tribe apart, paint this land with your blood, worms!”
As the head of the orc team drew their ax and cried out, the human delegation crouched in a corner and began to curse their bad luck. Of all the people who thought they had found such an unfortunate time, only the Gulag was relatively calm. Unlike his frightened friends, he tried to predict how the drawn orcs would die.
“I don’t think we can have a business relationship with you, so please put down your weapons and leave the tribe. Otherwise, I will add the ax in your hand to you, and you will remember me every time you crouch!”
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A coin pierces a person’s pocket, a broken person’s heart. So spend both.
Lev Tolstoy
