[ Chapter 106 ]


    The enormous Gloten mountain range formed the eastern border between the Kingdom of Crovence and the Vasily Kingdom. Beyond its rugged peaksy vast grasnds. This expansive in, where the horizon was marked by endless nds and rocky mountains, remainedrgely untouched by human hands—this was the Fend in.


    In the rtively habitable areas near the mountains, which featured small valleys andkes suitable for cultivation, a few human viges still remained. These viges, established along the pathway leading to the kingdom’s border gates, were home to nomads and traveling merchants. They roamed the arid wilderness herding sheep and goats or made their living trading with the border guards stationed at the gates.


    However, even they did not venture further east. The harsh climate, with its extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, and the presence of monsters that frequently preyed on their sheep and goats, made it an unbearable ce for even the most resilient nomads. Hence, the eastern part of the Fend in was referred to as Deatnd, or “Death’s Land” in the nomads’nguage, and was strictly avoided.


    No shepherd, no matter how brave, ventured into the eastern part of the Fend in, the deste Deatnd.


    Yet now, a flock of sheep and goats grazed peacefully in that very Deatnd. Nearby, arge figure sat on a rock, shirtless, casually observing them.


    If a human saw this, they would have doubted their eyes. Deatnd was teeming not with mere wild beasts, but with powerful creatures worthy of being called monsters. No shepherd would dare bring their flock here, even if every other pasture had dried up.


    However, this man maintained a serene expression even in this perilous ce. And upon closer inspection, it wasn’t so strange.


    He wasn’t human—he was an orc.


    Standing nearly two meters tall, with rough, green skin like the bark of a tree, a t nose, and tusks jutting out from his lower jaw like those of a boar, this orc had all the characteristic features of his kind. Yet, his features were somehow well-defined and bnced, making him not appear overly ferocious. By human standards, he might even be considered ruggedly handsome.


    As he watched the goats diligently nibbling at the sparse grass, the green-skinned orc stretchednguidly.


    “Ah, there’s no news today either.”


    At the sound of his voice, arge wolf’s head suddenly emerged from beneath the rock. This fearsome-looking wolf was enormous. A direwolf, standing 1.2 meters tall and reaching 3 meters in length, it was a monster that could snap up a bull in one bite.


    This ferocious monster approached the orc man and, like a dog, began nuzzling its head against him, whining softly.


    “Yip, yip.”


    “Hey! You little rascal! You haven’t done anything and you’re already looking for food?”


    When he tapped its head lightly, it whimpered like a real dog and curled its tail. Watching the direwolf crouch at his feet, the orc man clicked his tongue.


    “…Seriously, why has the former king of the ins be so submissive?”


    The direwolf lifted its head, stuck out its tongue as if saying, ‘Well, that didn’t work,’ and confidently descended under the rock. The orc man clicked his tongue again.


    “Ugh, that cunning beast.”


    It had been half a year since he tamed this ck-furred direwolf, ck King. For an orc, taming a direwolf was proof of being an honorable warrior. All orcs dream of bing wolf riders, but only a true warrior can mark themselves on these ferocious monsters and make them follow.


    He had chased the ck King, known as the king of the ins, for a week, endured its counterattacks for three days, and after a half-day battle, he finally subdued the ck King. He imprinted his warrior spirit on the ck King, making it follow him.


    Up to this point, everything was good. However, this ck King was different from other direwolves. Was it too intelligent? It understood words perfectly and behaved like a human, but to an excessive degree, to the point of being cheeky.


    ‘Sometimes, I feel like I’m the one who got tricked…’


    Shaking his head, the orc man suddenly looked up sharply.


    “Hmm?”


    The ck King, descending under the rock, perked up its ears as well. Both stood up simultaneously. At this sight, two other orc men who were tending the sheep a bit further away ran over with startled faces.


    “What’s going on?”


    “Has it finally appeared, Tassid?”


    The orcs all stared in the direction Tassid was looking. Sure enough, after a moment, arge shadow emerged from the other side of the rocky hills. It was a Turtle Lion, a carnivorous monster with the body of a turtle and the head and limbs of a lion. It seemed to be quite old, appearing nearly twice the size of the ck King.


    Roar!


    The Turtle Lion roared and started charging towards the sheep. The sheep and goats, frozen by the roar, stood still in a daze, unable to think of running away. This monster, which had evolved in the arid climate to reduce moisture evaporation, might lookughable at first nce, but it was far from an easy opponent. Itbined the defense of a turtle and the attack power of a lion, a formidable monster capable of easily sweeping away dozens of human soldiers.


    However, the orcs did not seem too tense.


    Orc warrior Tassid picked up the giant zhanmadao ced beside him and grinned.


    “ck King!”


    As if waiting for thismand, the direwolfy down at Tassid’s feet. Grabbing the reins and swiftly mounting ck King, Tassid shouted in Orcish as he spurred the beast forward.


    “Talkra! Ketchatraka!”


    Tranted, it meant something like, ‘Food’s here! Light the fire!’ Riding atop ck King, Tassid galloped across the in at a fierce speed, raising his rough zhanmadao high and shouting loudly.


    “Dakar!”


    He called the name of the zhanmadao to awaken the soul of the weapon. Tassid’s beloved de, Dakar, began to emit a faint light along its de. This was an orc warrior’s unique technique, entirely different from an aura, where instead of infusing the de with one’s energy, one drew out the sword’s own spirit. The once dull de of Dakar sharpened to a razor edge, exuding a chilling aura.


    Merging his spirit with that of the de, Tassid charged toward the Turtle Lion like a storm. Just as the Turtle Lion was about to pounce on a goat, Tassid swiftly intercepted it. The Turtle Lion roared with anger and wariness.


    “Grrraaah!”


    ck King also bared his fangs and roared back.


    “Grrr!”


    The fierce beasts faced each other, assessing their opponent. In an instant, the Turtle Lion bared its sharp fangs and leapt forward, simultaneously swiping at Tassid with its forepaw. Tassid parried the attack with his zhanmadao.


    ng!


    The sound of metal echoed as Tassid effortlessly blocked the Turtle Lion’s attack. His thick arm muscles bulged as if they would burst, but he didn’t give an inch. Both Tassid and ck King effortlessly withstood the full weight of the massive Turtle Lion’s strike.


    “Grrraaah!”


    The enraged Turtle Lion repeatedly swung its forepaws. Tassid continued to parry with Dakar, his eyes suddenly zing with determination.


    “Taaah!”


    With a thunderous shout, Tassid’s rough zhanmadao traced a delicate arc, shing the Turtle Lion’s neck and shoulder simultaneously. A brilliant three-strikebination wove a pattern of blood in the air.


    Blood spurted as the giant monster lost its life and slowly began to sink. Two other Orc warriors, who had been standing by with swords and axes for backup, ran over with bright expressions.


    “Oh, as expected of the brave Tassid!”


    “With this, we won’t go hungry for a while!”


    The Orc warriors joyfully began to dismantle the fallen Turtle Lion. Their hands, removing the shell and skinning it, moved with remarkable skill.


    In fact, for the Orcs living here, a monster attacking their sheep was not a disaster but a blessing. Since mere herding was not enough to sustain them, they would face food shortages if monsters did not attack from time to time. It could even be said that this was their staple.


    Of course, many Orcs died during these attacks, but for those who revered warriors, there were no tears to shed for the defeated.


    With a Turtle Lion of this size, just the meat alone was enough to feed them for a while. Moreover, its shell and hide were useful in many ways. Tassid and the other Orc warriors enthusiastically continued their dismantling work.


    As they were busy draining the blood and skinning it, the ck King quietly approached and tapped the Turtle Lion’s hind leg with his paw. Then he looked at Tassid and tapped the thigh this time.


    “…What is it?”


    At Tassid’s gruff voice, the ck King pointed his nose at the hind leg. Through their soul connection, Tassid could immediately sense the Direwolf’s will. The ck King was saying this:


    “Hurry up and give me my share already.”


    “…Here you go.”


    With a wry smile, Tassid sliced off arge chunk of the hind leg and tossed it to him. The ck King happily grabbed it with his mouth. Then, he tapped Tassid’s shoulder. Anyone could see it was a gesture meaning, “Well done, you’ve worked hard.”


    “You little rascal…”


    Watching the ck King gnawing on the bone from a distance, Tassid shook his head. He wondered if the so-called king of the ins was more of a ruler by political prowess rather than strength.


    Once they were ready to leave, Tassid hoisted the load onto his shoulder and whistled.


    “Wheeeet!”


    The sheep and goats began to gather at the sound. Looking back at hispanions, Tassid stood up.


    “Alright, let’s head back to the vige.”


    * * *


    Endlessly stretching across the ins, there stood a massive rock mountain resembling a crouching bear atop a slightly elevated hill. A small spring bubbled below the rock mountain, and around it, hundreds of leather tents were lined up. This was the spring campsite of the true rulers of this harshnd, the Blue Bear Tribe.


    As Tassid and the other two orc men descended the hill carrying the Turtle Lion, the orcs who had remained in the vige greeted them with cheers. Waving back in response to their warm wee, Tassid entered the vige. When they arrived in front of arge tent nearly twice the size of the others, the curtain was drawn back to reveal an orc woman with dark red skin, solid muscles, and ample breasts. Despite being a massive figure herself, shemanded an imposing presence that could rightly be called that of a formidable woman, matching even the brawny Tassid.


    Tassid gestured to the Turtle Lion’s carcass and spoke.


    “Today’s harvest, Grandmother.”


    “The children will not go hungry.”


    Sta, the orc woman, nodded in satisfaction. She then picked up a piece of the Turtle Lion’s flesh and easily tore it apart with both hands. It wasn’t cooked; she had simply ripped the raw meat apart with her bare strength. Her strength was so immense that she could probably dismember a few people with ease. Yet, the other orcs showed no surprise, as if this was amon urrence.


    Holding the torn pieces of meat, Sta bestowed a blessing.


    “Let this flesh and blood be our flesh and blood. Take it and fight against destiny!”


    After the blessing, other female orcs came forward with knives, each cutting off their share of the meat. True to being orc women, their bodies were all well-built with solid muscles. While they clearly had feminine features unlike male orcs, none had the soft, slender physiques of human or elf women. For orcs, the standard of obesity was determined by how much b one had, so no matter how skinny one was, without muscles, she was just a ‘fat’ woman.


    In this sense, the forty-year-old Sta was indeed a fearsome beauty. Her skin was practically synonymous with the word ‘muscle’! She was a knockout that made all the orc men drool with desire.


    Despite her rock-hard muscles, Sta also had a generous bosom. With those ample breasts, she had nursed over thirty young orcs, earning her the title of mother among mothers. Though this might seem odd, she was a woman worthy of respect by orc standards.


    As she watched the tribe’s orcs carry away the Turtle Lion’s flesh, Sta smiled contentedly. She then looked at Tassid, who was standing proudly by her side, and praised him once more.


    “Well done, Tassid.”


    “It was nothing,” he replied.