Nox and Mae finally arrived at the orc village. The village was larger and more complex than the foxian's village. The entirety of the village was encircled by a wooden stockade wall with spikes lining the top. However, the wall was decorated with the skulls of many species, many humans, some not. At the gate, a watchtower had guards overseeing the village and its surroundings.

As Nox and Mae stepped closer to the gate, the guards from the watchtower noticed them.

“Halt!” a guard commanded, examining Nox and Mae suspiciously. “Oh? What do we have here? A foxian accompanied by a demon?”

Nox spoke up immediately. “Bring us to your leader, we have something important to discuss.”

The guards were displeased. “And what kind of demon are you exactly? No one tells us what to do except our chief.”

“Don't these symbols on my body look familiar?” Nox asked, recalling Qornaroth's words that the demons would recognize the marks.

The guards leaned in to get a better look at Nox. “Ha ha! War paint, not seals!" they exclaimed. They climbed the watchtower and thrust out their chests to show off their small red marks on their arms and torso. There were not many of them, but enough to let it be known they shared the same markings.

Mae, seeing that the situation was not going to improve on its own, decided to take action. She spoke up loudly and formally, "We from the foxian village are in need of assistance from the orc tribe." After bowing to the guards, she added in a louder voice, "Please!"

"Hoooo, what an intriguing request," responded one of the sentries. One of them left his post to speak with the chief while the other stayed at their station.

“Mae! What were you thinking!?” Nox was indignant that she had bowed to the orcs.

Mae was taken aback by Nox’s sharp tone. “W-what did I do?” she asked.

“You bowed to those orcs - as if they were above you!”

“Well… I-I…” Mae fumbled over her words, then pouted. “At least now they’re calling their chief. Unlike you who was bragging and saying things like 'Don't you know who I am?'” she said, doing an impression of Nox and the orc guard.

“Pfft,” Nox couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Mae imitate them. He let out a sigh. “I guess you have a point.” He ruffled her hair as her tails wagged in response.

A series of loud thuds interrupted them. The gate opened slowly, along with the sounds of weapons thumping the ground. When the gate opened, it revealed a big, muscular greenish creature with a body filled with war paints and scars. He had two long tusks protruding upwards, giving him a stern and intimidating look. He was wearing rough animal skins that had been stitched together and adorned with crude jewelry made from bones and teeth. The other orcs accompanying him were similarly clothed in what could only be described as savage garb.

He walked forward confidently, greeting Nox and Mae.

“Greetings, foxian and unknown demon. I am Orbul, leader of this tribe,” he declared in a strong voice. “I heard you two wished to see me?”

As Nox watched them, he thought to himself that they seemed far more amiable and intelligent than he had expected.

Mae was about to move closer and open her mouth to say something, but Nox stopped her.

Nox brought up the matter, “Humans have been attacking the foxian village several times. We were hoping your orc tribe could help us out.”

“It's typical for humans to take pleasure in killing demons, as they gain recognition from it," Orbul replied.

“Then, Don't you think working together can reduce such attacks?"

Orbul snorted. “That may be a good idea for other tribes, but what would we get out of it? Humans usually think twice before attacking us—and if they do, we love to fight back."

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Nox raised an eyebrow. “Are you the kind that enjoys battle?”

“You could say that. We sharpen our fighting skills by actually using them in real battles," Orbul said, clenching his fist. "Anyone who can't survive those fights doesn't belong in our tribe."

Nox thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. “Then, I challenge you to an unarmed duel. If I win, you’ll consider our offer. If I lose, we’ll leave.”

“Interesting," Orbul remarked, rubbing his chin. “Alright, I accept your challenge. It's been a while since I've had a good fight."

Nox and Orbul stepped forward until they were only a meter apart. Mae and the other orcs quickly formed a ring around them.

“Let's fight until one of us is knocked out or yields,” Orbul proposed.

“Agreed.”

Orbul prepared himself into a combat stance, placing both his hands close to his skull, similar to a boxer. On the other hand, Nox just stood still.

“This could be a great chance to see how this body handles physical assaults,” Nox thought to himself.

Orbul took a swing at Nox, but he didn't move an inch. It felt like he was just given a slight nudge. The orc chief stepped back in surprise before throwing several blows in succession, yet Nox stayed completely still.

Nox brushed off his chest sarcastically. “That all you got?”

The rest of the orcs were shocked at what they saw. Mae, however, was filled with admiration for her lord's strength.

Orbul gave Nox a quick glance. “Not a scratch, huh?” he said, before balling up his hands into fists and planting them firmly against his waist. Then, all of a sudden, he let out an almighty roar creating a shockwave from his body as he grew in size and thick veins popped out all over him.

“Woah! Our chief means serious business now!”

“Go get him, boss!”

The orcs began to cheer their leader on, stomping their feet in unison as though they were doing a war chant.

“You have some loyal followers, Orbul. I'm impressed,” Nox commented.

The orc chief didn't respond with words, but instead began to rush forwards towards Nox at an incredible speed. Nox took the punch but was launched back several feet from the force of the impact. Without giving him a chance to catch his breath, Orbul kept going and sent a more powerful barrage of blows onto Nox's body. The sheer power behind each hit caused Nox’s body to recoil in response. Despite the intensity of this bombardment, Nox managed to remain standing due to being so close to the orc chief.

Orbul concluded his assault with a hook aimed at Nox's head, but he was quick enough to dodge it. Nox retaliated by delivering a jab of his own to Orbul’s face, pushing him away from Nox, but not enough to take him out completely.

Orbul wiped the blood off his mouth and charged at Nox once again, but Nox was prepared this time. Sidestepping Orbul's punch, Nox landed a powerful uppercut that sent him flying backward, crashing to the ground. Without hesitation, Nox pounced on top of Orbul before he could get up.

He unleashed a flurry of punches, each one creating a shockwave that shook the earth beneath them. The two fighters gradually sank lower into the ground as the blows continued, until Nox finally pulled his fist back with a deep breath for a final punch. The final punch left a small crater where Orbul lay motionless.

Orbul coughed weakly before admitting defeat, "As expected from one marked by Lord Qornaroth. I yield."

“You knew all along?” Nox questioned, astonished by what he heard. He had anticipated that the orcs would disregard his seals just like the guards did earlier.

"I was aware of it, but I wanted to assess your strength. So I was astounded when you challenged me to a duel instead. It appears I still have far to go before I could defeat you, let alone match your strength.”

Nox stood up and extended his arm to Orbul. “But it was enjoyable, felt like a workout.”

Orbul nodded, grabbing Nox’s hand as he stood back up. Orbul then dropped down to one knee in front of Nox, causing the other orcs to look on in confusion.

He inhaled deeply before loudly proclaiming, “I, Orbul, chief of the orcs, hereby swear my allegiance to the bearer of Lord Qornaroth’s mark!”

The other orcs looked at each other in confusion. Why was their leader bowing down to a stranger? When Orbul saw that they hadn’t followed suit, he became enraged. “Kneel down you fools! Or I will punish you all one by one later!"

The other orcs nervously bowed before Nox, scared of their chief's wrath.

"Quite a different atmosphere than Lady Kiyo and the foxians," thought Nox.

“My apologies for their rudeness, ah-” Orbul remembered he hadn’t asked Nox for his name.

Mae stepped in before Nox could answer. “It’s Lord Nox, you should do well to remember his name,” she said haughtily, her hands on her hips and a proud smile on her face.

Orbul nodded at Mae before repeating himself. "My sincerest apologies, Lord Nox."

"Now then, about that offer..."

"Yes, let us discuss it inside," he replied, motioning to the other orcs to return to the village. Nox, Mae, and Orbul followed them closely.