A thunderous roar caused an avalanche on Jagged-Tooth Mountain, a tsunami of snow and rubble hurtling down the mountainside. In the face of this force of nature was a single figure who stomped his foot, dark grey stone surging forth from the ground to act as his armor. He dug his feet in deep and prepared to meet the avalanche, a fierce grin on his face. He was then enveloped by a sea of white, the earth rising up to reinforce him when he stumbled backward. A few minutes later, when everything had settled down, a figure clad in stone armor burst forth from the snow, laughing vigorously.
The stone armor fell off of him piece by piece, revealing his scarred and muscular form. It was Yargul, a superb male specimen of his species, towering over even other orcs at a height of three meters. This was due to the Mountain Ape’s magic that he had absorbed, the power of Agleon modifying and strengthening his bones once he had fully absorbed the ape’s magic. As he was now, he believed that he could fight against an elite of the Orc King’s Elite Army and win, although he wasn’t able to test it out as the Orc King had taken his elite army elsewhere.
And as the Orc King had predicted, his absence had caused some of the clan leaders to get ideas. There had been peace these last few months, but this was merely a consolidation of power, the calm before the storm. Each of the orc clans was preparing their forces and making alliances in order to claim the seat of Orc King. Yargul’s clan was doing the same, although they haven’t made a move yet as their most powerful warrior had not yet returned. But once Yargul did, they would join in on what would be the largest war in recent memory.
And Yargul at this moment was returning, still ignorant of the brewing of the greatest war in recent memory. However, he was returning without Ararys, she had succumbed to a mere cold and as her body was only recently recovering from her time as a slave, it was fatal to her. Yargul had been disappointed at her death, after all, he no longer had a great cook. But, it wasn’t such a great loss, her meat still tasted quite nice although it wasn’t as filling. Of course, it probably would have tasted better if she were to cook it but she was already dead and Yargul was never great at cooking.
Nevertheless, the meat still tasted good, even though he had burnt it a bit, tender, soft, a delicacy that he had never really tasted. He had eaten human in the past but Ararys was a half-breed, both human and elf. Even he had never tasted elf before, they were considered too valuable to be eaten and no one bothered to eat the sick or elderly. It was too bad really, their meat was really tasty. If he had to describe it, it would be “full of energy,” full of mana. As a quasi-magic beast, meat from creatures that possessed magic were especially delicious and thus elves—beings who were one with the energy of Nature itself—were especially tasty.
Even if the meat wasn’t purely elf, it was still nourishing to his source of mana which had absorbed the ape’s magic. As elven magic and the energy of Agleon were closely intertwined, these two were great for one another and combining the two would make his earth magic far more powerful by purifying it. Like all things, mana varies between many stages of quality, from inferior to superior. Mana is needed to command Magic itself and the quality of said mana also has an effect. The purer the mana, the more powerful the effect of Magic. Of course, there are many different types of mana, ones that have a high affinity for flame magic, others with a high affinity towards water magic, etc. But the same concept still applies, the purer the mana, the stronger the magic. For example, the mana of dragons is superior to all other mortal creatures, capable of calling upon powers enough to destroy mountains. Their mana is the purest of all mana that originates from creatures and because of it, they can command Magic with ease.
On the other end of the spectrum are the orcs, creatures with such pitifully dirty mana that it might as well be useless. But not completely, it could still serve as a “bowl” for foreign mana. Once it absorbs new, purer mana, the orc is now capable of utilizing the foreign mana. Of course, it’s not easy for the impure mana to absorb new mana, two different types of mana don’t like to mix and should they ever meet, the result is often explosive. As such, one needs a strong body in order to endure the magical conflict within their body until they have completely mixed.
However, to mix another mana into the existing mixture is tantamount to suicide for most orcs who had already gained magic, Yargul only was able to do so because of the body that the Surveyor made for him. Thus Yargul became the first orc in recent memory to possess two magical abilities, although he would keep them a secret for now. Consolidation of strength was just as important as gaining strength, his strength would be of no use to him if he couldn’t use it. That was why he had spent over five months in Jagged-Tooth Mountain, using the solitude of the cave to safely gain control over his newfound strength.
Anyways, after a week’s travel, he finally returned home, surprising many orcs with his towering height. There were some who had wanted to challenge him but seeing his new height and build, they wisely kept their mouths shut. Yargul remained unchallenged as he returned home, although he did find a group of unknown orcs and the chieftain at the door of his house when he returned.
He was curious but at the same time he couldn’t be bothered to find out, he just wanted to sleep in his bed. So he ignored them all and was about to step into his home when a fist hit his back. It had quite some power in it but as Yargul was reinforced by the power of Agleon, he was unfazed, he had only felt a slight shove. He turned, his mood steadily souring.
“What?”
The orc who had thrown the punch was surprised that Yargul hadn’t fallen forward, he had put a fair bit of strength in his strike. Seeing as the orc didn’t answer, Yargul snorted and promptly bitchslapped the orc, knocking his body five meters back, his neck broken.
He then warned, “I’m going to sleep. If any of you bother me before I wake up, you’re dead.”
The chieftain tried to speak but Yargul cut him off.
“You speak and you’re dead.”
After this warning, Yargul stepped into his home, lying down in his bed with a satisfied sigh. It was nice to sleep on something soft and warm for once. Perhaps he should stay for a while, take a break from going out into the wilderness. But he’d have to get a larger bed, this one was too small for him now. But he’ll deal with that later, now is time for sleep. Unable to do anything under the face of Yargul’s threat, the chieftain managed to persuade the other orcs to let the matter rest until morning, nervous because these orcs were powerful warriors sent by powerful orc lords seeking to hire the Ulgar Clan.
These warriors were enemies of one another but they had agreed to a temporary truce, starting a fight in a foreign clan was an easy way to die, even for these powerful orcs. Especially with Yargul’s warning, it was better that they deal with a calm Yargul instead of an ill-tempered one. They too decided to retire to bed, not really looking forward to the morning. If Yargul’s attitude just now was indicative of his normal attitude, coaxing the Ulgar Clan to join one side would not be easy. But they would cross that bridge when they get there, it was no use worrying about it until it came.
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In the morning, they gathered once more in front of Yargul’s house, waiting for him to wake up. But he didn’t, the sun rising well into the sky before there was any sign of life from the house. Finally, Yargul exited his home to face a nervous chieftain and a group of angry orcs. He looked at them impassively, not particularly impressed by the sight before him.
He then yawned, asking, “What?”
The chieftain interjected before the other orcs could speak, “Yargul, these are representatives of five different orc lords, they all want to hire the Ulgar Clan.”
“Hire?! No, not after the humiliation I’ve gone through!” exclaimed one impudent orc, “You shall be enslaved!”
Yargul took one look at him and sighed, slowly walking towards him.
He then grabbed the orc by the throat and said, “And I have decided that you are annoying.”
He then squeezed, snapping the orc's neck and then tossed aside the corpse.
He looked at the other orcs, asking, “Any of you share his sentiments?”
An orc stepped forward.
“Who the hell do you think you are? I am the representative of-”
Yargul killed him too, saying, “I don’t care. Now, anyone else have a problem?”
This time, they were silent and Yargul said, “Well then, let’s eat.”
The chieftain hurriedly sent one of his orcs to alert the rest of the clan to prepare a great feast.
Meanwhile, the chieftain said, “Yargul, I think you were a bit rash in killing them.”
Yargul shrugged, “They were annoying me and so I killed them. If their orc lords have a problem with that, they can take it up with me.”
Seeing the look of fear and doubt in the chieftain’s eyes, Yargul said, “Don’t worry about it. There’s been a reason why I’ve been gone so long, I haven’t been wasting my time.”
The chieftain finally sighed, “Well the fate of the Ulgar Clan rests on your shoulders Yargul, don’t lead us to ruin.”
Yargul waved his hand dismissively, “If anything, I’ll lead us to heights that this clan has never known!”
The or representatives snorted at his arrogance, thinking that this upstart would be crushed the moment he left his clan. The Ulgar Clan will be obedient upon his death for they no longer had a pillar to depend on. Looking at their faces, Yargul had an idea of what they were thinking and snorted, as if he would die so easily. He possessed two different and powerful defensive abilities, his defense was almost impregnable and his offense was already formidable before it was enhanced by the power of Agleon. He was confident that he would survive no matter what.
He yawned tiredly as he waited for his food, the remaining representatives sitting nearby quietly. Finally, the food came, heaps upon heaps of cooked meat and more soon on the way. Yargul began to eat as did the other orcs in attendance, the meat soon disappearing so fast that they had to wait until the tables were filled with more meat. Some jars of wine were broken and drunk, the atmosphere soon turning rowdy as orcs expressed various emotional extremes. Fights broke out and the wine gave some the courage to challenge Yargul who casually swatted them aside while he ate meat.
After he finished eating an hour later, he belched and said, “Whoo, it’s been a while since I was full. Anyways, I’m in a good mood now so I will listen to whatever you have to say.”
He looked at the orc representatives who remained silent, they had already decided that the Ulgar Clan was an enemy. Seeing their looks, Yargul shrugged.
“Well if you got nothing to say, get out.”
Unable to endure his arrogant attitude any longer, the representative of the Iron Orc Lord stood, challenging him.
“I challenge you to a duel to the death!”
Yargul nodded. “I accept”
He then threw a rock the size of his fist with such speed and force that it tore through the orc’s skull like a cannonball, killing him instantly.
The orc’s corpse fell to the ground and Yargul commanded,
“Throw his body into the forest, let the animals eat him.”
Immediately, a few orcs went to do as he commanded, dragging the body off while Yargul turned his gaze to the other orcs.
“Well? Anyone else want to challenge me?”
Seeing none of them dare to do so, he snorted derisively and asked, “Chief, I know that they are here to hire the Ulgar Clan but what for?”
The chieftain blinked in surprise, explaining, “Well they are here to hire the Ulgar Clan in the fight for the title of Orc King. Each of the Orc Lords have their eyes on the title of Orc King and so they have either been hiring clans or defeating them and absorbing their strength. These representatives have come to do the same thing to us.”
Yargul snorted, drinking some wine before saying, “So they’re basically here to tell us to join them or die?”
The chieftain nodded.
Yargul, having finished his wine, poured himself another bowlful and studied at the two remaining representatives.
“Well, do you still wish to hire the Ulgar Clan?”
Under his gaze, the two representatives didn’t speak, they didn’t want to end up like the others.
Yargul drank some more wine.
“Come on, don’t be shy. I won’t kill you this time.”
They still remained silent, distrusting his words.
But, they couldn’t stay silent forever so one representative said, “Yes, I believe that your strength would be a great addition to the Skull Lord’s forces.”
Skull Lord, that was a name that Yargul recognized. The sadistic orc who collected the skulls of all he defeated, it’s been said that he sits upon a throne made entirely of skulls. Yargul wasn’t afraid, an orc of the Skull Lord’s status was most definitely rich and could supply him with high-quality weapons, something that Yargul desired very much.
The allure of high-quality weapons was too much and so Yargul agreed.
But before the representative could rejoice, Yargul demanded, “Well for the Ulgar Clan to join under your banner, we must have payment. Two hundred armor sets, two hundred weapons, and a high-tiered magic weapon for myself.”
The representative said, “You will get your armor and weapons but I’m afraid it’s up to the Skull Lord whether or not he wants to give you such a powerful weapon.”
Yargul said, “That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”
The representative pursed his lips in displeasure before nodding.
“Very well, I shall relay your terms to the Skull Lord.”
He stood and took his leave, flanked by two other orcs and Yargul turned his attention to the last one, saying, “Well what are you still here for, go.”
The orc stood up and left as well, wanting so badly to teach Yargul a lesson but after witnessing the swift deaths of those that tried to defend their pride, he quickly made the wise decision that life was better than pride.
Yargul snorted as the coward slunk away, saying to a few warrior orcs, “Tail him and kill him some ways outside of our border. Leave the one from the Skull Lord alone.”
They nodded and immediately set off, Yargul returning to his wine. There wasn’t any particular reason as to why he wanted to kill the coward, his face just pissed him off. And as for the war for kingship, Yargul was beginning to get excited. Finally, a full-blown war, the first that he would ever experience and hopefully not the last. He smiled as he imagined fighting for his life, surrounded by enemies, a battle that forced him to use everything he had just to survive. Yes, it would be... exhilarating.
Yargul then said, “Chief, I say it’s time to prepare for war.”