Chapter Seventeen: Bimon (2)
The words of Monk Tagore were widely agreed upon by those present. No one liked dealing with those vile and ugly mortals, who harbored countless schemes and always hid behind others to plot intrigues. In the orc kingdom, which revered strength, the actions of mortals could never earn the favor or blessings of their deity of worship and sacrifice—War God Mars. Yet, the orcs were dependent on mortals. The desolate Mogan Wasteland was fertile on one hand, but barren and poor on the other. It provided the orcs with endless forests and prey; it was their homeland. There were also countless minerals and fertile lands in the wasteland, but the orcs were still constrained by mortals. They lacked salt and spices—without salt, their people would fall ill, and without spices, their meat could not be preserved.
Orc nobles also longed for luxuries from the mortal world such as jewels, ornaments, silk, tea, and artworks. According to ancient legends, if these items were not offered to War God Mars and Goddess of Hunting Artedis, the deities who had always protected the orcs, they would suffer great disasters. After offering sufficient tributes to the deities, they too desired to enjoy the luxurious life from the mortal world. And all of this could only be obtained through continuous campaigns southward.
As the leader of the Wolf Clan, Kat Wolf believed his wisdom was on par with Monk Tagore’s. Yet he also knew that Tagore’s breadth of vision was unmatched among all orcs—a fact even Kat had to admit. This was also the main reason why he was willing to recognize Monk as the 32nd ruler of the Orc Alliance.
“Monk, are you saying we should stop here?” The Wolf Clan leader finally stopped rubbing his hands and fixed his gaze on the other man’s broad face.
“Winter is approaching, and the mortals in the south are well-prepared. Until we see the second batch of goods they send, I don’t think we need to continue southward. What we’ve obtained this time should be enough to satisfy our elders. Of course, we need to maintain our deterrence along the border to prevent the mortals from rebuilding castles and fortresses, so that we can gain more strategic advantages next year.” Tagore’s opinion was quite prudent, and Kat had to admit it was the wisest choice under the current uncertain circumstances.
“Kristin, how are your research efforts progressing?” The burly man turned his gaze toward the lazy woman curled up in the spacious seat. Her fiery, voluminous hair, meticulously styled eyebrows, and crimson eyes that shone like golden diamonds, along with her deep red lips that resembled strokes of a painter’s brush on a silver plate, gave her an appearance of utter delicacy. Her fair, delicate calves peeked out from beneath her mink apron, and her fingernails were painted a rouge red, adorned with intricate floral and butterfly designs crafted with fine feathers—said to be the work of a famous beautician among the captured human slaves.
Unlike other races where men have always held the throne, the throne of the fox race has been firmly held by women for centuries. Kristin Fox truly deserves to be the current queen of the fox race. Not only has she succeeded in serving as a unifying force among the various races, but her leadership has also made the fox race a pioneer in learning advanced human civilization among the orcs.
“Priest, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Our people couldn’t extract much from the damaged siege engines, let alone replicate them. Still, we did gain some insights. These siege engines are quite sophisticated, far beyond what ordinary workshops could produce. Many of the metal parts require highly specialized processing, something that ordinary smelting workshops simply cannot handle. We have reason to believe that the humans who created such equipment must possess the power of an entire city or even a nation to do so. Especially those crucial rotating springs—our researchers can’t believe how such a small thing can generate such immense force, let alone understand how it works.” The graceful demeanor of the fox woman even made the usually insensitive bear clan leader glance at her several times, while the others couldn’t help but swallow hard.
Disappointment appeared on the faces of several men almost simultaneously, most notably Carter. As the main force of light-armed infantry in the orc army, the wolf clan soldiers had always been the best at siege warfare. “Kristin, is it really impossible for us to replicate them? Won’t we be at the mercy of those humans for life?”
“Carter, do you really think those mortals with the weakest vitality can so easily become the most powerful rulers on this continent? If it were that simple to solve such a problem, I believe our ancestors, along with other tribes like the elves and barbarians, would have long since wiped out these worthless mortals from the continent.” A series of delicate giggles echoed as the fox woman’s full breasts swayed enticingly. Everyone’s gaze snapped away as if scalded by fire, and it seemed the temperature in the tent rose a few degrees in an instant. “Neither our iron-smelting techniques nor metalworking skills, nor even our woodworking abilities are something we can imitate at this stage. To create something like this, I think it’s unlikely even for our generation. But if it’s just about mastering the usage techniques, that’s a bit easier.”
Staring at the fox queen with admiration, the burly man then turned his gaze to the tall, thin man sitting in the corner, who still seemed half-asleep with his eyes half-closed. “Snake, how’s things on your end? Have you found any clues? Where exactly were those siege engines smuggled in?”
The monk didn’t expect to uncover the origins of this mysterious faction. Since they dared to take such bold actions, they must have been well-prepared. He only hoped to learn more about their true nature through his own efforts. After all, working with a faction whose intentions were completely unknown felt rather unsettling.
As the rulers of the Snake clan, the Snake family had always been the rightful heirs to the Snake clan’s throne. Their gloomy and cold nature was probably innate to them, and this trait was even more evident among the Snake family members who held royal positions. This made them often feel out of place among the other five clans of the orcs. Due to their much smaller population, no one from the Snake clan had ever held the position of alliance ruler for hundreds of years. However, this didn’t mean their strength could be underestimated. As the most mysterious clan among the six orc clans, they remained an indispensable part of the orc military force.
Their innate ability to hide and move stealthily, their natural instinct for shape-shifting, and their extraordinary perception skills made them the core of the orc kingdom’s intelligence network. Whether it was infiltrating the territories of other races such as mortals, dwarves, and elves to gather intelligence or conducting counterespionage against outsiders entering orc territory, they proved time and again through their outstanding performance and diligent attitude that they truly deserved the title of “Eyes of the Orcs.”
“I’m sorry, novice. We’ve done our best. But these people are very secretive; our clues only lead us to Tenu Fortress at the confluence of the Ural and Don rivers, after which the trail goes cold. The siege engines must have been shipped there in various parts and assembled there before being transported to our territory. As for where these parts came from, Tenu Fortress is a busy transit hub, especially for river transport. Moreover, those guys are extremely cautious, so they must have sent them in many batches, making it impossible to trace their origin. However, we’ve strengthened surveillance at Tenu Fortress. If they send a second shipment, I think we might be able to get some clues.” Daschler Snake, the tall, gaunt man even thinner than the Wolf Clan leader Kater, kept his eyes half-closed, reportedly to keep them in the best state of alertness to adapt to the external environment at any time.
Letting out a sigh, the bearded man probably realized that it wouldn’t be easy to learn much about the other party. Since they dared to deal with him, they must have made various preparations beforehand. Although the Snake Clan had excellent surveillance skills, mortals had sophisticated counter-surveillance tactics, and the Orcs were far behind in this regard. It was absolutely unrealistic to figure out their plans after just one or two encounters.
“What’s the situation with those mortals in the south these days?” The burly man with large ears spoke in a deep, resonant voice. As the ruler of the kingdom, he had to consider things more thoroughly.
“There haven’t been any major changes. Their most important fortress in the north, the capital of the Meilen Duchy, Mycena, has been completely destroyed by us. In the short term, the mortals won’t be able to rebuild a city as large as Mycena. Besides, we haven’t withdrawn our troops yet, so even if they had the intention, they couldn’t carry it out. I think they’re probably waiting for winter to come and for us to withdraw before making any plans.” As the leader of the Snake Clan, Daschler was in charge not only of the intelligence system but also of the Orc Kingdom’s assassination organization. The Snake Clan and Fox Clan had always operated in the shadows of the Orc Kingdom, yet their influence was no less than that of the other clans.
“Moda, Muni, do you two have any opinions?” The Tiger Clan man finally turned his gaze to the two burly men sitting aside, who had remained silent the whole time.
Next to the Tiger Clan man was a man even more muscular than Shami, with snow-white skin. He always seemed to exude a lazy aura, lying motionless in the large chair, seemingly enjoying the atmosphere in the room. He had thick lips and a few stubble hairs that didn’t seem to have been shaved properly. He never joined in the conversations. He was the leader of the Tiger Clan’s most loyal allies—the Bear Clan’s king, ModaModa Bill.
Having grown up with Shami Tagore since childhood, ModaModa Bill had always been Shami’s best friend. Although they belonged to different races, this did not affect their friendship. As they grew older, they each took on leadership roles in their respective clans. When Shami Tagore showed intentions to compete for the throne of the Orc Alliance, Moda immediately offered his strongest support. With the full backing of Muni Okos from the Cow Clan, Shami Tagore effortlessly defeated his rival, the Wolf Clan’s leader Kat Wolf, and finally ascended to the throne of the Orc Alliance eight years ago.
As for the other strong man with a protruding mouth, who was just as muscular as Moda, he appeared somewhat dull-minded. His large nostrils seemed to feel short of air, causing them to twitch from time to time, and his back was slightly hunched. But never underestimate this seemingly foolish strong man—he was Muni Okos, the leader of the Cow Clan, who had the largest number of followers in the Orc Alliance. He too had grown up playing with Shami and Moda, but his fate seemed much more tortuous.
Originally, it was determined that his elder brother would inherit the throne of the Cow Clan. However, his brother died after being injured in a battle against humans, and it was decided that his brothers would compete for the throne. In the Cow Clan’s traditional tug-of-war competition, Muni, thanks to his unwavering endurance, defeated his other brothers and won the throne. Later, in the competition for the throne of the Orc Kings, he naturally sided with his friends, defeating the Wolf Clan’s leader Kat, who had the support of the Fox Clan, playing a decisive role in Shami’s ascent to the throne of the Orc Kings.
“The novice, neither I nor the monk have any objections. Since you are the king of our Bimon Kingdom, it naturally depends on you to make all decisions. However, winter is approaching, and my children all hope to return home sooner. It seems the weather will turn cold earlier this year, so we need to prepare early. Since we’ve already reaped quite a lot, it’s best to stop here. Mortals are unreliable—when they provide us with weapons, they surely have their own intentions or even schemes. Everything we do must first consider the interests of Bimon; there’s no need to worry too much about others. Of course, since the city of Mycenae has been destroyed, we certainly can’t allow mortals to rebuild a city that might block our path southward. So, even though winter is coming, we still need to take measures to prevent those mortals from using the winter to rebuild their city.”
The tall, fair man smiled lazily, picked an apple from the plate, squeezed it lightly, and it immediately turned into an apple pancake. The apple juice flowed down his fingers into his mouth, and he licked his lips contentedly. “Hmm, I think the apple juice from our Mogan Plateau is sweeter. Things from mortal lands always have some strange taste to them.”
Seeing that the opinions of all the tribes had largely converged, the novice smacked his lips in satisfaction and turned his gaze to the long-haired elder who had remained silent with his head bowed in the rear of the tent. “High Priest, do you have any further comments?”
“Novice, don’t trust mortals too much, but don’t doubt them entirely either. Just do as you think is right. The interests of the Bimon Kingdom come first. As long as you keep this in mind, I believe the god Mars will be on our side.” His faint voice seemed to come from the depths of hell. His long hair covered his entire face, and his hoarse voice was weak, yet it was extremely clear to everyone listening.
“I will follow the High Priest’s teachings carefully,” the novice said, along with several other leaders who had stood up. They bowed respectfully as the old man in black robes slowly stood up, then vanished from the tent like a wisp of black smoke.