Chapter 375: The Orc Tribe’s Three Strongest Leaders Are Revealed!

33 days later...

1st Day of Aestas, the Eighth Month of Year 50,001.

BANG!

"WHY ARE WE LOSING SO MANY OUTPOSTS?!"

An enraged shout echoed throughout a large tent, accompanied by the sound of a fist slamming against a wooden table, causing several of the B-Rank Orcs standing nearby to lower their heads.

The one responsible was Gorzak, an extremely muscular, bald Orc with broad tusks protruding from his lower jaw, who also happened to be the Chieftain of their entire tribe.

Despite his furious questioning, none of the B-Rank Orcs dared to answer, mainly because they themselves had no idea what was happening to their scattered outposts.

Over the past month, reports of disappearing Orc forces had continued arriving one after another, yet no one had managed to discover who was responsible or what had happened to the warriors stationed there.

Meanwhile, seated at the center of three large chairs was Kroghar, the Grand Warlord of the tribe, whose tall, lean physique, missing tusk, and scarred jaw made him easily distinguishable from the other Orcs present.

Gorzak occupied the chair on one side of him, while the remaining seat belonged to Vradok, the Great Shaman, an ancient-looking Orc with deep-set red eyes and a scalp covered in intricate crimson tattoos.

These three were the only A-Rank existences within their tribe, although their current conditions were far from perfect, since all three were still recovering from the internal injuries they had suffered during their previous battle against Rhaenyra.

While Gorzak continued glaring at the B-Rank commanders, Kroghar finally turned toward an Orc Captain standing among the scouts.

"Tell me exactly what happened to our outposts," Kroghar ordered in a calm but commanding voice.

The Scout Captain became startled upon suddenly being addressed by the Grand Warlord, although he quickly lowered his head respectfully before answering.

"Grand Warlord, after receiving reports that several outposts had been destroyed, we immediately dispatched scouts to investigate their conditions, but..."

His voice gradually weakened as he reached the final word, clearly worried that revealing what they had discovered might provoke the same anger Gorzak had been displaying.

"Continue," Kroghar instructed without changing his expression.

Hearing that, the Scout Captain nodded and hurriedly continued.

"However, when our scouts reached those locations, they discovered that the outposts had been completely destroyed, while every Orc stationed there had disappeared without leaving behind a single corpse or even a drop of blood."

The report caused several commanders to exchange confused looks, although the Scout Captain continued before anyone could interrupt him.

"At first, we suspected that the surviving warriors might have abandoned their positions and retreated elsewhere, but we couldn’t find any evidence supporting that possibility, even after searching the surrounding areas."

Hearing this, Kroghar’s expression became more serious, while Gorzak and Vradok also turned their attention toward the Scout Captain.

’Not a single corpse or drop of blood?’

All three found that detail particularly strange, since even if an outpost had been attacked and its warriors slaughtered, there should have been at least some traces of the battle left behind.

As for those lower rank orcs running away? they didn’t belived it.

"Furthermore, our scouts attempted to locate the natives who previously inhabited those territories, but they had also disappeared," the Scout Captain added, keeping his head lowered. "We believe that after witnessing our earlier capture of their people, most of the surviving natives abandoned their settlements and fled toward the inner regions of the Dragon Continent."

After finishing his report, the Scout Captain immediately fell silent and waited for the expected reprimand, although before anyone could question him further, a hurried shout suddenly came from outside the tent.

"GRAND WARLORD! GREAT SHAMAN! ORC CHIEFTAIN! I HAVE BROUGHT IMPORTANT INFORMATION!"

The sudden interruption drew everyone’s attention toward the entrance, where an Orc Shaman stood alongside several C-Rank warriors.

Their appearances were rather miserable, with mud covering much of their bodies, their clothes torn in several places, and numerous wounds visible across their exposed skin, making it obvious that their journey hadn’t been particularly peaceful.

Unfortunately, before the newcomers could explain themselves, Gorzak’s already terrible mood became even worse.

"WHO DARED TO LET THESE C-RANK BEGGARS INSIDE?!" he roared, glaring at the group as though their mere presence had personally offended him.

"..."

Elgrun, who had finally reached the main tribe after a month of traveling, immediately felt the corners of his mouth twitch.

He had originally expected to receive praise for delivering such important information, especially considering the dangers he and the other survivors had endured along the way, yet the first thing he received was an angry insult from his own Chieftain.

’Damn it! We nearly died bringing this information here, and this is how we’re welcomed?’

Naturally, he didn’t dare voice those thoughts, especially since he knew Gorzak’s personality quite well.

The Orc Chieftain had always been a hot-headed, warlike individual who preferred solving problems through overwhelming physical strength, and in Elgrun’s opinion, the muscles covering Gorzak’s body had probably left very little room for his brain.

"Calm down, Gorzak," Kroghar finally intervened, stopping the Chieftain from continuing his outburst before gesturing toward the newly arrived Shaman.

"You said you brought important information, so tell us what you discovered."

"Thank you, Grand Warlord."

Elgrun immediately bowed respectfully, feeling relieved that at least one of their leaders was willing to listen, before straightening his body and revealing the information he had traveled all this way to deliver.

"A puppet of one of the traitor gods has appeared on the Dragon Continent."

"..."

An unusual silence immediately descended upon the entire tent.

For several seconds, none of the Orcs present said anything, while their expressions gradually changed as they processed what Elgrun had just revealed.

’A puppet?’

’One of the traitor gods?’

Those words immediately reminded them of the teachings passed down by their ancestors, particularly the ancient prophecies concerning the gods who had abandoned Valtharion during its darkest era.

According to those teachings, the gods who had fled the world when it needed them most were remembered as traitors, and their eventual return through summoned puppets had been warned about for generations.

Now, hearing that one of those very puppets had appeared near their territory, the Orc commanders could hardly believe what they were being told.

"HOW DARE THOSE TRAITORS RETURN HERE?!"

Unsurprisingly, Gorzak was the first to break the silence, his furious roar shaking the tent as he slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair.

In his anger, he seemed to have completely forgotten that the beings he was insulting were gods, existences whose true strength was far beyond anything he could personally challenge.

However, that thought clearly didn’t concern him, because he immediately turned toward Elgrun and demanded an answer.

"WHERE IS THAT PUPPET?! TELL ME WHERE HE IS, AND I WILL PERSONALLY SLAUGHTER HIM!"

"..."

Elgrun’s mouth twitched again, and he couldn’t help wondering why this muscle-headed Chieftain insisted on making everything so difficult.

’How the hell am I supposed to know where that Hero is right now?’

After all, he had fled the outpost specifically to bring this information back to the tribe, and nearly an entire month had passed during his journey, so expecting him to know the Hero’s current whereabouts was simply ridiculous.

Still, before Elgrun could figure out how to answer without angering Gorzak further, the Scout Captain standing nearby suddenly spoke.

"Grand Warlord, could the disappearances of our outposts have something to do with this puppet?"

Hearing that suggestion, Kroghar turned toward the Scout Captain with a thoughtful expression, while Vradok remained silent in his seat, carefully listening to the conversation without offering his opinion.

However, before Kroghar could respond, Elgrun suddenly interrupted them.

"Other outposts? Wait, are you saying that the destroyed outposts had no corpses or even a single drop of blood left behind?"

The Scout Captain looked toward him in surprise before nodding.

"Yes, that is correct. Our scouts searched those locations thoroughly, but they couldn’t find a single corpse belonging to our warriors."

Hearing his confirmation, Elgrun’s expression immediately turned ugly as he recalled the horrifying scene he had witnessed before fleeing Yarvokh’s outpost.

’That damned Hero!’

"It’s the Hero of Light!" Elgrun exclaimed, attracting everyone’s attention as he hurriedly explained what he knew. "That puppet is using some kind of heinous cultivation technique to turn our fallen kin into Blood Essence Pills, which he then devours to increase his own strength!"

"What?!"

"HE’S DEVOURING OUR KIN?!"

The revelation immediately caused an uproar among the B-Rank Orcs, whose earlier confusion was replaced by anger as they stared at Elgrun in disbelief.

After all, dying in battle was considered honorable among their race, and warriors who fell while fighting stronger opponents were generally respected for their courage.

However, having their bodies turned into cultivation resources and devoured by the very enemy who killed them was an entirely different matter, especially since such an act was practically an insult to their fallen warriors.

"Are you certain about what you witnessed?" Kroghar asked, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

"Absolutely, Grand Warlord!" Elgrun answered without hesitation, recalling the terrible screams that had echoed throughout the outpost. "I personally witnessed that monster slaughtering our warriors before turning their bodies into blood pills, and I even heard their screams as they were being devoured!"

His expression twisted with anger before he added, "Only the puppets of those traitorous gods would possess such a disgusting cultivation technique!"