When I woke up in the morning, everything seemed fine. No monsters or animals seemed to have approached. Was it a bad decision? It could have been, but it was okay.
As soon as I got up, Cristal also woke up, stretching slowly and then wagging her tail.
"Today is going to be long. First we need to eat," I said.
As soon as I mentioned food, she got excited. I brought some provisions with me, but they wouldn't last long, so it was better to hunt a little.
In reality, Cristal was the one who would hunt, as her tracking and killing abilities were far superior to mine.
I ended up noticing something. During the night, I didn't feel cold. Even though it wasn't freezing, not feeling even a shiver was a bit of an exaggeration.
So I looked at the fire I had set up and surprisingly there were only embers finishing burning.
Did the twigs work and I didn't see it?
A loud growl from my stomach sounded, so I stopped thinking about it and looked at the wolf.
Above all, she was an animal made for hunting. Her senses were good, especially her sense of smell and hearing.
I watched as she sniffed and listened in all directions, walking from side to side and searching for a target.
This continued until her ears turned to the east of where we were.
"Did you find something?" I asked, but she was acting strange. "Cristal, what's wrong?"
Her eyes became redder, all her white fur stood on end, her sharp teeth were bared, and she ran at high speed in the direction her ears pointed.
I had never seen her like this before.
I quickly ran after her through trees, bushes, and rocks. Being a little faster and much more fluid, she got a considerable distance.
However, I didn't let her disappear from my sight. Soon, I understood why she had that combat appearance.
In the distance, just below a considerable slope of the terrain, there was a small village with no more than twenty wooden huts.
I jumped a height of more than five meters down the slope and ran towards the village. A strange smell began to assault my nostrils.
"Iron...It had a certain resemblance to the smell of iron, but it was stronger, heavier, more intoxicating.
I even noticed that my fangs, which normally remained hidden between my teeth, became larger and searched intensely for it.
"Blood... the smell of warm blood."
When I approached more, I had confirmation. I found a body on the ground. It was cut in several places, but it was abnormal.
It wasn't the body of a human or animal, but rather the body of a humanoid monster that was three times larger than mine.
Pink skin, muscular, chubby, and a bald pig's head.
"An orc." I concluded from the information.
In addition to the cuts, I could see a large mark on his head. Probably killed by this blow.
"What would have the strength to crush an orc's skull?"
I continued forward. I was full of concern. Cristal disappeared in this direction and there was something very strong here.
I hid my backpack and only brought essential items. Some potions and my three spears that I put on my back.
I ran towards the village. As I approached, the smell of blood and the bodies increased more and more.
There was also a difference in clothing and bodies, showing that they were two different groups of orcs.
"A civil war? No. Orcs have bands and they only unite; they do not wage war against each other. What's going on here?"
Finally, I arrived at the village and was greeted with a surprise. As soon as I reached the tall wooden walls that surrounded it, I saw the piles of bodies.
I didn't feel like vomiting, but my vampire fangs sprang out and my throat dried up.
"What the hell is this?"
I was feeling thirsty. An uncontrollable thirst for the blood of those creatures. Confusion overwhelmed me with that feeling I had never experienced before.
Controlling my thirst, I tried to take a step forward, but I could barely finish!
Suddenly, a powerful impact hit me, throwing my body against one of the wooden walls of the village.
"Argh!" My grunt of pain sounded as I spit out some blood.
I stood up and looked in the direction of the attack, seeing my attacker standing. It was a huge pink-skinned Orc. I immediately tried to see his status screen, but without success.
With no other alternative, I pulled out my spear, taking a fighting stance.
The big fat one looked at me, also moving to attack soon after. Those disgusting pig eyes stared at me.
"Come, grotesque creature."
"Orkchi!"
Even the sounds he made were grotesque. He swung the big wooden club towards me, but I managed to dodge.
He charged fearlessly and I just dodged, afraid of taking a single blow and going to meet the other world for the second time.
Soon, I gained more confidence. He was big, strong, but stupid and slow. I started to counter-attack. He always repeated the same attacks.
Side swing, overhead swing, swing from the other side; almost like a robot. When he restarted his series of attacks, I jumped to the left.
This time, I ran underneath his long fat arm and stabbed the base of his ribs. I held the spear tightly and gave him three more stabs before he could hit me.
Even though the Lance Mastery skill was at level 1, having it was already an immeasurable support.
But the blow still came!
Almost as if I was blown in one direction by a grenade, I rolled back from the impact of the blow. When I stopped, I raised my head, spat what I thought were two teeth, or maybe an internal organ, and wiped my dirty face with blood and dirt.
The creature screamed in pain from my attacks, and from the powerful blow I took, my head felt like it was about to explode with pain, but I stood up again.
"Did you like that, you pig..." I took a deep breath and spat blood in his direction with a red smile appearing on my face.
Again, however, my body was hit by a surprise impact and flew, hitting one of the wooden houses that collapsed on me.
Before there was still some doubt, but now I was sure: something had broken in my body.
Shit! Shit! How could I be hit by surprise again?
I stood up breathing heavily and with blood running down my black hair, dripping down my face and onto the ground.
In addition to the two Orcs who ambushed me, one more was approaching, totaling three of them. They seemed to be laughing at me.
"What are you laughing at, uglies?" Apparently, they didn't like my insult since they ran towards me in fury.
With no choice, I stood up and started running in the opposite direction. I passed from one hut to another and they went through the wooden houses as if they were nothing.
Of course. I went in on one side and came out the other, but they broke them like fat and muscle steamrollers.
When I was about to knock down the fifth house, I jumped in the opposite direction, and the big guys ran past without noticing that I had escaped.
"Phew!" I exclaimed, taking a minute to catch my breath.
I stopped to breathe, drank one of the potions, and waited.
I need to find a way to locate Cristal and get out of here before more of them show up.
I felt deeply humiliated in that situation, but my life was worth more than a stupid revenge.
This was clearly a war. Maybe I could win against one of them, but three? That was madness. They could call me a coward, but a coward dies a thousand times.
That wasn't the saying, but it fit me perfectly.
I was getting up to get out of there, but I heard sounds of fighting and howling.
"Cristal...!?"
I passed through the debris on the side and saw: Cristal, a group of orcs in a circle protecting a house, a beautiful lady with pink skin in a white dress stained with blood, and another who looked like a younger copy of her.
That group of orcs was slightly smaller in stature, and Cristal was defending them.
On the other side, there were twice as many, and there was an even larger leader. He was two heads taller than the others, with a short blonde mane on his head.
"A noble ?!" My eyes could only be deceiving me. It wasn't possible.
Within Vangloria, there was a saying. If you traveled to the East and didn't die to a Noble Orc, then you didn't travel to the East.
An orc was a monster focused on combat. Large, robust bodies, fat, and a destructive strength on the same level, if not greater, than that of a Champion.
As such, they were a prelude to destruction. They reproduced, devoured, warred, killed. An endless cycle.
Among them were the nobles. The elite force. Bigger, stronger, smarter.
Now I know what sunk the skull of those creatures.
The classification of orcs as common monsters always drove me crazy in Vangloria. How could an orc be so much more powerful than other common monsters?
But that was nothing compared to the nobles. It was simply too absurd. Raw power, ease of reproduction, relatively intelligent command, with so many characteristics, they were second to none in Heroic or even Epic monsters in capabilities.
"How can such a creature be classified as Common?"
Common monsters had a clear limit on statistics. Even reaching the maximum of their degree, there was a limit for common monsters.
However, this did not happen with Noble Orcs!
"How can such a creature be classified as Common?" It was all about potential and genetics.
The white wolf had less than half the statistics of a Goblin Champion, even though the latter was classified lower in rarity.
However, its learning ability and the speed at which its statistics rose were extremely higher.
Nobles, on the other hand, did not become much stronger after birth. Of course, if they evolved, things changed, but it was practically impossible.
Normal pig heads had a one in a million chance of becoming nobles; imagine a nobleman ascending to the throne; unlikely, if not impossible!
Ah! Kings! Kings, kings, kings! Those did worry me. I hate kings!
In reality, I hated any monster that had some kind of absolutist leadership position.
They were the worst! Never loyal; always with ideas in their heads...!
But now was not the time for that. With a quick analysis of the situation, I gathered the courage to approach.
Crystal seemed to be fighting on behalf of those in the minority in the circle. They also seemed to constantly support her.
The battle between them was getting increasingly brutal. An orc was caught off guard and suffered a barbaric attack.
His arms and legs were hacked to pieces as he cried out for death. The sound was terrifying. Seeing that, I almost wanted to turn back.
I followed from behind. I was still hidden and watching. Being cautious was a must. The beautiful woman gave orders, encouraged, and helped the wounded.
When I got closer, I could see a pair of unusual ears. They were pink and hung over her long golden hair.
"Pig ears?" They were not unpleasant to look at; in fact, they were quite charming, but why did she have them?
At some point, I realized that the fight was over. The number of enemies was more than triple that of the allies. They no longer had a chance to fight back.
I urgently needed to escape with Crystal. The wolf continued to fight and defend the fallen. She jumped with agility among the dozens of enemies. Her speed left me stunned.
But she was not invincible. She was getting tired and injured, and would not be able to continue much longer.
I got closer and closer until a scream sounded:
"Mom!!!" The beautiful woman was captured. The one who looked similar was the one who had screamed.
An orc held the beauty and took her with heavy steps to the noble orc.
He threw her at his feet and left. The battle stopped for a moment and everyone watched.
"Orcki Ourki Arcki!" The sounds were like incomprehensible moans, but I could understand their essence.
He said: "Now you belong to me. You tried to escape from me, but I found you." He spoke about a strange situation. Something about a king, betrayal, and escape.
The woman just stared at him with apparent anger on her face. She despised him deeply and spat on his chest, receiving in return a single slap in the face.
"I am free." The beauty raised her face without fear. Her eyes met directly with the noble's, and without fear, she declared: "I choose how I die!"
Suddenly, blood flowed from her mouth. She bit her own tongue. The ground was painted red and the noble's expression darkened deeply; between surprise and fury.
I had never witnessed something, or someone, make such a demonic face before. If the deepest hatred had a symbol, it would be that face.
He consumed burning coals.
The anger consumed him so much that it scared me.
"AROKI!" That expression said by him could not be translated into a human language. There was no specific word that defined it.
However, translating it as literally as possible, it would be something like: "Son of a Bitch, Dammit!"