Chapter 10: You were careless. Elder Jir Aaya's sacrifice won't be in vain - you promised yourself!
[You noticed the sudden system message and nodded to yourself. You then looked at your forearm. It was continuously bleeding. Although the holes were small, the bleeding never stopped. Laiya noticed this and stared at you momentarily. As if both of you understood what you must do, you ran towards the pile of leaves to your left. Laiya went and started pulling the clothes and sheets on which others rested. It was an urgent task so she pulled with brute strength, making them fall and feel pain.]
[She didn't heed to their cries as the matter at hand was much more important. You folded the leaves and then crushed them to make small balls out of them. Then aiming at their mouths, you threw the balls. Your aim was perfect, and you managed to stuff their mouths with the ball.]
[The dead continued to walk. With this, you understood two things - one, they didn't have a will of their own, and two, they didn't feel pain. Still not sure about the phenomenon, you continued to throw the balls you made and stuffed their mouths. Laiya, noticing this, rushed to help you. She used the clothes to cover their mouths and then proceeded to tie their hands.]
[A little more than a minute later, you had the situation under your control. Laiya seemed impressed. She gave a small smile as she broke a few sweats. You didn't react much as you were occupied with the system's message. You looked at the missions that needed to be completed.]
[Surprisingly, as you read the missions, you realized that this was done by an entity. You thought about it. 'Who would benefit from this?' - it was not too hard to think. Seconds later you were able to answer yourself - 'The Goblins'. The culprit that you thought of was nothing but a goblin and you were right!]
[Laiya pulled your hand as she broke you out of your concentration. In a wavy voice, she said, "Chilly, look there." You looked at her and then looked at the direction she was pointing at. "The moon?", you were blinded by the beauty of the moon that appeared in the sky. Moreover, for some reason, you thought that she liked you and wanted to be your mate. Was this some romance show? Get a grip!]
["No. Look at the battlefield. Look at them!" - she was serious and in no mood for romance. Realizing this, you lowered your gaze in dissatisfaction and looked at the battlefield ahead. You couldn't believe your eyes.]
[Adorned in moonlight, several bodies were rising from the ground. These were the dead bodies that were reawakening. A synchronous sound of "Gooo" resonated the entire battlefield that even reached the camp. All ogres, who remained stationed in different camps, were alerted by this sudden phenomenon. Krita and a few other injured ones, who noticed Chilly and Laiya's teamwork in subduing the dead, left them speechless. But now, even they were intrigued and somewhat scared by this synchronous rhythmic noise.]
[Seeing your fallen comrades rise up was a shocker. Although you couldn't see everything clearly, you realized that these monsters were walking towards your camp. Ding Ding Ding, the bell to alert everyone was rang and the general ordered everyone to gather in front of his tent.]
[You and Laiya went with the flow and arrived at the gathered place. There were about 250 warrior ogres, 150 worker ogres, 40 Elder Ogres, and 10 Healer Ogres present. Other than them, it was the Chieftain and the General Orc who stood in front of all. One of the Elder Ogres, a little scrawny but intimidating, walked up the rock-platform and began his speech.]
["Do you see the battlefield over there?", the elder said pointing at the battlefield. Everyone momentarily looked there and gulped large chunks of saliva. Who wouldn't be scared by this sudden event where the fallen ones were rising?]
["300 years ago, our ancestors had encountered a similar situation. We prepared for war and fought hard with the beasts who lurked in the shadows. They kept rising no matter how many times they fell and our numbers kept decreasing. We kept falling and our efforts were failing. No matter how hard we try, their numbers kept increasing. Those beings of darkness had no emotions of their own. They didn't feel pain. They would never get tired. It is only during dark that they will rise again." The elder's voice was filled with sorrow.]
["If it had continued this way, we would die. Our race would have ended! But with our wills lost, with our aggression vanished, how could we go on? With fear gripping our hearts, we couldn't help but run away… but it was only during this time, that one Ogre stood tall. His burning spirit didn't fade! He fought hard and brought us victory! Because of this, he is today referred to as God… yes. The one I talked about was our God Raya!" - as he said this, murmurings started within the Ogres who felt a surge of emotions coursing them, most prominent being motivation.]
["We aren't aware why this is happening but it appears they are coming this way. My children, no matter what happens, stall them! Stall them till the sun rises! Stall them until we get an oracle from God Raya! Stall them!" - just as he had completed saying this, a loud roar took over the atmosphere.]
["GOOO!", one of the dead ogres all of a sudden appeared right behind the elder. It held a club that it swung with all its might, aiming at the elder's head. You noticed that this was the same dead ogre whom you had punched and sent flying earlier. You had totally forgotten about it! Right now, the elder's life was in danger because of him! Your heart races as everything seemed to move in slow motion.]
[You wished… you wished from the bottom of your hearts that the elder be saved. You tried to even run, but you too were slow in this slow motion. "E-elder!", you gave out a war cry. Other than you, it was Laiya who gave a similar war cry. But what could mere shouts do? Nothing…]
[The club hit the elder in the face, ripping his head apart from his body while leaving a fountain of blood.]
[The chieftain and the general, who remained on the same platform, could only watch this scene helplessly. And you weren't all that different. All you could do was scream and now watch the fountain of blood.]
Ding!
[An important character has died. Your simulation is in danger.]
[Overall difficulty of simulation has changed from E to C.]
Ding!
[Additional rewards will be given on completion.]
[The system's message didn't move you as your heart raced faster after witnessing a death which could have totally been avoided. You cursed yourself inwardly as shadows covered your eyes.]
[The Great Elder Jir Aaya is dead.]
A/N: Join the discord: https://discord.gg/BSU2UZT4s2
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