After I had killed a bunch of orcs, several of them decided to stop fighting and surrendered. Although I needed a break, I decided to walk around them and look them in the eye. Thanks to that, I confirmed that they didn't want to mess around anymore since they were avoiding my eyes.
"Drop to your knees unless you want to taste the iron of my ax."
After such a declaration, the orcs looked at each other in their unease. Still, once the first dropped to their knees, the others followed.
Asserting dominance over others can be a delicate balance, especially when dealing with groups like the orcs, who may be prone to rebellion if they feel their autonomy threatened. While skills like subjugation may seem like a quick solution, they often come with their own set of risks and complications, particularly when employed against a fiercely independent and proud race like the orcs.
Instead, the key to fostering loyalty among the orcs lies in understanding their motivations and desires and finding ways to align them with my own goals. Rather than simply imposing my will upon them through force or coercion, it's important to establish a sense of mutual respect and cooperation that encourages the orcs to see me as a leader worth following.
One effective strategy for achieving this is to demonstrate my strength and competence through actions rather than words. By proving myself in battle or by undertaking tasks that benefit the orc tribe as a whole, I can earn their respect and admiration, thereby solidifying my position of authority without resorting to overt displays of dominance.
"From now on, you all will follow my orders. If you are unsatisfied with me and want to take my place, I will accept any challenge, but the challenger will have to bet one gold coin for the challenge. The price of defeating me will be my position and all the gold coins of those that challenged me. Also, you won't go anywhere on the battlefield without me. You are my minions now, so I will decide when you all will die. You will have to try your hardest to die when following me, that is all."
The orcs looked at each other in confusion once again. They had always been treated like disposal meat shields, and no one had ever led them. The orc chieftains were no different… In fact, they liked to send some people to their deaths in order to get their wives.
In any case, while I had a few more days before returning to the castle, Roskarl appeared before me when I thought of returning to the dungeon.
"Well done, her Majesty will be very pleased."
"You asshole… you only show up now? You want to pick a fight with me?"
"I was just following my orders."
"I don't remember your orders to act like a moron?"
I just wanted to say to everyone to fuck them all, but I wasn't strong enough for that. After improving my magic a fair bit, I could tell the difference between me and Roskarl was like heaven and Earth… It was annoying, but it couldn't be helped. The dungeon had gotten fairly boring as well, so I decided to return to that annoying place without making a fuss.
Name: Deimos
Health: 680/1030
Mana: 440/730
Power: 67
Magic: 47
Vitality: 36
Spirit: 36
Resistance: 11
Charisma: 15
Sins
Wrath Lv 22 (250/2000): Power of Hatred Lv 03, Bone Sword Lv 04, Aura of Hatred Lv 01, Bone Shield Lv 03
Pride Lv 08 (310/800): Arrogant Aura Lv 04,
Sloth Lv 06 (350/600): Subjugation Lv 01,
Gluttony Lv 13 (200/800): Gluttonous Essense Lv 03, Lesser Vampirism Lv 01
Lust Lv 05 (0/500): Aura of Allure Lv 03,
Envy Lv 10 (100/1000): Envious Flame Lv 05, Sand Hands Lv 03
Greed Lv 10 (500/1000): Lost Money Lv 04, Buying Health Lv 03, Buying Mana Lv 02
In the end, the lower levels of the dungeon became too boring. The second session only had monsters that leveled up my wrath… that was good and all. Still, eventually, I became stronger than them a lot faster. That was the result of four days of grinding… after defeating the first boss. The second and final boss of the dungeon was just a mummy that summoned others… it was a pushover with annoying skills that hindered my movements, so the battle took some time, but nothing else.
"Why did you say those things to the orcs?"
"You are insane if you think that you will get answers when you refused to answer me for so long,"
"Hahaha, you can hold quite the grudge. I forgot about that. Regardless, you are using your head for a change, and I couldn't ask for more."
It was starting to look tiresome to pretend who I wasn't, but I couldn't just drop a bombshell and ignore the whole situation… I had to be patient and, focus on myself, and build my strength. Thanks to skills like Buying Health and Buying Mana, I could afford to be a bit reckless and even use them to level up my main skills faster… come to think of it, I should have tried to sell the weapons of the orcs that I defeated… I had around ten silver coins, but more money is never a bad thing.