Chapter 18: Orcs Fighting for Food

Chapter 18: Orcs Fighting for Food

“Of course! Axi and I are partners now. Since he accepted the mission, I’m naturally going to join him to execute it.”

Airael said this with a look that made it seem completely reasonable.

Axi, on the other hand, showed no expression and said nothing.

But silence often means agreement.

Although Teresa had already suspected such a situation, when it laid bare before her, she found it hard to endure for a moment.

The legendary mercenary, “Lone Wolf” Axi, was no longer a lone wolf; he had gained a partner.

Once this news gets out, it would surely create quite a stir not just in the mercenary world but throughout human society as well.

Although he was just a mercenary, Axi was a legendary figure, attracting attention from not just noble ladies enchanted by his various deeds and handsome looks, but also others for a multitude of reasons.

After spending a moment stabilizing her thoughts, Teresa spoke, “With Lady Ailia’s help, Lord Axi’s mission will definitely go more smoothly.”

“Naturally!”

Airael was anything but modest in her response.

Although her highest magical prowess only reached the ninth level, the ninth level was still quite impressive.

In this world, there were very few beings who reached the tenth level or above.

Most beings had rather mediocre strength.

It all depended on their growth period.

When they completed that phase, their strength would usually hit a ceiling; even a mere breakthrough from the fourth to the fifth level would be considered remarkable.

Upon leaving the mercenary tavern, Airael remarked, “Aren’t we going to have a hearty breakfast before executing the mission? Considering it’s the border, especially the desolate northern border, the conditions there must be quite poor. Plus, you can fill me in on the details of the mission while we eat.”

After pondering for a moment, Axi nodded in agreement.

Airael had a good point.

With a smile, Airael continued, “What I said last night still stands; I’ll treat you to breakfast. However, I’m not very familiar with this place, so I’ll need you to lead the way.”

Just as she finished speaking, Axi turned to Airael and said, “I’m not very familiar here either.”

Airael’s expression stiffened momentarily before she replied, “Then let’s just find any place nearby!”

After enjoying a sumptuous breakfast in the city, Airael and Axi set off together.

As they were headed to the border, which was quite far and they were pressed for time, Airael and Axi each bought a steed for their travel.

On the main road outside the city, Airael and Axi galloped on horseback, racing toward the northern border of Nick Kingdom.

Trailing closely behind Axi, Airael wasn’t solely focused on the journey; her mind was occupied with other matters.

Specifically, the task at hand.

While having breakfast, Axi had already given a brief overview of the mission.

Their task, simply put, was to kill orcs!

However, saying it was easy, but doing it was far from simple.

Orcs were generally large and sturdy, almost like born warriors.

Compared to humans, those orcs were essentially all strongmen, possessing innate strength.

And that was just the ordinary orcs.

Among the orcs, there were also “strongmen” who were even bigger and bulkier than the average orc.

Naturally, their strength was astonishing as well.

Fighting such a group of beings required extreme caution.

Particularly in close combat against orc warriors, be careful not to get squashed into a meat paste.

In the face of their raw power attacks, even the best armor won’t do much good.

High-quality armor can shield against sharp weapons, but it can’t help against blunt force.

Airael took this mission very seriously and didn’t dare be careless at all.

Axi felt the same way.

His power was considerable, but there were strong ones among the orcs, especially since orc warriors had a significant innate advantage over humans.

In the northern border, the Nick Kingdom stood proudly at the fortified stronghold—Mark Fortress.

Mark Fortress was now on high alert.

Soldiers filled the towering city walls, and crossbows and catapults that were installed there were ready to fire at any moment.

At the city gate, scouts were constantly riding out or returning on swift horses.

Although autumn was a season of harvest, for those in the northern region of Nick Kingdom, it was also a perilous time.

Because orcs from the north would descend to plunder human food supplies.

Moreover, humans themselves were also targets.

These brutes were quite indiscriminate when it came to food.

Furthermore, in the even further northern wastelands, food was already scarce.

Thus, for survival, they wouldn’t pass up any morsel of food.

Among their own kin was also part of their daily diet.

However, this situation had somewhat alleviated with the rise of a new Beast King.

The new Beast King decreed that orcs must not kill each other over food issues.

Yet this edict didn’t protect those orcs who died for various reasons; they still ended up being consumed by their kin.

As a result, the orcs, who were typically suppressed, grew ever more eager for battle and slaughter.

Just think, as long as there’s fighting and killing, they would definitely have something to eat.

Whether the fallen were enemies, their own kin, or innocent bystanders, they would eat them.

The entire orc race had seemingly become a species that fought for food.

However, don’t underestimate the word “eat”; it represented the greatest challenge facing the orc tribe now.

The northern wasteland was barren, producing ridiculously low food yields every year, while the orc birth rate was incredibly high, giving rise to many new orcs each year.

These new orcs all required sustenance.

In the absence of sufficient resources on their territory, they had no choice but to go raiding.

The neighboring human kingdoms became the orcs’ targets.

Among them, the fertile Nick Kingdom, primarily based on agriculture, was particularly high on their raiding list.

Consequently, the task at Mark Fortress became exceedingly important.

While they couldn’t defend against all the orcs descending from the north because the orcs were coming primarily to plunder, not to besiege, as long as there was a stronghold standing tall in the north, the orcs could never completely ignore it.

They needed to station a large number of troops here to hold back the human soldiers in Mark Fortress while providing cover for their brethren penetrating deep into human territory to plunder.