Hasharr

Moss Village

2 days later

Kyle stepped out of the Chariot, Lilior sitting on his shoulder and three members following after them. Soren, Sparta and Cherry walked out after them, each fully equipped with armor and weaponry. From the two Griffins that carried the Chariot, Thrasher and Wackjob -Woody decided to name them- Seren and Woody willed their Golem suits to hop off and follow.

Two Mageks, three fully equipped warriors, a Fae-half dungeon and a Slime walk into a village of Orcs. Mismatched wooden walls, circular buildings with cloth for ceilings and the heavy stench of sweat, piss and shit. Moss Village was the very definition of barbaric, yet it was the most massively populated place on Chaoz.

As they stepped into the unguarded village, which immediately struck them a strange, the group got several curious looks and stares but mostly they were met with glares.

Orcs lay strewn about all over, large muscular humanoids with several different greenish skin colors. Tusk like fangs growing out of their bottom jaw, deep green eyes, claw like nails and three whole feet taller than a Human while two feet taller than even your average Elf.

From men to woman, elderly and even children there were only two kinds of attires, leather and cloth for the foragers and workers while strapped plates of iron made into make-shift spiky armor for the warriors. Each Orc had their own ‘style’ as in every community but one thing was true for each and every one of them, large weaponry was the definite fashion statement for this race.

From massive bastard swords to oversized halberds and axes, even over to blunt and heavy clubs and maces. No bows were in sight, not siege weaponry nor staffs or wands. Some had the occasional javelin or collection of oversized daggers and throwing knives but it was clear to Kyle what blood thirsty barbarians he had come here to deal with.

As the group walked freely through the gigantic village, nobody stopped them or halted them. No guards were in sight, no seemingly upholders of law or order. Just workers and warriors, hunters and craftsmen.

He was not surprised though as they walked through the dirt roads, it wasn’t the Dwarf or the shiny Valkyrie that caught the Orc’s attention. It wasn’t the massive Mageks nor the Fairy on Kyle’s shoulder. No most of the Orcs were glaring at only two of the group, at the only two beast-like of the group. The Orcs were coldly glaring at Kyle and Cherry.

The older, the adult and the lore privy, all stared murderously at them both.

Cherry sighed as he whispered “This is pointless, we’ll be lucky to get time to talk.”

Kyle agreed but still smirked, they were here to negotiate a ceasefire on the Ogre’s land but their real objective was to weigh up the Orc’s forces, defenses and city layout. To study their equipment and behavior. Possibly if they were given time to negotiate, he would try to sway them to join the alliance but both him and Birse highly doubted that.

The Orcs were strung down by the Elven puppeteers, their hatred of beastmen and humans alike controlling them.

“Jacky should be here damnit, what am I even supposed to look for?” grumbled Soren.

“Jack’s busy training his new unit.” Replied Sparta “Just stand tall and look tough…Oh” she immediately glanced away from the glaring Dwarf.

“Look sharp.” Snapped Kyle as they began approaching a crossroads, dozens of Orcs had gathered to block their way here. The group stopped several feet away from the gathered Orcs as more began to gather behind them, cutting them off.

Amidst the grunts, growls, grumbles and spitting Kyle heard nobody actually regarding them. So he regarded them first, infusing his voice with mana and not Spirit just yet “Greetings people of the horde, I am Kyle Dean of the Blood Pack Mercenaries, I come here to negotiate terms of cea-”

“Negotiate?!” exclaimed one Orc, lighter in skin color than most but much thicker tusks the male Orc warrior stepped out of the crowd from ahead of them. He wore a wide grin, seemingly amused by Kyle’s words “You come to…Negotiate? Hah!” he chuckled mockingly, his voice guttural and deep.

Kyle inspected the warrior, green eyed and green skinned like all the rest but with a dark red mess of short hair and sloppy beard.

Vernus Kolak [{Master} Berserker]-[Vanguard] (Eastern Warlord of the Axe) Level 210

High level with a sub-class Kyle hadn’t seen before and a seemingly important title. Kyle wasn’t afraid of the level, he was 198 himself at this point. Having spent the last two days fighting off the Orc’s raiding parties and massacring their forward camps alongside the Dezol. Yet seeing the title he still responded as respectfully as he could possibly fake without sounding condescending.

“This is no laughing matter, Warlord of the east. We come bearing peace, we offered equality to the Ogres and you attack? This is not acceptable, so we are here to negotiate what is.” Kyle closely watched Vernus’s expression, body language and eyes as he replied.

“Not…Acceptable?” He stated questioningly, staring at Kyle for a brief moment before approaching. Sparta, Cherry and Soren did not reach for their weapons, Seren and Woody stood still like statues and Lilior was barely interested in the brute’s words as she lay nodding off on Kyle’s shoulder.

Vernus stopped a mere foot away from Kyle, standing several feet higher he had to bend down to look him in the eye “You do not decide what is acceptable, beast!” he shouted into Kyle’s face, drenching him in spit “Animals like you should stay off our land, the giants get what they deserve for ‘Negotiating’ with disgusting vermin like you.”

Lilior glanced up coldly at the Orc, going entirely unnoticed but him. Kyle only stared back solemnly, unaffecting in the slightest “Vernus…was it? You will step out of my way, I will speak with your leaders and we shall be leaving here untouched. Understa-”

Again Vernus cut him off, suddenly bellowing in laughter as he stood up and opened his arms wide “This pipsqueak tells me what to do! Hah! Hahahaha! This…” just as suddenly he bent back down, opening his jaws wide as he let out an ear-splitting roar right into Kyle’s face. Lilior was knocked off his shoulder and flew back into Cherry’s chest, absolutely drenched in spit from head to toe.

Vernus put his massive index finger to Kyle’s chest, speaking loudly with aura infusing his voice “You will get out of here, else I will cut you d-”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Said Kyle, cutting the Orc off then sighing as he glanced back at Lilior who was pulling herself off Cherry’s chestplate. Sticking to it as if glued, she glanced at her drenched body, ran her hands through her now messed up hair and slowly looked first at Kyle with confusion, then at Vernus with murder.

Lilior looked absolutely furious, her face reddened like melting iron, her ears trembling and just as red, her eyes wide and focused as she hovered off Cherry and began to approach the Orc. Quickly as she approached Lilior’s entire form melted to slime before rapidly expanding several thousand times larger.

Vernus stepped back three times as unexpectedly a massive Drake stood glaring down at him hungrily, it growled and licked it’s fangs before leaning closer and suddenly opening it’s massive jaw wide right before him. Lilior bellowed out a screeching roar that sent dirt flying back into the crowd of Orcs, like a sudden storm it hit them, almost blowing Vernus off his feet as he covered his ears in pain.

For several prolonged moments the roar continued on, before slowly dying out until it stopped. The Orcs- Vernus included- opened their eyes after the sudden sandstorm to see no sight of the Drake, only a tiny Fairy glaring menacingly into Vernus’s face as she spoke with grinded teeth, wide eyes, shaking fists and bloodthirst clear in her voice and tone “Make no mistake you smelly, disgusting green monkey. You only live because master has not ordered you otherwise, so kneel, squirm and beg before his mercy.”

Vernus stared back at the murderous Fairy, his left eye twitching furiously “M-Monkey?”

“Kolak!” abruptly exclaimed a voice from the crowd “We just had meeting and you already starting figh-” the voice stopped once the new group of Orcs made it out and into view, seeing Kyle’s group the speaker -A female, shorter Orc- stared at them in surprise.

“Lilior back off.” Whispered Kyle to the Fairy, who glared at Vernus for another moment before hovering backwards and gesturing the ‘I’m looking at you’ at him and settling between Kyle’s ears.

Kyle turned to the new group of Orcs, each one larger than the next all except for the short one at the front. There was four of the Orcs in total, sticking out from the rest who backed away to make room for them. Kyle inspected all four.

Throk Felgus [Berserker]-[{Master} Hunter] (Western Warlord of the Spear) Level 216

The largest of the Orcs -Any of them, this guy was enormous- with long greying hair, dark green skin and short tusks.

Tellin Zeff [{Master} Strider]-[Blader] (Northern Warlord of the Blade) Level 218

Average height and thin yet not lanky this female Orc wore no metal armoring, all leather and hard leather with several long blades strapped to several belts over her body.

Vee [{Master} Ranger]-[Stalker] (Southern Warlord of the Bow) Level 209

Vee wasn’t an Orc at all, but instead a tall blue-skinned goblin with long boney horns growing out of his forehead and a long bone-made bow strapped to his back. Kyle had heard of these creatures from Barik but never actually seen one, not even at the goblin village. Vee was a Hobgoblin, an evolved species of the goblin race similar to the change from Devilling to Devil.

They are beings cursed with the Abyss, just like Demons and Devils.

Jeyd Burk [{Master} Shaman]-[Hemomancer] (Moss Village Chieftain) (Central Warlord of the Blood) Level 223

The speaker, a short light-green skinned female Orc with short cut crimson hair and thin long tusks with golden rings. She wore a black leather top with red cloth robes and a brown fur cape. She held a strange weapon, a mix between a ritual staff and halberd. Her eyes also glowed with mana, violet static-like energy that sparked inside her sockets.

Vernus quickly turned to face the Chieftain “Chief!” He gestured their salute, slamming his fist into his chest “Th-These ver-vermin!” he was still shaken from the sudden Drake and stuttered severely.

Jeyd raised her right palm, silencing Vernus before approaching them. Followed by the three other Warlords, she came to a stop several feet away when Vernus moved to stand behind her. She quickly sized them up before speaking “A Dwarf, a Fairy, two Half-beasts, two Humans and…” her gaze ended on Kyle “Whatever you are. Why you here?”

Kyle smiled coldly as he stepped forward “We are of the Blood Pack Mercenaries, we come to negotiate a cease-fire on your raids. And hopefully come to a peaceful understanding of Chaoz’s future.” Kyle saw the intelligence in this Orc, she was nothing like her barbaric brethren. The calm, calculative and solemn sense he felt from her Spirit, then the raw amount of mana that lay within her body. She was no common Orc.

“Cease-fire? Peaceful understanding?” She sneered at his words “That is not how we do things around here. Elves have my head if we stop, the rivers of blood are already running. If we even try to block their path, we’ll all drown in a red flood.”

“Surely there must be a better arrangement than continuing this senseless bloodshed, we will soon be at war after all.” Kyle pointed out, completely expecting the confusion in her expression.

“War? You speak of peace then you speak of war? What you playing at boy?” demanded Jeyd with raised brows.

Kyle knew very well the Elves wouldn’t have told the Orcs anything, not about the quest, not about the summoned nor about Scythe’s allies. “Oh you don’t know anything, do you? Pleasant allies you find yourself with, keeping you in the dark of everything. The rivers of blood run because a Quest was started on Barik, by the Dezol and Fae. But the Quest’s normal plot was foiled by the previous Hero of the Scythe, who is now dead.” He quickly explained, causing the crowd of Orcs to begin rousing in chatter.

Jeyd grimaced “Why should we believe you? A Half half-beast?”

Kyle’s eyes grew colder as he gazed into her own “My Class.” He simply responded with.

It took a brief moment, before suddenly the horde entered a frenzy of growling and shouting. Jeyd was taken aback for a moment as she herself inspected him, but quickly recovered and silenced the entire horde with a single glance. She turned back to look at Kyle “Very well, let us say a Quest was started. What went wrong? What did this Scythe do?”

Kyle took the next few minutes explaining the situation, about the frozen Quest, Scythe’s plans, the summoned and the alliance. “The danger could be imminent, The Horsemen as they call themselves could arrive at any moment. With them will surely come an army like Chaoz has never seen. This is not just an invasion of your or our lands. This is an invasion of our world.”

Jeyd looked at him doubtfully “This is…disturbing. But we still have no choice, the Empire are our allies. It would be a scar on our pride to betray them.”

Kyle chuckled coldly at that “The Empire has already betrayed you, kept you in the dark from the truth, used you to further their agenda and risking everything Chaoz is. You don’t seem to entirely believe me? You think me a liar?”

Jeyd did not respond, she simply continued to stare at him. Her gaze full of mistrust.

Kyle sighed dramatically “It isn’t just your land and homes that are at stake, not just your families and friends. Our entire reality is at the verge of destruction. One of the Horsemen is a Void, that we know for sure.”

Jeyd’s eyes widened “A Void? What do you mean…”

“A fallen Yako, a mangled Spirit Beast.” Casually said Kyle causing the entire horde to fall silent, not a whisper passed about as each Orc stared at him in shock.

“How do you know this!?” Hissed Vee the Hobgoblin, agitated by the news.

Jeyd glanced back at the warlord, shushing him before turning back to Kyle “The Spirits were annihilated, none remain in the physical world.”

“Many remain, scattered about the infinite realms of existence. The danger is not something you and I can face alone, Chieftain. We must join arms, I assure you the Empire will follow shortly.” said Kyle, gesturing at the horde around them.

Jeyd followed his gesture, glancing at her people “You hear this? War is coming.” she announced “Not a skirmish, or a raid. Not some simple farmers and bedwetting knights.” Suddenly the horde rose in a frenzy of roars, ecstatic at the idea. Jeyd looked back at Kyle, curiously unaffected by their behavior “We are Orc. If war comes, we are ready. We thirst for it, we hunger for it.” The roars grew louder “No more fighting amongst ourselves to sate our needs!”

The roaring reached a high point as suddenly each Orc began slamming their foot over and over, creating a pseudo-quake all over the village’s center. Kyle sighed as he watched the barbaric excitement in their eyes, the gleeful grins they all wore. Other than Vee’s terrified expression, Jeyd was the only calm Orc around and Kyle understood exactly why.

Orc Chieftains weren’t just chosen for being the strongest, nor definitely for being the brightest. Only one thing truly mattered, that was who brought on the promise of the bloodiest battles for the horde to look forward to.

Kyle sighed once more, Jeyd did not want to lose her position as Chieftain. Even if it meant continuing to side with the Empire and keep Chaoz severed in two. This was what Kyle feared, this was what Birse had warned him would happen. So Kyle was ready.

Kyle coldly stared back into Jeyd’s sneer as she spoke “I guess we shall see you on the battlefield. We Orcs will stand with our allies, we stand with the Empire.”

Author: Bad ass incommin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMRjaEWVKHE

Vernus was about to boast but Kyle cut him off as he spoke, his eyes turned frigid blue as Spirit encased the area with a chill they felt in their bones “Then the negotiations for peace have proven pointless. Now I shall negotiate your…war. He’s some advice, surrender.”

Jeyd immediately stepped back as she felt the rancid Spirit that suddenly engulfed the entire horde “Wh-what a-are you!?” she exclaimed handling her weapon with both hands and aiming it at him.

Kyle grinned, a thin yet wide wicked grin “As I said before, there are many that remain…scattered around the infinite realms of existence.” The Warlords stared at him in confusion but Jeyd understood, her deathly pale expression told him she clearly understood “Now you know what I am, you also know who I work for.” He stepped closer and suddenly the temperature dropped from chilly to frosty “So you should also mildly know, what I am capable of.”

Jeyd was frozen solid from fear as Kyle leaned up and whispered into her ear “Look around you, all these lives…all these poor souls. It would be quite the shame, if they all suddenly dropped cold.” He leaned away and looked into her horrified expression, straight into her eyes as she was frozen staring into his glowing blues “Think about it more clearly now, Chieftain. You will still get your war, even if you stand with us. But if you stand with the Empire, you will not even exist to see it all go down.”

Kyle briefly glanced at each Warlord, staring at him in both fear and confusion for their fear before looking back at Jeyd “What is more important here, your position…or the continuation of your race’s existence on this world?”

Jeyd clenched her fists around her battlestaff as she stared fearfully into the monster’s eyes, she knew fully well what he was and the tales of horror she was told as a child of what they were capable of only made her emotions churn.

Kyle’s grin suddenly faltered, his expression blanking out of all emotion as he stared at her “I offer two gifts, Cheiftain. Mercy or Extinction.” He turned around “You have twelve hours to decide, we will be back then.”

Jeyd could only watch as they all turned and began to walk away, she could barely shout as she watched Vernus charge at them “Don-”

But it was too late, as Kyle stood suddenly in front of the Orc. Mass of blue slime had risen from the ground to engulf the hulking warrior, holding him in place as Kyle stared up at him. His arms and legs were held in place, his face too held to not look away from Kyle and his mouth was closed shut.

Kyle glanced around the restrained Orc, over at Jeyd “Twelve hours, Chieftain. Or this…will be your fate.” Suddenly the slime expanded and formed all around Vernus as he struggle to move and breathe, it engulfed him, like a blob of gelatin. Kyle watched, void of emotion as the blue slime slowly turned green.

First around the Orc’s right arm, which immediately began to melt away, the skin boiling off, the flesh burning and charring until the bone dissipated into the acid. Everyone watched in horror as Vernus screamed silently inside the blob of slime, as his arm literally melted away.

Second his other arm, third his left leg and fourth came his other leg but halfway through that Vernus passed out. Kyle changed the slime around the Orc’s four stumps into fire, burning the wounds closed and causing him to wake up and scream in agony once more before passing out again.

All the while the Orcs watched in horror and disgust as their comrade, friend and possibly family was tortured and delimbed right in front of them. Yet there were all too terrified, too frozen with fear from Kyle’s aura to move or say a single word.

Kyle dissipated the slime, leaving the Warlord armless and legless on the ground, unconscious while a scent of burnt flesh filled the air. He turned around and continued to walk away. “Eleven hours.”