Day 34 (Legion Scout 1 POV)

We stood there, hidden behind shrubbery and greenery as we watched the horde of Lord Doom besiege the very narrow passageway into the Dwarven Kingdom.

A futile battle is what it seemed like.

I mean, considering orcish intelligence, it wasn't surprising that the orcs would fight such a stupid war.

But we were expecting far more from Lord Doom himself, considering he was supposed to be someone who could rival Clan Gargzha.

Nonetheless, aside from a little disappointment, it wasn't much of an issue.

The fact that a single normal dwarf could beat any other single normal race hands down.

It was a fact.

But as if that stopped the foolish orcs from besieging the dwarves.

Scout 1: “Do you think that maybe the Mount Doom orcs should get a more intelligent lord?” I asked my companion who looked at me, considering my question.

Scout 2: “Well I am sure they could, except that he is both the strongest and smartest orc within the entirety of the Mount Doom Clans territory, so for that reason I think they should get a more intelligent lord, but I don't think they can get a more intelligent lord” my companion commented to which I nodded in agreement.

Scout 1: “But it is quite foolish, don't you agree?” I asked him to which he nodded “To siege a passageway large enough to fit ten orcs when a single dwarf is worth so many times that” but all my companion did was nod sadly.

Scout 2: “You see, our species, the orc race was gifted not with intelligence, but instead with pure brawn and a great libido” he stated in a matter of fact manner “Before our master, the Damned God came, less than 1% of orcish society boasted intelligence higher than that of a human child” he shook his had solemnly “But nothing we can do about it” he said as he stared at the thousands of orcs camping outside the great stone gates of the dwarven kingdom.

Scout 1: “Well of course our race is quite unintelligent, but we are not the lowest” I told him “I'd give that title to the ogres with no hesitation” but my companion seemed like he disagreed.

Scout 2: “The ogres are of course quite unintelligent but the lesser humans and goblins would most likely share that title” he stated but I shook my head in disagreement this time.

Scout 1: “The lesser humans are surely above the ogres, I mean the lesser humans have tribes and villages, and even small governments, while the ogre leaders are only determined by how big of a club you can carry” I puffed my cheeks as I said that “but I do agree with your opinion of goblins, but I still believe ogres are below them” I stated.

Scout 2: “Oh please, ogres and goblins are of the share the same ancestor, all that happened was at some point during their evolution, one of them developed a tendency for large clubs” my companion stated coldly “I would also rather not argue which evolutionary failure is less intelligent, so how about we change topics while we spy on the Mount Doom orcs?” my companion asked to which I nodded, both in agreement of his opinion and question.

Scout 1: “Then shall we discuss the most intelligent races?” I questioned my companion who thought on it for a moment before agreeing.

Scout 2: “Very well, it is a worthy topic as any” he stated his agreement “How about we make a ranking, from the one with the highest intelligence to the one with the least?” he counter asked me to which I nodded in wholesome agreement “Very well, then I shall class- oops” but he paused before smiling “We must exclude higher races such as gods and the like, otherwise it wouldn't be fair” and I again nodded in agreement, it wouldn't be very fair if our master was added to such a ranking now would it.

Scout 1: “Then I shall class Trolls as the most intelligent” I butted in before my companion could continue gaining a distasteful glare from him “and then I'd rank Dwarves and Elves as a tie for second” I stated to which he pondered for a moment.

Scout 2: “I agree with Trolls taking the first spot, but are there even any left?” he asked “Nonetheless, I am sure there are a few left out in the world, but let us continue” and with that he smirked “I disagree with your opinion on second place, I'd place the High Orcs, High Elves and High Dwarves in second place together, and in third place I would put Dwarves and Elves, what do you think?” he asked.

Scout 1: “I don't think its fair to count higher classes of a race as different from the original, I mean an orc is still an orc whether he is a lord or not” but my friend shook his head.

Scout 2: “No, no, you see a higher class is actually a different racial group, I learnt this from the notes back at the fortress, without letting anyone know I plundered quite a big of knowledge from library” he said quietly but it made me pale, that was a crime punishable by death, secretly stealing knowledge but as long as he and I kept it quiet, no one would know but him and me.

Seeing me pale at his words, my companion simply chuckled.

Scout 2: “That aside, a higher race is the next evolutionary line of that race, so a grey orc will always have grey orc children while a lesser orc, me and you for example would always have lesser orc children, while there are special circumstances and sometimes luck involved, it is generally like that” he mused silently “A sad fate, but one me must accept”.

Scout 1: “Interesting” I thought silently for a moment at this new knowledge, but then decided I could dwell on it more later and returned to the current topic “Well now that we have 1, 2 and 3 nailed down, lets continue, I say Humans take fourth place and fifth place is given to the greater beast men while the lesser beast men share sixth place with orcs” my companion contemplated my opinion and then shook his head.

Scout 2: “It sounds about right, but you are missing hobbits you know, they are quite intelligent, I'd position them at fourth place with humans as well as moving greater beast men to fourth place as well, since if they were not godless and treated badly, they'd have a great civilisation you know” and once he said that I nodded in agreement.

Scout 1: “Fair point, so we have first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place set down, but are we missing any races?” I asked my compatriot who pondered for a moment and then shook his head.

Scout 2: “Even if we are missing any other race, it is only because we do not know of them, and since we do not know of them, there is no reason for them to be placed upon the list we have set up for now” he said with a smile to which I nodded but before we could continue our discussion, all of a sudden a great gust of wind blew up to us, shocking us.

We quickly turned around and stared in shock at what we were seeing.

The great stone gates of the dwarves was opening and... is that... oh my, dear lord... the dwarves are rushing out and attacking the orc horde.

It was a brutal sight to behold.

Left and right, orcs were being gutted, crushed and mutilated like a knife to hot butter.

Not that someone at my position could enjoy hot butter, but it was a saying a learned from one of the books I plundered from the fortresses library.

The dwarves were demolishing the orcs.

But only a mere half a thousand dwarves came out.

Was that the entirety of the dwarven military?

500 dwarves?

I'd think they had far more, but it seems like for some reason, only a small amount of dwarves came out.

At least each dwarf was worth well over a few hundred orcs, so maybe it is even.

I tried to do the math in my head, 500 vs roughly 40,000 and I would normally be certain that the lesser number had absolutely no chance, but looking at the dwarven might first hand shook up that belief of mine.

Oh my, something even more incredible happened.

Lord Doom seems to be conversing with the dwarf leader.

I wonder who the dwarf leader is, maybe a general or something similar.

Scout 1: “Who do you think will win, the dwarf leader or Lord Doom?” I asked my compatriot who pondered on that for a moment.

Scout 2: “If its just a normal dwarf leader then I think Lord Doom will win, but maybe its a special dwarf, royalty perhaps?” he paused “Honestly, I have no idea and the best way to get an idea is to watch and analyse the battle” and with that we both nodded at each other and concentrated on the two special individuals.

The dwarf stood silent as Lord Doom conversed with him but then all of a sudden the dwarf threw his large hammer at the Orc Lord, who barely blocked it with his hand and even then, the Orc Lord was sent skidding backwards, but the dwarf didn't stop there.

He quickly ran and jumped up into the air to catch his hammer before he brought it down upon Lord Doom mightily.

I thought for a moment the days of Lord Doom were over, but then all of a sudden, Lord Doom pulled the black great sword from its sheath and the two weapons clashed.

With a mighty shockwave, both parties were sent several metres backwards and instead of continuing the fight the two decided to converse.

Lord Dooms expressions had changed greatly compared to before and it seemed like the conversion had become more personal all of a sudden.

The conversation continued for a while more before all of a sudden Lord Doom ran forward and brought his great sword down upon the dwarf, but the dwarf simply rolled out of its way, spat towards Lord Doom and then used his hammer to try and hit Lord Doom.

Scout 1: “An incredible battle, no?” I asked in an excited manner as my eyes never left the battle.

Scout 2: “Truly so” my companion agreed “A battle to go down in history I think” and with that we focused on the battle fully once again.

As Lord Doom saw the hammer try to hit him he brought his great sword back up and hit the side of the hammer changing its trajectory, but Lord Doom didn't stop there, he immediately counter attacked by bringing the great sword down upon the dwarfs head.

It seemed as if the battle would end then and there, but all of a sudden the Dwarf span around and used his bodily momentum to swing his hammer at the Orc Lord.

Lord Doom looked shocked but he used his greater height to his advantage and kicked the dwarf sending himself backwards several metres and causing the dwarfs attack to miss.

All of a sudden the dwarf began to talk and once again conversation was initiated and both sides had complex facial expressions but all of a sudden Lord Doom smiled and launched himself at the dwarf.

I sighed internally and whispered to my companion.

Scout 1: “An incredible battle but I think we should lower the dwarves rank in the chart” and I heard him hum in approval.

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Hey guys, this is the second chapter for today.

Hope you all enjoyed it.

Also for the tips in regard to writing, I'll try to heed them and incorporate that into my writing.

Anyway, just wanted to give a heads up.

Prepare for many a plot twist.

Love and Peace,

-AK the Untrustworthy Writer