Chapter 2 (2/2)
Luke’s face contorted with ferocity.
“d.a.m.n… It looks like Hal couldn’t keep a quiet mouth.”
“Kueeek, correct. He was cooperative when we dragged him out from under the carriage. We didn’t even have to hit him once.”
“Stupid fool, did he think that Orcs would keep him alive if he cooperated?”
Luke stared coldly at Kurotan.
“He is probably a cold corpse by now. Orcs don’t keep useless prisoners.”
Orcs were not even entertained by the concept of prisoners. The most being a blacksmith to maintain their rusty weapons, but they killed almost everybody else. Kurotan scowled and answered.
“The human remains alive.”
“It can’t possibly be because you value him as a cook?”
“I will tell you of his uses later. Kueeek. But first, I will tell you something.”
Luke calmed his rapidly beating heart.
What Kurotan said next, however, Luke could not have guessed at all.
“The Latilla Tribe faces extermination.”
Luke had not even known that the Orcs hiding out in the Eastern mountain ranges were called the Latilla Tribe. Why would an Orc reveal the perils of his Tribe to a human centurion? Luke couldn’t hide his surprise when he asked,
“Wh-Why are you telling me that?”
“Kueeek. Be quiet and listen. The reason my tribe faces extermination is because we wors.h.i.+p Maal, the G.o.d of war and battle.
Maal was the G.o.d of war and battle. Although not common, there were some wors.h.i.+pers even amongst the humans. However, Luke was puzzled due to this information being different from common knowledge.
“It is common knowledge that Orcs wors.h.i.+p Katia, the G.o.ddess of revenge.”
“Most Orcs wors.h.i.+p Katia. Only our Latilla amongst the Orcs know of the greatness of Maal. We are chosen amongst Orcs…”
Luke cut Kurotan off with a snort.
“I don’t care what kind of G.o.d you wors.h.i.+p. Be it Katia or Maal, it makes no difference to me.”
He couldn’t completely smother his curiosity though, and asked.
“Why do you say that your tribe is in danger of extermination?”
Kurotan’s explanation was simple.
When the Latilla Tribe had been forcibly pushed back to the Eastern mountain ranges by the forces of the Hansell Kingdom, the tribe had evacuated their females and young.
“Orcs are smarter than I thought. Evacuation of the females and young, huh?”
Luke said, smirking. Kurotan’s eyes lit up violently.
“Kueeek, Human, I warn you not to push me. I am using an enormous amount of patience to converse with you.”
Luke quieted down, aware that Kurotan’s behavior had been unbelievably civil for an Orc.
“Our tribe sent our females and young to the territories of the Pushan Tribe, along with a large amount of supplies that they had demanded.”
Afterwards, only the elite warriors of the Latilla Tribe escaped to the Eastern mountain ranges.
“I see. That was why you Orcs have been so persistent and dangerous.”
“The reason we have been pillaging your Earldoms was to secure enough supplies to send to the Pushan Tribe.”
Luke remained still at the truth, which, most likely, not even the King of Hansel Kingdom knew. Orcs did not reveal anything when tortured.
‘Orcs don’t respond to torture. Even the most brutal of tortures don’t illicit a twitch of an eyebrow from their entire race.’
The only way to open an Orc’s mouth was through the utilization of the magic of a High Circle. It was easier said than done.
A mage was expensive to hire as it is, but even more difficult to capture a high ranking Orc that could speak the tongue of Humans.
‘Orcs even have high immunity to poisons. They have always been hard to capture alive.’
Luke stared at Kurotan. It was hard to guess what Kurotan’s intentions were by kidnapping Luke and revealing tribal secrets.
“Why is your tribe in danger of extermination if you had evacuated the females and young?”
Kurotan’s eyes lit aflame with rage.
“The despicable Pushan Tribe betrayed us.”
“Betrayed?”
Betrayal is your specialty! Luke barely held back from shouting out loud.
“All right. Kurotan, how did the Pushan Tribe betray you?”
“They raised an army of warriors to ambush the Orcs we evacuated. They ma.s.sacred the future of our tribe, our females and young.”
Luke tilted his head in puzzlement.
From the perspective of Hansel Kingdom, Orcs battling Orcs was a welcome prospect. He just didn’t understand why the Pushan Tribe did so.
“It’s my understanding that even amongst tribal warfare, the females and young are left alone.”
“It has been that way, yes. That is why the Pushan Tribe’s betrayal is so despicable.”
Perhaps it was because they wors.h.i.+ped Maal, the G.o.d of battle, that the warriors of the Latilla Tribe were especially valiant, even amongst the warrior like race of Orcs.
The Orc warriors of Latilla had been able to pillage enormous amounts of crops and foods from Hansel Kingdom territories to send to their females and young.
This was viewed with hatred by the Pushan Tribe, who had always suffered from a lack of food supplies due to their extremely high birth rates.
The food supplies that the Latilla Tribe had supplied the Pushan Tribe with had not been enough to satiate their hunger.
Luke clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Jealousy is not unique to humans.”
“Kueeek, honorable warriors do not break their promises. It was wrong of us in the first place to place our trust in the Pushan who wors.h.i.+p an evil G.o.d like Katia.”
Regardless if it was Latilla or Pushan, Luke did not see any difference but he held his tongue.
‘It’s a critical chance to find out about the secrets of the Orcs. Perhaps I could escape with their secrets, so I should listen while he is telling me willingly.’
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