Chapter 151 - 160 The Silver Wolf King (Patreon)

Chapter 151

The Silver Wolf King

“Awooo, awooo!”How can a proud descendant of the Giant Wolves associate with filthy orcs?

“Awooooo!”They are good people.

“Awooo, awooo!”Hmph. You have become a pet dog.

“Awooo!”How dare you insult me!

Karath imagined they might be exchanging something along those lines.

“Grand Chief, what are they doing?”

“How would Karath know?”

Naturally, he possessed no ability to understand the language of wolves.

“It looksh like they are... talking.”

“Ahem. This is certainly a strange sight.”

Everyone else looked equally bewildered.

“Remain alert. A battle could begin without warning.”

Karath ordered the warriors to maintain their tension.

Even the one issuing the command found the situation absurd.

Buddy had stepped forward to greet what might be his own kind, so Karath intended to leave him alone for now.

They would have to wait and see what happened.

“Awooo!”

“Woof! Woof!”

Buddy and the Giant Wolf pack continued their apparent conversation for some time.

Whether the discussion went badly or exceptionally well, Karath could not tell.

The wolf that appeared to lead the pack stepped forward.

Buddy took one step toward him in return.

“Woof!”

“Awooo!”

Then the two wolves began fighting.

The sudden development bewildered everyone who could not understand their language.

The other wolves did not interfere, so the alliance warriors also chose to watch.

The difference in size was considerable.

Buddy had grown larger than Karath, but an adult Giant Wolf possessed a body comparable to a troll.

He was fighting an opponent nearly one and a half times his size.

For some reason, Karath did not feel as though Buddy would lose.

“Buddy! Punch him in the face!”

“Bite a hole through his skull!”

Excited by the one-on-one battle, the orc warriors began cheering for Buddy.

Orcs loved combat.

Naturally, they loved a fair duel even more.

“Show them that a smaller fighter can win!”

Karath had no idea why Berners was cheering with even greater enthusiasm than the orcs.

Thud!

“Awoooo!”

Buddy defeated the larger wolf.

It was not because of the encouragement.

The difference in skill was simply overwhelming.

“Ohhh!”

“Krahahaha! As expected of the Grand Chief’s wolf!”

The warriors celebrated as though they had just witnessed a duel between two army champions.

“Awooo!”

“Awooooo!”

The pack appeared unwilling to accept its leader’s defeat.

Dozens of Giant Wolves began surrounding Buddy.

Karath prepared to order the warriors forward.

Buddy turned toward him and shook his head.

Karath could not understand the wolves’ language, but that gesture was clear enough.

“Everyone, wait.”

“Grand Chief?”

The warriors looked confused.

Karath decided to respect Buddy’s wishes.

The battle between one silver wolf and dozens of Giant Wolves began.

Fortunately, they were inside a dense forest rather than an open plain.

The trees and undergrowth limited how many wolves could attack simultaneously.

Despite the pack’s numbers, Buddy only needed to face two or three at a time.

“Awooo!”

Thud!

He calmly knocked down each wolf that entered his reach.

Slice!

Crunch!

Even so, numbers carried their own strength.

As the group assault continued, wounds accumulated across Buddy’s body in proportion to the wolves falling around him.

Karath clenched his teeth.

Watching was agonising.

Part of him desperately wanted Buddy to win.

Another part was ready to intervene the moment the situation became too dangerous.

Then Karath noticed something strange.

The wolves Buddy had already struck down were recovering and standing again.

They could still rise after being hit by him?

Looking more carefully, Karath saw no blood on their bodies.

Buddy had been able to break stones with his claws and fangs even when he was only the size of a large dog.

Now those claws could tear through ogre hide without difficulty.

There was no possibility that a wolf struck by them would remain unharmed.

Karath finally understood.

Buddy had retracted his claws.

He was defeating the wolves with nothing but raw physical strength.

For an orc warrior, it would have been the equivalent of fighting an entire Giant Wolf pack with bare hands.

Even Karath could not have done that without mana.

Honestly, he doubted he could slaughter more than thirty Giant Wolves alone without mana even while carrying a weapon.

Buddy was slowly accomplishing something no one else in the alliance, apart from Karath, could possibly manage.

His once-shining silver fur had become soaked in blood.

More than ten wolves already lay upon the ground.

Including those that had recovered and stood again, he had defeated over fifteen.

The only reason Karath continued restraining himself was that the wolves who recovered did not rejoin the battle.

The scene increasingly resembled some kind of trial.

“Hold on, Buddy!”

“You can do thish!”

“Crush all their skulls!”

The warriors appeared to have noticed the same thing.

Instead of interfering, they watched with burning eyes and continued cheering.

Thud!

When the twenty-fourth Giant Wolf fell beneath Buddy’s paw, the pack’s original leader raised his head.

“Awooooo!”

Karath did not know what the howl meant.

The wolves still attacking Buddy stopped immediately.

The leader approached, flattened his body, and lowered his head to the ground before Buddy.

It looked like a gesture of respect.

“Awooooo!”

“Awoooo!”

More than thirty Giant Wolves followed his example.

They howled and bowed before the silver wolf.

The warriors who had been shouting moments earlier fell silent.

It was a solemn sight that demanded reverence from anyone watching.

“Awooooo!”

Buddy, now acknowledged as their king, raised his bloody head and howled toward the sky.

It was the moment a silver wolf became the king of wolves.

Karath felt both pride and guilt as he watched.

The scene would have looked truly magnificent if not for the bald patch on Buddy’s head.

After patiently waiting for Buddy to unite the pack, Karath approached the victorious wolf.

“Water.”

He created water and washed the blood from Buddy’s fur.

“Healing.”

Then he cast the recovery-acceleration spell, helping the wolf’s injuries close more quickly.

“Grand Chief, those wolves seem to be following us.”

When the expedition resumed its journey toward the chilli field, more than thirty Giant Wolves followed behind.

More precisely, they were probably following Buddy.

Since Buddy belonged to the expedition, the result was effectively the same.

“They appear to have chosen to follow him.”

“D-does that mean we can ride them like the Grand Chief rides Buddy?”

“Karath does not know whether they will permit that. Only Buddy would know.”

One impatient orc warrior immediately climbed onto the back of a nearby Giant Wolf.

“Graaagh!”

The wolf threw him to the ground.

“Grrrrr.”

It bared its teeth and glared at him.

“Krahahaha! It seems they expect us to earn their recognition through strength, just as the Grand Chief and Buddy did!”

Kaden stepped forward confidently.

He approached the wolf that had previously led the pack.

It was the same one Buddy had defeated in their first duel.

Even so, it remained the largest of the Giant Wolves.

A massive scar crossed one side of its face, giving it a frightening appearance.

Judging only by looks, it appeared even more charismatic than Buddy and stood out immediately among the entire pack.

Kaden strode toward it without hesitation and climbed onto its back.

“Graaagh!”

The wolf threw him to the ground.

“Let us see which one of us gives up first!”

Kaden refused to surrender.

He repeatedly attempted to climb onto the wolf.

Crash!

Each time, it threw him back down.

The spectacle was entertaining at first.

After five or six repetitions, it became tedious.

“Awooo!”

The leader, which had previously been using only enough strength to remove Kaden, finally howled and looked toward Buddy.

Karath could not understand the language of wolves, but the meaning in its gaze seemed obvious.

Was it asking permission to hit that bastard properly?

“Woof! Woof!”

Buddy barked twice, then looked away.

It appeared to mean, Do whatever you want.

Karath felt strangely unsettled.

He might actually be beginning to understand the wolves.

Chapter 152

A Taste of Hell

The conflict between Kaden and the scarred wolf continued.

Following Buddy’s example, Karath told them to settle it themselves.

He added one condition.

They would continue after returning to the village.

The expedition was still travelling between the Stormhowl settlement and the place where the strange fruit grew.

They could not waste more time on a pointless contest in the middle of the forest.

When they finally reached the location Haku described, Karath discovered exactly what he had expected.

Chilli peppers were growing there.

If they could also find beans, they could make fermented soybean blocks.

Those blocks could then become soybean paste and soy sauce.

With chillies added, chilli paste would also become possible.

Perhaps the cuisine of Karath’s former world could be revived within the Grimwood Mountains.

Remembering those flavours, Karath plucked one pepper from the plant.

Crunch.

He bit off an entire mouthful.

His eyes widened.

Then he experienced hell.

Fire erupted inside his mouth.

Had dozens of subordinates not been watching, Karath would have screamed, wept, and rolled across the ground.

He had forgotten one important fact.

During the seventeen years since his reincarnation, he had not eaten properly spicy food even once.

His tongue was no longer Arnold’s tongue, trained by thirty-four years of eating powerful spices.

When it came to heat, Karath’s tongue was no different from a newborn child’s.

“A-are you all right, Grand Chief?”

Haku stared in horror after watching him casually bite into the pepper.

“Karath is fine.”

He wanted to spit it out and cry.

For the dignity of the Grand Chief, he forced himself to endure.

“As expected of the Grand Chief! Even our warriors only ate tiny pieces of that Devil’s Fruit during winter, yet you consumed so much at once and remain completely unaffected.”

“Is it really that dangeroush?”

“Krahahaha! Are you not exaggerating?”

Because Karath pretended the pepper had no effect, the others reacted doubtfully to Haku’s warning.

“Ahem. Karath knows this vegetable. It is spicy, but it contains no poison. This degree of heat is perfectly tolerable.”

“There ish no poison?”

“If it is not poisonous, then there is no reason we cannot eat it.”

The warriors became curious.

“Krahahaha! Those who wish to try it may do so. Are the courageous warriors of the Greenskin Alliance frightened by a mere vegetable?”

None of them had ever eaten anything like this.

Karath had suffered alone, and now he intended to share the experience.

“Without poison, Bernersh can eat it easily!”

“Krahahaha! Kaden could eat it even if it contained poison!”

“Exactly! The alliance’s warriors do not fear poison!”

The provocation worked perfectly.

Every warrior plucked a pepper and held it in one hand.

Kaden and several others who wanted to appear especially fearless took three or four each.

Even Haku, who had guided them there and knew exactly how dangerous they felt, quietly picked one.

Karath’s performance must have been exceptionally convincing.

The warriors glanced at one another.

Then, almost simultaneously, they shoved entire peppers into their mouths.

Crunch.

Crunch.

For several seconds, only the sound of vegetables being chewed echoed through the forest.

It was merely the silence before a storm.

“GRAAAAGH!”

“W-water! Bernersh needsh water!”

“Grand Chief! It is poison! This is definitely poison!”

Moments later, the forest descended into chaos.

Several days after the incident at the chilli field, Karath and the alliance warriors relocated the Stormhowl Tribe to the newly created village.

Then they resumed their expedition to expand the alliance’s territory.

Several things had changed since the day they first discovered Stormhowl.

“Is that uncomfortable, Buddy?”

“Awooo!”

Buddy shook his head.

A leather strap was now secured around his head.

After Karath had accidentally torn out a clump of fur while fighting the ogre, he created a set of reins for the wolf.

They were not intended to control Buddy.

Their purpose was to give Karath something to hold so he would not be thrown from the wolf’s back.

He refused to tear out another fistful of fur.

Considering Karath’s weight and Buddy’s strength, an ordinary leather strap would not have survived a single day.

Fortunately, the expedition possessed suitable material.

They had made the reins from the hide of the ogres killed several days earlier.

“Awooo!”

“Awooooo!”

Dozens of Giant Wolves travelled behind Buddy and the expedition.

No warrior other than Karath had yet been permitted to ride one.

Still, Giant Wolves ranked somewhere between small and medium-sized monsters.

Their presence alone strengthened the alliance’s military power.

As they continued living and fighting together, the day might eventually come when large numbers of Wolf Riders appeared within the Greenskin Alliance.

Chapter 153

The Seventh Settlement

Two months had passed since the alliance resumed its territorial expansion between late winter and early spring.

Spring had now fully settled over the Grimwood Mountains, and during that time, they had successfully established two new villages.

“The monsters seem to be behaving more strangely with each passing day, Grand Chief.”

Krog quietly raised the subject while walking beside Karath on the expedition to establish their third village of the season.

“I agree. We need to expand our territory as quickly as possible.”

Karath had been thinking the same thing.

When they discovered the Stormhowl Tribe, three ogres had already invaded its settlement.

Recently, almost every tribe they approached was either under attack by monsters or had already suffered an assault.

The alliance had absorbed nine tribes while creating the two new villages, yet only around seven hundred orcs had survived to join them.

The situation among the goblins was no better.

Many were killed by monsters while travelling toward the alliance or hiding somewhere in the wilderness.

The surviving goblins and hobgoblins continued arriving steadily, but countless orcs and goblins who had yet to reach the alliance were probably dying at that very moment because of the changing forest.

At this rate, the expansion project would suffer.

Karath’s plan relied upon absorbing scattered orc settlements and goblin clans to secure more labour.

That additional labour would then be used to expand the territory again.

The moment the alliance stopped acquiring people, the expansion would also come to a halt.

Including Root, the Greenskin Alliance now controlled six villages spread across territory roughly half the size of Seoul.

Yet fewer than three thousand alliance members lived across that enormous region.

The population density was absurdly low.

That was why Karath had chosen to clear only the villages, the waystations, and the roads connecting them.

The rest of the territory remained largely untouched.

It belonged to the alliance in name, but monsters still infested nearly every place beyond the settlements and roads.

Since monsters were also the alliance’s daily food supply, Karath had decided to regard the arrangement as a form of free-range livestock farming.

If they expanded cautiously by clearing the area around one village at a time, the population would grow far too slowly.

Karath might die of old age before accomplishing anything meaningful.

He had no better choice.

The important point was that the entire expansion project would stop if they failed to establish new villages and absorb the nearby orc tribes and goblin clans.

Therefore, wanting to save the remaining greenskins was simply a rational decision.

Karath immediately dismissed that excuse.

Pretending logic was his only motivation had become foolish.

The truth was that he genuinely wanted to save them.

A year and a half earlier, his only goal had been securing happiness for himself and the Bloodclaw Tribe, the brothers and family who had raised him.

Perhaps living as an orc for seventeen years had changed him.

Perhaps spending more than a year as Grand Chief had done it.

His mind had slowly begun operating like that of a true leader.

At times, he discovered a sincere desire within himself to liberate all the orcs and goblins of the mountains.

Perhaps this was what people meant when they said a position shaped the person who held it.

Though in Karath’s case, he was no longer a person but an orc.

He continued chatting with Krog as they climbed the mountain path.

“Grand Chief! We are almost there!”

Berners, who served as both communications chief and navigator, announced that they were nearing their destination.

A short while later, the expedition entered a broad basin halfway up the mountain.

Aside from several scattered trees and low shrubs that barely reached an orc’s knees, the land was open beneath a wide sky.

A lake occupied the centre of the basin.

“We will establish our seventh village above that lake!”

Karath pointed toward the higher ground beyond the water, taking the approaching rainy season into consideration.

The warriors immediately began moving according to his command.

The lake was the entire reason they had climbed this particular mountain.

The mountain stood eight or nine days away from Root, the alliance’s capital.

Every village established so far had been separated from the next by roughly two days of travel.

Reaching this place from Root therefore required passing three other villages.

At this distance, Karath needed to begin thinking seriously about supplying each settlement.

He had asked Berners to search for a location with abundant water and suitable land for construction.

The hobgoblin had informed him of this lake.

They probably could not establish agriculture on the same scale as Root, but the residents could catch freshwater fish, cultivate smaller fields, or plant orchards.

Once the population grew, the settlement might eventually develop into something resembling a city.

They could create a chilli field over there.

Tomatoes and olives could be grown elsewhere.

If they discovered beans, another area could be devoted to them.

Karath allowed his imagination to wander despite knowing almost nothing about farming.

“Hup!”

“Haaah!”

Meanwhile, the warriors cut down the shrubs and levelled the ground in preparation for the new settlement.

The work continued for some time.

Then an inexplicable sense of discomfort crawled up Karath’s spine.

Chapter 154

Ten Shadows Above the Lake

“Grand Chief, something feels wrong.”

Krog was not the only one who sensed the unease.

His expression carried the same inexplicable discomfort Karath felt.

“Grand Chief! This place is different from what Bernersh heard through the horns!”

Berners left the goblin warriors he had been directing and hurried toward Karath.

“I heard thish lake ish the largest water source in the area, sho many animalsh and monstersh normally gather nearby. But we have made all thish noise, and not one monster hash appeared.”

Only after hearing Berners’s explanation did Karath understand the source of his unease.

The Grimwood Mountains were a forbidden land and a paradise for monsters.

Yet this place was far too peaceful.

They had created an enormous disturbance through construction, but nothing had approached.

“Huh? There are birds flying over there.”

One of the orc warriors paused his work and looked toward the sky.

For some reason, the quiet remark reached Karath with unusual clarity.

“Birds?”

He turned toward the mountain summit in the direction the warrior was watching.

A flock of ten creatures, apparently migratory birds, was flying through the sky.

“Why do they seem to be coming this way?”

The shapes that had first appeared above the summit were gradually moving toward the basin.

Karath suddenly froze.

The summit was nearly three hours away on foot.

The route was difficult because anyone climbing it had to navigate around trees and thick vegetation, but the direct distance still had to be at least two or three kilometres.

If those creatures looked as large as ordinary birds from that distance, then their true size had to be enormous.

“Stop working and draw your weapons!”

Karath finally understood the danger and shouted urgently toward the warriors.

Most of them still looked confused.

Nevertheless, they reacted immediately to the Grand Chief’s order and formed a battle line.

During those few moments, the creatures in the sky rapidly drew closer.

What had appeared to be ordinary birds soon grew until each looked as large as a person.

At that distance, their appearance became clear.

Their bodies and wings were covered in scales rather than feathers.

Their forms resembled ancient reptiles.

Wyverns.

A flock of ten wyverns was descending upon them.

“Damn it.”

The creatures grew larger with every passing moment.

Escape was already impossible.

At that speed, attempting to flee would only allow the wyverns to isolate and slaughter them one by one.

“Warriors with shields, move to the front!”

“Goblins, prepare to intercept them!”

As the wyverns approached, the advisers and warriors finally understood the situation and prepared with disciplined speed.

Moments later, the monsters reached the sky above them.

“This is insane.”

They were not directly overhead.

The wyverns circled at an altitude of roughly three hundred metres, watching the expedition below.

Their attitude resembled fishermen studying a lake while deciding which fish to catch first.

“Our arrowsh cannot reach that high!”

“Wait! Fire when they begin descending!”

The distance made their exact size difficult to judge, but each wyvern’s body appeared at least as large as a troll.

With their wings extended, their width exceeded the height of an ogre.

One of them was noticeably larger than the rest.

Karath suspected it was the leader.

“Here they come!”

As though coordinating a staggered assault, the wyverns began diving one after another from every direction.

“Shield warriors, follow the wyverns!”

The attack immediately disrupted the alliance’s formation.

Because the creatures approached from all sides, the shield warriors waiting at the front had to scatter in a desperate attempt to intercept them.

“Fire!”

The goblins released their arrows to buy time for the shield bearers and wound the descending monsters.

Ting!

Tik!

The wyverns were so large that nearly every arrow struck.

Their scales, however, were extraordinarily tough.

Most arrows simply bounced away.

Only the shots fired by the most skilled goblins pierced the scales slightly.

Even then, the arrowheads merely lodged between them, dangled briefly, and fell.

That limited result was only possible because the goblins had increased their strength through weight training.

The wyverns tore through the rain of arrows and extended their claws toward the warriors below.

Boom!

“Graagh!”

The combination of gravity and the monsters’ weight produced force no steel shield could properly withstand.

No warrior died immediately, but those who blocked the claws suffered broken bones or were thrown across the ground.

Karath had not been standing idle while his warriors were attacked.

He had prepared magic to strike the airborne creatures.

“Die!”

“Icicle Lance!”

Dozens of spears formed from ice appeared in the air.

The wyverns looked too formidable for First or Second Circle magic to affect them, so Karath created a mass of Third Circle Icicle Lances.

Thud!

Crunch!

The frozen spears shot toward the wyverns’ wings.

If Karath could force them to the ground, the alliance warriors would be able to kill them.

“SKREEEE!”

“KRAAAAK!”

Three wyverns suffered severe damage to their wings and crashed into the basin with tremendous impacts.

Two more remained airborne but had clearly been wounded.

“Kill the ones that fell first!”

The remaining four had escaped without injury, but if the battle continued this way, the alliance could win without suffering devastating losses.

Then Karath sensed mana surging violently above his head.

He looked up.

The largest wyvern had descended to an altitude of roughly fifty metres.

Its mouth was stretched wide open.

Mana was being drawn violently into its throat.

“This damned monster-infested hell!”

Karath began manipulating his mana the instant he understood.

The barrage of Third Circle spells had already consumed a considerable amount, but there was no time to worry about reserves.

A moment later, flames erupted from the wyvern’s mouth.

Chapter 155

The Wyvern’s Breath

Just before the flames pouring from the wyvern’s mouth reached the warriors, Karath completed his spell.

“Barrier.”

The Fourth Circle defensive magic activated at the last possible moment.

The barrier formed in the air and collided with the torrent of fire.

A deafening explosion shook the basin.

Karath sucked in a sharp breath.

The sudden expenditure of mana brought the taste of blood into his mouth for the first time in a long while.

“Ohhh!”

“The Grand Chief is protecting us!”

The warriors cheered after realising that Karath had stopped the flames.

Normally, he would have shouted something impressive to raise their morale.

He had no time for that now.

Every bit of his concentration was devoted to continuously pouring mana into the Barrier and preventing the wyvern’s breath from breaking through.

“Now! Kill the monsters that fell to the ground!”

“Attack!”

Fortunately, Krog and Dagon were quick enough to command the warriors in Karath’s place.

While he held back the flames, the alliance warriors killed the three wyverns that had crashed to the ground.

Even beneath the burning torrent descending from above, they carried out their tasks in disciplined order.

That did not mean the situation was favourable.

“Using more magic will be difficult.”

By the time Karath finally blocked the last of the flames, almost none of the mana circulating around his heart remained.

“Karath will fight the monster that breathed fire! The warriors will kill the others!”

He pointed toward the enormous wyvern still hovering in the sky and watching him with a strange gaze.

It had apparently never expected him to stop its breath.

As though it understood his challenge, the wyvern beat its scaled wings and climbed higher into the sky.

Karath instinctively knew it was not fleeing.

“Haa.”

Mounted upon Buddy, he followed its movements with his eyes while steadying his breathing.

He used those brief moments to recover even a little mana.

Whoosh.

The wyvern’s enormous body began plummeting from high above.

As though deliberately mocking Karath, it did not dive toward him.

It aimed for another group of warriors.

“Buddy!”

The moment Karath understood its target, he pulled the reins fastened around Buddy’s neck.

“Woof!”

Buddy immediately sprinted toward the point where the wyvern was descending.

The giant wolf moved like the wind.

Despite his immense size, he avoided colliding with more than a hundred allied warriors while racing through the chaotic battlefield.

Thanks to Buddy’s skill, they reached the target just before the wyvern crashed into the warriors.

“Get out of the way!”

Buddy leapt over their heads to intercept the monster’s claws.

“Hraaaah!”

Boom!

Karath swung Silvertusk in midair.

The axe collided with the wyvern’s talons.

“Guh!”

Karath and Buddy were smashed into the ground.

The immense weight of the creature, combined with the acceleration of its descent, produced an impact that could not be received safely in midair.

Had orc blood not flowed through Karath’s body, the pain surging through his back might have knocked him unconscious immediately.

Still, the exchange had not been entirely one-sided.

“Heh.”

A thick smile spread across Karath’s face as he watched blood drip from above.

“SKREEEE!”

The wyvern screamed from the violent pain in its leg.

Although the impact had driven Karath into the ground, his axe had still torn deeply through one of the monster’s feet.

Blood continued dripping from its mangled right leg.

Damn monster.

The limb was now too damaged to use properly, but Karath was not satisfied.

He had aimed to sever the leg completely.

Had he succeeded, the collision would not have smashed him into the earth so brutally.

Yet even the axe stroke that had cut through human knights together with their swords failed to remove the wyvern’s leg in one blow.

The limb had been reduced to a bloody ruin, but the result proved something important.

Anyone below the level of an Aura User could not even hope to block the monster’s attacks.

Ignoring the pain in his back, Karath forced himself upright to continue the fight.

“Grrrrr!”

Buddy also rose from the ground beside him, releasing a low and vicious growl.

“SKREEEE!”

The wounded wyvern glared at them briefly.

Then, still bleeding, it beat its wings and returned to the sky.

The giant wyvern circled overhead and watched the ground below.

It lacked developed intelligence, but instinct had taught it one thing.

Directly fighting the orc who had wounded it was dangerous.

Using its breath again was also difficult.

Even for the leader of the wyverns, that attack placed a heavy burden upon its body.

It therefore remained in the air, avoiding Karath while searching for other orcs to hunt.

“Woof!”

Buddy raced back and forth with Karath upon his back, continuing to pursue the wyvern wherever it moved.

“Damn it.”

Karath was hardly comfortable while chasing it.

During the time the enormous leader kept him occupied, the remaining six wyverns were inflicting casualties upon the alliance.

“Graaagh!”

“Now! Fire!”

“Those with spears, throw them! Aim for the wings!”

The warriors were not fools.

After experiencing several attacks, they began concentrating upon the wyverns’ wings.

They eventually succeeded in bringing another creature down.

Even so, at this rate, victory would come at a terrible price.

The alliance possessed far too few people for the vast territory it controlled.

Every warrior was an irreplaceable resource.

No.

Their value did not come from their usefulness as resources.

They were precious comrades who had fought beside Karath in the war of expansion for more than a year.

He did not want to lose them.

Karath was not the only one who felt that way.

“Keep firing!”

Berners, the leader of the goblins, shouted his commands with bloodshot eyes.

He looked almost like an enraged orc.

He did not merely stand back and issue orders.

Even while shouting, Berners continued firing arrows at the wyverns.

Why?

The goblins’ arrows could barely pierce the wyverns’ scales.

Berners had trained his muscles relentlessly for nearly ten months, beginning around the previous summer.

The training had certainly produced results.

In the past, many goblin arrows had struggled to travel even fifty metres.

They could not have scratched the scales of monsters like these.

Now their arrows could reach the wyverns’ wings.

Occasionally, one even lodged slightly between the scales.

What did that accomplish?

The arrowheads did not penetrate deeply enough for their poison to enter properly.

Their efforts could not change the battle.

“Graaagh!”

“Block it! Stop them!”

Even as Berners watched, goblins of his own people and allied orc warriors were being injured or killed.

“Fire more arrowsh!”

He screamed until his voice cracked and continued shooting.

Perhaps the command was not directed at the other goblins.

Perhaps he was shouting at himself.

Please.

Rage, frustration, and grief surged violently through Berners.

Through his horn, those emotions and memories spread into the network connecting the hobgoblins.

Screams echoed through that connection.

Kill them.

Fire.

Aim for their wings.

If only he could use mana.

In the middle of his raging emotions, Berners remembered something Karath had told him.

By practising the axe art, they would eventually sense a special energy.

Mana.

A special energy?

At that moment, a strange sensation flashed through Berners’s mind.

He was already using a special energy.

He had simply never noticed because it felt as natural as breathing.

His horn was transmitting his emotions and memories to the other hobgoblins.

Whenever he used it, some strange force within his body moved toward the horn.

Berners drew a deep breath and forced his emotions under control.

For the first time, he tried to manipulate that force deliberately.

Chapter 156

The First Awakening

The strange energy did not obey Berners easily.

Whenever he used the horn to communicate, it moved naturally.

The moment he attempted to control it through conscious will, it refused to respond.

It was like trying to command the heart to beat through thought alone.

The movements.

Berners remembered the stances Karath had taught through Muhe Lionheart’s axe art.

He recalled which muscles each movement stimulated.

Using those sensations as a guide, he attempted to direct the energy toward the same places.

It moved.

Only slightly, and only through great effort, but Berners succeeded in manipulating it.

“Hnnngh!”

He poured mana into his muscles and drew his bow.

The string came back more easily than ever before.

It stretched so tightly that it seemed ready to snap.

Berners released it.

Whoosh!

Thud!

The arrow pierced straight through the wing of a wyvern attacking an orc warrior.

His eyes widened.

He could hardly believe that he had produced such a shot.

Berners quickly recovered from his amazement.

This was not the time to celebrate.

He looked across the battlefield.

He needed to help the Grand Chief.

Karath was being held in place by the creature that appeared to lead the wyverns.

If Berners could damage that monster’s wings and force it to the ground, the Grand Chief would finish everything.

Having completed the calculation, Berners nocked another arrow.

The second attempt was easier now that he had used mana once.

Power flooded through his entire body, beginning with the legs supporting him and continuing through the arms drawing the bow.

It was incomparable to his ordinary strength.

Berners pulled the string back with everything he possessed.

Snap!

The bow broke beneath the force.

“SKREEEE!”

The arrow still flew.

It buried itself deep in the giant wyvern’s right wing.

It did not pierce completely through the membrane as the previous shot had, but that hardly mattered.

Goblin arrows were coated in poison.

“Clio!”

“Here!”

At Berners’s shout, Clio immediately handed him the bow he had been using.

Berners seized it and nocked another arrow.

“B-Berners?”

Blood was running from the corner of his mouth.

That was only natural.

Berners had never learned the mana cultivation method.

The power he was using had not been gathered from nature as Karath’s had.

It came from his own life force.

Unlike the small amount consumed when communicating through the horn, empowering his muscles was eating directly into his vitality.

Berners did not care.

His attention remained fixed entirely upon the enormous wyvern’s right wing.

Snap!

Whoosh!

Thud!

He fired again.

Then once more.

Both arrows struck the same wing, and Clio’s bow shattered beneath the strain.

“Cough!”

After embedding three arrows into the wyvern’s wing, Berners collapsed to his knees and spat blood.

A short while later, the poison began taking effect.

“SKREEEE!”

The giant wyvern’s right wing slowed.

Its flight lost balance.

The monster began falling toward the ground.

“RAAAAGH!”

The Grand Chief charged forward to finish it.

Berners watched long enough to confirm that sight.

A satisfied smile appeared upon his face.

Then he lost consciousness.

Chapter 157

The Price of the Wyvern King

“SKREEEE!”

The creature that appeared to lead the wyverns screamed as it fell from the sky.

“Woof!”

The moment Buddy saw it descending, he accelerated toward the crashing monster.

“SKREEEE!”

Even while falling, the wyvern lashed out with its beak and uninjured left wing, attacking the warriors around it.

“Fall back!”

Karath shouted before any of the warriors could injure themselves trying to confront it.

“Hraaaah!”

Buddy charged through the path they opened.

“SKREEEE!”

Perhaps sensing that their leader was in danger, the remaining wyverns abandoned the cowardly tactics they had used until then and flew toward him together.

“Stop the monsters!”

“Hold them back until the Grand Chief kills their leader!”

The advisers noticed the movement and immediately issued commands.

“Die!”

Karath reached the fallen wyvern and swung Silvertusk with every bit of aura-enhanced strength he could muster.

The wyvern desperately swept its left wing forward to block the axe.

Crunch!

One strike tore the wing apart.

A casual wingbeat without the force of a dive behind it could not stop Karath’s axe.

The wing was also far less durable than the creature’s talons.

Crunch!

Karath swung repeatedly, reducing the limb to tatters.

Beneath him, Buddy tore into the same wing with his claws and fangs.

“SKREEEE!”

Covered in wounds, the wyvern opened its mouth and began drawing in mana for one final attack.

That was an undeniable mistake.

Attempting a technique that required preparation during close combat was suicide.

As soon as the monster began gathering mana, Buddy leapt toward its head.

“Die, you bird-brained bastard!”

Karath’s axe split the wyvern’s open jaws apart.

He had finally killed the most difficult enemy he had faced since the drake two years earlier.

There was still no time to rest.

“Let’s go, Buddy!”

The other wyverns had descended to save their leader.

“Do not let a single one escape!”

Karath had to finish them before they inflicted further casualties upon the alliance.

The battle became considerably easier after the death of the wyvern leader.

The warriors clung fiercely to the monsters that had landed.

The orcs still could not use aura, but they possessed enough raw strength to pierce a wyvern’s scales once it was trapped on the ground.

When the fighting finally ended, Karath immediately looked around.

“Where is Berners?”

He had been too occupied with the battle to pay attention earlier, but he knew who had planted three arrows in the leader’s wing.

Apart from Karath himself, Berners had made the greatest contribution to their victory.

“G-Grand Chief.”

Clio, one of Berners’s subordinates, approached with a trembling voice.

“Bernersh collapsed.”

“Collapsed? Was he attacked by a wyvern?”

“N-no! He started bleeding from hish mouth while shooting.”

“He bled while firing? Where is he?”

A terrible feeling seized Karath.

He urged Clio onward and followed him to where Berners had fallen.

Karath froze when he saw the hobgoblin lying unconscious with blood around his mouth.

He immediately understood what had happened.

Just like the shamans of the old orc tribes, Berners had consumed his own life force to use mana.

This was Karath’s mistake.

He had not taught Berners the mana cultivation method.

Since the hobgoblin had been unable to sense mana, Karath had assumed teaching it would be pointless.

That excuse meant nothing now.

There had to be some way to save him.

Then an idea struck Karath.

“Bring me the leader’s corpse!”

The wyvern leader had used breath, just like the drake from years ago.

The drake had possessed a mana stone.

Cockatrices could also manipulate mana and carried mana stones within their bodies.

The wyvern might possess one as well.

Karath began carefully removing the scales from the leader’s corpse after the warriors dragged it over.

He wanted to split the body open immediately and search as quickly as possible.

The problem was that he did not know exactly where its mana stone might be.

If he swung his axe carelessly and shattered it, the consequences could be disastrous.

“Haa.”

Drawing upon past experience, Karath first searched the most likely area.

The centre of the body, around where a human navel would have been.

He cut through the scales and cautiously pushed the internal organs aside with the edge of his axe.

After searching for a short while, he found it.

The wyvern possessed a mana stone.

It was far larger than those found inside cockatrices and only slightly smaller than the drake’s.

“Berners.”

With the stone secured, Karath gently shook the unconscious hobgoblin awake.

The treatment he had in mind would be impossible if Berners remained completely unconscious.

“Grand... Chief?”

Despite his deathly pale complexion, Berners barely managed to open his eyes and answer.

His unfocused gaze made it difficult to call him truly conscious.

“Hold on a little longer. I will heal you.”

“Under... shtood.”

Even through the pain, Berners looked at him with complete trust.

Karath glanced at those eyes.

Then he made his decision.

He bit directly into the mana stone, which was still covered in blood from the wyvern’s organs.

Karath had almost no mana remaining after the battle.

He lacked the strength necessary to treat Berners.

Once he had chewed half of the mana stone into a softer mass, he pulled it from his mouth and pushed it between Berners’s lips.

The hobgoblin did not look strong enough to chew it himself.

“Swallow it, Berners.”

Karath swallowed his own half and gave the command.

Mana began pouring from the stone as it travelled down his throat.

He guided that energy into the mana core near his abdomen and replenished it.

“Do you remember the energy you used earlier?”

“Yesh... Grand Chief.”

“You should feel a similar force coming from the mana stone you swallowed. I will guide it. Remember the sensation and move it along the same path. You must not lose consciousness.”

“Under... shtood.”

Karath intended to imitate a technique he had read about in martial-arts novels during childhood.

Guiding another person’s internal energy.

He had no idea whether it would actually work, but it was better than standing by and doing nothing.

Karath placed a hand upon Berners’s abdomen and closed his eyes.

He released a thin thread of mana through his fingertips and attempted to sense the energy flowing inside the hobgoblin.

It was not as easy as he had hoped.

Sensing the mana inside his own body and sensing mana inside someone else were entirely different matters.

Still, Karath was a Fourth Circle mage.

More importantly, he was not searching for Berners’s natural mana.

He was searching for the much stronger energy released by the mana stone.

There.

He found the energy flowing outward from Berners’s stomach.

“Concentrate. You do not need to answer.”

After giving the final warning, Karath manipulated his own mana and began guiding the energy emerging from the stone.

Moving mana through another person’s body was completely unfamiliar and far more difficult than expected.

At the same time, Karath had to circulate the energy released by the stone inside his own abdomen.

The need to perform both tasks together made the process even more complicated.

Nevertheless, he gradually produced results.

He managed to circulate a faint trace of mana through Berners’s body and form a mana core no larger than a speck of dust near his abdomen.

“Continue guiding it exactly as I did.”

Thankfully, Berners did not waste strength answering.

He focused entirely upon controlling the mana.

“Haa.”

As the strain slowly disappeared from the hobgoblin’s face, Karath released a breath of relief.

Chapter 158

No Victory Without Sacrifice

Saving Berners did not resolve everything.

The battlefield was filled with wounded warriors.

Karath had no opportunity to rest.

He moved from one casualty to another, casting Healing to assist their recovery.

Whenever his mana ran out, he paused long enough to control his breathing, gathered what little he could, and resumed using magic.

He had consumed half of a mana stone far larger than one from a cockatrice.

Not a trace of that mana remained inside him.

Karath felt no regret over it.

What remained was anger.

“Damn it.”

Five orc warriors had died during the battle.

Because the orcs had held the front line, only three goblins were killed.

Two Giant Wolves had also died.

Those were only the confirmed deaths.

More than ten additional orc and goblin warriors had suffered fractures and injuries severe enough that they might never return to battle.

In a single engagement, the alliance had effectively lost around twenty warriors.

It was the greatest loss Karath had suffered since creating the Greenskin Alliance and becoming its Grand Chief.

“Clear the ground and resume construction! We must prepare shelter before sunset!”

He did not have the luxury of sinking into grief.

As Grand Chief, Karath had to continue leading every alliance member who remained alive.

He pushed the sorrow aside and moved forward.

He would remember the names of those who had died.

That was the only promise he could make.

He would ensure their sacrifice was not wasted.

He would create a land where future generations of the alliance could live safely within the monster-infested mountains.

That evening, Berners finally regained consciousness.

“Uuugh.”

“How does your body feel?”

“Ah, Grand Chief.”

The moment Berners saw Karath, he attempted to sit up.

“Remain lying down.”

“What happened to the battle?”

“We defeated all the monsters.”

“We did? That’sh good. Heh.”

A strangely satisfied smile appeared upon Berners’s face.

He stubbornly raised his upper body and looked around.

“At leasht we did not suffer too much damage.”

He glanced over the warriors resting nearby.

“Eight died, and more than twenty were wounded, Berners.”

“I know. But without the Grand Chief, the damage would have been much worse.”

Karath remained silent.

Was Berners merely trying to comfort him, or did he genuinely believe that?

“Before the alliance wash created, if ush goblinsh had encountered monstersh like those, not one of ush would have returned alive.”

“The same would have been true for the orcs.”

A single orc tribe could never have survived an attack from a flock of wyverns like that.

“That ish why everything we have ish thanksh to the Grand Chief. You made it possible for ush to fight monstersh like those. You created a place where we can live well.”

“I see.”

The words might have been flattery.

Even so, Karath could not deny that they gave him some comfort.

“But I did not accomplish any of it alone. It was only possible because the alliance members followed me.”

Without the orcs’ strength, courage, and labour, the alliance could never have been built.

Without the goblins’ scouting, stealth, and attention to detail, it would have been equally impossible.

Recently, Jean and his family had added valuable skills and knowledge as well.

“And you accomplished something extraordinary today, Berners.”

More than anything, Berners’s actions had decided the battle.

“That wash only possible because the Grand Chief taught me mana and the axe art.”

“I taught everyone, but you are the only one who has succeeded in using mana so far.”

Berners scratched his head with a pleased expression.

“To tell the truth, I worried a lot.”

“What worried you?”

“The Grand Chief accepted ush goblinsh, but I always wondered when you might abandon ush.”

“Why would I abandon you?”

“We are weaker than orcsh and have lessh stamina. We rarely help much in battle. Except for hobgoblinsh like me, I often wondered whether goblinsh were useful to the alliance at all.”

Karath fell silent.

Was that why Berners had always worked so desperately?

As the leader of the goblins, Berners had carried such fears all this time.

Karath had never noticed.

“I wash happy because I finally helped in a meaningful way.”

“The goblins have always been of great value to the alliance, even before this battle.”

“Thanksh, Grand Chief.”

Silence settled between them.

Berners had given Karath a measure of comfort.

Karath felt that he should offer something in return.

“Do you remember the vegetable called a chilli that we discovered near Stormhowl Village?”

“I remember.”

Berners’s face paled as he recalled its horrifying taste.

“There was an old saying in my former world. The smaller the chilli, the hotter it is.”

“The smaller the chilli... the hotter it ish?”

Berners quietly repeated the words.

“It means that those who appear small can possess more strength within them than those who look large.”

Karath looked directly at him.

“Just like you. You are the first person in the alliance other than me to use mana. If you teach the goblins what you experienced, they may also awaken mana and prove how much strength they possess.”

“Ah!”

Berners reacted as though he had suddenly remembered something important.

“I forgot to report thish. I do not think I will be the only one. The other hobgoblinsh should be able to use mana soon.”

“What?”

What was he talking about?

“I realised during the battle that communicating through our hornsh already usesh mana. Hobgoblinsh have been using mana all along.”

“Is that so?”

“We were communicating through the hornsh during the battle, sho the other hobgoblinsh shared everything I felt when I learned to control mana. They should be able to learn very quickly.”

Karath stared at him in silence.

What was that supposed to be?

A cheat code?

Chapter 159

The Wyvern Egg

Karath decided to set aside the shocking news Berners had shared, namely that every hobgoblin might soon be able to use mana.

At first glance, it sounded completely absurd.

After thinking about it more carefully, however, it was not quite as unbelievable as it seemed.

The idea that every hobgoblin could use mana sounded ridiculous if goblins and hobgoblins were treated as separate races.

If hobgoblins were viewed as a small portion of the greater goblin population, it made a certain amount of sense.

Some orcs were also born with the ability to sense mana.

Those individuals became the shamans assigned to each village.

Of course, shamans appeared at a rate of roughly one or two for every hundred orcs, while there was approximately one hobgoblin for every twenty goblins.

It still felt unfairly advantageous.

For the moment, Karath chose to view it from that perspective.

Berners had regained consciousness, but he was still suffering the aftereffects of recklessly consuming his life force.

Karath ordered him to rest.

There were many wounded warriors besides Berners, so Karath used the hobgoblin communications network to request support from the other villages.

Warriors who could recover after a short rest remained with the expedition.

Those whose injuries made future combat impossible needed to be transported to the rear.

After spending three days reorganising the force, Karath climbed the mountain with fifty warriors.

They had exterminated the wyvern flock several days earlier, but he could not dismiss the possibility that more remained.

The creatures they had fought might not have been the entire flock.

This time, Karath decided to strike first.

Rather than waiting for another attack from the sky, it would be better to find the monsters and eliminate them on the ground.

“Move carefully from this point onward.”

As they approached the summit, Karath warned the warriors following him.

If the wyverns detected them and took flight, the battle would become far more difficult.

“Buddy.”

Karath gently stroked the silver fur on Buddy’s neck.

The giant wolf sniffed the air and slowly advanced in one direction.

Buddy was tracking the scent of the wyverns they had fought.

The original owners of that scent had already become food for the alliance, as well as valuable material for weapons and construction.

Their smell was still useful.

Creatures from the same flock would inevitably share similar scents, especially wild monsters that had never encountered anything resembling soap.

They moved through the undergrowth while keeping themselves hidden.

After some time, Karath raised a hand and signalled the warriors to stop.

A broad clearing was visible between the bushes.

Several enormous nests occupied its centre.

Wyverns rested upon them.

At least there were not many left.

Three appeared to be fully grown.

Five more varied in size and looked immature.

None resembled the unusual leader they had fought before.

Karath released a slow breath and began manipulating mana.

Once the spell was prepared, he pointed forward.

“Attack!”

“Kill them!”

At his signal, the hidden warriors charged from the undergrowth with fury burning in their eyes.

“SKREEEE!”

Caught by surprise, every wyvern in the nests spread its wings and attempted to take flight.

That was exactly what Karath had been waiting for.

“Icicle Lance.”

Dozens of ice spears formed in the air once more.

They pierced the wings the monsters were frantically beating in an attempt to rise.

Hitting them after they accelerated through the sky might have been difficult.

While they were still struggling to leave the ground, missing was almost impossible.

“They cannot fly!”

“Kill them!”

The wyverns failed to take off after their wings were pierced.

Enraged orcs and goblins descended upon them with iron weapons.

“That should be the last of them.”

There were only three adults, and none had managed to take flight.

Killing them was not particularly difficult.

Had the leader not been present during the previous battle, that fight would probably have been far easier as well.

More precisely, it would have been easier if Karath had not been forced to focus entirely upon the leader.

“Grand Chief!”

While Karath reflected upon how much he still needed to improve, one warrior called for him.

“There are eggs in that nest!”

“Eggs?”

“Yes!”

“There are more over here!”

Karath approached the nests they indicated.

Three wyvern eggs lay inside two of them.

Unfortunately, two had already shattered during the battle.

“Should we destroy the last one as well?” Krog asked uneasily. “If the creature inside grows into something like that leader...”

“Mmm.”

Karath did not answer immediately.

Perhaps they could raise it as they had raised Buddy.

It was commonly believed that Giant Wolves would never obey orcs.

Buddy, however, had followed Karath ever since being raised from infancy.

He had even brought an entire Giant Wolf pack into the alliance.

If the wyvern inside the egg could also be raised, it might become useful.

The problem was how to hatch it.

Treating a wyvern exactly like an ordinary bird felt strange, but Karath knew bird eggs required a stable temperature.

Normally, a parent sat upon the eggs.

Humans could also use artificial incubators.

There was no incubator here.

Every wyvern capable of keeping the egg warm had just been killed by the expedition.

Karath could not spend every hour of the day maintaining the correct temperature through magic.

His mana was not unlimited, and he had countless other responsibilities.

While considering what to do, his eyes settled upon Buddy.

The wolf was the reason Karath had thought of raising the egg in the first place.

Then his attention shifted toward Buddy’s soft silver fur.

Wrapped in that fur, the egg might remain warm enough.

“Ahem. Buddy.”

Having made his decision, Karath called to him.

Buddy tilted his head.

“Have you ever incubated an egg?”

“Woof?”

The wolf stared at him as though Karath had just said something utterly ridiculous.

“Here. Try holding this.”

Karath carefully lifted the intact egg and carried it toward Buddy.

“Grrrr.”

Buddy growled and raised one front paw toward it.

Whoosh!

“Hey!”

Karath narrowly pulled the egg away from the sweeping paw.

“Stop getting angry and listen! You only need to hold it against your body like this.”

Karath demonstrated by cradling the egg.

Buddy paid no attention.

Damn it.

Giving up now felt like a waste.

“Fine. If you keep this egg warm, Karath will bring you fresh meat every day. If you refuse, you will receive no more meat.”

Karath attempted to threaten him.

Buddy merely snorted.

That made sense.

At his current size, Buddy could hunt most monsters alone.

Karath needed a more tempting reward.

“What about hearts? Only from large monsters. Ogres, wyverns, and creatures like them.”

“Grr?”

That finally attracted Buddy’s interest.

He could dominate medium-sized monsters, but he was not yet capable of hunting an ogre-level creature by himself.

Even so, his reaction remained uncertain.

What did Buddy truly desire?

Karath’s mind raced as he searched for something that would settle the matter.

A beautiful future was already taking shape in his imagination.

A wyvern soaring through the sky.

Karath seated upon its back.

Riding Buddy was already exhilarating.

Flying through the heavens upon a wyvern would be even better.

A luxury sports car could not compare.

It would be closer to owning a private aircraft.

While imagining himself crossing the sky as a Wyvern Rider, Karath remembered something Buddy might find irresistible.

A mana stone.

Buddy had always displayed a peculiar interest in them, including when he ate the mana stone taken from a cockatrice.

The problem was that mana stones were also extremely valuable to Karath.

Wyvern Rider.

Mana stone.

Wyvern Rider.

Mana stone.

The balance inside his head swung wildly between the two.

Wyvern Rider.

The image of his future self flying through the sky emerged victorious.

A true man had to live while looking toward the future.

“The next time we kill a cockatrice or a similar monster, Karath will give you its mana stone.”

“Woof! Woof!”

Buddy’s eyes widened with intense interest.

“Good. We have a deal. If you break or eat the egg, you get nothing.”

“Woof! Woof!”

Buddy barked confidently and extended one front paw.

This was not another attempt to smash the egg.

The gesture clearly meant that Karath should stop talking and hand it over.

Karath carefully placed the wyvern egg upon Buddy’s paw.

Their hand and paw touched as the egg passed between them.

It was the first handshake ever exchanged between an orc and a wolf.

Chapter 160

The Birth of the Wolf Riders

After eliminating the wyverns near the summit, the expedition continued much as it had before.

The warriors secured the camp.

Additional labour arrived from the other villages, and construction began.

Once a reasonably sturdy wall surrounded the new settlement, Karath led warriors into the surrounding area to locate nearby orc tribes and goblin clans.

As Lake Village gradually established itself, a strange trend spread among its warriors.

Thud!

“Damn it! It feels like I will succeed next time.”

“Wait your turn! I am next!”

“Krahahaha! You will all fail anyway, so let me try.”

Similar conversations could be heard throughout the village.

A Giant Wolf always stood at the centre of the arguing warriors, staring at them with an unimpressed expression.

The latest fashion in Lake Village was attempting to tame Giant Wolves.

Thirty-five wolves had joined the alliance by following Buddy.

More than two months had passed since then.

After fighting alongside the warriors several times, including during the wyvern battle, the wolves seemed to have developed a degree of camaraderie with them.

Several warriors had finally succeeded in earning permission to ride upon their backs.

Seeing the first successful riders only made the remaining warriors approach the unclaimed wolves with even greater enthusiasm.

“Brother, it is my turn.”

“I have not fallen yet, little brother!”

“Krahahaha! That one will become my partner anyway. You should surrender.”

“Krahahaha! Challenging first does not mean the wolf must choose you!”

Kaden and Chief Parker were the most persistent of them all.

They competed every day over the former leader of the pack, the enormous wolf with the sharp scar across his face.

Kaden and Parker had arbitrarily named him Scar.

At first glance, the scene might have resembled animal abuse.

It was not.

Thud!

“Graagh!”

Parker lost his grip upon Scar’s fur and flew into the air.

One of the wolf’s hind legs struck him and sent him rolling across the ground.

“Krahahaha! See, Brother? I told you it would not work!”

Kaden laughed loudly at his fallen sworn brother.

Karath shook his head while watching them.

They truly played in the most simple-minded and violent way imaginable.

The orc warriors and Giant Wolves had created a kind of competitive game.

It resembled the way young orcs fought one another for entertainment.

“Now it is my turn, Scar!”

Kaden approached with meat taken from a monster killed during that day’s hunt.

Offering meat before attempting to mount a wolf had become one of their rules.

Only if the wolf accepted the offering and agreed to the challenge would the contest begin.

“You made everyone strange.”

Karath looked toward Krog, who sat proudly upon a Giant Wolf beside him.

Krog was responsible for starting the entire trend.

He had been the first orc warrior to successfully ride one of the wolves.

He had done exactly what the others were doing now.

After tempting the wolf with meat, he defeated it in a contest and earned recognition as its rider.

The current madness spread from that moment.

“The more warriors who can ride Giant Wolves, the stronger the alliance becomes, Grand Chief.”

Krog answered with an unusually smug expression.

He had behaved that way ever since earning his mount.

He looked like someone who had suddenly become rich, purchased an expensive foreign car, and arrived at a reunion to show it off.

Krog clearly loved the wolf.

He had even given it the inexplicable nickname Timber.

Karath suspected Kaden and Parker had begun calling the leader Scar because of Krog’s example.

“Krahahaha! Kaden, you are about to fall again! Let go of your greed!”

Still mounted upon Timber, Krog mocked Kaden as he struggled desperately upon Scar’s back.

“S-shut up, Krog! Karath would never ride such a small... Graagh!”

Kaden turned to shout at him.

Scar immediately exploited the opening and threw him to the ground.

“Damn you, Krog!”

“You should have remained focused.”

Kaden glared at him as though he wanted to kill him.

Krog sat comfortably upon Timber and whistled.

Krog had become more serious after reaching adulthood, but he still treated Kaden with the same lack of restraint he had shown during childhood.

Perhaps he released all the stress of acting mature by tormenting him.

Kaden was admittedly satisfying to provoke.

Karath had no desire to stop them.

Kaden tended to act without thinking, and Karath occasionally felt the same urge to torment him.

“I keep telling you to abandon your greed and challenge a smaller one.”

“Hmph! I have no interest in anything but the largest wolf!”

“A creature that large will be uncomfortable to ride even if you succeed.”

“I have my pride. I would rather walk than ride something as small as your wolf.”

The two continued bickering.

“Krahahaha! Then it must be my turn again.”

Chief Parker took advantage of Kaden’s fall and began approaching Scar.

“Grrr.”

A short distance away, Buddy yawned lazily in a warm patch of sunlight.

The wyvern egg rested securely against his soft silver fur.

It was a remarkably peaceful kind of chaos.