Chapter 195

United by Faith

Clink.

Clink.

Clink.

The steady sound of metal striking stone echoed through Root Village.

With every impact, fragments of rock chipped away.

Clink!

Clink!

“Careful! The fur is becoming uneven!”

Clink!

Clink!

“Control your strength! Honestly, after all those years of cultivation in the cavern, how can you fail to maintain your composure?”

Chief Hargan’s vigorous shouts rang out between the blows.

“Haa.”

Karath sighed as he watched the bizarre scene unfolding in the centre of Root Village.

The very first thing Chief Hargan and the Silver Wolf tribespeople had done after settling into Root Village was begin constructing a statue of Buddy.

How had things come to this?

To understand that, one needed to go back several days.

A few days earlier, Hargan had approached Karath with a request.

“No.”

Karath rejected him immediately.

“If you need limestone, I can provide as much as necessary to build homes for your people. That is what it is reserved for. We already gave your tribe houses, so why exactly do you need more limestone?”

Somehow, Hargan had learned where the alliance obtained the stone used for sculptures.

Then he had come to Karath asking for enough limestone to build a statue of Buddy.

Even after Karath’s firm refusal, Hargan refused to retreat.

“Then would it be acceptable if we demolished our houses and used the stone from them?”

Karath stared at him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Our people lived in mountain caverns before coming here. As long as we have earth and leaves beneath us, we can sleep comfortably. I am saying we could dismantle the houses and use their materials for the statue.”

“...”

Rather than back down, the old man had escalated directly to demolishing his own tribe’s homes.

Karath could feel a headache forming as he stared into Hargan’s fanatical eyes.

What kind of lunatic decided to tear down the house he lived in so he could build a religious monument?

Even the worst authoritarian regimes from Earth would have trouble coming up with something this ridiculous.

Actually, this was worse.

At least oppressive governments forced people into absurd projects.

These people were volunteering to destroy their own homes.

Is this what religion does to people?

“Both use limestone, but your houses are made from cement and concrete. Even if you demolished them, the resulting material would not be suitable for carving a statue.”

Karath fixed Hargan with a meaningful look.

In other words, do not demolish your houses.

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

Hargan looked genuinely frustrated.

Karath felt like he was the one about to die of frustration.

What do you mean, what do you do?

Give up.

“Do you believe limestone is an unlimited resource for the alliance? If you truly need it that badly, then find another limestone deposit. If you discover a new source, I will gladly provide enough stone for Buddy’s statue.”

People often made the same foolish mistake.

Whenever unexpected wealth fell into their hands, they behaved as though it would last forever.

That wealth could be money.

It could be a valuable natural resource.

For an artist, it could even be a burst of extraordinary inspiration that produced one great success after another.

But fortune rarely continued forever.

If someone failed to prepare for the future, the moment that windfall disappeared, everything could collapse at once.

Karath was not merely responsible for himself.

He was the Grand Chief of the entire alliance.

There would be new villages to build.

New houses.

New walls.

Limestone had to be reserved for things the alliance genuinely needed.

Truthfully, part of Karath wanted to order his own statue demolished immediately.

Imagine it.

The alliance continued expanding until one day the limestone ran out.

New settlements would be forced to return to mud houses, crude huts, and primitive stone walls.

Meanwhile, in the centre of the capital, an enormous statue of the Grand Chief would stand proudly after consuming a mountain of precious limestone.

History would remember me as the worst kind of tyrant.

His people would have nowhere to live!

Monsters would eat them because their villages lacked proper walls!

And their Grand Chief would be sitting in the capital, wasting construction materials on giant statues of himself!

Karath would have no defence against such accusations.

Forget how later generations might judge him.

He simply refused to treat future alliance members that way.

“You are being terribly unfair, Grand Chief.”

While Karath was internally debating whether he should destroy his own accursed statue, Hargan cried out with an expression that looked almost tearful.

Seeing an old man make that face left Karath feeling as though he had committed some terrible crime.

It might have worked better if Hargan were not a fanatic.

“How am I being unfair?”

“I understand your explanation that limestone is scarce! But then what about the statue of you in the centre of the village?”

“Th-that is...”

I never asked them to build the damn thing!

The shout nearly escaped his mouth.

Before he could say it, Hargan unleashed a barrage of accusations.

“Why is your own statue permitted while Buddy’s is forbidden? Did you not say that you and Buddy are friends? How can you be generous toward yourself yet miserly toward your friend? Buddy willingly carries you upon his back and runs on all four legs for your sake! Is that all your friendship is worth?”

Karath almost choked.

Do you have any idea how much I have done for that wolf?

He had fed Buddy for three years.

The beast had devoured three mana stones.

At this point, Buddy had probably eaten more mana stones than Karath himself.

Damn it. But I cannot exactly destroy mine either.

The moment Karath ordered his statue demolished, he could already imagine Orga and Grandfather Jark throwing themselves onto the ground and threatening to die before allowing it.

If only those two reacted that way, he might survive.

Realistically, half the alliance would probably join them.

Karath might complain about Hargan’s fanaticism, but he knew perfectly well that the old members of the alliance were hardly any better.

The orcs and goblins were fanatics in their own way.

That was precisely why Karath had left the ridiculous statue standing.

“Haa. Chief Hargan, a statue is not something you can simply carve on a whim.”

Caught in an impossible situation, Karath decided to change the subject.

When no solution existed, diversion was sometimes the best strategy.

“The statue already standing there required careful planning. Without a proper design, the finished result will look terrible. Surely you do not intend to create some grotesque imitation of Buddy?”

So let’s make it later.

Much, much later.

Preferably at some undefined point in the distant future.

That had been Karath’s intention.

Unfortunately, Hargan smiled.

“You need not worry about that, Grand Chief. We have already prepared.”

“What do you mean?”

“The child who designed your statue. Leo. I have already reached an agreement with him. He promised to design Buddy’s statue.”

Karath almost shouted in disbelief.

He barely managed to disguise his reaction.

“Leo is busy. He produces books and illustrations for the alliance, and he trains every day because he wishes to become a warrior. Do you intend to steal what little time he has?”

“Heh heh. That is why I promised to make him a capable warrior, Grand Chief.”

Karath paused.

“You will train Leo?”

“That is correct. His physique is much closer to ours than to an orc’s. I intend to teach him the mana cultivation method passed down through the Silver Wolf Tribe.”

Karath’s composure finally cracked.

“You truly mean that?”

Even after the Silver Wolf Tribe joined the alliance, Karath had never considered demanding that they reveal their secret cultivation method.

The Greenskin Alliance was still an alliance.

Its members stood together, but each tribe retained traditions of its own.

A secret method was called secret precisely because people did not teach it to outsiders.

Karath knew all too well how easily alliances could collapse once factions began scheming to steal one another’s hidden knowledge.

Even fictional nations from Earth had managed to turn such secrets into generations of betrayal and bloodshed.

Karath had therefore deliberately avoided pressuring the Silver Wolf Tribe.

Yet somehow, events had taken this absurd turn on their own.

“Would I lie about something concerning Buddy?”

“...Fair point.”

They were fanatics, not charlatans.

Karath was not entirely sure which was preferable.

“Then you have already begun teaching Leo?”

“There is a small matter we are still considering, so I postponed the lessons.”

“What matter?”

“Leo asked whether, since he would be learning anyway, I might also teach his friend Neria.”

Karath remembered the name immediately.

Neria was the young female orc who had caught his attention during the previous winter.

She wanted to become a warrior despite being female, and her determination had left an impression upon him.

The mana cultivation method Karath had spread throughout the alliance had been designed around the body of an average adult male orc.

Naturally, it was less suitable for humans or female orcs.

Karath reached that conclusion, then forcibly restrained the corners of his mouth from rising.

He adopted his most serious expression.

“Then how about this, Chief Hargan?”

“Yes?”

“Share your mana cultivation method not only with Leo, but with the entire alliance. In return, I will provide the limestone for Buddy’s statue and support its construction.”

Limestone was valuable.

But compared to a new mana cultivation method, it was nothing.

If the alliance became stronger, protecting its people would become easier.

Expansion would become easier as well.

And the larger their territory became, the easier it would be to secure more limestone.

Forget limestone.

Greater strength would improve their access to every resource hidden throughout the Grimwood Mountains.

If that was the price, building a few statues of Buddy was an absurdly profitable trade.

“We will build the statue ourselves.”

Hargan answered firmly.

“If others create it for us, what meaning would it possess? It must be made with our own hands and our own devotion, Grand Chief.”

“R-right. Of course.”

Apparently even fanatics possessed principles.

“Then I will provide the limestone and have Leo prepare the designs and illustrations. In return, you will teach your cultivation method?”

“I will, Grand Chief.”

Hargan agreed with a delighted smile.

The path leading to this agreement had been bizarre beyond description.

Nevertheless, it resulted in the alliance acquiring an entirely new mana cultivation method.

Chapter 196

United by Faith

That evening, nearly every Aura User in Root Village gathered inside the training room attached to the Grand Chief’s residence.

“When drawing a bow, this posture worksh best. The muscle receiving the greatest stimulation here ish the brachial muscle.”

“Mmm. Archery is more complicated than I expected. But if you position yourself like that, does it not make it difficult to move your lower body and evade immediately after firing?”

The discussion was already intense.

Five hobgoblins led by Berners were present.

So were Karath, Krog, Kaden, Chief Parker, and two other orcs.

Chief Hargan had brought the Silver Wolf Aura Users as well.

In total, slightly fewer than twenty Aura Users from several different peoples had gathered to compare their cultivation methods.

Naturally, Karath had organised the meeting.

The moment Hargan agreed to reveal his tribe’s method, Karath summoned every alliance warrior capable of using aura.

“We are going to create new mana cultivation methods for the people of the alliance.”

His goal was to establish a systematic approach to mana education.

Muhe Lionheart’s cultivation method, which Karath had learned and first spread through the alliance, had been developed around the body of an average adult male orc.

That meant it was poorly suited to unusually large orcs.

It was equally unsuitable for children and female orcs.

Humans, goblins, hobgoblins, and the Silver Wolf Tribe differed even more.

Karath therefore needed the knowledge accumulated by the hobgoblins, who had awakened mana and begun developing methods of their own.

He also needed the Silver Wolf Tribe’s generations of experience.

Then there were unusual cases like Kaden and Parker, whose physiques differed considerably from most orcs.

By comparing all of them, Karath hoped to develop structured cultivation methods tailored to age, build, and constitution.

“To begin with, regardless of race, children before adolescence tend to have physiques relatively similar to hobgoblins. So I want to use the hobgoblins’ cultivation method as a foundation for training children.”

There were obvious differences.

Even young orcs were considerably broader than children of other races.

Silver Wolf children also tended to have oddly long arms due to their wolffolk heritage.

“Berners. Explain everything the hobgoblins have discovered about mana cultivation so far.”

“Understood!”

They began with the hobgoblin method as a basic framework.

“Chief Hargan. How does that differ from the method used by your tribe?”

From there, they would alter the method to suit each people.

Eventually, Karath also intended to develop separate cultivation systems for those who had passed adolescence.

Study the different mana cultivation methods used by several peoples.

Compare them.

Analyse them.

Then create variations suited to different races, ages, physiques, and constitutions.

If the project succeeded, the alliance’s military strength could increase several times over.

Naturally, none of this was easy.

Having three different traditions available allowed them to compare and analyse their techniques.

The problem was their level of expertise.

None of them have reached particularly high realms.

Most were merely Aura Users.

Not one had reached the realm that could properly be called an Aura Expert.

Karath himself was the only advanced Aura User present.

That alone demonstrated how limited their knowledge remained.

If only there were someone we could consult.

Someone like Roberto.

Karath naturally remembered the man who could be considered his martial teacher.

Eight years earlier, Roberto had already been a beginner Aura Expert.

According to the mercenaries Karath had spoken with a year and a half ago, Roberto had since been moving from the intermediate level toward the advanced realm.

Having someone of that calibre as the alliance’s martial adviser would be invaluable.

Impossible, though.

Jean’s family had possessed special circumstances that gave them a reason to settle among the alliance.

Roberto was different.

He was known as the Mercenary King and enjoyed tremendous success in human lands.

There was no reason for him to abandon that life and come here.

Karath pushed the disappointment aside and focused upon the discussion before him.

Their progress was slow because everyone’s cultivation remained relatively shallow, but comparing the different methods still allowed them to refine their ideas piece by piece.

“Oh! If mana ish used like that, firing a second arrow immediately afterward would be much easier.”

“Then perhaps we should apply the same principle to the posture used when swinging an axe instead.”

Even better, exchanging ideas was gradually bringing the three groups closer together.

Everyone gathered here could be considered a representative of their people.

Cooperation among them would eventually become cooperation among the races themselves.

Karath was genuinely pleased that the research project had begun.

Still...

Clink!

Clink!

“Careful! Buddy’s claws are too smooth! They must express his fierce spirit!”

Clink!

Clink!

Whenever Karath looked at the Silver Wolf tribespeople carving stone in the centre of Root Village, he found himself wondering whether he had made the correct decision.

Why were they building a giant wolf statue in the middle of the village?

“That is not right!”

Why had the mild old country chief Hargan become a red-eyed lunatic screaming at the top of his lungs?

“Ohhh! Those eyes are perfect!”

“They are Lord Buddy’s eyes!”

Why were grown adults chiselling stone with expressions of religious reverence?

Clink!

Clink!

“We can’t lose!”

“We’ll make an amazing statue too!”

Somehow, the goblins had begun carving statues as well.

Karath had reluctantly permitted it after they complained that if the Silver Wolf Tribe could build a monument, the goblins should be allowed to do the same.

They were making a statue of Berners, their leader.

“Krahahaha! We absolutely cannot lose!”

“How could there be the same number of statues for others as there are for the Grand Chief? Such a thing cannot be allowed!”

Naturally, the orcs had joined in too.

Their reasoning was that the Grand Chief could not possibly have the same number of statues as everyone else.

So now they were building another statue of Karath.

Karath stared at the growing collection of monuments.

Maybe we should forget about finding a new name for the alliance.

Fanatics Alliance sounds surprisingly accurate.

Chapter 197

United by Faith

Karath’s days remained busy even after returning to Root Village.

No.

If anything, returning to Root Village made them busier.

Every morning began with Berners and the other advisers gathering to deliver reports from the various villages.

Karath reviewed the latest developments and issued whatever orders were necessary.

Afterward, he joined the alliance’s Aura Users to continue developing mana cultivation methods suitable for the wider population.

Following lunch came warrior training.

Karath took the Aura Users with him and personally supervised the warriors.

That part of the day might have been the only reason he still felt alive while trapped inside the endless wheel of administration.

“Your back is bending again!”

Thud!

After all, training gave him a perfectly legitimate excuse to torment his warriors.

Since the lessons took the form of sparring, he could lovingly beat educational principles into them.

Naturally, these were blows of affection.

There was absolutely no emotion behind them.

Probably.

Karath and the other Aura Users spent the afternoon thoroughly working over the warriors.

Afterward, they held another meeting based on what they had observed during training and continued refining the cultivation methods.

That concluded the daytime schedule.

After dinner came Karath’s personal magical research.

Combining his mana core and mana circles had increased the amount of mana he could control and sharpened his sensitivity toward it.

But that was separate from actually understanding magic.

To cast a spell, Karath still needed to comprehend its underlying theory and manipulate mana according to the principles governing that phenomenon.

Fortunately, he had studied Renstein’s writings so extensively that he had nearly memorised them.

At this point, simply recalling one concept caused related information to follow naturally in his mind, one idea linking into the next.

He understood almost all of the principles and reasoning behind Renstein’s work.

“I’m nearly finished with everything Renstein left behind.”

Only two spells in the books remained beyond Karath’s ability.

Of course, he still had room to modify Fourth and Fifth Circle spells, just as he had altered First through Third Circle magic to suit himself.

But that kind of work no longer required the books.

Modification depended upon complete understanding.

And once he truly understood a spell, the reference material itself became unnecessary.

I wish he had left information about the Sixth or Seventh Circle.

There had been a time when Karath wondered whether he would ever finish learning all the Fifth Circle spells.

Now he found himself dissatisfied because there was nothing beyond them.

After organising his thoughts concerning Renstein’s work, Karath walked toward another wall.

Stacks of documents covered it from end to end.

The inheritance left behind by the black mages.

Or rather, by the Sigmund School.

Karath had begun examining the material immediately after returning to Root Village.

“This really is unusual.”

He murmured while slowly reading through another bundle.

Perhaps because their field of study had developed in a completely different direction, the Sigmund School’s magic differed fundamentally from the spells recorded in Renstein’s writings.

Karath became absorbed in the research.

Then came a knock.

Knock. Knock.

“Grand Chief? It’s Anna. May I come in?”

Karath glanced toward the door.

He had lost track of time while studying, but he had started after dinner.

It had to be deep into the night by now.

Why would Anna visit at this hour?

“You may come in.”

Karath tilted his head curiously as he accepted the unexpected visitor.

“Has something serious happened?”

She had come secretly to the alliance’s leader in the middle of the night.

Karath’s thoughts immediately turned toward possible trouble.

He had taken numerous measures to help the human residents integrate into the alliance, and Leo’s efforts had contributed greatly.

Still, humans and the other peoples of the alliance had once regarded one another as mortal enemies.

What if Anna was being harassed somewhere Karath had failed to notice?

In a modern military, this would be the equivalent of bypassing the entire chain of command and filing a complaint directly with the highest commander.

His concern proved unnecessary.

“You always seem to work so late, so I prepared a midnight meal for you.”

Anna held out a wooden basket.

“You are busy researching recipes and preparing food yourself.”

“I was already experimenting with one of the dishes you described. It turned out well, so I wanted you to be the first to try it.”

She smiled softly.

“One of the foods I described?”

“Yes. I believe you called it... fried chicken?”

Karath froze.

“Y-you made fried chicken?”

“Yes. You told me that I could make a coating from flour, season cockatrice meat with rock salt and pepper, then fry it in olive oil.”

“I did tell you that, but...”

He had never imagined she would actually succeed.

Karath’s explanation had been absurdly vague.

It was like telling someone how to build a vehicle by saying the wheels should be made from rubber, the body from metal, and the engine needed fuel.

Yet somehow, Anna had taken that level of explanation and produced fried chicken.

“Here. Try some.”

Anna smiled again and placed the basket on his desk.

Then she lifted the lid.

“Ohhhh!”

Golden pieces of fried meat gleamed inside.

And the chicken was not alone.

“You mentioned that fried chicken tastes good dipped in salt, so I ground some rock salt. And this is the sauce you described before. You said you liked spicy food.”

Beside the chicken sat a small plate containing salt and another holding a thin red sauce.

The closest comparison would have been chili sauce.

They still lacked the ingredients needed for some of the sauces Karath remembered from Earth, so Anna had improvised with ground chilies, several spices, oil, and vinegar.

Karath reached out almost as though hypnotised and grabbed a piece.

He did not waste a single thought wondering whether something made from cockatrice rather than an actual chicken could technically be called fried chicken.

Crunch.

He bit into it.

Karath’s eyes widened.

The crisp coating shattered first.

Then came the juicy meat beneath it, seasoned with just the right amount of salt.

It was heavenly.

Now for the chili sauce.

He dipped the next bite.

Crunch.

Crisp batter.

Juicy meat.

Then the sweet, spicy flavour of the sauce spreading across his tongue.

It had been eighteen years since Karath found himself trapped in this primitive world.

He had never imagined the day would come when he could eat fried chicken again.

If he relaxed even slightly, tears might have formed in his eyes.

But Karath’s soul had once belonged to a modern human.

And humans were creatures of endless desire.

Even after tasting something this wonderful, his tongue immediately demanded more.

“Anna, perhaps...”

He opened his mouth to make another request.

“Yes. I expected that, so I brought it already.”

Before Karath could finish, Anna walked toward the door and retrieved something she had left outside.

It was a wooden keg roughly the size of a human head.

Karath stared inside.

“Ohhhh!”

Golden liquid.

Beer.

“You once said that beer goes especially well with fried chicken, so I brought some.”

“Krahahaha! Thank you! Anna, you truly understand me!”

Anna’s face reddened slightly at the praise.

Karath did not notice.

Beer.

Fried chicken.

Cold beer and crispy fried chicken.

His eyes had already locked onto the keg.

Karath accepted it and cast a light freezing spell.

The beer rapidly chilled.

A delicate layer of ice began forming while cold mist drifted from the surface.

Karath raised the entire keg and drank.

“GRAAAH!”

The icy beer rushed down his throat.

A roar of pure satisfaction escaped him.

There was no time to waste appreciating even that.

He grabbed another piece of fried cockatrice, dipped it in salt, and tore into it.

Then, before the flavour could fade, he drank again.

Gulp. Gulp.

“GRAAAH!”

The endless burden of administration.

Day after day trapped beneath a mountain of work.

And then, in the middle of that miserable cycle, fried chicken and cold beer appeared.

What more did happiness need to be?

This was happiness.

And Karath was a generous Grand Chief who wished to share his happiness with the people of the alliance.

“This is a taste worthy of the heavens, Anna! If you are willing, I would gladly entrust every meal I eat for the rest of my life to you!”

Karath praised her with complete sincerity.

Anna’s face turned bright red.

She lowered her head.

Karath had merely intended to compliment her skill as a cook and culinary researcher.

Apparently she was simply an extremely shy person.

“In that case, Anna, may I ask you one more favour?”

“Yes. Anything.”

Her answer was barely louder than a whisper.

“Could you cook all the meat we have left like this tomorrow?”

Anna blinked.

“All of it tomorrow? There is quite a lot.”

Karath frowned.

“There is that much cockatrice meat in the alliance’s cold storage?”

As far as he knew, they had caught only one cockatrice on the way back to Root Village.

Nearly three thousand people lived in Root Village alone.

One cockatrice could never feed them all.

Did someone hunt more while I was away?

Anna tilted her head.

“Most of the meat from the last one is still there, Grand Chief. Eating all of it by yourself tomorrow would be...”

Karath burst into laughter.

“Krahahaha! Why would I eat all of it myself? I meant to share it with the people of the alliance. If there is only enough from one cockatrice, then we will eat it with the advisers this time.”

He grinned.

“Next time, I would like to gather enough for everyone in the alliance to enjoy it together.”

“Oh... I thought you meant I should prepare all of it just for you.”

Anna’s face reddened again.

Karath had noticed this before.

Her tendency to blush really was remarkably severe.

Chapter 198

United by Faith

Karath’s routine remained largely unchanged the following day.

Morning reports.

Sparring with the warriors.

Then another afternoon spent developing mana cultivation methods.

There was only one difference.

“Tonight, we’ll eat together.”

Something special awaited them for dinner.

“Our alliance’s chief culinary researcher, Anna, has prepared a special meal.”

Anna was currently the only person holding that particular position.

Whether Karath called her chief researcher, department head, or supreme commander of cooking made little practical difference.

He might as well give her the impressive title.

“Everyone, please eat as much as you like.”

With the help of several orc and goblin women, Anna began placing large platters of freshly fried cockatrice on the broad table.

“This dish is called fried chicken. It’s made from cockatrice meat, and it tastes even better when eaten with this drink called beer!”

After giving his advisers the briefest possible explanation, Karath enthusiastically began alternating between fried chicken and beer.

“Mmm. Then I suppose I should try it.”

“Krahahaha! Watching the Grand Chief eat it makes it look incredible!”

Inspired by Karath’s shameless enthusiasm, the others grabbed pieces without hesitation.

They bit down.

“Ohhhh!”

A chorus of astonishment erupted across the table.

Kaden and Chief Parker, who normally appended a laugh to half the nonsense they said, had already buried their faces near their plates and were tearing through the food at terrifying speed.

“Grrr.”

Within moments, both had emptied their portions.

Their eyes began drifting toward nearby plates like starving beasts.

“Touch mine and you die.”

Krog had apparently forgotten that both Kaden and Parker were older than him.

Killing intent leaked from his body as he guarded his portion.

“Thish one ish mine! Touch it and you loshe a hand!”

Even Berners, who normally radiated the helpless aura of someone born to be bullied, desperately defended his own meal.

Chomp. Chomp.

At some point, Buddy had joined them.

He was enthusiastically tearing apart a cockatrice leg.

“B-Buddy. W-would you like some of mine too?”

Several Silver Wolf warriors noticed him and immediately offered pieces from their own plates.

Karath could almost feel the solemn devotion radiating from them.

In this primitive and brutal world, fried food of this quality was practically revolutionary.

And yet they willingly surrendered their portions to Buddy.

If that was not true faith, what was?

Maybe Karath had been wrong to consider himself irreligious.

Perhaps everyone had something they worshipped.

At the moment, crispy fried chicken seemed like a perfectly respectable choice.

“Give it to me if you’re not eating it!”

“I’m savouring it, you bastard!”

On the opposite side of the table, the solemn atmosphere vanished completely.

The struggle over fried chicken that had begun with Kaden and Parker was spreading.

Those Silver Wolf warriors are giving their own food to Buddy, while you idiots are trying to steal from everyone else.

Karath could not help laughing.

Perhaps this was what ordinary life looked like.

Human life.

No.

Orc life.

“If there isn’t enough, wouldn’t it be easier to hunt more cockatrices instead of stealing someone else’s?”

Krog’s rational voice emerged from the chaos.

Kaden stopped in the middle of trying to steal Berners’s food.

“Krahahaha! Of course! Tell me where they are and I’ll cut their heads off myself!”

“I-I’ll check!”

Berners shouted desperately, apparently sensing an opportunity to save his dinner.

He went quiet for a moment.

Then his eyes widened.

“I-I found one! One of the other hobgoblinsh knowsh where cockatricesh live!”

Berners had apparently used the hobgoblins’ horn network and located a nesting area almost instantly.

“Grand Chief! Why don’t we launch an expedition tomorrow?”

“We can hunt cockatrices and make more fried chicken! Next time, the rest of the alliance should be able to eat it too!”

The moment they heard that a cockatrice habitat had been located, the advisers began shouting suggestions from every direction.

Cockatrices.

They were not monsters to underestimate.

They possessed dangerous special abilities.

But that also meant they contained mana stones.

Their meat could be turned into fried chicken.

They were practically the perfect prey.

“Good! Tomorrow, we hunt cockatrices!”

And just like that, the alliance’s next expedition was decided.

At the time, none of them could have known what would happen during that hunt.