Chapter 858: My First Orc Army (Patreon)

The orc general stripped off his bone armor, letting the plates clatter into the dirt. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

"I'm right here, Lord. If you want me to serve you, make me."

The other orcs burst out laughing.

“Kill him, Lufftar!”

“Smash his face in!”

“Eat him alive!”

Luke pulled off his shirt and cracked his neck, too. The orc general gave him a once-over and laughed.

“Dogs like you don't listen until they're scared,” Luke said, raising his fists.

[Feline Agility activated]

“By the time I'm done, you'll be on your knees calling me master.”

Lufftar roared, and the other orcs roared back. His eyes turned red, steam rolled off his body, and he charged.

“I AM A GENERAL!”

Lufftar's fist came at him like a battering ram. Luke slipped inside his reach and drove a stamina-powered punch into his ribs. Before the general could turn, another blow caught him across the jaw. Luke didn't let up. He pumped more stamina through his legs, shoulders, and arms, throwing punch after punch until his fists were a blur and the general couldn't even get his guard up. Lufftar had strength. Luke had speed.

The general dug in his heels, but the barrage kept driving him backward until he lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Luke landed on top of him and started pounding his face, knocking his head against the dirt with every punch. Then he grabbed one of Lufftar's tusks and ripped it out. The general screamed, but Luke tossed the tusk aside and kept punching.

[Your Class Skill [Feline Agility (Epic)] is evolving...]

By the time he got to his feet, nobody was laughing.

“You're a general, huh? Think that makes you somebody?”

Lufftar coughed up blood and struggled to catch his breath.

“Come on. Get up.”

He didn't move. Luke channeled stamina into his leg and brought his foot down on the general's hand, crushing it against the ground.

“I said get up.”

Lufftar groaned and forced himself onto his knees. He was already starting to slump again when Luke grabbed the back of his head and made him look at his soldiers.

“I'm in charge now. Your soldiers are mine. Got it?”

Lufftar muttered something.

“LOUDER!”

“Yes... I understand.”

“Say it right. Like a dog.”

“Yes, master.”

Luke turned to the other orcs.

“Get over here. Beat the shit out of him for me.”

Nobody moved at first. Then one of Lufftar's soldiers stepped forward. The general lifted his head as if expecting a hand up. Instead, the soldier punched him in the mouth. That was all it took. The rest swarmed Lufftar, kicking and stomping the general they'd been cheering for moments earlier. His own soldiers shoved past one another for a chance to land a blow. Luke let them have their fun.

When he finally approached, the soldiers backed off and cleared a path. Lufftar lay where they'd left him, his face so swollen and bloody it was barely recognizable.

“Get it yet? Who's in charge?”

The general could only groan. Luke crouched beside him.

“You built yourself a throne out of bones and thought that made you hot shit?”

He caught Lufftar by the hair and shoved his face into the dirt.

“Then I showed up. Now you know who holds the leash. You serve me until the day you die. Understood?”

“Yes...”

Luke glanced at the soldiers gathered around them.

“And so do you.”

He made his way through the fortress as the orcs dropped to their knees, clearing a path for him.

“Now get back to invading. You're doing it for me now.”

[Your Class Skill [Feline Agility (Epic)] has evolved into [Feline Agility Mastery (Epic)]!]

[Feline Agility Mastery (Epic)]: Evolved form of [Feline Agility (Epic)]. The assassin's body adapts to the skill, making some of its effects permanent. Even when the skill isn't active, movements are lighter and quieter, with greater flexibility and quicker reactions. When activated, mana reinforces the bones, joints, and muscles from within, allowing the body to withstand forces far beyond what it could normally handle. With that protection, the assassin can channel stamina directly through their body for explosive bursts of speed, higher jumps, harder strikes, and sharp changes in direction without losing balance or injuring themselves.

***

A week later, Angie found what they'd been looking for. Using [Soul Infection], Luke saw a massive stone fortress on the beach through her eyes.

Found you.

He cut the connection and looked back down at the map of the Kingdom of Jungral.

Six million citizens.

“It's getting bigger, master!” Zamor shouted.

He leaned closer to the larva, then jerked back. Its body was swollen to bursting, the skin stretched tight as an overfilled water balloon.

“Master, we're too close! Way too close! You have to kill him the second he comes out!”

“The strongest one?”

“Yes! I'm not saying you can't handle him, master! It's what Rokhan taught me!”

“I'll do it my way.”

Every hatching produced one newborn stronger than the rest. It received the largest share of the power the larva had accumulated from the flesh it consumed. Orc Lords killed and ate that newborn. The meal made them stronger, and the rest of the brood got a lesson in obedience before they'd even found their feet.

“You have to kill the rebellious one,” Zamor insisted.

“Why didn't Rokhan just dominate it?”

“Always fight back. Hard to control. But good meat. Why waste it?”

“I see.”

Back on Earth, Luke had heard stories about warriors eating their enemies to steal their strength. Here, orcs actually could.

The larva let out a piercing shriek. Its skin split open, releasing hot steam and a gush of thick, bubbling fluid. Orcs spilled out in a tangle of limbs, tumbling over one another onto the cavern floor. First dozens, then hundreds, with no sign of stopping.

“How many are in that thing? A thousand?”

Luke had known the larva was enormous, but he hadn't expected it to hold an entire army. They were all crammed in there.

“Dude, that's disgusting. Total xenomorph vibes,” Artemis said.

“Agreed.”

Luke checked the newborns' levels.

[Orc - Lvl 103]

[Orc - Lvl 89]

[Orc - Lvl 99]

[Orc - Lvl 102]

[Orc - Lvl 101]

Most of the readings hovered around level 100. Somewhere in the growing mass of orcs was the one Zamor wanted dead. The newborns staggered to their feet, snarling at anything that moved. Luke held out his hand and called on the authority of [Orc Lord].

“Time to take control.”

The ring glowed. He stepped up to the nearest orc and pressed his palm against its head.

“You serve me now.”

[Dominate]

[Evolving Orc into Orc Soldier!]

The orc screamed as light engulfed it. When the glow faded, the red glare was gone from its eyes. It looked around the cavern as if seeing the place for the first time, then turned its attention to Luke and dropped to its knees.

“Master...?”

“That's me. Do you know what you are?”

“Soldier. Master's soldier. You... Orc Lord.”

“Good.”

One newborn lunged at Luke, only for his new soldier to intercept it.

“Don't attack master!”

The soldier grabbed its attacker and slammed it into the ground.

“Nice. Just don't kill him.”

Zamor edged closer, staring at Luke's new soldier.

“H-how? How did you do that? That's an Orc Lord's power!”

An orc sank its teeth into another's shoulder. The victim swung back, and within moments the newborns were tearing into one another, punching and biting anything within reach.

“I told you! They go wild! I told you!”

Zamor tried to retreat as several orcs came toward him, but the chain restraining him pulled tight and sent him sprawling.

“Stay away from master!” the Orc Soldier roared.

Luke stepped forward to face the newborns.

[Dread Aura]

The newborns backed away, growling but unwilling to keep fighting. One orc kept attacking anything that moved.

“I told you, master! That's the rebellious one! Kill him!”

Luke headed straight for it.

[Orc - Lvl 142]

There you are.

The orc lunged. Luke slipped aside.

“Damn, you've got guts. Didn't even hesitate.”

[Feline Predator Body]

Mana reinforced Luke's bones, joints, and muscles as he planted a foot and cut sharply to the side. A week ago, that turn would've wrecked his knee. Now he came out of it at full speed and caught the orc across the jaw before it could turn. The blow staggered it, and he followed with a kick to the chest that dropped it to its knees.

“I'm your master now.”

He planted a hand on the creature's head.

[Dominate]

The orc screamed.

[Available Ranks: Orc Soldier, Orc Captain, Orc Vice-General, Orc General]

Before Luke could make his selection, a massive hand clamped around his arm.

“I HAVE NO MASTER!”

The orc swung at him.

[Horns of the Demon of Darkness]

[Demonic Predator Hands]

Luke twisted his arm free, ducked the punch, and answered with a beating. He knocked the orc down, let it struggle back to its feet, then put it right back on the ground. By the time it managed to stand again, its legs were barely holding it up.

“Yeah, you do.”

He grabbed its head again.

[Dominate]

The orc roared in pain. Luke ignored the lower ranks and chose the highest one.

[Evolving Orc into Orc General!]

The creature staggered backward, shaking its head. Then it went still and stared at Luke.

“I HAVE MASTER!”

The orc dropped to its knees.

“Good. The rest of you belong to me, too.”

Luke went from one newborn to the next. Soon he had ten soldiers, then a hundred. Each use of [Dominate] drained mana, but his army kept growing. More orcs were still pouring out of the larva, though none came close to the level 142 rebel. It had even managed to speak before awakening, while the others couldn't form sentences until after their transformations.

By the time Luke finished, more than a thousand orcs were on their knees before him. Most were Rank D, with a handful of captains and generals mixed in.

“Who do you serve?”

“The Demon Master!” they shouted together.

Their voices echoed through the cavern as Luke walked among his new soldiers.

“We have one goal. Conquest.”

The roar that answered him shook the underground forest. He reached into his shadow and used telekinesis to pull out the weapons he'd collected. Axes, swords, spears, and hammers clattered to the ground, and the orcs crowded around, each choosing whatever suited them best.

“I like this one,” a general said, reaching for a hammer.

“No! That one mine!” another snapped.

The level 142 general merely looked their way, and both backed off immediately. It picked up the hammer, hefted it once, and settled into a grip that looked practiced. Angie called it. She'd put the odds of the strongest newborn choosing a hammer at around eighty percent. The orc had inherited Alice Strider's talents, and the general from Rosemark had wielded a hammer as well.

The general approached Luke and knelt before him, hammer in hand.

“I fight for master with this.”

“Works for me.”

Luke started to raise his hand, then paused and looked at the ring.

[Dark Lord’s Army]: Allows the Dark Lord’s Relic to access the [Dark Lord’s Army] skill while the Dark Lord remains within the Kingdom Core’s zone of influence. When granting a Dark Rank, the required Soul Energy is consumed directly from the Relic, which acts as a conduit of authority to incorporate monsters into the Dark Lord’s Army. This function depends on the bond with the Kingdom Core and cannot be used outside its zone of influence.

It needs real loyalty. [Dominate] makes them obey me, but will the Relic count that?

Only one way to find out. Luke rested his palm on the general's head. Darkness seeped from the Relic.

“Do you serve me?”

“Yes. I serve.”

[Evolving Orc General into Dark Lord's Soldier!]

So it counted.

Light engulfed the general. The Dark Lord's power could improve a monster's evolution, and Luke had already turned this one into an Orc General. How much further could it go?

[Evolution complete!]

When the light faded, the general stood staring at its hands. It flexed its fingers and looked down at the rest of its body. The oversized muscles were gone, though it was still powerfully built, just leaner now, with more balanced proportions.

Zamor stopped dead. “M-master... A-an ascended orc?”

“Master?”

The general's voice was higher now, clearer than before.

“A female orc?!” Zamor blurted.

Luke took another look. She really was female now, just like Rukhara. Only ascended orcs could be female. Another notification appeared.

[The Dark Lord's Soldier is awakening a class...]

A class?!

[Soldier has awakened the Orc Barbarian Class!]

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