Domuzkuyruk, having learned the truth of the matter from Chief Alyon, was utterly speechless, wishing the earth would swallow him whole. Nafız, who had stayed on the training ground until morning, only thought about resting; this unnecessary fuss did not interest her at all.
"Your son's willpower and steadfastness just reminded me of someone from long ago, that's all. There's nothing to fuss about; just leave me alone." Although Nafız said this, Alyon knew what had truly happened. Blood Baptism was the second level of Nafız's lineage ability. This technique required using her own blood essence to trigger the awakening of a random ability in the person it was applied to. Neither of them knew if this event was a gift that brought them together or the beginning of their end.
The supply section had finished digging wide and deep trenches outside the tribe. Domuzkuyruk had massive stakes made from the trees from Lofty Mountain driven into the trenches. When the trenches were covered with tree branches and then soil, they looked as if they had never existed.
Alyon spoke with great satisfaction upon seeing the finished trenches. "They turned out better than I expected. I suppose I didn't make the wrong decision about you." Domuzkuyruk, whose pride was stroked by the praise, thought it was the perfect time to ask the Chief an important question that was currently preoccupying his mind: "Chief Alyon, you said the tribe would leave these lands after the merchant arrived. What is the purpose of all this preparation?"
Alyon scanned the horizon with his eyes before answering, speaking with the demeanor of a wise elder, imparting his years of experience to his young apprentice: "You never know what the winds of greed and ambition will bring to your door."
Meanwhile, Dimitri, rushing to complete the order he received, was experiencing the busiest days of his merchant life. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice the pair of eyes following him from the shadows. While his apprentice Sashawas traversing the road to the post office to order goods from other cities, neither of them were aware that they were living under surveillance.
In the large and lavish hall of the great castle in the middle of the city, a middle-aged, scruffy-bearded man was having fun with a beauty in his lap. Just as he was reaching the peak of his pleasure, the gate guard suddenly shouted, and the sound ruined all his fun.
"My Lord, the messenger says he has important information. He wishes to enter your presence." The guard, frightened by his Lord's words, immediately continued speaking. "My Lord, he says it's about the matter you ordered to be closely followed!" The man's attitude, who was continuing his revelry with pleasure, completely transformed with the last things he heard.
"Send him in quickly, how much longer are you going to wait, you idiot!" The person who owned the voice was none other than Lord Godfrey of Nikonya Trade City. Although the orc steppes consisted of creatures living in scattered tribal life, there was one trade city in three of the four main regions. These cities were not governed by the orc tribe that was the dominant power in the region, but by City Lords accepted by the main orc tribe. The Lord of this city, located in the arid desert region, was known especially for his erratic behavior and ruthless personality.
The messenger who entered began relaying the news to the Lord sitting on his throne with a beauty in his lap. "My Lord, the merchant we have been following for a while has sent a few more mechanical pigeons from the post office for new orders." Godfrey, listening carefully to the messenger, said, "Did you record the contents of the messages?" "Yes, my Lord, the items that made up this order were parts not found on the continent or those requiring special prerequisites, just like the other materials he purchased. I would like to present a copy of the order to you." Godfrey took the rolled paper from the messenger and started reading it, then gestured with his hand to leave. As the footsteps of the messenger leaving the presence utterly subdued were heard, the Lord's right-hand man, Gulag, entered through the door.
"Immediately find Kızılkuyruk and tell him to do what is necessary." Gulag, bowing his head in salute to the Lord's command, turned his gaze to the girls around.
Godfrey, understanding the intention from his right-hand man's gaze, smirked nastily and spoke. "Alright, you can use them, along with the messenger, for those disturbing experiments of yours."
"Thank you very much to the Lord for his kindness." Gulag, finished with his business in the throne room, whispered into the guard's ear as he exited the door. "Take the girls inside to my private dungeon immediately. I hope nothing happens to them on the way, or I'll have to use you as material for my new experiments."
Apart from governing the city as the Lord's right-hand man, Gulag was known as a scientist who conducted insane and savage experiments. The fact that everyone who opposed the Lord ended up dying in agony at Gulag's hands was etched into the minds of all the people living in the city.
While life flowed in Nikonya, Dimitri and his apprentice, waiting for their orders to arrive, were eating in a run-down inn. "Once this job is done, we won't have to stay in such run-down places anymore. We will have money to live in luxury too." Under the influence of the wine he drank, Sasha's tongue was starting to loosen.
"You fool, we must finish our job without attracting anyone's attention. Bandit gangs can have agents everywhere; let your ear hear what comes out of your mouth!" His apprentice's loose tongue greatly angered Dimitri. Although he took great care not to show it externally, he had butterflies in his stomach too. The reason was the profit he would gain if he could deliver the Minotaur's horns and hooves to Golden City for auction. He knew very well that he would be promoted to 1st-class merchant along with claiming the bounty placed on the creature's head.
Thanks to the mercenaries guarding the trade routes, the goods ordered from other continents reached his hands without any issue. Dimitri, seeing the appointed time approaching, loaded the cargo into the wagons and was about to leave the city gates for a journey that would last four cycles of the day.
"Orc tribes are very chaotic these days; if you wish, you can stay in the city for a while longer!" Dimitri, who had traded in the vicinity for years, heard these words spoken by the Guard officer at the gate where they stopped to pay city tax, for the first time.
"Thank you, Lord, we will try to be careful." A feeling of dread came over him as the merchant politely answered and left the gate; he whispered into the ear of the blonde young man beside him. "Sasha, activate all surveillance devices. Use the magic stones to start transmitting images to the nearest mercenary headquarters. Prepare the system as if it will enter defense mode at any moment." Dimitri, who usually activated a maximum of two surveillance devices, put all precautions into effect to prevent any incident from happening on the road to the tribe.
Despite this, some shadowy figures on a distant hill were watching him as he advanced from Nikonya toward the tribe. Among these shadowy figures, a tall human stood out much more than the others. This person, with red beard reaching his belly and his head shaved, spoke, drooling: "Our prey has been lured into the trap! Maintain your distance! No one will make a move until they reach their destination!"
Strange incidents that only a few people knew about had recently occurred in the tribe, which was the merchant's destination. Nafız, who performed the Blood Baptism, had been lying unconscious in her tent since that day. On the other hand, Sangre, waking up in his tent two days after the horrifying event he experienced, felt like an entirely different being. When he set off for the training ground without shaking off his astonishment, he discovered that many things about him had changed. He could easily see distances he hadn't seen before, and he could hear even the smallest whispers in the tribe, down to the sound of a worm crawling on the ground. Feeling the shape the wind took as it glided over his skin gave him goosebumps.
Sangre's eyes, upon reaching the training ground, searched for Nafız to ask about the reason for what happened to him. Sangre, unable to find her, was very surprised to see that the training was being conducted directly by the Chief. After waiting for a while, when the unit took a water break, he hurriedly ran to the warriors. The orcs lying on the ground to rest quickly jumped to their feet when they saw the person approaching them.
"Welcome, Junior Chief!" Sangre, dumbfounded by what he heard, asked excitedly: "Chief Nafız, where is she? I need to see her; there are some things I need to discuss." "No one has seen her since she made you Assistant Chief three cycles of the day ago, sir." Although the orcs had only been training for a very short time, they had covered a great distance in terms of discipline. Nafız's unusual methods had greatly contributed to their adaptation to the new conditions.
"Chief Alyon must know; I need to go and ask him!" Just as Sangre finished speaking, a hand violently slapped his shoulder.
"Keep your questions in your head; you can ask your master when you see him." The orcs, seeing the owner of the hand, shouted loudly in unison: "Chief!"
"Enough lounging around! Everyone grab a weapon; you will work with targets!" The orcs, including Sangre, hearing their Chief's command, grabbed their weapons and returned to training.