Orc Lord

Durghan stared intently at the three Humans through his beady eyes. He kept his posture loose, so his armor wouldn't rattle, and gripped his war axe in anticipation. As the Humans continued moving, his party followed secretly in the shadows. Every few feet, an orc from the party was left behind to guide back the one who had left to report to the chief.

Durghan had considered himself a wise chief, but he had never coveted the position. He had grown to be strong enough to be chief because of his love for battle and a good hunt. Upon actually becoming chief, however, it became his duty to stay inside the village to protect it from outside attacks. However, orcs were the rulers of this side of the forest; nobody ever came to attack. Therefore, if someone stronger came along, even if they were a poor choice for leader, he would gladly give up his position as chief in order to return to the hunt.

Having so much magic power, it's natural that orcs are intelligent. What's lacking when comparing them to Humans is only their focus. Besides being the strongest, Durghan felt further separated from his village because nobody else bothered to think the way he did. Tactics, strategies, fighting postures: the things that made up a good fight fascinated him. The other hunters, however, were satisfied as long as they could fill their bellies. The women were more attentive, but their focus was on the home and on rearing strong children. Durghan couldn't get close to talk to them because they would run with the opportunity and try to force him down to bed with them.

All of these things had been weighing on Durghan as a person, slowly draining away the spirit he once had. He felt isolated, and there was no one in the village with the potential to ever become his equal.

And then, Vyra was born.

Durghan didn't pay her any attention at first. She was a female, and so there was little chance she would pursue strength.

And yet, she started walking days early and learned to speak twice as fast as the average orc.

Oolga was a good mother, too. Although she had stopped pursuing her own strength, she was amply proud of the strength of her child. She encouraged the girl to practice hunting, instead of starting by teaching her to wield a butchering knife.

And then, that child truly began to give Durghan hope. She had asked permission to be trained by him. Aside from him, nobody else in the village had cared about fighting techniques, but this girl deliberately wanted to study them. She even possessed an innate skill oriented toward combat. He started to look forward to training this girl and shaping a warrior who could stand on equal footing with him.

The first day of training took Durghan by surprise. Even though he had beat this small body back numerous times, she still got up to face him with almost suicidal determination. Frightened she truly wouldn't stop until her small body crumpled, he ended the training early.

Well, it turned out that he didn't need to worry because, on top of everything else, this child had an abnormally fast healing rate.

After that, thanks to her achievements during her hunting ceremony and her amazingly quick growth speed, Durghan found that he was starting to almost look up to this girl.

Finally, although it was so fast that it stunned him, she surpassed him and took his position as chief. He felt so peaceful at that moment. And as an even greater kindness, she used her new authority to assign him as the leader of the hunting group.

Durghan came to realize that this woman was not just strong, she was also suited to be a leader. Unlike him, who had no faith in the idea that the other orcs could be made to learn, she insisted on it. She formed organized hunting groups, taught classes on various subjects that were beyond him, taught the women new homemaking techniques, and arranged for the weaker hunters to learn fighting techniques under his guidance. Perhaps the changes would be slow, but to Durghan, the difference between the village under his rule and under hers was like night and day.

The ex-chief’s longing for an equal, catharsis from being relieved of his duties as chief, gratefulness for his current ideal situation, and admiration for an orc genius like he had never imagined all rolled up together into an unyielding loyalty to his new chief.

Durghan knew better than to let his mind wander during a hunt, but he couldn't help but fill with emotion every time he thought of chief Vyra and her magnificence.

Soon, the messenger returned and delivered the chief’s orders to Durghan.

“She wants live prisoners,” he panted softly.

Durghan’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but they settled quickly into a dangerous smile.

If it's chief Vyra, I'm sure something amazing will come of it.

Besides that, capturing potentially powerful prey alive would be a grand challenge for a warrior.

“In that case, encircle them without being seen. When I raise my axe, reveal yourselves, but do not attack without my orders.”

Borderline worshipping the chief as he did, Durghan wholeheartedly adopted her method of speaking. Not that orcs had ever had trouble with languages to begin with.

Even tighter now, Durghan’s hand gripped his axe in anticipation as he circled around to the enemy’s front.