Although the hot spring pool wasn't wide, the steam obscured visibility, and perhaps the other party had already escaped from the other side. Clinging to a sliver of hope, Unas called out, "I am Unas, the human leader of the East District. Miss Orcs, you can come to me anytime. I swear I will not harm you."
"Don't turn around! Stay in that position and don't move," the female Orcs's voice suddenly came from behind. "Cunning human, do you think I still believe you?"
This Orcs was able to sneak up behind him silently; that was quite impressive. Unas didn't dare to move, afraid of scaring the orc away again.
"Eavesdropping on other people's conversations isn't exactly honorable, Miss Orcs. Let's call it even."
"Don't call me by your disgusting human names. I am Keira, daughter of Rosna," the female Orcs introduced herself haughtily, then added defiantly, "I'm just soaking in the hot springs. You have to speak right in my ear; I can't refuse."
"Then what about when you stole my things?"
"Stop talking nonsense, how did you use this crystal to communicate with the outside world?"
"Keira, you little... do you really think you can threaten me?" Unas calmed himself slightly, realizing she didn't know how to use the crystal. "It's just a trivial Communication Crystal; I don't care. Take it if you want."
"I have some bad news for you, you cunning humans. I heard every word of your conversation from beginning to end. Without this crystal, how could you have gotten good news from them?"
So she knew everything about the prison break plan and his past experiences. Unas was immediately filled with murderous intent. He swiftly pulled out his Silver Hammer and turned to attack the source of the sound, but there wasn't a trace of her.
"You want to kill me?" Keira's voice came from the left.
Unas quickly turned his head to look. The other person was standing by a cave entrance, looking ready to escape at any moment. She was much slimmer than the average female Orcs. Her black hair was tied into a shoulder-length ponytail and swayed behind her head. By human standards, her face was not ugly. Even the fangs that were typical of Orcs were small. She looked more like a cat than a wild beast.
Given her speed, she could disappear in the blink of an eye. Unas knew he couldn't catch her, so he put away his Silver Hammer, shrugged, and said, "I was thinking about it earlier, but after seeing such a beautiful woman, I don't really want to anymore."
"Pah! What the hell?" Keira spat. "If you want your crystal back, come to the South District alone, ask for my name, and someone will give you directions."
After saying that, he disappeared into the cave entrance in the blink of an eye. Unas immediately gave chase, but lost him after running for a short while. The unfamiliar passage was intricate and complicated, and he was afraid of getting lost, so he had no choice but to turn back the way he came, secretly regretting that he had been too careless.
Thinking about it carefully, none of the slaves in the Black Furnace didn't want to escape. The female Orcs knew about her plan, so it's unlikely she would leak it; she would probably still seek cooperation.
Wait, the South District, the female Orcs... Could this be the one who failed to escape and jumped back? Judging by her skills, it's very likely. Unas hurriedly returned to the human territory and found Frank fast asleep in his room.
"The female Orcs you mentioned last time who failed to escape, was her name Keira?"
"I'm not sure, I haven't had a chance to ask the adults yet." Frank was groggily shaken awake and knew nothing about it.
"Are you familiar with the area? Come with me to the South District."
I've only been there once or twice, so I wouldn't say I'm familiar with it.
"Just be able to lead the way, hurry up."
Frank quickly washed his face, and the two hurried towards the South District.
"Sir, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Never mind that. I'm looking for a female Orcs named Keira. She seems to be quite well-known in the South District; she should be easy to find."
"Okay, I have an old friend in the South District, I'll go ask him."
The two first went to the Central District, then entered the passageway leading to the South District. After passing through several forks, they arrived at a Dwarf territory. Frank's old friend was a Dark Iron Dwarves here. After making some inquiries, he indeed knew about female Orcs. Frank seemed to have a pretty good relationship with him, and he agreed to lead the way for the two of them.
Along the way, the Dwarf talked about Krai. She was indeed the female Orcs who failed to escape. After her failure, she remained silent for a long time until recently when she suddenly rose up and led a group of Orcs who had broken away from the Blackrock Clan to stir up trouble in the South District, occupying a lot of territory. She was right at the forefront of the storm.
The three walked through the passageway for a while, passing the territories of several other small groups. The Dwarf said, "Go straight ahead and you'll reach her territory. We'd better be careful. Keira claims to have established her own Tigerfang Clan, gathering many Orcs dissatisfied with the Blackrock Clan under her command. There are especially many female Orcs among them. Legend has it that they abduct strong males of other races and force them to mate, in order to cultivate the Tigerfang Clan's unique next generation."
"Damn it, this really is a tiger's den," Unas said. "You two go back first, I can manage on my own."
"Sir, what if... what if you don't come back?" Frank asked hesitantly.
"What kind of unlucky talk is that? Everything will remain the same even after I'm gone. Besides, I don't even consider a few Orcs."
After persuading the two to leave, Unas continued on his way alone. He quickly passed through the dark passageway, where two Orcs guards at the exit demanded, "Who goes there? What brings you here?"
"I'm looking for your chieftain, Keira. I am Unas; she should know my name."
The two Orcs exchanged a glance, then roared and charged forward. Fortunately, Unas was prepared, took a few steps back, drew his steel greatsword, Righteous Shield Strike, sending them flying.
The commotion immediately attracted a large number of Orcs who were mining. Just like when dealing with Trolls, Unas used tunnel tactics, fighting and retreating, but he did not kill them, after all, the ultimate goal was to negotiate.
After knocking down seventeen or eighteen Orcs with his shield and Silver Hammer, no more enemies dared to enter. Unas immediately rushed out of the tunnel, crashing into the enemy ranks and unleashing a Divine Storm. The unexpected attack shattered the enemy's thin line of defense.
In a battle between two armies, the Orcs would have collapsed, but Unas was alone. The scattered Orcs surged forward again. As soon as the cooldown was over, he unleashed another Divine Storm. The Orcs who had just surrounded him were immediately thrown about, and several who hadn't managed to escape the storm's range collapsed to the ground.
The Orcs dared not approach again. They surrounded Unas from ten meters away and began hurling stones and pickaxes at him, Unas wielded his giant shield, defending himself flawlessly.
After a brief stalemate, Unas used the Divine Storm to break through again and rushed back into the tunnel. If he wanted, he could fight his way in and out ten more times. These fifty or so enemies, mostly composed of Orcs laborers, were completely at his mercy.