Orcs March South

Orcs March South

Ryan had another reason to end his meditation: his fifteenth birthday was approaching.

That winter, Frozen Earth Territory welcomed its first grand celebration.

The lord celebrated alongside his people.

What was more, the Bain Family Terraced Fields, one of the three plots of farmland, had officially been fully reclaimed. From then on, they only needed to keep improving the soil's fertility.

The one hundred and ten acres of farmland had nearly driven the Bain Family mad with joy. Whenever they saw Ryan, they would kneel after every three sentences, then bow deeply after every five.

Seeing the Bain Family rise just like that into the upper ranks of the territory made everyone else green with envy. Ryan believed the remaining two plots of farmland would soon be developed as well.

"Young Master Ryan, congratulations on growing another year older."

At the Baron's Castle atop Rhino Horn Mountain, there were only a handful of people who could truly sit at the same table as Ryan.

Outside the Baron's Castle, Deren could not help regretting his decision. He should have been the one replacing Rosen inside, but now he could only stand guard.

Watching the countless flickering fires in the village at the foot of the mountain beneath the night sky, he thought that perhaps he really should not have refused back then. Frozen Earth Territory was becoming more and more prosperous, and this place felt very warm.

This day would probably be remembered by many people. Even the slaves lived much the same as commoners in Frozen Earth Territory. After all, money was of little use within the territory for the time being, and everyone ate the grain bestowed by their lord.

Today, even those mud legs could have some meat broth. With Young Master Ryan's orders in place, the cooks did not dare cut corners today.

Hopefully, today would make those mud legs remember Young Master Ryan's kindness and get them to quickly finish preparing the farmland tomorrow.

The grain from Watt Knightdom was of mixed quality, and it was already becoming unpleasant to eat.

Perhaps only Young Master Ryan could have thought of reclaiming farmland even in those mountains? He had even attracted birds to shit there, which was said to fertilize the soil.

They had never even heard of terraced fields in the South, yet they could create dozens of times more farmland. How incredible.

There should be no one guarding the mountain today, but some wild beasts probably would not destroy the farmland either.

Deren stared into the distance, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Today was a major occasion—Young Master Ryan's fifteenth birthday. Everyone was celebrating within the territory, but...

Why were there lights on the mountain?

Deren had become captain of the guards for a reason. He was certainly not lacking in ability.

He looked into the darkness ahead, summoned several soldiers, and gave them a few instructions.

"Young Master Ryan, we have been in Frozen Earth Territory for nearly two months. By now, Count Clayton should have returned to the Empire."

The Old Steward offered a quiet reminder, causing Ryan to fall silent.

Once Count Clayton returned to the Empire, who knew what kind of turmoil he would stir up in the imperial capital? Would it affect Frozen Earth Territory again?

Over the past two months, Ryan had accepted everything about his current circumstances.

Everything was going well.

Beard handled administration, Brandt handled the army, Rosen handled patrols and guards, and even the Viscountess was highly proficient at managing the maids in the Baron's Castle, saving Ryan a great deal of trouble.

Other than the growing pressure on food supplies as the population increased, everything was going well.

As expected, the orcs had continued as they always had, leaving the barren Frozen Earth Territory alone.

Yet just as Ryan thought of them, they appeared.

Deren hurried in from outside and said in alarm:

"Young Master Ryan, the patrol guards have found traces of orcs."

In the freezing night wind, Ryan rushed out of the Baron's Castle and immediately spotted the firelight in the distant Mountain Forest.

"What kind of orc tribe is it?"

Deren said from beside him:

"The men I sent did not dare approach. According to them, those orcs had horns on their heads like slender curved blades, about as long as a forearm."

"It is very dark in the Mountain Forest, and orcs have sharp senses of smell. They were right not to get close."

"As for what kind of orcs they are..."

"There are many horned orcs, but based on that description, and their proximity to Northwind Province, could they be Black Goat Orcs?"

Ryan's expression darkened, and he immediately ordered the soldiers around him.

"Put out every fire in the territory."

The soldiers hurried down toward the foot of the mountain.

They could see the firelight on the distant mountain from Rhino Horn Mountain, but the terrain blocked the view from below Rhino Horn Mountain. Those orcs might not notice them.

Black Goat Orcs, an orc tribe.

In many legends, black goats were synonymous with death and symbols of evil. Likewise, the Black Goat Orcs were cruel and evil.

Other orc tribes marched south because they lacked food and had too many mouths to feed. They only ate people when they had not seized enough grain, but the Black Goat Orcs...

This orc tribe greatly enjoyed eating people, especially human children.

Other than human children, they liked women with tender flesh.

In short, the younger they were and the better they were cared for, the more they liked them.

What was worse, they were very powerful—rumor had it they had received the blessing of a god.

Hearing Ryan's description, the Viscountess and several maids beside him all went pale.

"Don't be afraid. The Black Goat Tribe couldn't possibly appear in such large numbers. Winter hasn't fully set in yet, so these ones should be their Scout Unit."

Ryan remained calm. If it truly came to it, he could still take everyone and hide in the Otherworld. With that escape route available, he was fairly confident.

In fact, Ryan believed the Black Goat Tribe had not noticed the firelight in the Frozen Earth Territory. In reality, they had spotted it even before Deren spotted them.

As scouts of the Black Goat Tribe, they certainly did not lack professionalism. It was just that... they did not care.

"Big Brother, there's a human noble's territory here. How about we rush in and loot it first? It'd be perfect if we could find a few children."

A Black Goat man covered in palm-length black fur, with a pair of curved horns on his head, spoke greedily. But the moment he finished, a huge palm from beside him slammed down, knocking several of his teeth loose.

"Idiot, do you even know what we came here for?"

After slapping him, the even taller Black Goat man pointed toward the distant firelight.

"Do you know where this is?"

"No."

"This is the Frozen Earth Territory, a poor, barren place."

"More than ten years ago, a Hyena Tribe came here to loot during winter. Do you know what happened?"

"No."

"Idiot, after those hyenas looted this place and went back, thirty percent of their tribe starved to death. Of the remaining seventy percent, half starved to death over the winter. The hyenas who survived only made it through by eating their companions' corpses."

"From then on, that tribe became a joke."

"Do you know why our Black Goat Tribe gets to lead the Orc Army south this year to plunder the human provinces?"

"No."

"Idiot. Because we have wisdom."

"Wisdom, understand? Wisdom! We became the leaders because we can lead the Orc Army to seize more food and more children than before."

"Do you know what wisdom is?"

"I still don't know, Big Brother. I don't think I'm very smart." The Black Goat man lowered his head dejectedly.

"That's why I'm your captain, while you're just an idiot who only knows how to eat."

"Wisdom means knowing where is richer, where we can seize more food, and where we can seize more human children."

"Wisdom is amazing."

"Enough. It's fine as long as you know how wise your big brother is. In short, if we're careful and cautious now, we can act boldly later."