Orcs? Orcs

Hoisting his battle axe, Leiluo did not rush to counterattack. He knew he had not lost in terms of strength, but in experience. Though Darius's experience was extensive, it was not Leiluo's own. Orgrim's experience, however, had been forged hammer blow by hammer blow. He had not earned the name Doomhammer solely because of the artifact Doomhammer.

What Leiluo needed to do now was remain still and strike only after his opponent moved. He would use the mighty Orgrim as a whetstone, honing Darius's experience into his own edge.

"Hey! Kid, what is it? Scared? Where'd that courage to charge straight at me go?" Seeing that Leiluo was not moving, Orgrim taunted him while carrying his hammer and swaying from side to side.

Though his movements appeared casual, Orgrim's body remained tense at all times. He regarded Leiluo as a true opponent.

Moreover, Orgrim knew full well that Leiluo was stronger than him. Only by provoking Leiluo into exposing an opening could he use his rich experience to land a fatal blow and finish the instant kill he had failed to achieve earlier. The longer this dragged on, the worse the situation would become for him.

"Oh! Baldy, weren't you pretty fierce just now? I'm injured now, yet you're the one who doesn't dare come over, huh?" Leiluo did not take the bait. Orgrim's experience, instincts, and even trash talk were all worth learning from, so he did not spare Orgrim's pride. He went straight for the jugular and struck directly at Orgrim's weak point.

"Asshole!" Hearing Leiluo call him bald in front of so many people from so many clans, anyone else would have swung their hammer and started fighting. But Orgrim was Orgrim. Worthy of being the most perfect orc Great Chieftain in Leiluo's mind, he merely cursed under his breath and held himself back.

But Leiluo had no intention of letting Orgrim off. Orgrim's single line of trash talk was like opening Pandora's box, and once Leiluo started, he could not stop.

"Hey, I just noticed something. Baldy, your Blackrock Chieftain is bald too!"

"Does your Blackrock have some kind of hereditary disease?"

"Or do you have some special relationship with your Blackrock Chieftain?"

"Is he your dad?"

"Doesn't look like it. Feels like you're even older than him..."

As Leiluo fired off one taunt after another, even Orgrim's temperament could no longer endure it.

"Asshole! A half-blood is a half-blood. You don't have a shred of an orc about you!" Orgrim raised his hammer and charged in. In his fury, he was no longer choosing his words carefully.

Leiluo's expression turned cold. Orgrim's words reminded him of his former world. There, he had been part of an ethnic minority, and there had been similar talk of bloodlines. It was something Leiluo could not accept—especially coming from the mouth of his idol. Everything he had felt these past days, everything Leolox had told him, finally erupted at this moment. Leiluo directly invoked a blessing and went head-to-head with Orgrim.

"Orgrim, your words have made me realize that the current you is an entire Draenor away from Doomhammer!"

With the blessing empowering him, Leiluo's strength became even more monstrous and his movements even swifter. He wielded the battle axe in his hand like a hammer and hurled it out with all his might, leaving Orgrim's hands numb as he blocked it.

"I'm a half-blood, but I dare say I love the orcs more than most orcs do!"

Before Orgrim could recover, Leiluo swung his axe again. From the way he moved, it looked more like he was smashing someone with a hammer than chopping them with an axe.

"So what if someone's a half-blood? Even if he's an Ogre, as long as his heart is with the orcs, then he's an orc! True orcs would never mock their own kin!"

This attack missed. Upon hearing Leiluo's words, the anger in Orgrim's heart had long since vanished, replaced by surging turmoil. Leiluo's words were like a knife stabbing into his heart, and like a ray of light illuminating his eyes. Having calmed down, he no longer clashed head-on with Leiluo and instead dodged aside.

The nearby orcs also stopped cheering when they heard Leiluo's words on the arena floor, falling silent instead. Leolox's eyes were already brimming with tears, while Durotan gently patted his shoulder. Even Blackhand fell into contemplation, no longer wishing only for Orgrim to quickly knock this hateful brat off the stage.

Within the Shadowmoon Clan, Great Shaman Ner'zhul spoke softly to his prized disciple Gul'dan. "This child has great ideological awareness. He's a new young force for our party—ah? No, for us orcs! The orcs need young talents like him, just as you were back then, Gul'dan!"

"Yes, Teacher. The orcs truly do need talents like him. How about this? If he wins, we give him some more Fervent Blood."

"Not a bad idea. Let's do that!" Ner'zhul was filled with gratification at his disciple's words. He believed his disciple, like himself in his younger days, was wholeheartedly supporting a young orc prodigy. What he did not see was Gul'dan's sinister smile beneath his hood.

On the arena floor, Orgrim stopped moving and slowly bowed to Leiluo, his expression solemn.

"I'm sorry, kid. I'm ashamed of what I said just now. Orcs should not mock their own kin!"

Leiluo froze, but then Orgrim continued, "However, our battle must continue, honored kin."

Hearing Orgrim's words, Leiluo smiled. This was how the Great Chieftain he admired—Orgrim Doomhammer—should be.

"Then come on. You know you're no match for me, Baldy!"

"Hmph. Kid, what's the use of having great strength? If everything came down to strength, Draenor would have long become the domain of magical beasts like Behemoths and Gorons." Orgrim scoffed at Leiluo's words, even though he usually crushed his opponents with sheer power.

"I'll show you what a true orc warrior is!"

"Sure, Uncle. I'll show you what true Holy Light is!"

As they spoke, hammer and axe flashed against one another. They traded blow after blow in a spectacular fight, while the orcs at the edge of the arena grew excited once more, their cheers shaking the heavens. Leolox wiped his face and turned his gaze back to the arena with renewed focus.

Durotan's gaze toward Leiluo became even gentler. This young half-blood orc had said before the Six Great Clans what Durotan had wanted to say for years but had never dared to speak.

The orcs did not truly hate half-bloods. It was merely discomfort before the races fully merged. They feared losing themselves and their civilization amid racial integration, so they put on a show of rejecting half-bloods.

But they did not understand that truly powerful races had always been those most capable of embracing all others—just like Leiluo's former Zhonghuajia!