Attack and Defense

"Hahaha, Nilru, is this your strength?!"

"What are you panicking about! Your Chieftain is here!"

Nilru loudly reprimanded the subordinate who came to deliver the message.

"But—but—but they're too strong, the brothers can't hold on."

"Trash, follow me."

Nilru was about to go out with his subordinate when he paused, then turned back and said sinisterly to Dahl.

"When I get back, oh, no, you probably won't live to see me return. Hahahaha!"

With that, he stormed off.

"Father, what does Nilru mean?"

A female Orc, imprisoned with Dahl, asked. She was Dahl·Triple Bloodblade's daughter—Azuka·Blade Fury.

"I don't know, probably has something to do with that bastard upstairs."

Dahl said, gesturing with his chin towards Gul'dan standing on the central platform.

"Samuro, if you get the chance, you must rescue Sesk and Gao En."

A taller, more robust Orc than Lantresuo, sitting nearby, heard Dahl's words. He opened his closed eyes and nodded at Dahl.

However, she outwardly said nothing. She didn't even know if she would survive. There was no need to argue about trivial matters now.

It would be better to conserve her strength; perhaps there would still be a chance to escape.

Outside the cave, two to three hundred green-skinned Orcs were locked in a fierce battle with Leiluo and his group. A hundred or so mangled corpses littered the ground.

Although these green-skinned Orcs shouted to the heavens, very few actually charged. They held their weapons and surrounded Leiluo's group. The Orcs would retreat whenever Leiluo's group advanced.

This scene was witnessed by Nilru, who arrived quickly.

"You bastards, what are you hesitating for? Attack! There are only six of them, and we have five hundred! We can tire them to death! Attack!"

Nilru, leading the two hundred men guarding the cave, engaged the retreating Orcs, finally forcing them into a confrontation with Leiluo's group.

But the more Nilru watched, the more something felt wrong. The six on the opposite side were ferociously powerful; none of his enhanced subordinates could withstand even a single blow from them.

Sensing that something was amiss, Nilru quickly gave orders to the two hundred men he had brought: "Retreat! Seal the cave entrance!"

"Don't close it, let us in!"

"Save us!"

"Chieftain, save us!"

Seeing the routed Orcs crowding towards the cave entrance, Nilru repeatedly urged his subordinates: "Close it quickly! Close it quickly!"

But just as the stone door was slowly descending, a wound appeared on the neck of the Fireblade warrior closing the door, and blood sprayed out.

As these Fireblade warriors fell, a figure holding a dark red longsword appeared in Nilru's line of sight.

"Lantresuo·Fireblade! It's you! You traitor, colluding with outsiders to attack your own Clan's sacred grounds! You—"

Recognizing the person, Nilru became enraged. He could not tolerate a "traitor."

But his "righteous" speech was interrupted before he could finish.

"Enough, Nilru·Fireblade. You know better than anyone who the traitor is. Fireblade has an entire battalion of warriors!"

"Look at these people? Their skin is green, how are they Orcs!"

"Lantresuo, what do you know! Strength is everything! With strength, one can control their own destiny!"

Hearing Lantresuo's words, Nilru's expression turned somewhat manic.

"Orcs?! Who considers you an Orc! They think you're nothing, trash!"

"We grew up eating scraps from everyone. Without the tribesmen of Fireblade, we would have died long ago! Brother!"

Lantresuo plunged his longsword, which he cherished like his own life, into the ground. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Hehehe! Hehehe!"

Nilru laughed maniacally.

"That's right! We survived on their charity, on their foul, rotten garbage!"

Nilru roared the last sentence. Both the green-skinned Orcs and Leiluo's group nearby were stunned. They never imagined that Nilru and Lantresuo were brothers.

"They don't acknowledge you as Orcs, how could they possibly acknowledge you as tribesmen, you idiot!"

"And now, I have pledged allegiance to Lord Gul'dan. He gave me strength and made me the Chieftain of Fireblade. These are things those people will never give me!"

"Brother! You're wrong. It's true the Fireblade Clan's tribesmen don't accept us half-bloods, but now, I've found a place that accepts us, a place that gives us respect, and that place is Pebble!"

"Chieftain Leiluo may be young, sometimes unreliable, and always scheming, but he never discriminates against others. In his eyes, as long as you accept your Orc identity, Pebble will accept you and treat you like family."

"You know, there's a place in Pebble called the War College. It's a place where all children learn knowledge, whether they are the children of Laborers or the children of tribesmen, whether they are pure-bloods or half-bloods, they can all learn the knowledge they desire."

"I was there, and I taught those children everything I knew. They even asked me if they could become Sword Saints like me when they grew up."

"Brother, do you know, they are just like we were back then, but they have something we didn't. Their parents respect and love each other, and they can learn what they want to learn. Aren't these exactly what we once wanted?!"

"Enough! You're lying to me. There's no clan on Draenor that doesn't discriminate against half-bloods, and no clan that would let Laborers become tribesmen. You're lying to me!"

Nilru couldn't believe his brother's words at all. The constant scorn and discrimination he had faced since childhood had planted the seeds of hatred in his heart. Now, he only believed in strength.

Just as Lantresuo and Nilru were confronting each other, a large hand landed on Lantresuo's shoulder.

"Lantresuo!"

Lantresuo turned around and saw Leiluo's smiling face.

"You're mistaken. In our Pebble, there are only tribesmen, and from beginning to end, there have only ever been tribesmen."

"In Pebble, there's never been a saying about letting Laborers become tribesmen. If you say the wrong thing again, you'll be punished!"

For some reason, Leiluo's smile felt like the sun, warming Lantresuo's heart, and warming the hearts of everyone who saw him smile.

"After all is said and done, it's still strength that decides the outcome. Attack!"

At some unknown point, the skin of those green-skinned Orcs had all turned red, white bone spurs grew from their backs, and the ground beneath their feet was covered in broken bottle shards.