Rebirth

The old man listened to the brothers' conversation without a word. Although his relationship with Granny Karom had been somewhat strained over the past two years because of Solam, he still had absolute confidence in the old woman's skills. With her taking charge, there shouldn't be any major problems.

For the past two years, while Solam hadn't suffered any serious injuries, minor scrapes were a daily occurrence, leading the old woman to complain that the old man was too heartless. Whenever they met, they would start bickering within a few sentences—though, of course, most of the time it was just the old woman scolding the old man, to the point where the old man was now a bit afraid of Granny Karom.

Granny Karom became very serious the moment she entered the tent. One look at Zaira's condition told her that things were not looking good; the words she had spoken earlier were merely to comfort Trick.

If the child didn't emerge soon, the mother would faint from pain and exhaustion, and that would truly result in a double tragedy. Granny Karom walked quickly to Zaira's side, took out a string of beads, and swiftly cast a Rejuvenation Spell on her. This was the most important skill for a Shaman, capable of restoring both wounds and stamina to the target. Zaira had expended a great deal of energy since the early hours of the morning, and replenishing it now was essential to prevent her from collapsing from exhaustion. At the same time, Granny Karom cast a Soul Prayer to restore the mother's spirit. Beyond that, it would depend on the mother herself; after all, magic was not omnipotent. At this moment, all that could be done was to offer comfort, encouragement, and cheers.

"Keep going, Zaira, the baby is almost out. This must be a strong child. You've always loved children, haven't you? Deep breaths, yes... push with the contractions, don't rush." Granny Karom held Zaira's hand. The old woman was very experienced; she knew the mother needed to push in intervals and take time to catch her breath. Otherwise, if her stamina drained too quickly, she would not only risk exhaustion but also fainting. One had to realize that childbirth was incredibly painful, and without a moment to rest, it was easy to lose consciousness from the agony.

Zaira followed Granny Karom's instructions, gripping the old woman's hand tightly, taking a deep breath, and beginning to push once more, while that indescribable, intense pain surged again.

"Ah..." A series of shrill cries escaped her lips. One must understand that as Avalon Orcs, even the women were excellent warriors, and Zaira in particular was a skilled hunter back in her homeland, the Frost Snow Land.

(Frostblade Land, north of Avalon, the settlement of the Frostblade Clan. It only has winter and spring, and the Frostblade Clan lives a nomadic hunting life there.)

That such a strong woman could not endure this agony showed just how terrifying this pain truly was (in fact, every woman who has given birth possesses a specialty in enduring suffering).

Outside the tent, Trick heard his wife's screams and felt his heart in turmoil, yet he could do nothing to help. He could only pace back and forth outside, wringing his hands. Karut kept trying to comfort his younger brother; he knew his brother was over thirty, and since it had been so difficult for Zaira to conceive, he naturally cared deeply. He had experienced this feeling himself, so there wasn't much to say, and he could only repeat the same few words of comfort—he was just not good with words. As for the old man, although he had been through such experiences a few times in his life, when it came down to it, he couldn't help but feel tormented. However, he didn't show it on his face, remaining silent, his one eye narrowed as he stared at his second son's tent.

Finally, around noon, when smoke began to rise from the chimneys of the various tents, a loud cry from an infant rescued the three men outside from their torment. The three grown men immediately fixed their gazes intently on the tent flap.

At this moment, Granny Karom walked out, holding an infant wrapped in thick furs, and pulled back the curtain. "Congratulations, congratulations! Trick, you brat, you better thank Zaira well for giving you a big, fat boy." As she spoke, she handed the child to Trick.

Trick was still as if in a dream, trembling as he carefully took the baby from Granny Karom's hands. Knowing that for an excellent hunter, a steady hand was the most important thing, one could imagine how agitated he was at this moment.

"Thank you. Thank you, Granny." His voice was a bit hoarse. Trick held his son as if he were holding some priceless treasure, terrified that a single careless move might hurt the infant in his arms. Perhaps it was much colder outside than in the tent, for the baby, who had been quiet just a moment ago, immediately began to wail. Trick's body jolted, as if he had committed a grave error, and he hurriedly looked toward Granny Karom. "What's wrong... Granny?"

Granny Karom chuckled as she took the child back from Trick, tightened the furs around the baby, and rocked him gently. The child stopped crying immediately. "It's nothing, babies are like this when they're just born. Listen to how loud this cry is! He's got plenty of strength and is very healthy; he'll surely grow up to be an excellent warrior."

"Heh heh heh." Hearing this, Trick scratched the back of his head and just kept grinning foolishly. So, this "poker-face" could actually smile; however, combined with his ferocious face, the smile was truly hard to compliment.

"Stop grinning like an idiot, it's time to give this little guy a name." The old man, face full of smiles, slapped his second son on the back of the head. Then, he leaned in toward the swaddled infant with a beaming face, carefully opening the furs to check the child's little "bird," and his smile grew even wider. However, the little guy didn't give the old man any face and immediately started crying again.

Granny Karom quickly tucked the furs back in, didn't give the old man a pleasant look, and turned to lecture Trick.

"Don't just stand there grinning, go inside and see Zaira. She's suffered a great deal." With that, she ducked back into the tent, ignoring the old man entirely, leaving him feeling rather awkward.

"Ahem, let's go, let's go inside and see Zaira. She's made a great contribution." He said sternly to his two sons; the old man had no way to deal with Granny Karom, but he still held plenty of authority over his own sons.

Inside the tent, Zaira lay on the bed, covered in sweat, on furs that had just been changed to clean ones. Although she was still very weak, the smile on her face could not be hidden. The women around her were busy congratulating Zaira; these were the women of the clan with experience in childbirth who had come to help since before dawn.

Just then, Granny Karom walked in with the baby and handed him to Zaira. Zaira took the child carefully, her maternal expression shining through even her exhaustion.

Following them, the men of the family entered. The eldest son immediately hurried to thank each of the women who had come to help. At the same time, he handed out small leather pouches filled with cheese and dried meat as tokens of gratitude, placing them into the women's hands—this was the proper custom. The Orc women didn't decline and accepted them directly; interactions between Orcs were always straightforward, without so much empty courtesy.

The old man also walked over with an air of authority, looking at his son and daughter-in-law. "Have you thought of a name for the child?" This was a rhetorical question; despite the old man's lack of talent for naming, he loved doing it. Since this was his own grandson, he naturally wouldn't yield the task to anyone else. Trick and his wife, of course, had no objections—it was just a name, if their father liked it, let him pick it. So, they both shook their heads.

"Hmm, let's call him Iluter. Yes, let's go with that name." The old man had clearly given it some thought; it was much better than the way he had named Karut and Krum.

"Iluter." Zaira repeated the name a few times and felt quite satisfied. One had to know that Iluter was the surname of an ancient Orc hero who had died in the war against the demons. She hugged little Iluter, "Little Iluter, from now on, you are Iluter."

The group naturally offered another round of congratulations and blessings. However, Granny Karom felt that something was missing, so she looked around. "Where is Ram? And where is Krum? Where did they go?" Granny Karom mentioned that she felt something was off; why were Solam and Krum both absent at a time like this? As she spoke, Granny Karom looked at the old man. The old man was stunned by this and immediately asked his second son, "Second, where are Ram and Ak?" For the past two years, Solam and Krum had been following Trick. When Trick heard this, he was also stunned and immediately looked at his older brother, "Big Brother, where are Ram and Ak?" Trick remembered that he hadn't had the heart to watch the two half-grown boys, so he had left them in his brother's care.

Karut, suddenly hearing this, was also taken aback. "They said they were going to find something to help Zaira recover her strength. I thought they went to Granny Karom's..." Seeing the look on Granny Karom's face, Karut couldn't continue. It was clear the two boys hadn't gone to Granny Karom's at all. When Granny Karom arrived, it was the most critical moment, and Karut hadn't asked then, assuming they were still at Granny Karom's house and hadn't followed. "Maybe they went to play at someone else's place," Karut said uncertainly.

"I did see Ram and Krum," the neighbor, Aunt Agna, said at this moment. "I saw them heading outside the camp. I was in a hurry to come and help, so I didn't pay much attention."

"Eldest, quick, go and check if their bows and arrows are still in their tent." As soon as the old man heard these two idiots had run outside the camp, he knew this wouldn't end well. (Forgot to mention, Avalon Orcs have their own tents after the age of 5.)

Karut ran out immediately upon hearing this, and after a while, he returned in a hurry, his face looking rather grim. "They took their bows and arrows."

The tent fell into a sudden silence.

After a while, someone said, "They wouldn't have gone into the forest, would they?"

Upon hearing this, Granny Karom couldn't sit still. She pointed directly at our Chieftain Kramsh and scolded him, "You old bastard, how could you let two half-grown boys go into the forest at a time like this? If anything happens to Ram, I will never be done with you!" Hearing this, the old man felt very wronged—he hadn't told them to go to the forest! He felt he was being made a scapegoat.

The old man thought for a moment and immediately knew what to do. He shifted the blame quite cleanly: "Eldest, you bastard, weren't you told to watch the kids? How did they even think of going to the forest?"

Karut was hit by the crossfire. But before he could say anything, trouble arose with Zaira. Zaira had been half-reclining, but upon hearing that Ram had run off to the forest, she sat up abruptly. The excitement, combined with her already weak state, caused her to faint the moment she sat up.

At that moment, the tent was filled with the sound of Granny Karom scolding Chieftain Kramsh, Chieftain Kramsh scolding Karut, the comforting voices of the crowd, and the gasps of alarm at seeing Zaira faint. It was utter chaos.