Where Do Orcs Come From?

If he possessed the power of a Titan or a demigod, Malone could take Tiffany anywhere he pleased right now, instead of making promises here that he himself felt no confidence in.

"I promise you," Malone said.

"If one day you fall into the hands of those Orcs, and I have no way to rescue you..." As he spoke these words, Malone's heart bled.

Yet he forced himself to continue, enunciating every word; he needed to etch this bone-deep feeling into his memory, then use his life to prevent such a thing from ever happening.

"I will kill you, Miss Tiffany. I will not let those Orcs humiliate you." After saying this, Malone bit his lip hard, and a faint, metallic tang of blood spread through his mouth.

For some reason, having received this unconventional promise from Malone, Tiffany seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

A beautiful smile bloomed on her face: "Then it's a deal, Mr. Malone! However, please make sure you don't make it too painful for me!"

Looking at Tiffany's smiling face, Malone felt a wave of sorrow in his heart.

Malone was terrified of death; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to live out his days in the mountains, hiding from the potential pursuit of the Bronze Dragon.

But at this very moment, Malone seemed to understand why, in the history he knew, so many people had sacrificed their lives for loyalty, for justice, and for the future of their people and the world.

Malone did not know what a knight felt when swearing allegiance to his monarch, but he suddenly felt that in a person's life, there are always some people and some things worth protecting with one's life.

"So, Mr. Malone, can you let go of my foot now?" Tiffany asked with a smile.

"Oh... oh..." Malone scrambled in a panic, trying to take Tiffany's leg off his knee, but he was stopped.

Teron Gorefiend pressed down on Malone's shoulder: "What are you doing, Maicomarlon?"

"Let her go!" Malone was quite dissatisfied with Teron Gorefiend's actions—he was already being mistaken for a "pervert" because he kept holding the girl's foot; did this guy want to make the misunderstanding even worse?

"Actually, you look just fine like this," Teron Gorefiend said. "Keeping this injured leg elevated is good for recovery."

"Is... is that so?" Malone stopped his movements—he felt that what Teron Gorefiend said made a lot of sense; he remembered that back on Earth, patients in hospitals with broken legs would always have them hoisted high.

"What's wrong, Mr. Malone?" Seeing that the scary-looking gentleman had stopped Mr. Malone's movements, and that they had begun to converse in a language she couldn't understand, Tiffany couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"He... he says that keeping your leg elevated like this is good for recovery," Malone stammered in reply.

Of course, Malone did not forget to shift the responsibility onto Teron Gorefiend; he didn't want to be misunderstood as someone who enjoyed holding Tiffany's foot—only a real pervert would do that!

"Is... is that so?" Tiffany looked at Malone with some suspicion; the other party's shifty eyes made her feel that there was something fishy going on.

"Yes..." Malone replied in a low voice.

"Alright then!" Tiffany said readily. "If it helps my foot get better faster, then let's do that! However..."

"What is it?" Malone asked.

"My foot... is very dirty..." Tiffany said shyly—her shoes had been lost when she struggled while being captured by the Orcs, and she had walked barefoot the entire way, with dust covering her insteps and soles.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not afraid of dirt," Malone said with the expression of a "model worker."

"I... I meant... shouldn't we wash it first?" Tiffany looked at Malone strangely—wasn't it common sense to wash something if it was dirty?

"Oh, right, right, that's true..." Malone nodded repeatedly, while inwardly cursing himself for not thinking of that.

"Teron, cough cough... could you go get some water? And that wooden basin you used as a mirror for me last night, bring that too?" Malone ordered Teron Gorefiend.

"Fine..." Teron Gorefiend nodded, looking quite displeased.

"But Maicomarlon, what you're asking for will take quite a bit of effort... If anyone comes looking for trouble while I'm gone, you must run immediately!" Teron Gorefiend warned Malone, looking worried.

"Run? What are you talking about! Teron," Malone replied, eyes wide. "How could I run? Then who would protect Miss Tiffany?"

"Tch..." Teron Gorefiend had already reached the entrance of the shed, and he curled his lip in disdain.

"A human woman like that, just let her fend for herself!" After saying this, Teron Gorefiend left the shed.

"That guy Teron... if he weren't an Orc, he'd actually be a pretty decent person," Malone muttered, saying things that contradicted himself.

"Mr. Malone... was that the Orc language you were just speaking?" Tiffany asked curiously.

"Um... yes." Malone hesitated for a moment, but thinking there was nothing to hide, he admitted it.

"But Mr. Malone, why do you speak the Orc language?" Tiffany asked, looking very puzzled. "Who did you learn it from? Did you learn it from the Orcs?"

"This..." Malone didn't know how to answer, so he could only nod vaguely.

"Oh..." Tiffany lowered her head and didn't speak for a long time.

"Then Mr. Malone, do you know where the Orcs came from?" Tiffany suddenly looked up and asked Malone.

"The Orcs?" Malone glanced at Tiffany, wondering why she would ask such a question.

"Yes, Mr. Malone," Tiffany asked, blinking her eyes. "Before, when the Orcs first invaded, the people in Stormwind also speculated about their origins, but no one could ever say for sure..."

"Mr. Malone, you seem to be quite... familiar with these Orcs. If it were you, you should know where they came from and why they launched an attack on us, right?"

Tiffany was right; when the news of the Orc invasion first reached Stormwind, it had caused quite a bit of discussion.

Although the noble youths had never imagined that one day the Orcs would conquer Stormwind, those young masters and ladies whose elders were in the military always managed to get first-hand information and then show off in their social circles.

However, no one had ever been able to explain exactly what the Orcs were, why they had suddenly appeared, and why no one had ever heard of or seen them before.

Some said that evil mages had summoned these Orcs to take revenge on the humans who had offended them; others said these Orcs had crawled out from underground and were servants of an evil god.