Who Cares

"You mean to say, this Troll... is the very one who slaughtered my kin and scalped them? You killed him? Why?"

Kilrogg asked in astonishment.

The old chieftain of the Bloodfang Clan knew that Orgrim Doomhammer had demanded that Troll from Zul'jin, but Zul'jin had hidden him away, tucked deep in the heart of the Troll encampment.

Orgrim had once considered using force, but it would have been impossible to seize that Troll without sparking a conflict with hundreds of others.

And once a conflict broke out, the alliance between the two sides would truly be at an end.

Kilrogg knew that a Blademaster of the Burning Blade Clan was formidable, but he did not believe Kaldara could fight his way in and out of hundreds of Trolls, escape unscathed, and still find the time to sever the head of that murderous Troll.

Furthermore, even if he could, why would he risk so much to do such a thing? Kaldara was not a Bloodfang Orc, after all; he belonged to the Burning Blade Clan.

"Why? Ah... well... as I said before, we are one Horde, yes, that is it. We must stand united."

Kaldara spoke with noble intent, but for some reason, it always gave Kilrogg the impression that he was not being entirely serious.

"How did you do it?"

Kilrogg cast aside his other questions, prioritizing the one that concerned him most.

"This..."

Kaldara hesitated, remaining silent.

Seeing Kaldara's expression, Kilrogg suddenly realized something, and then he laughed.

Kilrogg's laugh was unsightly, for his skin was wrinkled like dried fruit peel due to his advanced age.

Yet, who would dare mock him? He was the chieftain of the Bloodfang Clan; no one had the gall.

However, Kaldara did. As a young Blademaster of the Burning Blade, he did not yet know the meaning of fear.

"You look truly ugly when you laugh, Kilrogg."

Kaldara said, knitting his brows.

"What of it? I didn't become chieftain because of my looks."

Kilrogg replied with complete indifference.

"This isn't the Troll, is it?"

Kilrogg asked.

"You... you knew?"

Kaldara asked in surprise.

"You just found a random Troll, killed him, cut off his head, and brought it to us, didn't you?"

Kilrogg asked.

Kaldara did not speak, but Kilrogg knew he had tacitly admitted it.

"Did Orgrim tell you to do this? Why didn't he discuss it with me first?"

Kilrogg felt quite curious about this.

"It wasn't Orgrim; it was my own idea."

Kaldara shook his head—this matter truly had nothing to do with Orgrim Doomhammer.

"You?"

Kilrogg's skeptical tone made Kaldara feel quite embarrassed.

"What about me? Isn't it a simple matter? You just needed a Troll's head to appease your clansmen."

"As for whether this Troll is actually that Troll... does it really matter? In our eyes, don't they all look the same?"

Kaldara said in a low voice.

"That may be so... but what about Zul'jin? Have you considered his reaction?"

Kilrogg asked.

"It doesn't matter, Zul'jin won't have any reaction. The Orcish invasion is the only chance the Trolls have had in thousands of years to return to their ancestral lands; they won't let it slip away easily."

"In other words, Zul'jin wants to avoid conflict between the Orcs and Trolls even more than we do. His previous posturing was just empty talk."

Kaldara replied.

"This is definitely not your own thought..."

Kilrogg shook his head, adamant.

"Why?"

Kaldara asked curiously—of course it wasn't his own thought, but how did Kilrogg know?

"Since when did the Blademasters of the Burning Blade Clan stop obsessing over combat and start studying the history of the Trolls?"

Kilrogg struck directly at the heart of the matter.

"This..."

Kaldara realized he had given himself away.

He was an Orc, not a Troll.

Kaldara was a Blademaster, not a scholar; he barely understood Orcish history, let alone the history of the Trolls.

"In any case, this wasn't ordered by Orgrim. I'm leaving."

Kaldara had intended to show off his intellect for once, but he hadn't expected the cunning Kilrogg to see right through him.

This left Kaldara feeling somewhat awkward, and he lost all interest in saying the many things he had originally planned to voice.

"Fine... whoever it was... he is certainly a clever fellow."

Kilrogg remarked.

"Is that... so hard to figure out?"

Kaldara felt this wasn't a difficult matter at all.

"The whole thing isn't hard to understand, but it is hard to foresee..."

Kilrogg shook his head.

The old chieftain had always prided himself on his superior intellect, yet he had been completely at a loss regarding this incident.

Kilrogg certainly did not want the Horde to fracture, nor did he want his own clan to come into conflict with the Blackrock Clan.

However, Kilrogg was old now; he could understand the sentiments of the young Orcs in his clan and their desire for vengeance.

Aging made one weak; perhaps Kilrogg was more cunning and treacherous than in his youth, but he had also become somewhat soft-hearted.

It could be said that if Kaldara hadn't brought the head of this Troll, Kilrogg wouldn't have known how things might have turned out in the end.

"Give my thanks to that fellow for me."

Kilrogg said to Kaldara.

"Forget it, I don't think he would like to hear about this."

Kaldara waved his hand dismissively, then turned and left the territory of the Bloodfang Clan.

Kilrogg stood where he was, watching the Blademaster depart until he vanished into the shadows in the distance, only then turning back to return to his people.

"Chieftain... this..."

A young Bloodfang Orc held the Troll's head gingerly, unsure of how to handle it.

"This is the murderer who killed our kin. Hang it on the war banner of our Bloodfang Clan and plant it at the entrance of the camp."

"Let those fellows—whether they be Orc or Troll—know that the Bloodfang Orcs will always pay blood with blood."

Kilrogg commanded.

"Yes, Chieftain!"

The young Bloodfang Orc's face lit up with excitement as he took a few companions and ran off to carry out the task Kilrogg had assigned him.

"Chieftain... that Blademaster..."

An elderly Bloodfang Orc felt something was amiss; why would the Burning Blade Clan do the Bloodfang Clan such a favor? They usually had no friendship to speak of.

"I know what you want to say... but do not worry."

Kilrogg waved his hand, looking up at the bright twin moons in the sky that still made his heart tremble to this day.

"In this strange world, if the Orcs want to survive and turn this place into our new home, we must be united."

Kilrogg said suddenly.