Early the next morning, Lostro stayed behind in Shadra'Alor with a hundred men to keep watch over Hamia, while Zul'ra and Dakkalai led eight hundred men east along a forest trail toward the coast, searching for the Viletooth Trolls.
The Viletooth tribe had been targeted by the Witherbark and Vilebranch tribes and had been forced to take refuge near Sea-Watch Cliff on the eastern coast. Their situation was rather desperate, so when Amani held out an olive branch, their chieftain Broken-Tooth accepted almost at once, declaring that they were willing to join the Amani Empire—but she had one request.
"The Vilebranch priest Hex, that evil woman, keeps capturing my people and sacrificing them to an evil god. Our tribe is already on the brink of extinction. I hope the Amani will lend us a hand, destroy that wicked woman, and free us from this crisis." The female Troll wore a wolf-head hood that covered nearly her entire face, leaving only her green chin exposed. She looked at Zul'ra and Dakkalai with hopeful eyes.
"An evil god? What kind of god?" Ignoring Dakkalai's frozen expression beside him, Zul'ra asked the chieftain, whose face was mostly hidden beneath the wolf-head hood.
"He is known as the Soulflayer, and also as the guardian and destroyer of the Gurubashi. I know that name—the evil being all Trolls once united to fight against." Broken-Tooth hurriedly answered Zul'ra's question.
"Hakkar?" Dakkalai blurted out.
"Yes, that's the name. Hex has betrayed the glory of our ancestors. We can't let her succeed." Broken-Tooth looked at Dakkalai, who had blurted out the Soulflayer's name. Though somewhat afraid, she still nodded and offered an impassioned explanation.
"We don't have the strength to fight a god." Zul'ra looked at Dakkalai's grim expression, then turned to Chieftain Broken-Tooth. He had noticed that this rare female chieftain seemed skilled at persuasion.
"We don't have to fight him directly. Hex is only making sacrifices for now. We just need to Execute her, and we can sever one of the Soulflayer's tendrils in this world and reclaim our ancestors' glory." Broken-Tooth spoke with conviction. If the Soulflayer were truly involved, her tribe wouldn't merely have been driven into hiding—it would already have been wiped out.
"If that's all it is, then it might not be so difficult," Zul'ra said, mulling it over. Helping the Viletooth tribe and earning some reputation might not be a problem.
"You have a way..." When Zul'ra had told Broken-Tooth they couldn't fight Hakkar, Dakkalai had breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to waste time on this, but hearing Zul'ra suddenly change his tune, he couldn't help staring at him in surprise.
"Of course. We only need to take out Hex." Zul'ra glanced sideways, a mysterious smile on his face.
"But she's a Vilebranch priestess, standing atop the altar in Jintha'Alor. Are you sure we can storm Jintha'Alor?" Dakkalai asked, eyes wide. Jintha'Alor was no lesser city than Zul'Aman; in fact, its architecture was even more magnificent.
"We don't need to storm Jintha'Alor. We just need to lure her out." Zul'ra shrugged casually. There was no need to lay siege to the city just to kill Hex. Wouldn't it be better to draw her out?
"How do we lure her out?" Dakkalai felt his head spinning. The priestess wasn't an idiot. Why would she walk into a trap?
"Have you forgotten why we're here? We can lure her out of Jintha'Alor just as we did Jaka." Zul'ra moved his tusks and offered an example. Dakkalai's eyes lit up. An obvious trap would be easy to spot, but all they had to do was make it look like no trap at all.
"That's a good idea." Dakkalai nodded repeatedly. He had to admit it was an excellent plan.
"You've already met Jaka?" Broken-Tooth had been listening to Zul'ra. Her gaze shifted beneath the wolf-head hood. So these Amani had already met with the Witherbark before coming here.
"Yes, we've already met with the Witherbark," Zul'ra said, making no attempt to deny it when he saw how intently the chieftain was listening. Dakkalai looked a little awkward beside him. They hadn't merely intended to meet the Witherbark; at first, they had planned to wipe out the Viletooth. In hindsight, that plan seemed like a joke.
"According to Zul'jin, the plan was to wipe out the entire Viletooth tribe, then win over the Vilebranch and Witherbark. Many of our people hate you because you sympathize with the Orcs, whom they hate for breaking their agreement with us." Zul'ra calmly continued, paying no attention to Dakkalai's growing embarrassment.
"But..." Broken-Tooth listened to Zul'ra and couldn't help starting to speak. The Horde had indeed broken its promise, but the one who had led everyone in accepting the Horde's invitation had been Zul'jin himself. Didn't he bear any responsibility?
"There's no need to say more. The Orcs did break their agreement with us. They're reckless and brutal, and they threw away a victory they had all but won. We have every reason to hate them, but at the same time, I've seen something precious in them." Zul'ra raised a hand to stop Broken-Tooth.
"For example, unity. Our people have roamed this land, and we once knew glory, but we've also been dormant for thousands of years, oppressed by humans and Elves. When the Orcs came to this world, they swept over humans, Elves, and Dwarves at once because they were united. Their people spoke with one voice."
"Zul'jin realized that too. The banner of the Amani Empire will fly once more, and all Forest Trolls must gather beneath it." Watching Zul'ra speak calmly and Broken-Tooth ponder his words, Dakkalai couldn't help adding his own thoughts.
"Exactly. We came here under Zul'jin's orders. Chieftain, you must choose: join us on the road to glory, or keep scraping by here, unable to help even the Orcs you sympathize with." Zul'ra glanced at Dakkalai, who had hurried to affirm Zul'jin's importance, then turned back to Broken-Tooth, urging her to decide.
"I have to admit, this grand ambition has moved me. If we can truly find the glory that belongs to us, then the Viletooth will offer everything." Broken-Tooth lifted her gaze to the tall Troll standing before her and straightened her shoulders. She struck her chest with her right fist, declaring her decision.
"Remember your decision. Now, Dakkalai and I will deal with the Vilebranch tribe's sacrifices to the evil god." Zul'ra looked at the female Troll in her wolf-head hood, shoulders squared and fist against her chest, then turned to Dakkalai.
"Dakkalai, go to Jintha'Alor yourself."
"I'm going myself?" Dakkalai stared at the man who had just started ordering him around, caught off guard.
"Yes. Go to Jintha'Alor yourself. Tell Hex why we're here. Tell her to come with us and wipe out the Viletooth, then stand beneath the Amani Empire's banner. Tell me you aren't afraid, right?" Zul'ra nodded, having settled on the plan, then abruptly changed his tone and looked at Dakkalai as he asked.
"Of course." Hearing Zul'ra's words, Dakkalai's warrior pride made him shake his head at once.
Before you continue