Zhao Fu looked at the Orc corpses strewn across the ground, bristling with arrows, and gave an order: pull all the arrows from their bodies, then use spears or knives to make wounds that clearly looked like they had been inflicted by Kobolds.
Of the three tribes, the strongest was, of course, the Kobold village, with four thousand Kobolds. The Goblin village came next. Though it had a population of five thousand, its fighting strength was much weaker by comparison. The weakest should have been the Elf Tribe, which had a little over three thousand people.
Since the Kobolds were the strongest, they were naturally the first ones to frame.
They began carrying out the plan they had made earlier. Duo Ke led all the Kobolds under Zhao Fu's command, dragging the Orc corpses. First, they showed themselves to the Orc Tribe from a distance. Then they dropped an Orc corpse every so often, finally leading the Orcs west toward the Kobold village.
Inside the Orc Tribe!
"Something's wrong! I saw a bunch of Kobolds dragging the corpses of many of our Orcs west!"
A few Orcs who had been guarding the village entrance suddenly ran into the tribe and shouted.
Some people didn't believe them at first. Would Kobolds dare attack the Orcs? But when several Orcs brought back the bodies, covered in wounds, every Orc was enraged. The wounds showed just how much agony the victims had suffered before they died.
Countless Orcs rushed into the tribal hall, loudly demanding to be allowed to lead a force and wipe out the Kobold village.
Inside the tribal hall stood an Orc a little over two meters tall, a totem painted across his chest. He was just as furious: Otis, the Orc Tribe's chief. But Otis also felt a growing sense of unease, because the corpses belonged to the Orcs his younger brother, Ao Ka, had taken out earlier.
Worried something had happened to Ao Ka, Otis summoned all the Orc Warriors. Only a small number of guards remained in the tribe as everyone else hurried west.
Seeing the Orc corpses lying along the way, each more gruesome than the last, all the Orcs suppressed their rage and quickened their pace toward the Kobold village.
Meanwhile, the Kobold village went about its usual business, peaceful as ever.
Just then, the Kobolds standing guard outside saw several unfamiliar Kobolds up ahead. They were carrying what looked like a corpse toward a large tree, a little over three hundred meters from the village.
Seeing them swagger along so openly, the guards assumed they were Kobolds who had just appeared in the village and figured it was only natural they hadn't seen them before. Watching their strange behavior, one called out, "What are you doing?"
Duo Ke and a few others were about to hang up the corpse when they heard the Kobold guards behind them. The guards were treating him like one of their own, as if they were old friends or family. Smiling, he answered, "Nothing much! Just hanging something here."
Then Duo Ke abruptly changed the subject and shouted, "Our Kobold village is the strongest around! Be proud to be Kobolds!"
The guards found his words strange at first, but when they heard what he said next, they couldn't help feeling pleased. What race wouldn't be happy to hear itself praised?
The guards shouted back to Duo Ke, "That's right! We Kobolds are the strongest! Orcs, Elves, Goblins—they're all trash! Sooner or later, our Kobold tribe will wipe them all out!"
By then, Duo Ke had hung the Orc corpse from the tree. Hearing the guards, he grinned, raised a hand, and shouted, "Then let's cheer for the rise of our Kobolds! We'll become the strongest and rule over every other race! Kobolds reign supreme!"
Duo Ke had once been a chief, after all, and he quickly whipped up the crowd's enthusiasm. The Kobold guards were so fired up that they raised their hands and shouted along with him, "Kobolds reign supreme!"
With the job done, Duo Ke turned to look at the Kobold guards, who wore foolish expressions, and couldn't help laughing as he called out, "The chief gave us other things to do, so we'll be off!"
Hearing this, the guards warmly shouted back, "When you get back, brothers, we'll treat you to some wild boar!"
The few Kobolds following Duo Ke held back their laughter. The guards had no idea Duo Ke had sold them out, and still treated him like a brother, even offering him wild boar.
A little while later, Duo Ke and the others left. A breeze blew their way, carrying the scent from ahead. One guard said, "Why does it smell like Orcs?"
The other Kobold guards caught the scent, too, and all turned to look ahead. They had nearly forgotten what they'd seen earlier: a corpse hanging from the tree, which they'd assumed the chief had ordered put there. No one had paid it any mind at first. Now, unable to resist taking a closer look, they nearly went weak in the knees. They recognized the Orc. He was the fearsome second-in-command of the Orc Tribe.
Just then, Otis and all the Orc Warriors arrived at the Kobold village. Otis had been hoping his younger brother was unharmed, but when he saw the corpse hanging from the tree, his eyes bulged with rage. He let out a furious roar. "Kill them all!"
The rage all the Orcs had been suppressing burst forth at once. More than four thousand Orc Warriors surged forward like a flash flood, their pounding feet shaking the earth with thunderous roars. Birds scattered into the sky as the Orcs swept toward the Kobolds like a tidal wave.
The Orcs attacked without warning, and the Kobolds hurried to fight back. They hurled spear after spear at the Orcs. The Orcs knew they might have to face the Kobolds and knew they had spear-throwers, so they had naturally prepared for it.
They had readied simple wooden shields—or, more accurately, blocks of wood—to hold in front of themselves.
Thud! Thud! Thud!...
One spear after another shot forward with tremendous force. Some were stopped by the wooden shields, while others pierced straight through and killed the Orcs behind them.
But the spears caused only a small number of Orc casualties and did little to stop their advance. Once the Orcs charged, they were utterly ferocious, swinging their great axes and clubs with an unstoppable force that seemed ready to crush everything in their path.
Soon, the two sides clashed. Faced with the Orcs' assault, the Kobolds fought back with all their might.
Zhao Fu watched the battle ahead coldly. Lives vanished in an instant, and blood stained the ground in moments as the stench of death spread.
"Fire the Fire Arrows!"
Zhao Fu issued an order, commanding his soldiers to shoot Fire Arrows from behind the Kobold village, setting it ablaze while also killing some of the Kobolds.
Zhao Fu had to help this band of Orcs wipe out the Kobold village, because the Orcs still had to destroy the other two villages. So Zhao Fu needed to keep the Orc casualties under control and preserve their fighting strength.
The Kobolds were hit from two sides: the Orcs attacked them fiercely from the front while Zhao Fu's forces struck from behind. Caught between them, the battle became almost completely one-sided.
When the Kobold chief learned that Orcs were in front of them and humans behind, he was furious. He thought the Orcs had actually joined forces with the despicable humans to wipe out the Kobold village.
Watching the Kobolds fall one after another, the Kobold chief knew his side was doomed. He went to the village hall and chose to evacuate. Finally, he handed the City Heart to a trusted subordinate and gave him a hundred Warriors, telling him to flee with the two hundred remaining Kobolds—old and young alike. He chose to stay behind and fight to the death, buying them some time.