Ork King

After feasting for two whole days, Guk returned to Blackstone Fort, followed by boyz covering the ground and sky. He had no way of telling which were White Hand's and which were Blood Fang's. Anyway, they were all his boyz now, and it was only natural that everyone wanted to check out their new home together.

Besides the boyz who had followed of their own accord, Guk had mainly brought along the mekboyz. Though Big Boom-Boom had beaten him badly, Guk had to admit it was indeed a fine weapon. Idea Bro was a lad with ideas. As long as he could make useful things, Guk did not mind giving him more resources. But before that, he had to make two hundred Big Boom-Booms. That was Guk's task for him.

During his absence, no major problems had arisen in the fort. Of course, well-behaved boyz did not exist. Since five or six Big Hoppers were chained outside Guk's room and no one dared enter, the entire tribe had undergone a highly efficient internal redistribution of property.

Naturally, the boyz who returned alive were furious, but Guk could not be bothered with that. He was currently reclining comfortably on his "stone bed," holding a large bone bowl in his left hand. Being back in his long-missed home left him utterly relaxed. After that great battle, he would not feel any particularly strong urge to fight for quite some time.

But trouble always arrived when least expected. Though Guk did not know that saying, the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar intruder still enraged him.

"Get out here!"

Leaping to his feet, Guk hurled the bowl in his hand into the shadows in the corner, snatched up the greatsword beside him, and charged over.

"Guk..."

The empty bowl clattered onto the ground. A low murmur drifted from the shadows, sounding clumsy, even mocking. That only made Guk burn with greater rage.

"Damn shitbug! Die!"

Driven by fury, Guk swung repeatedly. He seemed to have cut through something, but there were only shadows—shattered pieces of shadow.

A cold gleam sprang from the darkness in counterattack. He raised his sword to block, and the fang-like blade left marks across the sword's body, tearing chips from its edge.

Guk swung again. It was useless. Shadows, still nothing but shadows!

"Guk..."

The strange voice echoed endlessly. Once more, Guk sharply caught sight of that shadow. He spun rapidly to the right, gripping the heavy greatsword in both hands and slashing at it from the side.

The sword tip skimmed past the shadow, drawing wisps of red, while it flashed to Guk's left. Slightly curved silver fangs stabbed toward Guk's throat.

Guk kicked out like lightning, but struck nothing. The kick did force the shadow back, and he immediately pressed forward, raising the greatsword from below, ready to split his opponent in two.

Bang!

A sudden sharp crack knocked Guk's sword aside. Something struck his arm, and the pain made his fury even harder to contain. He whirled the greatsword like a storm, leaving marks across the floor and walls, seemingly unaffected by the wound in his arm.

The shadow was driven back again and again by that whirlwind, finally retreating out of the darkness. Only then did Guk realize this was a creature he had never seen before.

It was wrapped in black cloth and wore a ridiculous black hat. Short and thin, with faintly yellow skin and no fangs in its mouth. Only its eyes were different—sharper than those of any boy Guk had ever seen, radiating danger.

Yes, danger. This was the first time Guk had felt that from another being.

"Guk! I am not your enemy!"

The creature spoke. Its shrill voice made its Ork speech sound extremely clumsy. Its abdomen had already been stained red with blood. Guk was curious, but he would not easily spare anyone who dared offend him.

"Whether you are or not, I decide!"

He hacked out with his sword again. The creature was unbelievably nimble, dodging the blow with a backward leap. It quickly widened the distance from Guk, then lowered its head to glance at the wound on its waist.

"I was careless..."

After catching its breath, the creature removed a glove and gently kissed the back of its hand, where intricate patterns had been drawn.

"Your flesh and blood are with me."

As it softly chanted, those patterns rapidly faded, while the wound at its waist healed just as quickly. In no more than a few blinks, it vanished without a trace, not even leaving a scar.

"Die!"

"Wait!"

Seeing Guk coming at it again, the creature could only run to the wall, flicking a grappling line from its sleeve to hook the ceiling, then climbing along the wall and out of Guk's attack range.

"I am not your enemy! I came to bring you a gift!"

"Your skull is the best gift!"

"No, my skull is worthless, but what is inside it can get you many things! I come from the outside world. You must want to know what I have seen and heard!"

Guk lowered his sword and glanced at his left arm. There was a bloody hole there, and he could feel something inside it.

"What's this?"

"I can help you take it out. A bullet."

"Bullet... what's that?"

"This."

The creature took a strange object from its waist, seemingly assembled from metal and wood. Guk could not imagine how such a palm-sized thing had wounded him.

"What are you?"

"I am human, the most numerous civilized species in the world."

"Humans? Humans, how many boyz do you have?"

"Boyz? No, we reproduce sexually. As for our numbers, one billion? Two billion? I am not very certain."

"Are all of you like this?"

To Guk, since boyz were all more or less the same, humans should be much the same too. But if every human boy was like this fellow, then they truly were a very, very powerful enemy. Judging from their brief exchange, one of them could probably handle ten boyz without a problem.

"No, we are different from you in every way."

The creature slyly avoided answering Guk's question directly. It could already sense Guk's hostility weakening. This gamble had undoubtedly been the right choice.

"Respected Chief Guk, hanging here is rather tiring. May I come down?"

"Get down, human."

Though Guk's voice remained far from polite, he truly had no intention of killing this human, at least not for now. This was the first creature other than an Ork he had encountered that could speak. Killing it just like that would be a pity.

"Thank you. Please forgive my earlier offense. My name is Diego."

The human jumped down from the ceiling, walked over to Guk, and drew a dagger from his waist.

"I can help you remove the bullet. I also have some medicine."

"I'll do it myself."

Taking the dagger, Guk stabbed it into the wound, then calmly pried out the foreign object inside and pinched it between his fingertips.

"This thing?"

As Guk examined the conical brass bullet head, the human—Secret Guard Diego Alatriste—was also examining Guk. Though he had been observing him before, it had always been from a distance. This was the first time he had seen him so close.

"A powerful warboss, an incredible Ork, and... mysterious power."

Diego swiftly assigned Guk several new labels. At a glance, he noticed the gunshot wound on Guk's arm healing at an unnatural speed, almost like an endless Word of Rebirth.

"You seem quite good at making useful things."

Guk slipped the bullet into the pouch at his waist. Staring at the symbol on Diego's belt, he spoke in a meaningful tone.

"You have seen others like me?"

Diego noticed Guk's gaze as well, but he did not dare confirm whether other Secret Guards had "visited" this place before his arrival. His current actions were private and entirely unauthorized.

"You are the first living one."

"Is that so? What an honor."

Having received an answer that was reassuring enough for now, Diego put on a false smile. He needed to earn this white Ork's trust step by step, and that would not be easy.

"Human, Diego, what is your purpose in coming here?"

"I came with goodwill."

"There is no goodwill here, and you are still holding a sword."

"True, but my other hand is empty."

Guk laughed, his voice filled with delight. He had Grass Rope bring over wine and roasted meat, then built an enormous bonfire.

"Do all of you talk so strangely?"

"Because our way of dealing with others differs from yours. Fists are always the last means of negotiation."

This was not Diego's first time drinking Ork-brewed liquor, but its taste and kick were still hard for him to endure. Fortunately, he had taken special hangover medicine beforehand, enough to ensure he would not pass out after only a few gulps.

Yet Guk still caught the slightly unnatural expression that appeared on Diego's face every time he drank.

"That sounds rather weak."

"No, it has nothing to do with weakness. Our wars are no fewer than yours, but if we can gain greater benefits at a lower cost, why not?"

Smiling, Diego cut off a golden-brown piece from the roasting meat. He took a small metal can from his pocket, twisted off the lid, and sprinkled pale yellow powder over the meat. The scent made Grass Rope, who was turning the roast nearby, swallow repeatedly.

Guk noticed the stuff too. His sharp nose caught a scent he had never smelled before. It seemed... not bad.

"You may have some too. It is seasoning."

Taking the metal can, Guk sniffed it, then shook it hard over the roasted meat. Diego, standing beside him, could only shake his head.

"Mmm... good."

This was the first time Guk had eaten roasted meat with seasoning. Though he occasionally flavored meat with Squig before, that was entirely different from these powders. This stuff strongly stimulated the taste buds, a magical powder that made him immediately want another bite after the first.

Guk liked it very much, so he tucked the metal can into his pocket.

Diego watched it all. He had expected this, and it was part of his plan. He was well versed in history and knew how civilized nations had dealt with barbarian tribes in the past. Of course, that required the barbarian tribes to be capable of communication at the very least. Before Guk appeared, no such possibility existed among the Orks.

"Boss Guk, what do you think of your tribe?"

There was no need to throw out his bargaining chips too quickly. Things gained too easily would only stir the other side's greed and lead to more serious consequences. What Diego needed now was to help this rising tribe grow quickly, then control the direction of this war machine and send it crashing into the enemies it needed to face.

"That's our business. It ain't your place, runt."

Guk did not quite understand what this human wanted, but he knew there were no prey that lay by the roadside waiting for Orks to pick them up. If there were, it had to be a trap laid by another hunter. All he needed was to take from the other party. As for giving anything in return? He had never considered it.

"Then let me put it another way, Boss Guk. How large do you think this world is?"

"Don't know. Don't care. I go wherever I want."

"Then you should look at this."

As he spoke, Diego took a roll of oiled paper from his coat and slowly unfolded it under Guk's puzzled gaze.

"This is the Sinister Wasteland—your known world."

His gaze swept over the detailed map. Though it contained only lines and simple symbols, Guk was still deeply shocked. He saw locations marked with rock symbols, two of which even bore handprints.

"This is..."

"Yes, your tribe, at the center of the Sinister Wasteland."

Guk looked more carefully. He saw more than a dozen similar symbols. Marks for all sorts of tribes filled every corner of the massive map.

"I drew this ten years ago, and added some things this year. I thought Boss Guk might need it."

Taking the map Diego handed over, Guk's feelings became extremely complicated. Instinctively, he did not want to trust this human, but what he had brought was too difficult to dismiss. It could be said that Guk's entire worldview had been overturned that night.

"The Sinister Wasteland is boiling. Nowhere is safe. Every boss is building up his strength. An age of chaos is about to arrive, and only the victor will remain standing in the end."

Diego stared into Guk's eyes and said each word slowly:

"I can help you, Ork King!"