Near the battlefield on the Blackstone Keep front.
A slightly chilly breeze swept away the lingering smoke. Fresh shoots of grass nodded now and then, as though savoring the clean air with its faint scent of earth.
Suddenly, a foot crushed the tender leaves and strode across the slightly muddy wilderness.
Several others followed close behind, heading toward the main camp.
They were a party of adventurers.
They had only recently joined the Mercenary Corps and were returning from a reconnaissance mission.
Apart from the teammate keeping watch in silence, the others quietly discussed the enemies they had just seen.
"...We really got lucky this time. We managed to get a direct look inside the keep!"
"Those purple-skinned orcs training there must be the Deni from another world, right?"
"Who else could they be? That famous warrior race..."
"I heard the commander and his men took a beating from those orcs before. After seeing them just now, I can believe it."
The party leader said solemnly, "The Deni, commonly known as purple-skinned orcs, are native to the Dranir World.
"Supposedly, a thousand years ago, they suffered an invasion from the Abyss and were shattered by the war.
"The two surviving tribes, the Blackblood Tribe and the Blackfire Tribe, fled with their people. Ever since, they've been a wandering race, making their living as hired soldiers fighting from place to place.
"They say that once Deni Orcs turn five, they're thrown into the forests of the endless wilderness to struggle against wild beasts, hunger, and cold. Only those who survive a year are brought back to the tribe for training.
"They're born warriors. By adulthood, almost all of them have reached at least the second rank.
"But under their system of universal military service, that level only gets them assigned to