Land of Demons

10

Hadjar didn’t listen to the rest of their conversation. Out of habit, he shook some of the ash from his pipe onto his palm, smeared it with his fingers, and then tossed it into the air. The wind picked it up and carried it off somewhere in the direction of the southeast. The senior officer noticed his gesture, which was unique to professional soldiers.

“Who are you, young man?”

Hadjar almost laughed. He was five years older than her, but appeared to be twenty due to the dragon blood in his veins and his level.

“Where did you serve?” The Spirit Knight added.

The trio looked at Hadjar in surprise. They’d already pegged him as an outcast from some great clan that had run away from the world of martial arts.

“On the far border,” Hadjar replied, not lying, but not saying the entire truth either. “There will be no battle today.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Commander!” The Spirit Knight saluted.

The three disciples bowed stiffly, more out of respect for the man’s high level of cultivation than because of his status.

Hadjar also tried to bow, but the Lord stopped him with a wave of his hand. In his current state, Hadjar didn’t look like a strong Heaven Soldier. Of all the people present on the wall, only the three disciples knew his true power.

“Do you know the orcs well enough to claim that they’re just out on a walk?”

Hadjar didn’t respond. He was well aware that everyone was nervous. Even with the commander’s experience in battle, he had probably never taken part in a real war. Unlike Hadjar, who had been involved in several of them.

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

 Glittering spearheads began to appear on the horizon. Hundreds, no, thousands of spears rose to greet the dawn. They were held aloft by creatures whose very appearance inspired a kind of primal awe. They seemed at once like the greatest of predators and the mightiest of hunters.

The creatures had red skin and rode black, gray, and white wolves, each of which was the size of a horse. As for the orcs themselves, even the smallest among them were six and a half feet tall. Those that stood out were ten feet tall and even taller in some cases. It wasn’t surprising that such giants, who also possessed skin and muscles as tough as iron, didn’t need armor. Instead, they wore pauldrons that barely covered their broad shoulders, and belts to guard their solar plexus. They wore traditional clothing made from leather and hides rather than artifacts. Their long black hair was adorned with eagle feathers, and how many feathers they had depended on the orc’s status. The largest and most ferocious-looking one of them had more than a hundred such feathers.

Stopping a mile from Boltoy, the orc leader jumped off his mount. Swinging his spear over his head, he drove the blunt end of it into the ground. Hadjar felt the walls of the fort shake.

“Get ready!” The Lord signaled with his hand.

Then the orc opened his mouth. His lower fangs, long enough to touch his cheeks, glinted in the sun.

“TALK!” He roared.

   

The commander of Fort Boltoy and the senior officers went to greet the orc army. They’d dismounted and were now walking alongside their wolves. Several orcs, including their leader, went ahead. The two groups met in the middle, right between the army and the fort.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Irma whispered.

“I don’t think it’s anything good.”

Derek nodded in the direction of the orc leader, who’d let his daughter, or his wife, do the talking. By human standards, she looked like a man, but in comparison to the other orcs, she looked slender and feminine.

The commander spoke to the female orc, then turned back to the fort. He looked at Hadjar, who realized they’d been talking about him. Well, not him, but his tattoo. All the orcs were showing off the Name tattoos on their chests. The senior officer broke off from the group and, spurring her horse, returned to the fort.

 “Wounded soldier! Your presence has been requested!” She shouted up at them. “The commander has called for you!”

The trio exchanged glances and walked down with Hadjar. The senior officer didn’t seem happy about that, but she didn’t dare protest.

“Mount up.” She slapped the horse’s rump.

Groaning, Hadjar hobbled over to the horse. Azrea suddenly jumped out of his shirt, landed gracefully on the ground, and growled.

“Calm down, li-”

A vortex of white energy swirled around the cub. Turning into flames and lightning bolts, it shrank to the size of a small ball before erupting in a pillar of monstrous energy that reached the sky. When it dispersed, everyone instinctively grabbed for their weapons, staring at the beast that had appeared in front of them. Her fur sparked with lightning bolts, and her eyes glittered with white fire. The beast’s aura was at the Ancient Stage, which was equal to a peak human Spirit Knight.

“-ttle one,” Hadjar finished, his face expressionless.

Thank you, Nero — hope your rebirth was peaceful — for making me gamble so much. Hadjar was able to maintain a poker face in almost any situation thanks to his late brother dragging him to various card games. He walked up to Azrea calmly.

He’d made two steps before Azrea stuck out her tongue and licked his face. After she was done, he slicked back his tousled, wet hair. Hadjar was sure that if he hadn’t had the dragon’s blood in him, Azrea’s little display of affection would’ve scraped off his skin right to the bone. Hugging her huge neck, Hadjar buried his face in her soft, sweet-smelling fur.

“Little liar,” he whispered into her ear.

Azrea’s purr made the pebbles around her shake. She rested her huge head on Hadjar’s back and rubbed her cheek against him. She didn’t look like a fearsome beast that could destroy half the fort’s garrison on her own, but like an affectionate, playful pet. Moving away from Azrea, Hadjar looked into her eyes. Despite her great power and immense growth, he found the same kind and loving cub that had saved his life many times in them.

“I’m the one who should be taking care of you, not the other way around,” Hadjar smiled, stroking her chin.

Azrea yawned, as if saying: “You’re such a bore.”

Hadjar laughed. “Don’t think this is the end of our conversation!”

The tigress lay down on her belly and tilted her head to one side. I’ve heard that one before . Her tail slapped the ground and then her own back.

“Well, if you insist.” Hadjar smiled.