The thick canopy and the darkness it created could not hide Ed as he dashed through the forest. His speed made him eye-catching.
The main reason was that he had nothing to hide. He also wasn't willing to see orc lives being sacrificed, especially not if he wasn't present. At least he could give them a second chance at life if he was.
'Although that depends on whether one considers reincarnating without one's old memories as a second life' Ed felt that it really wasn't but some might think differently. Regardless, Ed couldn't possibly delve into the topic at the current moment.
His first thoughts were thinking about where the enemies could have come from. The only two occasions he could think of that would make the thunder cry tribe face danger was overwhelming numbers or strong elites as they themselves are arguably considered.
He was sure that the famine made it impossible to be the former so it would have to strong elites. One hundred orcs with a strong inheritance, maybe some sort of flaming fists or stellar rock-like constitution, one hundred such orcs would be difficult for anyone to handle.
'I suppose the orcs' inheritance determines a lot about where they place' The thunder cry tribe would not be an elite without their lightning steps. Similarly, no matter how good Vorgarag's potential was if he didn't have anyone teach him he would be no different from others. If anything a little smart.
'That's good for me' Ed hadn't considered expanding sanctuary before. He had only thought to let it grow naturally. People were attracted to good places, right?
But when he thought about inheritances it wouldn't be a bad idea whatsoever to forcefully absorb the others. Of course, it wasn't like he would massacre the opposing orcs and then take their knowledge. He could give them chances to surrender along the way.
'I can't be too merciful either' Mercy is for the weak. Fundamentally the quote was down to interpretation. Was the one showing mercy the weak one? Or was it the one being pitied? Ed was believing it to be the former on this occasion.
Orcs idolized power, strength. It spoke millions to them. There were exceptions as there was to every rule but…! That also meant they could be easily blinded by power.
Taking Slug 1as an example, Ed was never able to find out the reason why he did what he did. But it could be inferred. Food was short yes, but teaming up would only make it scarcer. His ideals were likely much greater than that. He perhaps hoped to conquer the entire orc plains.
If Ed showed weakness, the orcs would think he was undeserving of his power. They would then convince themselves that it was their time to shine. That would at most be annoying but as Ed would have to often enter the system space it was best to eliminate any hidden dangers. It wouldn't do to suddenly die while researching something like the golem cores.
'The system wouldn't let them kill me though, right?' The dungeon wouldn't want its energy to be wasted but it wouldn't monitor him twenty-four seven either. The system would likely not mind the dungeon wasting its energy, however.
Ed continued considering his development plans among other things as he continued down the trail that led to the thunder cry settlement, and It didn't take him very long to finally get a glimpse of it.
The contrast of light and dark cleared and he could clearly see the blood tainted stone walls, his brows instantly furrowed with worry.
The most alarming part was that he could not hear the sounds of battle. What did that mean? That the members of Sanctuary were not present!
If one were to think positively it was very much possible that the orcs were chasing down the enemy but… the other alternative was their defeat.
Ed continued sprinting until he was showered under the sun's rays and could directly see the messy aftermath of the battlefield. It was covered in all sorts of loot.
[Damaged Crude Orc Iron Armor]
Armor poorly constructed by the sacred tribe's armor smiths. Made of Orc Iron, Iron in a crude form.
[Faulty Orc Iron Longsword]
[Refined Iron Waraxe]
The first thing Ed did was to scan the armor and weapons scattered across the ground. There two types of weapons. Some dropped from adventurers and others crafted by the sacred tribe.
Ed's furrowed brows somehow creased further. It was a bad sign to see weapons from adventurers as it meant that the orcs were likely evenly matched.
'I need to find where they came from' There were two ways for Ed to find this out. One was to look for trails. A large army moving around would leave trails, it was difficult to conceal.
The second option was to investigate where most of the encounters occurred. That would at least point him in an overall direction.
'The sacred tribe as the system calls them were defending in this side of the settlement' It suggested that when Sharog entered the fray the thunder cry tribe had already been conquered.
Ed continued walking. He headed towards the settlement's walls and climbed up them through the use of the earth. The gate wasn't too far off but Ed wanted to get a bird's eye view.
With a single glance, one could tell the attackers were not merciful. Most of the homes inside of the settlement had been trashed or set on fire. It made it seem as if they had an incorrigible grudge against the tribe.
Ed continued walking on the dry blood-soaked walls. He was rounding the area to determine where the attackers came from. Something had caught his eye, however.
[Dakgu (Wounded)]
He had managed to catch the figure of a young orc laying next to one of the burnt down buildings. To top it off the fellow was even alive.
'Dakgu... ' Ed felt the name was familiar.
'Durgash's disciple?' He didn't believe he ever personally met the thunder cry's successor. It was just that Durgash didn't miss a chance to boast about him. It reminded Ed of how a proud father would boast of a child.
'Although I can't really remember what that's like' He could take solace in the fact that he could at least vaguely remember. He likely had good parents.
Ed jumped down from the settlement walls and hurried over towards the young orc. His arrival was similarly not unnoticed.
Dakgu who was holding a potion bottle looked up with a scrutinizing gaze towards Ed who had jumped down the walls. His figure was imposing and his constitution seemed lean yet sturdy.
Dakgu did not think he stood a chance against such a person, the orc's aura that exuded strength instilled a sense of respect in him. He didn't even think to resist as he knew that if he was wanted dead his head would be rolling on the dirty ground.
"Who are you?" Still, he couldn't help but be curious. Who knew, perhaps this orc came to be his saving grace.
"I am Ed" Ed answered simply as he finally stopped in front of the orc. The bottle he had was one of the ones he made. It was an Alivio potion bottle.
As Durgash successor, Dakgu must have known in which building they were kept and dug through its ashes and rouble to find one to drink. Ed had to commend the young orc's desire to live.
"...Ed" Dakgu wasn't sure he'd heard of it. Durgash was one to handle matters by himself. It was already a miracle that he was able to learn Sharog's name. It was perhaps only possible since the meeting first took place in their tribe.
Ed ignored the child's pensive state and got straight to the point.
"How did you survive?" A good leader would be the first to put themselves at risk and fight to the bitter end. While not always true it did tend to apply to the orcs and their savage style.
"I- I…" Dakgu was a bit reluctant to say it. While at first, he had blacked out, seeing that he continued to live he likely had a chance to scamper away or hide. Ed knew it had to be one of those as he didn't think the enemies would be so merciful.
"I hid. I fell off the wall and fainted, but erm, once I woke up I hid." Dakgu chose to be frank. Ed was a bit threatening even as he simply looked down at him. He also thought that this much could be deduced so he continued.
He told Ed how the battle was reaching its climax once he finally woke up. This meant that he could sneak way unseen even as he crawled his way back into the settlement to hide inside of the tribe's secret inheritance.
He only got out of his hiding spot nearly an hour later when he was certain the enemies had left. As he had lost too much blood, he had to weakly scour for a potion and lay numbly next to the building as he recovered once he did.
"You didn't see what happened to the tribe?" Ed was now certain that things had gone awry so he asked the question with a solemn expression.
Dakgu could only meekly shake his head to reply under such scrutiny.
"Where did they come from?" Ed asked Dakgu who weakly pointed deeper into the forest.
Ed's gaze turned sharp, it was as if his eyes could drill past the wall that surrounded the settlement and look directly at the backs of the sacred tribe members. His eyes were chilling and full of murderous intent.
Dakgu felt a shiver down his spine. Those guys were screwed for sure!