Ed spent the rest of the night tending to the wounded alongside Sharog. As the treatment needed lots of potions Ed thought his blood would end up running dry.
Realistically there weren't enough injured that the situation warranted spending a whole night. The main problem was the degree of some of the injuries.
[Nag (Crippled)]
No matter how many potions Ed concocted from his nutritious blood, Nag's status never changed.
'He's not better...' Ed let out a tired breath after assessing the sleeping orc for the umpteenth time.
'It's too basic' The Alivio potion was too broad it failed to excel at a single thing. The only particularly exciting point was its ability to get rid of external injuries as well as heal injured tissue.
'My blood is not enough' The potion was not enough in its current state! That was the conclusion Ed came to.
He pondered on the way to improve it but so far all he could think to do was increase the quantity or quality of the gathered blood. He definitely wasn't planning on doing the former. That left quality.
'But how can I…?' Ed's question was cut short as he came upon an epiphany. He sent a glance past the settlement walls eyeing a potential target.
'Blurak seems to have lots of vitality' The voracious ogre had more vitality than it likely knew what to do with! Luckily, Ed was willing to lend a hand.
Ed then wracked his brain outside the barracks formulating a plan as the rising sun highlighted his cold and pensive expression.
Sharog who had yet to catch a wink of sleep didn't dare approach and only watched on from a distance admiring Ed's hardworking personality. With him, there wasn't a moment of rest.
That was until she suddenly remembered something, a certain kid had given her a mission!
"E- Ed…" Sharog didn't really want to interrupt but it wasn't as if she could simply leave things be.
"Hm?" Ed who was thinking up ways to coerce Blurak into giving him its blood was thus interrupted.
"What is it?" He asked casually. Seeing that Ed wasn't mad, Sharog proceeded to tell Ed of her brief meeting with a young orc of the sacred tribe.
"He said his sister and the other orc woman were kept near the cathedral." Sharog felt bad for forgetting until much later that day but at the same time, it couldn't really be helped. The random orc woman of an enemy tribe paled in priority to the injured of her own tribe.
"Oh" Ed found this revelation to be surprising as he had not once even wondered where all the women went. The place was run like some sort of military camp but it was still ultimately a settlement.
"Will we, Ummm, be taking them back to the settlement or…?" Sharog asked. Now that Ed had returned she found it necessary to make use of his head. She felt that the best way to avoid future failures was to both listen and learn from Ed and his actions.
"No, we will simply take a look at them. Sanctuary will be coming here instead." As they had been too busy with the injured and Ed practicing bloodletting it had slipped his mind to consult Sharog on that matter.
"Wh- what?" Sharog who heard this couldn't help but double-back her train of thought wondering what exactly she had missed. Her question was left open-ended but the answer was nonetheless a bit unexpected.
"This place is closer to the herbs and the mine as well as a third resource." Ed spoke with a thin smile. The third resource was obviously referring to Blurak.
"A third-? Nevermind! Moving again especially so far will likely not settle well with the other orcs!" Sharog hadn't considered the option since it was simply too troublesome.
Firstly, most of their fortifications and formations were at that settlement. Moving meant moving the basic magic cannons or abandoning them altogether and escorting back the batches of crystals. That was a simple matter compared to the next, however.
The Angekok tribe had already moved once which might make them unwilling to move again. Still, they were bound to be less stubborn than the original inhabitants who grew up in the settlement before Ed dared name it so.
"Do you think there is no hope?" Ed was still unaware of the brief trouble Sharog had gone through to take over the settlement. She could say there was a rebellion that had at most only been quelled at an early stage. The insurgents only buried their emotions in their hearts but if an opportunity to reclaim the settlement arose Sharog didn't doubt they'd take it.
"It is difficult" Sharog replied pensively.
"So it's not impossible..." Ed was not willing to abandon all the orcs and inhabit the sacred tribe's settlement by himself. If he planned on doing something like that he would be better off chilling with Blurak.
"Well... If it's you it should be possible" Sharog declared with confidence making Ed raise an eyebrow in concern. Was he some sort of miracle worker or...? Seeing this, Sharog started to explain herself.
"The main reason why it might not work is if their leader isn't good enough but you are more than qualified. Plus, the surviving warriors can also vouch for you." Sanctuary's orc warriors were not all on Sharog's side.
Since she knew they would take any opportunity they could to rebel and take back their home she split those in favor of her and those that weren't. Some stayed behind and others likely died in battle but not all.
Those warriors could vouch for Ed's strength. Although Sharog also felt that wouldn't really be necessary considering Ed's previous display when facing against the humans.
"That's good then" Ed would simply use transmission if they planned on staying behind. Who would ignore a voice in their head?
At that exact moment, some of the resting warriors started to wake up. The first thing one did was venture out of the barrack hoping to find whoever was in charge of breakfast.
Ed only spared them a short glance before giving out an order.
"Sharog, take some of them with you to investigate the women. While at it find some food." After that was done Ed would have to run back to Sanctuary and convince them to move out but before that, he had another important task.
To clean out his system space. If the experimental bodies died he would be in trouble.
'Hm? It seems I can't enter the system space anymore' Ed didn't find it weird but it was lamentable. He would have to readjust his schedule.
***
In its vision, was a layout. To be specific, it was its own body.
Inside its bodies were many lights of varying sizes. Each going about their own business. Some were eating, others were patrolling, and others were dying.
Yes, dying. The lights that made up itself were returning to itself. They were returning to itself at a frightening rate.
It had to think, and it had to think fast. For never before had it seen such efficiency. No, in fact, it had, it had seen such efficiency in numbers.
But how could it be? For even with numbers the disappearing lights would seem uniform and...
Now it knew.
It had processed what it had brought itself and saw the many humans that littered its body. They were ample in number and varied in strength but most all fearsome in action.
So it panicked for the situation it found itself in was beyond unprecedented.
It wanted to trash about and crush the pests that ran afoul inside its body but it knew it was not possible.
With rational thought came a calm mind thus, its panic diminished.
It had long since learned to think so it got to thinking.
…
But as it thought if found no solution suitable solution for no matter the choice it would lose something.
However, a thought had wandered in that brought it comfort. It shifted its gaze towards the life foreign to itself and tried to observe how the lives acted around it.
It had noticed that the lights dwindled around it and it awaited for itself.
…
But it had received no gain.
It was odd. It couldn't see what it wanted to see for itself had never returned to itself.
So it thought.
…
But as it thought time flew and it came to no conclusion. It was alarmed.
For it had yet to summon the foreign life but the humans had made substantial progress with their numbers.
There was no time to waste!
It whirred its body and racked its mind. It sought help from its tool to bring back life but… It felt refreshed.
It stopped in its track and thought but as its 'life' had not perished it thought nothing.
But that was odd. How could its 'life' not perish in battle?
It was too weak.
It shifted its gaze back towards the den of humans, near its pillars used to exist a sea of lights but the light had vanished without a trace of return.
But how could it be? Itself could not vanish for it was itself, no?
…
Fear crept in after the dungeon noticed this problem. it slowly perished yet it never knew it was doing so.
It panicked and sought.
It sought an answer to the problem that plagued it.
…
But the refreshing feeling returned. It was the refreshing feeling that came with the death of foreign life.
It was odd, for if its life had perished then the humans should have run amok in its body.
So it thought.
…
…
And as it thought it came to a conclusion. It shifted its focus back towards its foreign life.. It had found a likely culprit.