Chương 74: Chapter 73 The Warriorhearts Tribe

"Yes. This time, you will be visiting the Warriorhearts Tribe. Goldin has travelled there twice before, so he will lead the group. Karath must be among those who go." Chief Grild kindly pointed toward Uncle Goldin as he explained. Karath already knew what a bride search was. Every few years, warriors from outside tribes visited the Bloodclaw settlement, and he had also seen several Bloodclaw warriors leave to visit other villages.

Like the Bloodclaw Tribe, every nearby settlement possessed only a limited number of warriors. They could not send groups on bride searches whenever they wished, so each tribe organised one roughly every three or four years. Karath had heard that three or four settlements existed within the surrounding region, although even the nearest was at least half a day away. The destination changed each time. The important issue was not the meaning of a bride search. Karath simply had no intention of marrying an orc.

After living as one for fifteen years, he had become accustomed to their appearance. That did not mean he found orc women beautiful or attractive. From his perspective, joining a bride search was an extremely uncomfortable idea. Then he reconsidered. Perhaps the journey was not entirely bad. The name might be awkward, but no law required him to spend the entire visit searching for a wife. Karath had already considered absorbing neighbouring tribes one by one.

He intended to continue developing the Bloodclaw settlement, and population played an essential role in the growth of civilisation. He had delayed expansion because increasing the village's size within the monster-infested forest would attract more dangerous creatures. Until he found a reliable means of strengthening the tribe, such as iron weapons, expansion remained too risky. Recently, however, the tribe had acquired drake bones. They were not iron, but in many ways they were even more useful.

Drake weapons could not be mass-produced like iron equipment. On the other hand, a larger population would provide more labour. More workers meant a greater chance of discovering mines or some other material capable of replacing iron. This journey offered an opportunity to visit another tribe and investigate how integration might be achieved.

"Yes. Karath will go." Once his decision was made, he accepted the chief's proposal willingly.

"Krahahaha! Good. Make sure you find yourself an excellent bride." Then the chief began speaking nonsense. Five days later, Karath left the settlement under Goldin's guidance. The delay existed because Karath had requested five days before departure. He had not needed all that time merely to finish engraving magic into his weapon. That work required an entire day, but it still ended within a single day. During the remaining four, Karath created another object.

It was a safeguard intended to protect the settlement if something happened while he was away. Naturally, Karath and Goldin were not travelling alone. Crossing at least half a day of the Grimwood Mountains with only two warriors would have been dangerously reckless.

"Ahem. There should be many healthy young women there, right?" The ogre accompanying them spoke while blushing. No, it was Kaden. Karath realised he had been mistaken. He had believed himself accustomed to orcs, but watching Kaden blush remained genuinely disgusting.

"Kaden, stop blushing. It is revolting." Krog, who had also joined the bride search, grimaced as he scolded him. Karath released an unconscious sigh of relief. The problem had not been that Kaden was an orc. The problem was simply Kaden.

"Ahem. Are you not excited, Krog?"

"What is there to be excited about? If Krog finds someone suitable, he will make an effort. If not, then nothing happens."

"Hmph. A brat who has never experienced romance is pretending to know everything. What about Karath?"

"Karath is not particularly interested." When Kaden turned the question toward him, Karath merely shrugged.

"That is understandable. You are both only fifteen. Children would not understand." Neither Karath nor Krog supported him, so Kaden abruptly declared victory over an argument no one had been having. Too tired to respond, Karath looked toward Buddy, who trotted along the forest path beside him.

"Hm?" The wolf was glaring sharply toward one side. Karath followed his gaze and examined the vegetation. Far beyond the undergrowth stood a massive monster.

"An Owlbear." Karath whispered after identifying it. The warriors' demeanours changed instantly. Without anyone issuing an order, all of them lowered their bodies, concealed themselves among the bushes, and erased their presence. An Owlbear was significantly stronger than a troll. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. In the past, hunting one required at least seven or perhaps ten orc warriors. Of course, by the past, Karath meant before his coming-of-age ceremony.

By the tribe's current standards, it was something else entirely.

"Heh heh. Arriving at the Warriorhearts Tribe empty-handed would have been disappointing. We have found a suitable gift." The monster was nothing more than an excellent source of protein. The warriors silently moved into their positions. Krog, Goldin, and Kurdan approached from the front. Karath and Kaden circled toward the rear.

"Haaah!" Once Goldin confirmed that everyone was ready, he shouted and threw his spear. Thud! The weapon, carved from ogre bone, pierced the Owlbear's flesh and remained embedded.

"GRAAAAAH!" The enraged monster charged toward Goldin.

"Die!" Krog and Kurdan emerged from both sides, forming a triangle with Goldin. Their drake-bone axe and club smashed into the Owlbear's flanks. Boom! Crack! The two weapons opened enormous wounds along its sides. Orc warriors already possessed strength far beyond humans. Now that they wielded weapons capable of surviving their full power without breaking, their destructive ability had multiplied. The three frontal warriors alternated between attacking and retreating.

They continued accumulating damage while keeping the monster confused. Their task was to draw its attention through agility and coordinated movement. While the Owlbear focused completely upon them, Karath and Kaden approached from behind.

"Die!" Boom! Karath shattered the back of its skull with a single strike.

"Damn it! That one was supposed to belong to Kaden!" Kaden had been one step slower and immediately began complaining about losing the final blow. Karath ignored him. This was the sensation he had missed. After spending so long trapped indoors and unable to hunt, his hands had begun itching for battle. Magic was useful, but directly moving his body offered a different kind of satisfaction.

"It feels good to exercise again." A month and a half of consistent training had been gradually restoring his former physique. His body had been restless. Breaking the monster's skull in one attack felt almost too easy, but the brief fight still released much of the stress accumulated during his research. By the afternoon, after hunting the Owlbear and travelling for several additional hours under Goldin's guidance, the group reached its destination.

"That is the settlement of the Warriorhearts Tribe." The wild forest offered nothing that could truly be called a road. Their journey had also been delayed by repeated encounters with smaller monsters.

"We nearly arrived too late." They had travelled slightly longer than half a day. A little more delay would have left them in the forest after sunset. No matter how strong the warriors had become, the forest remained dangerous at night. Orcs possessed better night vision than humans, but they still could not see clearly in complete darkness. Nocturnal monsters held an overwhelming advantage. Lighting a fire at night would have been madness, since it could attract every creature nearby.

Fortunately, Goldin remembered the direction accurately. As they approached the settlement, they encountered a Warriorhearts patrol. The warriors guided them through the undergrowth and into the village. After travelling farther inside, they reached a large house.

"Krahahaha! Visitors from the Bloodclaw Tribe? You even brought such an impressive gift. Your generosity is appreciated." Their destination was the home of the Warriorhearts chief.

"It is an honour to meet you. Goldin Bloodclaw has come as the guide from the Bloodclaw Tribe, Chief."

"Keh heh heh. It has been a long time. Moldin remembers seeing you during an earlier visit. Moldin Warriorhearts is the chief of this settlement." While Moldin and Goldin exchanged greetings, Karath quietly examined the house. The sight brought back old memories. Not memories from his human life. This house resembled the home Karath had lived in during his early childhood, one of the first earthen buildings created in the Bloodclaw settlement.

Perhaps this was evidence that the tribes exchanged more than brides every few years. After constructing the first earthen houses when Karath was eight, the settlement occasionally lost buildings to monsoon rain, monster attacks, or excessively violent children. Karath treated every collapse as an opportunity. He had never built a house in his previous life. The first structures were merely ideas brought into physical form without practical experience.

Each time one required repairs or replacement, Karath improved the design. He strengthened the walls, developed ventilation, and experimented with increasing the transfer of heat from the ondol. The tribe's construction skills improved gradually with every new house. The building before him was neither an ancient hut nor anything resembling the Bloodclaw Tribe's recent designs. It looked like one of their earliest earthen houses.

Warriors who visited Bloodclaw during a previous bride search had probably brought the idea home, and the design eventually spread here. Perhaps Bloodclaw warriors had introduced it directly during their own travels.

"It is already late," Moldin said.

"Eat well and rest tonight. Since you brought such valuable prey, everyone will enjoy a plentiful meal. Krahahaha!" Like a proper orc chief, Moldin avoided unnecessary conversation and spoke only about what mattered. When everyone followed him outside, the Warriorhearts orcs had already gathered for dinner. The women prepared food from various animals and monsters, including the Owlbear brought as a gift.

"Our neighbours and brothers from the Bloodclaw Tribe brought this prey! They have travelled far and even prepared a gift, so share our food and make certain they rest comfortably!"

"Yes, Chief!" The meal began after Moldin's speech. No alcohol existed within this primitive society. Everyone simply ate grilled or raw monster meat.

"Ahem. Do the young women keep looking at Kaden?" Kaden began speaking nonsense during the meal. Karath looked around, intending to crush him with reality. To his surprise, the young women of the Warriorhearts Tribe were indeed glancing toward Kaden. Several stared openly. Then Karath understood. Among orcs, masculine beauty depended upon the size of a warrior's body and the brutality of his face. Kaden possessed the largest physique and most fearsome appearance in the Bloodclaw Tribe.

By orc standards, he was their most handsome man. Because Krog and Karath mocked him regularly, and because Karath overshadowed him within their own settlement, that fact was easy to forget. Fortunately, Karath himself had not transformed into something similar. He had grown into a handsome warrior with the same wild features he possessed during childhood. That was Karath's personal judgement. To other orcs, he probably looked slightly delicate.

Ironically, his reputation as the village's strongest warrior and future chief created a contrasting appeal. His appearance made the unmarried women want to protect him, while his strength made him worthy of admiration. Karath found none of that pleasing. It would have been far more useful during his previous life. The Warriorhearts women continued watching Kaden, whose enormous muscles made him their ideal man. They were not the only ones interested in the visitors.

"Krahahaha! Thanks to the Bloodclaw brothers, everyone can enjoy such rare meat tonight!" A large Warriorhearts warrior stood and approached them. Not only that warrior, but nearly every man in the settlement was watching the Bloodclaw group, especially Kaden. Thankfully, their gazes contained no romantic affection. They expressed open competitiveness. They wanted to test themselves against a powerful warrior. Karath appeared to have been excluded from that interest.

"This one is Dagon, warrior of the Warriorhearts Tribe. May this impressive brother share his name?" The broad warrior approached with an easy laugh and addressed Kaden.

"Kaden, warrior of the Bloodclaw Tribe." Kaden introduced himself with an unusually solemn expression.

"Krahahaha! Judging from your build, Brother Kaden must be an exceptional warrior. Or does the Bloodclaw Tribe contain many warriors stronger than you?"

"Ahem. Kaden is the warrior with the greatest physical strength in the Bloodclaw Tribe." After giving that answer, Kaden glanced toward Karath. Orcs who considered themselves descendants of warriors disliked lying by nature. Kaden had apparently chosen his words carefully so he could tell the truth while still sounding impressive. Karath felt more surprise than amusement. The half-ogre had finally used his brain. The attention of the Warriorhearts women appeared to be accelerating his intellectual development.

"Krahahaha! As expected. Would Brother Kaden grant Dagon the opportunity to speak with his body? It is already late, so tomorrow morning would be best."

"Krahahaha! Kaden gladly welcomes such a conversation!" Kaden accepted with a booming laugh.

"Krahahaha! Tomorrow morning will be enjoyable. For tonight, let us eat! To the friendship between Warriorhearts and Bloodclaw, and so we never forget the sacrifice made by the Bloodclaw warriors!" Dagon shouted happily after arranging the duel. Something about his final words sounded strange.

"What sacrifice by Bloodclaw warriors?" Kaden noticed it as well and asked.

"The monster brought by the Bloodclaw brothers was an Owlbear. Killing such a creature normally requires seven or eight warriors. There are only five of you. It would also be impossible to kill it near your settlement and drag it here, since travelling from Bloodclaw takes more than half a day even without carrying anything." Karath raised his eyebrows. Dagon explained his reasoning with surprising logic for an orc.

"You must have encountered the creature during your journey. Since only five brothers arrived, some warriors must have died during the hunt. You chose not to mention it because you did not want us to feel burdened, but Dagon understands and honours your feelings." Dagon's explanation revealed that he was unusually intelligent. He looked close to Kaden's age, yet he had approached as the representative of the warriors.

Combined with his prominent build and apparent intelligence, Karath suspected Dagon might be the future chief of the Warriorhearts Tribe.

"We simply killed it with the five of us," Kaden said. Unfortunately, Kaden possessed no reason to consider any of that and casually stated the truth.

"Krahahaha! Brother Kaden does not need to hide the sacrifice for our sake. The Warriorhearts Tribe understands how difficult an Owlbear is to kill."

"Difficult? What are you talking about? Karath struck its head with that axe and it died." Once again, Kaden failed to understand Dagon's intention. He pointed toward the bone axe hanging at Karath's side. Silence descended over the Warriorhearts Tribe in the middle of their cheerful meal. Karath covered his forehead and sighed.