Cunning Overt Schemes

Chapter 62 Cunning Overt Schemes

After dinner, Lorne went with Saina to the armory to get weapons.

Just to be on the safe side, he prepared two sets of sword and shield and two spears.

If the plan goes smoothly, he will use his sword and shield to unleash his full potential.

If the orc doesn't fall for it, he'll use his spear without any martial ethics.

As for the Sanctified Moonlight Staff and Spear, since this time it is to push oneself to the limit, and there is a risk of losing it when using the Golden Cicada Sheds its Shell to escape, it will not be used.

After making thorough preparations, Lorne set off with Nelly.

Kovina expressed her desire to lead an elite team to assist in the retreat, but Lorne refused and ordered that no one except himself and Nelly was allowed to leave the fortress.

This time, Lorne didn't switch to an orc body. Instead, he swaggered out of the north gate of the fortress in his original form. After last night's hunt, there were very few orc wanderers left, and the rest dared not leave the camp.

Lorne walked all the way to the orc camp without encountering any orc scouts or even patrols.

The moon and stars are bright tonight, but the orc camp is still brightly lit.

Many wooden spike barriers were erected along the edge of the camp, with guards every three steps and sentries every five. The orcs were all on edge, clearly frightened by Neri's hunt the night before.

Dressed in white, Lorne walked slowly out of the woods and into the sight of the orc sentry.

The orcs immediately gripped their weapons and went into a state of high alert. After seeing Lorne clearly, they immediately looked around, wary of any trap.

Several orcs blew their horns, and the orcs in the camp quickly gathered in this direction.

Lorne stopped in his tracks and stood in the clearing between the forest and the camp, waiting for the orcs to gather in greater numbers and surround him.

Before long, an orc, who was much taller than most orcs, pushed through the crowd and stepped out.

[Gorak, Orc, Level 14 Warrior (Gladiator Training Level 7, Shield Warrior Training Level 7), Health 300/300]

Gorac, wielding a heavy axe in one hand and a heavy shield in the other, stopped after walking a few steps out of the crowd.

He scrutinized Lorne from head to toe, snorted dismissively, raised his chin, and said in a gruff voice in Common, which was not very grammatically correct: "Elf, what do you want?"

Lorne did not answer immediately. Instead, he calmly scanned the orcs surrounding him before finally looking at Gorac and speaking slowly in the orc language: "My name is Lorne. I was born here, I live here, and I have never harmed any orc. But you have invaded my homeland and killed my parents and people."

Lorne's orc language is very standard. Except for the pronunciation, which is not as deep as that of an orc due to his physiological structure, his intonation and stress habits are not much different from those of a real orc.

The orcs looked surprised and doubtful, but at the same time they could truly feel the grief and hatred that the elf in front of them felt from losing his loved ones.

The orcs began to whisper amongst themselves. Some discussed why the elf could speak orcish so fluently, while others speculated whether the elf might be the mysterious butcher from last night.

Gorac's contempt lessened somewhat. He slammed his heavy axe against his heavy shield, producing a deep, resounding thud that silenced the orcs.

The orcs immediately stopped their whispering and all looked at the chapter leader.

Gorac cleared his throat and said to Lorne, "Are you seeking revenge?"

Lorne nodded, took a deep breath, and then shouted loudly, "Mogo-Kshaka!"

The forest fell silent in an instant.

The wind stopped, and the leaves ceased rustling.

The orcs were all stunned.

When they came to their senses, they looked at each other, unsure how to react.

Until one of the orcs let out an excited roar: "Mogo-Kshaka!"

'

The crowd erupted in cheers. The orcs raised their weapons high in one hand and pounded their chests with the other, or banged their weapons against their shields. Their rhythm quickly became unified as they shouted in unison, "Mogo-Kshaka!"

'

"Mogo-Kshaka!"

,

"Mogo-Kshaka!"

'

The roar was like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami spreading in all directions, startling the birds in the forest and causing small animals to scatter in all directions.

At the confluence of these turbulent waves, Lorne stood proudly with his head held high, a slight smile playing on his lips.

His plan succeeded.

At the same time, Gorac frowned, his expression grave.

As the leader of the First Battle Group, he was not a muscle-bound brute.

It was precisely because he was intelligent and calm that Gorgon allowed him to lead the First Warband to build the siege camp first.

He now understood the true purpose of the elf who spoke fluent orcish, and just how cunning he was.

He knew perfectly well that he, and indeed the entire First Warband, had completely fallen into the trap set by the white elf.

If all the orcs in the First Warband were from the clan he led, he might be able to expose the guy's trickery, get the orcs to obey orders, and use their numerical advantage to surround and kill the elf.

However, in reality, the First Warband and all the orcs involved in this war of aggression came from dozens of clans of varying sizes.

The time was too short; he simply didn't have enough time to establish sufficient authority.

Coupled with the assassination of the Mechanist and the near annihilation of the scout force last night, his leadership is now in grave danger, and all the orcs are privately questioning his abilities.

Therefore, he was well aware that even if he revealed the truth and exposed the elf's trickery, the situation would not improve.

On the contrary, given the elf's cunning, he would use this to his advantage, claiming that he was cowardly and violated orc traditions, thus completely losing his prestige.

So now I have no choice but to play along and have a Mogo-Kshaka fight with this elf.

On the bright side, if he could kill this elf honorably in Mogo-Kshaka...

In that case, not only could he eliminate a very dangerous enemy before the battle even began, but he could also redeem himself, make amends, and regain his position as the leader of the First Battle Group. This would allow him to establish enough authority to silence those who privately questioned him.

Thinking of this, the corners of Gorac's mouth curled up slightly, and his gaze toward Lorne became intense.

Lorne had been carefully observing Gorak's every micro-movement and micro-expression since the beginning.

Now he was certain that the last orc here had also fallen completely into the trap he had woven.

Amidst the roars of the orcs, Gorak strode forward and took his place at Mogo-Kshaka's ceremonial position.

This move immediately fueled the orcs' clamor.

Gorac tapped his shield with his heavy axe, indicating that he had something to say.

The orcs quickly quieted down and retreated, expanding the area to the standard size for the Mogo-Kshaka, with a diameter of 20 meters.

After the arena was set up, Gorac planted his heavy axe head-down at his feet, straightened his body, clenched his right fist, and punched his chest twice, neither too hard nor too lightly. He then spoke in a gruff Orcish voice: "Gorak, son of Goururu, the strongest warrior of the Blackblood Clan, commander of the First Warband of the Orcish Horde, accepts the challenge of the elf Lorne to perform the sacred and glorious Mogo-Kshaka according to Orcish tradition."

""

As soon as the words were spoken, the orcs erupted in a frenzy once more, shouting in unison, wave after wave: "Mogo-Kshaka!"

"Mogo-Kshaka!"

"Mogo-Kshaka!"

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