Gavin Ward sat at his desk, maps scattered across the table, when the doctor left his tent. He sighed quietly, then reached over to pat Lina's furry head. The little half-orc girl leaned against him, her ears twitching.
"Don't worry," Gavin told her gently. "They'll be fine. Nothing will happen to them now."
Lina nodded softly, comforted by his words.
It had been two days since Gavin had taken the dozen transformed half-orc girls into custody. They were being treated, their crude devices dismantled, their wounds tended. The Ross army continued to hold its outpost deep inside orc territory, consolidating and preparing for whatever came next.
---
Orc Reconnaissance
High above, griffin riders of the Orc Empire circled cautiously. Their sharp eyes studied the strange, motionless outpost below.
"Why aren't the humans moving?" one rider muttered.
"Could the plan have failed?" another questioned.
None dared to fly too close. Even from afar, they had seen the humans' thunder-weapons roar, shredding entire orc companies. They would not risk provoking such power without orders. With uneasy glances at one another, the griffin riders wheeled their mounts and sped back toward the capital.
"We must report this to His Majesty," their leader said grimly.
---
The Emperor's Rage
In the palace at Halma, Emperor Longdan Gol sat in his private study, surrounded by shelves heavy with books—many stolen or traded from human kingdoms. Normally, he took solace in reading the words of his enemies. But today, the pages lay unopened.
A knock echoed. The door opened, and his fox-featured adviser entered, bowing low.
"Your Majesty, you summoned me?"
Longdan Gol's tusked mouth twisted. "Fox Aiqing… our plan has failed." His voice was low, bitter.
But the fox only smiled faintly. "Majesty, this was expected. Those prototypes were unstable from the start. Their purpose was not victory, but knowledge. With failure comes understanding. Next time, we will know what to correct."
The emperor's fists clenched. His voice rose like a growl. "Enough of tests. These humans dare to plant their banners inside my empire. They build bases as if this land were theirs. This is my empire! My land!" He slammed his fist onto the table, cracking its surface.
The more he thought on it, the hotter his fury burned. "I will personally lead the army. I will crush these humans beneath my heel."
---
Gavin's War Council
Far away, Gavin Ward sat at the head of a long table, his senior officers assembled. Maps of orc territory lay pinned beneath his pen.
"We will fight them," Gavin declared, his voice calm but iron-edged.
He tapped the map sharply. "We will meet them in open battle, and when we win, we will force them to the table. They will sign treaties, cede land, pay reparations."
One officer hesitated, glancing nervously at his peers. "Your Majesty… can we truly demand land and tribute from the Orc Empire?"
Gavin's gaze sharpened. "Why not? If they refuse, we march further. We strike straight for their capital, Halma. If they still resist, then we will tear down their empire from the throne. And if need be, we will find them a new emperor."
With a sudden motion, Gavin slammed his pen down onto the map. Its tip drove into the parchment, pinning the capital of Halma itself beneath its point.
To outsiders, it might have seemed madness—a mere twenty thousand soldiers threatening the fortress-capital that even the million-strong Tongsley Empire had once failed to take. But to Gavin's men, it was no boast. They knew their army's might, their weapons, their discipline. Where orcs saw iron and muscle, Gavin's men saw steel, fire, and thunder.
---
The Emperor Arms for War
Meanwhile, in Halma's throne hall, the Emperor of the Orcs prepared for war. Longdan Gol strode forward clad in full plate armor, steel gleaming beneath the torchlight. His royal guard lined both sides, halberds in hand.
"Majesty," the fox adviser said carefully, "your generals can lead this campaign. You are the heart of the empire—you must not expose yourself."
But Longdan Gol shook his head. He placed a gauntleted hand on the fox's shoulder, his eyes blazing. "I am the emperor. If word spreads that a mere twenty thousand humans walk my lands unopposed, what becomes of our honor? The world will laugh. No—this insult I will erase myself."
He growled, his tusks bared. "I will see with my own eyes how these humans die. Mobilize the legions. I march at their head."
The fox bowed, knowing further persuasion was useless.
---
Fury Unleashed
In the council chamber, Longdan Gol's wrath boiled over. "A mere twenty thousand! I will mobilize half a million. I will grind them to dust beneath the boots of my legions."
At that moment, a messenger entered, pale and trembling. He knelt, his whole body shaking.
"Well?" Longdan Gol snapped. "Have they surrendered already?"
The messenger's lips quivered. "N-no, Majesty. The humans… they have discovered an oil field within the empire. They are… exploiting it."
For a moment, silence reigned. Then, with a roar, Longdan Gol's fist struck. The messenger's body exploded beneath his blow, crushed into a spray of blood and bone. The remains splattered across the chamber floor, spattering the fox adviser's robes.
The adviser did not flinch. He only glanced once at the ruin, then turned back to his emperor. There would be no restraining Longdan Gol now.
"Humans… how dare you! How dare you!" The emperor shook with rage, veins bulging in his neck. "We march at once. I will crush them with my own hands!"
---
The March of Half a Million
Under Longdan Gol's command, an army of 500,000 orcs gathered.
100,000 Corrupted Wolf Knights, savage cavalry mounted on beasts twisted by dark magic.
50,000 Griffin Riders, their wings blotting out the sky.
350,000 infantry, hoplites wielding spears, axes, and halberds, forming an endless sea of steel.
The ground trembled as they marched. Shields clattered. Banners snapped in the wind. Sunlight glinted off countless blades until the horizon seemed aflame with metal.
Above them, griffin riders filled the heavens, so many they seemed like a living storm cloud. The very sky darkened beneath their wings.
And at the center rode Longdan Gol, fury burning in his eyes, his armor shining like a beacon of hate. He swore he would not rest until every human was butchered, their bones scattered across his empire.
"Forward!" he bellowed. "Forward to crush them!"
The orc army surged like a tide, a torrent of steel and muscle.
---
The Watching Eye
But as the vast army marched, another presence stirred.
High above the sky, a crystal sphere appeared, floating silently. Its surface was carved with intricate magical lines, pulsing faintly with power. At its center was a vertical golden eye, slit-pupiled like a predator's.
The eye opened, glowing with cold light, and watched the army below.
What it saw was no mere horde of orcs, but a storm of war sweeping toward Gavin Ward's outpost.
And in that golden gaze, the fate of both armies shimmered uncertainly.
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