When the leader of the Elite Ten used her totem, which was a blessing of the ancestors, the spirits emerging from it belonged to wild beasts. The bone warriors of Sheikh of the Holy Bone Sect Hueso were simple beings focused on dealing physical damage, and there was no need for her to use the high-quality spirits trapped in her totem for them.
Just as her subordinates following her commands had fallen back when she made her move, the Elemental Ten and the Orc Military Academy graduates also cleared the stage, leaving the show to her. They stood on their guard as ten thousand spirits melted down the bone mountain, but the seriousness they had at the start of the battle was gone, replaced merely by an instinct to stay sharp.
Sure enough, before long, within half an hour, the mountain completely vanished, and a snow-white path appeared on the ground. The totem slowly shrank and shrank, and when it reached a size that could fit in the palms of the orc named Soulstealer, it flew back to its master.
"We can advance!"
Nafız gave her order without wasting time; the others were sensitive to her because of her actions earlier in the day, and the Blood God was well aware of this. They advanced for a while, but the scenery didn't change at all; every meter of the misshapenly carved path was almost identical to the other.
Hours chased hours, and the march continued without stopping. The squad had no intention of taking a break; they kept walking on the flat path that seemed endless until one of them yelled.
"Halt!"
The voice came from the direction where the ten green-robed people were, and he yelled so loudly that the other two ten-person groups were forced to take a battle stance.
"Finally, one of you managed to wake up. For a moment there, I thought you were never going to make a move!"
Leaning her back against a stalagmite two meters above the ground, Nafız spoke while rolling her eyes. Clearly, for her, the action of the Elemental Ten warrior was way overdue.
"We are in an illusion; we have been going in circles in the same place for a while, hell, we might not even be moving at all!"
The leader of the druids, who were more sensitive to energy than the orcs, gave his signal after briefly summing up the situation they were in, and his nine subordinates moved in different directions. His explanation was brief, and he immediately sprang into action; even though this was a perfectly natural action for the other orcs, Nafız and Alyon's gazes were fixed on the ten people.
The transformation of the druids—who used to hide in the shade of the tree on the Savage Swamp continent, knowing nothing but patience other than talking—within a short span of ten years had practically mesmerized the duo. Mankind was exactly this kind of creature; when they started sinking to the bottom, they would go full throttle, but if they somehow managed to lift their heads, for better or worse, the possibilities were limitless.
"Complete the formation."
After the moon-skinned Elemental Ten Leader, whose white hair reached almost down to his waist, gave his final order, he stepped aside and started watching the magic circle formed by his nine subordinates like the others. After slamming his staff into the ground right in the middle of the magic circle, which contained a straight Pentagram inside, the druid warrior began to chant magical words using a language the onlookers didn't understand.
His other comrades followed him; all of them slammed their staves into the earth, repeating the words of the druid in the center. Even though thirty breaths passed, there was no change, but the druids didn't shut up for a single second.
First, their staves started glowing; each reflected the gleam of a different element, and the energies they transferred into the earth intertwined, defining the borders of the magic circle. Colors danced on the dirty, mottled ground, altering the places they passed over in a way that would never be the same again.
As the circle began to expand, the marks formed in the first moment became more clearly visible; the magic circle remained where it was, but the energy it created continued to advance, expanding by a step with every breath.
Before long, the energy carnival, expanding enough to encompass everyone within the Raiders group, breathed life into the dingy and damp hollow. Red lizards, yellow turtles, blue fishes, and green birds roamed freely in energy form, as if they were in a completely different dimension, in another world ruled solely by energies.
When the orcs wanted to touch them, they fled, then circled around their bodies as if nothing had happened, and this cycle repeated every single time.
"Illusion, break!"
Without exception, everyone was having a good time, but they had reached the end of the time they could mingle with the energies of the world because the druid warrior managing the formation had decided to destroy the trap they had fallen into.
The energies, having taken the forms of various animals, dissipated at that moment and began gathering by entering the marks on the ground until they vanished from sight, erupting like a volcano. Now, the inside of the cave was a captive of the same dirty gray, and this didn't seem to sit well with anyone.
"Even though you turned your backs on the teachings of your ancestors, your connection with the elements is at least as strong and fluid as theirs. I guess I can say you aren't walking down the wrong path!"
Thanks to a dungeon she entered on the Savage Swamp continent, Nafız had gotten the chance to see the old days when the Orc-Druid Empire ruled the world, and comparing it now, she couldn't see much of a difference between them.
"Blood God Nafız, your words bring pride to me and the members of the Elemental Ten. As you said, we turned our backs on the teachings of our ancestors, but we never denied the power that belongs to us, we are simply trying to keep up with the changing times!"
The Leader of the Elemental Ten was as calm as the surface of a clear lake, and his words were as pleasing as the winds blowing in spring. After looking him up and down, Nafız remained silent for a few breaths, but her eyes, darting left and right, told that something was coming.
"Clearly, you've managed to see what I've seen too. Then tell me, what exactly did you mean when you said we are trying to keep up with the changing times?"
There was a mountain of difference between the druid warrior, who managed to maintain his composure when the Blood God directed a question at him, and the orcs who were tripping over their own feet. He wasn't indifferent; on the contrary, the sharpness of his gathered gaze made it clear, but it was impossible to see traces of fear or panic in his body language.
"The most glaring difference between the era when our ancestors lived as they pleased and ruled over others on the World of Six Civilizations and the time we are currently experiencing is the state of the orc society!"
After taking a brief pause, the druid warrior looked at the faces of the orcs turned towards him one by one, then continued speaking.
"Your ancestors were extremely powerful relative to the era they lived in, thanks to the advantages provided by centuries of continuous experience, power, and the transfer of lineage power, as well as the fact that the human race wasn't as developed as it is today.
Because many of the newborn orcs came into the world familiar with, and sometimes possessing, the skills their parents had, an almost endless pool of warriors was formed. There were more than enough resources to do the attacking, and my ancestors chose to take on the supporting role for themselves.
Unfortunately, when the tables turned for both races, the orcs lost their advantage of growing stronger through hereditary transfer. Every new generation was born weaker, more untalented, and lacking in self-confidence than the last.
The same conditions applied to my race; they did nothing but wait behind the protection they hid in, because they never felt the need to do so. Orcs were obligated to attack, and we were responsible for protecting; my ancestors only tried to do what they knew best inside the fishbowl they were trapped in.
Now the orcs are working to return to their former glorious days, the druids can protect them whenever they want and make them stronger than they are thanks to the ancestors' blessing returning to their bodies, but we, who call ourselves the fighting druids, will not make the same mistake again.
If our kin want to be shields, let them be, but we have to be at least as strong as the orc warriors so that when they fall again, we can pick them back up."
When the leader of the Elemental Ten finished his long but flowing speech, everyone's jaw hit the floor. His words had caused blood to seep from scabbed wounds, but no one could say they were lies!
"What is your name, Druid Warrior?"