While the man whose limbs had lost their function stood there listening to the conversation, a messenger mechanical swallow rose behind him, but this time it was forced to land before it could even travel two meters.
"What a weird friend you are. How many more mechanical swallows are you going to pull out of your ass?"
Nafız wasn't looking for an answer; that was evident from the kick she planted right in the middle of the commander's mouth.
"You've fulfilled your role in the story; thanks to you, they'll know us and the others as vagrant orcs hired by the Hell Realm. I think you deserve a thank you!"
The moment her words ended, the commander's head fell to the ground; the Blood God's way of thanking him was offering him a painless death.
"Take whatever is useful to you and burn the rest! Make sure there's absolutely no evidence left to give away who we are!"
The ten druids scattered in different directions and began to search the lifeless bodies, the tents, and the barracks where supplies were stockpiled. Thanks to Bookworm, they had a fair amount of information about the enemy line, but the task of searching the tent where the commander had been was still left to Nafız.
"What do you expect from a small border defense unit? Look at this, just a few knick-knacks and useless men!"
The red-haired orc warrior's work didn't take long; not even five minutes had passed before she grumbled and tore the four-cornered tent to pieces. In contrast, the Elemental Ten conducted a feverish search for half an hour, looking under every stone, and gathered the items they believed would be useful into the ring possessing an interspatial dimension that their leader had.
"Hurry up, you hoarders!"
Nafız, who had been able to remain patient for a while, was reaching her limits, and seeing her state, Alator gave his order without waiting any longer.
"Burn it!"
Although his green robe, snow-white skin, long hair, and cold-blooded stance screamed that he was a druid, the attitude he adopted while giving this final order screamed "I am an orc". His three subordinates weren't to be outdone; using the flames that practically erupted from the magic circles appearing at the tips of their staffs, they left not even a single ash of the Mercenaries' border unit behind.
"This was just a small border unit, and our work is just beginning. Things will get more brutal day by day; you'd better keep up like you did today!"
While the Blood God returned with confident steps among the dense trees they had emerged from an hour ago, the Druids looked at each other and raised their staffs.
Two of the three teams that had entered the Mercenaries' Lodge had begun carrying out their assigned tasks, but one team had not yet completed their advance through the desert sands. While the cloaks they wrapped tightly around themselves prevented the sand grains from eroding their bodies, Wind of Death, walking at the front, shouted to make her voice heard amidst the desert breezes.
"A sandstorm is coming, we need to find a place to hide!"
Hearing their commander, who overshadowed the other ten orcs with her imposing presence—though not quite as much as her father—the Elite Ten spread out in a circle and began looking for a place to take shelter.
"How many storms does this make? We can't advance properly!"
Soul Stealer was talking to the female orc leading their eleven-person team, and the expression of frustration on her face was clear enough to be seen from a hundred paces away. Even though a few days had passed since they set foot on the desert sands, they hadn't been able to make an inch of progress due to the sandstorms that could break out at any unpredictable moment.
They could find their direction, albeit with difficulty, thanks to the map given by Bookworm and the markers that never disappeared no matter what, but when it came to advancing toward their desired destination, they couldn't be said to be very successful. They failed to find a place to hide this time too; when nine members of the Elite Ten returned, they had nothing in their hands.
"Number nine, get ready. We have to use your power to protect ourselves once again!"
Soul Stealer didn't order, nor did she request; she just stated what needed to be done, and without a moment's delay, her subordinate used the ancestors' blessing shield to create a protective area encompassing the eleven people. They sat down to reduce the pressure the sandstorm would create on the shield, and the equipment passing a finger's breadth above their heads took on a shape resembling a flattened dome, meeting the first grain of sand whipped up by the crazy winds.
Then harder, and then much harder blows began to rain down on the shield, which was losing its brightness moment by moment. Number nine was continuously channeling energy into the shield he gripped with both hands. His equipment wasn't like the first day he got it, and he had to channel his own energy into it to maintain this durability.
Before five minutes had passed, the most destructive part of the sandstorm was at their doorstep. A massive wave, reaching a hundred paces in length, was struggling to tear away the shield that looked as small as an ant beneath it. The tsunami-like sandstorm would pass by in ten breaths, but if they couldn't withstand this pressure, the eleven orcs wouldn't be able to escape being swept away along with it.
"Hold on number nine, just a little bit left!"
The moment the Sandstorm hit its hardest was also the time when salvation was closest, and even if his leader didn't say it, number nine had learned this very well. He responded to the massive pressure bearing down on his shield with a roar; it was as if he was saying, no matter how mighty you are, I will not bow down to you.
And he truly did what he said. When his shield returned to its original state and the scorching rays of the sun touched their skin, the sandstorm was far away.
"You did it, number nine, you withstood the biggest sandstorm so far too."
When Wind of Death took her eyes off the receding sandstorm and turned them to her subordinate, her intention was to congratulate him, but seeing him fall to the ground with blood leaking from his mouth, she had to change her mind.
"We're leaving, we have to reach our target today!"
Number nine wasn't in a condition to handle another sandstorm, and one way or another, they had to reach their destination without getting caught in the next one. When number three, carrying number nine on his back, took his place behind his leader, the orcs lined up in a single file and made their move to continue their journey that had been going on for days.
When the sun gave way to the moon, and the scorching heat to a bone-chilling cold, they took shelter inside a cave they found in one of the rarely seen rocky areas, and this time they were able to weather the sandstorm, which came regardless of the time, effortlessly.
When the sandstorm, their only enemy under the daylight, passed, the faces that appeared at night slowly began to show themselves at the cave entrance. Numbers ten, eight, and five were the guards for tonight, and the task of welcoming the wild beasts, whose blue blood flowing through the veins beneath their translucent skin was visible to the naked eye, was given to them.
When the first lights of the morning appeared, the front of the cavity, reached through a narrow entrance, was covered with nearly a hundred corpses, and very soon they wouldn't be able to withstand the heat and would burn to ashes. Soul Stealer took the lead and stepped outside, crushing the remains of the wild beasts with the soles of her leather boots. Wind of Death and her nine subordinates were right behind her, their faces turned toward the direction of a silhouette visible from very far away.
"We have to reach there before darkness falls. No need to hide your strength; whatever gets in our way, we will crush it and pass through!"
After Wind of Death gave her order, she stepped forward and sped up. The burly orc warrior was busy living up to the word "wind" in her name, and the orcs, not wanting to lose her trail, started running after her using their highest speed.
They didn't stop at all until the midday sun began to form red spots on their green skin. The silhouette they had seen far away in the morning didn't look so unreachable anymore, and this situation was enough to spur the unit tasked with conquering the central region, but a shadow appearing in front of them would cause them to cut their speed.
"Stop! If you want to pass beyond here, you must pay the price!"