The night meeting wasn't only happening inside the Heart of the Sand. In the westernmost part of the continent's northern region, in a castle under siege, the food on the large dining table was almost finished. While the faces of the orcs and humans were smiling, the gaze of one of them occasionally fixed on a point in the distance.
"My friend Dimitri, would you like to share the thought that hasn't left you alone since the beginning of the meal with us?"
Bookworm had been aware of the situation for a long time, but he had known to keep it to himself until the enthusiasm of the victory won during the day faded. Now that the others were satisfied too, they needed to know the anxiety that didn't leave the owner of the castle alone.
"Bookworm, the first victory achieved during the siege we have been trapped in for a long time of course makes me happy, but I can't help but think about the consequences it will bear."
The others, who up until that moment thought the purple-robed orc was teasing their host, dropped whatever they had in their hands in the face of what they heard and gathered all their attention on the man with the goatee.
"There is a general at the head of the army besieging the castle, General Alina, who is addicted to pleasure and agony!"
After Dimitri said the woman's name, he had to stop for a while; it didn't escape anyone's notice that his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
"One of the reasons we held out this long is that she is the General besieging the castle. That bitch is also the person who killed my father and deliberately dragged us all the way here.
Thanks to the twistedness of her temperament, the Balsici Family still maintains its existence; watching us resist in despair, mourning, in the place where she trapped us is perhaps one of her greatest pleasures!"
Hammerstriker, the last among those who understood what Dimitri meant in order of intelligence level at the table, finally spilled the beans after three minutes.
"Are you saying, then, that she will take command and lead the attack after our victory today?"
Dimitri had shaken off his emotional mood during this time, and his attitude contained the calculating air of a master merchant.
"I don't think so; upon receiving this news, she won't take action directly herself. Thinking that if that happens everything will be too easy, I believe she will send her toys first!"
"So you're saying a beautiful day awaits us tomorrow!"
The person speaking on behalf of the orcs at the table where the Nameless Ten was present was Alyon's son-in-law, but as always, life was trying its hardest to prove him wrong. A shout coming from outside the castle forced the orcs, who were trying to scrape their plates clean, to jump from their spots and draw their weapons; the enemy wasn't waiting for them to completely finish their meals.
"We know you're there, you wretched orcs! Show the bravery you always boast about and come out so we can see how much of a man you are!"
"Hey meatheads, hurry up!"
"Let the strongest among you come to me, I'll tear him to pieces!"
They weren't just one person either; three different voices were challenging the orcs inside the castle. Bookworm calmly stood up and put an end to the agony of those waiting for what he had to say with bewildered looks.
"As my master said, those outside think we are one of the vagrant orc groups Jashua hired. We will not use attacks that will reveal our identity, keep this in mind!"
Following Bookworm, who entered the corridor leading to the part where the eastern walls were without waiting for an answer, the friends he shared the table with took action. The words full of harassment coming from the three people on the Mercenaries' front were never-ending, but the addressees of the insults were in no hurry.
Those who had a chance of being recognized due to their appearance covered their bodies and let their human friends take the lead and be the people visible on the walls. When they reached the place they wanted, they saw that the army besieging the castle for months had retreated all the way to their headquarters, and only three men had taken their place.
"Dimitri, who are these loudmouths!"
Bookworm possessed detailed information about his own supporters, but when it came to the enemy's deep forces, he could need the help of his friends who were regulars of the Mercenaries' Lodge.
"General Alina's three subordinates; Reckless, Arrogant, and Savage!"
Bookworm looked like he was trying to remember these names; his gazes were on the trio waiting in full gear. The three men, who resembled each other in no way, had seen them too, and their words were completely directed at the target.
"You finally showed up, you bunch of cowards. Come and have the honor of tasting death from my hands."
While his metal armor with shoulders covered in silver-gray fur shone in the moonlight, the short red-haired man who took a step forward spun his spear around once in front of him and then thrust it into the ground.
"Bookworm, this is Arrogant. He uses a spear that can store two different types of energy, and even if it isn't obvious from their appearance, his boots have been upgraded to instantly increase his speed fivefold. He is famous for making ranged attacks, convincing his enemy that he fights in this style, and then suddenly closing the distance and killing them."
After Dimitri introduced the first one to step forward from among the enemy, the burliest of them lunged forward and, swinging his mace completely covered in metal spikes above his head, started swearing. The scars of deep wounds, which his armor leaving the left side of his upper torso exposed failed to hide, gave him a terrifying air.
"Come out, you sons of bitches. I'm going to fuck you all one by one."
Every other word of his was either a swear word or related to sex, but this attitude was far from being attractive to those watching him from top of the walls.
"This is the one they call Reckless. His speed is low, but he can make attacks with tremendous impact, and his most important feature is that as the struggle progresses, he gets even stronger instead of getting tired."
Dimitri's words were almost exactly the same as what the people introducing the freaks of nature in circuses said, but none of them would be as strange as General Alina's last subordinate.
"Finally, Savage, we don't have detailed information about him. Don't misunderstand, this isn't a result of our weakness, it's because there hasn't been anyone lucky enough to see what the guy can do and live to tell the tale."
Bookworm, whose eyebrows furrowed in the face of what he heard, turned to the trio again and focused his gaze on the one called Savage. The fact that he carried no visible weapon other than his top and bottom, which looked like armor from the outside but careful eyes could tell was a fabric outfit designed to look like it, was also one of the features that made him interesting.
"If you wait any longer, I will come up to you and destroy everyone who crosses my path."
When Savage finally spoke, the distance between them dropped to twenty paces, and with a single move from Michelangelo, the new generation attack-purpose mechanical devices aimed at their targets.
"Master, what do you say? Should we use your weapons for these three people?"
The threat coming from the enemy didn't seem to affect Bookworm; instead of focusing on them, he set about looking for different solutions to the problem.
"Even though their firepower and rate of fire have been increased, since we haven't tested them enough against single targets, I don't have detailed data at hand. Especially against the three people below who are about to reach the General class, it is very difficult for me to guess their effects!"
Judging by the purple-robed orc's face falling, this wasn't the answer he wanted, but a hand landing on his shoulder would wipe away all his worry. When he turned around, he saw his father; the tattoo on his right hand was glowing, and Bookworm knew what this meant.
"Pehlivan!"
The beams of light roaming among the curves of the bronze body shining under the moonlight flowed along his bare upper body, passing the piebald pelt covering only the area where his reproductive organs were, and managed to reach the stone floor of the castle from his bare feet. While the front part of his hair falling to his shoulders ended in the middle of his forehead, the back extended all the way between his shoulder blades.
While his midnight blue eyes flashed like lightning under his thick gray eyebrows stretching above them, the cold gleam of the sword hanging on his back completed the mighty image of Alyon's power animal.
"I guess we found Savage's opponent, now it's time to choose those who will face the other two maniacs!"