Renekton Dune was the name given to the desert area northwest of the Dark Jade Forest. This arid and inhospitable habitat was the birthplace of the orc tribe, a species that evolved from ogres but were distinguished by their porcine features. They were the most numerous race in the forest, numbering more than two hundred and fifty thousand individuals.

  However, what seemed like a wartime advantage turned out to be a source of great discord. Since the dawn of their history, the orcs had barely survived in their own land, subsisting primarily on the fruits of hunting and raiding, rarely on crops—since growing anything in that godforsaken, arid land was virtually impossible.

  Like their troll cousins, the orcs were also united under a single King. The last one whose name was known was Gherdmiude, a capable warrior and benevolent leader, born with the gift of “Flesh for Blood.”

  Typically, humans and demi-humans could be born with an innate talent, conveniently called a gift or talent. This was extremely rare, but not impossible. In the Empire of Nexia, the infamous El Kaiser was known to have a gift that allowed him to quickly master any weapon. Among the demi-humans, the only known gift was the infamous Gherdmiude, King of the Orcs, born with an ability that allowed him to regenerate any superficial wound if it were wet with blood. Of course, this did not eliminate pain, much less the possibility of death, but it allowed the ruler to continue feeding his people using his own flesh.

  From the will of his good heart, the King always tried to help his subjects, especially the weakest, to survive. He hated having to bury the bodies of children who had died of starvation even more than he hated doing so for soldiers who had died honorably in battle.

  The King often wandered through those desolate lands, searching for lost children or those in need, always faithfully followed by his son Gherd, who had inherited his humility and empathy. Living conditions were so miserable that none of them would ever dare mock another living being.

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  "Father."

  The orc prince began, his voice serious.

  "The tremors have intensified considerably recently. Do you think the Sand Crocodile has awakened?"

  Young Gherd's words revealed his concern. In that forest, there were not only monsters and demihumans, but also legendary creatures—such as the Sand Crocodile and the Water Cerberus, or even the infamous Strongwind Dragon, protector of the place.

  "I don't know. I just know that prey is dwindling and hunting is scarce..."

  The King replied coldly, surveying the desolate land before him. There was nothing but barren, uncultivable land and dead trees. In the distance, a sandstorm could even be seen, a sure sign that Renekton was out there somewhere, wreaking havoc. That crocodile had been going mad for some reason for years now.

  "Maybe we should attack some goblin villages? Or those of the lizardmen?"

  "You know I hate doing that. It's not fair to take away from others what little they have just because we're in this situation."

  "But, Father! Our people are dying!"

  Gherd roared, also disgusted by the words he was about to say.

  “Maybe we should think about moving to Lake Nasus and-"

  With a wave of his hand, the King quickly silenced his son, telling him to listen; tears could be heard in the distance. A little further ahead, hidden behind a rock, was a little girl. From the looks of it, she looked about ten years old, but it was obvious that she was an ogre's baby, as she lacked the features of a pig, despite having the same greenish skin as an orc.

  A little girl?

  It was not uncommon for minor tribes of ogres to roam the forest, homeless. Gherdmiude and his subjects had always welcomed these travelers as if they were brothers who shared their pain. After all, ogres and orcs had originated from the same species: the feeling of solidarity was strong within them.

  "H-Help..."

  The little girl groaned, holding her right hand to her side; she was hiding a deep wound. Beside her lay the corpse of a baby basilisk, its skull crushed by a rock. The two orcs immediately realized what had happened. The King approached the little girl first and examined the wound, then motioned for Gherd to pass him a vial.

  "Don't worry, little one. Everything will be fine."

  The King reassured her as he tore off his own left arm and placed it beside her. He had done it so many times that he no longer hesitated to cut off an ear or tear off a limb.

  "Eat something. Don't worry about me."

  For many species, cannibalism was seen as an unbreakable taboo, but for the Dark Jade orcs, it had become the only means of certain survival. There were no cemeteries in that land forgotten even by the most useless of gods, only death and hunger.

  After amputating his arm, the King took the glass vial and filled it with the blood that was gushing from his missing limb. Thanks to the gift "Flesh for Blood," that vial of reddish liquid had now become a fully-fledged healing potion.

  "It's going to hurt a little; grit your teeth..."

  He murmured softly, his blood pouring over the little girl's wound. She began to gnash her teeth in pain, but without moaning or complaining. She was a strong girl, despite her youth.

  "You have the heart of a warrior, little girl. What's your name?"

  “S-Scylla, my King.”

  The little girl stammered, watching in amazement as her wound closed. It almost seemed as if time were rewinding right there. It was truly extraordinary.

  “Nice to meet you, Scylla.”

  He smiled at her, massaging her forehead to try to ease the pain.

  “Where are your parents?”

  "They are...They..."

  The little girl couldn't finish her sentence, her eyes filling with tears. She moved her head toward the baby basilisk, giving the other two an inkling of the truth. Up until that point, Gherd and his father had assumed a simple scenario: that the basilisk had attacked Scylla.

  Unfortunately, things were much more complex...

  "Oh, sorry. Now I understand."

  The King immediately understood what had happened: a giant basilisk and its offspring had attacked the little girl's family. If this were true, then it was already too late for the little girl's parents; his gift could not cure the basilisk's venom, much less its petrifying gaze. And all of this was assuming the parents had survived the encounter.

  "Are you homeless?"

  "Y-Yes..."

  Scylla groaned, eating part of the severed arm of Gherdmiude. She felt guilty for what she was doing, but she couldn't disobey the King's orders. Besides, she was so hungry she might faint any minute. The two orcs didn't know it yet, but the little girl had been lying there injured for almost a whole day. Even though she was small, she had fought like a warrior against the baby basilisk, which was about the height of a fully grown human man.

  "All right, Scylla. Come with us..."

  The little girl opened her eyes in shock as the King picked her up and passed her to his son, while he regrowthed his severed arm using his own gift. It was a slow and painful process, but he couldn't help it. For someone like Gherdmiude, who loved his people more than anything, that was the least he could do.

  "Father, we must find a solution!"

  "I know, Gherd. But we can't go to Nasus Lake, it's on the other side of the forest—we'd be in too much danger crossing it, and I can't make that decision. The lake is big, I know, but it's not necessarily big enough to keep us all hydrated and fed with its fish."

  “But- “

  "Too many will die on the journey, and I cannot allow that. I will not sacrifice the lives of my subjects unless something is certain. It is good to have hope, but it must not be the only thing that guides us."

  "So, what do we do?"

  At that question, Gherdmiude's eyes moved to his healing arm. He felt excruciating pain, something like a primordial fire ravaging his limb to the bone—but he endured it—and would have continued to endure it gladly if it would have helped to end the misery of his beloved subjects.

  "My body can regenerate, but it's never enough to feed everyone..."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The King glanced at Scylla, who had fallen asleep in Gherd's arms. He smiled slightly at the sight. The mere sight of that ogre child was a perfect reminder of why he fought and tore himself to pieces: the happiness of his people, of his family.

  "I'll make something up."

  He declared softly, so as not to wake little Scylla. Despite the situation, the King's smile was radiant. That day, his large family had grown even more.

  "Now let's go, maybe we'll find some wounded thousand-bladed bears around here. That would feed us all, eh eh!"

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  More than ten years had passed since that moment, yet Gherd remembered it as if it had happened yesterday. Even though those weren't happy times, he missed them—much better than they were now. His father would have agreed with him, had he been there with them.

  "How much longer?"

  Shen's annoyed question brought him back to reality. It was clear that the Oni in his company were not at all happy with this brief alliance, especially the leader of that team. Gherd couldn't blame them; after all, they were partly responsible for the destruction of their home. He wasn't proud of what he and his companions had done, but it was the price they had to pay for survival. Ultimately, their alliance with the trolls was anything but equal.

  "We're almost there..."

  He replied, shaking his head slightly. He had to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the present. His father wasn't around right now, and so the entire weight of his tribe rested on his shoulders. Pride had swallowed him the day he was born, so he had no problem bowing his head before some vengeful Oni who had every reason to kill him without further ado.

  "Here we are. The exit is just ahead!"

  He pointed to a locked door at the back of the cave. Gherd reached it and opened it, going through first, proving it wasn't a trap. They emerged well away from the battlefield, but the airship was still clearly visible in the sky. The orcs and lizard prisoners were surprised, but they had been informed of that, so they didn't stop to ask questions.

  "We're outside. Now we just have to wait for Lady Almodea to get out of there."

  Zed declared, crossing his arms.

  "I think we should go inside and help her."

  "Would you disobey an order from Lady Almodea, Shen?"

  "What? No! What are you talking about, Zed?!"

  "Then we will wait for you here, as you ordered us..."

  The ninja looked at Tokka, who was busy distributing healing potions to all the wounded and former prisoners. Captivity had taken a heavy toll on their bodies, and in the event of a clash with the enemies, they would be mere dead weight in their pitiful state. Naturally, they were the ones who provided them with the potions, thus further indebting Lizard Magnus to the city of Almy. It was a brutal strategy, taking advantage of a non-hostile faction that was suffering, but that was the plan: they were there as conquerors and liberators, not as heroes.

  "If she's already arrived, that is. In theory, she, Lady Hirashi, and Lord Almodeus were supposed to attack at the same time. However, we haven't seen her or her father."

  "Don't worry, Lady Almodea has Shion with her, and she's the only one who can get our lazy mistress to do what she wants. I doubt they'll fail the mission."

  “I never questioned Lady Almodea's power. I just feared she was still asleep. You know...she and Shion didn't exactly go to bed early last night, if they did what I think they did.”

  “I agree with you.”

  Gherd watched the two Oni argue, it brought back memories of his childhood, when he would argue with his friends over who would eat a lizard he found on the ground.

  How did we get to this?

  At that moment, a scream distracted Gherd from his memories. It sounded like someone was receiving a sound and well-deserved dressing down.

  "You declared war? What were you thinking!?"

  He looked over at Lizard Magnus, who had just been informed of his son's actions. To say that the Lizardmen King was disappointed and furious would be an understatement. He was screaming like a madman and seemed so enraged that smoke was coming out of his ears.

  "Father, forgive me! I only wanted us lizardmen to prosper! I—"

  A resounding slap interrupted the prince's apologies.

  "And you did it by starting a war?! Do you have any idea how many died? How many could have died? The game wasn't worth the candle!"

  Lizard roared, surprising his allies, who were stunned by the king's unexpected rage, abandoning his usual heroic stoicism to make way for the fury of an angry father. How could they disagree with him? Gabiru had nearly led to the extermination of his race. They’re not talking about dozens or hundreds of soldiers, but every lizardman in the forest.

  "But...But, Father! If I had agreed to submit, what would have become of us?!"

  "Don't bring up pathetic excuses!"

  Lizard interrupted his son again, roaring like a lion.

  “You only wanted the throne! If you were a true king, you would have reasoned for the good of your subjects, putting aside your pride! I didn't fight a twenty-year war to end my reign shortly after my fall! You have deeply disappointed me!”

  "Your Majesty..."

  To everyone's surprise, Zed approached the lizardmen, maintaining his usual serious demeanor. Gherd could do nothing but continue to observe and, above all, eavesdrop.

  "I don't want to butt in, but it wasn't entirely your son's fault. He was deceived by the trolls and fought fiercely for his subjects, risking his own life."

  Lizard's eyes widened in surprise. Had he heard correctly? Had his son done something like this?

  "Really? You risked your life for others?"

  "Yes!"

  Gabiru began to cry in despair. He hated being seen like that, but the stress of the past few weeks had brought him to a breaking point. He had lost the Heroes of his kingdom, condemned thousands to death, and now his father was disappointed in him. His life was practically ruined by nothing but himself.

  "It's true! I did it for the throne and I foolishly underestimated my opponent! But then I realized I had to defend my subjects! I was wrong, it's true! But...now I've changed! I no longer want the throne! I have much to learn from you, but please give me the chance to prove that I can be an excellent leader."

  Lizard watched as his son knelt on the ground, visibly devastated by his responsibilities . However, if he felt pity, he showed none, for his face remained serious. He clenched his fists and shook his head, sighing bitterly.

  "I'll see what punishment to give you. In the meantime, we must wait for Lord Almodeus to give us our own punishment for opposing him."

  Gherd sighed as he saw Gabiru on the ground; he pitied him. He was no better than the other prince; after all, he had allowed his own species to become the trolls' servants. There was nothing he could do to prevent it, but that couldn't be used as an excuse to absolve him of all responsibility.

  "Sir Gherd..."

  A voice distracted him from that sad spectacle, that of Tokka, who approached him with strange respect.

  "Now what will you orcs do? The fall of the trolls is only a matter of time."

  "I do not know..."

  He slumped his shoulders and sighed. Gherd was certain that after this conflict, they would be severely punished by the victors. He was ready to give his life if it were possible to save the rest of his subjects from suffering. In the end, he had been a disappointment, just as Gabiru had said Lizard had been.

  "I...I ask for forgiveness again!"

  Gherd knelt down as before and dug his fingers into the ground, as if digging his own grave to escape his guilt. He also punched the dirt, unleashing all his pent-up anger at the trolls and his own weakness.

  "We didn't want all this!"

  He screamed out loud in despair, with a desperation that came straight from his heart.

  “We...We just wanted to survive! Just survive! But our home had become too dangerous, and the Sand Crocodile seemed to have awakened again. We endured for decades, but we reached a breaking point, and my father had no choice but to become a vassal of the Troll King! We have suffered greatly under this slavery, but please punish only me and not the others.”

  He declared.

  “Punish me, please.”

  "Get up! Don't make me say the same things over and over again!"

  It was none other than Shen who rebuked Gherd. The deep hatred he felt for the orc was still visible in his eyes, but there was something else too—a glimmer of respect, perhaps. Anyone thirsting for vengeance would seize the opportunity to kill those they saw as responsible for their suffering, but Shen was too loyal to Almodea to disobey her orders; he couldn't do it, especially after what she had done for them.

  "Lady Almodea wants you alive; she will decide your punishment!"

  "You are giving up on revenge?"

  Gherd opened his pupilless eyes wide, astonished.

  “Why? You could tell your mistress that I rebelled and that you had to kill me. Why do you keep letting me live? Because—”

  "Don't get me wrong! If it were up to me, I'd take your head, right here and now!"

  The Oni roared, with an eerie fury.

  "But... I swore loyalty to Lady Almodea, and I'd rather die than spit in the face of someone who helped me! Now get up and don't make me repeat myself, or I swear I'll break something!"

  Gherd rose suddenly to his feet, surprised by the order's aggressiveness, but also relieved that there was a slim chance he might be punished instead of his tribe. His companions would survive without him, he was sure of it.

  "Of course! I will wait for Lady Almodea's arrival!"

  He declared, almost enthusiastically. Perhaps there was hope for the orcs? That he could change things and bring happiness to his people through one last, ultimate sacrifice. Gherd could only hope for that, lest he fall into the despair that had gripped him moments before.

  “I hope she is as great as you describe! I can't wait to meet her!”

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  Almodea was sleeping in her bed with Shion beside her, who was busy using one of the demoness's wings as a blanket. Suddenly, a noise like an alarm went off, as if it were some kind of alarm clock. Almodea heard it, but continued to sleep irritably. Shion, however, awoke abruptly, holding up the demon's wing to cover her naked body. She was still a little tired from the previous evening's activities. Despite her strong physique, she was the one who ran out of stamina first of the two girls.

  "Lady Almodea, wake up."

  "Mhhhhhh! Just five more minutes..."

  "Lady Almodea, we must go! The troops will already be at the front! Perhaps the battle has already begun!"

  Almodea muttered something inaudible, but it was obvious she had no intention of getting up—more out of laziness than exhaustion. That's how she was: powerful, but limited by the mindset of a spoiled eighteen-year-old. She was probably also expecting something from the Oni, like a "reward" for being good.

  Realizing this, Shion sighed and smiled slightly, then began massaging the wing covering her body. Honestly, she was surprised by how resilient those soft, light wings felt to the touch. And they felt as hard as steel.

  "Lady Almodea! Either you wake up or I'll have to use my secret weapon..."

  Thanks to their intimate moments, Shion had discovered the demoness's various sensitive spots, including her wings, which were highly susceptible to massage and bites. Almodea obviously possessed the same knowledge, but at the moment she was too absorbed in her self-inflicted sleep to respond with fire.

  How can such a powerful being be so beautiful?

  Shion smiled slightly at the sight of her mistress in that seemingly vulnerable state—she adored the intimacy between them. The two of them in bed, naked, kissing as if there were nothing else in the world to do. Almodea's happy moans only made her smile wider; she couldn't hurt the other girl even with all her strength, but she was quite capable of turning her on.

  "Mhhhh..."

  "Do you like it? Come on...let's get up and this evening I'll give you extra cuddles!"

  "Okay, okay!"

  Almodea awoke abruptly and stood up, oblivious to the fact that she was naked in front of her secretary—not that it was the first time they'd seen each other in that vulnerable state. They'd been naked most of the nights.

  "Let's go and settle this!"

  The demoness snapped her fingers, and the two found themselves dressed as if by magic. She wore her usual blue jeans, a red T-shirt, and a purple jacket, while the Oni found herself in her usual secretary outfit, which revealed a lovely glimpse of her cleavage.

  Shion smiled at the magic she was accustomed to and took her sword, looking at it as if it were her beloved. She couldn't wait to test it against those who had destroyed her village. She knew it was mostly the trolls' fault, and that the orcs should be spared if possible—but she didn't care right now, she just wanted to fight.

  "I'll finally be able to use you!"

  And show Lady Almodea my strength!

  For Shion, this was her chance to show off how strong she'd become thanks to training with Hirashi. Almodea was a master at showering compliments, and the Oni's heart devoured them like they were snacks at a Christmas feast.

  Revenge and recognition in the same mission; a real bargain!