Selina stepped forward, her eyes shimmering:
—"We are your friends, Kano. We're here not because you're strong, but because you're you."
—"You're not just strong," Lianel added as she came up behind him, "you're the strongest among us, because you aren't afraid to admit you're not perfect yet."
Kano stared at his feet. He waited—waited for her to say something.
Silence stretched.
Then Naira stepped forward without a word, slid her axe off her shoulder, and took her place beside the orcs.
Her voice was even, dry, direct:
—"Are we going to chatter here all day? Or do you actually want to train?"
Kano lifted his eyes to her. For the first time in all this—alive, burning.
He nodded.
—"Yes. That's exactly what I want."
Elgot sighed and, raising his hand, began to trace invisible arcs in the air.
Magic coiled around them, and within seconds a blue dome rose overhead, like translucent glass.
—"Barrier's set. Now you aren't going anywhere," the mage muttered.
Kano nodded to Selina.
—"Heal anyone the fight injures. I want no deaths. Not even by accident."
—"Alright," she whispered, feeling that everything was about to begin.
And in the next instant Naira lunged.
Naira moved like lightning.
In a single burst she devoured dozens of strides, her axe soared into the air, carving a half-circle that hummed with wind—
and in the same moment split the earth where Kano had just been standing.
But he was no longer there.
His body slipped aside like a shadow fleeing the sun.
The movement—reflex, instinct—so fast he didn't have time to think.
"What was that?.."
But there was no time to ponder.
He turned his head—and saw dozens of orc eyes locked on him.
They had seen him move.
Maybe not all had reacted in time, but they had seen it. It shocked them.
"Are they that fast?.. Or am I... still not fast enough?"
Kano tightened his grip on the sword, but did not strike.
He hadn't come here to win. He had come to test himself.
—"What are you standing there for?!" Naira suddenly shouted, turning to the orcs.
—"He is not the Chieftain now! He's the enemy! I order you—destroy him!"
The orcs exchanged glances, hesitated for a heartbeat.
And then—as one body—they surged forward.
A hundred warriors. One against all.
Kano drew a sharp breath, and everything stretched, as if time had slowed.
His gaze slid over each of them: one raising an axe, another circling wide, another trying to cut low.
And there—the first blow. A young orc with twin blades ripped through the air... and managed to graze Kano.
A shallow cut across his chest. Warm blood started to run down his skin.
—"STOP!" a shout rang out, and in that same instant Grimtar grabbed the young orc by the throat, slammed him to the ground, and raised his sword. His face was twisted with fury.
Everyone around froze.
—"You touched the Chieftain!.." he hissed, readying a killing blow.
But the blade did not fall.
Because Kano was already between them, gripping Grimtar's arm. His eyes were calm, yet quivered with inner strain.
—"Do not touch him. This isn't his fault. This is my request."
—"But..." Grimtar whispered.
—"I said it already. This is a fight. We're here to grow. Not to punish."
In that same moment Selina ran up, hands trembling as she began to heal the cut, and Kano looked at them all.
And understood:
"They cannot fight me with full force... because to them I am the Chieftain. Their symbol.
Not an opponent."
His fists clenched again.
They all stood there. But their hearts were shackled.
Only one person didn't stop.
—"I'm not finished yet," Naira's voice rang out.
She lunged forward again, swinging her axe. Her eyes were blazing.
Kano instinctively tore his sword free, and in that moment—
— held it to her throat.
Everything around them froze.
The axe halted in midair, Kano's blade touched Naira's skin.
Her pupils widened. But there was no fear.
Only... pride.
—"You're faster than I thought," she said, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
From behind came Elgot's voice:
—"What did you expect? They can't wage war against you, Kano. You are their chieftain. Their leader. Their hope."
Kano lowered his sword. He looked at everyone—and at himself.
—"Forgive me. I... acted rashly."
And then the unexpected happened.
The orcs dropped to one knee.
All of them. To the last. No command. No order.
Grimtar bowed his head:
—"We cannot fight you as an enemy.
Because you've given us more than we ever dreamed.
Forgive us, Chieftain."
Kano stepped to him in silence and laid a hand on his shoulder.
—"Go. Rest. Work on your homes. You've done enough."
The orcs rose—and in silence, proud, they walked away.
And Kano remained on the plain.
Alone.
And... empty inside.
Kano stood on the empty plain, wrapped in the blue light of the barrier that had not yet dispersed.
The blood no longer flowed. The pain had faded. But in its place—emptiness.
Selina stood beside him without a word. Her hands still glowed with gentle healing light, though the wound was gone.
—"It's alright," Kano whispered.
—"You can stop."
Selina lowered her hands, nodded, but did not step away.
Her gaze was warm, yet anxious.
Elgot approached from behind her. His stride—slow but sure.
—"You're a fool, boy..." he said with a sad smile.
—"But the kind I respect."
Kano did not smile back.
—"Tell me, Elgot..."
—"What exactly?"
—"Where in this world do the strongest beings live?"
The mage fell silent at first. Then he turned his gaze west, where the horizon dissolved behind the mountains.
—"Well... if we don't count the rulers' armies, cloistered titled warriors, and all those legendary weapon-bearers—then there's only one place left."
—"The Wild Lands?"
Elgot nodded.
—"Exactly. A forgotten slice of the continent. Crawling with beastkin, mutants, feral tribes, and creatures no bestiary bothers to describe.
Magic there is unruly. Survival is a matter of days, not years.
And even I... am not sure I'd come back whole."
Kano looked at him, grave.
—"I'm going there."
It wasn't a question. Not a plea. Just—a fact.
For a few seconds—silence.
Then voices from behind:
—"We're coming too," Selina said, eyes never leaving him.
—"And I," Lianel added.
—"I never planned on letting you go," Naira snorted, her axe already slung over her shoulder.
—"If you're going to go crazy—then all of us together."
Kano turned to them. For the first time in a long while, his face trembled. A smile. Barely there.
—"I was thinking of going alone."
—"Don't even dream of it," Naira stepped forward, pointing the axe at his forehead.
—"Are you our chieftain, or what?"
—"Alright, alright..." Kano raised his hands.
—"We leave in a few days."
And the girls practically lit up.
Even Elgot, though he snorted at first, sighed and muttered:
—"A mad march... and yet, for some reason, I like it."
But as they were already heading back toward the city,
from beyond the mountains... a sound rose.
As if someone were blowing a giant horn.
The ground gave a small shudder.
All of them snapped their heads around.
On the horizon, between the shadows of the cliffs, a pale blot appeared, swiftly resolving into a vast mass of people.
They walked in silence. Slow. Precise.
—"We have guests," Kano said, tightening his grip on the sword's hilt.
—"Warn everyone. We don't yet know... whether they're friends or foes."