(Attendances… plz…)
….
The ogres agreed to Reinhard's suggestion. Their village was in ruins, their people were dead or wounded, and a massive orc army was still out there. Relocating was not just a good idea; it was their only option for survival.
And since they had nowhere else to turn, they grudgingly accepted his offer to take them to the goblin village.
Of course, they promised to lend a helping hand in return, but the thought of taking refuge with goblins still stung their pride a little. It felt like a deep humiliation for a proud warrior race like themselves.
But ogres respected strength and honor above all else. They had seen what the human named Reinhard was capable of, and that earned him their respect, whether they liked it or not.
He had also saved their lives, placing them in his debt, a debt so immense they knew they could never truly repay it.
It didn't matter what Reinhard said about them not owing him anything. To them, a debt was a debt.
And the fact that he didn't demand anything in return, that he didn't even seem to want their gratitude, made him a very different kind of human than they assumed him to be at first.
The ogres themselves were not so different; they were a proud race, and pride often came with a touch of arrogance.
Or like one would say… "Pride cannot be pride without any arrogance."
But this human, a man with the power to wipe out an army in the blink of an eye, had none of that. He didn't ask them to serve him. He didn't demand they fight alongside him. He had simply offered them a choice.
Reinhard stood at the edge of the ruined village, a respectful distance away, as he watched the surviving ogres gather their fallen comrades for burial. He didn't interfere; he knew they wouldn't want an outsider involved in such a private, sorrowful task. There weren't many bodies left to bury. The orcs had been brutally efficient, and the only ones who remained were those Reinhard had managed to save before they could be devoured.
As the villagers went about their somber work, the young, pink-haired ogre princess approached him. A purple-haired ogre girl walked quietly beside her.
Seeing them approach, Reinhard assumed they needed his help with something. "Is there a problem?" he asked.
The pink-haired ogre came to a stop in front of him, her expression a mixture of shyness and deep gratitude. "Hmmm… I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the one…"
"I remember you," Reinhard interrupted gently. "Ah, I'm sorry for interrupting. Please, continue what you were saying."
"Ahh no no it is nothing… I just wanted to thank you," she said, her voice soft but sincere. "For saving me back then. If it weren't for you… me, my friend, my brother, and the others… we all would have been devoured by the orcs."
Reinhard just offered a small, kind smile. "It was no problem. If you were in my position, I believe you would have done the same."
The purple-haired ogre beside her also bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for saving our village, Sir Reinhard."
"Just Reinhard is fine," he said, offering a small smile. "There's no need for formality like 'sir' or anything else."
Just then, the red-haired ogre approached them, his expression grim and his movements heavy with the weight of his new duties. He had seen his sister go to speak with Reinhard and had come to make sure she wasn't bothering him.
"I apologize if my sister is bothering you," he said, his voice low and formal.
Reinhard shook his head. "Not at all. She was just thanking me."
The red-haired ogre nodded, then gave him an update. "It will be another hour," he said. "Burying the dead, taking anything of value. We will be ready to leave in an hour and a half."
"Take all the time you need," Reinhard replied. "I will wait. If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," the red-haired ogre said, appreciating the offer even if he couldn't accept it. "But there is no need for that. This is our duty." He then turned to his sister and her friend. "You two, go and help pack anything that is still valuable."
"Yes, brother," the pink-haired ogre said. The two of them then returned to the village to do as he asked.
Reinhard smiled faintly as he watched them go. "You have a good sister. You must be proud of her."
The red-haired ogre's expression softened for a moment, then grew heavy again. "Yes, I am. But I don't know if I will be able to live up to being a good brother to her, or a good leader for my village. I wasn't even able to protect anyone."
"You're thinking about what is already done, and not what you can still do," Reinhard said, his voice quiet but steady. "I'm not very good at telling people what to do in these situations. I wasn't here when the attack happened, so I don't know what you experienced. All I can say is… don't lose hope."
The red-haired ogre looked out at his people, who were now working together and burying the dead warriors.
"I won't."
…
While the ogres mourned their dead, the rest of the orc army, one hundred and ninety thousand strong, continued its slow, inexorable march through the forest. Their next target was the swamplands, the home of the Lizardmen. At their current pace, they would arrive in about a month.
But unlike the ogres, the Lizardmen were not completely unaware. Scouts, hidden in the high branches of the trees, watched the endless tide of orcs and their rusted iron from a safe distance, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Their number… it's unbelievable," one of them whispered, his voice trembling.
"Yeah," the other replied, his scales pale with fear. "And they're all equipped with armor and weapons. We have to report this to the Chieftain, immediately."
"Yes. Alone, we cannot hope to stop an army this size. We have to seek an alliance. It's the only way we can survive."
"Let's go! We have very little time left."
….
A/N: huh sigh… see ya all in the next chapter.
Next two chapters are already on my discord.
Melatonin, spawn and many more on my discord … thanks for beta reading this fic and not to mention suggestions too.
Hoped you all liked the chapter and all.
And if you want to read ahead you can do it by just joining my discord server.
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