Why can't humans do it too?

Chapter Sixteen: Memories of Boer

Never expecting to hear such words, Suer stared blankly at Boul, who was usually silent but was now talking non-stop.

“You haven’t seen the settlement before Liku and you appeared, have you?” Bull said with his eyes lowered. “...They were constantly being hunted down and killed. They couldn’t even take off their clothes to sleep at night. They had to be ready to move at any time. And if they couldn’t collect enough food or encountered bad weather, it was common for several people to freeze or starve to death.”

“…I once had a younger brother who starved to death like that, while I was luckier and survived,” Bull said, speaking of things related to himself as if he were telling the story of a stranger. “Children in those days always had the hardest time growing up. In times of food shortage, parents even had to drown their newborn babies…but everyone just lived numbly, getting used to everything…”

“But… there’s also Riku…” Sur instinctively opened his mouth to retort, but was forcibly interrupted by Bull.

“So you and Riku are different,” Sul repeated, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I never want to go back to that kind of life again… I never want to go back. Riku and you, who can see a future we can’t see, can lead us forward. You are our mind and eyes—so don’t say such things anymore, Sul. Both you and Riku are indispensable.”

Eyes burning.

"And I believe that even if Riku were here, he would order us to rescue you, even if we all die here."

He frankly stated that the value of their lives was lower than that of Suer, but the others did not have any objections. Everyone just looked at Suer and waited for his voice.

Boole's words were their truest thoughts.

"..."

Suer remained silent, unable to know the answer to this question.

He didn't even know what expression to make; the muscles in his face were stiff, as if he were wearing heavy shackles. He knew that logically Boole was right, but his emotions couldn't accept such an answer; he felt a deep bitterness and even disgust.

I loathe these cruel rules, I loathe a world that must have such cruel rules, and I hate them utterly.

"Cough cough cough," Lenny suddenly coughed, trying to sit up, but he was too weak and only managed to sit up thanks to Mori's support. "I feel colder and colder."

The man coughed and laughed awkwardly.

"Well, I feel like I need to warm myself up by the fire and then drink a bowl of hot soup that Ke'er made herself to recover," Lennie said with a mischievous smile on his pale face. "Anyway, let's go back first. Once the orcs and the Orks have finished their battle, they will definitely search this area. Staying here any longer feels very unsafe."

He was right. Lennie's words were like an invisible whip lashing at several people. Everyone immediately sprang into action, erasing any trace of their presence. Only Sue remained seated, motionless, as if deep in thought.

"Gadot," seeing that his companions were ready to set off again in the extreme time, and Leni was being carried on Mori's back, Sull suddenly said, "Your size is similar to mine, so let's switch clothes. Mine is already torn and has a lot of blood on it."

"it is good."

Despite his doubts, Gato did not seek answers. He simply followed Suer's orders, quickly took off his clothes, and exchanged them with Suer.

"Aren't you coming back with us, Sull?" Leni, who was quietly lying on Mori's back, suddenly asked, and his words made the others turn to look at Sull.

"Well, there's something else I'm worried about and need to confirm. You guys go back first; I'll be a much smaller target if I go alone—this is the elder's order!" Seeing that Bull was clearly getting excited and wanted to say something, Sul suddenly raised his voice and stopped him.

Standing before the young man, who was a few years older than him, Suer smiled and patted Bull on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything that would get me killed, having barely escaped death."

"Alright," Boole's expression became noticeably complicated, but he ultimately chose to obey the order.

"Oh, right, if I haven't returned by the third day after you arrive at the settlement..." After gathering the necessary supplies, Suer tucked the dagger into his leg and walked out of the cave, then stopped at the corner. "At that time, make sure that Riku quickly moves everyone to the backup safe location."

"……Yes."

"I swear to my legacy."

"I swear to my legacy."

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Suer felt much better, at least much better than when he had just escaped. To be honest, he had a headache all the time while sitting in the cave with Lennie and the others, and the weakness made him feel like he would fall asleep at any moment.

But things are different now.

He had been curled up in the crevice between the underground river and the outside world, sleeping for about... seven hours? Or eight hours? Maybe even longer, Suer couldn't give an accurate estimate.

This rest restored a great deal of his strength, and he felt much more energetic. Even the pain from his newly repositioned dislocated arm had lessened considerably, though it was still a little swollen to the touch.

He is very strong.

He touched the animal hide he was lying on; the side that still had fur was covered with water droplets, probably from the moisture emanating from the underground river.

He moved about in this narrow crevice. Everything here was fine; neither the orcs nor the Orks could squeeze in. Even Sull himself had difficulty straightening up. However, unless a Winged One or something flew by and launched an attack that flattened the mountain, Sull didn't have to worry about encountering any danger. This was the reliable guarantee that he could sleep peacefully for so long.

He ate some of the food with the water from the underground river, and the feeling of fullness in his stomach warmed his body. He was accumulating strength and listening attentively.

The battle between the orcs and the Orks outside, along with their roars and explosions, seemed to have subsided considerably, but Sull couldn't be sure if this was just his perception or if the battle between the two sides was nearing its end.

He began to choose—to go out and carry out his plans now, or to wait a few more hours.

Chapter Seventeen: The Search

The Orks' powerful vitality prolonged the battle, while the Orcs likely employed a tactic of group hunting, much like a pack of wolves in pursuit—being relatively weaker, they were less willing to suffer too many losses, and this strategy greatly extended the duration of the encounter.

As he crawled along the sloping crevice, Suer carefully pulled his hood tighter to cover his platinum blonde hair and peered out warily. The buzzing in his mind had faded, but Suer's mood did not improve in the slightest.

He has discovered it.

Even now, with the noise in his mind diminished, the sound coming from his left was on a completely different level than the sound coming from his right. He turned his head to listen towards the battlefield, then switched to listening from the other side—a stark contrast.

Although Sull had a vague suspicion when he discovered he couldn't hear the sounds of battle coming from outside the cave before Leni and the others left, he could at the time explain it by saying his brain was groggy and filled with buzzing sounds after escaping. However, such an explanation could no longer deceive himself now.

The sound his left ear could receive had become so faint that it was almost inaudible.

Logically, the cause should be the air blast created when the Ork chased after the white-haired Orc and struck him just before he fell off the cliff with Lennie in his arms.

They were just caught in the crossfire.

Compared to the fact that both of them survived, the price of losing hearing in one ear was incredibly worthwhile. Sull could even brag about it to Riku when he got back.

Therefore, the reason why Suer's mood has not improved until now is not because he lost his hearing on one side, but because in the thing he is about to do, his perception has been impaired and he may encounter avoidable dangers due to such an accident, thus suffering the consequences of failure.

He was conflicted, hesitating whether to continue the expedition. From the safest perspective, returning immediately and organizing the migration of the people in the settlement to avoid the possible search and pursuit by the orcs was undoubtedly the safest option. However, this would inevitably leave behind a huge hidden danger—in the mind of that white-haired orc, Asano Shirosu, who was probably imagining all sorts of things, Suer must be keeping a huge secret that could even make powerless beasts stand tall and despise the orcs. In other words, if he passed the message back, from then on, humans would no longer be seen as harmless beasts by the orcs.

This deeply violated the community's long-standing rule of not posing a threat, and it was trouble that Suer himself brought upon himself, trouble that no one would believe even if he spoke out.

Moreover, under Liku's careful leadership, the settlement has gradually grown and expanded to a size of tens of thousands of people. The dangers that such a large number of people might encounter during migration cannot be ignored. Furthermore, even though the expedition has been exploring for the past five years, there are very few places suitable for a settlement with an ever-growing population to live safely. Every place is precious.

That's why Suer still stays here.

He wanted to kill Asano Shirosu.

Sorry, I was just joking, which was beyond my capabilities.

All Suer wanted was to see Asano Shirasu's body with his own eyes, even if it was just his belongings—broken armor, shattered limbs, torn scalp—anything would do.

All the characteristics of that orc were deeply engraved in Sul's mind, and if he saw it, he would definitely recognize it at first glance.

If he sees it...

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No.

Neither is this one.

This one... is it not?

The orcs didn't yet have the lingering habit of casually collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades during tense and fierce battles, so Suer had the opportunity to quietly approach and investigate.

With great effort, he pried open the tightly clenched palm of the dead Ork. These huge men, even in death, were incredibly strong, and it took a lot of Sul's strength to pry them open. But what he found in the opened palm were a few reddish-brown hairs mixed in with the broken armor.

Clearly, this was not the fur color that the white-haired orc would have.

With his brows furrowed, a conjecture that Sull was reluctant to accept kept lingering in his mind—could the white-haired orc who had lost an arm when he and Lennie escaped have already retreated to a safe place to recuperate after his companions arrived?

But after thinking about it several times, Suer dismissed this idea.

Because he was a veteran.

Asano Shirasu casually removed his mask to intimidate Suer, but this action exposed his face to Suer. The wrinkles that had lost too much vitality for some unknown reason, his aged appearance, his blind eyes, and the hideous wounds on his face all proved to Suer that Asano Shirasu was a veteran who had fought and died countless battles for his tribe.

Would such a veteran back down at a time like this?

Suer's judgment was no.

Rather than returning crippled and wasting the tribe's food, Suer believed that Asano Shirasu would choose to burn his life on this battlefield, doing his last bit of strength for his tribe. This was the resolve of every lower race that had survived this long, dark war.

This time, what Suer is betting on is Asano Shirasu's love for the tribe.

Whoosh! ! !

Something swirled past Sull's head, it looked like half of Oak's arm, it was too fast to see clearly.

It must be said that the explosive power possessed by certain individuals among the orc race is truly astonishing; they can even tear apart an orc's arm.

After glancing at the huge claw marks on the stone wall beside him, Suer crouched down and scurried away to hide quickly.

He had to speed things up. Judging from the gradually fading roars of the Orks, this small-scale battle should be nearing its end. The Orcs had reinforcements, but the number of this reckless Ork group had not increased. In such an intense battle, Asano Shirasu naturally wouldn't tell his companions about what he had discovered today regarding the monkeys, even if these frail monkeys seemed to have some secrets. But things would be different after the battle was over.

Gritting his teeth, Suer wrapped the animal hide around himself tightly and groped his way along the cracks in the stone wall toward the center of the battlefield.

Chapter Eighteen: Breakthrough!

"Huff, huff," after struggling to climb to the top, Suer tried to calm his rapid breathing. It was far too difficult for a mortal like him to catch up with these monstrous races.

For these Orks who can leap several miles in a single bound and the Orcs with astonishing explosive power, the battlefield space for maneuvering is enormous. Because of this, aside from initially wanting to follow closely to take a look, in the end, Sur simply found a secluded high place to observe.

A very fierce and brutal battle.

If Suer's judgment is correct, then the battle taking place below this cliff is the final desperate struggle in this encounter. Apart from here, there has long been no sound from other places. The remaining forces from both sides have probably all rushed here, which has further intensified the fighting here.

"Roar! Drink it!!!"

Such a roar immediately attracted the attention of all the surviving 'people'. With the deafening roar of this orc, an orc wearing iron armor, which was raised high in the air with both hands, was twisted in two. The splattered blood formed a clear blood bridge in the air, and then fell on the orc who had just completed a massacre.