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Chapter 116  The Winter Orc

The warmth of his blood touching his lips and the pain spreading from his face immediately jolted Gedhe back to reality. In a daze, he fixed his gaze on the imposing and somewhat angry figure of the king standing before him. The king\'s gray eyes shimmered like a purple flame, a mysterious glow that seemed to conceal itself when he looked deeply into it.

"Finally awake?" - Henry asked, a tinge of impatience and concealed anger evident in his tone. His hand fell on Gedhe\'s shoulder again, gripping it tightly, prepared to deliver another punch if he gave a wrong answer. Pleasantries and patience were a luxury he couldn\'t afford at the moment, there was a war to be fought, and perhaps an even more dangerous situation loomed on the horizon.

Upon hearing the voice, Gedhe shook his head to wake himself up, yet he remained on his knees, Henry\'s hand pressing him down - "I am sorry, my king. I have momentarily lost my reason…" - Gedhe apologized, bowing his head, his voice carrying a mix of emotions that Henry couldn\'t immediately discern.

Seeing Gedhe\'s eyes regain focus, Henry withdrew his hands from the barbarian\'s shoulder. Slowly, the barbarian raised his head, his eyes briefly glancing at the thin line of smoke coming out of the bonfire, like a dying man taking its last breath. Despite the opportunity to rise, Gedhe remained on his knees, a lesson drilled into his brain by Luther: always stay at a level inferior to the king, never looking down on the ruler of these lands, for the king could never be beneath someone.

"Now, tell me everything." - Henry demanded, his impatient eyes fixed on the barbarian kneeling before him, with a broken nose and a face completely smeared by blood.

"..." - Gedhe took a brief moment, unsure if the man before him would believe his words. However, upon seeing that the man kept looking directly at him, waiting for a response, he opened his mouth, his eyes gazing at the bare ground, now cleared from the snow thanks to the heat of the bonfire that had burned nonstop for days. "As my king knows, our people have spent their entire lives on the margins of the Inner Layer, not daring to venture deeper into it, hiding against the countless dangers inhabiting those frozen grounds. In order to hunt for food, we had to work together, but we have always stayed away from large monster communities, like the Death Spiders and Winter Orcs" - Gedhe said, his strong accent and rugged voice echoing through the surroundings - "We learned from our ancestors how to analyze and hunt down these creatures, we learned about their patterns, eating habits, hunting ways, and even how to poison them. It was the only way to survive inside that land. We had to watch and analyze them."

 Gedhe slightly lifted his eyes, confirming that Henry was still attentively listening, before continuing. He let his gaze fall again to the earth, and his voice trembled slightly at this moment.

"One day, while watching over the Winter Orcs, one of our ancestors, the one who had lived the longest, discovered that every forty cycles of the sun, the monsters within the Inner Layer would start to behave strangely. The beasts would journey south and linger on the margins of the Outer Layer, as if drawn by something. During this time, a few monster communities managed to invade the Outer Layer." - Gedhe\'s voice sounded hushed, even out of breath as he recounted the story - "When we came to understand this strange behavior of the monsters, we managed to hunt even more of them, allowing us to stock more food and even expand our village. It was easier to hunt them down when they behaved strangely." Gedhe swallowed hard, his fingers slightly quivering, forcing him to tightly close his fists, determined not to reveal any fear - "A few days ago, as I roamed the area used to hunt down the wolves, I heard the agonizing cries of a wolf. It seemed desperate and filled with fear, something primal. I immediately ran towards the noise, expecting to find wolves fighting for the leadership of the pack, easy prey…." - Gedhe stopped, the words seemed unwilling to be voiced and heard by the world.

"Continue!" - Henry commanded, forcing the words out of Gedhe\'s mouth. "…However, when I got there, I saw countless corpses of wolves littering the floor. And, right in the middle of that massacre stood the figure of a lone Winter Orc, taking large bites from a still-breathing wolf. I could feel the fear in that wolf\'s eyes, begging me to end its miserable life. I took advantage of the Orc\'s distraction and swiftly killed it" - Gedhe lifted his eyes again, which seemed to be trembling while recounting the memory that happened a few days ago - "My king…if we follow the ancestor\'s words, a new cycle might soon begin, and the monsters will soon invade the Outer Layer of this forest."

Upon hearing those words, the shimmering purple flame in Henry\'s eyes flashed again for a brief moment before it finally hid itself - "Does anyone aside from you and me know of this?" - The king asked in a contemplative yet hushed tone.

"No, I took care of the corpse and no one knows about it. I was too afraid that such notice could shatter the peace of the people and bring chaos to their minds. We have sought this place for so many years…it wasn\'t fair with them" - Gedhe replied through gritted teeth. He had already sacrificed himself for his people, he didn\'t mind suffering more for them.

Because of that, after killing the Winter Orc, he swiftly dismembered it into unrecognizable and small pieces. Then, he fed the meat to the horses, not only hiding the proof of a new cycle but also giving a nutritional meat that would allow them to become stronger.

"Good!" - Henry exclaimed, crossing his arms in deep thought. His gazed fixated on the gray skies that covered the Frozen Forest all year round, not allowing the sun to shine over these white lands that seemed to be cursed by the gods themselves.

"Don\'t say anything to anyone and keep it between ourselves. We have a more pressing matters to deal with at this moment"- Henry declared decisively - "I will arrange for someone to bring all the women, children, and elderly to the capital to remain safely behind the walls. However, right now, I need you to gather all those who can fight. I promised to protect everyone. You don\'t need to worry, I will keep my word."

Henry\'s gaze departed from the never ending gray skies and settled on Gedhe, who was looking directly at him. Upon hearing the king\'s words, the barbarian\'s eyes seemed to shine with a sense of gratitude and even some loyalty mixed within it, something that was difficult to spot, even after these few years. "My decision was right." - Gedhe thought, remembering his decision of killing the elder and following Henry, entrusting the village\'s well-being in the king\'s hands. He was someone reliable, one that would fulfill his promises. Gedhe wouldn\'t mind trading his life for his people and if they had the opportunity to grow, he was ready to even forsake his ancestors.

Unaware of Gedhe\'s thoughts, Henry was thinking about the repercussion of his action.

"The barbarians might face some troubles given the lingering resentment within the hearts of Stahl\'s citizens. Although the hate has diminished through the commerce and the numerous encounters over the past years, with the figure of the barbarians becoming more welcoming, there are still hate" - Henry pondered - "I am not sure if this decision will be beneficial and serve as a catalyst to ease the tension lingering between these people. However, we have no option at the moment.

Overcoming a hatred that had persisted through generations posed quite a challenge, especially if he wanted to end it within the next decade. The barbarians had taken the lives of countless citizens of Stahl, and those of Stahl had never allowed them to find a home under the sun. It was a complex and delicate situation, but one that Henry had to address during his reign if he wanted to utilize the barbarians to their maximum extent, and not only as gatherers. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"I will find a way." - Henry said - "But I need to end this war first."