Chapitre 2: The Weak Tribe
The gravel desert looked vast from afar, but walking through it was extremely inconvenient. Even if Balok ran desperately, he couldn't match the swimming sand snakes. Fortunately, large boulders were scattered everywhere, about a person's height, with sharp and steep sides. A person could climb up easily, but a snake without limbs couldn't. Balok climbed onto a boulder with all his might, and the sand snake leaped up, almost biting his foot. Fortunately, he timely smashed a beast bone, and the sand snake bit the bone instead of his leg, saving him.
Balok didn't have time to catch his breath after narrowly escaping. He immediately jumped up and shouted loudly, provoking the sand snake repeatedly to attract its attention, so that Barotan and Barwell could run far away.
After all, they were just animals with limited intelligence. The sand snake only focused on circling around Balok and didn't notice the other two companions running away behind him.
Barotan and Barwell ran madly to the left and right, running hundreds of meters away, circling around and gathering together again, finding the sand scorpion nest they discovered yesterday. When they first found it, they planned to dig out the sand scorpion nest and roast some scorpions to eat. Unexpectedly, after taking a few glances from a distance, they broke into a cold sweat and quietly avoided it.
It was a large and terrifying sand scorpion nest. Sand lizards, usually the size of a palm, were rarely seen, but they saw several coming in and out of this nest, with a body size comparable to half an arm's length and a tail longer than a foot. Scorpions always grew bigger with more venomous toxicity. If one got stung, there would be no chance of survival.
Today, they had to provoke it to escape. Fortunately, although sand scorpions were venomous and aggressive, they couldn't catch up with the running orcs no matter how fast they were. So when Barotan and Barwell provoked by throwing stones at the sand scorpion nest, causing hundreds of scorpions to chase after them, they didn't even look back and ran in the direction they had agreed on.
Balok stood on the boulder, provoking the sand snake cautiously while keeping an eye on the distance. In a few hundred meters, the two companions quickly ran back. Standing high, he could see that each of them was followed by a black line, which was the swarm of chasing scorpions.
Balok took a deep breath and calculated the distance silently. Barotan and Barwell had already shouted anxiously, "Balok, come on, come on!"
Using the same old trick, Balok suddenly realized that the sand snake was actually quite foolish. A big rock the size of a head smashed hard on the sand snake's head. Taking advantage of its fall, he jumped down from the boulder and ran towards the direction of the two companions. The sand snake shook its head and turned to chase again, its sight low, not noticing anything unusual in the distance.
When the three guys converged and timely jumped onto the largest boulder in the middle, the chasing snakes and scorpions finally met, and the result was predictable...
The sand snake had swallowed quite a few lone scorpions. If it were at ordinary times, the sand snake would never dare to provoke a nest of venomous scorpions. But today, it was unfortunate. This nest of scorpions had been provoked by despicable orcs, igniting their rage successfully. They wouldn't bother to distinguish which provocateurs looked like, mistaking the sand snake as part of Barotan's group. Hundreds of scorpions quickly surrounded the large boulder, and the unlucky sand snake crawling underneath was naturally among them.
The battle was initiated by the scorpions, a group of large and terrifying scorpions, and there were many of them. Firstly, they were not herbivores, and it was rare for them to surround such a large prey. They didn't mind enjoying some desserts while besieging their enemies. They surged up!
The skin on the sand snake's back was as hard as iron, but its belly was a vulnerability. Although the startled sand snake twisted its body, thrashing its tail, killing and biting many scorpions, it still got stung by the scorpions' venomous stingers. While it could resist the venom after being stung once or twice, when its body was covered with scorpions, it could only accept its grim fate. Soon, its seven to eight-meter-long body became motionless, mouth gaping wide, tongue hanging limp. It was dead!
The three guys on the boulder watched in horror as the scorpions devoured the sand snake, feeling their hearts pounding. Barlok tried to keep his voice low, not daring to scare these poisonous and savage creatures too much. "Don't be afraid, it'll get dark soon, and it'll be very cold. The scorpions won't last long and will return to their nests. Then we can leave."
They patiently waited on the boulder, watching the scorpions feast on the sand snake. The scorpions easily tore open the snake's belly, swiftly devouring the nearly two hundred kilograms of snake, leaving behind only a gray snake skin. The three felt a bit regretful, but fortunately, the snake skin was left behind, and the scorpions didn't take it back to their nests. If they had taken the snake skin, they could have exchanged it with human merchants for a few copper coins, which could buy them a lot of food.
Finally, the sky dimmed, and the weather on the desert plain remained the same. It was hot during the day and cold at night. The scorpions couldn't harm the orcs high up on the boulder, so they could only show off for a bit before crawling back to their nests.
Barlok didn't miss this opportunity, immediately calling his two companions to chase after the scorpion army's tails, throwing stones, and knocking with bones. If the scorpions got angry and turned to chase them, they would immediately flee. They continued doing this until the surviving scorpions returned to their nests. The few of them collected the dead scorpions, totaling more than twenty. They wrapped them in snake skin, one of them carrying the leather bag originally containing sand rats, while the other two dragged the snake skin back to the tribe, jubilant.
The wilderness was full of dangers, especially at night when various beasts and venomous creatures became active. Even the bravest orcs rarely traveled at night. If it weren't for knowing that the tribe's food had run out, if it weren't for encountering the sand snake, Barlok and his companions wouldn't have traveled at night. Fortunately, they hastened their pace anxiously, and as they approached the foothills where the tribe resided in caves, they encountered no danger. They saw the firelight from afar and finally breathed a sigh of relief! After all, they were still kids, shouting excitedly as they ran towards the tribe.
Hunting without adult orcs for the first time and still having such a bountiful harvest was unexpectedly delightful.
Hearing the shouts, several tall orcs ran out from the campfire in the mountain hollow. Barwor, seeing the particularly burly orc in front, exclaimed with joy, "Uncle Bata, you're back, that's great!" But instead of a welcoming response, he was met with a roar from the massive orc, whose huge hand grabbed him as if he were a chick, and 'smack smack smack,' slapped him on the butt several times, scolding, "You three little rascals, who let you go hunting on your own? Don't you know it's dangerous out there? Do you want to feed the sand snakes or the giant sand lizards?" This orc, Bata, over two meters tall, covered in scars big and small, exuded a fierce aura, and was now brimming with anger.
Barwor cried out a few times in misery. Bata was his uncle, as his parents had been eaten by a giant sand lizard when he was young, and Bata had raised him. There were only six children left in the tribe, and besides the youngest, Baqur, who was Bata's son, the rest, including Barlok, were all orphans!
Bata was truly angry, and he exerted force with his hands, really giving it to them. Holding his butt, Barwor, though wailing, pointed at Barlok happily and said, "With Barlok leading us, we weren't afraid. Look, we caught a lot of sand rats, killed a bunch of sand scorpions, and... even got a sand snake skin!" His voice trailed off at the end.
Indeed, when the tribe members saw the huge snake skin, their expressions changed—such a big sand snake... what had these three kids been through?! Barlok quickly spoke up to reassure the tribe members. Despite being barren, the tribe members weren't malicious; they were a group of straightforward, warm-hearted orcs who naturally welcomed him into their world and tribe.
"When we encountered this big sand snake, it had already been stung to death by sand scorpions. We just hid on the side and waited for nightfall, picked up a snake skin, and incidentally killed a few sand scorpions. It wasn't very dangerous. It's just that we came back a bit late, which made everyone worry," Barlok fibbed.
Though young, Barlok had always been steady and very clever. For orcs, intelligence was the most valuable asset, and even the tribe chief, Bata, respected his opinion.
"In the future, you must tell us when you go out. The wilderness is too dangerous, and you're still young. At least have adults accompany you," Bata said, somewhat forgivingly, considering the children had returned safely. Besides, it was their lateness that had caused the tribe to run out of food, and the children had ventured out of necessity for the sake of the tribe.
Returning to the tribe happily, it was a small mountain hollow, able to shelter from the wind and sand. Seven or eight dirty and tattered animal-hide tents were scattered around, surrounded by a fence made of thorns and wildwood, with a crude wooden gate, next to which stood a thick wooden pole, seemingly painted with some sort of beast blood, obscuring the original carved patterns, with a large sand lizard skull hanging from the top. This was the totem pole, something every orc tribe had, serving as both a sacrificial implement and a deterrent to surrounding beasts, preventing them from approaching.
In the center burned a bonfire, with food roasting on top, indicating that the tribe members hadn't eaten yet.
"Chief Bata, you're back a bit late this time. Did you encounter something?" Barlok asked the orc chief, Bata.
By now, they were all seated around the campfire. Several old people were joyfully skinning sand rats, while the orc women were cleaning sand scorpions, cutting off the poisonous needles on their tails and removing the dirty insides, skewering them directly onto branches to roast. The three youngest children circled around eagerly, not having tasted delicious sand scorpions in a long time, unable to contain their excitement.
In the only iron pot in the tribe, a soup made from mosses and wild vegetables was boiling, while on a few flat stones nearby lay black bread, dark and crispy from baking, the food obtained through trade with the human towns.
"We went a bit further this time. Those cunning human merchants in Black Crow Town stubbornly lowered the price of our ores, only willing to give fifty copper coins for five hundred pounds of fire copper ore. If we exchanged it for grain, it wouldn't even be enough for our whole tribe to eat for a few days. So we continued east for a day to another town, heh heh, the merchants there were more fair-minded. They knew how many copper coins we had bought and... they even said that from now on, they'd buy our fire copper ores at this price. We got two hundred copper coins in total, blessed be the spirit of the totem! This is the highest price we've ever sold for, and those merchants said that from now on, they'll buy all our fire copper ores at this price. We exchanged all two hundred copper coins for human black bread. It should last our whole tribe quite some time," Bata said with a wide smile, somewhat smugly waving two fingers, "Two hundred copper coins! Thanks to the totem spirit, this is the highest price we've ever sold for, and those merchants said that from now on, they'll buy all our fire copper ores at this price. We exchanged all two hundred copper coins for human black bread. It should last our whole tribe quite some time."
Barlok's mouth twitched but he didn't say anything. Although he didn't know much about this world yet, even though he had all of Barlok's memories, this body had never left this area within a thirty-mile radius for the past fourteen years, and his knowledge of the outside world was extremely limited. Since humans dared to openly cheat the orcs like this, there must be some kind of advantage they were exploiting. Don't provoke them easily, take it slow, and there will always be a way to change the situation.
This body was an orc's, and Barlok had to think from the perspective of an orc. Humans... perhaps he used to be one of them, but now they were just a strange race to him.
Silently pondering, he heard the laughter of the tribe members in his ears. It was mealtime; this was the first time in many days that they could eat to their hearts' content!
A thousand words won't change the fact that everything starts with filling one's stomach.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone