Chapter 416: Warhammer tribe

The moment Torin thought, "I won’t be able to protect my own share of the cake?" his eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his expression twisted into something terrifying.

"This is my territory!"

"This…is…my…territory!"

Torin repeated his declaration word by word as he glared at Mike and Wyatt with a fierce, violent gaze. Confronted with that savage look, both Mike and Wyatt were momentarily stunned into silence.

No one knew how much time passed before Torin finally calmed down. The brutality on his face disappeared, though a heavy shadow still lingered in his eyes.

"We still have a chance. The kingdom’s delegation…the princess… She’s our opportunity!"

All at once, a spark of brilliance glinted in Torin’s eyes. Faced with a seemingly hopeless situation, he found a way out—through the princess.

"It appears we must give our all to help the kingdom’s delegation bring back Her Highness. This is the chance to keep our right to a piece of the pie!"

Mike and Wyatt paused at his words, then a similar excitement lit up their faces.

"Master, you mean we should seize this opportunity to side with the princess?"

Torin didn’t answer directly, but his mind was already made up.

…

Half a month later, in the giants’ territory.

The sun was high overhead, the ground was scorching, and the rising heat distorted the view ahead. Guard Dace, mounted on a Frost Wolf, approached the abyssal dragon.

"Lord, up ahead is the spot I once used as a base when I cleared out the territory. Shall we rest there for a bit?"

Orion lifted his eyes to the forest in the distance, then glanced back at the group of young giants following him. They were drenched in sweat.

Not bad—after traveling so far, not a single youngling had complained or slowed the team down. They were tough and tenacious, all of them good prospects.

"Pass on the order: we’ll make camp in that forest patch up ahead. We’ll rest for two hours and find something to eat!"

Dace nodded, replied "Yes, my lord," and relayed the command.

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Near the back of the formation, Rolan walked behind everyone else, a trident slung across his back. He looked at ease, showing no signs of fatigue.

"Rolan, you’re amazing. You’ve been carrying that heavy trident, and you’re not even tired."

The youth who spoke was full of admiration, his eyes repeatedly drifting to the Bloodthirsty Trident on Rolan’s back.

"You’re not too bad yourself," Rolan replied, glancing at Steelblade, who also had a silver trident strapped across his back—an equally well-forged weapon.

"My father got this trident from our lord. Pretty impressive, huh?"

As Rolan’s gaze fell on the trident behind him, Steelblade’s eyes flashed with pride.

"My dady said the lord once used this very trident!"

Rolan said nothing more, turning away after offering a slight nod.

He and Steelblade were unlike the rest of these younglings, who all possessed shamanic talent.

The only reason Rolan and Steelblade got to travel with Orion was that Rendall had sent them over. Rolan was Orion’s disciple, and walking long distances on foot was part of his training, so Orion naturally agreed.

As for Steelblade, he was Ursa’s younger brother. Because he admired Orion and had taken a liking to tridents from a young age—and showed real potential—Rendall included him in the newly formed youth camp as well.

"Lord’s orders: we’re stopping for a break in the small forest ahead!"

As Dace spread the news, the exhausted younglings let out cries of joy. They had set out before dawn, and aside from some minced meat porridge in the morning, they hadn’t eaten a thing; they were starving.

Leading them was Grulbane, who looked back at the younglings with satisfaction. He seemed to see his own childhood reflected in their faces.

Moments later, everyone settled under the shade of the trees, enjoying a wave of cool relief. Orion cast a glance at Dace, who was directing the tent setup, then turned to another guard, Otho.

"Take a small squad out and scout the area. See if you can find some fresh meat for these young ones."

Otho acknowledged the order and headed into the surrounding forest with a team of giant-blood warriors.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the break, Grulbane began teaching the young giants some shaman basics and explaining the fundamentals of spellcasting. Since Rolan and Steelblade had no shamanic talent, they used their time to practice trident drills in the shade near Orion’s tent.

"Rolan, didn’t we already train this morning? Why are we practicing again now?"

Steelblade was puzzled, but he copied Rolan faithfully.

Before they left, Rendall had told him that he was to follow Rolan’s lead, never letting hardship or exhaustion deter him.

"We practiced this morning as part of our daily regimen; this right now is for our personal improvement."

Steelblade responded with an "Oh," only half understanding.

In fact, over the past few years, tridents and spears had become quite popular in the Stoneheart Horde. Most young giants had quietly taken up training in one or the other.

Orion had always taught Rolan out in the open, so many giants had seen their sessions. Over time, as Rolan grew noticeably stronger, more and more younglings chose tridents or spears as their own weapons.

Their conversation drifted into Orion’s ears, causing him to chuckle. He took no action, acting as though he hadn’t heard a thing.

"You may go as well."

Orion waved at Beyn and Torba, indicating they should go about their tasks.

Beyn nodded, summoning a squad of bloodline warriors to patrol and keep watch.

Torba headed toward the cooking area, determined to personally prepare Orion’s meal.

"Lord, the tents are up. Would you like to rest for a while?" Dace said.

Orion shook his head and motioned for Dace to step closer. "Tell me more about the surroundings."

Dace collected his thoughts. Gazing at the forest ahead, he spoke slowly.

"Lord, the area we’re in now is still part of the giants’ territory. We’ve swept through this region twice before, and the giant clans who lived here moved either into Stoneheart City or the forest just outside it."

"Once we pass through this forest and cross that mountain, we’ll enter the orcs’ territory."

All along the way, Orion had encountered many giants who recognized him, and, sensing his immense power, dropped to their knees in worship. In truth, not all giants enjoyed living in cities; many clans preferred settling in forests or caves out in the wild.

Orion nodded, signaling Dace to continue.

"Cross that mountain, and we’ll be in what used to be the orcs’ territory. That small mountain was once the boundary between the giant and orc domains. On the other side, there’s an orc tribe known as the Warhammer tribe."