Emperor's Reckoning

...

"IT'S TIME TO RECLAIM WHAT IS OURS!!" a reverberating shout echoed across the blue sky.

The figure that shouted had a pair of elongated pointed teeth that extended outside the mouth and pointed upward. His height was towering compared to normal humans, and his skin was leafy green. His amber eyes reflected the thousands of his kin— some had lighter colors than him while some had stronger. He curled the giant ax in his hand onto his shoulder with its sharp blade reflecting the earrings on one side of his ears. His dusty black hair was braided to a single long coil that reached the epicenter of his back before it swayed as he walked to the side whilst keeping his glance toward his men.

"I've heard crucial information that the other side of this land has their leaders traveling to Heaven."

He walked back and forth as the rustling branches filled the void of his words. He saw his men look at one another with hesitation in their eyes, much less the same drive as him.

"But, sir! Are we really going to attack the humans?" asked one of the brave orcs.

"Yeah, they might be headless but they still have the limbs to fight back," said another. "Not to mention their cultivations."

The chieftain frowned before he approached the pair with large stomps. "Are you saying that we are WEAK?!" His foul breath fluttered their hair.

Both of them looked away not daring to see the chieftain's glaring eyes.

"Hmph!" the chief snorted before he paced away. "They have lost their leaders, thus they are weakened, tell me who in the human realm can withstand my mighty ax!"

"No one!" The army answered in unison.

"Exactly," The orc frowned before he turned. "You all already know our bitter history, but let me remind you again."

"Our true home is sealed off by those humans with feathery wings thus limiting our growth. The humans, they laughed at us! They took what's ours, spat our pride, and detest our being ever since they were a baby. Worse of it all, they made a slave out of us! Look at our kins! Look who is beside you! How many are there left? No more than a thousand!"

"For the death of our brothers and sisters! They will face the purge of our wrath!  Their cultivations meant nothing in the face of our own! We have the very exact opposite force that they have! They have the power from heaven but we! We have the power from our home!" He raised his ax, "FOR HOME!"

"FOR HOME!!" the orcs raised their blades toward the sky with a cry for war.

Meanwhile, behind a tree was a shadow clad in an oversized cloak. Its face was hidden from light but one could see a click of the tongue before it left the scene.

The figure traveled through trees before arriving at one gate of dimension and entered it with a leap.

...

"That orc is planning to make skirmishes with the humans again?" an elf raised his brows before he darted from the scene of the little city by the window toward the figure clad in an oversized cloak.

The figure uncovered its hood and revealed his pointy ears and blonde long hair before kneeling. "I've heard no falsehood that they would attack the humans, they even know that the leaders of the human-reigned lands are not present at the moment."

"Huh? That's a surprise, never thought an orc would have his hand on such information."

"Unless someone gives it to them, your majesty."

"Do you recognize who it was?" the elf frowned as he made his way toward a standing table.

"I believe it was a core member of the Legion, but I cannot be certain," answered the elf in a cloak.

"Legion..." the king elf frowned before he picked up a little vase and poured it down into an empty glass of wood. "Are you certain?"

He shook his head, "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but most likely."

"Explain to me," said the king elf before drinking whatever it was in the glass.

"Their meetings were secretive, but I heard certain sentences before they relocated, something like 'You're a human yourself, why would you want to help us?'"

The king snorted a smile. "Stupid humans, not only they detest other races but they detest their own kin, much like an orc just bigger brain."

"Well said, your majesty."

"Hmm... though, they surely can't be that foolish to foray and clash against those Ascending God and True God's cultivators with their small numbers. Does the Legion give them something like a weapon?"

The elf shook his head, "Forgive me, your majesty, but I found no source of the Legion giving something."

"It's either the orcs are that stupid or the Legion have something in mind that we don't know of. It's fascinating that you couldn't even get a piece of information about their true goal."

The espionage elf had his head slightly lowered.

"Don't be discouraged, you and the others shared the same fate, they too had no idea what their true goals were, is it purely to stir chaos in the Mortal World? I doubt it, must be something deep."

"Maybe we should keep an eye on them more intensely, I'm sure that I and the others would gain something out of them."

The elf king waved his hand, "No need, for now, our likes are actually the same. We hate those treacherous humans too, so let them."

The espionage nodded.

"Hmm, well, as you are here, I will tell you something as well. Who knows, it might be beneficial for you on your next mission."

The king smiled as he saw his espionage willing to listen. "As you already know, our Mortal World is technically split in half—one where the majority is humans, the other half is where the majority is for the non-human. This cold war has been going on for the longest years and yielded more for our side. We got more lands, and make them more prosper than what the humans could do."

"We are the superior race, we are inept in magic and mana loved us the moment we can open our eyes for the first time. However, our power with a bow is something that not even humans can take lightly either. We can shoot from afar and kill an enemy without revealing our position. Our eyes were made for ranged weapons."

"I'm sure you're confused about why I'm blabbering about things that you already know," The elf king smiled.

"Not at all, your majesty," answered the elf espionage.

The elf king nodded, "I want you to help the orcs."

The espionage had his pupils shrunk as he heard the king's words.

"You froze," the king chuckled.

"E-Excuse me, your majesty, but why if may ask?"

"You're not supposed to question my request, espionage."

The elf espionage lowered his head, "Forgive my rudeness."

The king laughed. "You're forgiven, but if you want to know, I will tell you."

The espionage darted from the floor toward his smiling king.

"Firstly, you will have the Legion's attention which is the most crucial. Reveal yourself to them that you are my espionage and that I want to meet them. By helping the orcs, they understand your power, our power, and won't make a joke out of you. It matters not if the orcs occupied the human lands or even if they lost— better if it were the latter, but make sure you shot a kill that they would notice so that you don't have to prove yourself to them that you are on 'their side'."

The espionage nodded.

"Secondly, as barbaric as the orcs are, we share the same bitter vision together. The humans are immoral and treacherous, their kins were made slaves and so did ours. Take it as an arrow to appease our ancestors."

"I understand, your majesty," said the espionage with a nod.

The king waved, "That would be all—Oh wait!"

The espionage had turned before turning again and knelt.

"Do you have any news regarding beastmen?" The king asked.

"I have no information regarding them during my mission," answered the espionage.

"Then that would be all," the king waved before the espionage left. He stood up before grabbing the wooden glass and approached the large window in the room. He looked over the city below with a smile before darting against the mountain across his kingdom.

...

"Hah, the air still feels the same," Lyon let out a sigh after taking a deep breath.

Cecile chuckled, "What makes you think that they would be different after we left?"

"I left a fart before I depart back then, haha!" Lyon laughed and left them to their shock inside the tower. He stepped outside first before the hovering guards turn their heads. Their eyes opened wide the moment they realized who it was.

"Heh," Lyon crossed his arms and smirked.