The Dawn of the New World

"Um, well about that... it's both a yes AND a no right now."

"....What does that even mean? Either it's done or it isn't," Hao Xuan's expression turned serious.

Altron back up a few inches until he hit the wall and couldn't back away anymore.

"You see, the thing is we DID have the mats (materials) to outfit all the Orcs but after talking to Arthur and the others we made a few much-needed adjustments to the basic designs the main-unit came up with. And those 'improvements', cause that's what they are rather than simple adjustments, need some ores that are just not found in this world. So you see, it's not that we didn't but couldn't..."

Altron did his best to explain but only made Hao Xuan rub his temples in silence while mulling over the fact they had basically been stuck at the design phase. Altron wasn't wrong though, the changes he came up with warranted another look.

Or rather it was what the Orcs added to it.

Hao Xuan waved his hand to shut Altron up and pointed towards the door, "Go let them in."

"Eh? Let who-"

*Knock*Knock*Knock*

Altron quietly floated to the window and peeked out through the curtains to see four figures standing there.

He swiftly left the room before returning with the four figures a minute later.

"Master," four overlapping voices called out to Hao Xuan.

He got up from the chair and turned around to face the four kneeling figures. These were the leaders of all the other Orcs. He gestured for them to stand up and be at ease.

All standing side by side they could barely fit in the room.

In the front was Arthur, still the tallest one among them. To his left was a burly man just a few inches taller than Hao Xuan but almost twice as wide. He was wearing a face mask that looked like breathing apparatus to cover the bottom half of his face.

"Gamil," Hao Xuan nodded towards him and he bowed back.

To Arthur's right was an androgynous youngster. He looked like a teenager barely 14-15 years old. He was not only extremely thin and small for an Orc but even by human standards he would be a little lacking. Wearing oversized clothes he was standing there in his own world looking left and right.

But when he saw Hao Xuan looking in his direction he winked with a mischievous smile and bowed lazily, "Master, I missed you so much!"

He tried to lunge forward and hug Hao Xuan with open arms but was pulled back by Arthur.

Hao Xuan chuckled warily and took a step back, "Olav, I see you haven't changed one bit."

"Hehehe," he gave a toothy grin in return. It was hard to tell whether he was actually male or female because of his androgynous features and Hao Xuan didn't bother to ask. Although he might soon have to if Olav persisted in this routine.

Hao Xuan craned his neck and peered behind Arthur at the last figure that was trying to hide behind him.

"Malina," he called out and a female Orc slowly revealed herself.

Hao Xuan nodded seeing her progress, "I almost didn't recognize you. Did you tell them I came back?"

The girl shyly nodded back. She was just a couple of inches smaller than Hao Xuan but her pronounced muscles were only second to Arthur himself. She was the same girl Hao Xuan had run into after returning to the city.

It was to be noted that all the Orcs under Hao Xuan's command had a very ashy skin tone. They had lived their entire lives in the darkness for hundreds of generations and had lost the dark grey color that their species was mostly known for.

The females were smaller than the males but both genders had protruding fangs although those of the males were bordering on tusks.

Fleshy lupine (wolfish) ears that mostly curved back. Physically they matured much faster and by the tender age of 12 were considered to be adults in their cultures.

The females and prepubescent members of the species could easily be mistaken for humans if they covered themselves up just a little bit.

Hao Xuan looked each and every one of them up and down and could not find any fault with them. They had all solidified their cultivations and if what Altron said was true, had even awakened their inheritances.

"Did you all get your inheritance?"

"Yes," they replied in unison once again.

The inheritance Hao Xuan was referring to was left behind by the Old King for these youngsters. They were the future of his species so he had left each of them a small part of his knowledge and powers.

Hao Xuan didn't actually know how it worked but at a certain age they were able to receive specialized knowledge that was appropriate for their powers. Gavril had mentioned in passing that this came from their blood ancestors and they could learn some skills and knowledge that was sealed within their DNA.

That's why they weren't big on keeping written records because it could be just passed by blood, albeit only to their descendants.