It was a strange night; on one side there was sadness and fear, on the other side orcs celebrating with the joy of victory. When Kübey brought the City Lord back, she briefly explained what happened. The young man collapsed where he stood; despite doing his best, he couldn't prevent the slaughter.
After Nafız's spirit animal ate the dead people, only blood covering the floor and unclaimed clothes remained in the large square. The task of cleaning this place was given to those among the City Guards who did not participate in the rebellion.
Their friends who stood side by side just a few day-cycles ago were gone now. They had blended into nothingness without bodies to be buried or graves to be mourned after.
All these events would bring a new problem; the manpower in the city had decreased by almost half. Most shops and workshops were emptied; merchants no longer had many customers. Eftelya would step in here; even though she wasn't informed about what would happen, she had made a plan with Kitapkurdu to overcome the crisis that would occur.
People who remained loyal should be rewarded. Commanders thrown into the dungeon during the rebellion would take the place of others. The goods of wealthy traitors had already begun to be distributed to the poor people who returned to their homes obeying the call; this would both ensure social balance and disperse the fear and anxiety settling inside them.
"What do you think for the orc tribe in the region, great chief?"
Their business in Parthenia was really over this time. There was only one reason for them to stay in the lands known as the Trade Region. A structure ensuring the continuity of their dominance needed to be established, and Nafız was asking her friend for his final decision.
"Until we capture the entire continent, we can make some trials in this part. Our scouts confirmed there are many places suitable for living. While protecting the places we hold by dividing our armies in two, we will use Çekiçdöven and his warriors for the conquest of the Glacial Region!"
Alyon's plan was quite logical. If they could hold the Trade Region, along with the mines in the Arid Region, their financial power would increase moment by moment. While their enemies' resources were cut off, they would seize the move superiority.
The next move should be finishing the military power of the Main Orc Tribe; the target was determined as the tribe managed by Beyaz Ayı.
"Are you sure there won't be a problem? When they see their old chiefs, let their desire to fight not evaporate and mix into the air?"
The Blood God couldn't trust the new army much. Maybe the thought of taking their lives was still waiting slyly in a corner of her mind.
"They survived two tests; after what they saw, such a thought won't cross their minds!"
The chief's trust in his warriors was full. Çekiçdöven's warriors were not dishonorable enough to betray the person who looked after them at the point where they were left to die. Even the traces of the betrayal his master suffered before wouldn't be enough to affect his decision; if he was going to unite these lands, he had to trust some of those living on it.
"Is our route clear? Go to the main tribe and... wait a minute, we can't just say 'allow us to pass with these fifty thousand people as we will invade the Glacial Region', right?"
The Orc Steppes had a strange geographical structure; while being almost isolated from the outside world, there were also points difficult to access within itself. Besides the deep rift separating the Trade Region from the Arid Region, there was a river separating this part from the Forest Section covered with dense vegetation.
The stream named Crazy Water took its name from its wild nature. Its waters, which were like a velvet cover in normal times, went crazy when there was a living thing on it and wouldn't stop until swallowing it. The sole reason why this region where the city of Parthenia was located could only be accessed by giant suspension bridges was the Crazy Water river.
The situation of the Glacial Region wasn't different either. The only land connection of the place surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides was provided through the Main Orc Tribe. On its border with the Arid Region was the Cursed Lake formed after the Crazy Water river went underground.
The Cursed Lake was perhaps the most mysterious point on the Orc Steppes. While the part bordering the Arid Section was almost as hot as the lava of a volcano, the Glacial Region side was in a frozen state. The reason lying at the basis of the climatic conditions of the two regions was this interesting body of water.
"We will reach the region via the Cursed Lake; I think we can reach the tribe without freezing thanks to our superior bodies!"
The chief's plans were simple as always; if he wanted to do something, he preferred the shortest way.
"Okay, how will we handle the job of reaching the opposite shore without getting boiled?"
After reaching the frozen section, no matter how difficult the journey was, it wasn't something orcs couldn't achieve, but the hot side that turned everything falling into it to ashes instantly was making Nafız think.
"Not to brag because he is my son, but our boy found a remedy for that too!"
Since the person mentioned was her own student, Nafız's brows furrowed; what did Kitapkurdu have to do with this business?
"You wondered, didn't you? When you went to war with the groom, I ordered Kitapkurdu to solve this issue. Although trials were made with all known materials in the past, no result could be obtained, but my boy turned out to be sharp as a tack, my friend!"
Alyon was puffing up more and more; he was shameless as if he wasn't the one giving up hope on his child in disappointment once.
"Down boy! Slow down so they'll call you a mullah; enough bragging about my student!"
After scanning Nafız briefly, his friend rolled his eyes and continued speaking.
"It came to his mind to make a trial with one of the shells we took from Dilber, and they saw that it wasn't damaged despite staying in the water for almost a day-cycle."
The solution had long been found. Now, what remained was reorganizing the armies and the construction of many tribes to be established within the Trade Region. Gold was plentiful as sand in the tribe; if there was anything more than this, it was the number of merchants around them.
Alyon's real intention was to bring Asiyürek to the head of the tribe in this part, but doing what his friend said seemed more logical now. They would establish a military base; the command of this place would be with Asiyürek, and the training responsibility with Morrison.
Its location should be at the point where trade routes intersected; together with the tribes to be established around it, it was thought to cover the region completely over time. Maybe if the knowledge and skills of orcs increased in the future, they could try their luck in lanes other than fighting too.
In the city suffering from a manpower shortage, Chief Alyon had to leave five thousand of his warriors. Even if there was no danger coming from land, Parthenia had to be protected against attacks to be made by sea. As for the commanders selected from the remaining forty-five thousand warriors, orders were given for them to establish their tribes in the designated regions.
They would settle in these places with the units they managed, multiply, and provide warriors to be trained at the military base. The main purpose of many was to act as an outpost, but in the future, they could also catch the opportunity to develop themselves in other ways.
When the great gate of the city opened, the orcs on the path of the vehicle going out were saluting it. Inside the wagon with a red orc fist on it, two people who changed their fates sat facing each other.
Alyon and Nafız were inside a cage when they first entered through this gate, but while leaving, they were departing with the air of victorious commanders.