"You herd of cowards will not die today! You will pay the price of your betrayal by working in the mines for fifty years!"
Judgment was passed. The rebels didn't even have the courage to scan the surroundings with their eyes. Whereas how proud they were just until yesterday? Power was such a thing; it would make heads rising with nobility bow, shatter all sweet dreams established.
Miloş approached the captured crowd and threw the handcuffs from his transportation ring. Friends telling each other stories about how they would run from victory to victory were now sealing their own futures.
Number one of the Elite Ten also released a mechanical homing pigeon into the air. This was a call to the prisoner wagons waiting half a day away from them. Before sunset, all rebels were stuffed into mechanical vehicles packed like sardines, already setting off towards the mine where they would serve their sentences.
"Everyone move away from here! I forbid coming within a thousand steps of me!"
Nafız spoke with a harsh expression and stern tone of voice. While the corpses on the ground preserved their freshness, she had only one thought in her mind.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Miloş and the ten warriors moved away rapidly after shouting at the same time. They had received the order; the only thing they could do was to obey it. A thought like questioning didn't even cross their minds.
"Come here, little bunny!"
Putting her hand on the tattoo on her arm, Nafız closed her eyes, and a moment later, a creature dazzling with snow-white fur would appear in front of her.
"What's up, little one? I thought you might be hungry!"
The female orc hadn't released her spirit animal for a long time. Unlike previous coercions, this time she was summoning it voluntarily. The little rabbit first looked at its owner for a while; it was as if it understood what was said to it. Not even five breaths had passed when its tiny nose and ears started trembling rapidly.
The smell of blood and the whimpering of orcs who hadn't died yet were blowing Nafız's spirit animal's mind. The cute animal disappeared from sight in an instant; evidently, it had gone after filling its stomach.
The Elite Ten was resting in a distant place. They were enjoying being successful in their first days. Graduation exams had just started; despite the strange movements of the frightening female orc at their head, there was a great opportunity in front of them to develop their skills.
While the army sent to suppress the rebels advanced, they were dealing with tribes appearing before them one by one. They were capturing one every day; this event, sometimes bloody, sometimes resolved itself calmly.
Nafız and the Elite Ten loved most those who continued their conceited attitudes without being able to predict what would happen to them. In this case, the warrior group that would be the ancestors of the next generation of orcs tried their skills and worked on them comfortably.
Nights of days ending with killing a large amount of enemies were resulting in the feast of Nafız's spirit animal. These days when she frequently took the little rabbit out, the Blood God would discover some things.
The more time she spent with it, the better the spirit animal's actions towards her became; the rabbit, running to corpses by ignoring her at first, was now stopping with her for a while, listening to her speeches, then starting to fill its stomach.
Nafız, inwardly happy with this situation, decided the time had come to address the spirit animal by its name. Nafız would be very meticulous while thinking about the name it would carry as long as it existed; you know, she was a person suffering from this issue herself.
While watching the little rabbit inflating its stomach with the proud warriors of the sixth tribe, she finally found how to address it. She recalled what she experienced in the dungeon where she awakened her spirit animal; the white rabbit and the hole she fell into were coming to her mind.
'Alis, I will call her Alis!'
Decision was made. Although it was the name of a very famous novel character in her previous life, this was quite an original name in her current life. The Blood God had almost flown with joy when her older sister read this book to her when she was little; although she didn't know the gender of the spirit animal, this name would remind her of her old life she threw into a corner of her mind and her older sister whom she loved dearly.
When Alis's job was done, Nafız moved to the place where the rest of the team was. A large fire was lit, and the Elite Ten was chatting around it.
"So, kids, you started experiencing the fire of real war. How do you feel?"
Nafız was in high spirits. She didn't hesitate to take priority to chat with the chosen ones giving exams under her command.
"Ma'am, I don't know about my friends, but this experience has been invaluable for me. Whether fixed or mobile, compared to inanimate targets, there was a huge difference between hitting an enemy attacking to kill!"
Number ten was speaking. Since they started the rebellion suppression duty, he was fighting at full capacity. This time it was benefiting him the most. Except for one of the six captured tribes, the remaining ones had resisted for a certain time; even the settlement in the third row had fought until a handful remained.
Only one tribe had surrendered without fighting at all; their chieftain had killed himself taking all responsibility. The Blood God, impressed by this noble act, reduced their mine sentences to twenty years. Ultimately, the tribe chieftain had protected his kin by reaching the consciousness of his responsibilities while dying.
"Ma'am, when we left the Sacred Lands, I was at Master level second stage. When I fought my first battle, I felt something awakening inside me. My senses sharpened; while the harmony of my movements increased, a distinct increase occurred in my speed. I think I am currently at the third stage; I am thinking of applying for the exam to rise to expert level when we return!"
Although the archer orc's face wasn't visible, it was obvious from the color of his voice that he was grinning with pleasure. How could he not be happy? If he rose a level, his rank within the Elite Ten would rise, and the privileges granted to him would increase.
When these ten chosen ones were ranked, the criterion taken as basis was how much they could advance in their techniques. Their combat powers and amounts of destruction were put in the background. War was a living, breathing thing; conditions perfect for the technique you used one day could leave you helpless on the battlefield tomorrow.
To give an example, while number seven's Metal Storm gave perfect results against enemies flocking onto him, it could remain helpless against enemies hidden in a place with structures restricting his movement area.
What was taken as basis would be how much the technique penetrated his body. The blood, bone, marrow, soul of these warriors had to develop. This was a necessity for the new generation to breed from them to be born inherently strong.
They were all at Novice level when they received their techniques, but when they passed the first two stages and reached the third, the gate of the Sacred Lands would open to them. There were many orcs who came here but couldn't rise to Master level. They were crushed under those showing development, disappearing by serving as stepping stones. Whenever a warrior became Master Level second stage, the opportunity to change his fate forever was knocking on his door.
The reward dungeon hidden under the name of ancestors' favor was opening to them. The gift warriors entering the place under Dilber's protection would receive also determined the path they would walk in the future.
Whichever of the two warriors at the same level received a reward more compatible with his technique, involuntarily there would be a difference, albeit small, between him and the other, but this nuance increased as development continued, the distance between them opening gradually. Number ten was the most important example of this. Thanks to his quiver which was an interspatial void, his speed increased, enabling him to throw himself into the Elite Ten by overcoming his peers.
"Congratulations! You are reaping the fruits of the great perseverance you showed from the beginning. I hope this ambition of yours sets an example for some show-offs among us!"