Midas’s eyebrows immediately furrowed with surprise, "War?" He said.
The goblins nearby gathered together as Yemo began to inform everyone about the danger that loomed.
"Firstly, before I get to the danger that will soon fall into our hands to handle, I will speak about what my gang learned about the goals of the white orcs of Karak-O," Yemo said, taking a deep breath.
"The orcs have been in a war with serpents for many centuries. In the last century, with mostly the same generation of orcs, the serpents were finally somehow nearly wiped out. The survivors managed to escape with their leader, hoping to rebuild strength within the eastern mountains of Vineral. Deep within those mountains lay a cavern so large that it makes the War Pass seem like a mere mouse-maze in comparison."
Yemo’s words were enough to cause many to raise eyebrows in surprise.
Midas’s expression had not changed. He patiently listened to everything Yemo had to say.
"For many decades, orcs attempted to finish off the serpent race; however, their leader, Sergalas, proved to be too great a challenge for the orcs to handle. Each time the orcs rallied together and attacked the massive cavern within the eastern mountains, they were pretty much wiped out by Sergalas. Eventually, the cavern became his domain, now called Sergalas’s cavern. He rules over that mountain range with an iron might."
Yemo’s eyes widened as if he were imagining his words.
"All creatures who reside on the eastern part of the island pay homage to Sergalas, bringing him food so that the serpent never has to leave his cavern. They do this in exchange for their lives and homes... the beasts in the east are riddled with fear. Sergalas has proven to be a nearly indomitable force."
Suddenly, Yemo’s tone turned more serious, "However... as of recently, that reign looks to be getting challenged. The orcs haven’t attacked Vineral for many decades, and it was for a reason. They have been rallying... strengthening their men and tools. Their armor is now better, their weapons larger. Above that, they have collected an army of over one thousand white orcs to march upon Sergalas’s Cavern for the final time and wipe it out once and for all." He said.
Midas looked surprised to hear this news.
’O-one thousand orcs!?’ He said in his head, not even able to imagine such a scene. ’That... is no joke. I thought the orcs were an issue... but this is far more than I expected.’
Gool also looked to have a worried expression on his face.
’Tsk... I should have known.’ He grimaced inwardly, ’Although I was only in the captivity of the orcs for a few months, it should have been obvious what they were doing. Their mission to build an army was done in secret... yet the preparation of weapons and armor was as obvious as anything. If I had already guessed that they had been preparing an army, I could have warned Midas sooner. Maybe we would have had more time to prepare...’ He blamed himself slightly.
"There is speculation... many creatures on Demadur, especially those on the eastern edges, speak of a rumor that Sergalas is no ordinary serpent king. Yes, he is from a royal bloodline. Any creature that has royal blood is significantly stronger than its peers of the same species. However, there seems to be something differentiating Sergalas even further. Most believe that he has reached the final stage of his evolution... the elder stage. A point in a beast’s age when they have lived far longer than they were meant to, achieving a state of grotesque power and strength." Yemo said, furrowing his eyebrows. He paused.
"But still... hundreds upon hundreds of white orcs are infinitely sure to win. There is no world where they don’t." Yemo concluded. "Now that all of that is out of the way... I will tell you of our danger." He faced the north.
"Out of the thousand or so orcs, over two hundred and fifty have been sent to trample upon our base. The base of Midas, the player." Yemo said.
Midas’s eyes instantly flew open with alarm, "What?" He muttered under his breath in utter shock.
"They are armed with the highest quality tools, weapons, armor, and orc war-machinery. Led by Erho, a high white orc and the right-hand man of the commander, they are marching to where we currently stand as we speak." Yemo’s words caused silence and worry to fall over the atmosphere like a boulder.
Many goblins looked forward with no thoughts behind their eyes, only dread towering over their shoulders.
How were they to survive? Was fleeing the only option? Was there a way to fight back against such an army? The news was devastating.
Even Midas’s head was already racing to come up with a solution. Some way that he could come out of this situation and profit from it.
He stood up, "Survival is easy." He said in a serious tone, capturing everyone’s attention.
"We flee, and abandon our base to be trampled and destroyed." His eyes slowly scanned the crowd, steely and unwavering, "But I would rather die before letting that happen. If my kingdom is trampled, I don’t deserve to be called a king." He said.
"But what are we to do?" Gool asked, "The only other option is to fight them! We surely can not win that, even with the first breath that you have learned!"
Midas glanced at him, smirking, "Who’s to say that’s the only other option?" He looked at Yemo, "Yemo has returned with a lot more valuable news than just that. Using all we know, we have a plethora of options. I will not accept defeat, but nor will I accept mere survival. My goal in this life, and on this island, is to thrive." His words were ambitious, his eyes wide.
Everyone was captivated by his confidence.
"Yemo," He said, glancing towards the goblin, "How much time do you estimate we have before the orcs arrive here?"
"About a week, my lord. Since they are traveling in such a large group, their journey will be delayed. Still, they will not stop until they get to our base." Yemo instantly replied.
"Wrong." Midas retorted, "They will stop, but not at our base." He said, confusing the goblins. "Here’s the plan... the way we come out of this entire debacle as the absolute victors." He said with a smile, beginning to explain the next moves he and his company were going to execute.