***Author Note***
Hey! The main reason for this author note is to inform all of my readers of a recent technical error in my chaps.
You may have noticed the publishing hours recently have been all over the place. This is not because of a shortage of Chapters, so I’d like to clarify that firstly.
The reason why is because an informant told me that some Chapters may be published under a specific word count. After their immense verification and trust in their words, I decided to try it out.
But I have discovered that this "new rule" is not in place and that the word count for Chapters are still the normal amount.
Moving forward, all Chapters will be the same length as before (unless extra long).
Sorry for the delay and miscommunication. This disclaimer will be in all of the shortened Chapters.
To make up for it, there will be an extra Chapter release tomorrow!
—-
The Mark of Midas had been gouged into mountainsides and walkways. You could see the mark etched across homes made of wood and stone alike.
Dozens of mosquitoes swooped in occasionally to create this pattern across the orc homestead.
The majority of the mosquitoes flew through the sky at a high altitude.
They hurled down bog bombs, new and upgraded versions than those of before.
The bog plants were lit ablaze, and as they fell, the blood essence dust within them was activated. This led to a massive explosion of flame.
A distance away, Midas and the majority of his group were hidden away amongst the valleys.
There, goblins continuously prepared bog bombs. Stuffing the plants with dried Blood Essence converted into dust before setting them on fire and handing them off to reloading mosquitoes.
For the orcs, safety would not come so soon.
Hellfire continued to rain down without any signs of delay.
Most of the orc soldiers remained still, unable to do anything in their power to help.
"Retreat to your homes! Retreat into the mountain and under the ground!" Soldiers screamed with desperation as they ran along the street.
However, hope did not look to be in the eyes of those running away.
The soldiers who marched for safety were the ones getting scorched by hellfire.
Those who attempted to protect their homes were soon devoured by flame as well.
The remaining population cowered, hiding in fear where they could not be seen. Although they were safe for now, the feeling of absolute surrender to a seemingly indomitable force was humiliating.
Orcs had relations and emotions similar to any other intelligent being, but their pride was still of a stronger origin. They were beastly orcs, after all.
Despite all of this happening, Midas ordered it to continue.
He knew that the orcs did not have machinery that was sufficient to shoot down mosquitoes, which were hundreds of feet high in the air.
Even if they used catapults, aiming the weapon so accurately in such a situation was practically impossible.
Not only was the target puny and extremely fast, but the explosions occurring across the sky didn’t make it any easier. Along with that, the stress and angst of attempting to kill a single mosquito out of the countless made it all seem pointless.
For an entire hour, mosquitoes rained down the bog bombs.
By the end, the entire orc city was laid to rubble. Hundreds of souls had passed, and the other remaining population was encased within stone.
Many were entrapped in their own homes, unable to escape or even breathe clean air--let alone see the light of day.
The entire valley was stained by ash, the mountain sides combusted and shattered, and the streets rough with debris.
Finally, Midas addressed his army of goblins and mosquitoes within the hidden valley.
"Thats enough... this should be plenty to send our message across." He said, handing Bzzrt a note.
"Within that note lies the message that I want to relay. I will task you with this mission, since it is the final piece of our puzzle." Midas said with a proud smile. This was a small test of loyalty for a new, fairly important member.
Bzzrt humbly accepted the note, nodding to his master’s order before flying into the distance.
He flew above the orc homestead, swerving down toward the main building that peered above the valley.
’The palace of the king.’ Bzzrt thought to himself, swooping down to the front yard of the mountain.
Within the gate of the yard, nothing but a mere ball made of weeds existed.
’This is a perfect place as any.’ Bzzrt said to himself, slashing his hands across the ground several times in a flurry of strikes.
As the dust settled, a sentence could be read from the markings on the ground. It was written in Angesh.
"By sundown, meet the king atop the highest peak for communication regarding peace and prosperity."
And the symbol of Midas was stamped above it, finalizing the message.
’Perfect.’ Bzzrt smiled inwardly, flapping his wings to float upward.
"You will not get away with this!" A deep and powerful voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere.
Bzzrt instantly heard the voice, but couldn’t pinpoint its direction.
’That voice... I think I’ve heard it before. It belongs to an orc I fought long ago.’ Bzzrt thought for a split second.
He was now twenty feet (six meters) high in the air. He peered down at the markings on the ground for a fast couple of seconds before turning to leave.
Then, he noticed an odd tremor in the ground a few dozen feet away from the markings he had placed.
’Hmm?’ He paused for a split second, slightly confused.
Without warning, a massive earthworm dove up from the ground like a dolphin out of water!
It soared its head into the sky, aiming its massive, round, and serrated maw straight for the mosquito. Its body was thick and ridged, similar to a dark brown grub worm.
Bzzrt could not move for some reason, not having anticipated the attack even slightly.
The earthworm let out a murderous screech of spit and blood before swallowing Bzzrt whole.