"Why didn't you go all out?" Nox asked, shooting a curious look at the orc shaman.
"That..." Zul'gor hesitated a little and started scratching his head as he fumbled with what to say. It was a rare sight for Nox to see.
Though he had only known the orc shaman for a couple of hours, the latter gave him the impression of a confident, charismatic leader who could rally his people with ease. So why was he hesitating? Why did he look embarrassed?
"Go on, you can tell me," Nox urged, seeing the hesitation in Zul'gor's eyes.
Zul'gor exhaled and said in a soft tone, which contrasted with his usual deep and profound voice, "The thing is, I never had a chance to use everything. You don't expect your opponent to reveal all his cards, do you? However, this backfired on me. I should've gone all out from the beginning. If I had, you wouldn't have pulled out that trick that tipped the scale of the fight in your favor."
"I see," Nox murmured, a slightly dazed expression crossing his features. He felt that what Zul'gor said made a lot of sense.
From Nox's perspective, the battle had stretched endlessly. However, from the perspective of Zul'gor and the rest of the orc settlement, the battle had been rather fast.
If the fight had continued a little longer, Zul'gor would have used more of his staff's effects, which would have made it increasingly difficult for Nox to win the spar.
At that moment, Nox sucked in a breath, feeling like he had dodged a bullet.
'Thankfully, he didn't. If not, I'd still be fighting him by now.'
He didn't really see any problem fighting for such an extended duration. The thing he was most worried about was the orcs' ability to temporarily seal all his skills, leaving him dependent on melee combat only.
It was akin to fighting someone with a gun while being unarmed.
Nox had tasted this for two minutes, and he didn't recommend it to anyone!
Some time later, Nox made the necessary arrangements with Zul'gor regarding the plans for the encampment.
"This is quite the damage," Nox thought as his sharp gaze swept across the settlement, which was in full renovation mode, with dust and grit rising into the air.
The chieftain, Borok, barked orders at the other orcs, instructing them to carry bricks, fix the tents, and repair everything that had been damaged during the fight. Fortunately, the damage done was minimal, so Nox didn't need to get involved personally.
Beside him, Zul'gor was observing the reconstruction process as well, yet his attention wasn't on his subordinates but on the azure-scaled python lazily coiling around his master's neck.
"Is she like me too? The connection is pretty powerful," he thought to himself.
He didn't dwell much on this thought, as there were more pressing issues he needed to handle. One of them was...
"What will happen to the settlement now?"
"Well, it's pretty simple," Nox stated, looking at a stone tower in the west wing of the settlement, his eyes flickering with curiosity.
"I'm currently on a mission." He shifted his gaze from the tower to Zul'gor, who held his gaze. "This mission is very important to me, and the rewards are equally bountiful. You will follow me while the rest of your tribesmen remain here."
"T-That..." Zul'gor tried to work his jaw, but Nox quickly interjected in a confident tone.
"Of course, we'll return and bring them back to somewhere more fortified," he claimed. "I've already given you my word that I'll make sure your tribe prospers. I don't plan on going back on my word, so be at ease. At most, we'll return in a month or two."
"If you say so." Whether it was due to the connection or not, Zul'gor believed Nox's words about returning for his tribesmen.
Besides, he was rarely seen and preferred to stay indoors meditating due to his old age.
It was the reason he had left Borok—who was also his son—in charge of the settlement. There had been a time when he was gone for a year, honing his skills, and during that period, Borok had led the people well.
Although his son was hotheaded, he was quite the capable leader. Zul'gor was more than certain that nothing would happen to them while he was away.
"What is in the tower?" Nox suddenly asked out of the blue.
"That's our treasury," Zul'gor said in a heartbeat.
"Treasury?" Nox repeated, his eyes glowing, a greedy light flickering in their depths.
"Come, let's go check it out."
Some time later, they arrived in front of the tower. Zul'gor pushed the door open, revealing a flight of stairs leading upward. Under Zul'gor's lead, Nox ascended the stairs and arrived in a room.
Inside, numerous shelves were stacked with gleaming monster cores, their surfaces pulsing faintly with residual energy.
Crude weapons—war axes, serrated daggers, and chipped swords—were lined against the walls, some still stained with dried blood. Several enchanted staffs, similar to what the high orcs carried, stood upright in the corner.
Nox's gaze flickered with interest as he stepped inside.
"Not bad," he mused, letting his fingers glide over a particularly well-crafted spear, its obsidian tip gleaming ominously.
Zul'gor stroked his beard and explained, "This is everything we've managed to collect from our hunts and battles. The monster cores, as you may know, are the only way for our race to grow stronger, so they are very important to us. It's one of the reasons we decided to settle here in the first place."
"About that..." Nox suddenly muttered as he sent a command to all his pets still fighting in the wilderness to stop attacking the beasts.
Initially, Nox had planned to loot the entire treasury for himself. It was one of his goals for coming to this settlement. However, now that all the orcs here were indirectly under his command, he didn't see any need for that anymore.
They needed the monster cores and treasures as much as he did.
As he proceeded to leave the treasury, Nox's eyes suddenly settled on something at the far extreme of the vast space.
At first, he wasn't so sure, but after taking a closer look, his eyes widened.