"Baronar! Come out, you swine!" Barca shouted
After Lux and his group finished collecting their spoils of war, they decided to strike while the iron was still hot. Barca had already given Lux the item that would help him subdue Baronar without risking his life during their duel.
The Half-Elf then passed it to Eiko who had snuck inside the Orc Encampment, waiting for an opportunity to carry out her mission.
The Orc Shaman angrily came out of his tent, followed by his two elite guards, who he had summoned after hearing Barca's shout. After hearing what happened to their stockpile of food, the Orc Shaman's temper was at an all time high.
A minute after Baronar left his tent to face off against Barca, a baby Slime poked out her head out of one of the tents near the Orc Shaman's residence.
Seeing that her target had left his abode, Eiko hurriedly crawled towards the tent to start her mission.
The baby Slime looked around for a bit before she moved towards the table. As a Slime, she could practically walk on any surface without a problem. Once she was on top of the table, she saw a half finished plate of roasted meat, a wooden cup, and a jug of some kind of drink that Eiko had no idea about.
The baby slime used her Air Strider [EX] skill to float in the air and hover above the jug of what seemed to be some kind of Orc Beer.
Earlier, Barca had given Lux a bottle of slow-acting Mage Poison. Although it had the word poison on it, it wasn't lethal enough to kill a mage just because they drank it. However, it could prevent the Mage from being able to harness the mana in their bodies, therefore rendering them unable to cast spells.
And even if they could still manage to cast a spell, it would be a very difficult endeavor for them to do. Barca intended to limit Baronar's offensive abilities and whittle him down in front of his men. The Orc race was a race that obeyed the strong. Unless Barca was able to defeat Baronar in a duel, they would never recognize him as their new Master.
The only downside of this poison was the amount of time needed before it starts to take effect, which was at least an hour or two.
'Pour all the contents of the bottle inside that jar, Eiko,' Lux ordered. Using his connection with Eiko, he checked on her progress. This was similar to how Lux was able to observe Diablo's surroundings as long as he entered a meditative state. It also allowed him to see and hear their immediate surroundings.
The baby Slime nodded her head and took out a glass vial from inside her mouth. She then opened it and poured its contents inside the jug as Lux ordered. After the deed was done, the Half-Elf ordered Eiko to leave because Baronar might return at any moment.
Just as Eiko was about to leave the tent, she heard the sounds of footsteps headed in her direction. The baby Slime immediately turned her head left and right in order to find a place to hide.
A few moments later, the flap of the tent opened and Baronar came inside along with his two elite warriors.
"That bastard, Barca! How dare he do this to me?!" Baronar growled in anger as he slammed the butt of his bone staff on the ground. "Challenge me to a duel in two hours? Hah! It seems that being a Half-Blood made him stupid. I knew that I should have killed him back then when I had the chance."
Baronar walked towards the table in anger and poured himself a cup of mead. He chugged everything down in less than five seconds and poured himself another cup. After regaining his calm, he resumed eating his dinner.
Since he would be fighting against Barca in two hours, he needed to replenish his strength. The Orc Shaman wasn't afraid of his opponent. He had been challenged many times in the past, and the skulls of all those challengers had been added to his collection.
Truth be told, among the four Orc Warlords, Baronar was the strongest. Even the reigning Orc Chieftain, Orobak, treated him with respect.
After finishing his meal, the Orc Shaman laid down on the bed to recover his strength. However, before doing so, he ordered one of his Elite Orc Warriors to get him some water.
The Orc Warrior casually grabbed one of the clay jugs near the door to take it to the river behind the camp to get some water.
As he was headed towards his destination, he suddenly heard a giggling sound near him. The Orc Warrior became alert and looked around him. He was still holding the jug in his left hand, while he held a War Axe in his right.
Looking at his surroundings, he saw no one, and yet, the giggling sound continued.
The Orc Warrior tried to locate the source of the sound. After a while, he realized that the sound came from somewhere beside him.
When he looked at his hand, he saw the clay jug trembling. This confused the Orc Warrior because this was the first time he saw a giggling clay jug. What he didn't know was that Eiko had transformed into one of the clay jugs near the door in order to hide from them.
Unfortunately, the baby Slime was quite a bit ticklish. When the Orc Warrior carried her along, she wasn't able to stop herself from giggling because the clay jug was her body.
Before the Orc Warrior could even decide what to do, a hand covered his mouth, and a greatsword pierced through his chest from behind.
This loosened his grip on the clay jug, causing it to fall towards the ground. However, before it landed, it transformed into a baby Blue Slime that bounced off the ground once before giggling happily. Clearly, Eiko still hadn't recovered from her ticklish experience.
"Good job," Barca said as he looked down on the baby Slime that had carried out her mission well. "Let's go back."
"Un!" Eiko replied, then happily ate the Beast Core that had dropped to the ground before jumping on Barca's right shoulder.
The baby Slime didn't consume the Beast Core, but simply stored it inside her body so she could give it to her Papa later. Although she was a battle junkie and a glutton, she would never consume a Beast Core when her Papa wasn't near.
Lux had told Barca to retrieve Eiko from the camp after the Orc Warrior left Baronar's tent. Since Phase 2 of their plan was completed, all he needed to do was wait for the promised time, so that Barca could duel the weakened Baronar in front of his subordinates.
