"I'm sorry, but I have never been to the Orc Stronghold," Pietro said with a bitter smile.
"Although I have traveled to many places in my homeland, the Blackrock Clan's territory is off-limits to those who are not part of the Seven Spiritual Guardians of the Wanid Kingdom. Us ordinary commoners are not allowed to visit them without an important reason."
Lux nodded his head in understanding because he had already expected this outcome.
Before he came to the Wanid Kingdom, Keelan, the Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild and also a member of the Stronghold of Norria, had provided him with some information about the Guardians that served as its protectors.
The Witches of Moonbright
The Druids of the Forest of Beginnings
Templars of Cassemere
The Blackrock Orcs
Djinns of Valefor
Dryads of East Haven
The Harpies of Airedale
The Blackrock Orcs were located along the Western edges of the Wanid Kingdom.
In a lush and rich valley, the Orcs had erected an imposing fortress, which protected the Wanid Kingdom from the advances of the Haca Dynasty.
Similar to the Vahan Empire, the Haca Dynasty was a Kingdom that sought to expand its territory in order to enrich itself, and exert its dominance over its neighbors.
Unfortunately, when they launched their first campaign to conquer the mysterious Wanid Kingdom, the first to stop them had been the Orcs.
If the Orcs in question had been ordinary, the army of the Haca Dynasty would have managed to defeat them without taking any major losses.
Unfortunately, the one that led them was a Half-Orc, who was not only strong, but cunning as well.
Because of this, the Haca Dynasty found themselves fighting against an organized army of Orcs, and not a bunch of riffraff that they could overcome with great numbers. After consecutive losses, the Great General of the Haca Dynasty was forced to order a retreat.
It had been thirty years since they last stepped into the lands of the Wanid Kingdom, but the Orcs were certain that the Humans would launch another campaign to try and conquer their lands after they regained the losses they had suffered in the past.
"Well, this is where we part ways, Sir Pietro," Lux said as he shook the Mayor's hand firmly. "I hope that the next time we meet, you and the rest of the residents of Abingdon Town will be in a much better situation."
Pietro nodded as he returned Lux's handshake with both hands. "I pray for that as well. May the Spirits of the Wanid Kingdom watch over you."
After bidding his farewell, Lux and his group traveled westward.
Unlike the Kingdom of Gweliven, the Wanid Kingdom had very few teleportation gates. These gates were placed in strategic locations so that the Guardians could send their armies to reinforce their allies at any given time.
They couldn't be used by the general public, which meant that Lux and his group had no choice but to use the old-fashioned way of traveling, and that was by riding their mounts.
'The Wanid Kingdom is so big, and we may not have enough time before my two-month grace period is over,' Lux thought. 'I also promised to celebrate my birthday with Iris.'
Lux frowned as they continued their journey. He had spent ten days escorting the residents of Abingdon Town to Broughton Town, which was three days shorter than the deadline he was given by the quest.
Even so, the red-headed teenager estimated that it would take them four to five days of travel before they reached the Blackrock Clan's territory.
If that were true, they would've spent nearly a month in the Wanid Kingdom just by traveling to the location of the first Transcendent Flame.
'Look on the bright side,' Keoza's voice reached Lux's ears as they continued to head West. 'Perhaps the Orcs discovered the Transcendent Flame and moved it to their stronghold. If that were the case, then we won't need to head North, which would have made our journey longer.'
Despite hearing the Crystal Dragon's words of assurance, the Half-Elf still couldn't stop himself from feeling anxious.
'What if they have already tamed the Transcendent Flame?' Lux replied. 'Wouldn't that mean that our journey was wasted?'
'Calm down,' Keoza stated. 'The Transcendent Flame still doesn't have an owner. I am sure of it.'
'Really?'
'Are you doubting me, you brat? Okay, listen up. Back then, I wanted to call dibs on the Transcendent Flames, so I placed my mark on them. If someone succeeded in subduing them, my mark would have disappeared. But, since it is still there, it means that they still don't have any owners. Are you happy now?'
Lux was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing Keoza's explanation. His greatest worry was to come home empty-handed. However, since the Crystal Dragon had affirmed that the Transcendent Flame in the Blackrock Territory was still untamed, he could now put all of his energy into the completion of their mission.
—---------
Four days later…
"We would have arrived faster if we flew," Cethus grumbled. "If only that Tempest Elemental hadn't threatened us…"
The Dragon Born disliked traveling on land because, for him, it was a very lowly thing to do. He would rather spread his wings and fly freely in the sky and use his natural-born abilities to eliminate anything that stood in his way.
"Stop grumbling," Gerhart commented. "We're already here, so make sure that you don't annoy the Orcs. I don't have any intention of helping you if you accidentally irk one of them."
"Shut up, you green-haired Half-Elf," Cethus replied. "Don't order me around. I only listen to the red-haired one."
"Okay, it's your funeral anyway." Gerhart no longer bothered with the uptight and arrogant Dragon Born, who still hadn't learned the lesson he had been taught back in Karshvar Draconis.
Lux, who heard their conversation, turned around to look at the Dragon Born with a serious expression on his face.
"Cethus, if you create trouble here, I will kick you out of the party even if you beg me for forgiveness," Lux stated. "Do I make myself clear?"
The Dragon Born snorted and looked away. Although the Dragon Born acted like this, Lux had a feeling that Cethus would listen to his words and not cause any problems while they were in the territory of the Blackrock Clan.
They had already noticed several Orcs eyeing them from a distance, but none of them took the initiative to attack Lux's group.
When he finished the Quest inside the Dungeon, Orc Dominion, Lux received 3,000 reputation points with the Blackrock Clan. Back then, he didn't think too much of it because he thought that the reputation points he gained back then would serve no use in the real world.
But now that he was looking at the Orc Stronghold in front of him, he couldn't help but wonder if the reputation points he currently had was the reason why the Orcs weren't attacking him.
Just as their group was about to arrive at the gate of the fortress, over a dozen Orcs walked up to them to stop their advance.
"This is the first time I've seen your faces," an Orc that was over two meters tall said as he looked down on Lux and his companions. "Why are you here in our territory?"
Originally, the Guard Captain of the Orcs wanted to attack Lux and his party when their scouts found them traversing their Domain.
However, they didn't do that because, for some reason, they sensed that the red-headed teenager that was leading the group didn't have any bad intentions toward them.
"Actually, we came here to have a proper talk with your Tribe Chief to discuss some important matters," Lux replied.
"What matters?" the Orc Captain asked back.
"... something very important?" Lux answered.
"And what is that very important matter you speak of?" the Orc Captain growled.
Lux's brain immediately went into overdrive as he thought of a good excuse to say. He was already thankful that the Orcs weren't attacking him, so he was thinking of the best answer to give, to prevent hostilities from breaking out.
"Actually, I am a Necro– Summoner," Lux replied. "I have heard that the Great Baronar is the most powerful Orc Shaman in the Wanid Kingdom. Because of this, I traveled long distances to exchange pointers with him."
"Hoh… so, you have heard about our great Orc Shaman," the Orc Captain's expression became a little less fierce after hearing Lux's answer. "You said you were a Summoner, right? Show me one of your Summons."
Lux knew that this was the turning point, so he immediately summoned his Fortress Defenders, Pazuzu.
The two-meter-tall Orc Captain and Lux's Demonic Defender held each other's gaze for nearly half a minute before the Orc raised his fist.
Pazuzu did the same.
Lux's comrades who saw this thought that the Orc Captain and the Fortress Defender were about to have a fistfight, and took a fighting stance.
But Lux raised his hand to stop them from doing anything and simply watched Pazuzu and the Orc bumped their fists together as a sign of goodwill.
"You smell like one of Lord Baronar's Elite Orc Spirit Warriors," the Orc Captain stated as he shifted his attention to Lux. "Okay, I will believe you for now. Stay here while I inform Lord Baronar of your request to meet with him."
The Orc Captain raised his hand, and one of his subordinates hurried back inside the Stronghold to use an artifact that was able to communicate with another over long distances.
While this was happening, the Orc Captain was eyeing Pazuzu with great interest. Clearly, the former was itching for a fight, and for some reason, the Fortress Defender seemed very keen to fight as well.
