Everyone in the room froze, especially Lux.
He was one of the strongest people in the room, yet he had not sensed the Half-Orc's presence until the other party spoke.
In fact, he didn't even know how the Half-Orc got there in the first place. All he knew was that they were in a very tricky situation, and one wrong move could make the entire Blackrock Clan instantly turn hostile towards them.
If that were to happen, the chances of them being able to leave the Stronghold safely would be extremely difficult.
"And you are?" Cethus did his best to remain calm, but deep inside, he was feeling quite anxious.
Now that he and the rest of the people had taken a good look at the Half-Orc, who was crouched down beside Dragon Born, they immediately knew that the uninvited guest was someone stronger than them.
'Deimos-Ranked Alpha Monster,' Lux's face became grim as soon as his Soul Book identified the Rank of the Half-Orc whose devilish smile remained on his face.
"My name?" The Half-Orc smirked. "I go by the name Flamma. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah…"
The Half-Orc rested his hand over Cethus' shoulder and held it in a vice grip. "You must have a death wish, yes?"
The Dragon Born didn't answer right away. Instead, he gave a very awkward chuckle before giving his reply.
"I-It was just a joke," Cethus stuttered. "Everyone is feeling depressed, so I just thought of making it more lively."
"HA. HA. HA," Flamma said in a voice filled with sarcasm. "Very funny. This is the second time I've seen a Dragon Born, and you are just as stupid as him."
"Y-You've seen one of our kind before?"
"Yes."
"Where is he now?"
"Dead."
This time, it was Flamma's turn to chuckle, and his chuckle made everyone inside the room shudder.
After the Half-Orc finished laughing, he gave everyone a smile and said.
"What are you guys looking at? I was just joking."
Although Flamma said he was joking, no one inside the room believed him because of the look of ridicule in his eyes.
"Your Excellency, I apologize on behalf of my party members," Lux said. "His mother accidentally dropped him when he was still an egg, so his brain has been a bit damaged since he was born."
"Oh?" Flamma smirked. "Such a thing happened? Unfortunately, being stupid is not an excuse. Now, I ask all of you here, do you want me to spread this news to everyone, or should I keep it to myself?"
Everyone glanced at Lux, including Cethus, who was still being held by the Half-Orc.
Although the Half-Orc was young, he was already a Deimos-Ranked Alpha Monster.
Of course, Flamma wasn't as strong as the Crimson Berserker Mantis that ALL-MITE had fought in the Shaufell Plains.
In fact, Lux was confident that he could beat him as long as he fought Flamma with his Undead Army. However, being able to beat him wasn't the real problem.
They were inside the Capital City of the Orcs, and if a fight broke out, they would immediately find themselves surrounded by Flamma's Clansmen.
The red-headed teenager didn't need to be a genius to know how he was going to answer Flamma's question.
"How can we keep this amongst ourselves, Your Excellency?" Lux inquired.
"Hmm, you're smart," Flamma gave Lux a gaze of approval. "I hate smart people."
The corner of Grandma Annie's lips twitched because she understood that the Half-Orc was simply toying with them.
Although Flamma looked like someone that could easily be reasoned with, the scheming gaze the Half-Orc used to look at them made her want to slap him with her slipper so badly.
However, before Grandma Annie could entertain these thoughts, Lux posed a question that made the Half-Orc chuckle.
"How about we settle this with a friendly spar?" Lux inquired. "I and Cethus will fight you one at a time. If either of us wins, you will pretend that you didn't hear any of our discussion. Do we have a deal?"
"Hahaha! This is a very Orcish way of settling things," Flamma chuckled. "Very well, I agree. You two will become my warmup before the war starts."
Without even waiting for Lux's reply, the Half-Orc stood up and dragged Cethus out of the room with an excited expression on his face.
His parents forbade him to join the war, and he was feeling very rebellious about it. Because of this, when he heard that there were some interesting guests that had appeared in their stronghold, he immediately went to look for them.
It was at that moment when he heard their discussion, and it enraged him when he learned that they were planning to steal their Twin Flames from right under their noses.
Fortunately, Lux rejected the idea, which reduced Flamma's anger. Even so, he wasn't too happy with the Dragon Born, who kept insisting that their group steal the Twin Flames while Flamma's entire Clan was busy preparing to fight for the Wanid Kingdom.
"Don't worry, Dragon Born," Flamma said as he dragged the helpless Cethus with him. "I'll only clobber you till you're half-dead. After that, your leader will be next."
Cethus could only grit his teeth as he endured the humiliation of being dragged away by the young Half-Orc, who was smaller than him by a head.
Lux and the others quickly followed behind Cethus and Flamma because they couldn't possibly leave their party member alone.
While this was happening, a high-level meeting was happening inside the throne room of the Stronghold.
Barca and the Four Orc Warlords knelt in front of a throne made of Monster Bones. They were paying their respect to the Orc Chieftain, who had gathered all of them in preparation for the War against the Haca Dynasty.
"According to my estimate, It will take their army at least five days to reach the outskirts of Lor Dhuga," Mogazar, the Orc Warlord who specialized in long-distance warfare reported. "Our scouts didn't see anything unusual about their army, but I have a feeling that they are more prepared than they were thirty years ago."
Half a minute of silence descended inside the throne room before the Orc Chieftain gave her reply.
"It is only natural to feel that way," the Orc Chieftain replied. "Humans may be weaker than us, but they are very cunning. I'm sure that they have prepared a surprise or two for us, but it doesn't matter."
The Half-Orc Lady lightly tapped the armrest of the throne with her left hand, while she rested the side of her face on her right hand.
"As always, we will go to war using every means necessary to win," the Orc Chieftain stated. "Do not expect help from the other Pillars because all of you know that they are eyeing our Twin Flames. I'm sure that they will offer their assistance if we allow them to harness its power as well."
Barca and the Orc Warlords nodded in agreement.
For them, the Twin Flames were both a blessing and a curse. Everyone wanted to have them, but only a few could actually possess them.
Because of this, tensions between the other Pillars were at an all-time high because the Blackrock Clan was very protective of one of their Clan's treasures.
"Baronar, I saw earlier that you brought outsiders to our city," the Orc Chieftain said as she shifted her gaze towards the Great Orc Shaman. "You must have a good reason for bringing them here, right?"
Baronar had a conflicted look on his face after she looked at him with a steady gaze.
"Just like everyone else, they came here for the Twin Flames," Baronar replied.
He had no intention of hiding Lux's reason for coming to the Orc Capital, so he might as well let everyone know so that they would not become too suspicious of the Half-Elf who shared a spiritual connection with them.
"Hah… they never learn," the Orc Chieftain sighed. "They aren't the first, nor will they be the last, to ask for the Twin Flames, but our answer will never change. If they can't follow our rul–"
Before the Orc Chieftain could finish what she was going to say, a Raven flew inside the throne room through the window and landed beside the armrest of the throne.
"Flamma is asking for permission to use the Arena," the Raven stated. "It seems that he has decided to spar with the newcomers."
The Orc Chieftain's lips curled up into a smirk after hearing the Raven's report.
"Barca, I swear that he inherited his hot-headedness from you," the Orc Chieftain said softly.
Barca shook his head firmly before giving his reply. "Everyone here knows that he inherited that trait from you. You've spoiled him too much."
The Half-Orc Lady giggled before lightly patting the Raven's head with her finger.
"Give him permission to use the arena," the Orc Chieftain ordered. "He's being rebellious because he was not allowed to join this war. Also, I'd like to know why you brought them here, Baronar.
"I'm sure that you of all people would not bring anyone who covets the Twin Flames to our capital city. There must be more to this than meets the eye."
Baronar didn't reply and only smiled. However, deep inside he was cursing Lux.
'I told you to behave, didn't I?' Baronar sighed in his heart. 'Just what did you do in order to rile up that battle junkie? This is not going to end well.'
The Great Orc Shaman knew how strong Flamma was. Although he had a good opinion of Lux, he didn't believe that the Half-Elf was capable of defeating the Half-Orc, who was going to be the next leader of the Blackrock Clan once his mother retired from her position.
