I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 864: The Copper Orc

Adam glared at Bao, but the hardness melted instantly. Useless to fight against what was done. Like a river, he would flow around the unpredictable, silencing the directness of yang that would call for a scolding with the calm yin.

Worries about the dangers Bao would have to face faded into opportunities. For the baby panda to learn through experience, to explore wild lands and meet species she had never imagined within the confines of her forest or the safety of the college. Why did he even think about yin and yang when he had followed those principles with the same non-existent diligence as the three virtues? Perhaps because her dark and white fur reminded him of the diagram? Didn't matter.

Or perhaps it would...

Conceptual philosophies about the universe twisted into complex metaphors or sutras cluttered his cultivation technique. Yet the attack of the twenty sects made him skim through it all to focus on following the methods to break through. His body could do just that. It felt like a waste, as if they were keys to ease forging stars in his dantian, or perhaps something even grander.

The corners of his lips curved as he patted Bao's head. She already gave him food for thought. "Alright, little troublemaker. I know you're curious, but don't stray from me." His eyes narrowed into slits. "We're infiltrating the orcs' territory."

With a surge of mana, his bones groaned. He grew an additional half of his height, veins throbbing on swelling muscles. Fangs like tusks surged through lips that took the consistency of leather from his lower jaw.

Bao yelped on his expanding shoulder as she watched his sky-blue hair sprout to reach his lower back. His white skin thickened, darkening. But when Adam thought it would turn green, he felt a prickle deep within—a rejection of a subtle, almost unnoticeable part of the orc DNA. This was not an orc's natural state; his own mythical DNA refused to adapt and worked to restore its true form.

His skin continued to darken, not toward green, but to brown, before settling on a light shade of copper.

Adam arched a brow. Had the orcs mutated, or had their shamans tampered with their DNA? Likely the second. He'll find out after infiltrating their village...

He scratched his head through the long sky-blue hair cascading down the nightmare of muscles he had become. "They'll spot me from miles away..."

Leaves crumpled behind him beneath a couple of heavy steps. The orc's companions, he thought. No time. "Change of plans," he sighed.

At the wave of his hand, the ground parted to spit back the corpse of the orc before he buried his college uniform in its place. Hurriedly, he shoved the leathery tassets ending in grey fur up, water mana washing the foul stench of sweat and something he forced himself not to imagine.

"Don't do anything, Bao." Bao hid beneath his hair, trembling against his neck.

Just as he ignored the pauldrons and chest harness to pick up a battle axe, from which a skull was tied on the flat top before curving in a broad blade, six green orcs halted before him.

The orcs' eyes widened at him first, tusks visible in their dropped jaws. They exchanged words of guttural gibberish before their gazes shifted to the naked corpse of their dead companion. The dropped jaws tightened, spite flowing out as words turned into roars.

*"Kuul! Zagruk-na thok!"*

*"Ghul du? Skarnaz. Morka thok!"

Two orcs drew blades and axes, lunging at him. Three watched from the side, while the last scrambled. Likely to alert the rest of their patrol team.

Adam's mind remained fixed on his goal as they charged. Killing them wouldn't help. A dead patrol team would only make infiltration harder. He had to see if they aimed to kill or capture. But first, he had to make them talk more to feed Lulu's Universal Translation. To fight for a while, too, to adapt to his new height and bulk.

A grin that looked more threatening than mischievous because of his tusks spread across his face.

The first orc's red eyes burned as he swung his broadsword like a hammer. It came from overhead, powered by protruding dorsal muscles. Adam jumped three steps back, the blade's silver whistle ruffling his hair.

An axe came from the side instantly. The second orc struck with the brutality of a mad butcher about to decapitate its thousandth victim. Adam would have ducked beneath the horizontal strike with his normal height. Now, he simply went with their style.

Unbridled violence.

Adam dove toward the axe. Before the weapon could reach him, he was already too close to its wielder, his arm trapping the orc's forearms beneath his armpit. He shoved his head forward, grinning. His forehead crashed against the bridge of his adversary's nose.

A crunch of broken cartilage, a spray of crimson blood, and a pained scream reverberated. The first orc circled them, leaping and swinging his blade diagonally.

Adam hurled his axe up to meet the blade, the impact of the collision making the orc groan. As the second orc reeled from the headbutt, Adam let go of his forearms and delivered a spinning kick at the first's side, sending him crashing against the boulder with a strangled gasp.

Adam refocused on the second orc.

He was clutching his bloody nose, saying something that sounded too prideful to be a plea. Those watching answered with a drumbeat knock against their chests, then readied their weapons. Yet, they didn't charge in even when the first orc leaned on his blade for support while clutching his side and muttering something.

Behind the muttering, he heard rushed footsteps.

Frowning, Adam kicked the second orc in the chest, sending him crashing into the watching group. They roared something, but this time he picked up the words.

"Kill them with honor! Let their spirits rest in Grash'Thul's embrace."

Adam walked to the boulder, tilting his head as he gripped the first orc by the skull. With a swing, he threw him at the feet of his companions. Then he let his weapon fall and knelt.

"I yield," he said, his guttural voice sounding as if he had spoken their language since birth—just as the rest of the patrol team arrived.