I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 873: The Unwanted Conquest

The sun dipped behind the horizon, taking the flamboyant colors of twilight with it. The pale glow of the moon barely filtered through the open window of the forge. A vagrant gust of wind bled through the window, ruffling Zul’Gora’s robes, the white fur of Adam’s pauldron, and the left side of his sky-blue hair.

His scowl deepened, and Zul’Gora broke the silence with a chuckle across from him. He couldn’t hide Bao anymore. Even now, she kept the right side of his hair in place with her trembling paws. Might as well come clean. What was a baby panda next to the wargs and war-bovines the Orcs revered? Where she came from would be hard to explain, though...

He placed his gloved hands against his right shoulder with a heavy sigh. "Come out, Bao."

She shivered, shaking her head and growling a firm "no," but eventually crawled down once silence strangled the room again. His heart ached to see her there, shivering on her hind legs, small frontal paws half-raised as her dark and white fur trembled.

"This is Bao, my little sister." Adam rubbed her head, each word spoken with the solemnity of a proclamation. Not a pet, not a friend—family.

Zul’Gora leaned closer. The two red lights of her eyes, shrouded in the darkness of her hood, drew a shriek. Bao rose on her hind legs, her right paw stretched toward the threat, her left close to her jaw.

"Hahaha!" The tension melted with Zul’Gora’s amused laugh. "Interesting, not to say disappointing. I expected an ancient totem protector, an old beast spirit, or even an evil one. A corrupted appendage, or putrefied wound that sucked your hair in, also crossed my mind. At least they could have given me a lead about why you’re unevolved. Instead, I’m presented with a fierce beast. A little small, but clearly your sister. She’s even taking the stance you used to defeat Tragg."

She tucked her fingers around her chin, nodding slowly. "I recognise her species. A Pandarok, isn’t she? Rare little things. Clever, but terrible at reinforcing themselves with mana. Hmm. What was it again?" She leaned back, grumbling something beneath her breath before shaking her head. "I can’t remember. We once believed they could make good mounts for our warriors, but they collapsed during training. That should be it."

"Is she—"

"Fine?" Zul’Gora cut in with a shrug. "Why wouldn’t she? I know hunters who sleep with their tamed beasts as if they were their mates. If anything, your tastes are strange. Why not tame a powerful beast, or at least its cub, instead of that thing? Are there even others in our gorge? I thought their species went extinct long ago. Come. I’ll show you something even better to conquer. Forge chief, nice work on the armor." Her eyes curved as she walked to the door.

Adam thanked the forge chief, promising to carry the armor to the capital. He also took a moment to nod at Bao, who lifted a proud paw, as if she had somehow forced the scary orc to flee. Her cute yap made him smile as he followed Zul’Gora out of the forge, his mind drifting back to what the shaman had expected.

Once outside, he tied his hair with the leather hair wrap she jabbed at his chest. Starlight caught in the high ponytail, receiving rapid nods from Zul’Gora. "It’s a crime to hide such a fine face behind hair. Or a helmet, for that matter."

She glared at the tusk rings for a moment before stowing them in her robes with a headshake to Adam’s delight. He had seen a nasal piercing. That alone wouldn’t approach him, but the true horrors were the nipple piercings. No. Hell no. Never!

Before she could reconsider her aesthetic decision, he gestured for her to guide him wherever she wanted to, while asking. "What is the totem protector you mentioned earlier?"

"That?" She rummaged through her robes, pulling out a wooden statue of a female orc brandishing her axe. The craftsmanship was precise, capturing the ferocity of a warrior howling at enemies. Her voice took a rare solemnity when she spoke. "She was my... grandmother. I can sometimes seek wisdom with the spirit she left behind. Totems like this one are the memories of our ancestors, the crystallisation of their lives engraved in wood."

Adam arched a brow. Were totems like grimoires? Perhaps closer to the soul orb recording Durgrim’s enchanting knowledge, but a little more. She mentioned talking, the spirit she left behind—likely a fragment of her ego or soul.

His eyes narrowed on the statue. No enchantment or mana, yet it had a clear magical function. The shamans’ mysterious methods? Then asking would only get him the same answer again: to reach Thaur’Gorath for answers. Vexing. He wanted tomorrow to come faster.

"She guided me for years. But now I can’t hear her anymore. Enough with that. We’re almost there."

The totem vanished in Zul’Gora’s robes, and her steps hastened through the night market. Barely a minute later, she halted before a broad tent of fuchsia linen enveloped in beige and green sheets covered in tribal patterns.

Upon noticing the shaman, the two orcs leaning on the hilts of their battle axes gestured aside. But Adam didn’t hear their welcome, didn’t even see their scarred faces properly or the bone spikes jutting out of the straps wrapped around their chests.

His eyes were on something else—shadows. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

They danced across the linen. Silhouettes of males and females, one mounting the other, and vice versa. He even saw a group of three and even... even four?!

"Our little champion fights tomorrow. It’d be a pity for him to die without spreading his blood. Chase everyone out, get him all the females... and males if that’s what he enjoys. Bring slaves too, and anyone who wants to join!"

He heard Zul’Gora address the guards. He stumbled back, while Bao covered her eyes with her tiny paw. Her bestial instinct recognised what they were doing inside: scary green babies. Her second favorite human with these... beasts? Impossible! It should be Quintella... or even her... or both?

Zul’Gora turned toward them, her dead serious tone making them shiver. "Told you there was something better to tame nearby. Enter, Adomash, show them your virility."

Adam exchanged a glance with Bao, both nodding—run!

"Do you want me to lose because I drained my stamina in a place like that?!" he roared as an excuse, ignoring Zul’Gora’s disappointed call, and hoping she wouldn’t use her bizarre magic to force him inside.

He cut through the market, straight to the heart of the village. Even when Zul’Morak’s building came into view—the only house in the vicinity—he didn’t slow. Only after he lunged through the cloth covering the doorsill and rolled to his feet inside, safe from the shaman, did he allow himself to sit against the rough wall.

He cupped his face in his hands, whispering. "This mad shaman. If Misha ever hears about it..."

A shiver ran down his spine for a moment before Zul’Morak’s voice sliced through his thoughts. "Our challenger is back. Mhh. The heavy armor? Poor judgment, not that it matters to me. My champion’s victory will be simpler. Join us, lest they say Zul’Morak doesn’t feed his guests."

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AN: The book earned 70$ in October. Guess I’m not eating since I can’t cash out anything below 200. A shame... Where are the readers? :’(.