Chapter 42: Morghanna Bloodtusk III

The Orc Chief stared down from the high altar.

​More than one hundred thousand Orcs stood before her, yet under her gaze, the entire gathering remained dead silent.

​Her glowing crimson eyes swept across the crowd before she spoke. Her voice was calm and cold, yet every word carried an innate authority that commanded absolute attention:

​"My warriors."

​"My hunters."

​"My children of Kragmar."

​The massive crowd immediately erupted into a deafening chant:

​"CHIEF!"

​"CHIEF!"

​"CHIEF!"

​She raised a single hand, and the settlement instantly fell silent once more.

​The Mothkin’s eyes narrowed from her hidden perch.

​The Chief continued, her voice echoing across the bone structures.

"For generations, our Dominion has stood unconquered. Many enemies have crossed our borders, Mana Beasts, mutated horrors, the Skyborn, the Deep Crawlers, and even the Starbound Intruders."

​The Orcs growled in dark unison at the last title.

​The Mothkin immediately understood.

Starbound Intruders... that was how they identified Lords. Foreign beings descending from beyond the stars.

​The Chief’s expression remained ice-cold. "Like every cycle before, another Starbound Intruder has appeared."

​The crowd remained surprisingly calm, most merely grunting in indifference. Clearly, this was nothing unusual to them.

​"And like those before it, this one also possesses a Sanctuary Veil," the Chief continued.

​"Ordinarily, such creatures hide behind their Veils until they gather enough strength to challenge us," the Chief’s voice dropped an octave, growing sharper. "Ordinarily, they are patient. Ordinarily, they know fear."

​Her crimson eyes flared. "This one does not."

​A ripple of uneasy murmurs spread through the gathered horde.

​"Within a single day..." the Chief declared, "...the Starbound Intruder conquered the Umbralwood."

​Shock waves rippled through the crowd, and the Mothkin noticed several massive Orc warriors stand up abruptly in disbelief.

​"Within that same day..." the Chief pressed on, "...the Starbound Intruder conquered the Bonefang Wastes."

​This time, the entire settlement exploded into a chaotic storm of roars. Even the elite guards surrounding the altar appeared visibly stunned.

​The Chief allowed the uproar to continue briefly before raising her hand once again. Absolute silence instantly returned.

​Then, she smiled, a small, dangerous smile brimming with absolute confidence.

​"But there is no need for fear."

​The Orcs immediately straightened their postures.

​"The Umbralwood?" She scoffed softly. "A backyard."

​"The Bonefang Wastes?" She chuckled. "A mere feeding ground."

​"Compared to the Kragmar Dominion, those territories are nothing more than shallow puddles before an endless ocean!"

​The crowd roared in furious agreement.

​The Chief spread her arms wide, her voice ringing out like thunder: "The Kragmar Dominion will not fall! Not while I, Morghanna Bloodtusk III, still draw breath!"

​The roar that followed physically shook the heavens, vibrating through the very earth:

​"GLORY TO CHIEF BLOODTUSK!"

​"GLORY TO CHIEF BLOODTUSK!"

​"GLORY TO CHIEF BLOODTUSK!"

​The Mothkin instinctively took a step back into the gloom. The pressure radiating from that small woman was immense, far beyond any Orc she had ever encountered.

​Morghanna slowly scanned the sea of faces, before her gaze abruptly stopped.

​The Mothkin froze.

​Two glowing crimson eyes locked directly onto her hiding spot in the dark canopy.

​For a terrifying second, time itself seemed to stand still.

​The Mothkin’s mind raced.

​As a slow, cruel smile curled across Morghanna’s lips.

​"And first..." She raised her hand toward the Mothkin’s position. "...we shall deal with the rat hiding among us."

​The Mothkin’s eyes widened in sheer shock. Without a single second of hesitation, she prepared to flee, dark shadow energy surging violently around her wings.

​BOOM!

​The world suddenly turned impossibly heavy as the air itself seemed to collapse inward.

​The Mothkin felt as though an invisible mountain had been dropped directly onto her shoulders.

The thick wooden branch beneath her claws shattered instantly into splinters, and the earth below cratered as her body slammed violently downward before she could even initiate flight.

​The crushing force wasn’t physical, nor was it ordinary mana.

​It felt as though gravity itself had turned against her.

The Giant Bone Worm wrapped around the Mothkin’s neck immediately reestablished its telepathic link.

​’Big Sis!’

​Its voice was flooded with sheer panic.

​The Mothkin couldn’t respond. The crushing gravity pressing down upon her frame intensified violently.

​BOOM!

​The ground beneath her body fractured, spiderwebbing in every direction as cracks ripped through the stone.

Every bone in her skeletal structure groaned under the immense load, and the force was so overwhelming that even drawing air felt impossible.

​Around her, thousands of Orcs closed in. Axes, spears, and heavy warhammers pointed toward her pinned form, yet none swung.

They simply watched, predators circling prey already thoroughly trapped.

​The crowd eventually parted, forming a clean path through the sea of green bodies.

​The Chief walked forward, every heavy step causing the oppressive pressure surrounding the Mothkin to surge.

​Soon, Morghanna Bloodtusk III stood directly before her.

​The Chief crouched down, her glowing crimson eyes studying the creature with quiet interest. A thoughtful expression crossed her face.

​"A Bonedevourer?" She tilted her head. "No... this one is different."

​Her gaze swept meticulously across the Mothkin’s frame, the wings, the glowing violet eyes, the unique anatomy, and the dense death energy coiling around her.

​"A mutant species, perhaps."

​The Chief was well-acquainted with Bonedevourers; the Bonecrawler Centipedes of the Bonefang Wastes occasionally evolved into them.

Her father had taken her hunting them when she was young, long before she killed him and claimed the title of Chief for herself.

​Morghanna slowly stood up, her eyes narrowing as the gravitational field around the Mothkin crushed down even harder.

​"What are you?"

​The Mothkin’s body trembled, the relentless weight threatening to shatter every bone she possessed. Yet, ​she forced her head upward.

The muscles in her neck screamed in protest, and fresh cracks split the stone beneath her claws, yet she refused to stay pinned.

​Finally, her large violet eyes locked directly onto the Chief’s crimson gaze.

​Then, she spoke. Her voice was strained, yet absolute:

​"I am the shadow beneath my Lord’s wings..."

​"The eyes that watch for him."

​"The blade that hunts for him."

​"And the servant who will gladly die for him."