“Would you like to watch the Orcs show off their fighting power, human? We don’t mind. There are no greater fighters in this world than the Orc tribes, and the Yellow Tusk are the greatest of tribes.” The Chieftain who called himself World Smasher announced.
“I think that my team would enjoy that. Perhaps we might even earn the favour of the gods with a pair of their clerics watching.” Karl joked.
The burly orc laughed. “You might just be on to something. Bring your passengers out, and we will set up a wrestling ring.”
The others were more than a little skeptical of Karl’s plan to keep the Orcs right next to the anomaly as a scapegoat, but after hearing that he thought they might be able to claim it as a divine favour to the Orc tribes, even Dana had to do her best not to laugh.
It sounded somewhat like blasphemy, but it was a temple that sent them on this mission, and they had two clerics, plus a Naga Queen who had shown the favour of the Beast Gods in the past, so perhaps it really was the will of the gods that they stabilized this dungeon.
On one hand, having an active dungeon in the monster kingdoms might be a bad idea. They didn’t need any more strength, as far as anyone else was concerned. So, providing them with access to more power was a long-term negative, even if it would draw the attention of all the other nations away from attacking the Golden Dragon Nation.
On the other hand, watching the Orcs wrestle sounded like a lot of fun. They were not as barbaric as everyone had feared, despite their appearance, and they seemed to be honestly excited about a chance to show off their muscles.
The ring was quickly assembled, just a large circle of rope for the wrestling matches to take place in. This was also one of the few Orcish hobbies that didn’t involve much bloodshed.
They had frequent trials for rank, and some would likely follow this set of wrestling matches, but today, all would be peaceful until the anomaly opened.
That was the part that Dana feared. They were far too close to where the Anomaly was going to open, and if they couldn’t get out of the way in time, they would end up fighting the Orcs for the chance to go inside the dungeon.
Nobody would pass up that opportunity, and it would seem extremely suspicious if they did. So, the Orcs would most likely want to chase them off, and there was no spot further than their next life.
The first few Orcs to volunteer for the wrestling matches were growing teenage boys, and the Orcs were very loudly enthusiastic about the chance to watch them go at it.
They left space around the ring so that Karl and the others could watch, but other than that, they seemed to be ignoring the presence of outsiders in their midst, except for the occasional glance to make sure they were still watching the glory of the Orcish children.
Then, they moved on to the adults, starting with the smallest, so that the most powerful would have the honour of going last, as if this were a ranked event or championship.
Ophelia was feeding snacks to Cara, who was sitting in Lotus’ lap, as a new pair of contestants took the ring. It was a young Orcish woman with decorative scars all down her arms, and a young man who stood a full head taller than her, but clearly bore some sort of grudge against her.
The woman moved to the centre of the ring and raised her hand to make an announcement.
“The Dragon Gods have sent their clerics here to watch over our matches today. So today, in the sight of the Gods themselves, I will prove why you are unworthy of proposing marriage to me.” The woman declared.
Tessa smirked as she cast a softly glowing golden barrier around the arena. It was barely an Awakened Rank Holy protection spell, but it would serve as a deterrent to interference, and work as a wall so that the contestants couldn’t step out and have the match declared a draw.
A few of the Orcs had already done that to let their opponent save face.
The goal was to complete the match inside the ring, and stepping out was a failure to achieve that victory, so the match was considered a draw to the Orcs.
But with the wall up, unless they put in the effort to break the spell first, there would be no accidental departures.
The two Orcs squared off, and the Chieftain whistled to start the match.
The female darted forward and put her rejected suitor into a leg lock that sent him to the ground, but he quickly broke out of it with brute strength and went for an arm bar.
She was a slippery one, and he couldn’t seem to get a proper grip on her before she had escaped back to her feet. They circled for a few minutes, grappling and releasing as they failed to get the advantage.
Then, when he finally thought he had gotten her with a spear that would let him pin her, she twisted around and managed to get his back, with her arms locked around his neck.
He wasn’t giving up, and slammed her repeatedly on the ground as he pried at her chokehold, but after fifteen seconds or so, he was out cold, and she let him go as the Chieftain whistled to mark the end of the match.
That was when the Anomaly appeared, as if someone had been waiting for the perfect moment.
Perhaps they had.
“Oi! The gods have given you a second chance to get your girl. Get your lazy ass in there and complete the challenge!” The Chieftain shouted as the unfortunate Orc slowly blinked as he regained consciousness.
“Boss?” He asked in confusion.
The Chieftain picked him up and forcibly hurled him into the Anomaly.
“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Karl laughed, right before the Orc was hurled back out.
“What did I just tell you?” The Chieftain asked.
“It’s not my fault, Boss. It said minimum group size ten people.” The Orc replied, holding his hands up in a defensive posture.
Chieftain World Smasher tapped his chin as he contemplated the answer.
“Send the humans and four more children. You’re all about the same size.” He decided.
Size was strength, strength was everything. Therefore, a small Orc was nothing. They just had to train him until he was big enough, and he would earn the right to propose to his intended bride.
The female Orc stepped over beside him.
“Chieftain, send me with him. It’s only fair if he’s trying to match me.” She insisted.
“Alright. Then you three as well. That’s better. The humans are still kind of puny, but it will do, they’re as grown as a human gets.”
The Orcs he had picked were all various stages of Ascended, with the strongest being mid Ascended. Sending them in with Karl’s group could be an interesting dungeon experience, depending on what the power level was set at.
It could be a massacre or a massacre. With the victor being the difference.
Karl patted the disgruntled pair of Orcs on the shoulder and led them into the dungeon.
There was only one way to find out how this was going to go, and it didn’t involve waiting around outside.
