"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't quite hear you," Kaede asked, her mind rag to process Towa’s words.

  Towa smiled softly, her expression both calm and resolute. "The Kingdom of Raja, along with the five vassal states u, will bee vassal states of Maple Tree."

  Kaede stared at her, momentarily speechless.

  She stood up and walked over to the baly, letting the cool night air brush against her face as she tried to make sense of it all. Then, after a deep breath, she returo her seat, fixing Towa with a steady gaze.

  "Did I hear yht?"

  Towa giggled lightly, though there was a nervous edge to it. "Yes, Lady Kaede. This is my decision." She csped her hands together, her fingers entwining as she hesitated.

  Kaede ran a hand down her face with a sigh. "A vassal state? Towa, I was already going to help you. And you just call me Kaede, we're friends, aren't we?"

  Towa shifted in her seat, her fingers still fidgeting. "It's not that simple... Kaede," she admitted, gng away before meeting Kaede’s eyes once more. "I used your forces to defend Raja from the five kingdoms, and in the end, we ahem into my own. As far as anyone is ed, Raja is nopet nation under Maple Tree." She exhaled, her grip tightening. "If you’re the one solving all of Raja’s problems, then it's only fair, don’t you think?"

  "But six kingdoms, though," Kaede squeaked in disbelief, wing as if in physical pain. "That's a lot." She lowered her head, her thoughts rag. 'So much work. Why would you do this to me? I thought you were my friend.'

  Towa took a deep breath, ohat Kaede, too caught up in her sulking, failed to notice. Slowly, she stood from her bed, her steps deliberate as she approached the ruler of Maple Tree.

  "Nothing is impossible for you," she said softly. "You're an amazing woman, ohat I have decided to dedicate my life to."

  Kaede raised an eyebrow when she felt the warmth of Towa’s hands gently g her own. "You've ged these past few days," she remarked, studying the woman before her.

  Towa smiled. "Well, you were the one who told me to be myself." She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a near whisper. There was something in her eyes, something that sent a quiet warning through Kaede’s mind.

  "...To be selfish."

  A prickle of unease crawled up Kaede’s spine, her instincts screaming at her. "Towa, what are you..." But it was too te.

  "Please, allow me to be selfish… just this once."

  The words barely registered before Kaede felt the press of Towa’s lips against her own.

  Time froze…

  Or at least, Kaede thought it did, as the world around her seemed to dissolve into darkness, leaving only her and Towa, trapped in a moment that felt infinite.

  They snapped bato pce.

  Kaede’s eyes widened as the weight of what had just happened crashed down on her. A sharp pang bloomed in her chest, and she instinctively pulled away. "I… I don't… I don't think… I… I 't, Towa… I 't," she stammered, struggling t her thoughts into words.

  Uerred, Towa took a step forward, her expression unwavering. "I don’t expect to be the one," she admitted, her voice steady but ced with quiet vulnerability. "I know I’m not worthy of that position. All I do, is adore you, ae my everything."

  Kaede swallowed hard, her emotions warring within her. She looked into Towa’s eyes and saw nothing but siy, devotion… and something else she wasn’t ready to face.

  "I 't give you what you want," she whispered.

  Towa smiled, though there was a trace of sadness in it. "You've already given me everything, and it's made me so happy. let me be selfish just this once… and give instead, even if it's one-sided."

  Kaede’s heart pounded in her chest, each beat making it harder to breathe. She forced herself to move, pag toward the baly, where she gripped the railing with trembling hands. The cool night air did little to calm the sting inside her.

  "I…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the breeze. "I 't do it… Not to Risa."

  Her grip tightened until the metal ed beh her fingers, bending as if it were ner than cy.

  Behiowa watched in silence before speaking, her tole. "So that’s her name. Risa… She must be amazing."

  Kaede let out a breath, a small, bittersweet smile f on her lips. "Oh, you don’t know the half of it," she murmured, staring at the distant horizon. "She was everything I never knew I wanted. So many things… We wao do so many things."

  Her voice wavered, lost somewhere between longing and sorrow. She could still see Risa’s smile, hear her ughter eg in her mind like a melody from a life that felt further away with each passing day. 'But that life, was stolen from me. Razen, I swear on my life, if I ever run into you again. You will beg for death.'

  She turo Towa. "You really have grown. We should... Hmm?" She paused as she received a message from Ari.

  (What is it Ari?)

  (Mother, Shifu has betrayed us.)

  Silence reigned.

  (...HUH?!)

  ---

  Within the tre of the Great Forest Of Jura, lies a massive ke known as Lake Siss. Surrounding this ke, is a rge marshnd made home by the lizard men.

  The lizardmen took advantage of the various byrinths within the marsh to make a defendable home for themselves.

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  The t echoed ominously through the marsh as an army of two huhousand orcs marched forward, their sheer numbers overwhelming the ndscape. Each orc towered at three meters tall, full pte armor that weighed as much as their own bodies. The ground trembled beh the synized march of tless feet, sending ripples through the shallow waters of the marshnds.

  The orcs moved like an unstoppable tide, ing everything in their path, until, suddenly, a disturbance rippled through their ranks.

  "Grugh!"

  A pained grunt rang out as an orc staggered, blood spurting from his shoulder where his armor had been brutally pierced.

  Slowly he fell, and from behind him, stood lizardmen, one of them in a striking position with his spear.

  Then, from all around, they emerged.

  Lizardmen burst forth from the dense shrubbery, lunged out of hidden caverns, and surged up from beh the murky waters, their spears striking with deadly precision. The ambush was swift and merciless, in mere seds, dozens of orcs y sin.

  "There is o fear these pigs any more than before!"

  A anding voice rang through the marsh, rallying the Lizardmen as they tiheir onsught. They moved with unmatched agility, weaving through the orks like shadows, striking where the enemy was weakest.

  "These marshnds are our domain!"

  A lizardman moved swiftly, surrounding an orc, out of reach of the orc's axe. The orc struck, but due to the distahe lizardman maintaihe orc was forced to over extend. The lizardman took advantage of this, zooming to the orc's bad delivering a fatal blow.

  "We will throw the orto fusion with ility! These pigs are just big dimwits whose feet will get stu the mud!"

  Standing atop a small rise, overlooking the battlefield, the speaker finally revealed himself.

  Gabiru.

  The newly ed Chieftain of the Lizardmen.

  "All right!"

  "We're making a dent!"

  "Sure are!"

  Gabiru's subordinates cheered from his sides, watg with excitement as the battle unfolded.

  With his chest puffed out in pride, Gabiru smirked. "I told you! These orcs are no match for the might of the Lizardmen!" He raised his blue, three-pronged spear, its polished surface gleaming uhe dim light of the marsh, before swinging it forward in a decisive motion. "Right! Withdraw for now!"

  His fidence swelled as he assessed the battlefield. 'Our pn was to toy with them, weaken their formation, and thehe goblins we recruited deliver the finishing blow. But at this rate... we might not evehe extra help.'

  At the sound of Gabiru’s and, the Lizardmen immediately broke off from their skirmishes, retreating into the shadows of the byrinthine marsh. Their agility allowed them to vanish as swiftly as they had appeared, leaving behind the fused and disoriented orcs.

  Gabiru himself turned, following his warriors as they disappeared into the twisting paths of the wetnds.

  Gabiru’s men had to admit, his tactics were sound. Their ambush had beeed perfectly, their hit-and-run strategy overwhelming the orcs at every turn.

  However…

  "Wha... Aaaaaaaagh!"

  A scream tore through the marshnds. Gabiru whirled around, his eyes widening as he saw the source of his warriors' fear.

  Around the fallen orcs, others had gathered, kneeling beside their sin rades. At first, it seemed like they were m.

  Then came the sound.

  ch!

  Gabiru's breath hitched. His blood ran cold.

  The orcs were eating their own.

  "What's happening...?" Gabiru whispered, his voice barely esg his lips.

  A siing sense of dread crawled up his spine as he watched the grotesque se unfold. Orcs tore into the flesh of their fallen, dev them with a desperate hunger. Flesh, bones, armor, nothing ared.

  There was something the Lizardmen had not ated for.

  Something Gabiru did not know.

  The terror of the Orc Lord.

  "...The orcs… are eating other orcs?" His stomach ed at the sheer horror of it.

  The previous chieftain had known. He had known the dark truth of the Orc Lord's influence.

  But Gabiru did not.

  And that gap in knowledge… would cost him dearly.

  A thick, purple miasma coiled around the feasting orcs. Their bodies trembled as they rose to their feet once more, stronger, fiercer, their eyes gleaming with unnatural hunger. Blood and raw flesh still g to their lips.

  Then, their voices roared in unison:

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  Their bodies swelled with newfound strength. Their movements became sharper, faster.

  "The strength of this rade we eat is now ours!"

  "The abilities of this prey are now ours!"

  One of the retreating Lizardmen, stunned by the gruesome dispy, failed to notice the danger closing in.

  From the ground, an orc that should have been dead, now wreathed in a thick purple miasma, lurched forward and seized his leg.

  "Huh?!"

  Before he could react, the orked him off his feet, dragging him straight into the horde.

  ch!

  "Argh! No! Please, no! Somebody help me... GAAAH!"

  His screams tore through the air, raw, desperate, but they were soon drowned out by the siing sounds of flesh being torn and bones snapping under powerful jaws.

  The Lizardmen stopped iracks, frozen in abject horror as they watched their rade devoured alive.

  "AARGH! ERGH! URGH! Gabiru! PLEASE! AAAAGH...!"

  Blood sprayed in all dires, spttering against the murky waters of the marsh. Then, at st…

  Silence.

  Gabiru's stomach twisted, bile rising in his throat. His hands ched around his spear so tightly his knuckles turned white.

  No. They had to get out of here. Now.

  He forced dowerror g at his chest and roared:

  "All units!" Gabiru thrust his hand into the air. "Fall baow! FULL RETREAT!"

  Behind them, the heavy thud of approag footsteps echoed ominously.

  One of Gabiru’s subordiurned, his voice ced with panic. “Sir Gabiru! They’ve already surrounded us!”

  “What!?” Gabiru’s eyes widened in shock as he whirled around. It was true, his forces, a bined army of four thousand Lizardmen and seven thousand Goblins, were pletely encircled.

  A cold shiver ran down his spine. How did this happen? Just moments ago, they had been successfully retreating. How did the orcs move so fast?

  As the enemy advanced, something about them caught his attention. His breath hitched as realization struck.

  The orcs… had ged.

  Their feet were now webbed, making them better suited for traversing the marshnds. Their already thick hides were now lined with scales, gleaming uhe dim light.

  Impossible! Gabiru’s hands tightened around his spear, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. 'Webbed feet… Scales… Those are Lizardman traits.'

  One of his warriors stumbled back from the fray, panting heavily. “Sir, they just ate one of our men!” he shouted.

  Another soldier, retreating to Gabiru’s side, added frantically, “It’s true! And right after that… they got faster!”

  Gabiru swallowed hard, a siing realizatioling in his gut. 'They ed a Lizardman… and gained our abilities.'

  Pushing ba orc with a swift strike of his spear, Gabiru spun the on expertly in his hands. He had to act fast.

  “Listen up, everyone! Form up! Close ranks!” His voice rang out over the battlefield. “Keep the goblins in the ter! Leave no openings! We must shield them while breaking through the oration!”

  His soldiers responded immediately, shifting into a tighter defeance.

  “Yes, sir!” they roared in unison.

  Despite their discipline, doubt g Gabiru’s mind. 'If it were just the Lizardmen, perhaps we could have escaped… His grip on his on tightened. But bringing the Goblins into this fight has only worked against us.'

  Then, as if to hammer in the dread settling over him, the orcs raised their voices once more.

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  "Trample All!"

  The t reverberated through the battlefield.

  "Our allies' powers will bee our own!"

  "The enemy's power will bee our own!"

  "Don't be afraid! Show them the strength and power that we Lizardmen take pride in!" Gabiru roared, rallying his warriors.

  "Yes, sir!" they responded in unison, their voices brimming with determination.

  THUD.

  A particurly heavy footstep shook the ground, drawing Gabiru’s attention. His eyes widened as an orc stepped forward, his armor darker than the rest, adorned with menag spikes.

  "What!?" Gabiru’s breath hitched. His instincts screamed at him, this was no ordinary foe. The aura radiating from the orc was overwhelming, making him seem three times taller than any other or the battlefield.

  Spinning his spear, Gabiru took a step forward, steeling himself. “You, who stand before me! You must be the Orc Lord, correct?”

  The orc remained silent, his pierg gaze locked onto Gabiru.

  Uerred, Gabiru tinued. “I am Gabiru, the great Chieftain of the Lizardmen! I challenge you to a one-on-one...”

  “I am not… the Lord,” the orally spoke, his voice a deep rumble. “I am merely an eneral. pared to the Orc Lord… my power is quite inferior.”

  Gabiru felt his stomach drop. His grip on his spear tightened. "You're seriously just… a general?"

  His mind reeled. The sheer pressure this orc exuded was crushing, almost suffog. 'Even with an aura this overwhelming… he’s still sidered inferior?'

  The eneral took aep forward, his massive frame looming abiru. “You seek to fight one-on-one?” His voice carried a dangerous weight. “Iing… I'll oblige you.”

  Gabiru exhaled sharply, spinning his spear once more into a ready stance. “I thank you,” he said, his toeady.

  Even as he prepared for battle, ohought g the back of his mind 'If this is just a general… what kind of power does the Orc Lord possess?'

  ________________________________

  Note.

  Average Orc soldier - Rank C

  enerals - Rank B +

  Average Lizardman - Rank C +

  Lizardmen Leaders - Rank B

  lizardmen Chieftain Gabiru - Rank B +

  Orc Lord - Rank ??

  SaberGlory