[Mana Signature Recognized – Undoing Spell Seals]

Adept-Captain Harraman Sijik entered the Inquisition at age 40 during the year 10,993 Ur-Twilight Novembian 12. He distinguished himself at the Battle Line Cedar, holding his position against the Brighamites in the name of the Ascendants, even as other teams retreated and the general order to retreat was delivered.

It was also here that he finally reached Master-Tier for both Pyromancy and Physicality, unleashing an avalanche of ash that briefly stalled the Brighamites, protecting the battleline long enough to stabilize and guarding the retreat of the Republic’s forces.

However, this came at the cost of his entire team. Several of whom exhibited obsidian-based wounds and severe ash-burns inflicted upon their lungs and body. Further examinations conducted by Diviners and Investigators confirmed that his team tried to escape as well, only to be cut down by Sijik during a moment of zeal.

Before this bit of information could slip out to the public, it was contained by the Inquisition, and Sijik was transferred from the Republic’s Unified Forces to the custody of the Inquisition after he recovered from his injuries. There, he was evaluated and examined—and was deemed suitable for the role of Acolyte. From there, due to his zeal and unfettered nature, he was deployed in high-risk and morally complex problem areas, serving under Inquisitors Sikoya, Michaels, Herald, Nebanbearer, and two more who have since been struck from the record.

Though his field service was exemplary, his personal conduct and personality were noted to be a pain point. Common after-action reviews of Inquisitor Sijik commended his faith, willingness toward sacrifice, and general fervor even in situations of extreme danger. However, they also noted his extreme paranoia, overuse of force, and excessive reliance on the most brutal and direct methods for information gathering.

Nonetheless, per the recommendation of Legend-Inquisitor Karennian, he was elevated to full Inquisitor and bestowed with the full authority of the Ascendants. However, the Legend-Inquisitor’s recommendation came with that caveat that Sijik was to never operate alone, for in her words: “Sijik is a warhound and weapon. He will not turn away. But all flesh is tainted to his teeth, and his first reaction is to bite and taste blood. He cares not for apology if the blood is proven pure thereafter, only that the foul have been gnashed and butchered. A gentle hand is required for a hound. And a hound is required for gentle hands…”

-Profile: Master-Inquisitor Harraman Sijik

140 (I)

Predators [I]

Orcs were creatures of cunning and initiative when it came to raids.

Adam told them the details of what was to come, what enemies they had to face, and what the objectives were. The orcs, in turn, immediately started organizing themselves into interest groups based on adversaryand mission type.

Special interest needed to be placed upon the adversary. Helix, for once, cared nothing about the Necrotechs. But he did have a special kind of loathing directed toward the First Blood. He was willing to serve and support Shiv for the coming Blackedge liberation mission, but his personal preferences were stated clearly and simply.

“I wish to inflict a genocide upon the Bloodspawn for debasing my craft with their incompetence,” Helix declared. Several other orcs called out in accord, sharing a similar desire, while most remained indifferent.

Comparatively, Bonk had eyes mainly for Sullain and all but begged Shiv for first-hitter’s privilege if they happened to encounter the Legendary Pathbearer.

Then, in between were orcs like Whisper. He ran counter to most orcs in that he didn’t have a favored adversary. Rather, he desired to partake in certain operations. Operations that involved high precision, stealth, and complex environments. Mortar, despite disliking Whisper, also fell into this category—and to Shiv’s surprise, they immediately started sharing notes about these details.

This was where the orcs’ collective drive toward self-discipline made itself known. Shiv knew humans, goblins, and even elves generally leaned toward the path of least resistance. Not so with the orcs. They preferred resistance, and they would do anything to find the most interesting struggles and battles. So much so that they would even work against their natural inclination to be solitary predators and force themselves to collaborate with one another to see things come to fruition.

Adam, Shiv, and Uva watched on in rapt curiosity as the orcs composed themselves into symposiums after the briefing concluded. Most of them departed the Court Levaithan and descended to the camps. And these symposiums were not led by their Heroes or Masters either. In fact, the Skill Tiers mattered little in these matters. The ones who guided these symposiums were the orcs who had the highest cycle ratios: Years lived per reincarnation cycle.

It was a strange kind of pseudo-seniority that guided the orcs, but Shiv found it to be a strangely brilliant structure. It wasn’t quite a gerontocracy, in which the eldest had the most say. It wasn’t just a tyranny of brute force—as if the orcs were only brute force. It was a reign of the most efficient, guided by the best survivors and sorted among the interest areas.

And aside from formally declared duels or challenges, the orcs largely kept themselves clean from violence. Instead, they all began collective brainstorming about strategies and potential risks for the challenges ahead. They took things so seriously that practically all orcs had a notebook in their hands that they filled with details and questions. These were discussed, optimized, and then eventually collected by the orc Maestros: said orcs with the best cycle-ratios and the ones who most often served in leadership roles.

The Maestros then further convened among themselves until a core group remained at the end. Then, finally, a unified document was delivered to Adam approximately eight hours after his speech. The document was about a thousand pages thick, separated into two theaters.

The first was listed as the Surface Front, and it itself was split into campaigns against the Inquisition and the Necrotechs. The second was focused entirely on suppressing and crippling the First Blood. Adam speed-read through the pages, and with each flip of the page, his expression grew paler, and his eyes grew wider.

As he closed the orcs’ strategic document, he looked at Shiv and let out a shuddering breath. “Broken Moon. They’re bloody strategists too. The things in here… I don’t have this experience. The maps they’ve drawn and the plans they have are complex to the extreme.”

“Probably doing it deliberately just to shake you,” Shiv said over their link with a grunt. But from what he managed to glean from the orcs’ strategic proposals, he had to agree with Adam. The orcs were smart and experienced monsters. Exactly what Blackedge and the gate might need. But that led to a new problem afterward: How the hells was Shiv going to contain them when this was done?

Shiv, Uva, and Adam had their personal meeting in the captain’s quarters. The room had a desk put back in place, but aside from that, it was mostly a wide chamber of pale bone. And though the walls were supposedly soundproofed, and the door was fused shut, the team still conducted their conversation telepathically.

Because the Court Leviathan’s crew was mostly orcs now. And Adam likely wasn’t the only one with Heroic Awareness aboard.

“It’s not just their strategies. They’ve listed probable outcomes. They’ve wargamed battles together—casualty estimates and what it might take to overcome each enemy force. Furthermore, they even have a section on spies. Namely, that orcs have no issue betraying each other, and our plans must remain dynamic because nonaffiliated orcs will betray our strategy to another faction if the fighting starts going too well, just to make the war last a while longer.”

Uva’s face twisted in an expression of quiet exhaustion at hearing that. “Perhaps it would have been better if I just asked the Dreamtaker to summon—”

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“No,” Adam interrupted her, his gaze wild with dread. “These orcs give me the shivers, but at least I know how to kill them. At least they can be killed normally. I don’t ever want to see an Outsider again for the rest of my life, if I can help it. Bloody godsdamned nightmares.” He let out a sigh while Shiv and Uva shared a look.

The Recollector had left scars on Adam. That much was obvious to Shiv. The damned thing left marks on Shiv too, in that he hated Outsiders and would try to kill them as soon as he laid eyes on them, but he felt the same way about most vampires.

He was increasingly feeling more than a little different about the orcs. And not just because of their Social Skills working on him.

“I don’t think we should treat the orcs like an army,” Shiv said. “It’s not that useful, and they don’t really do centralized commands or have a top-heavy society.”

Adam regarded him and frowned. “Explain.”

“So, in all the time I spent with the orcs, I’ve noticed a few things. The first is that they don’t really order each other around. There’s a lot of verbal jabbing. Some spontaneous murders. But I don’t think they care about status as much as we do. Just experiences and struggles.”

“Right,” Adam said, nodding along.

“They also don’t have human morale issues. They want to fight. They’re going to fight. We gave them a direction, so that’s what’s going to happen. But aside from a general recommendation and some basic rules…” Shiv shrugged. “I don’t think it’s that useful. I… I’m thinking of them like an army of well-educated mes, actually.”

That immediately made Adam’s face twist in horror. “Oh, sweet gods.”

“Not quite the same,” Uva said. “They’re more focused and less chaotic than you are.”

“Ouch,” Shiv replied.

“It’s not an explicit criticism,” Uva said, frowning. “I suspect this proposal they have offered is so detailed and overwhelming due to them trying to affect Adam emotionally. Make him feel doubt and inferior. I have observed their interactions with each other as well, and there is an undercurrent of volatility that is being held back.”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“I mean, I suspect that a great deal of this is a bit of a show so they can get some collective amusement out of bullying you,” Uva said. “But they aren’t nearly as disciplined and well-structured as they portray. I would say forty percent of the orcs I’ve slipped my strings into already have plans to murder ten or so of their brethren soon if we don’t give them someone else to hurt.” Her expression turned curious. “They’re also starving and miserable underneath, and getting more so with every passing moment.”

“Truly?” Adam said. Shiv leaned in as well.

Uva continued relaying her findings. “They feed off harm and cruelty, and it builds each day. It’s like hunger for them. Or thirst. Something they will not be able to resist for overlong. It is only mental at first, but it will wither them physically, and soon. I think the orcs do have a general crippling weakness—starvation. They must in-fight or commit to brutality if they wish to stay sane and survive. And that might be our greatest defense against them as well. They’re predators. They need a constant stream of prey to be fed and to stay their hand from cruelty. But it will never last. However, if we can contain them, they will turn on each other. This I am almost certain of.”

“Right. But they gotta be contained for that to happen.” Shiv paused. “Or we can also keep them constantly fed.”

“How—Oh.” Adam realized what Shiv was talking about. “Well. Your willingness to let these monsters abuse you for Toughness levels has finally proven more useful than mad.”

“Probably also why the Challenger made me Insul,” Shiv added. “I’m renewable pain-food too.” The rightful source is novel·fire·net

The Deathless grinned. Both Uva and Adam just stared at him like he was insane.

The latter let out a breath. “Right. Well. We need to deal with the expeditionary force first. I agree with Whisper from what I read of their proposal. We don’t need a large force to defeat the few thousand they are sending. We should ambush and capture their strongest Pathbearers with our Stealth-focused forces first, then crush the rest with an overwhelming display of power.” Adam’s lip curled. “The orcs also promised that they will try to leave some forces alive so that their Psychomancers can mentally break and repurpose the Inquisitors into attacking the Necrotech lines.”

Uva considered that for a moment. “They will do no such thing without my supervision. They cannot be trusted with that much subtle intelligence. I also have questions relating to its efficacy.”

“Not the morality?” Adam deadpanned.

“No,” Uva replied without getting the joke. “The orcs have potent Psychomancers among them. But perhaps only five of them are Heroic-Tier Psychomancers, and only two have a non-fused Skill Evolution. Of the two, one seems to be focused on inducing mass psychosis. The other strikes me as a psionic wound-maker of some fashion.”

“But don’t they still have a few hundred Master-Tier Psychomancers?” Shiv asked.

“They do. But consider how many minds I can control at once. Can I mentally direct an army?”

Shiv thought about that. “Well. You can kind of nudge them in place.”

“Correct. My Skill Evolution allows me to possess and direct someone on a deep and near-total level—perhaps a few dozen if my Parallel Thinking is drastically improved and I level my Psychomancy more. But that is not an army. And we will be facing adversaries with strong Magical Resistance and additional defenses on top of that. They will not be so easy to reshape. The orcs are being over-optimistic at best. We will not be able to field a reliable army of mind-slaves without a Legendary Psychomancer, which we don’t have. Even if we did, I suspect it would take much more time than we have.”

“What about just deploying one or two of their best?” Shiv asked.

“No, that just doesn’t make sense. Even Heroes generally don’t attack an army alone.”

Shiv did a double-take. “They don’t? Then what the hells were we doing against the Vultegs two days ago?”

“Being desperate idiots instead of Heroes,” Adam replied flatly.

Shiv grinned. “Worked out for us.”

“Yes, you Deathless bastard. Because only one of us was in true danger,” Adam sneered.

“You’re cute when you’re frustrated,” Shiv taunted. He reached out to pinch Adam’s cheek, and the Gate Lord smacked his hand aside.

“Get your hand away from me, you oversized idiot.”

“You let Bonk squeeze your cheek,” Shiv complained. “Why don’t I get to? This is bullshit.”

“I didn’t let that bastard do anything. He just pinched me out of nowhere.”

“Yeah. I think he likes you, Adam. I think he wants to be your friend.”

“He needs to stay the fuck away from—”

“Boys,” Uva said, squinting at the two of them. “Focus. Please.”

Shiv nodded in agreement. And tried to pinch Adam with a stream of Vitae anyway. The Gate Lord dodged back and laughed. “I knew you were going to do that!”

“You won’t be able to avoid me forever, Arrow.” Shiv chuckled. “I will infantilize you like the orcs do someday soon.”

“Uva,” Adam said, pointing at Shiv. “Reach into his mind. The orcs are making him into an even bigger bastard than before. Shut him down and wake him up again. Maybe that’ll fix him.”

The Umbral’s annoyed expression collapsed into one of exasperated amusement. “There is just something about leaving you two next to each other that turns you into children, isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” Shiv said. “I want my turn to bully Adam. The orcs had theirs.”

Adam formed a Hydrokinetic limb with a middle finger extended. It pressed against Shiv’s face, and the Deathless pretended it wasn’t there at all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep