After taking down the guards of the gate, Hazel walked into the village with a confident yet nonchalant stride in her step. Drebur'tok and his fellow Orcs followed behind, nervous as they entered their village while nervously glancing at their surroundings.

As they moved deeper within the village, the residents quickly took notice of their presence and started gathering around. It started with just a couple of Orcs taking a look at the entrance of the gate to see what was happening. Then those orcs called out to everyone else in a hurry, all of them staring at an unfamiliar face that had entered their home.

That unfamiliar face was Hazel. She could feel the various eyes on her, all of them filled with curiosity, fear, and hostility. Many of them spoke with one another in hushed tones, all of them directed at her. She didn't let this bother her and simply kept moving forward, maintaining a steady pace without stumbling.

After taking a couple more steps, an Orc from the crowd suddenly approached her. Much like Drebur'tok, this Orc wielded a large sword that was sheathed around his back. He had several red paint markings on his arms and torso. The way he marched over to Hazel was arrogant and hostile, as if he were planning to pick a fight with her. And sure enough...he did.

"What's a human doing in our village?!" He spat, glaring down at Hazel with a furious and haughty tone. He then pulled out his sword and pointed it at her, threatening to cut her down on the spot. "Why are you here, human? Answer me!"

Hazel looked at the sword for a moment, calmly scanning the item being directed at her. When the Orc noticed her unfazed behavior, he grew more annoyed.

"Are you deaf or something? Speak or I'll just cut you down here and now!"

"Orakh, stop, you fool!" Drebur'tok roared, hastily marching over to them.

The haughty Orc, Orakh, shifted his scornful gaze from Hazel to his fellow Orc. "What is the meaning of this, Drebur'tok? Why did you bring a human to our home?! Look what he did to the guards!" He pointed at the two Orc guards that Hazel sent flying. "Explain yourself now!"

"Put your weapon away first before you end up like them, you damn fool!"

"What did you say?! Are you looking for a fight? Huh?!"

"I said stand down, dammit! You are only making this situation worse!"

"I will do no such thing until you ex-!" Orkah was then cut off when his body suddenly levitated in the air, alarming him. "W-what is this...?!" He turned his gaze back on Hazel, who was currently raising her hand at the Orc. "What are you doing to me, human!?"

"You're loud and annoying," Hazel uttered coldly, her purple eyes trained on the Orc through her arcane veil. "So please get out of my sight."

She then flicked her wrist to the side, sending the haughty Orc flying to the right. Several Orcs that were in his path moved out of the way as he flew past them before tumbling to the ground. Watching one of their own get sent flying by a single human, the Orcs got riled up and glared at Hazel.

Just before they could try and attack her, Drebur'tok and the rest of his group circled Hazel to protect her. When the Orcs witnessed this, they became enraged.

"What the hell are you doing, Drebur'tok?" One orc roared.

"She just sent Orakh flying! Why are you defending her?!" Another interrogated.

More protests were directed at Drebur'tok and his seemingly irrational decision. But the leading Orc didn't back down and continued to protect Hazel. He did this knowing that if his people tried and laid a finger on her, their village would end up in flames, and everyone would be dead and lying on the ground.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Please, don't make this any worse!" Drebur'tok pleaded. "We are doing this to avoid a disaster!"

"Is that so, Drebur'tok?" Another voice called out to the Leading Orc, startling him and the other orcs among his group.

Hazel followed the source of the voice before seeing another Orc emerge from the crowd, slowly approaching them. He was a lot bigger than the other Orcs around him. Even Drebur'tok, and he was rather bulky for an Orc. He had long dreaded black hair that was decorated in various beads, and wore spiked bracers and shoulder pads with a fur mantle draped over his shoulders. Strapped around his back was a massive battle axe that was covered in scratch marks and blood.

Hazel could tell that this Orc was strong. Much stronger than Drebur'tok and the other Orcs she encountered. Watching the Orc slowly walk toward them with a confident and authoritative stride, she used this opportunity to appraise him to see what she was dealing with, and was surprised by what she discovered.

[Grak'bog, Class: Titan, Level 41]

Her eyes widened upon reading his status. This Orc was already over level forty? How was that possible? So far, the highest level she came across before reaching level thirty-six was level twenty-five, which was from Zoe Callahan. And yet, somehow, this Orc was already over the forties.

Hazel guessed that he either got stuck in a very dangerous Tutorial Dungeon and got strong there, or encountered a powerful boss-level monster in Portland somewhere. Both scenarios were very possible, considering that Hazel encountered the latter a couple of days ago.

Another thing that caught her attention was the Orc's class. She never encountered someone with a Titan Class. She figured that it was a warrior-based class due to his current appearance, but in terms of what the class provided for him, she was at a loss.

"Chief..." Drebur'tok muttered with a hint of fear in his voice.

Hazel took note of his reaction and assessed her situation. So, the orc that was approaching them was the chief of this village. This made sense, considering how strong he was. He was over twenty levels higher than Drebur'tok. And the way he walked and emitted this commanding aura told Hazel that he wasn't someone to mess with.

However, that didn't matter to her. Not after making this little discovery. It looked like she might've found a way to use the Challenge Oath without having to cheat the system in her favor.

"They brought me here because I wished to make a request," Hazel declared to the Orc chief.

"A request?" The chief scoffed. "You barge into our home, assault our residents, and dare make a request to us?" He glared at Hazel.

Hazel shrugged her shoulders. "Well, in my defense, your people drew their weapons on me first. I simply defended myself."

The chief snarled. "Is that what you have to say after invading our home?"

"That depends. Do you have anything to say after sending your people to invade my home?"

Hearing this, the Orc chief paused, realizing that despite what Hazel was doing, his village wasn't exactly innocent either. None of the other Orcs and residents said anything either, fully aware that they were planning to invade the Valiant Guild's base.

There were a few moments of silence before the chief let out a heavy sigh.

"And what exactly that you wish to request of us?" He grumbled while glaring at Hazel.

Hazel shrugged. "It's nothing too serious. All I ask is for you to move your tribe away from the Valiant Guild. It doesn't matter where, as long as you are as far away from the guild as possible."

The chief suddenly laughed as his loud voice filled the air around them. Though instead of joining him, the rest of the village stayed quiet, as if not wanting to disturb his moment. Once he was done, the chief turned his gaze back on Hazel.

"You actually expect me and my people to simply move our village just because you requested it?"

"Well, I would prefer if you did."

Hazel could tell where this conversation was going, which was why she knew what the chief was about to say next. Right down to the tone in his voice as he looked Hazel directly in her eyes.

"And what if we refuse to leave? What will you do then, human?"

As soon as Hazel heard this, her grin widened when she got what she wished for. Raising her hand, she pointed at the chief and stared at her with her glowing purple eyes through her veil.

"Then you leave me no choice. I, Hazel Thatcher, challenge Chief Grag'bog to a Challenge Oath!"

A collective gasp from the crowd rang out through the village, displaying everyone's shock at Hazel's sudden declaration. Meanwhile, the chief who was just challenged simply stood there before her as his face creased into an unsettling frown. All the while, Hazel smiled at the chief, knowing that she had the orc right where she wanted him.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.