Legend of Beleriand

Chapter 4. Young Arthur

The fire in the orc camp had been extinguished. The ground was strewn with the corpses of orcs in disarray.

The mercenaries were cleaning up the battlefield. Even the leather armor on the orcs was stripped off. The corpses were piled up to be burned. If they came across one that wasn't completely dead, they would add a sword thrust.

No one found it cruel. The war between humans and orcs had lasted for nearly ten thousand years. The hatred ingrained in their blood made killing seem natural.

"Angers, how are the brothers?"

"Fortunately, we have one seriously injured and four slightly injured. It's just a pity that the female leopard got away." The hunter, who was wrapping gauze around his arm without looking up, replied.

"Forget it. As long as no brothers are lost, it's already fortunate." Remembering the desperate attacks of the female lion before she died, Keynes still felt a lingering fear.

"That female leopard is really something. If we could catch her and put her on the bed, just thinking about it is so damn exciting!" Tony, who hadn't been seen throughout the entire battle, suddenly popped out from somewhere.

"Tony, just you? You can't even handle the women at the Nightingale Bar. Still thinking about a female orc? Be careful she snaps your little thing off."

Angers' teasing of Tony elicited a burst of rough laughter from the mercenaries cleaning up the battlefield.

Tony didn't care at all. There was an unmasked smile on his face. "Boss, we have a great harvest."

As Tony spoke, he waved his hand. Several mercenaries led over a dozen young orcs tied up in a string with ropes. Some little beasts bared their teeth and still tried to resist. With one whip from the mercenary, these little orcs were whipped until they lay on the ground wailing.

Keynes' eyes immediately lit up. "Be gentle. These little guys are valuable. Killing one would cost at least several dozen gold coins."

Many human nobles like to keep orc guards to show off their wealth and power. Quite a few noblewomen even secretly get them as playthings in bed. As for the reason, besides being**, it's naturally because the male organs of orcs are more majestic than those of human men.

Adult orc warriors are stubborn and irritable. Even if captured, they won't yield. Young orcs, on the other hand, are easier to train and tame. Therefore, many nobles like to buy young orc slaves and train them from an early age. Once they appear on the market, they become hot commodities that countless nobles and wealthy people scramble to buy. Their price in the slave market is second only to that of elven women, and the rarer the race, the higher the value.

"Boss, do you think this one is worth a thousand gold coins!" Tony pulled over Leon, who was at the front of the line.

"Oh, really unexpected. Didn't this little lion get away either?" Keynes squatted down and lifted Leon's chin with one finger.

Leon's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was filled with hatred. It was these humans in front of him who had killed his mother.

Suddenly, a pale golden light burst from Leon's hands. He broke the rope tied to his hands and pounced on Keynes in front of him with a pair of sharp claws.

But as soon as Leon moved, he was grabbed by Keynes' big hand around his neck. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move.

When Leon was almost choked to death, Keynes threw him on the ground. But there was a hint of solemnity on his face. "Tony, for such a valuable little guy, you should tie him up more tightly."

"Captain, there's one here who's only worth one gold coin. What should we do with him?" A mercenary pulled out the thin and small Arthur from the group.

Compared to the popular young orcs, a useless human teenage slave is naturally not valuable.

Keynes had noticed this strange young boy in the orc camp during the day. He was even more incredulous that he could defeat a little lion that was almost at the first-level warrior level.

Keynes also lifted Arthur's chin, but his movements were much gentler.

Arthur looked up and revealed a smiling face and a mouthful of snow-white teeth. Although his body was covered in dirt and his hair was disheveled, his face was very cleanly washed, and his gaze was even purer.

"What's your name and how old are you?"

"Captain, my name is Arthur. I'm twelve years old."

Keynes was stunned. "How do you know I'm the captain?"

"Didn't those mercenary brothers all call you that?"

Keynes laughed. "You're very clever. Why are you in the orc camp?"

"Our village was attacked by orcs two years ago. My mother was killed by orcs. I was captured and became a slave in the orc camp."

"You're lying!" Tony suddenly grabbed Arthur by the collar and stared at him fiercely. "Orcs don't need human children as slaves. On the contrary, some orc nobles prefer to eat human children. Also, although you're a bit thin, you don't look like a slave at all. How do you explain this leather armor on you?"

"Tony, you'll scare him like this." Edeline couldn't help but stop Tony. The boy's smile seemed to have a kind of magic that made her believe everything the boy said.

Arthur cast a grateful look at Edeline. "Don't worry, beautiful and respected lady. He won't scare me. I've seen even fiercer orcs than this."

"Quite a sweet talker." Tony knew his strategy hadn't worked and slowly released Arthur's collar.

"The reason I'm alive is because I still have value. The mistress hoped to find a human opponent for her son so that he could better understand his enemies." Arthur explained slowly.

"The mistress? That female lion-man?" Keynes asked.

Arthur lowered his head in sadness. "In fact, the mistress was very kind to me. If it weren't for her, I would have become food for some orcs long ago."

Leon, who was still lying on the ground, suddenly raised his head and gave Arthur a surprised look.

"Untie his rope. Here with us, he is no longer a slave." Keynes said loudly.

"Thank you!" Arthur bowed and thanked Keynes, Edeline, Tony, and even the mercenary who untied his rope one by one.

Keynes laughed heartily and waved his hand, continuing to urge the other mercenaries to quickly clean up the battlefield and not let go of anything of value.

"Are you going to transport back these tattered leather armor and orc weapons too?" Edeline, who had been following Keynes all along, couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

"Even ants are meat. Throwing them to the weapon shop for recycling can always exchange for some gold coins. You don't know the hardships of running a household. There are so many mouths waiting for me to feed. Moreover, we misjudged this time. Except for these little orcs, this noble camp really doesn't have anything valuable." Edeline's one complaint elicited a torrent of complaints from Keynes.

"What are you going to do with that child?" Edeline suddenly asked in a low voice.

"Take him back to the city first. He's really an interesting little guy." Keynes' gaze swept towards Arthur, who was helping clean up the battlefield. In an extremely short time, Arthur had integrated into the mercenaries and was helping them collect the valuable things on the orcs.

Keynes might not have thought that it was this decision out of curiosity that changed the original trajectory of the history of the continent of Berland...