Chương 38: Chapter 37 The Wolf Cub

"Rokta!" The moment Karath completely crushed the troll's skull, a victorious roar escaped him. The battle had ended quickly, but a single mistake could have cost him his life. Thump. Thump. Even now, his orc blood continued surging violently through his pounding heart. That was only natural. Even the settlement's experienced hunters and warriors needed three or four fighters working together to kill a troll.

Karath had won relatively easily because he ambushed it while it was distracted by the wolf and destroyed one of its shoulders with the first strike. Calling such a tactic cowardly in this savage forest would have been nothing more than arrogance and foolishness. Karath proudly enjoyed his victory. Whimper. A faint sound suddenly reached his ears. Lowering his guard in a forest like this could be fatal. Karath immediately pulled himself from his excitement and turned toward the noise.

The corpse of the wolf lay nearby, its skull shattered by the troll's final blow. Could it still be alive? The creature's head had been completely crushed. Surviving an injury like that should have been impossible. Whimper. Yet the quiet sound continued coming from beside the corpse. Karath approached cautiously. Whimper. Pant. Pant. Beside the dead wolf, he discovered a small pup crying helplessly. Of course, it was only small compared with its enormous parent.

The pup was already around the size of a small dog from Earth, such as a Maltese or poodle. The moment Karath saw it, a single thought entered his mind. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He had struck gold. Orcs and wolves belonged together. Just as fantasy knights were expected to ride horses, an orc should naturally charge into battle upon a wolf. Even the name filled Karath's chest with excitement. Wolf Rider.

Unfortunately, that image existed only in games and novels. Not a single orc in the Bloodclaw settlement rode wolves. Karath had reluctantly abandoned that particular fantasy long ago. Now, however, hope was whimpering before him. Stories often claimed that animals raised by humans from infancy would not harm them. Earth had also produced many real examples. If Karath cared for the pup from now on, perhaps it would recognize him as its master and follow him.

If it refused to obey, he could always turn it into wolf stew. Karath quickly organized his thoughts. A kind smile appeared upon his face, at least by orc standards, as he approached the pup.

"Come with your older brother, little one." He spoke gently and reached out to pick it up. Whimper. The pup continued crying as it stared into his eyes. Perhaps it had not recovered from the shock of watching its parent die. Its entire body trembled violently in Karath's hands. The poor creature had witnessed its parent being killed directly before its eyes. How terrible that must have been. Karath stroked its head sympathetically. The pup began trembling even harder.

After killing the troll, Karath and Galon prepared to return to the settlement with its corpse. Bringing the giant wolf as well would have been ideal, but dragging both creatures back was too dangerous. The troll and the wolf were both enormous. Each weighed nearly as much as a cow. With their extraordinary orc strength, Karath and Galon could have forced themselves to carry both.

However, if another animal or monster ambushed them on the way home, they would be unable to respond while each was burdened with such an enormous weight. They therefore abandoned the wolf and took only the troll Karath had personally killed. Karath carried the wolf pup in one hand while he and Galon hauled the troll's corpse toward the settlement.

"Waaaah!"

"Are you insane? He brought back a troll?"

"Galon must have helped him! How could he kill that alone?" The tribespeople had spent the entire day passionately debating what Karath would bring back from his first hunt. The sight of the troll produced all kinds of reactions. Delina had wagered that her son would return with an ogre, but even she had done so mostly to express her hope that Karath would continue Garthon's legacy. Not a single tribesperson had wagered on a troll.

The result was so far beyond their expectations that no one even noticed the wolf pup Karath carried. Thud! When Karath and Galon dropped the troll's corpse onto the ground, the immense weight produced a vibration that seemed to shake the earth. Silence briefly spread among the orcs who had been shouting moments earlier. Galon stepped forward.

"This troll is the proof of today's sacred coming-of-age ceremony. I, Galon Bloodclaw, swear upon my honor as a warrior of the Bloodclaw Tribe that Karath hunted it alone!" Galon had heard the tribespeople's doubts from the moment they entered the settlement. He had spoken to eliminate them.

"Waaaah!"

"He truly killed that alone?"

"As expected of Karath!" Orcs did not lie or twist their words. Karath was the obvious exception. When an orc placed his honor as a warrior behind a statement, there could be no falsehood. The tribespeople immediately abandoned their doubts and erupted into admiration. The village warriors occasionally returned with trolls. Karath's father had even killed an ogre, a monster far more dangerous than any troll.

However, Garthon had defeated an ogre that attacked the settlement with the assistance of every available warrior. The victory had also required the deaths of Garthon and several other adult orcs. Karath had accomplished something no one in the settlement had ever achieved. He had killed a troll alone. More astonishingly, he had done it during the first hunt of his coming-of-age ceremony.