Chương 83: The Strongest Shall Rule

Parker Doubleaxes had seized the position of chief through strength at a young age, exactly as Karath had suspected. There was nothing particularly unusual about that among orcs. What distinguished Parker was that his boiling young blood would never allow him to remain satisfied as the chief of a single tribe. He had always dreamed of uniting several tribes and becoming a Grand Chief, just like the legendary figures the elders described in stories from ancient times.

The only problem was that, unlike Karath, Parker lacked the intelligence to devise a method for accomplishing it. Then one day, a seemingly delicate warrior from the Bloodclaw Tribe arrived and informed him that the entire foundation had already been prepared. The moment Parker heard the proposal, he became convinced that the ancestors were watching over him. He therefore followed Karath's suggestion and moved his people to the Bloodclaw settlement. His objective was simple.

He intended to become the Grand Chief who ruled five united tribes. The thought of fighting the representative warriors of the other tribes also caused his competitive spirit to burn fiercely. When Parker first encountered Kaden, whose enormous build rivalled his own, he immediately wanted to test his strength against him. In contrast, he felt disappointed upon meeting Grild, chief of the Bloodclaw Tribe. Bloodclaw had reportedly united three tribes, so Parker expected its chief to be extraordinary.

Why was an ageing orc who would soon become an elder still occupying the position? Perhaps Grild had used the wisdom accumulated through age to develop Bloodclaw and unite the tribes. However, Parker rejected that possibility. That was not the honourable path of an orc warrior. The strong became leaders. The young chief's mind was filled with values that had worked within his own tribe.

"Naturally, the strongest warrior should become Grand Chief and lead everyone." He proclaimed the declaration with complete confidence. Then Parker noticed something strange. Why were the other chiefs looking at him like that? The expressions of Grild and Moldin were especially peculiar.

"Are you saying the Grand Chief will be decided through duels?" After the meeting ended, Grild summoned Karath and delivered the unexpected news.

"The chief of the Doubleaxes Tribe proposed it."

"Ah." Karath quickly understood Parker's intention. The man had probably accepted the migration from the beginning with this outcome in mind.

"And you agreed?"

"There was no reason to refuse. As Parker said, it is only proper for orcs to determine their leader through a sacred contest." Karath did not look particularly pleased by that reasonable answer. No matter how he considered it, Grild did not appear capable of defeating Parker.

"Do not worry, Karath. Bloodclaw's representative will not be Grild."

"Then..."

"You will represent us, naturally." Karath's expression showed that he had expected the answer. Withdrawing from leadership would now be difficult. Within the original Bloodclaw Tribe, everyone would trust and follow Karath even if he never became chief. The same could not be expected from a union of several tribes. He could not lead everyone while officially remaining an ordinary warrior. That was one reason he had invoked the ancestors when persuading Moldin.

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"Krahahaha! Are you worried because shamanic arts cannot be used? You are more than capable of winning without them!" Grild mistook Karath's thoughtful silence for concern and released a hearty laugh. Shamanic arts were not used in contests to determine a chief. More accurately, there was no history of anyone using them. No shaman had ever become a tribal chief. Grild was not worried even without Karath's magic.

The tribe's recent focus upon the ancestral knowledge Karath received had caused many to forget, but Karath had already been Bloodclaw's greatest warrior before he learned magic. He had defeated adult orcs even before his coming-of-age ceremony. Most importantly, he had killed a troll alone during that ceremony. Recently, the development of stronger weapons had allowed a few other warriors to hunt trolls without assistance. That had not been possible at the time.

Karath remained the only orc who had ever killed one alone with nothing but a stone axe.

"Ah..." As Grild remembered the way Karath had killed that troll, his face suddenly turned pale.

"Karath, there is something important Grild must tell you."

"Yes, Chief?"

"During the contest for Grand Chief, you must never attack that place." Grild drew his legs together while speaking with a bloodless face. Like impatient orcs, they held the contest the following morning. The settlement had already exceeded its intended capacity. More than four hundred orcs crowded together to witness the duels. With no modern arena or seating, only those nearest to the clearing could see the fight properly.

"Krahahaha! Parker Doubleaxes, chief of the Doubleaxes Tribe, stands here! Any brother who wishes to challenge him should step forward!" Parker was naturally the first to enter the ring formed by the surrounding orcs. The moment his confident declaration ended, Karath left his position and walked forward.

"Karath Bloodclaw, warrior of the Bloodclaw Tribe, will represent Bloodclaw in this contest!" As expected of barbaric warriors, no one had considered using a tournament bracket to manage exhaustion. The contest would simply continue with each winner facing the next challenger. Logically, waiting until the end would give Karath the highest chance of victory with the least effort. However, some orcs might refuse to accept him if he won that way. Karath intended to engrave one fact into the minds of every orc present.

He was their true leader.

"Krahahaha! Brother Karath intends to challenge Parker? Do the brothers of Bloodclaw truly agree to place this warrior before him as their representative?" Parker looked toward Grild and the Bloodclaw tribespeople after Karath entered the clearing. Judging from his appearance alone, he seemed to be underestimating Karath. The Bloodclaw orcs merely stared back with expressions asking why he bothered questioning something so obvious.

"Come at Karath." Karath crooked a finger and provoked him.

"Krahahaha! If that is Bloodclaw's choice, then it cannot be helped. Do not regret it!" Parker charged immediately. Whoosh! The clearing was narrow, allowing him to enter striking range in only a few steps. He swung a fist toward Karath. Parker's body rivalled Kaden's in size, so the force behind that punch had to be considerable. Karath avoided it by the smallest possible margin without blinking. He had once spent an hour evading the attacks of an ogre, where even a glancing blow could have killed him.

There was no reason to fear the fist of an unusually large orc. After avoiding the attack, Karath stepped closer to overcome the difference in reach and drove his right fist toward Parker's exposed solar plexus. Thud! A heavy impact reached Karath's hand, but the punch failed to strike its target. While throwing his right fist, Parker had moved his left hand and blocked Karath's blow before it reached his chest. Apparently, Parker had not won his position as chief through luck.

After blocking the attack, he raised his right hand and swung downward toward Karath's head. Karath read the movement and rotated his body. Parker's fist narrowly passed his head. Crack! Karath's spinning elbow smashed into Parker's jaw.

"Ghh." The clean blow made Parker's legs stagger. He was remarkably durable. The same strike would have shattered the jaw of an ordinary human. Parker merely lost his balance for a moment. That did not matter. It only meant Karath's punching bag would last slightly longer.

"Hup!" He took advantage of Parker's unsteady legs and leapt. Crack! Karath's knee struck Parker directly in the nose.

"GRAAGH!" Parker still demonstrated impressive determination. Even as his head snapped backward, he swung a fist into Karath's side while Karath remained in the air. Thud! Karath had anticipated the counterattack and moved his arm to block it. Even so, the impact knocked him off balance and sent him rolling across the ground. He completed a rapid roll as though using the movement to gain momentum, immediately rose, and charged Parker again. Close combat was the only reliable way to overcome Parker's superior reach.

Karath entered without hesitation. Thud! Crack! He repeatedly struck Parker's vital areas with elbows and knees. The man possessed enough endurance to counterattack even after taking a knee and an elbow to the face. Karath judged that ordinary punches and kicks would not inflict enough damage.

"GRAAAH!" Thud! Parker continued fighting back while being beaten. However, repeated blows to vulnerable areas gradually weakened him, making the counters less threatening. In a modern combat sport, a referee would already have stopped the match and declared a technical knockout. No referee existed here. Parker refused to surrender. Karath had no intention of showing mercy. This contest existed to prove his authority before five tribes.

More importantly, Parker had attempted to take advantage of a situation Karath had worked tirelessly to create. Who did this man think he was, a useless member of a university group assignment trying to claim the final credit? Karath was no foolish team leader willing to carry him. Thud!

"Ghhh..." The endurance of both the punching bag and the uninvited group member finally reached its limit. Parker groaned and collapsed backward.

"WAAAAAH!"

"Karath! Karath!" The Bloodclaw tribespeople began chanting Karath's name the moment Parker fell. The members of Doubleaxes, Bearclaw, and Hellsong who had never witnessed Karath fight merely stared in astonishment. Apparently, they had also underestimated him because of his appearance.

"Haa." Parker released a deep breath and raised his upper body from the ground. His ability to regain consciousness after taking such a beating was astonishing.

"Krahahaha! It has been a long time since Parker experienced such a satisfying defeat!" Still sitting on the ground, Parker burst into hearty laughter.

"Ghh. His head is certainly spinning." His condition was clearly far from normal. He held his head after laughing and attempted to stand. A Doubleaxes warrior approached to support him, but Parker extended a hand and refused the assistance.

"Haa." After finally forcing himself upright, Parker drew a deep breath.

"Parker Doubleaxes sincerely acknowledges his defeat to Karath Bloodclaw! From this moment onward, Parker and the entire Doubleaxes Tribe swear to follow Karath Bloodclaw!" His roar was loud enough to reach even those standing too far away to see the duel. Karath smiled faintly. When Parker first tried to place his spoon upon a meal Karath had already prepared, he had seemed rather unpleasant. In defeat, however, Parker proved himself a genuine orc warrior.