Chapter 2146: Another Clue!

Female Orcs did not have the same sensibilities as human women, so the question was taken at surface level.

Crah was a very old tortoise orc who survived by hiding in his shell. It was just that at his age, the shell had gone rather brittle and could no longer handle strong attacks.

Look, there were cracks, and soon one would be able to see his internal organs.

"I am old..." he said, unsure how old he really was. For one, he could not count more than a hundred.

"Are you familiar with the Urfrukt? If you can help us, we can escort you and your companions to one of the tribes."

"This..."

The old turtle paused, eyes glazed a bit, trying to grab a very, very old memory.

Althea saw this, and her eyes sparkled. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Maybe..." the turtle said, voice a bit raspy, though tone unsure.

Orcs were simple-minded creatures. Even if they lied, it was obvious, so whatever they said, Althea leaned more toward believing them. Of course, it was always taken with a grain of salt. Humans could misremember, let alone orcs, and most especially ageing orcs.

Althea did not blame his slowness. In the end, she just decided to escort them to the Rocky Tribe anyway.

What they knew about the Urfrukt was only that it was a type of fruit, said to be the origin fruit of orcs. Or at least it should’ve had something to do with them or had made an impact on their lives; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been associated in such a way.

From Damba back then, they also knew that the most suspicious place was deeper into the Hollow Forest.

Therefore, all this time she had been looking for clues among the orcs. But was that really the way? Were they really connected at all? Who knows.

Hopefully, the turtle could give them more clues.

"You’re here?"

"Welcome backkkk~!"

All of the children (who were literally just a handful in number) rushed over to give Althea a hug. She gave them a lot of sweet treats before, so they loved her very much.

Althea was also very fond of them, giving them another set of sweet treats. She also gave them soft, chewy candies, which were novel to them, and they immediately got addicted.

Chup, chup, chup!

"DWISUSH!" they said, jumping around and going on zoomies. They were orc kids, so they were faster than the average human adult, too, so Althea got dizzy just watching them.

Anyway, Althea and her group entered the Rocky Tribe easily. There weren’t even guards at the entrance. For them, the only threats were monsters and wild roots, and those don’t specifically look for the entrance.

If this place developed some scheming between tribes or races, then even the Rocky Tribe could be in danger.

Tsk, tsk, she should probably expedite the ’don’t get scammed’ lessons. At the very least, they should get people to guard the entrance. Anyway, it was only one entrance. Unless the enemy was avian, with few exceptions, that was the only access point.

They brought new orcs to the tribe, which was a very welcome thing because more labor meant more strength. There was not much scheming in orc culture, so there was no hostility when one side showed their weaknesses.

"Who are you?"

"Wao, you’re bleeding to death!"

"What level are you?"

If someone asked an injured human this question, they might get offended, but it was normal between orcs. The last question was mostly to determine the meat the orc should eat.

Basically, once a group surrenders to a tribe, they generally do not doubt or have much suspicion until someone actually does something to betray the group. So far, she had heard no such stories. If there were, the orcs would definitely remember it.

So far, any schemes among orcs were incredibly rare, which was also why she was reluctant to open this place up to the humans. As dangerous as it was, the place felt...pristine and refreshing because of its inhabitants. She was reluctant to dirty it with human scheming. Who knows how many orcs would suffer under them?

Look at the goblins. She could bet that before the humans decided to enslave them, they were living decent, free lives.

Of course, the orcs weren’t as weak as the goblins. In that case, it could lead to a full-on war, which she didn’t want to see either.

Anyway, Althea was welcomed with open arms. Although she had literally not been away for long, she had definitely been missed.

They had a massive barbecue that night, with some of the vegetables and plants that Althea introduced to them, and Althea also took in the excess meat that Sol didn’t bother with during their earlier hunt.

By now, several orcs already knew how to barbecue. In addition to the plants that Althea introduced, their palates had been improved.

Similarly, the newcomers were also fascinated by the ’whole new world’ in cuisines. In their tribe, they mostly ate plain meat. Even if they did cook it, it was over direct fire, and they did not know they could add other things!

Crah was recovering on one side, and his damaged shell was bandaged with special leaves Althea found outside. The leaves had some mild antiseptic effects, so they could be used as bandages. It was fairly common around here, so she taught them how to use it, too.

Crah was eating mushrooms along with everyone when he saw Damba, the oldest member of the Rocky Tribe. "It’s you, kid..."

Looking at the wrinkly elephant, it was a bit odd to hear her being called a kid. However, Damba took it in stride and went to the turtle who was less than a third of her height.

"Wow! You’re still alive!"

"And you’re still fat!"

The two oldies chatted a lot about life, and the others listened in.

Although orcs’ lifespans were also long and could even go a bit longer than humans’, they rarely grew so old because of the dangers of this side.

They did not have the protection of the system here, and that had definitely protected the humans throughout the millennia, allowing them to develop to their current stage despite all the challenges and the dangers of the world.

In here, the enemies were clearly many monsters—the average of which was strong even in human towns—and wild plants with bloodlust. They were surrounded by them on all sides too, so the orcs remained relatively united against common enemies.

In summary, it was very, very rare to see a super old orc, and them seeing each other was akin to seeing blood brothers.

The two old orcs talked about various things, like their adventures, their hunts, their greatest wins, and so on. It had a hint of bragging, which was amusing to watch.

For example, they would brag about the strongest kill they had in their peak. Regardless of whether they had a team with them or something, they spoke of the achievement as if it were a solo kill.

They bragged about their fastest kill, their biggest kill, the most brutal kill, and so on.

They also mentioned the sight of monster plants when they were talking about their ’greatest escape ’. The tortoise mentioned that it was the latest run for him.

Their group had apparently been very close to being consumed to death by wild roots. It was scary to death!!

For orcs, it was better to be killed by beasts than plants. It was just so distasteful for them.

It was around here that a few members of a team that just came back from a hunt came rushing in, looking a little anxious but mostly confused.

"There...there is a monster plant outside! It’s...it’s not attacking, but there’s a monster plant outside!!"

Hearing this, most of the Rocky Tribe members in the area rushed out to see.

Meanwhile, Sol had settled down outside the base and did not enter, and there were many orcs from the newly arrived team staring at it.

"WHOA."

"Is it...?!"

Wild Roots and Monster Roots, on the surface, had little difference except the latter was much bigger. However, there were also large wild roots. The differences, ultimately, were how they hunted and the strength and quality of their attacks.

Right now, it was not attacking. It was just leisurely sitting there, head facing slightly up as if sunbathing.

Looking at him like this, the turtle went into a daze.

"I seem to have remembered something."

While the orcs didn’t seem to hear or care for this (they were busy harassing Sol), Althea and Garan paused and stared at the turtle, waiting for him to speak.

Coincidentally, he turned to look at the couple as well.

"A long, long time ago," he said. "I saw people like you roaming around. They did not go through orc tribes but went straight to the Hollow Forest," he said. "Would you happen to know them?"