The Record of Orc Civilization

Several days had passed since Artur's meeting with Anna. By now, he was beginning to get used to the new Anna, although flashes of the old Anna still lingered in his mind. Artur sometimes found himself daydreaming on the first-floor balcony, gazing at the West Fortress under construction.

The construction work undertaken by the arion species progressed astonishingly fast. Within a matter of days, dozens of new Burrows had been erected, and the foundation of the fortress walls was already taking shape.

Artur occasionally wondered where the arion species found the resources to build this fortress. The sheer amount of materials derived from mutated animals they were using left him astounded. But considering the fact that the arion species had lived under the Bog Forest for thousands of years, all of this seemed more plausible.

His heightened hearing, far sharper than that of an ordinary human, detected two sets of footsteps gradually approaching him. The two individuals were moving stealthily as if their movements were unnoticed by a mage like Artur. Yet he let them, for from their distinct footsteps, Artur knew who was coming.

Suddenly, a small figure approached from behind, clasping his neck. Then another small figure hesitantly hugged his leg.

"Hahaha... caught you, weak uncle! Hehe... I could break your neck right now. Do you surrender?" Adja exclaimed joyfully, clutching Artur's neck from behind tightly.

"S-Surrender," Aru shyly muttered, hugging Artur's leg tightly.

Although his body was now much stronger than that of an average human, the grips of his two nephews were still tight on Artur. Perhaps this was the difference in body strength between the human species and the arion species. The latter was blessed with powerful bodies capable of bending metal even without the assistance of mana.

"Okay... okay... I surrender... I surrender..." Artur chuckled, raising both of his hands.

The longer he knew them, the more Artur cherished these adorable little nephews. Adja and Aru, twin siblings born a few years ago, were the children of Anna and Moku.

The growth rate of the arion species exceeded that of humans. Although Adja and Aru should have been around two years old, they already had the physical size of ten-year-olds. However, their mentality was still that of children, making them appear utterly endearing.

Adja hopped off Artur's back, puffing out his chest. "Heh! You're so weak. Why isn't Uncle Robert our uncle? He's so strong. I saw him arm-wrestling with a druid..."

"A-A-Adja, Mom said you're not supposed to call uncle weak..." Aru shyly interjected.

"Heh? Why? If someone's weak, you should say they're weak so they can get stronger," Adja retorted, not understanding.

Artur wasn't sure about arion's ways of teaching their children, but belittling the weaker ones didn't seem like the right approach to him. Yet, he wasn't sure how to respond.

Unlike Robert and Rini, who were great with kids, Artur didn't know how to interact with his two little nephews. He didn't want to seem indifferent, but he also didn't want to come across as foolish.

In the end, Artur chose to remain silent and not do anything. Still, the two little ones always sought him out and invited him to play. Their selfishness reminded Artur of a young Anna.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Artur whispered to himself.

"Oh, right! Uncle, Uncle Robert was calling for you. He said the delegation from the Human Alliance will be arriving soon," Aru remembered their initial purpose of finding Artur.

"Is that so? In that case, I should start getting ready. Thanks, Aru," Artur said, ruffling Aru's hair.

Adja then seemed to recall something, "Oh yeah. Uncle, who's the strongest in the upcoming delegation?"

"The strongest? Hmm... I think the strongest one is Grat. He's a Level 6 Constellation Mage, just like your father," Artur replied.

Gathjee was a powerful mage, but negotiations weren't his strong suit. So, the leaders of the Human Alliance decided to send a special delegation for diplomatic talks with the Wilwatikta Kingdom. As a result, Gathjee had to wait at West Fortress without doing much.

Perhaps out of boredom or maybe due to a crazy idea simultaneously popping up in both their heads, Gathjee and Moku simultaneously wanted a friendly duel between them.

This shouldn't have been possible due to their differing statuses. Despite his strength, Gathjee was just an ordinary mage, while Moku was a prince. Yet, the cultural differences between the human species and the arion species made their views on royalty distinct.

For them, a duel challenge could be issued by anyone and for anyone. Whether it was a king or a farmer, it made no difference, as long as they believed in their strength, a duel could happen.

Of course, this piqued the interest of all human mages. Even Artur wondered about Moku's strength. Anna mentioned that Moku was incredibly powerful, and she herself couldn't measure his true strength.

If Anna, who had reached the level of a Level 4 Constellation Mage, couldn't gauge Moku's power, then only a Level 5 Constellation Mage could possibly do so. The duel between Gathjee and Moku could be the first cultural exchange between the human species and the arion species.

Due to the immense power of a Level 5 Constellation Mage, the duel couldn't take place within West Fortress. The two of them chose an arena five kilometers away from the fortress. Of course, since this was a friendly duel, neither of them was allowed to use their domains.

The duel began with Gathjee launching the first attack, followed by Moku on the defensive. However, throughout the duel, a single question filled the minds of all the human mages who watched.

They couldn't sense Moku using mana at all. Even though he could strike the air to conjure flames, it seemed as if he was doing it solely through physical strength. He could even run in the air, and no trace of mana could be felt.

Several spells that Gathjee cast collided with Moku's body, but none of them seemed to harm him. It was as if an invisible protective film shielded his body. This could potentially be a Mana Shield spell, but once again, not a single mage could detect the movement of mana within Moku's body.

Moku seemed more like a creature devoid of mana rather than a mage. He was like a monster.

However, they were fortunate that Anna had explained before any of them went completely mad imagining a monster could be that powerful. She mentioned that there were four races within the arion species: Asura, Gloomkin, Druid, and Petalbloom.

Although the appearances of these four races looked similar, they used mana in different ways. Asura was the only race that used mana not as an external form but as an internal form.

They united themselves with mana from a young age, so every move they made felt as if they weren't using mana at all. It's like someone searching for sand in the middle of a desert. They wouldn't find it because their entire field of vision is covered by sand.

Similarly, with Asura, mages who have never encountered Asura before wouldn't realize there's mana movement from them. Because an Asura's body is filled with mana, the stronger an Asura becomes, the more they merge with mana. Thus, every movement of theirs doesn't create any noticeable mana shifts around them.

This concept of mana usage is entirely unprecedented. But it's similar to the Soul spell faction used by water elves in the first mana species war. Not having seen it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Moku won the battle against Gathjee, of course. However, the battle wasn't intense. Moku acted like a child at play, while Gathjee was a warrior fighting for his life. This is why Gathjee felt that Moku wasn't just a Level 5 Constellation Mage but more equivalent to a Level 6 Constellation Mage.

Artur walked down to his room to prepare for the arrival of the delegation from the Human Alliance. His two nephews followed him with small steps from behind.

"Uncle, who's Grit? Is he stronger than Uncle Robert?" Adja asked.

"Grit is one of the commanders of the Human Alliance forces. Hmm... he's from a different generation than Robert, so it's natural that he's stronger than Robert," Artur replied. 𝐢𝐧𝗻𝐫𝗲𝗮𝐝.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Different generation? Then who's the same generation as the most powerful in the upcoming delegation?" Aru inquired.

"Hmm? Well, that might be Zilya," Artur said.

"Zilya?" Adja questioned.

"Yup, Zilya Valya. She's... err... your grandmother?" Artur said, uncertain how to phrase it.

Artur's third meeting with Anna was also attended by Robert. During that meeting, they didn't discuss their personal relationship but rather the cooperation that Robert desired.

Robert didn't reveal his exact idea but expressed his desire to assist Anna in seeking revenge against the slave traders. He would help Anna by disclosing the locations of the slave traders, their forces, and the protection provided by human nobles benefiting from the slave trade.

Though it took Anna three days to consider, she eventually agreed to collaborate with Robert. Currently, her efforts to combat slave traders were limited to the vicinity of the Bog Forest. Traders who didn't use the Bog Forest as their smuggling route could operate freely.

Hence, Robert summoned his associates to join forces with Anna. They would arrive alongside the Human Alliance delegation intending to negotiate with the Wilwatikta Kingdom.

One of the mages in the delegation was Zilya Valya.