Chapter 23
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Forming the First Blood Alliance
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As if the chaos of the previous night had been nothing but a dream, the warriors' spirited shouts pierced the sky from early morning.
"Even a passing slug would be quicker than you lot! How long do you plan to hang onto that festival mood, huh? Add a thousand swings!"
"Add a thousand swings!"
While the warriors sweated profusely, throwing themselves into training, Johann was holding a meeting inside Gurkan's tent, gathered with Gurkan and his disciples.
"You're saying war might break out?"
"That's right. According to my friend here, it seems a lot has changed in the outside world while we've been cut off from it."
Leading the group was Great Chieftain Gurkan, flanked by his disciples—the elite warriors who could be called the chieftains of the twelve tribes. They buzzed with murmurs.
Johann had come to the tribe to form an alliance with them, explaining that sparks of war were beginning to ignite in the outside world.
Of course, it was quite different from the facts, but with Gurkan—who knew the truth—backing Johann's words, the chieftains seemed to accept them.
Johann followed up Gurkan's lead with a warning.
"Peace on the continent has lasted longer than expected. Because of that, every kingdom's armories are overflowing, and their trained soldiers are itching for war to break out as soon as possible. The battlefield is their golden ticket to promotion, after all."
"But this is the Gurkan Mountains! No matter how elite the humans' trained troops are, it's impossible for them to cut through hordes of monsters and attack us here."
When one disciple countered Johann's point, Johann shook his head.
"That holds if they're just coming with a few thousand or tens of thousands. But if a million soldiers poured in? Holding out would just be a matter of time."
The disciples gasped at the number.
"A million soldiers? Is there even a nation that could muster an army that size?"
Johann nodded.
Of course, even the Empire couldn't easily assemble that many troops right now.
But the Empire ten years from now? A million-strong army would be child's play.
"Trust me, an army of a million would be a catastrophe. Victory or defeat wouldn't even matter—they'd swarm through here like locusts, trampling everything alive in their path, monster or orc alike."
"What do we do, Great Chieftain? If Alpha's right, this is disastrous! Shouldn't we relocate while we still can...?"
When one disciple cautiously voiced his opinion, Dahon beside him exploded in outrage.
"You call that talk, Pantion? Gurkan warriors never flee! Never retreat! Even if it's like an egg smashing against a rock, we stand and fight! Have you forgotten what it means to be an orc warrior?"
"You're the one who's forgotten a warrior's duty, Dahon! Our job isn't just to win battles—it's to protect our people! Even if we somehow win, what good is victory if everyone we're meant to protect is wiped out?"
Dahon and Pantion glared at each other, neither yielding.
The other disciples couldn't easily intervene.
They shared the same conflicted thoughts.
It was Gurkan himself who stepped in to mediate.
"Enough! What is this display in front of our friend? Both Dahon and Pantion are right. That's why we're borrowing our friend's wisdom here."
At that, all twelve disciples, including Dahon and Pantion, turned their eyes to Johann.
"Ahem!"
Johann cleared his throat as attention focused on him, organizing his thoughts before directing a question at Gurkan.
"We touched on this before, but if war breaks out, what's the biggest problem facing the Gurkan Orcs?"
"Plenty of issues, but the gravest is our population. We don't have enough warriors to hold off a million, and if the war drags on, we'd be wiped out before long."
"Why's our population so low? From what I know, Gurkan Orc birth rates are several times higher than humans'."
"That's exactly why we suppress our numbers ourselves. It was back when I was very young. My great-great-grandchieftain broke that rule to revive our tribe, letting births skyrocket. But raising all those young ones required more land and food."
As the Gurkan Orc numbers exploded and they expanded their territory, the monsters and beasts of the mountains lost theirs instead.
Naturally, their populations plummeted.
The problem was that food sources dwindled while the mouths to feed multiplied.
"Monsters and beasts nearly went extinct, and we came close to starving without even fighting. My great-great-grandchieftain took responsibility, leading his loyal warriors on a desperate raid into a human kingdom for food. He and his warriors all perished, but it reduced our numbers and bought us time to restore balance."
"So you started suppressing again?"
"Yes. We learned the hard lesson of abandoning coexistence with the mountains for selfish dreams of prosperity."
Johann watched the warriors nod in agreement with Gurkan, then declared firmly.
"No! There's no sin in wanting your race to thrive. They just lacked the know-how and methods. Gurkan, how advanced is orc construction tech?"
Gurkan answered Johann's question honestly, without sugarcoating what could be seen as a shortcoming.
"Honestly? Abysmal. Most orcs care more about fighting than building, and non-combat skills are dismissed or scorned."
"Then you probably don't know much about multi-family housing."
"Multi-family housing? What's that?"
Johann sketched it out simply.
He wasn't an architect, so no detailed blueprints, but the outline alone stunned the orcs.
"Homes like this are standard in human cities. Even rural areas are trending toward them lately. They use not just width but height too, so lots of folks can live in a small footprint."
"Is that really possible?"
"Unbelievable..."
The orcs were floored.
Regular orcs were isolated, but Gurkan Orcs even more so.
"Come to think of it, I remember my great-great-grandchieftain trying to build new homes after raiding a human kingdom. They looked kinda like this."
"But you can't just eyeball and copy architecture..."
"You're right. The two-story test house collapsed completely, crushing sleeping kin beneath it in a mass death. That's when we realized and gave up."
The warriors stirred at Gurkan's account.
"Crushed to death in their sleep?"
"Isn't that insanely dangerous?"
Johann shook his head.
"I said it already—it's not something you copy by eye. Built right by experts, they're sturdy as can be. So relax. Cities already have four-story buildings full of people. If they were that risky, no one would live there."
"F-four stories? Stacking these four high?"
"Yep. One household per floor means four families on land for one. Multiply your numbers that way. Advance the tech, and you could go higher."
"But solving housing doesn't end it. More kin means more food shortages eventually."
Johann nodded at Gurkan's point, pulling a map from his bag and spreading it out.
"Here's the Gurkan Mountains. Here's Viscount Domos's territory, which I govern now. And this wasteland between."
He pointed to the barren expanse between Gurkan Mountains and House Domos lands.
"This will be your granary."
"What are we supposed to do there?"
"Grow corn."
Corn thrives in poor soil with minimal effort.
Perfect for orcs.
But the warriors' faces didn't brighten.
"We're warriors. You want us to set aside our blades for farming?"
Johann tilted his head in confusion.
"Who said abandon your blades? Do both. Don't tell me Gurkan warriors lack the grit for it?"
"Ahem! N-not that, but..."
Stung by Johann's jab, the warriors averted eyes or coughed awkwardly.
Gurkan burst into laughter, endorsing Johann's idea.
"Hah hah ha! Puts us at a loss for words. True, farming while training beats watching kin starve. Mobilize women, children—no reason we can't. But Alpha, our staple is meat, not grain. Farming alone won't sustain us. Got a fix for that?"
"Corn isn't for you to eat. It's feed for livestock you'll raise."
"Raise livestock? Us? But that's..."
"I know. No experience or skill makes it tough. That's why I'll help. I'll provide all the tech for construction, farming, ranching. But that's for the future. For immediate cash, I've got something else."
"Another scheme up your sleeve? Heh."
Gurkan's eyes gleamed as he listened intently.
Johann laid out the trade route venture.
"We handle road maintenance and transport. Gurkan warriors guard against monsters from the shadows. They'll steer clear with you around. Profits split 5-5. You can't move easily, so order from me—food, weapons, whatever. Looks like food's the priority now over arms."
"That confident? Must be lucrative."
"Naturally. Accept, and no more kin starving. I guarantee it."
Gurkan grinned.
"Very well. Can't ignore such generosity from a blood brother. We'll repay it with our blood."
Gurkan sliced his palm, dripping blood into two prepared cups...
"It's an honor to fight alongside brave orc warriors."
Johann did the same, adding his blood to the cups.
"To our wise and mighty friend, the blessings of the orcs!"
"To my bold and hearty friends, the glory of the orcs!"
Without hesitation, they raised the mingled-blood cups and drank deeply.
In that moment, the two men who would upend the continent's history forged a bond stronger than steel and thicker than blood, etched into their souls.
<How the Regressed Young Master Lives>