Chapter 15: Moon God Palace
“Um… Mia’s father?”
“Just call me Sorensen. What brings you here? Though I have a pretty good idea already since I overheard your conversation with my daughter. You want to visit the God Palace, right? However, I can’t give you permission. The God Palace is a sacred place for us. If you wish to visit, we’ll need to get our clan leader’s approval.”
Well, it looks like there are quite a few hoops to jump through just to check out this so-called palace.
“I understand, then let’s go to the clan leader. I’ll have a word with him.”
“Alright. Mia, while I take this sister to see the clan leader, you take good care of this big brother here.”
“Sure, no problem! Leave it to Mia!”
“Okay, let’s go then.”
“Yake, I’ll be back soon. You rest up here.”
“Got it. You didn’t have to come tell me that; do you expect me to tag along?”
“If you’re willing to come with me, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”
“Let’s skip that. I just want to lie down and rest here, you go ahead.”
“Fine. I’ll be off then.”
With Yake in Mia’s care, Aierjisi followed Sorensen to the entrance of another tent.
“Leader, it’s Sorensen. A guest wishes to see you.”
“Let her in. I know who she is and why she’s here.”
A commanding voice came from within the tent, one that sounded like it belonged to a clan leader or king—booming and authoritative.
“That’s right. You can go in alone.”
“Eh? Aren’t you coming in with me?”
“The leader said for you to go in. He didn’t say to let me in with you. Without the leader’s permission, I can’t just waltz into his tent.”
“Alright, looks like you guys have some strict rules here. Thanks for your trouble.”
Watching Sorensen leave, Aierjisi took a deep breath and walked into the tent.
“You’ve arrived, Blood Clan Queen. Please, take a seat. My apologies for the poor hospitality; all I can offer is this mountain spring water.”
An elderly orc sat in the middle of the tent, gesturing for Aierjisi to sit across from him.
“You know me?”
“I wouldn’t say I know you, but we had a foresight from the shaman that you would come here.”
“I see. You can predict the future?”
Aierjisi began to be cautious around this clan leader. If they could see the future, it meant they could set traps for her in advance.
“There’s no need to be tense. I knew you were coming, but I did not take any precautions. That’s because I trust you won’t do any harm to us orcs.”
“You have quite the faith in me. We’ve never met before, why would you think I wouldn’t harm you?”
“Of course! In the future we foresaw, you never harmed us orcs. So, I feel very secure with you.”
“That’s… quite flattering. Leader, since you already know why we’re here, we can skip the formalities, right?”
“Naturally. Come with me. Your Father King has been waiting for you.”
“Father King? Is he over at the palace?”
“No need for further discussion; just follow me and see for yourself.”
Feeling just a tad annoyed at the leader, Aierjisi still followed him to this so-called palace.
As expected, just as the leader said, Carl was indeed there.
“Father King, you’re really here! I thought the leader might have been pulling my leg!”
“Aierjisi, how did you get here? And who’s that next to you?”
“Hello, nice to meet you, Blood Clan King. I’m Xiuliein, the leader of the orcs living here.”
“Oh… orcs? I’ve seen a couple on the way here. You live here?”
“Indeed. Ever since your Blood Clan vanished from this land three hundred years ago, it has become our territory.”
“Huh?”
Carl’s eyes darkened as he looked at Xiuliein. The orc’s words certainly didn’t sit well with him. He had merely been imprisoned for 300 years, only to return and find his land occupied by another race.
“You don’t need to glare at me. I know you’re furious about losing your territory. And because of my comments, you probably want to kill me.”
“Then why are you so calm right now? You should know you wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against me.”
An orc unable to use magic versus a Blood Clan adept in magic—it’s obvious who holds the advantage in that duel.
“Of course, I know. But killing me won’t solve anything, will it? Besides, I think you have more pressing matters to attend to now.”
“Hmph. True, we don’t have the time to tangle with you now. But that doesn’t mean I won’t take back my territory. One day, I will drive you from this land.”
“I’ll be waiting for that day to come. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave and not disturb you two.”
With those words, Xiuliein took his leave.
“What a strange old man. I threw all those hostile remarks at him, yet he didn’t even get angry.”
Watching his retreating figure, Carl showed a puzzled expression.
“Because that old man already knew everything in advance. Including your and my arrival here. By the way, Father King, isn’t it a little strange for a nearly thousand-year-old Blood Clan to call a ten-something orc an old man?”
“Don’t sweat the details. It’s just as well he’s gone. Let’s head inside.”
“Mm.”
Aierjisi followed her father into the Moon God Palace.
Even after three hundred years, this place remained largely unchanged. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that it was home to great hidden power.
“Father King, there should be a place in the Moon God Palace that allows us to strengthen ourselves, right?”
“Of course, but whether you can pass through depends on you.”
Following the mechanism set beforehand, Carl opened the hidden entrance within the palace, concealing the method to enhance their power.
