Chapter 28: Born at the Wrong Time!
How strong is Eugene, really?
This is a question worthy of deep thought.
Firstly, Eugene is undoubtedly a genius among Half-Orcs, a figure rarely seen for centuries. This means that from the beginning, Eugene was a hero template, with foundational attributes that completely surpass other Half-Orcs. He is one of the few wise ones among Half-Orcs, showing no obvious weaknesses in either strength or wisdom.
Furthermore, Eugene has traveled across the entire continent.
It’s hard to quantify how many specialty abilities this journey has granted him, but one thing is certain: this experience has made Eugene more dangerous and powerful than other professionists of his level.
Next, Eugene’s profession level is around 26-30.
If he gained a level up during the battle against the Abyss Demon, then his average profession level would be about 28. According to the boss template challenge level +5 rule, Eugene, as a chief of the Half-Orcs, can be considered a legendary creature with a challenge level of nearly 33. This means Eugene’s challenge level might be slightly higher than that of an Ancient Red Dragon!
The facts bear this out.
Eugene showed no fear when facing the Ancient Brass Dragon; in fact, if the Ancient Brass Dragon dared to land, Eugene would face it head-on!
Lastly,
This isn’t the first time Soren has clashed with Eugene.
Although Soren has always held the advantage, he has never engaged Eugene in a direct confrontation; all battles have been won through hit-and-run tactics, and any direct engagements require him to transform into a Slayer. Without transforming into Slayer Form, it would be quite difficult for Soren to take even a single hit from Eugene, as Eugene’s melee capabilities as a War Shaman are more terrifying than those of an ordinary Legendary Warrior, and he can also channel the power of the Half-Orc ancestral spirits.
Therefore, Eugene’s true power can be viewed as a War Shaman with a profession level above 33, a challenge level exceeding 27, making him more dangerous than most demigods, and comparable in strength to many deities with weak divine power.
The facts also prove this.
When facing Soren now, Eugene shows no fear, maintaining a vigilant expression that can only be elicited by a Lesser Demon Lord or the Ancient Brass Dragon that descended upon Leaffall City.
Soren is now a True God.
And still a True God with weak divine power, which means he completely crushes ordinary Legendary Professionists.
Eugene stands before him with no sign of fear; it would be impossible to remain unyielding without sufficient strength.
This is also the reason Soren approached him.
— Ascendant – Eugene!
The seemingly aged Half-Orc in front of him is likely the top indigenous professionist in the Material Plane, and in terms of combat power, he’s probably even more formidable than the Orc chieftain (challenge level 24). This individual relied on his strength to slaughter gods in history. If one were to count on their fingers how many Legendary Professionists could help Soren slay the Lord of Shadows with medium divine power, Eugene is undoubtedly among them.
Moreover, this fellow is the top-tier tank in the Material Plane who can withstand and heal!
If Eugene weren’t so strong and Soren didn’t have any use for him, it’s unlikely Soren would have approached him at this time. After all, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs are currently in fierce enmity, and their continuous wars have led to deep-seated hatred. As the protective deity of the Half-Elves, Soren engaging with Eugene at this moment would be a terrible piece of news for his Half-Elf followers. As for subjugating Eugene or controlling the Half-Orc tribe, or any overt cooperation, Soren wouldn’t even consider it. If he did, what would the Half-Elf followers, who have settled in Modo City and had their friends and relatives slaughtered by Half-Orcs, think?
Would they simply drop their hatred and live happily ever after?
That would be too naive.
Collaboration with Eugene can only be done in secret. Soren can only promise and agree to do things through covert transactions.
Otherwise, he would hurt the feelings of the Half-Elf followers.
As a lofty deity, Soren sometimes must consider things from the perspective of his followers; the war between Half-Elves and Half-Orcs has only recently ended. Hatred cannot dissipate so quickly, and peaceful coexistence between the two sides is impossible in the short term. Even Soren can only use secret manipulation to balance everything; as long as these matters are not brought to the surface, there won’t be any issues. As for what will happen after the death of the Lord of Shadows, by then Soren would have already taken over the divine professions of Shadows and Wanderers, and the Half-Elf divine profession might shift from a major to a minor one.
By that time, Soren would have far fewer concerns.
The Half-Elf divine profession cannot continue to be Soren’s primary divine profession; in the future, his main divine professions will surely be focused on Shadows, Slaying, and Death.
Only by establishing Shadows as his primary divine profession can Soren quickly elevate to the level of medium divine power.
………………
No one knows what Soren and Eugene talked about next, because at the start of their conversation, Soren used divine power to seal off all surrounding space.
Approximately two days later.
Eugene suddenly ordered a lockdown of a wooded area near the Half-Orc stronghold, and then had many adult Half-Orcs wait outside. After about half an hour, weak Spell Lights appeared on the ground, and soon a temporarily opened portal manifested. Following that, numerous Stone Golems and Clay Golems walked out from the portal. Each of these golems carried heavy boxes, and for nearly half an hour, hundreds of golems appeared in turn, transporting a mountain of supplies that piled up beside the portal.
Then, the Stone Golems gradually returned to the portal, and the dark portal slowly closed.
At this moment, Eugene ordered the waiting Half-Orcs to come inside.
Upon entering the forest, the Half-Orcs were astonished and widened their eyes, for before them were sacks of grain—all high-quality food. Such grain is difficult to produce in the barren north; it can only be yielded in the better climate and soil of the south. This grain is even better than that of Leaffall City, as it came from the human-favorable farming regions of the Southern Coast.
In addition, there were many boxes filled with meat.
Inside were plentiful salted fish. The fish had all been preserved through salting, allowing them to remain edible even after long storage.
For the Half-Orc clan, now approaching starvation, the sight of these supplies was akin to a lifeline.
The demons’ great fire had burned down their stronghold, which also destroyed many of their grain stores.
Eugene reached out and tore open one of the grain bags, pinching a plump wheat grain between his fingers and chewing on it for a moment, then nodded like an old farmer of humanity. He said solemnly, “Bring everything back.”
“Have someone guard it carefully, don’t touch this grain for now; it’s all very good seed. The tribe should continue using the old rye as the staple food.”
Eugene, accustomed to hard times, first thought of using this grain as seed when he saw it.
It’s somewhat amusing.
Eugene, as one of the most powerful professionists in the Material Plane, has never married or had children, nor has he enjoyed the luxurious life one would expect from an emperor or chieftain. His daily living expenses are even inferior to those of ordinary merchants among humans. Most of the time, he is no different from common Half-Orcs.
When he first took over as chieftain of the Half-Orcs, the entire clan was in its most difficult time.
Facing Ogres as enemies in front, while Frost Giants lurked behind, the Half-Orc clan was trapped in the northwest wilderness with nowhere to escape. A blizzard nearly wiped out all their cattle, sheep, and wild boar. Although Eugene led the Half-Orc clan to defeat the Ogres with astonishing combat strength and personally dealt with the Frost Giant King to lift the crisis,
he ultimately still faced a predicament that showed no sign of turning around.
That was the most painful period for Eugene. Despite his best efforts to hunt with the warriors of the clan in the heavy snow, many Half-Orcs still starved to death every day that winter!
At that time, he possessed the strength comparable to a demigod, yet still found himself unable to save his kin.
Eugene is just a War Shaman.
No matter how strong he is, he cannot conjure food out of thin air. Even if he hunted tirelessly, without sleep for half a month, how much game could he provide to feed tens of thousands of starving kin in his clan?
In that extremely cold winter,
the Half-Orc clan lost over ten thousand people to starvation, and Eugene came to a profound realization: Half-Orcs must gradually transition from a nomadic civilization to an agricultural one!
Eugene spent decades implementing this change.
He crushed the Ogres in the northwest wilderness and drove the Frost Giants to the cold northern mountains. He eliminated the threat of Werewolves and forced Lizardmen back to the marshlands. Then Eugene began searching for land that could be cultivated and farmed in this barren and desolate expanse, gradually transforming the Half-Orcs from a nomadic fishing and hunting culture to a semi-agricultural civilization. Over these decades, the Half-Orcs have been gathering strength because they are far too weak compared to humans, elves, and dwarves.
It was only when Eugene felt the time was ripe that he launched an offensive against the Half-Elves!
One must admit,
from an observer’s perspective, Eugene is undoubtedly the heroic figure of the Half-Orc race.
Although for Half-Elves, he is merely a malevolent executioner!
A butcher.
A psychopathic killer.
A demon who invaded their homeland and sparked a war!
………………
Sacks of grain were being transported away one by one.
Eugene returned to the tribe, and this sudden influx of supplies greatly invigorated the entire Half-Orc clan. Eugene opened a box and took out a piece of dried salted fish, tossing it into a large pot cooking food.
After a moment,
Eugene scooped up a bowl of soup and took a sip. He gently nodded, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his aged face, slowly saying, “From now on, we’ll prepare food according to this quota. Let the tribe dig up more wild vegetables and hunt more game; by the time autumn harvest comes, we won’t have to worry about food.”
Salted fish from Modo City.
Eugene was very satisfied with this, as the food Soren provided contained quite a bit of meat, ensuring the warriors received ample nutrition, and the salted fish were well-preserved with real sea salt. This means that for a long time to come, the Half-Orc clan won’t need to resort to other means to supplement their salt needs. This is just the first batch of supplies provided by Modo City, and according to the conditions promised by Soren, another batch of supplies will be delivered in the future. If they successfully kill the Lord of Shadows, Modo City would even supply them with excellent weapons forged for military use, to prepare for impending demonic attacks.
Sometimes, the world works like this.
Modo City had nearly filled its warehouses with an abundant catch of fish that they had no room for and no one to eat, but for the Half-Orc clan, it was a rare and valuable resource.
Also, as the most powerful professionists in the Material Plane,
Princess Arendelle and Eugene of the Half-Orc clan are completely at opposite ends. If Eugene had allied with the Orc clans, perhaps he could have lived a very luxurious life, but the moment he decided to shoulder the responsibilities of his entire race, it was doomed that he would live a hard life.
Such people are heroes.
Even if only the Half-Orcs believe this among all races!
………………
(PS: In the eyes of other races, Eugene is an ambitious war maniac, an object of wariness. Please pay attention to the Author’s WeChat Official Account, as the upcoming plot will intertwine with the side stories. If not followed, the storyline may be a bit disjointed.) (To be continued ~^~)
