Barktus Trial 4

"Protecting my ass," Barktus said, he was now excluding killing intent.

He already knew what the great elder was referring to and had guessed that the other party would be twisting the fact.

Killing a fellow war scion is not that big of a crime as it might sound. It was already predetermined that they have to kill each other eventually so doing it a little bit earlier is not that uncommon. If a war scion is caught killing one another they only need to face a week of isolation and an open assassination that week.

The only reason a war scion death is so significant is that they represent their clan prestige.

Massacring fellow brethren is also not that harsh of a crime, especially for a war scion to commit. Orcs are a race bred for war. They live in the principle of survival of the fittest as long as you have the strength, you can kill anyone with little to no consequences.

But betrayal is different. If you are branded as a traitor there is only one punishment: Death. No matter what your status is or no matter how strong you are, the orc race never tolerates betrayal.

"That is quite the claim you have," The orc king said.

Not even he can stand idle any more, although he didn't believe a single world the great elder said, if it was proven that Barktus did indeed protect a human, even he the orc king can't save him.

The great elder smiled and looked at the orc king "Yes, your majesty. I understand what I was claiming is indeed excessive but I'm willing to put my life in the line that what I'm saying is the truth. Barktus did indeed protect a human girl."

'A girl, hmmm it was quite possible, he was a half-human after all' The orc king thought to himself. 'But if it was the case why did big brother allow his apprentice to get trial, it was impossible that he didn't know about this.'

The orc king entered into a deep thought

"Hahahaha" Barktus laughed. "So you're saying I fell in love with a human girl and decided to betray my tribe. This must be the stupidest joke I heard today.

The great elder smile at Barktus "You can laugh all you want but the truth remains and I have the evidence to prove it."

"Great Shaman," he said, giving the great shaman a nod.

The great Shaman raises his wooden staff and casts a spell.

The mana in the room gathers around the shaman staff.

"Woosh" a large screen appears in the middle of the room showing what happened between Barktus and Aleria.

The scene starts after Aleria had saved Emmanuel and proceeded to assassinate Barktus.

With the magic of the great shaman, it was shown to all how Barktus massacre hundreds of orcs. Every arrow he fired might be aimed at Aleria but the one it hit were the orcs around her.

The orc king watched everything unfold but he was unimpressed. The evidence presented by the great elder might show that Barktus did indeed massacre his brethren but it didn't prove that he was a traitor.

"Is that it?" The orc king asked, looking at the great elder. He then flicks his finger and destroyed the ice holding Barktus captive.

The great elder and the great shaman curse inwardly. 'Grow a backbone you're already the king yet you bow your head to others.'

They are aware of the orc king's relation to Mongul and made preparations if the former had decided to protect Barktus.

Barktus is quickly getting stronger because of the war and was already the strongest among the war scions. If he was not dealt with now and he managed to reach the rank of a Gobakji it would already be too late.

If they didn't want to later serve a halfling for the rest of their lives, no matter what happens today; Barktus must die.

"I implore your majesty to watch until the end before he makes his judgment," The great elder said with a bow.

"Very well," The orc king said signaling Barktus to stay.

'It seems that these old fogies want to deal with me today' Barktus already surveyed the area before he arrived and already formulated a couple of plans for him to escape.

Although he already established that the orc king would not let him die, he can't be too sure that he would survive. If the great shaman became crazy and attacked him ignoring all consequences, he had no choice but to die so a way to escape is a must.

The video continues. Aleria tosses another couple of smoke grenades and manages to evade Barktus vision.

"Oh?" Even the orc king is amazed by Aleria's ability. 'If she's only been born as an Orc, I would have trained her to be a reaper of the battlefield.

As nothing will happen for a half an hour, the great shaman waves his wooden staff accelerating the video.

Aleria emerges under an orc corpse with an arrow embedded in her shoulder. She cuts the arrow and proceeded walking to Barktus direction.

'Ahhhmm' The orc king looked at Barktus 'Amazing willpower, I see why Barktus might develop feelings for her'

The video finally arrived where Aleria slew a Gobakji and managed to travel to Barktus tower before ultimately turning away after witnessing the terrifying presence of Mongul.

At this moment the video stopped and everything became quiet.

"Why didn't you kill her?" It was not the great shaman or the great elder that asked the question but the orc king himself.

The orc king already realized that he's been back to the corner by the great shaman and the great elder. If he continues protecting Barktus, these elders will use it against him to stage a revolt.

He made a deep sigh looking at Barktus 'I'll at least will keep you alive'

Hearing the orc king's question, Barktus remained quiet.

"Answer your majesty!" The great shaman roars intimidating Barktus with his mana but inwardly he was smiling.

'Checkmate.'

It was already known to all how gifted Barktus is in terms of mana. Seeing how wounded Aleria is plus having his mana inside her body. It was impossible for him not to notice her, especially in that distance.

The only explanation for this was he let her live.