"Bro, are you free right now?"
When asking for a favor, Orion's tone beca noticeably more casual and cliché.
"Get to the point."
Arthas's reply ca quickly, as always—straightforward and to the point.
Orion's lips curled into a faint smile. Conversations with Arthas always put him at ease.
"Bro, do you have any strong tools for blocking scents?"
"If you do, could you spare
a few?"
This ti, Arthas didn't reply with words. Instead, he initiated a trade, sending Orion three coffins made of bone.
The pale, bone-crafted coffins had an ancient, weathered look to them.
Orion took out one of the bone coffins and placed the pink seed inside.
"Can you still sll that scent?"
Orion turned to ask a small spider crouched in the corner of the tent. The spider had been borrowed from Lorelia by Delilah to deliver ssages.
The spider raised its eight legs, nodding vigorously, its entire body trembling as it did so.
Orion frowned. The bone coffins were from Arthas, and their quality should have been top-notch.
He put the bone coffin and the seed away and returned to the Survivor's Platform.
"Bro, the quality of the bone coffins isn't great!"
A few minutes later, Arthas sent back a flurry of ssages.
"Not great? Are you kidding ?"
"Those coffins are what I use to store crystal cores—even magic can't leak out of them!"
"Or… are you trying to block sothing special?"
Orion couldn't help but admire Arthas's sharp intuition. With just a bit of reasoning, Arthas had guessed that Orion was dealing with a unique item.
"Yes, it's sothing special. It emits a scent, and I want to block it."
Orion explained his need but kept the specifics of the item's nature and origin to himself.
Arthas went silent for a long ti before finally replying.
"3,000 C-grade crystal cores."
At the sa ti, Arthas initiated another trade, this ti sending over an ice coffin.
"This is a Frozen Coffin. If even this can't block the scent, I suggest you give up on that item."
"Sothing like that isn't sothing you're strong enough to protect yet."
Orion didn't respond to Arthas's comnt. Instead, he imdiately took out the Frozen Coffin and placed the pink seed inside.
Turning to the small spider again, Orion asked the sa question. This ti, the spider's reaction was different. It scurried around Orion in circles, its eight tiny eyes filled with confusion.
Seeing this, Orion's eyes lit up with excitent.
He removed the seed from the Frozen Coffin. Now wasn't the ti to hide it away.
The beast tide outside the city wasn't just a crisis—it was also an opportunity.
The beasts outside the walls were food for the horde, which was why Orion and the other Alpha-level warriors had refrained from using their aura to drive the tide away.
"This Frozen Coffin is excellent—truly extraordinary!"
With another major problem resolved, Orion was in a good mood. After chatting with Arthas for a bit, he left a ssage for Scarecrow, expressing his interest in purchasing food supplies, and then exited the Survivor's Platform.
Your next read awaits at empire
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Back in the Chieftain's Tent
When Orion opened his eyes, there was already soone else in the tent.
"When did you get here?"
"Master, Lysinthia just arrived."
The visitor was none other than Lysinthia. Orion reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Lysinthia was still a bit shy. Orion had told her before that she didn't need to call him "Master."
However, the mont they stepped outside the chieftain's tent, Lysinthia would stubbornly revert to addressing him as "Master."
"Did Lilith send you?"
"Yes, Mistress is guarding the walls. Lysinthia was rotated out and sent to take care of you."
Orion wrapped an arm around Lysinthia's slender waist, listening to her soft voice. He felt utterly relaxed.
Just as Orion's desires were stirring and he was about to undress Lysinthia, Delilah sauntered into the tent, her hips swaying.
"Chieftain, you called for ?"
Orion released Lysinthia. When it ca to business, he was always serious.
"How's the cleanup of the bird droppings going?"
"Most of the city has been cleaned, but the forested ridges on either side of Moonshadow Valley are proving difficult. It'll take so ti."
Speaking of the plague, Delilah's expression turned grim, her face filled with worry.
"Pile up the droppings and burn them."
Delilah would have done this even without Orion's instruction.
"Take these and store them in the horde's inventory. Treat them as precious resources."
As he spoke, Orion pulled out a collection of bottles and jars from his Bagbird Pouches.
These were all dicines and potions Orion had purchased during his spree on the Survivor's Platform.
"Chieftain, what are these?"
"Special dicines for clearing the plague. I scoured the horde's entire inventory to find them. They're incredibly valuable, so use them wisely."
Orion lied effortlessly.
Delilah, accustod to such claims, didn't bother questioning the origin of the items.
"I assu you're aware of the tasks I assigned to Dace, Otho, Beyn, and Torba?"
"Yes, I am."
"Isolation, detoxification, water source control, and eliminating the source of the plague—these are no small matters. Take this opportunity to teach the tribe how to properly handle plagues, diseases, and curses. That's the most important thing."
Even though Orion had acquired the Plague Totem Pole, he still wanted his people to learn how to deal with plagues, diseases, and curses.
As the Stoneheart Horde continued to grow, they would inevitably face strange and dangerous enemies.
Plagues, curses, poisons, and hexes were all possibilities. Orion wanted his people to understand what to do to survive, how to respond, and how to administer first aid.
"Go now. The horde still needs you to oversee the bigger picture."
Delilah carefully stored the dicines and potions, nodded to Orion, and left the tent.
Orion's next task was to head to the stone gate near Moonshadow Valley and place the Plague Totem Pole there.
This would ensure that Moonshadow Valley, the underground fissure, and Blackstone City were all within the totem pole's coverage area.
---
Outside the Chieftain's Tent, Delilah stood outside, watching Orion and Lysinthia's retreating figures. She found herself increasingly unable to see through Orion.
During a mont of life-and-death crisis for the horde, Orion had managed to produce so many plague-specific dicines and potions. This was far beyond the realm of normalcy.
Moreover, Orion's recent behavior had grown increasingly mysterious and unfathomable.
"Perhaps… he really is our savior."
Delilah felt both curiosity and admiration, deeply drawn to Orion's enigmatic charm.
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