Aria was just about to go find out what was the cause of the scuffle.

Just then, a loud trumpet sound resounded in their ears.

And following it was the familiar system's resonant voice.

{BOOYAH!}

{The Second Horde Has Ended!}

For a moment, the battlefield just… stopped.

The orcs stood frozen, like they couldn't quite trust what they were seeing.

Then one of them let out a sharp, guttural cheer.

Relief, plain and loud.

That single roar cracked everything open.

In seconds, the whole field erupted. Orcs dropped their weapons—not to surrender, but because their bodies finally let go.

They clapped each other on the back, lifted blood-smeared fists to the sky, some even sank to their knees with these huge, disbelieving smiles.

Watching the wave of joy spread through them, Aria felt her own lips pull into a small smile.

Not loud or wild like theirs—just a quiet little breath of we made it..

Just then, she heard the crunch of boots behind her, Ryan walked up to stand beside her, his own expression was one of tired satisfaction as he surveyed the aftermath.

"I guess we're done for now,"

"Yeah," Aria agreed, "At least this horde is dealt with." Her gaze drifted from the celebrating orcs, past the carnage of the battlefield, and settled on the jagged silhouette of the distant mountains.

The victory here felt incomplete, "Hopefully," she murmured, more to herself than to him, "nothing has happened to him. I just hope he completes his mission, too."

Ryan followed her gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the mountains.

"He might be naive, and too kind for his own good, which is a dangerous trait in a place like this." He paused, reflecting for a moment.

"But he's also one of the most resilient people I've ever met. I'm certain he'll be fine"

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a loud shout from the middle of the field.

"Finally!" Nibo roared, catching their attention and that of several nearby orcs.

He was standing amidst a pile of puffling corpses, his entire body trembling with delayed-onset fatigue. He raised his heavy arms victoriously, a massive, foolish grin splitting his dirty face.

"Now... I can finally... rest!" he gasped.

With his last ounce of strength gone, he simply let his weight take over.

His legs, which had been locked stiff for hours, suddenly wobbled like week-old tofu.

"Wait!" J, who was nearby, suddenly shouted, his eyes wide with panic.

He had just noticed a puffling Nibo was about to use as a cushion was lying on its stomach, and one of its long, needle-sharp back spikes was pointing directly at the sky.

But it was far, far too late. Nibo was already in freefall.

He landed with a soft thud, followed immediately by a much sharper, wetter squelch.

For one perfect, silent moment, Nibo just froze, his eyes wide and unblinking as his brain tried to process the new, incredibly sharp, and very personal sensation.

Then, he jolted up as if struck by lightning, his body moving faster than it had during the entire horde. All traces of exhaustion were instantly vaporized, replaced by pure, unadulterated panic.

"OUCH!!" he screamed, the high-pitched shriek echoing across the field, cutting through the other orcs' cheers.

He scrambled wildly, flailing as he tried to get the sharp spike out of his backside. J rushed over, grimacing as he tried to help pull the puffling's spike free from Nibo's... predicament.

Watching the scene unfold from the relative safety of the sidelines, Aria buried her face in her palm.

"What an idiot."

"Well," Ryan said with a low chuckle, "that's what makes him Nibo.

"Stop wasting our time and let us in already!"

Aria turned back to the settlement, it seemed the quarrel continued just soon after the notification from the system.

What's going on here?" Aria asked calmly as she walked towards the group.

"We simply want to rest within your settlement, but it seems you orcs have no courtesy at all, even after we helped you," the leader said brazenly.

Aria frowned.

The humans, since their arrival, were constantly getting into scuffles with the orcs.

So it was no surprise that they were also the cause of the current problem.

Their superiority complex was becoming more and more annoying with every passing second.

And slowly, even Aria was getting fed up with their nonsense.

She could tell that it was also because of their behaviour that the orcs didn't want to accept them into the settlement.

And aside from that, something else bothered her. "Why don't you just head back to your settlement?"

Since they were already done with the scenario, there was no point in them waiting in the orcs' settlement.

They could easily return back to their base.

No one wanted them there.

"Well, we're waiting for our boss, so we'll have to stay somewhere... hmph." His words were followed by a cold snort.

Aria stared at the man, several thoughts running through her mind.

"How's that our business? Go back! We don't want you here!" one of the orcs roared in annoyance.

While they hadn't joined the others in the fight, they had all clearly seen what the humans were doing.

And the anger they felt now was a collective one.

And it wasn't just because of that alone—after the long months of oppression from the humans, many orcs didn't want to interact with them at all.

Thanks to Akhil's intervention, they could now face the humans without fear.

And showing hospitality to these people who had oppressed them wasn't something any of them were prepared to do.

"You orcs are really growing arrogant! I knew we shouldn't have helped you at all."

"Shut the fuck up! Stop making it sound like we needed your help. It's not like you did much anyway."

"You bastards! I'll—"

The quarrel continued once again, and while neither side had taken major actions, the tension was slowly building up.

Although she could tell that the human leader was only scared of Ryan at the moment and didn't really care about the others.

'Akhil still has plans of working with them. We just have to try to accommodate them for the time being. Hopefully, things will only get better after this.'

After a long thought, Aria finally let out a sigh.

"Calm down, everyone," she said calmly.

But their raging voices drowned hers out, and the quarrel continued.

No one even paid her any attention.

"I said you should calm down." Aria threw a sharp glare at the orc who was speaking.

And sensing her stare, his words immediately sank back into his throat, goosebumps covering his skin.

Immediately after he kept quiet, the human as well turned his gaze back to Aria.

"You can stay with us until whoever you're waiting for arrives."

"Lady Ria, we—"

The orc was silenced by another deadly gaze that sent goosebumps crawling down his skin.

With a displeased grunt, he shut his mouth and listened as she spoke.

"After that, you'll have to leave. As you can see, the people here aren't comfortable with you guys. But take this as a thank-you for supporting us through the scenario," Aria said with a stern voice.

"Hmph. You should be glad we're even making use of this shithole you call a settlement," the human said, shoulders raised high as he stepped inside.

The orcs who had been blocking the way reluctantly cleared a path for them.

Allowing them to enter the settlement.

"Just try not to cause any trouble for us" Aria muttered to herself watching the back of the humans as they entered the settlement.

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