| GB | Do Not Leave Behind | 84
The world around them was dark and gloomy, with only the ocean-like lava behind them casting a blood-red glow. Volcanic ash fell like rain, and when the rain came, it couldn't wash away the foul stench lingering in the air.
The rain mixed with ash pelted down, leaving the orcs filthy. They wiped their faces and spat out the ash in their mouths.
At that moment, apart from the sound of falling rain, everything was still, an eerie silence enveloping the land.
Huo Duo'er instructed the orcs to find shelter nearby to wait out the rain.
They had exhausted all their strength and couldn't move an inch. With the immediate danger temporarily over, they needed to rest and find something to eat to regain their energy.
The orcs looked up dully, as if they had heard Huo Duo'er's voice but couldn't quite make it out. They remained stiff and unmoving where they lay.
A nearby orc who had regained some composure staggered to his feet and helped the others up. "Come on, let's find shelter and something to eat."
And so, several orcs supported each other, finding temporary places to sit.
Many orcs gradually came to their senses, their voices hoarse as they muttered, "Is... is this it?"
Their tribe, their home, had it all vanished just like that?
Unwilling to believe it, one orc crawled up a slope. His weary, bloodshot eyes could only see the sea of fire that had swallowed the forests and mountains in the dim, ash-filled sky. Beyond that, there was nothing...
"Ah—ah—ah—!"
He let out a roar of anguish and frustration at the heavens. When his cry subsided, low sobs echoed around him.
"My mother and father are gone... they were just protecting me..."
Several young orcs clung to their siblings, regaining some strength as they hurriedly moved back. The younger orc pups in their arms called out for their mothers and fathers.
No matter how they called, there was no familiar response to be heard.
The luckier orcs managed to find their kin, but the older ones were in poor condition, barely clinging to life. Whether they would recover was uncertain.
Yu Bai ate some jerky that Huo Duo'er had torn for him, washing it down with water. He wiped his lips and looked around, suddenly remembering something. He grabbed the bone whistle hanging around his neck and blew it hard.
The sound of the whistle echoed across the wasteland. Hearing it, the orcs gradually looked up toward the source of the sound.
During the chaos of their escape, everything had been too frantic to pay attention to anything else. Now, not seeing Little Wolf and Jinjin, Yu Bai felt a pang of panic in his heart.
A few minutes later, he stopped the whistle and leaned pale-faced into the orc's embrace.
"The little wolf..."
Huo Duo'er said, "Don't worry, yak wolves are sturdy, more agile than the orcs. They might have found a safe place to hide along the way. They'll be fine."
Yu Bai nodded gently, having no choice but to think that way.
Taking advantage of Huo Duo'er's meal break, he picked up the bone whistle and blew it again.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—whoosh—
From afar, a howl echoed—"Awooo—"
The familiar wolf howl faintly responded after the bone whistle sounded. Yu Bai perked up and continued to blow the bone whistle with all his might. The responding howls gradually became clearer.
Across the broken mountain pass, a dusty yak wolf, carrying a leopard cat, leaped over the crevice. It swiftly dashed through the ruins, panting as it dropped Jinjin at its feet, then pricked its ears and wagged its tail at Yu Bai.
"Awooo~!"
Scared the wolf to death~!
After howling, there was a hint of showing off.
Small two-legged creature, I didn't lose the little thing you raised!
Yu Bai stroked the wolf's head that had nestled into his embrace and then petted the leopard cat crouching by his legs, relieved that they had the ability to protect themselves.
The little wolf licked its paws, its stomach growling with hunger.
It circled the clearing where Yu Bai and Huo Duo'er were resting, signaling Jinjin to stay, and then leaped into the nearby woods.
Soon, the yak wolf returned with a beast in its mouth, calling Jinjin to eat with it.
The two animals were too hungry. After a brief moment of affection with Yu Bai, they buried their heads in their meal, unable to care about anything else for the time being.
Huo Duo'er ate a little and then met with the leaders—Ze, A’Sen, A’Lin, and Mao Mao—one after another, walking around the area.
After surveying the terrain and the orcs' situation, he had a new idea in mind.
Huo Duo'er discussed this plan with Yu Bai, and Yu Bai agreed.
—
After resting for a day, Huo Duo'er gathered all the orcs and announced his new plan.
He intended to lead the orcs southward. The migration was not mandatory; those willing to follow him should stand on the right side of the clearing.
The giants and the orcs from the former Heiyao didn't hesitate and immediately moved to the right. Gradually, more than half of the orcs wavered and followed to the right.
Some asked, "Why go south?"
"We've never left the tribe. Is the south far? Can we survive there?"
Filled with unknown anxiety and fear, they all turned their eyes to Yu Bai.
Their intuition told them that perhaps they could hear the answer from Yu Bai's mouth.
Yu Bai stepped out from behind Huo Duo'er, cleared his throat, and answered the orcs' questions.
The scope of this natural disaster was too vast. The living areas recorded on the map were almost all destroyed, and the volcanic eruption had caused countless deaths. The beast tide might have disappeared because of this, or perhaps it hadn't completely dissipated.
However, the excessive deaths left a significant hidden danger—the threat of plague.
Nowadays, the days are warm, and the nights are cold. With the season of warming weather, the dead orcs, beasts, and other creatures could easily trigger the next disaster.
The foul stench lingering over the northern ruins persisted day and night. The longer they hesitated, the higher the chance of contracting the plague. At this moment, they had no choice but to leave and seek a new place to survive.
The orcs fell into collective silence.
The chief, who had vehemently opposed leaving the tribe initially, hadn't spoken a word since waking up. The priest was the same.
Huo Duo'er turned his gaze to them. "Chief, Priest, what are your thoughts?"
The chief, his body more hunched than before, stepped forward.
"I won't leave."
Yu Bai widened his eyes in surprise.
"Chief..."
He walked around Huo Duo'er and stood beside the chief.
"Why? It's hard to survive here. Rather than being trapped, we should strive to find a way out."
Priest Mien also spoke up, "Like the chief, I won't leave this place."
He added, "I don't want to abandon everything here."
Ze sneered, "Everything? There's nothing left. What’s this ‘everything' are you talking about?"
The priest replied, "There is. This land carries the history of the Yuan tribe. Even if it disappears, the spirit of the orcs will always remain."
Ze scoffed, "How foolish."
Unlike the priest, who was full of mystical talk, the chief deeply observed the numb expressions of the tribesmen on his left. He walked up to them and tapped his bone staff.
"Huo Duo'er, Bai," the elderly chief turned his gaze to the right, without a trace of blame or resentment, and said, "Take these tribesmen and leave. Surviving is the best outcome!"
"I... I entrust their hopes to you. Consider this a favor I ask of you..."
The chief blinked his wrinkled eyes. Part of his horn had been broken by a rock during the escape, but it did not diminish his presence as a chief.
"I'm old. How far can I go? Dragging this body along would only burden you, and I might not even make it halfway. Rather than that, it's better to stay. With me here, the orcs who are unwilling to leave will feel more at ease."
He had grown up on this land and had never thought of leaving. Even in death, he wanted to die here. The wilderness is different in various places, but here is the root of the Yuan tribe.
Most of those who, like the chief, were unwilling to leave were elderly orcs or those who were severely injured and felt they wouldn't live long, they did not want to burden their kin.
Their thoughts were more or less the same as the chief's. Rather than dying miserably and tragically on an unknown journey, it was better to stay where they were, living day by day, waiting for the moment they would return to the embrace of the Orc God.
The old priest, Wu, also refused to leave.
The moment Yu Bai saw the old priest, tears instantly rolled down his face.
"Old Wu..."
The old priest said, "The chief, Mien and I have the same plan. You are young and have strong recovery abilities. The path to survival is for you to find. Bai, Huo Duo'er, please carry on the hope of our people. We will stay here. Don't cry, Bai..."
The old priest let out a long sigh.
"The chances of surviving by staying here are slim, but it doesn't necessarily mean death. Moreover, there are indeed some orcs who are unwilling to leave and are not fit for the journey. Although we stay here, we also hold onto the hope of rebuilding the tribe. The chief and the priest can unite everyone. Perhaps in the future, the Orc God will bless the Yuan tribe and not let the disaster of the plague descend upon us."
"Bai, no matter what, you and Huo Duo'er must lead everyone to find a new path to survival. We will also wait here for the hope of living on."
In the end, no one could convince anyone else.
Because everyone had their own stance and determination, this determination could not be judged as right or wrong, but it was indeed the most suitable approach.
This approach was simply to give everyone the best possible chance to survive, without abandoning any orc.
—
The next day, Huo Duo'er, along with Yu Bai and the orcs willing to leave, were about to set off.
Before heading south, the orcs hugged each other and cried, not knowing if there would be a day of reunion in the future.
Huo Duo'er led the male orcs to dig several traps to prevent wild beasts from invading the area left by the chief. Yu Bai discussed with the accompanying orcs and decided to leave most of the medicinal herbs they had brought for the orcs who stayed behind, teaching them as much as possible how to avoid contracting the plague.
At noon, when the sunlight was warmest, the two groups of orcs separated across the cracked ground.
The figures stopping at the mountain pass grew farther and farther away. Yu Bai dared not look too much, but he kept gazing back until he could no longer see, desperately trying to remember every orc.
Huo Duo'er wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes. Yu Bai sniffled, "It's okay."
After saying that, he even refused the arm that tried to wrap around his waist.
He walked to the side of Huo Duo'er's arm where the hemp bag was hanging, "I'll walk on my own for a while. Save your strength. When I can't go on anymore, you can carry me."
Huo Duo'er rubbed his head and agreed in a low voice.
They led the way, with the little wolf and Jinjin walking on the other side.
Ze and A’Lin covered the rear, while Man took care of the middle.
The group of orcs who left with Huo Duo'er totaled five hundred and sixty, including members of the Yuan tribe and other tribes.
After enduring the natural disaster, so many orcs had died. At this point, they no longer distinguished between tribes, but followed Huo Duo'er and Yu Bai closely as they moved forward.
They used sticks picked up along the way as weapons. Since most of the food and medicine had been left for the chief's group, this journey required even more caution and vigilance to prevent harm.
In the afternoon, Yu Bai's body swayed, and his waist tightened as Huo Duo'er carried him on his back.
He closed his eyes and leaned against Huo Duo'er, his lips dry and pale, his face covered in sweat.
Huo Duo'er followed the direction and terrain to find the way until he found a water source. He let the orcs rest nearby, fetched some water to boil, and fed it to Yu Bai.
Yu Bai slowly sipped the drink, cooling the remaining portion before pushing it toward Huo Duo'er's lips.
He smiled gently, "Drink it, don't let it go to waste."
Huo Duo'er nodded.
Looking around, Yu Bai saw orcs supporting one another everywhere he glanced. This sight brought a sense of comfort to his heart, which had been heavy with sorrow for several days.
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