The orcs are the people of Xia, and so are all other living beings.

“I’m curious if they’ve noticed that one of their habitats has been taken over by us,” Agni’s voice rang out in mid-air.

Under the blazing sun of the hot season, Jiang Yunlan closed her eyes and used the power of nature to sense the movements around her. She replied, "They probably haven't noticed our movements yet. The area we occupy hasn't had a chance to send out messages, so the Apocalypse Tribe will likely choose to attack our habitat directly."

Albero could see that a group of Apocalypse Beastmen with the power of nature were coming this way, but the distance was too far, and it was difficult for it to determine which of Xia's habitats the Apocalypse Tribe planned to attack first.

It reported the number of Apocalypse Orcs coming this way to Lan, and after sensing it carefully for a while, it said with great confusion, "I saw some Apocalypse Orcs break away from the group and head in another direction. That place seems to be... where they came from before."

The actions of this group of Apocalypse Orcs were quite strange. Jiang Yunlan couldn't figure out why they left the tribe's territory and then suddenly returned. Unable to understand, she stopped thinking about it and decisively issued new orders.

"To detain prisoners, comfort the victims, and prepare for the work of our comrades who will take over this place."

Upon receiving the order, the orcs of Xia sprang into action like a high-speed machine, quickly cleaning up the newly occupied Apocalypse habitat, arranging accommodations for the trembling former orc slaves, and outlining their tasks for the hot season.

It will take some time for the Apocalypse Orcs to arrive, but the lives of the liberated orc slaves are just beginning. For now, they only need to recover, earn enough copper coins for food, and adapt to life in Xia. As for the Apocalypse Orcs that appear later, the orcs who protect Xia will defeat them.

"You did come after all."

Yuan Dong sat on the wooden chair by the window, turned his head to look at Ling Caiyuque who pushed open the door and entered, "When I sent my subordinates to attack the Xia tribe, I guessed that you would bring your men here."

Ling Caiyu looked up, and her eyes under the brim of her hat met her gaze.

"bump--"

Two sudden gusts of wind collided and disappeared between them, leaving behind shattered houses and the blood flowing from the fallen orc slaves inside.

"Sister! I've brought my companions. We'll handle his men!" Yuan Bingsheng emerged from the corner, stopping Ling Caiyuque's men from launching an attack.

Inside the house, the two orcs, who possessed the power of wind, launched another attack in perfect unison.

Ling Caiyu leaped out of the broken house, her footsteps echoing through the wind. She glanced at the Shadow Beastmen brought by Yuan Bingsheng and immediately shouted, "Retreat!"

He fell for the trap. Yuan Dong deliberately told him the list of troops to be deployed in front of him, intending to capture him.

"Ling Cai, do you really think this is a place you can come and go as you please?" Yuan Dong narrowed his eyes, and hundreds of ice blades burst out in mid-air, striking Ling Cai's beast-shaped feathered sparrow.

The azure-feathered orc flapped its wings and glided a distance. It unleashed a storm that shattered the ice blades, but it was too late to defend against the swiftly waving plants.

Just then, an orc shielded him from the attack with his own body, spitting blood as he roared, "Boss, fly! We're here, fly boldly!!!"

Ling Caiyu shuddered and fled with all her might, but she couldn't help but take one last look back at her companions who had been with her for many years.

Most of them died at the hands of the orcs, including Farwinter, in their attempt to protect him.

"Truly loyal, isn't he? He'd even risk his life for him?" Yuan Dong sighed, his seemingly sentimental words laced with sarcasm.

She chuckled softly, her blows becoming even more ruthless, causing the dying orc to feel renewed pain. The orc was in excruciating pain, and the screams from its throat could be heard even by the distant Azure Feather Sparrow.

"Look at your actions... That's why we will follow you..." The last dead orc left his last words, revealing an arrogant smile, and closed his eyes peacefully.

Their goal has been achieved; Ling Caiyuque has successfully escaped the tribe.

Upon seeing that smile, Yuan Dong immediately frowned.

A gust of wind blew by, and the orc who died with a smile turned into a pile of minced meat.

Orc blood splattered onto Farwinter's face. She blinked, disgustedly took out a handkerchief to clean her face, threw the handkerchief on the ground, and turned to leave.

"Clean this place up and head to the front lines to attack the Xia tribe immediately." She stepped over the orc corpses of her own camp and said without turning her head, her gaze not lingering on her wounded subordinates.

Loyalty? She doesn't need that. Tools only need to be convenient; those that aren't should be discarded.

The Azure Feathered Sparrow, carrying a few companions, fled the territory of the Apocalypse Tribe, stumbling and flying towards the direction the tribe had set out to attack. He was going to retrieve his companions who had gone to the Summer Tribe; Far Winter would absolutely not allow the orcs in his camp to live.

Transparent water droplets slid through the air and vanished. Ling Caiyuque wept, her hatred growing stronger with each passing thought.

He will definitely kill them to avenge his comrades!

"Lan, it seems there's some conflict within the Apocalypse Tribe. I saw them die after returning to meet their companions. Then, the surviving Apocalypse Orcs set off again to join the expeditionary force." Albero looked up in the direction of the Apocalypse Tribe, his tone light and cheerful, sounding pleased to see the Apocalypse Orcs killing each other.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yunlan was quite surprised that they would encounter problems before the battle, but she quickly smiled, just like Albero. Internal strife within the Apocalypse Tribe, weakening their own fighting strength, was a good thing for Xia.

She thought for a moment and said to Albero, "I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on things over there these next few days. If there are any new developments, please let me know."

Seeing Albero nod, she turned back to deal with the affairs of the newly occupied territory, and couldn't help but sigh as she looked at the resources that her people had unearthed. Taking over the territory of the Apocalypse Tribe was much easier than Xia building a village from scratch. There were all the places to live, food, and other resources that could be mined nearby.

The Apocalypse Tribe is quite good at choosing locations; their territory is much richer in resources than other areas. No, that's not quite right. Their resources are abundant because they possess natural power, which is why their territory is more resource-rich than places where elves don't reside.

Jiang Yunlan thought of those orcs who were always trembling. They thought that after entering the powerful Apocalypse Tribe, they would no longer have to suffer. But they never expected that they would eventually become slaves of the Apocalypse orcs.

So, during her rest time today, she found the beastmen who were gradually adapting to the Xia tribe.

They lived under Jiang Yunlan's management for nearly a month, and knowing the difference between Xia and Tianqi, they were no longer afraid of her and were willing to sit down and talk with her. They told her how they had gone from being ordinary Tianqi beastmen to beastman slaves.

“The Apocalypse does not allow betrayal. After we came in, we found that orcs of lower rank cannot even leave their territory. If they want food and shelter, they have to pay a price, such as risking their lives to fight the beasts in the treehouse. Or they can sell themselves to the Apocalypse orcs who have shelter and food and become slaves.”

"...Are these the only two ways?" Jiang Yunlan's voice was inexplicably dry as she spoke.

Upon hearing this, the orc gave a wry smile and sighed, "There's another way: gain the favor of one of the orcs in the combat department, intelligence department, or experimental department, and become their subordinate. As for how to gain their favor, we don't know; it probably requires sufficient strength."

“They won’t let too many orcs become their companions. In their eyes, we new orcs are also resources, and how could they allow us to become the orcs who plunder those resources?” the orc said.

When they spoke of their early days with the Apocalypse, of their past as slaves, their expressions were somewhat dazed, and their voices betrayed little emotion. The Xia orcs showed no trace of the countless sleepless nights they had spent tossing and turning, hating themselves for believing the Apocalypse tribe could help them become powerful.

Indeed, the orcs who gained the power of nature lived extremely well in the Apocalypse Tribe. However, the orcs who lured them in never mentioned that obtaining this power was a gamble with one's life, and not everyone was qualified to gamble with their life.

After listening to everything, Jiang Yunlan remained silent for a few seconds, then took out the sugar bag she often used to feed the beastmen like Heitu, and placed a piece of candy in the paw of the beastmen who had suffered so much.

The orcs surrounding her were stunned. They looked at the candy in her hand and smiled, saying happily but somewhat shyly, "Thank you, Chief."

They couldn't bring themselves to call her by her name like the Xia beastmen who had followed her. Even though they knew Lan was different from the leader of the Apocalypse, the deep-seated fear and dread within them told them that addressing their leader by her name was an offense, something that would hurt them. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't be as frank and open-minded as the Xia beastmen, at least not yet.

Jiang Yunlan was used to being called "Lan" by her family and never thought of correcting their way of addressing her. She didn't need any titles to demonstrate her power and authority. However, the new orcs under Xia's wing liked to call her "Chief," and she would respond with a smile.

Orcs always keep what they believe in deep in their hearts. Just like their trust, love, and obedience to Jiang Yunlan, it has long been integrated into their every action and coexisted with their lives.

They would only show their true selves to Jiang Yunlan—perhaps lively and noisy, perhaps composed and reserved. But no matter which Xia beastman it was, they would do their utmost to fulfill her wishes.

Just like now.

"Lan, we heard from Albero that the Apocalypse forces that came to attack us got into a fight with their own people on the way. They seem to have lost a lot of their comrades, and they haven't moved an inch since yesterday. Why don't we launch a surprise attack on them?" Feng Hong said.

She counted off the tasks Jiang Yunlan had given her on her fingers, her smile widening. "We have supplies for the battle, the new territory is stable, and the wind beasts are here to guard the place... Pre-battle preparations are complete!"

"Lan, when do we begin our attack?" she asked, looking up at Jiang Yunlan again, her eyes seemingly burning with fire.

She was ready for battle.

Jiang Yunlan handed a piece of paper to the orc who was posting the notice, and smiled, "Now."

Teams from the grassland habitat, mountain habitat, and forest lake habitat assembled before Jiang Yunlan. Orcs, war beasts, elves, and giant beasts formed a team, following Jiang Yunlan at the forefront to the battlefield.

Several days later.

The Xia tribe and the Tianqi tribe officially clashed.

Yuan Bingsheng found it strange that Xia's orcs, though fewer in number than those in her tribe, possessed a much stronger aura. Her expression turned serious, and her eyes widened in the next second.

"You can actually control giant beasts? So what? We have ways to deal with them." She said in a deep voice, gesturing for Yan Wuyan beside her to blow a wooden whistle.

The experimental beasts in the treehouse were originally prepared to defeat the giant beast. The batch of experimental beasts they brought were the most powerful in the laboratory, capable of killing the giant beast even without a battle of attrition.

Yan Wuyan received the order, but stared at Yan Duoyu in Xia's team for several seconds before taking out the wooden whistle.

The sound of the wooden whistle vibrated in sync with the sound of the wind.

The experimental beast emerged from its opened cage, but turned expressionlessly towards the Apocalypse Beastmen, displaying an aggressive tendency. All the Apocalypse Beastmen realized something was wrong and looked in shock at Xia's team, from which the wooden whistle had sounded.

Jiang Yunlan sat on Albiro's head, waving an orange wooden whistle that gleamed in the sunlight at them, and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, we also have the tools you use to control them. The commands you use to control them aren't hard to learn; I learned them after blowing them a few times."

The Apocalypse Orcs looked up at the Squirrel Orc atop the colossus and fell silent.