Skirting the hills, you can see a number of bonfires along the river, dotted around tents hastily erected with animal skins and sheep felt. There were several rock-walled huts with their backs to the hills, roofed with dry pine branches and furs, and decorated with the teeth of wild beasts and colourful stones in front of the doors. Siegel saw several orcs quenching the tips of their long wooden spears beside the fire, throwing their spears to try their hand at the same time, two young men in fur striking each other with clubs, jumping over the campfire and chasing each other, and a dozen or so big-breasted orcs sitting in circles and feathering their bows and arrows. At first, Siegel thought there were no sentinels, but from the snow behind him suddenly stood a few dwarf orcs, cloaked in moss and twigs, covered with fresh snow, perfectly blending in with the environment. The men carried very simple bows and arrows in their hands, and a few short spears of sharpened wood pinned to their waists.

"Humph!" the orc shouted, untying the deerskin pocket behind him and throwing it on the ground. Most of the deer rolled out of their pockets, and naturally a woman came up to clean it up. Siegel thought he would see the greeting of his compatriots, but he saw only tension and alienation in the eyes of the villagers.

The hum orc didn't care, or pretended not to care, waving the mage to follow and leading him through the camp. Several children who were not afraid of birth ran past Siegel, looked at Siegel curiously, and pointed out his appearance. However, in Siegel's opinion, the orc characteristics of these children are more obvious than those of the older inhabitants of the area, apparently the result of constant intermarriage. Orcs grow faster than humans, and their traits are passed on to their offspring the fastest. When the part belonging to the human is not yet mature, the bloodline of the orcs can already begin to continue. Therefore, intermarriage between half-orcs, as the age of union between men and women decreases, orc characteristics will be more visible from offspring.

The two of them reached the farthest point of the camp from the river, where there was a clearing of fallen and withered pine trees, and a tattered tent in the middle. It can be seen that there was a heavy snowfall here not long ago, and the tent was crushed by the snow. In addition to the tents, you can also see dog leashes and several clay pots. The hum orcs arrived and began to pack up their tents without saying a word.

Siegel tried to step forward and help, but was pushed away by Hum. The orcs didn't use any tools, but only dug up the snow with their own hands, re-erected the tent's supports, tied up the rags, and began to clean up the original contents. The orcs around them didn't help, they were still busy with themselves. The venison was divided in the village, and each family was given a palm-sized piece. They didn't come to Hum Ke to thank him, but took what they had eaten and went home to barbecue over the fire.

Could this be the way of life of the orcs of the North?" Siegel thought, tugging at the short whisker on his chin, as he looked around. It doesn't make sense to form a tribe if you don't help each other. Moreover, judging from the performance of the half-orc Hum along the way, he is an excellent wild survivor, and this village does not see any crops, and the status of the members with hunting skills should be relatively high. What's going on?

The hum orc packed up his tent and walked in on his knees. Siegel looked down and saw him kowtowing to a fist-sized cloth bag in front of him, slamming his forehead to the ground each time. He also took out the ice dagger and placed it next to the cloth bag, as if a priest were offering a sacrifice, very reverently.

After doing all this, Hum Ke climbed out again, closed the door of the tent again, and pressed the snow to prevent it from being blown open by the wind. He pulled Siegel to the rock-walled house with its back to the hills. Three pregnant women were grilling a few skewers of meat in a brazier at the door, which appeared to be squirrels and some kind of bird. When they saw Hum coming, they lifted the animal skin curtain of the house and made way for the way.

Siegel followed the orc and entered, and saw the middle-aged human inside. He was short and stocky, about forty years old, and his eyes were very bright. A necklace made of squirrel skulls is worn around the neck without any sense of intimidation. His stout arms were covered with horn rings carved with runes, and his body was dressed in thick fur for warmth, and he was actually covered with a heavy black ring armor. He was sitting on a round wooden stool next to the brazier, relishing a skewer of roasted squirrels, hot grease running down the corners of his mouth and dripping into his gray-black goatee. He giggled happily as he ate, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

He was stunned for a moment when he saw Hum come in, then continued to laugh. "You immortal scourge, where did you do it this time?" When Siegel came in, he smiled even more heartily: "Who is this? Your trophy? Last time it was an immature leper wolf, and this time you picked someone back?"

"Humph. The orc's answer was still succinct and to the point.

"You say this man is a witch priest, or is it the god of fertility? We are missing a witch sacrifice, we should be entertained, shouldn't we? Hurry up and eat some kebabs, you almost got cooked down from the volcano, right?" said the man who ate the barbecue. With Siegel's shocked expression, he stood up. "I'm Linko-Half-Palm, the boss here, and as you can see it, a human. Who are you and where did you come from?"

"What do you say, why do you say I'm a witch?" Siegel frowned. In the orc society, the witch sacrifice is the equivalent of a human priest, so he denies: "I am not a witch priest, but a mage, and my name is Siegel." ”

"Well, Siegel, welcome to my tribe. You were brought back by the unlucky ghost, and if it weren't for the witch sacrifice, you would have suffered. I remember the leper wolf he brought back last time, he actually unchained and stole the chickens in the village, was beaten a lot, and now fled into the wilderness. You're not going to do the same, are you?"

"No, never. Siegel shook his head, and he decided to take back the right to speak. "Where is this village, and where is the nearest orc town?"

"The village is on a snowy field, and this snowfield has only one northern name, called the Tear Wasteland. Law...... Mage Siegel, there are no orc towns around, otherwise we would have joined the army and headed for the Warm Lands. And you don't think this appearance of mine can be treated favorably by the orcs, right?"

"You have a human face. Siegel nodded. Orcs worship the strong, but consider all orcs and humans to be weak and crippled, and do not care if they live or die. Especially if the guy who looks like a human is biased, even if he is a half-orc, he will be discriminated against. "It's not going to end well with the orcs. But are you really human, not a half-orc with a lighter blood?"

"I don't just have a human face, my whole body is made up of human parts, including the parts in my pants!" said Linko, as if insulted, and almost unbuttoned his clothes to prove his innocence.

"No, I don't want to see any body, you better get dressed. Siegel shook his hand, and the orc Hum agreed. "I want to ask you, do you know how to take the road to the south of the Walled City Mountains?"

"Walled Mountains. Lin Ke smashed his mouth, and then said: "As soon as I heard it, I knew that you didn't come to the north side of the mountain for a long time, here, we all call it the sheepfold mountain range, not the city wall mountain range, all humans are sheep raised by orcs, and after a while, go and cut the mutton and shave the wool." And young man, don't think about going back to the South, all roads are open now. The orcs are on the march, you don't want to run headlong into them, do you? ”

"The orcs are already mobilizing their forces, how many, and in what direction are they going. ”

Lin Ke glanced at Siegel with slanted eyes, and then said, "Do you really think of me as a bachelor who can answer any questions? If you don't control your mouth well and ask some questions randomly, you will get into trouble." There are no orcs in the village, but you still have to be careful of the trouble. ”

"Humm! Hum. The orc stepped forward and stood in front of Siegel.

"Alright, I'm just going to say a few words, and I won't really do anything to him. Linko sat back in his chair and clapped his hands vigorously. The pregnant woman with a big belly outside heard the sound and came in, put down the kebab in her hand, and then took out two more skin bags and gave them to Siegel and Linko respectively. There was nothing in front of Hum, but he didn't care. Since entering the village, he has neither eaten nor drunk, only sharing things, but taking nothing. Siegel was a little thirsty, so he opened his skin. The liquid was still warm, and he sniffed it carefully, but he couldn't tell what was inside.

"Drink, it's safe snow water, and I've boiled some spruce leaves. Lin Ke took a big sip first, and then let out a comfortable breath. "It's not really tea, but it's the best thing without alcohol. ”

Siegel took a sip of spruce tea, and found that the drink had a bitter taste on the surface, but there was a hint of sweetness in the depths, and it was obvious that the body liked the ingredients inside. It reminded him of another drink he had come across earlier, so he asked, "Do you know the Golden Potion?"

Linko frowned and whispered, "Why are you mentioning that evil thing? We don't have addicted orcs here." ”

"Addicted?" Siegel asked, "What the hell is a gold potion?"

"I don't know how to make the gold potion, only that it's evil. The gold potion can only be exchanged from the orcs, and the taste is strange, one is more mellow than ale, smells sweet, but tastes bitter and sticky, and it will feel very unpleasant to taste for the first time. However, the gold potion has a strong healing effect, and can also keep the drinker warm, brave and powerful, and everyone likes this feeling. Many orcs went back to stock up on gold potions as healing supplies and stockpiling food. However, they will find that they are more and more inseparable from its taste and effect, and would rather drink than eat and drink. Only a handful of orcs were able to resist the lure of the gold potion, and most eventually became stable buyers of the potion, exchanging large amounts of supplies for them. They would start with cattle and sheep, then weapons and clothes, then their wives and finally they would sell themselves into slavery. Don't touch the gold potion, and don't carry it in my village. If you say it, you will bring bad luck. It's like humming, you can only say the word hum, and you can't say anything else. ”

"In other words, Hum Ke can actually speak, but he doesn't?"

"Humm!"

"How do you know what he's trying to say?" Siegel asked, "What witch sacrifice, what came down from the volcano, how do you know?"

"I'm a psychic and can talk to spirits and they will tell me everything. Lin Ke explained. "I can see the ancestral spirits behind everyone, and the ancestors of Hum will tell me what this poor child thinks. But there is nothing behind you, and no soul dares to say anything about you. It's really weird, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're a mage. After all, after receiving the psychic blessing, you are still the first mage I have met, and there may be something mysterious about it. Well, Siegel, welcome to the frozen land, the Wasteland of Tears. ”