GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

A council member expressed his thoughts. "I think this is a good idea. You should do what the gods want. Do it to gain their mercy."

Other councilors joined in and spoke in agreement. They know that he is about to die, and they can wait. But they would rather not wait. They would like it if he gives up his position earlier so that they can fight for it.

The chief just sighed. It is the sigh of a defeated man.

He thought to himself, "I am about to die, but they still can't let me die in peace."

He knows what they are after. And he can refuse. But he agreed. It is because he wants to see them fight over his position before he dies.

The position of chieftain can only be acquired with strength. Those who want to become the chief must fight with their lives on the line. It is a death match with only one victor. The survivor is then bathed in the blood of his enemies.

In the case where only one person wants to be chief, then that person must hunt a great beast and bathe in its blood. Either way, for one to become chief, they must bathe in blood.

Hogglings wants to see blood flow before he dies. He is sure he will enjoy it. So even though he has no hope that he will be saved by the "gods," he agreed to step down.

"From today henceforth, I will no longer be the Chief of The Bull's Horn Tribe. I wish the next chief good luck."

He will lose his house, his wives, and his properties now that he is no longer the chief, but it doesn't matter anymore. He is going to die anyway. Besides, this ending is better than the ending of ancient chiefs who had to give up their power after they had been beheaded.

Some of the council members became excited after he made the declaration. They are the same council members who encouraged Hogglings to abdicate. They began planning when to select the next chief.

One of them proposed, "We should go back today and prepare. We will have the fight tomorrow morning at this time."

It was the first suggestion, but it was met with resounding agreement. No one was against it. If they had their way, they would even hold the fight today, but they wanted to show some respect to Hogglings by giving him time to vacate the premises and prepare for his death.

Legion was watching all these happen with slight amusement. The orcs they knew were the descendants of the demon god of WRATH. Those orcs were largely unruly and barbaric. They would have killed the chief at the first sign of weakness. These orcs appear to be tame, which is not a bad thing for them. It means they will be able to control them and get their way easier.

Warshaw interrupted the council members. "There will be no fighting for the position of chief. The gods have returned, so we will follow the ancient ways. We will use the divine ordainment method. The 9 Crowns will select who is to be chief."

The council members almost snapped then. One of them did snap.

"Enough. We've had enough from you. You can go now."

The one that snapped and shouted was one of the biggest orcs here. He even stood up, so it made his advantage in height clear.

He towered above Warshaw, but she wasn't intimidated. She was the opposite. She was incensed.

She pointed an accusatory finger at him and shrieked, "Do you dare to blaspheme the gods?" The angry orc didn't back down. He asked in return, "So what if I dare? What will they do?" Gasps filled the air at that question. Everyone was shocked that he dared say that. But the angry orc didn't back down. His heart was beating fiercely because he knows he is taking a risk, but he believes that it is a gamble that he is likely to win because Hogglings wasn't healed.

Things would have been different if Warshaw had healed Hogglings. That would have proved that the 9 Crowns existed beyond all doubt. But she didn't heal him and instead used an excuse to change the subject. The council members played along for selfish motives. Now that his selfish motives are about to be interfered with by the deranged old shaman, he is not going to stand and watch.

He became bolder when nothing happened to him after his blasphemy. He threatened her, "You should leave with Hoggling before I make someone take you away."

Warshaw was incensed but Legion wasn't. They were only frustrated. That's because Minor Miracle didn't bring out favorable options for them to use.

-You have used Minor Miracle.

-Acquiring available miracles.

-Please choose one.

1. Kill the mortal immediately. Cost: 45 DE.

2. Curse the mortal to rot while alive. Cost: 45 DE.

They shouldn't be angry that someone has appointed himself to be the scapegoat. This is another opportunity for them to display their might and cause awe in the minds of the mortal. They even have two ways to go about it.

The first option will strike the blasphemous orc down in front of everyone, while the second one will give him a long and miserable life. His life will be so miserable that he will probably kill himself to get it over with. Unfortunately, both options are expensive.

It is the same problem that they encountered with Hoggling. If Hoggling's life is not worth putting theirs in danger, then this orcs's death isn't either. Besides, they can't spend that much DE energy even if they want to.

Fortunately, they already have a viable plan for Hogglings. They will just use that plan for this one too.

They made their Will known to Warshaw. She heard 9 voices speaking directly to her mind. They said, "It is destined for him to die at the hands of our chosen. We will not use our power to bully him. We will show the world why the divine ordainment method is destiny."