[Kilaqen, Lord Broggon's Castle: The Citadel. Mio 10, 3728]

"You're fucking crazy," The Orc King said.

"Is that so? I didn't get the memo," Lord Broggon said.

"No, I..."–sigh–"...I'm sorry for saying that, Lord Broggon. But what you're asking for is a suicide mission!" The Orc King said.

King Xorag took a deep breath as he fell back into his chair. They both sat on the balcony of The Citadel, which was the name of Lord Broggon's castle. Since the castle was located in Kilaqen's largest forest, it gave them a pleasant view of the landscape. Lord Broggon noticed a group of Half-Orc children as he drank a sip of his tea.

"Tell me, King Xorag. How are the children?" Lord Broggon said.

"They're...they're fine. We've already seen them show signs of magical ability. The next generation of Orcs should become some of our strongest," King Xorag said.

Lord Broggon placed his cup on the table, as Lord Secretary Thelsea came to join them. She sat next to Lord Broggon as she listened to the conversation.

"Let me explain something to you, Xorag. In terms of power in the Kilaqen Empire, your race rests at the bottom. As far as I know, your race is only good for physical labor. Not only that, but we don't even need you to fight in our army since we have our wonderful demons. There's also the fact that your population of orcs is...expensive to maintain. We may not pay your army much in gold, but that's because of their enormous appetites for food, booze, and sex. With the latter being provided via human captives," Lord Broggon said.

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Xorag said.

"Despite being a Half-Orc yourself, you seem to be the strongest Orc King your kind has ever known. Not only are you strong, but you're smart. If I had to make a guess, I would say it's because of the previous Orc King 'mating' with a human captive that had strong magical prowess. It's why you're the first orc in history to become a magic user...but you won't be the last. That is, if Lord Ogis and I continue giving you our resources," Lord Broggon said.

"The fuck is this?! Are you trying to threaten me?!" King Xorag said.

"I feel like the better word would be...negotiation," Secretary Thelsea said.

"Wow. You know, sometimes I don't understand why you want me to dislike you, Lord Broggon. Why can't you be more like Lord Ogis?" King Xorag said.

Lord Broggon got up from his chair as he rested his hands on the balcony.

"No no no. I think you have it all wrong, my friend. It's not that we want people to dislike us. It's just that we're indifferent to whether they do so. For example, it's a fact that I'm simply too strong for you to ignore my orders. You may be an S rank, but I'm an S+ rank. Lord Ogis is even higher than me as he sits at SS+ rank. And yet, instead of killing you and taking complete control of the orcs, Lord Ogis worked with you. Instead of enslaving the filthy orcs that we found, we formed a partnership. However, it's a partnership that requires absolute allegiance to Lord Ogis. We'll see anything less than that as defiance," Lord Broggon said.

"So I'm supposed to just send orcs to Adrios so they can act as bait? We don't even know what this motherfucker looks like! All we know is that this prick is named Owen Woods! Khelios didn't even tell us what region he could be in! What you're asking for is a suicide mission!" King Xorag said.

"I believe you're looking at this the wrong way, King Xorag. This is your chance to make a name for the orcs. If you're able to do the dirty work and find the legendary hero for us, we would happily improve the standard of living for all orcs. You should see this as a promotional opportunity," Secretary Thelsea said.

"And why can't you get the other races to do it? You have Vampires, Demons, Dark Elves, and Monsters that could do the same thing," King Xorag said.

"To be frank, this is grunt work. And since your race has been complaining about a lack of combat, this is the quickest way for them to achieve it. They can keep whatever they find, whether it's the spoils of war or any human captives. Meanwhile, we'll continue our primary objective of breaking through Holy Hifus' barrier," Lord Broggon said.

King Xorag let out an enormous sigh as he looked at the Orc children below.

"Fine. I'll tell my orcs to construct outposts in Adrios. They'll report back what they find in Orcish, but I can translate it for you," King Xorag said.

"Now that's what I like to hear! Well, I won't take any more of your time. You're dismissed, King Xorag," Lord Broggon said.

As King Xorag got up from the table and bowed, he walked towards the door and left the room. Lord Broggon took another sip of his tea before speaking with Secretary Thelsea.

"Ugh. I hate negotiating with Orcs. It feels beneath me. He shouldn't even be breathing my air," Lord Broggon said.

"Indeed. You should see how they treat my succubi. Orcs are nothing but savage creatures with primal desires. I get shivers just thinking about it," Secretary Thelsea said.

"And then there's Lord Ogis. The man who doesn't care how much coin a person makes, but what they make," Lord Broggon said.

"And we love him for it, among other things," Secretary Thelsea said.

As Lord Broggon and the Succubus Queen looked over the horizon, Broggon reflected on Lord Ogis' famous quote.

"The most efficient animal on the planet are demons. However, the most inefficient animal on the planet are humans," Lord Broggon said.

Thelsea continued the quote.

"But a human with magic becomes one of the most efficient animals in the world," Secretary Thelsea said.

Broggon finished the quote.

"Having magic gives a person a sense of hope. And since hope is the only thing stronger than fear, it can penetrate any darkness. But if we were to take away their gift of magic, I wonder what else they would lose?" Broggon smirked.