Chapter 11.1: Elven Town

oopity, poopity, poop, thank you all my readers, and EXTRA SPECIAL thanks to all those that donated during my time I was busy with exams. What a bunch of crazy bastards y’all are.

Thank you to Ryan, Chad Orc-san, Reni2425, Makeiks, Boomhauer, 123321, and an Anonymous Supporter!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Anyways, here it is ladies and gents, chapter 11.

Siwanasi Forest Town, within the land of Elves.

As soon as Bash stepped foot into the gate, he was immediately surrounded by guards.

However, when he announced himself by name, one of the guards piped up: “We have been informed that Lady Sonia has given this Orc her explicit permission to enter the country, lay down your arms”, after which the Elven soldiers backed off, whispering to each other is hushed voices: “That’s Lady Sonia for you! She’s so generous…”

And without anymore trouble, Bash entered the town proper, thanking the beautiful Elf that he had just met at the border.

Unlike Human settlements, whose architecture blended wooden frames and stone walls, Elven buildings were exclusively built out of wood.

Near the entrance were located a slew of inns and souvenir shops, ready to welcome any weary travelers and tourists, just like a Human town.

The main difference came from what laid at the center of the city – instead of a fortified position, like a castle, the centerpiece of Siwanasi Town was a humongous tree as thick as thirty Bashes holding hands at arm’s length in a ring.

High up on its branches were the living quarters of high-class Elves.

This was the Siwanasi Tree – the namesake for both the forest and the town.

As Bash and Zell walked through the main street, they were greeted by colorful red and yellow houses.

“This Elven town has changed a lot, hasn’t it?”

Bash muttered as he took in the sights.

During the war, Bash had struck at Elven settlements more times than he could count.

The Elven buildings in his memories had always been covered with a net of branches, brambles, and leaves, and covered with splotches of green and brown cloth.

At first glance, it was difficult to determine the exact size and number of the buildings, and sometimes it was nearly impossible to discern if there was a building at all.

“Uhya! Look over there! It’s a flower garden! Wow… I wonder if the Elves have awakened their sense of fashion and beauty now that the war is over.”

“I guess they don’t need to hide their towns anymore. These homes were probably this bright color the whole time underneath the camouflage.”

“Mhm… Anyways, there are a lot of other races here, don’t ‘cha think?”

“That’s true.”

As Bash walked down the street, he noticed that there were many non-Elf people going about their business.

From the familiar Humans, to Beastmen with thick fur and distinctive noses, and even short and bearded Dwarves… most, if not all these foreigners came from a nation that was part of the Four Tribe Alliance – even taking in consideration ethnic enclaves, it was uncommon to see this many other races.

Incidentally, the most common foreign species were Humans.

Moreover, for some odd reason, there were a strangely high number of Elves hovering around Humans of the opposite sex.

This was truly a rare sight.

The xenophobic, isolationist Elves were cozying up to Humans?

Bash’s finely honed combat instincts were telling him something strange was going on here.

“Something’s not right.”

“Yeah, somethings fishy. Aren’t Elves much more…uptight?”

Elves were known to be ethnocentric, exclusionary and outright hostile towards outsiders.

There were rumors that during the war, they would even try to eliminate allies that mistakenly stumbled into their territory.

Before the last decade, they had even refused to allow any other races to station troops within they territory, even if they were also from the Alliance.

Yet now, the town was full of outsiders.

I was no wonder that Bash had been able to enter Siwanasi without much trouble.

Had it been any other time, no matter how influential a personage, it would have been difficult to let an Orc enter Elven lands…

“Maybe it’s a festival! I’ll go check it out!”

Without missing a beat, Zell flew towards the couple.

Bash made no move to stop her, instead gazing longingly at the people walking by,

To him, the sight of all these Elven women was a true feast for the eyes.

As he shamelessly gawked at the passerby, Bash noticed something.

Nearly all the Elves that he saw were female.

There were a male Elves here and there, but they were few and far between.

That being said, it wasn’t as if the streets were overwhelmed by women.

Most of the non-Elven people around were men.

Moreover, these foreign men were often arm-in-arm or held hands with Elven women.

All these couples were wandering and talking wearing nothing but joy on their faces.

A picturesque scene that would perfectly represent the word “happy”.

Some of the Elven women that walked alongside these men seemed to have a bulge on their midsection – they were pregnant.

And the men that were accompanying them were just as jolly as the ladies – an interspecies relationship that resulted in pregnancy.

Yet this gaiety was limited to those who were paired up. The single female Elves stood around listless, eyes glazed over like dead fish.

Stagnant eyes filled with resentment and hatred.

It was the same eyes that Bash had seen so many times during the war.

But the conflict was over… why were there still people like this in a town with such a peaceful atmosphere…?

“…”

The more Bash observed his surroundings, the more questions he had.

The Orc kept on moving down the street, wondering what was going on.

Eventually, he reached a small park-like arrangement, where he spotted three Elven women courting a Human man.

“I’m a good cook! And everyone says I’m the sweetest woman they know. Really! I swear it’s true!”

“I’m the one who loves you the most! I’ll even worship the ground you walk on! Pick me!”

“I’m the type of woman who will do anything for you… Marry me, and I promise you won’t regret it.”

In response to these heartfelt pick-up lines, the man responded: “Please, ladies, give me some space. It’s so hard to choose…”

A truly enviable situation.

From Bash’s perspective, all three of these Elven women were top tier beauties.

They were all slender, with fine, narrow eyes and beautiful blonde hair.

One of them had a gruesome scar on her face, another was missing two fingers on her right hand, and the last’s left eye was permanently shut, yet to Bash, these weren’t negatives.

Quite the contrary actually – the Orc believed that these were nothing more than trophies; proof that they had fought and survived a savage war and pride in the warriors that they were.

Their bodies were also strong and sturdy (for an Elf), and they were likely to give birth to healthy children.

No matter which one became his wife, he would not regret it.

Bash put himself in the Human man’s shoes – if it was him, he would quickly choose one, lose his virginity, and life happily ever after with his family.

Unfortunately, all this wishful thinking was in vain.

“…Ah?”

One of the Elves noticed Bash’s gaze.

“What are you looking at, punk!?”

Immediately, her eyes went wide, and her pupils shrunk,

The next second, all three of them turned to face the Orcish Hero.

The air was suddenly filled with a hostile, murderous atmosphere.