Chapter 9 Scheming

"So, what is your Quest, of course, if it is some kind of top secret?"

Asked Yvraine amidst dinner while enjoying the food. She ate a lot of it because she was starving as she didn't eat anything for several days straight. It was not an easy feat to find a portion of food in this dammed forest that was far away from civilization.

They were eating the Horned Wild Boar stew that Samiel cooked. As they were eating, even Yvraine, who grew up in the Imperial Palace as Princess of the Silvermoon, had to admit that his cooking skills were superb.

Samiel learned to cook during his time on Earth, and he was very good at it. It was one of his hobbies that didn't result in anyone being tortured as a sacrifice for Outer Gods or some dying in gruesome death.

He would probably need some time to adjust to cooking magical beasts and other types of monsters as their meat had a high concentration of Mana, which ordinary animals didn't really have.

Preparing magical beasts and ordinary animals was entirely different, as magical beasts required vastly different cooking methods. Thought Samiel was able to grasp it quickly, and it was rather learning all the new things.

"I need to destroy 1 entire Ork Clan."

Answered Samiel nonchalantly, not bothering to ask what she figured out. From the moment he decided to save her, he wanted to get some benefits from her. When Samiel first time saw her, aside from her beauty, her appearance screamed "High Born, Very, Very, Very High Born."

She probably thought he was completing the Quest from God whom he was serving, as the 1st floor was currently without a Ruler because the last one was killed a month ago by Chieftain of the Bloodtooth Ork Tribe and Ork Boss Gurnish.

Gurnish was notorious through the first floors of the Tower, as he was one of the strongest Legendaries who were residing on the lower floors, against his will, though.

But from what Samiel knew, at least from his quest description, while originally the Bloodtooth Tribe had the purpose of being on the 1st floor, now they were doing more bad than good.

No one powerful as him would remain on the first floor if he had the choice, but alas, that was the fate of a defeated Ork Tribe that lost in the contests. And that could be considered a good outcome because normally the Orks killed their enemies to the last one.

Being able to escape was splendid, though not many Orks would choose the escape because it was a shameful and humiliating thing to do for them.

Also, one could find slumbering Legendary Level Magical Beasts and Monsters on the lower floors. Some of them were already sleeping here and there for many millennia.

Or some hermits and experts that chose to live in solitude. Some experts often decided to retreat to the Lower Floors, as the environment here was more tranquil and peaceful than that of the Higher Floors.

Orks had a straightforward hierarchy among their species as a whole that was constantly breaking and patching up, with each month being something different.

The smallest unit of their organization was a Clan which was led by Clan Chief. Above the Clans were the Tribe. Contrary to Clan, which consisted of greenskins connected through ideology, God they were worshipping, or blood ties, Tribes were consisting of multiple Tribes.

Indeed, due to this, the Tribes were constantly breaking apart, and new Tribes were created. That was because the Tribes were created from the Clans, and if the Clans had some irreconcilable disputes and anything, it usually led to the disbanding of the Tribe. Each Tribe was headed by Tribal Chieftain, who was an Ork Boss, a mighty Legendary Level Ork.

And above the Tribes were the Hordes, led by War Bosses. Each War Horde had countless Ork Tribes in it, and it could be considered a calamity of nature. To such an extent that even the most bitter enemies among the top mortal factions would put their differences down and fight together against the War Horde.

"Either you are really mad, or your God wants you to die."

Scoffed the elven woman in annoyance at the man's nonsense.

Even the weakest Ork Clan had Legendary Chieftain, so Iron-Tier ant wanting to kill a Legendary being was a pipe dream. Aside from that, each Clan was filled with countless Gold-Tier and Silver-Tier Orks and other greenskins, literal armies, so to destroy it wasn't that easy.

Even most Legendaries wouldn't attack Ork Clan on their own, of course, if they didn't have an overwhelming strength capable of wiping them out in seconds.

Aside from that, provoking Orks was just a death wish. Orks were experts at ganging up on stronger with their sheer numbers and bringing down even stronger beings than them. Even if Orks were inferior in terms of power, they would make it up with their inexhaustible numbers.

"And yours?"

Questioned Samiel back in his curiosity. He was wondering what her quest would be. Samiel knew that she was also a worshipper of God, and if he had to guess, it would be Goddess of the Moon from the Elven Pantheon, as it fitted well with her and her race.

So a part of him was a bit intrigued about the quest her Goddess would assign to her.

"I need to find something on the 1st Floor, but it is a very difficult thing to come by..."

Answered Yvraine hesitantly, not really sure how much information she could divulge.

Even though she was pretty powerful, she came to climb the Tower alone, and she didn't want to use the power of the Nesser Dynasty, one of the hegemons among the "mortal" part of the Tower. It was a nation, a Dynasty that ruled the 91st floor and controlled the fate of tens of whole worlds outside the Tower in the broader Cosmos.

Even though she was hesitant to talk with someone whom she had just met, but her initiation told her that nothing bad would come out of this discussion, and maybe she would reap some benefits.

Those with a strong connection to powerful Transcendents were often blessed with a powerful sense for situations like these, and it was only stronger if the Transcendent backer cared for you.

"If you help me realize my plan for the destruction of the Ork Clan, in exchange, I will help you find what you need. My quest is to destroy, not that I need to destroy it personally with my own hands, we can just plot something, and I already have a plan, at least some version of it... maybe a sketch of the plan!"

Persuaded her Samiel, as he sagely nodded his head, formulating the plan, not wanting t to embarrass himself before the elven princess. Of course, at the same time, he was proud of his planning ability.

"Then what is your 'plan'?"

She asked mockingly as Samiel's golden eyes shined a little.

"Simple, I will change myself to an Ork belonging to some weak tribe and go to the nearby swamps to sneak in and steal the eggs belonging to the Lizardmen King and Queen. In their rage, the Lizardmen will declare war on the Ork Clan, and voa la!"

He explained his plan triumphantly, thinking about his flawless plan on how to clear out the quest.

"That is actually a good plan... aside from two things. Firstly, I doubt you have any method to change your appearance to that of Ork, and secondly, you will need to enter the Lizardmen Nest."

As soon as she said that, his expression half crumbled down when he started realizing his mistakes in the perfect plan.

"Not to mention, Lizardmen that are on the first floor are a reclusive community hiding the Phsoporence Swamp, and there are around 15 Legendary Lizardmen. For that reason, it is classified as one of the Top 20 Danger Zones in the first 50 Floors."

As she said that with a smirk, his expression crumbled utterly.

"But... I can help you with that one. I will use illusions spells on you that I have inscribed on the gem. Orks are not the smartest creatures around. Lizardmen neither, so with a bit of luck, you would be able to realize your plan, but stealing the Lizardmen Queen's eggs and blaming it on the Ork Clan would be night impossible, so I will suggest an alternative to this."

Explained Yvraine as Samiel was attentively listening to everything she had to say. Yvraine had more information about the Tower than Samiel could have, not to mention her prestigious status, which allowed her to be privy to many things. So she would be more knowledgeable about these things and could come out with a better solution than he.

"What alternative?"

Apparently, stealing Lizardmen Queen's Eggs was probably impossible with his current strength. When he thought about it over, he begrudgingly silently agreed. When he thought it over once again, he realized that the infiltration of the Lizadrmen's Swamp and stealing the Queen's Eggs was nothing more than just a fool's wish with his meager strength.

In truth, even if he was countless times stronger, he would still have a very high chance of failure, being killed by an angry mob of lizardmen, or being caught and eaten alive. Lizardmen often ate the invaders of their domains, and sometimes they ate them alive.

"Weakest Ork Clan on the 1st floor is the Palerock Clan that has only one Legendary Ork presiding over the Clan. Several tens of kilometers away from the Clan, there is a Bugbear Tribe numbering around 30 to 40 thousand Bugbears with five Legendary Bugbears among them."

Bugbears were distant cousins of the Orks; they resembled hairy, feral Orks. They were just a bit shorter, around only 2 meters tall, and were less muscular. They had sharp claws like bears but not long enough to be used as weapons. However, they were still very dangerous creatures.

Similar to the Orks, Bugbears were known for being dim-witted and brutish; or in other words, they were stupid, easily provoked, and prone to rages. In truth, most of the Okroid or Goblinoid species were not known for their wits and brain and were plainly said, stupid.

Though on some rare occasions, they were known for being cunning, especially during their fights, that was the case only on rare occasions or when it came to weaker individuals that desperately wanted to survive.

The most annoying thing about the Bugbears was usually their combat style. While their personality traits were pretty similar to those of Orks, Bugbears usually chose to fight in a way reminding that of assassins. They strike from the shadows, searching for the weak points of their enemies and striking when their target is at its weakest.

"So provoking the Bugbear Tribe to fight with Orks would be a much safer and easier alternative... I would need only to kill a few prominent Bugbears with my appearance as an Ork, or I can take my Undead, who with a bit of Illusion magic won't look like an Undead at all."

Samiel weighed the options and, in the end, decided that instigating the conflict between the Palerock Clan and the local Bugbear Tribe was the safest alternative; maybe it would become a war, and there would be several Orkish Clan destroyed, with tens of thousands of greenskins dead.

"That would be the fastest way. After you accomplish your quest, you can help me find that thing I need to find for me to complete my own. With your Undeads, the process would be much easier than just me searching for it alone."

Stated Yvraine was in agreement with his plan, even though it was, in truth, her plan, but so whatever. The important thing was that he now had something that could be realized in his hands, and that was all that mattered for now.

After finishing her meal, she stood up and went deeper into the cave to find a suitable place for sleeping, as she put out the barrier so she could prevent anyone from entering.

The barrier had enough power to withstand even the attacking force of the peak of Legendary. Samiel wondered how precious such a thing would be and how much money it would fetch if sold on the black market.

He wasn't really surprised, as he would do the same thing, as an only fool would trust somebody he met for a few hours, especially when one was a worshipper of Outer Gods. People who worshipped Outer Gods had a terrible reputation. Not to mention, Samiel was also a Necromancer and not a great booster to his already-established reputation.

Basically, they are on the same level as various Devil or Daemon cultists or worshippers of the Evil Gods. Worst of the worst, one could say, and nobody would want to associate with them if not absolutely necessary.

On Earth, he encountered some of them. Especially there were quite Devil and Daemon Cultists, and he had to admit that some of them were even more dangerous and crazy than him.

Of course, because of them, he had, at some times easier life because if he did something, he could blame it on other parties and thus get rid of the pursuit from authorities.

Especially the exorcists from the Vatican were batshit crazy about anything related to the Devils or Daemons, so Samiel used these cultists to mislead them and use them as scapegoats.