# Chapter 10: Shaping a Hero
Blood stained the earth, and the battlefield that had been chaotic moments ago had now fallen silent.
"Ugh～"
Pepeini bent over to vomit at the side, her legs already weak. What she had witnessed moments ago would be unforgettable for the rest of her life—a small mountain of corpses, the soil soaked with blood.
It was completely different from what the bards described. The battlefield was not a place of glory and bravery, but a hell, a real hell that existed. Under the Empire's recruitment, Pepeini had once considered becoming a female soldier, but her father had refused.
At this moment, Pepeini understood why her father wouldn't let her become a soldier. The reason the Empire beautified the battlefield was simple—to get more young people to enlist.
If everyone knew this place was hell, not many would dare come to the battlefield. After all, not everyone had a sense of responsibility as an Empire citizen. Without proper education, understanding this was difficult.
The tall tree-man corpse lay on the ground, burning fiercely. Several hundred Grey Orcs had suffered heavy casualties. The reason was their bad luck—the direction they were in happened to be the opposite direction of where most Empire soldiers had routed. Under the charge of several times their number of Empire soldiers, 439 Grey Orcs were nearly annihilated.
As for the remaining 186 Grey Orcs, they had fled as soon as the battle began, completely becoming deserters. The identity of War Demon had been imprisoned for over a decade, and the cohesion it brought was no longer even a tenth of what it once was.
Grey Orc·Ugu hadn't fled. He was now covered in blood, his long-handled war hammer stained red.
Su Xiao looked at Grey Orc·Ugu. This was a decent hero-level leader, or rather, a puppet.
Regardless, Su Xiao himself was not a Grey Orc. He had already noticed that the Grey Orcs' respect and fear toward the identity of War Demon were mixed, with fear being the greater part.
Leading a large group of Grey Orcs into war required a Grey Orc hero to charge at the front. This was an excellent choice. This Grey Orc hero could both give pre-battle speeches, saying some rousing words, and charge at the very front when the war began.
'Follow me in charging' and 'Charge for me' were two different concepts. If Su Xiao were to lead the Grey Orcs into war, he naturally couldn't do 'Follow me in charging.' He was the High Lord. If he was at the very front, not only would it not boost morale, it would make the Grey Orcs feel uncertain.
Conversely, him sitting at the rear of the battlefield was a different concept. When the Grey Orcs charged, they would feel that their highest commander was behind them. The rear was safe, no need to worry about attacks from behind, making them fight more fiercely.
Turning Grey Orc·Ugu into a Grey Orc hero would perfectly solve the problem of having no one to shout 'Follow me in charging.'
As for how to shape him, the opportunity was right before them. Su Xiao, now as the War Demon, killing off this Imperial army would add almost zero to his reputation. His initial status was too high.
But for Grey Orc·Ugu, it was different. If he was the one who killed off these Imperial soldiers, his fame would greatly increase. Coupled with his newly acquired status as a lord, the effect was easy to imagine.
"Ugu, I underestimated you. You actually killed off over ten thousand Imperial soldiers."
"?"
Ugu, covered in blood, was somewhat stunned. His fierce eyes were filled with confusion.
"Lord, I don't deserve this honor. It was you who killed them off—"
"It was you who did it. I saw it."
"I really didn't—"
Ugu's words stopped halfway. His instinct told him that if he finished that sentence, he would die immediately, right then and there.
"You killed off over ten thousand Imperial soldiers, right, Ugu."
"Yes, Lord Kukulin Bai Ye."
Ugu knelt on one knee. From when he was previously appointed as a lord, it was clear he was one of the smarter Grey Orcs.
"You dozen or so, did you see Ugu kill off over ten thousand Imperial soldiers?"
"Did we?"
Pfft!
Blood splattered. A headless Grey Orc corpse fell with a thud, warm blood splashing onto Ugu. His body was trembling almost imperceptibly.
"I saw it! Only Ugu, alone, killed off all the Imperial soldiers."
"R-right! I-I-I saw it too."
"All of you saw it, right? Only Ugu, alone! Right?!"
A Grey Orc with trembling fat on his face roared. Anyone who dared say they didn't see it now would immediately get a battle axe to the face.
"Ugu means iron ore in the Grey Orc language. I want you to be like the blazing sun, so from now on, your name is Warbor. Remember that."
"As you command. From the day I was born, my name has been Warbor."
Ugu, no, now Warbor, lowered his head. Something called ambition was burning fiercely in his eyes. He had never encountered an opportunity in his life, but today, he felt he had met the chance to change his fate.
"You are now Warbor's personal guards."
"As you command."
The dozen or so Grey Orcs all knelt on one knee. Sometimes, the truth wasn't important, especially when on the verge of extinction. The Grey Orcs desperately needed a hero.
"You are too weak. After returning to Chimney Mountain, you need to become stronger."
"This, Lord Bai Ye, although I very much want to, but—"
Warbor's face was full of difficulty. He certainly wanted to become stronger, but that was something unattainable.
"You can do it."
Su Xiao walked past Warbor, but after a few steps, he stopped and said, "Warbor, how is your tolerance for pain?"
"As a warrior, I have never feared pain."
Warbor puffed out his chest.
"Hehehehe～"
Baha laughed strangely as he flew past Warbor. Clearly, Warbor didn't yet know what he was about to face.
Meanwhile, a hundred meters away, inside a hidden alternate space, the Goddess of Fortune, dressed lightly and floating in a reclining position, had witnessed everything just now.
"Eh～? What kind of development is this."
The Goddess of Fortune picked up a chocolate bar floating in mid-air and bit it with a crunch.
...
Night gradually enveloped the land. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the back of a war beast, Bubu Wang behind him, surrounded by a dozen Grey Orcs running at a brisk pace.
They had now reached the edge of the war zone, about to enter the territory of the Chaos Legion. Once there, everything would be easier.
Su Xiao had just killed several thousand Imperial soldiers, earning a total of 7,059 Battle Merits. Even so, he only ranked third.
Checking the Battle Merit Leaderboard, Su Xiao wanted to see who his top two competitors were.
[Battle Merit Leaderboard opened. Current Battle Merits: 7,059 points.]
First Place: Huishenshi (Reincarnation Paradise), 9,700 Battle Merits.
Second Place: Yueshitu (Apocalypse Paradise), 9,695 Battle Merits.
Third Place: Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise), 7,059 Battle Merits.
Fourth Place: Yanhuoshi (Sanctuary Paradise), 5,166 Battle Merits.
Fifth Place: Huanghai (Watchful Paradise), 12 Battle Merits.
...
At this stage of the Battle Merit Leaderboard, after the top four, the Battle Merit holdings dropped off a cliff.
As a Violator, Huishenshi shouldn't have been able to appear on the Battle Merit Leaderboard at all. However, Huishenshi could manipulate 'puppets.' If he used a puppet to participate in this Battle Merit Leaderboard and then used some method to replace the 'puppet,' it was entirely plausible for him to be on the leaderboard.
This world was not under the jurisdiction of Reincarnation Paradise. As a Violator of Reincarnation Paradise, Huishenshi entering this world wouldn't face restrictions. Moreover, this was a fully open world, the kind Violators liked most.
Replacing a 'puppet' meant that Huishenshi's true body had entered this world.
Realizing this, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. If he had the chance, he naturally wouldn't show mercy. In the Trial World, he had already formed a grudge with Huishenshi. Although it wasn't the kind of enmity where they would hunt each other down, if they met, Su Xiao believed Huishenshi would also take the opportunity to eliminate him.
...
Northern Border, a vast icefield. Spatial fluctuations appeared.
"We should have listened to me. Walking on foot is too slow. If we had used the teleportation array in the Royal Capital, we would have reached the battlefield by now."
Mu Xiao's voice came through, the spatial fluctuations growing stronger.
"Your spatial prop is unstable, but the collaborator you found is not bad."
Kuangshou·Jiasike's voice appeared.
"Praising me is useless. Once we reach the battlefield, I won't be with you. I'll pay the teleportation fee."
Gulu's voice also appeared. Starting from the same point in the Royal Capital, these three meeting wasn't a coincidence.
The spatial fluctuations dissipated. Three figures appeared—Mu Xiao, Kuangshou·Jiasike, and Gulu.
A cold wind blew, bitingly cold. On the vast icefield, the three stood in place, none speaking for a long time. Mu Xiao's expression was somewhat awkward. No matter how one looked at it, this place didn't seem like the front-line battlefield.
"Listen, let me explain."