Entranced by his thoughts and the cheering, Jason failed to notice when Doro's shout turned erratic.
However, he noticed the look on Vel's face as she looked behind him.
Jason moved before her lips could part to shout his name.
"Jason!" The old Chief shouted as Ena, one of the female Ogres who stood dozens of steps behind them earlier, lowered her axe towards Jason's skull.
Narjis reacted too late, leading to Jason tearing his wrist away from her grasp.
Before Vel was even done pronouncing his name, Jason's hand had dug into his pocket and pulled out one of the rocks he had gathered and sharpened before even entering the village.
He instinctively knew that he couldn't block the attack. Jason did not have enough time to dodge either.
Sparks flared as the axe's blade came into contact with the sharpened rock, and Jason managed to veer the axe off its course just enough for its blade to shallowly cut the side of his shoulder on its way down.
Ena clenched her teeth and prepared to swing again, but the rock's sharp end found its way into the side of her neck before she could react.
Her carotid artery was pierced in an instant.
Ena's eyes widened with surprise and confusion, her hands instinctively letting go of the axe and going to her injured neck.
The remaining Ogres, both males and females, stood and stared in shock.
'You shouldn't have pulled that out.' Jason thought to himself as massive amounts of blood squirted out of Ena's neck.
He let the blood splash across the dirt for a moment before bending down and picking up her axe.
Everyone had gone perfectly silent, and Jason circled around the kneeling Ena.
"We're… Trying to build something here."
His voice sent shivers down Narjis and Vel's spines.
"From now on, murder isn't allowed in my village." The new Chief continued. "Attempting murder will be punishable by death as well," He said while raising the axe he held in both hands. "Is that…" He lowered the blade, and it cut into Ena's back with ease. "Understood?"
The silence grew even heavier.
The male Ogres were shocked and, more than that, a little scared too.
The female Ogres that had been standing by Ena's side were infuriated to see their sister in arms killed in front of their eyes.
[The Skill "Ero Core Resonance" is Activating!]
Jason raised an eyebrow at the System message.
[A Link has been Established!]
'Who… Is it resonating with?'
[Calculating Core Resonance with "The Ogre Tribe"...]
[Current number of Female Ogres that have accepted your leadership: 6/6.]
[Error!]
[The number of Female Ogres within the Tribe has changed!]
[Previous number: 11.]
[Previous requirement: 6/11.]
[New requirement: 6/10.]
[Current number of Female Ogres that have accepted your leadership: 7/6.]
[Current number of Female Ogres that have accepted your leadership: 8/6.]
[Current number of Female Ogres that have accepted your leadership: 9/6.]
[Current number of Female Ogres that have accepted your leadership: 10/6.]
[All Female Ogres have accepted your leadership!]
[You have surpassed the Quest Clear Requirements!]
[Calculating Core Resonance with the "Ogre Tribe"...]
[Thirty-two male Ogres have accepted your leadership!]
[Ten female Ogres have accepted your leadership!]
[All members of the Ogre Tribe have accepted your leadership!]
Jason momentarily felt warmth spreading and engulfing his heart.
[Your Core Resonates with the 42 Cores within the Ogre Tribe!]
[Core Resonance Surpasses 10%!]
[Core Resonance Surpasses 30%!]
[Core Resonance Surpasses 50%!]
[Core Resonance Surpasses 70%!]
[Core Resonance: 80%!]
[Core Resonance Link: B Rank.]
[All your Stats increase by 2 Stat Points.]
Jason's eyes widened and, as if that hadn't been enough,
[You have gained the Title of "Ogre Chief".]
[Title Effect: Specific Stats will be made to match that of the previous "Ogre Chief" permanently.]
[Your Strength Stat increases by 2 Stat Points.]
[Your Endurance Stat increases by 3 Stat Points.]
[Your Vitality Stat increases by 2 Stat Points.]
Jason's gaze immediately went to the Female Ogres he had not met.
They seemed more infuriated than ever.
Yet at the same time, it almost felt like he could hear their thoughts.
"Well." Narjis started while looking down on Ena's corpse. "Can't say I'm happy about seeing one of ours die, but…" She scratched her head. "At least we know that our Chief isn't a dick(pussy)." Narjis whispered, and Jason knew that the other female Ogres were thinking the very same thing.
The cheering had stopped. No one was shouting his name anymore.
Still, Jason felt more like the Ogre Chief than ever.