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Seeing that the outcome could not be changed, I immediately turned and sprinted down the mountain. At this moment, the most important thing was the whereabouts of the "Ice Mark," for the threat posed by two Temple Knights paled in comparison to that of a forbidden spell.

Though the snow-covered mountain path was steep, it seemed as level as a plain to me, especially with the enhancement from the "Aura of Vitality." I raced down the direction where the "Ice Mark" had fallen and soon found the spot where the crystal had landed. It had not been moved and lay quietly in the snow, but there was a problem: the tip of a gray crystal sword was firmly pressed against the crystal.

"Xiro... why is it you?" I was slightly taken aback. Although I had long planned to sever ties with humans, facing my disciple, who was staring at me with tears streaming down his face, made me feel uneasy. "What do you know?"

"I know everything. A magical image rose just now, and I saw and heard everything that happened on the mountaintop." Xiro's face was red from the cold, and tears kept flowing. "Why, teacher, why is this happening? Please tell me it’s all a lie, please, tell me it’s all fake! My teacher is not an evil orc, you didn’t kill your friends..."

I sighed softly. I could imagine what had happened. Lansino was skilled in magic, and there must have been detection spells on the mountain. Xiro likely came to see me and was discovered by Lansino. When I suddenly attacked, he knew this might be the only way to send a message, so he silently activated the magic to transmit the images and sounds from the mountaintop to the base. This magic was Lansino's invention, originally created to broadcast his musical performances, but it served its purpose here. His lengthy conversation with me was probably intended to explain everything to Xiro. The last words he said, "Some things cannot be avoided, and we must face them bravely," were not a farewell but a message to Xiro.

"I told you, I am an orc, and this is no lie. Therefore, I must fight for the orcs, and this has nothing to do with good or evil. The slaughter and wars between races are inevitable, and I had no choice." Looking at Xiro's tear-streaked face, I hesitated to act and decided to give this child one last choice.

"Xiro, listen. As Lansino said, some things you must face bravely." I emphasized my words, and Xiro gradually stopped crying. "Since you have taken up the sword, you must face these kinds of decisions. This is something every warrior must confront; don’t avoid it. Don’t think about what’s real or fake, don’t believe it’s a dream that will end when you wake up. Xiro, my disciple, you must face the real world. The war between orcs and humans is inevitable, and there is no right or wrong. We fight for our own races and shed blood for it; this is the duty of a warrior."

"No, no, war has justice and evil. Orcs are barbaric and greedy, they haven’t even fully cultivated their own land and already think of plundering human territory. This is an evil war, teacher, you should refuse such a war!" Xiro shouted.

"Hehe, it seems you’ve calmed down a bit, so we can talk properly." I smiled. "Indeed, the orc population hasn’t reached the point where their land can’t support them, and the war isn’t for survival. However, we choose war not out of greed. Orcs don’t enjoy luxury like humans. We wage war because of fear. Humans have expanded too quickly. Orcs haven’t reached their population limit, but humans are almost there. Moreover, humans have developed new combat technologies over the past few centuries, and the Temple is almost mass-producing Sword Heroes. If one day humans can mass-produce Sword Masters, Sword Emperors, and even Sword Saints, orcs will either become slaves or die."

"That’s not true. Humans love peace. We increase our strength only to protect ourselves and prevent innocent people from being harmed by war. If not for the threats from high elves and orcs, we wouldn’t need to develop our armies."

"Hmm, Xiro, do you know that according to records, ten thousand years ago, when orcs first entered the central Mainland, there were 842 intelligent races on the continent. Four hundred years ago, when orcs withdrew from the continental struggle, there were 1,137 intelligent races. Now, Xiro, do you know how many intelligent races remain on the continent? 136. Of these, 128 live outside the human world. In the human world, besides humans, there are only seven intelligent races, including Blood Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Dragons. Where did the other races go? They were exterminated or enslaved by humans. Many of them were once allies of humans in the wars against orcs and elves, but when humans dominated the central Mainland, they began to think they had given too much land. Allies became corpses and slaves, and their homes became human farmlands and pastures. These glorious achievements are recorded in the Temple’s annals, Xiro, you should have learned them, but they are embellished with beautiful rhetoric and various excuses. No matter what excuses are given, they cannot hide the bloodshed of exterminating over a thousand races. Orcs do not want to become a page in the Temple’s history books. Humans are the enemies of all races on the continent."

My words left Xiro speechless for a while. Of course, this was mainly due to the vast difference in our experiences and beliefs. If it were Lansino, he wouldn’t be so speechless, and if faced with the sophistry of the Temple’s four Holy Maidens, I might be the one left speechless.

"Xiro, the question now is how you will choose. You stand before me, and I can kill you at any moment, don’t doubt it. You must decide the direction of your future life. I offer you three paths. First, you can put down your sword and continue following me. The Orc Alliance has countless human elites. Humans and orcs cannot coexist peacefully, but orcs do not discriminate against any race. Second, you can turn and leave. Out of respect for our teacher-student relationship, I will arrange a ship to return you to the human world. However, both of these paths will result in the 'Ice Mark' falling into my hands, giving my subordinates the power of a forbidden spell, which you have just witnessed. So, there is a third path. If you truly decide to protect humanity—Xiro, stab your sword into the ground and destroy it. But understand that this means a complete break with me, and I will personally kill you, my disciple." I stared into Xiro’s eyes, speaking each word clearly.