My Domain Runs on KPIs

Chapter 004

Luke woke the next morning to the sound of Orcs training.

When he opened his eyes, he found all one hundred of them already gathered on the field.

...

They were two hours earlier than yesterday.

Luke rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

The sun wasn’t even fully up yet.

He walked over to them.

“You guys are this motivated?”

One of the Orcs rubbed his stomach and grinned.

“My Lord, you said we get food if we win.”

Luke paused.

Right.

Of course.

Day Two went far more smoothly than Day One.

Most of the squad leaders had already started taking responsibility for their groups.

Their management methods were still somewhat crude.

Usually involving a hard slap to the back of someone’s head.

But at least they were managing.

By noon, all one hundred Orcs could form up within a minute after hearing an order.

The lines were still crooked.

But they could form up.

They could move forward and backward on command.

Even if, occasionally, one Orc had to kick the guy in front of him to get him moving.

The thing Luke was happiest about was the shield formation.

Front row raised shields.

Back row attacked from behind them.

It was painfully slow.

But at least they had finally stopped hitting their own people.

Luke sighed.

Two days.

That was all the time he had.

Considering where they had started, this was already better than he had any right to expect.

By evening, training was over.

Luke leaned against a wooden post, drinking water.

Dreadiron walked over and sat down beside him.

“What happens tomorrow?”

Luke glanced at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be here to keep an eye on us for Grimjaw?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Since when do you care?”

Dreadiron didn’t answer immediately.

After a moment of silence, he said,

“I’ve fought them before.”

Luke’s attention sharpened instantly.

“Who?”

“Grimjaw’s Tribal Warriors.”

“And?”

Luke lowered his waterskin.

“What happened?”

Dreadiron remained expressionless.

“I took down more than twenty of them by myself.”

Luke blinked.

“And... then?”

“The rest pinned me to the ground.”

Luke stared at him.

“...”

“They’re that strong?”

Dreadiron nodded.

“They’ve all killed before.”

“They’re Grimjaw’s men.”

“Not strays like the ones we have.”

Luke chuckled.

“So what?”

He looked toward the Orcs in the distance.

Training had officially ended.

Yet many of them were still practicing on their own.

All because they wanted one full meal.

“They may not be vicious.”

Luke turned toward Dreadiron.

“But they’re hungry.”

His eyes narrowed.

“And a starving wolf can be far more dangerous than a lion.”

* * *

On the third day, the match was held on a large open field outside the camp.

Grimjaw sat beside a massive boulder.

Several intimidating Orcs stood around him.

They were clearly among the strongest warriors in the army, just below Dreadiron himself.

And the hundred Orcs Grimjaw had selected were already standing in the middle of the field.

The moment Luke saw them, his heart sank.

Every one of them was half a head taller than his own men.

Their equipment was on an entirely different level as well.

Their Leather Armor was intact.

Their weapons gleamed.

And there was something in their eyes that clearly said:

I’ve killed people before.

Luke stared at them for a moment.

“These guys look nasty...”

Unfortunately, there was no avoiding this.

He walked up to Grimjaw.

“What are the rules?”

Grimjaw turned toward him.

“See that big circle?”

Luke looked over.

“Simple.”

Grimjaw pointed toward the sky.

“From the sun being here to there.”

“About half an hour.”

“Whichever side has more people still inside the circle when time runs out wins.”

He grinned.

“Simple enough?”

Luke studied the circle.

It was roughly fifty meters across.

“Got it.”

“Any other rules?”

“No.”

Grimjaw sounded completely confident.

“And we don’t need any.”

Of course he was confident.

These hundred Orcs had been handpicked from his Tribal Warriors.

Every one of them was an elite.

Luke gave a small nod.

“Fine.”

Then he returned to his own side.

More than a hundred eyes turned toward him.

Some of the Orcs were already trembling.

A few looked like they wanted to run.

Luke cleared his throat.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“These guys are strong.”

“Really strong.”

He paused.

No one argued.

Not a good sign.

Luke raised his voice.

“But you’re forgetting something!”

Every Orc looked at him.

“You came here hungry!”

“They came here hungry too!”

“Grimjaw said only the winners get to eat!”

The Orcs’ expressions immediately changed.

Luke swept his gaze across the formation.

“But you have something they don’t!”

“You have formation!”

“You have command!”

“And you have-”

Luke pointed at his own head.

“-a brain ten thousand times smarter than theirs!”

Silence.

A few seconds passed.

Then one Orc cautiously raised his hand.

“But, My Lord...”

Luke looked at him.

“We don’t have brains either.”

Luke’s face twitched.

Can you not be this honest right now?

I’m trying to give you a pep talk!

“Shut up!”

Luke snapped.

“Just do what I tell you!”

He lowered his voice and gathered the squad leaders around him.

“First six rows hold the front.”

“Hold as long as you can.”

“The last four rows stay where they are.”

“None of you move without my order.”

Luke began explaining the rest of the plan.

* * *

Half an hour later, the match officially began.

Both sides entered the circle and took their positions.

Grimjaw’s warriors stared at Luke’s men with mocking grins.

They had all been in the same army for long enough.

Everyone knew everyone.

And as far as Grimjaw’s warriors were concerned, Luke’s hundred Orcs were nothing but useless deadweight.

The kind of trash who followed behind the main army and scavenged whatever was left after a battle.

Luke’s men, meanwhile, looked nervously at their opponents.

One Orc in the front row even took an unconscious step backward-

Only to bump into the Orc behind him.

The Orc in the rear reached out and patted his shoulder.

Relax.

The Orc in front nodded, even though the one behind him probably couldn’t see it.

The fear in his eyes slowly hardened into determination.

“BEGIN!”

The word had barely left Grimjaw’s mouth-

when his hundred warriors charged like madmen.

Luke’s side reacted exactly as they had practiced.

Step into position.

Lower themselves.

Raise shields.

Then-

Three Orcs were immediately sent flying.

Luke covered his face.

The difference in raw strength was just too big.

Physical power wasn’t something he could train into them in two days.

But to everyone’s surprise-

Luke’s formation didn’t collapse.

The moment someone went down, the Orc behind him stepped forward and filled the gap.

The second row reinforced the front.

Rows Three, Four, Five, and Six spread outward and began pressing from both sides.

Three minutes passed.

Luke’s side had been pushed back five meters.

Five minutes.

Ten meters.

But every meter Grimjaw’s warriors gained came at a cost.

Luke’s Orcs were already bruised and battered.

Aside from the three unlucky bastards who had been launched out of formation at the very beginning...

no one withdrew.

Because every single one of them knew-

Step outside the circle...

and there would be no food.

Ten minutes in, Luke’s line had been pushed all the way to the edge of the circle.

That was when Luke finally shouted toward the four rows he had kept protected in the center.

“ROWS SEVEN THROUGH TEN!”

“GO AROUND!”

“HIT THEM FROM BEHIND!”

The reserve force that had conserved its strength from the very beginning finally moved.

The whole plan had only been possible because Dreadiron and the Orcs in the front had held the enemy in place.

Now the reserve could strike from an angle no one expected.

Grimjaw’s warriors instantly fell into confusion.

They had never fought this way before.

No one had ever attacked them from behind while another force held them at the front.

Caught completely off guard, their formation broke down into chaos.

The field descended into a brawl.

Fifteen minutes.

One of Grimjaw’s Orcs was shoved out of the circle.

The first elimination from Grimjaw’s side.

Grimjaw rose to his feet.

His eyes narrowed.

For the first time, he began watching the match seriously.

Twenty minutes.

Twenty-five.

Grimjaw’s warriors were still pushing forward.

But now, their progress had slowed to almost nothing.

Luke’s side had barely more than sixty Orcs left inside the circle.

But not a single one of them had willingly stepped out.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Time.

Half an hour was over.

Grimjaw stood and called an end to the match.

Everyone stopped.

Seventy-three of Grimjaw’s warriors were still inside the circle.

Luke had forty-five.

By the rules-

Luke had lost.

But Grimjaw said nothing.

He looked at Luke’s Orcs.

Their bodies were covered in bruises.

Their faces were swollen.

Yet every one still standing inside that circle had fought until the end.

Then he looked toward his own elites.

They were breathing heavily.

Scattered.

Fighting as individuals.

Grimjaw remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he walked toward Luke.

“What kind of fighting style was that?”

Luke answered quietly.

“Organization.”

Grimjaw stared at him.

Luke continued.

“One hundred untrained fighters can’t defeat one hundred elites.”

“But organize them properly...”

“And those elites won’t be able to move an inch without paying for it.”

Grimjaw studied Luke for a long time.

Then-

he smiled.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

It was the smile of someone who had finally realized he had found something valuable.

“Your men are better than your mouth.”

Grimjaw laughed.

Then he turned toward the field.

Both sides were watching him.

Grimjaw raised his voice.

“EVERYONE GETS EXTRA FOOD TONIGHT!”

Luke heard those words-

and immediately understood.

He wasn’t going to die.

All the tension left his body at once.

His knees nearly gave out beneath him.

Dreadiron moved instantly.

He rushed over and caught Luke before he could fall.

Luke’s Orcs, meanwhile, exploded into cheers.

A group of them rushed forward-

grabbed Luke-

and hoisted him into the air.

That night, the camp celebrated until well past midnight.

And as the center of attention, Luke was dragged into the festivities for half the night whether he liked it or not.

* * *

The next morning.

Inside Grimjaw’s main tent.

Grimjaw looked at Luke.

“Can’t you stay?”