"Remember this well: none of you are permitted to venture near that location!"
In the heart of an Uruk-hai encampment, the squad captain's voice cut through the evening air with stern authority as he addressed his assembled subordinates. Crude torches flickered in iron brackets, casting dancing shadows across scarred faces and gleaming weapons.
His commanding words immediately drew skeptical murmurs from the gathered warriors.
"Is this the master's direct order?" The question came from one particularly bold Uruk-hai, his tone measured and calm. This was clearly one of the more intelligent specimens among their kind.
This warrior represented the elite among the Uruk-hai, considered formidable even by their own brutal standards. Should the captain fall in battle, he would likely assume command of the unit.
"What you need to do is obey without question."
The captain stepped forward, his heavy boots crunching against the packed earth as he fixed his intense gaze upon this potential troublemaker. His voice carried the weight of unquestionable authority that had kept him alive and in command.
If he couldn't maintain control over his own subordinates, he had no business calling himself captain at all.
"Yes, obedience. Of course I shall obey, provided this serves the master's will."
The elite Uruk-hai's defiance remained evident as he pressed his point with calculated persistence. "Therefore, I must ask you directly: is this truly the master's command?"
"And what if it is not?"
The captain's massive hand shot out to grasp the challenger's throat, his words spoken with deadly calm. "Listen carefully when I say this: what if it is not?"
"The master gave us no orders to assault that particular place, did he?"
"But the master also issued no commands to abandon that territory."
Slap.
The captain's grip was forcefully knocked away, the sharp sound echoing across the silent camp.
"It appears you wish to challenge my authority."
Rage blazed in the captain's eyes like molten metal. Cannot defeat that legendary lord? Fine. But surely he could crush this insubordinate fool before him.
"Pathetic creature, do you comprehend what manner of hell I survived to return here?"
"No warrior could exchange even a single blow with him and live to tell of it. No one who faced him in combat returned alive, except for me!"
Though admittedly, that "single blow" had still resulted in his weapon being knocked from his grip, but technically they had fought, hadn't they?
"I believe you're nothing more than a coward who had his courage shattered, and now you seek to infect everyone with your spineless fear!"
The elite Uruk-hai's defiance burned bright and unwavering.
"Excellent. Truly excellent. Then allow me to demonstrate exactly what qualifications you possess to dare provoke me."
Battle became inevitable. The sound of their heated exchange immediately drew the attention of surrounding Uruk-hai, who rushed to form a tight circle around the two combatants.
A natural dueling arena took shape within moments.
The captain raised his wicked cleaver, its edge gleaming in the torchlight as he pointed it directly at his challenger.
"If I discover you cannot even withstand one strike from me, then tonight's feast menu will include an additional dish bearing your name."
"The same fate awaits you, worthless scum!"
Both warriors abandoned all pretense of civility. This would be settled with steel and blood.
"Fight!"
"ROAR!"
The surrounding Uruk-hai soldiers erupted in savage cheers, their voices creating a deafening chorus that encouraged both combatants to spill blood for their entertainment.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several warriors began striking fallen tree trunks with their weapons, creating a rhythmic percussion that thundered like ancient war drums across the camp.
"Urgh!"
The elite Uruk-hai spotted his opening, raising his cleaver high to launch the first devastating attack.
"Too slow by far."
The captain didn't even bother drawing his own weapon. Instead, he swung his armored forearm with brutal efficiency, deflecting the incoming blade with his reinforced guard, then drove his boot forward in a vicious kick that sent the challenger sprawling across the packed earth.
"Die now!"
The elite warrior stubbornly hauled himself upright and swung his cleaver in another desperate arc, but in the next instant his wrist was caught in an iron grip. Everything went black as a devastating headbutt crashed into his skull.
Thud!
He collapsed again, blood streaming from his split scalp.
The captain spread his arms wide, circling within the ring formed by his cheering subordinates as he displayed his corded muscles and battle-tested strength.
Thus far, he hadn't even drawn the weapon hanging at his side, instead dropping his defiant challenger twice through sheer physical dominance.
Command positions within Mordor's hierarchy were never granted lightly. Without genuine ability and ruthless competence, any would-be leader would have been eliminated long ago by the internal power struggles that plagued orc and Uruk-hai forces.
For the garrison troops stationed along Gondor's contested borders and the elite Rangers who hunted in these lands, each such calm and powerful Uruk-hai captain represented a formidable mini-boss. Their disciplined forces proved remarkably difficult to defeat without employing surprise tactics or overwhelming numbers.
But these were ordinary circumstances.
Recalling the one-sided massacre and complete annihilation of the squad he had personally led into battle, remembering that terrifying figure's casual dominance, and then looking down at this ignorant fool who dared challenge his hard-won authority, the captain felt only crushing boredom.
Too tedious. Time to end this pathetic display.
"Meat for the feast, boys!"
He roared triumphantly, placing his boot upon the fallen elite's chest and raising his cleaver high to deliver the killing stroke that would complete this bloody execution.
The scene descended into spectacular carnage, but this only served to excite the surrounding Uruk-hai even further. The entire camp immediately devolved into chaos as soldiers swarmed forward to claim their portions of the corpse, with various body parts flying through the smoky air.
Anyone foolish enough to challenge their leader's dominance faced only one possible fate for their failure: becoming hand-torn jerky for the victory feast.
"Hahahaha!"
The captain threw back his head in savage laughter, his display of raw power and merciless cruelty now legendary among his followers.
Word of his strength and brutality would spread swiftly throughout the surrounding northern and southern encampments. This was the glory that belonged to the half-orc race.
"Most impressive."
Within the great hall of Minas Morgul, the Witch-king observed the brutal captain's performance through visions transmitted by his spy-bats, nodding with evident approval.
"I happen to require someone capable of leadership during these times. Allow him to assume command of this entire Uruk-hai contingent."
With a dismissive wave of his gauntleted hand, the order was issued with supernatural authority.
"Go. Summon him to my presence immediately."
A warg rider departed from Minas Morgul's gates without delay, soon arriving at the camp where the violent succession had taken place.
"Fortune smiles upon you this day."
The rider located the blood-spattered captain among the celebrating warriors. "Lord Witch-king desires your immediate presence in his hall."
The newly promoted captain followed the rider back through the poisoned mists toward the fortress radiating pure malevolent power.
For reasons he could not fathom, upon entering these accursed halls, his heart achieved unusual calm. Even his paralyzing fear of that certain legendary figure outside these walls diminished considerably.
"From this day forward, you shall command all forces operating in the crossroads region."
"I shall serve the master unto death itself!"
The captain immediately dropped to one knee in submission.
"Excellent."
Brutal and powerful, exactly the qualities required for effective leadership in these dark times.
Gazing down at the Uruk-hai captain before him (no, he should now be addressed as Uruk-hai commander), the Witch-king slowly nodded his approval.
The enhanced orcs that Lord Sauron had personally cultivated possessed genuine capability and could accomplish their assigned tasks with ruthless efficiency, proving far more reliable than common orc rabble.
When ordinary orcs were dispatched to capture prisoners, they often returned with nothing but gnawed bones. Not due to disloyalty, but simply because the orc race remained inherently chaotic and unpredictable.
Uruk-hai suffered no such limitations. They would die before allowing someone their master required to perish needlessly. Their execution capabilities remained formidably strong.
The Witch-king rose from his throne, his tall, skeletal figure looming over the kneeling commander as harsh whispers emerged from within his hood:
"Perform with distinction, and greater rewards await you. Power, blood, everything your dark heart desires can be found here..."
"Now tell me, what news comes from our front lines?"
Having made his promises, the Witch-king's form dispersed like black smoke, reappearing instantaneously upon his elevated throne.
"Gondor's garrison continues cowering like frightened turtles within those ancient ruins. The Rangers skulk about like plague rats, only daring to hide among bushes and shadows, never exposing themselves to our army's sight."
The Witch-king remained silent for several moments, processing this report.
Bluntly interpreted, this merely confirmed that the garrison remained impregnable, the Rangers continued evading detection, and their offensive operations had achieved absolutely no meaningful progress.
However, those Gondorian garrison troops, encased completely in their iron shells, truly could not be directly overwhelmed by mere batches of half-orc forces, regardless of their numbers or ferocity.
This campaign could not be rushed. They still needed to await Lord Sauron's full restoration of power. When that glorious moment arrived, forget Gondor. Even that legendary figure and his cursed road would all...
"There exists one additional piece of intelligence, my master."
The Uruk-hai commander gathered his courage to speak boldly. "Someone has claimed territory within our active combat zone..."