The Orcs treated cacao, locally known as Kakao, as something sacred and deeply connected to the Earth Goddess.
Because of that, their territory had thousands upon thousands of cacao trees surrounding it, each one mature and ready to bear fruit all year round.
The Orcanine tribe and the Orcupine tribe both worshipped these trees and protected them from any harm. It was a tradition for them to plant ten seeds to replenish any dead trees in the area, making sure that their sacred place was still blessed by the goddess.
This was started by their ancestors and was continued by each Chieftain in history.
It was the reason why this place was so important to the Orc Tribes. By leaving, they would also leave the place blessed by the goddess.
Even if they found fertile ground elsewhere, it would take them years and upon years to create a forest of cacao trees ready to bear fruit.
None of them were willing to leave. But if it would help the cacao trees in the long run, then both Orc tribes were willing to leave. However, each Chieftain thought that their counterpart wasn't capable of protecting and nurturing the cacao trees.
The Orcanine tribe excelled in strength and power, especially since their species was a hybrid of Orcs and Wolves. However, their defensive capabilities were something left to be desired. Their aggressive nature was good in attacking others, but they were quite useless in defending the holy cacao trees from any outside attack.
Meanwhile, opposite them was the Orcupine tribe, who excelled in their defense.
Since they were a hybrid of Orcs and Porcupines, they had protective spines and quills that allowed them to essentially shoot out spears in all directions, enough to pierce through any metal armor.
They were great in defense, but they had little to no attacking capabilities. Their main strategy was to hunker themselves down in one place and shoot anyone that came close.
But of course, that had a weakness of its own. Without any offensive abilities, their potential enemies would be free to attack and retreat without any consequences at all. They would be able to replenish their energies, while the Orcupines would be stuck in one place, unable to rest. Eventually, they would get worn down and allow the enemies to charge through.
The Orcanine and the Orcupine tribe both had their strengths and weaknesses. The problem lay in the fact that none of them had the capability to fully defend their holy ground, which was why neither was willing to back down.
"Why can't he understand," the Orcanine Chieftain muttered to himself. "Overwhelming offense is the best defense. Especially with the blessing of our Goddess."
The Chieftain cracked open one of the cacao pods with his bare hands. He searched underneath its brown hard shell exterior and came across a collection of luscious white seeds.
He took one of the seeds and observed it curiously. It was hard for him to believe that such a little seed held so much blessing from the Goddess.
He then put it in between his teeth and crushed it into pieces before gulping it in one go.
"Bitter," he commented, with his face scrunching in displeasure.
Even after eating cacao beans countless times, Orcs still detested the taste of bitterness in their mouth. It was a taste that they hated the most.
If it weren't blessed by the goddess, then they would spit out any cacao beans they ate.
Despite how they hated the taste, they still ate it regardless.
They treated it as the Goddess' test. If they couldn't even bear the taste of one of her most precious creations in nature, then they didn't deserve to have her blessing.
The Chieftain closed his eyes, ready to receive the blessing of the Goddess.
Suddenly, a visible red aura began to manifest around the Chieftain's body, empowering him with energy and pure strength.
His muscles bulged, veins popping out. The fur in his body stood on end, instinctively feeling the enormous physical strength boost that the cacao bean gave him.
Just one bean allowed him to almost double the size of his muscle mass, allowing him to exhibit twice the physical strength of his normal body.
This was the Goddess' blessing to them!
Of course, there was nothing special in the cacao beans themselves. It was no different from any other seed or fruit in the natural world.
However, the chemical and mana composition inside the cacao beans created some sort of reaction within the Orcs that allowed them to tap into the inherent strength and power hiding inside their very bodies.
This was the reason why they treated cacao trees as their sacred ground. It was what gave them the strength to protect their territories from any harm.
And if the taste of cacao beans were any less bitter, they would always be eating these as a snack, allowing them to be in a permanent state of strength and power.
Unfortunately, these Orcs hated its bitterness so much that they only ate it during emergencies or when they truly needed it.
The Chieftain closed his eyes and became thankful for the Goddess' blessing. He squatted, with his thighs almost parallel to the ground.
He slapped his thigh simultaneously, creating a rhythmic sound that reverberated throughout the forest of cacao trees.
"BU! TO! TO!" the Chieftain screamed to the top of his lungs.
He began to slap his body harder and harder, showing off how resilient his body became because of the transformation brought on by the cacao beans.
"BU! TO! TO!"
And somehow, his voice began to resonate with the sounds created by his body. Each slap was supported and reinforced by Earth mana coming out of the Chieftain's body, before being transmitted out to the surroundings as sound waves.
As the Earth-mana-infused sound waves passed through the cacao trees, their branches began to sway as if they were hit with a gust of wind.
The Chieftain's ritual intensified, with the sound creating more and more swaying in the branches until finally, the trees themselves began to rock side to side, as if they were dancing!